微小重力環境における固体材料熱分解ガスの点火に関する研究

学位の種別: 課程博士審査委員会委員 : （主査）東京大学教授 津江 光洋, 東京大学教授 小紫 公也, 東京大学准教授 中谷 辰爾, 東京大学准教授 姫野 武洋, 東京大学教授 土橋 律University of Tokyo(東京大学

Method to Generate Disaster-Damage Map using 3D photometry and Crowd Sourcing

Thanks to the rapid progress of the Internet and mobile devices, information related to disaster areas can be collected through the Internet. To grasp the degree of damage in a disaster situation, the use of crowdsourcing for coordinating the individual efforts (micro tasks) of an enormous number of users (workers) on the Internet has been drawing attention as a means of quickly solving problems. However, the information gathered from the Internet is huge and diverse, so it is difficult to formulate as a crowdsourcing task. This paper proposes a conversion platform for the images of a disaster site photographed by various users as information about the site, integrating the images into a single map using 3D image processing, and providing the map to crowdsourcing as a micro task.Published in: 2017 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (Big Data) Date of Conference: 11-14 Dec. 2017 Conference Location: Boston, MA, US

Morphological, Developmental, and Ecological Characteristics of the Suctorian Ciliate Ephelota gigantea (Ciliophora, Phyllopharyngea, Ephelotidae) Found on Cultured Wakame Seaweed in Northeastern Japan

Wakame seaweed is an important aquatic resource in Iwate Prefecture. However, a suctorian Ephelota gigantea sometimes causes great damage to wakame culture. Since little is known about the biological characteristics of E. gigantea, its detailed morphology and temporal change of biological characteristics during the 2010 culture season were investigated. Scanning electron microscope observations showed that E. gigantea had different striation patterns on the stalk; there was a swell made of cement by which the stalk was attached to wakame firmly; and the buds had cilia arranged in concentric circles about a ring in the center of the ventral side. A suctorian parasite was found to infect E. gigantea, and the infection seemed to have decreased drastically the attached density of E. gigantea on wakame. Cell size of parasite-infected E. gigantea individuals was larger than that of uninfected individuals, probably because larger E. gigantea has larger surface area for attachment of the parasite. Cyst formation or conjugating individuals were not observed

Transactivation of a DR-1 PPRE by a human constitutive androstane receptor variant expressed from internal protein translation start sites

Downstream in-frame start codons produce amino-terminal-truncated human constitutive androstane receptor protein isoforms (ΔNCARs). The ΔNCARs are expressed in liver and in vitro cell systems following translation from in-frame methionine AUG start codons at positions 76, 80, 125, 128, 168 and 265 within the full-length CAR mRNA. The resulting CAR proteins lack the N-terminal DNA-binding domain (DBD) of the receptor, yielding ΔNCAR variants with unique biological function. Although the ΔNCARs maintain full retinoid X receptor alpha (RXRα) heterodimerization capacity, the ΔNCARs are inactive on classical CAR-inducible direct repeat (DR)-4 elements, yet efficiently transactivate a DR-1 element derived from the endogenous PPAR-inducible acyl-CoA oxidase gene promoter. RXRα heterodimerization with CAR1, CAR76 and CAR80 isoforms is necessary for the DR-1 PPRE activation, a function that exhibits absolute dependence on both the respective RXRα DBD and CAR activation (AF)-2 domains, but not the AF-1 or AF-2 domain of RXRα, nor CAR's DBD. A new model of CAR DBD-independent transactivation is proposed, such that in the context of a DR-1 peroxisome proliferator-activated response element, only the RXRα portion of the CAR-RXRα heterodimer binds directly to DNA, with the AF-2 domain of tethered CAR mediating transcriptional activation of the receptor complex

Tonsillar metastasis of gastric cancer

Metastasis from a malignant tumor to the palatine tonsils is rare, with only 100 cases reported in the English-language literature. Tonsillar metastasis from a gastric cancer is very rare. We report here a case of palatine tonsillar metastasis after gastric cancer surgery. The patient was an 88-year-old woman who had gastric cancer with abdominal wall invasion. She had undergone a distal gastrectomy with abdominal wall resection and D2 lymph node dissection. Histologically, the tumor was primarily a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. It was stage IV (T4, N1, M0) using TNM clinical classification. The patient developed pharyngeal discomfort and abdominal pain and was hospitalized during the follow-up period, 1 year 9 months post-operatively. Multiple lung metastases, Virchow’s lymph node metastasis, and adrenal metastasis were observed. A mass of 2.5 cm was also observed in the right palatine tonsil. It was diagnosed as a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma, a metastasis from gastric cancer. There was a concern of asphyxiation due to hemorrhage of the tumor; however, the tumor dislodged approximately 10 days after biopsy and tonsillar recurrence was not observed. The patient died 1 year 10 months post-operatively. In the literature there are cases with tonsillar metastases where surgical treatment, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy were performed and extension of survival was seen. Tonsillar metastasis is a form of systemic metastasis of a malignant tumor, and there is a high risk for asphyxiation from tumor dislodgement or hemorrhage. Thus, it is important to recognize tonsillar metastasis as an oncologic emergency

