Image Database System for Japanese KOSODE Garments on Japan Gigabit Networks

A new image database system of Japanese KOSODE garments supplied from The National Museum of Japanese History was constructed for the effective distribution and display of high definition and super high definition still images, with the aid of the image retrieval. The new system is characterized by the automatic generation of the index images used for the image matching in the image retrieval, and the use of JPEG2000 for handling super-high definition still images. The automatic index image generation reduced the generation time from 35 min. to 110 sec. The system performance was actually tested over IPv4/IPv6 on the Japan Gigabit Networks

The posterior parietal cortex contributes to visuomotor processing for saccades in blindsight macaques

Patients with damage to the primary visual cortex (V1) lose visual awareness, yet retain the ability to perform visuomotor tasks, which is called "blindsight." To understand the neural mechanisms underlying this residual visuomotor function, we studied a non-human primate model of blindsight with a unilateral lesion of V1 using various oculomotor tasks. Functional brain imaging by positron emission tomography showed a significant change after V1 lesion in saccade-related visuomotor activity in the intraparietal sulcus area in the ipsi- and contralesional posterior parietal cortex. Single unit recordings in the lateral bank of the intraparietal sulcus (lbIPS) showed visual responses to targets in the contralateral visual field on both hemispheres. Injection of muscimol into the ipsi- or contralesional lbIPSs significantly impaired saccades to targets in the V1 lesion-affected visual field, differently from previous reports in intact animals. These results indicate that the bilateral lbIPSs contribute to visuomotor function in blindsight

Present status of home health nursing in a Japanese hospital-based home health care agency

病院を基盤とした在宅看護提供機関における在宅看護の現状を調査し,在宅看護の現在の問題点を明らかにするとともに,在宅看護に携わる看護婦の役割について検討した｡本調査の結果,一人暮らしの患者は,家族に介護者のいる患者に比べ明らかにADLが高い場合も訪問看護を受けていることが分かった｡また,高齢者夫婦二人暮らしの患者と2世代以上家族の患者のADLに差はなく,このことは,高齢の介護者に相当の負担がかかっていると言える｡訪問看護内容としては, 日常生活自立度の低い患者への日常生活援助の実施率は高く,精神的支援や指導的看護技術の実施率は低かった｡在宅看護に携わる看護婦は, 日常生活援助に追われがちであるが,一次予防に焦点を当てたケア,患者や介護者の精神的支援,指導,ケアマネジメントを行うことは緊急の課題である｡We investigated the present status of home health nursing in a Japanese hospital-based home health care agency, to clarify present problems in home health nursing and to assess the roles of home health nurses. Based on our results, ADL of care recipients who lived alone were clearly independent compared with care recipients who lived with family care-givers. The level of ADL of both care recipients who lived with their spouses and those who lived with more than 2 family members were not different. It indicates that aged family care-givers assume great responsibility. In cases of bedridden recipients,daily life care was performed at a high rate, but mental care or teaching care was performed at a low rate. Home health nurses should focus on primary preventive care, mental care for recipients and care-givers, and teaching care or management of a care plan

Daily physical activity in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis

腎炎患者の日常生活活動強度と持久性体力を明らかにするため、本研究を行った。被検者は20歳から61歳の腎炎患者7名である。日常生活活動強度の指標として、連続心拍計を用いて24時間心拍数を測定した。また、持久性体力を評価するため、換気性閾値（Ventilatory Threshold : VT）を測定した。各被験者のVTは、同性、同年齢の健常者の値に対する相対値（％VT）で評価した。被検者の％VTの平均は、93.4±18.6％で、健常者に比べて低下していた。24時間心拍数の平均は、82±8拍／分であった。24時間心拍数のうち、VT時の心拍数を越えるものは、多くても2％でしかなく、腎炎患者の日常生活の大部分は、有酸素運動であった。We examined the intensity of daily physical activityand cardiorespiratory endurance in 7 patients with chronic glomerulonephritis between 20 and 61 years old. To determine the intensity of daily physical activity, the 24-hour heart rate was measured. To evaluate cardiorespiratory endurance, ventilatory threshold oxygen uptake (VT) was measured. VT of each patient was presented as the percentage of the value in sex and age-matched healthy subjects (% VT). The mean % VT was 93.4±18.6% lower than that in the healthy subjects. The mean 24-hour heart rate was 82±8 beats/min. The heart rate over the VT in 24-hour heart rate was at most 2%. In conclusion, metabolism was aerobic in the greater part of their daily lives

〈報文〉利根川下流のシルト河床区間の成因

The grain size of bed material m the lower Tone River shows an unusual distribution. Between 20 and 30km upstream of the river mouth. the bed material is composed of silt and clay, whereas upstream and downstream of this 1t is coarser. To investigate this problem. recent and historic topographic maps of the channel were compared.The 20-30km section corresponds closely with the artificial trenched channel. The bed material here is silt and clay because the trenched area was originally part of a large back marsh, which is composed of silt and clay, and this material forms the bed of the channel. Although fine sand is transported m the channel, it cannot be deposited on the silt and clay forming the channel bed.To test this hypothesis, a flume experiment was conducted which investigated the transport of fine sand over a flat bed and a fine sand bed. It was found that a flat bed could support a higher rate of bedload transport than a bed of fine sand.Presently, the Tone River mouth weir is situated at 18.5km from the mouth. It has been suggested that the weir influences the gram size distribution in the channel. However. this study suggests that the original geomorphic environment may strongly influence the bed material grain size

Targeted expression of stepfunction opsins in transgenic rats for optogenetic studies

Abstract Rats are excellent animal models for experimental neuroscience. However, the application of optogenetics in rats has been hindered because of the limited number of established transgenic rat strains. To accomplish cell-type specific targeting of an optimized optogenetic molecular tool, we generated ROSA26/CAG-floxed STOP-ChRFR(C167A)-Venus BAC rats that conditionally express the step-function mutant channelrhodopsin ChRFR(C167A) under the control of extrinsic Cre recombinase. In primary cultured cortical neurons derived from this reporter rat, only Cre-positive cells expressing ChRFR(C167A) became bi-stable, that is, their excitability was enhanced by blue light and returned to the baseline by yellow~red light. In bigenic pups carrying the Phox2B-Cre driver, ChRFR(C167A) was specifically expressed in the rostral parafacial respiratory group (pFRG) in the medulla, where endogenous Phox2b immunoreactivity was detected. These neurons were sensitive to blue light with an increase in the firing frequency. Thus, this transgenic rat actuator/reporter system should facilitate optogenetic studies involving the effective in vivo manipulation of the activities of specific cell fractions using light of minimal intensity