Molecular carcinogenesis of squamous cell carcinomas of the skin

Squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the skin were suggested to develop through a multistep process that involves activation of proto-oncogenes and/or inactivation of tumor suppressor genes in the human skin keratinocytes. Exposure to ultra-violet (UV), especially UV-B, radiation is the most common cause for these genetic abnormalities in cells. We review causation of SCCs and genetic abnormalities in human SCCs with the current work. To elucidate the multistep process, we developed a method for examining the combinatorial function in vivo of plural genes in human keratinocytes. Using high efficiency retroviral transductions, we could express plural genes serially in normal human primary keratinocytes and use these cells to regenerate human skin on SCID mice. A combinatorial transduction of H-RasV12 and cyclin dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) produced human epidermal neoplasia resembling SCC. These findings were consistent with our previous results of mutation analysis in SCCs, one of which had both mutations of H-Ras gene and the INK4a locus. Therefore, it is suggested that a combination of these genetic abnormalities might be crucial to the carcinogenesis at least in a subset of SCCs

Resin splint as a new conservative treatment for ingrown toenails

Several conservative as well as surgical methods are used for the treatment of ingrown toenails until date. The conservative methods are either based on nail splinting or on orthonyxia, but no methods employing both principles have been reported thus far. Moreover, surgical methods usually involve postoperative pain, prolonged wound healing and restricted activities of daily living. Therefore, considering the need of a simplified, non-invasive method, in this study, we applied a novel splint to treat patients with ingrown toenails and estimated the clinical efficacy as well as rate of recurrence following treatment. The splint is a plate made of resin that is attached to the lateral edge of the nail using a bandage. We studied 61 patients (19 men and 42 women ;mean age 36 years), with an average application duration of 9.3 months and an average follow-up period of 10 months in all patients. All patients experienced pain relief within a week of splint application and a decrease in the degree of nail deformity. Moreover, follow-up revealed a recurrence rate of 8.2%. Therefore, we believe that this new device is an excellent conservative treatment method for patients with ingrown toenails

トコズレ ノ ザイタク ケア

A large proportion of home care patients are at risk of pressure ulcer. The occurrence rate of pressure ulcer is higher in home care patients than that in the patients of hospitals and welfare facilities. The home care patients need long-term conservative treatment because of the depth of the pressure ulcers.Treatment of the pressure ulcers at home results in increase of caregivers burden. Therefore,prevention and early detection of pressure ulcers are important in home nursing. In early stage of pressure ulcers，“deep tissue injury”should be taken into consideration because of its progressive nature. It is a new concept which presents deep tissue damage remaining superficial skin intact.One of clinical features in this condition is induration in a deep layer.The past decade has seen a huge growth in the application of pressure relieving mattresses,absorbent products for urinary and faecal incontinence, and skin barrier products to prevention of the pressure ulcers. Economical, physical, and psychological burden of nursing at home should be decreased with an accumulation of these information and utilization of the products. Therefore, it is important for caregivers to consult with their care managers and acquire new knowledge and information

HASC2011corpus: Towards the Common Ground of Human Activity Recognition

UbiComp '11 Proceedings of the 13th international conference on Ubiquitous computing, September 17-21, 2011, Beijing, ChinaHuman activity recognition through the wearable sensor will enable a next-generation human-oriented biquitous computing. However, most of research on human activity recognition so far is based on small number of subjects, and non-public data. To overcome the situation, we have gathered 4897 accelerometer data with 116 subjects and compose them as HASC2011corpus. In the field of pattern recognition, it is very important to evaluate and to improve the recognition methods by using the same dataset as a common ground. We make the HASC2011corpus into public for the research community to use it as a common ground of the Human Activity Recognition. We also show several facts and results of obtained from the corpus

HASC2011corpus: Towards the Common Ground of Human Activity Recognition

Human activity recognition through the wearable sensor will enable a next-generation human-oriented biquitous computing. However, most of research on human activity recognition so far is based on small number of subjects, and non-public data. To overcome the situation, we have gathered 4897 accelerometer data with 116 subjects and compose them as HASC2011corpus. In the field of pattern recognition, it is very important to evaluate and to improve the recognition methods by using the same dataset as a common ground. We make the HASC2011corpus into public for the research community to use it as a common ground of the Human Activity Recognition. We also show several facts and results of obtained from the corpus.UbiComp \u2711 Proceedings of the 13th international conference on Ubiquitous computing, September 17-21, 2011, Beijing, Chin

A市１歳６か月児健康診査時における フォロー要・非と乳幼児医療費助成制度の利用状況

A 市乳幼児医療費助成制度のレセプトデータについて，１歳６か月児健康診査時のフォロー要・非と乳幼児医療費助成制度の利用状況との関係を明らかにし，親子支援の一助とすることを目的とした。対象は１歳７か月から就学前までの者とした。利用率は99.5％であり，A 圏域で完結している受診は66.8％であった。圏域外での受診は隣接するC 市（27.0％）が多かった。１歳６か月児健康診査の支援判定により，親・家庭の要因で継続支援が必要と判断された者を要フォロー群，そうでない者を非フォロー群とし，利用状況を確認した。年間総医療費の中央値は，要フォロー群は95,770（四分位範囲：47,225－177,310）円，非フォロー群92,270（四分位範囲：54,050－142,390）円であり，要フォロー群の方が非フォロー群より高額であったが，有意差は認めなかった（p=0.256）。要フォロー群は非フォロー群に比べ年間総医療費の四分位範囲が少額と高額に広がっていた。疾病の重症度や受診頻度が影響すると考えられるが，今回は医療費総額で検討しており，今後は受診頻度についても検討する必要がある。親子支援として，特に親・家庭の要因で支援が必要となった親に対し，子どもの健康状態への関心を高めるような働きかけを行うことや，適切に受診することについて啓発する必要性が示唆された。また，親が子どもの健康状態にどのように対応し受診しているのかについては更なる調査が必要である

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

PPG2EMG: Estimating Upper-Arm Muscle Activities and EMG from Wrist PPG Values

The electromyogram (EMG) is a waveform representation of the action potential generated by muscle cells using electrodes. EMG acquired using surface electrodes is called surface EMG (sEMG), and it is the acquisition of muscle action potentials transmitted by volume conduction from the skin. Surface electrodes require disposable conductive gel or adhesive tape to be attached to the skin, which is costly to run, and the tape is hard on the skin when it is removed. Muscle activity can be evaluated by acquiring muscle potentials and analyzing quantitative, temporal, and frequency factors. It is also possible to evaluate muscle fatigue because the frequency of the EMG becomes lower as the muscle becomes fatigued. Research on human activity recognition from EMG signals has been actively conducted and applied to systems that support arm and hand functions. This paper proposes a method for recognizing the muscle activity state of the arm using pulse wave data (PPG: Photoplethysmography) and a method for estimating EMG using pulse wave data. This paper assumes that the PPG sensor is worn on the user&rsquo;s wrist to measure the heart rate. The user also attaches an elastic band to the upper arm, and when the user exerts a force on the arm, the muscles of the upper arm contract. The arteries are then constricted, and the pulse wave measured at the wrist becomes weak. From the change in the pulse wave, the muscle activity of the arm can be recognized and the number of action potentials of the muscle can be estimated. From the evaluation experiment with five subjects, three types of muscle activity were recognized with 80+%, and EMG was estimated with approximately 20% error rate