Comparison of severity classification in Japanese patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis in a nationwide, prospective, inception cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To compare disease severity classification systems for six-month outcome prediction in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). METHODS: Patients with newly diagnosed AAV from 53 tertiary institutions were enrolled. Six-month remission, overall survival, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD)-free survival were evaluated. RESULTS: According to the European Vasculitis Study Group (EUVAS)-defined disease severity, the 321 enrolled patients were classified as follows: 14, localized; 71, early systemic; 170, generalized; and 66, severe disease. According to the rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) clinical grading system, the patients were divided as follows: 60, grade I; 178, grade II; 66, grade III; and 12, grade IV. According to the Five-Factor Score (FFS) 2009, 103, 109, and 109 patients had ≤1, 2, and ≥3 points, respectively. No significant difference in remission rates was found in any severity classification. The overall and ESRD-free survival rates significantly differed between grades I/II, III, and IV, regardless of renal involvement. Severe disease was a good predictor of six-month overall and ESRD-free survival. The FFS 2009 was useful to predict six-month ESRD-free survival but not overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: The RPGN grading system was more useful to predict six-month overall and ESRD-free survival than the EUVAS-defined severity or FFS 2009

Comparison of severity classification in Japanese patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis in a nationwide, prospective, inception cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To compare disease severity classification systems for six-month outcome prediction in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). METHODS: Patients with newly diagnosed AAV from 53 tertiary institutions were enrolled. Six-month remission, overall survival, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD)-free survival were evaluated. RESULTS: According to the European Vasculitis Study Group (EUVAS)-defined disease severity, the 321 enrolled patients were classified as follows: 14, localized; 71, early systemic; 170, generalized; and 66, severe disease. According to the rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) clinical grading system, the patients were divided as follows: 60, grade I; 178, grade II; 66, grade III; and 12, grade IV. According to the Five-Factor Score (FFS) 2009, 103, 109, and 109 patients had ≤1, 2, and ≥3 points, respectively. No significant difference in remission rates was found in any severity classification. The overall and ESRD-free survival rates significantly differed between grades I/II, III, and IV, regardless of renal involvement. Severe disease was a good predictor of six-month overall and ESRD-free survival. The FFS 2009 was useful to predict six-month ESRD-free survival but not overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: The RPGN grading system was more useful to predict six-month overall and ESRD-free survival than the EUVAS-defined severity or FFS 2009

Treatment of OPG-deficient mice with WP9QY, a RANKL-binding peptide, recovers alveolar bone loss by suppressing osteoclastogenesis and enhancing osteoblastogenesis.

Osteoblasts express two key molecules for osteoclast differentiation, receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG), a soluble decoy receptor for RANKL. RANKL induces osteoclastogenesis, while OPG inhibits it by blocking the binding of RANKL to RANK, a cellular receptor of RANKL. OPG-deficient (OPG–/–) mice exhibit severe alveolar bone loss with enhanced bone resorption. WP9QY (W9) peptide binds to RANKL and blocks RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis. W9 is also reported to stimulate bone formation in vivo. Here, we show that treatment with W9 restores alveolar bone loss in OPG–/–mice by suppressing osteoclastogenesis and enhancing osteoblastogenesis. Administration of W9 or risedronate, a bisphosphonate, to OPG–/–mice significantly decreased the osteoclast number in the alveolar bone. Interestingly, treatment with W9, but not risedronate, enhanced Wnt/β-catenin signaling and induced alveolar bone formation in OPG–/–mice. Expression of sclerostin, an inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, was significantly lower in tibiae of OPG–/–mice than in wild-type mice. Treatment with risedronate recovered sclerostin expression in OPG–/–mice, while W9 treatment further suppressed sclerostin expression. Histomorphometric analysis confirmed that bone formation-related parameters in OPG–/–mice, such as osteoblast number, osteoblast surface and osteoid surface, were increased by W9 administration but not by risedronate administration. These results suggest that treatment of OPG–/–mice with W9 suppressed osteoclastogenesis by inhibiting RANKL signaling and enhanced osteoblastogenesis by attenuating sclerostin expression in the alveolar bone. Taken together, W9 may be a useful drug to prevent alveolar bone loss in periodontitis