大学生の身体活動量の評価 : 歩数計とIPAQ日本語版との比較

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess university students’ physical activity by the pedometer and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ).Methods: Ten healthy university students (6 men, 4 women) wore a pedometer (Lifecorder GS; Suzuken Co., Nagoya) for 7 days. Then the subjects replied questions about their physical activity using IPAQ.Results: The mean±SD number of daily steps was 5,528±2,200 on school days and 7,279±3,540 on weekends. Among students with a part time job, there were more daily steps on weekends than on school days (P < 0.05). Daily energy expenditure estimated by IPAQ and by pedometer were significantly correlated (r = 0.885). The daily energy expenditure assessed by pedometer, however, was significantly higher than by IPAQ (pedometer: 1986±308 kcal, IPAQ: 1679±578 kcal, P < 0.05).Conclusion: This study confirms that university student physical activity is affected by a part time job

Evaluation of Oral Mucosal Lesions Using the IllumiScan&reg; Fluorescence Visualisation Device: Distinguishing Squamous Cell Carcinoma

We evaluated whether fluorescence intensity (FI) and its coefficient of variation (CV) can be used to diagnose squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) through IllumiScan&reg;, an oral mucosa fluorescence visualisation (FV) device. Overall, 190 patients with oral mucosal lesions (OMLs; SCC, 59; non-SCC OMLs, 131) and 49 patients with normal oral mucosa (NOM) were enrolled between January 2019 and March 2021. The FI of the images was analysed using image analysis software. After establishing regions of interest for SCC, non-SCC, and NOM, the average FI, standard deviation (SD), and CV were compared. There was a significant difference in the average FI for all pairs of comparisons. The SD was not significantly different between the SCC and NOM groups (p = 0.07). The CV differed significantly for NOM (p &lt; 0.001) and non-SCC groups (p &lt; 0.001) relative to the SCC group but was not different between NOM and non-SCC groups (p = 0.15). Univariate analysis of SCC and non-SCC groups showed significant differences for all factors, except age. However, multivariate analysis showed a significant intergroup difference only in the CV (p = 0.038). Therefore, analysing the CV in FV images of OML may be useful for the diagnosis of oral cancer

Risk Management of Heatstroke Based on Fast Computation of Temperature and Water Loss using Weather Data for Exposure to Ambient Heat and Solar Radiation

Several indexes, such as the heat index, wet-bulb globe temperature, and the universal thermal climate index, are used to estimate the risk of seasonal heat illness. These indexes correspond to the heat load of an individual in identical environmental conditions for a prolonged period of time. In daily life, the environment changes with time, and different individuals are vulnerable to heat-related illness to different degrees. An appropriate health risk assessment covering 90% of the population would facilitate an effective response to increased rates of heat illness for major summer sport events and the elderly in daily life. In this study, a fast computation for simulating temperature elevation and sweating is implemented using weather forecast data. In particular, a bioheat equation considering thermoregulatory responses is solved in the time domain using anatomical human body models including young adults, the elderly, and children. To accelerate simulation, the computational code is vectorized and parallelized, and subsequently implemented on an SX-ACE supercomputer. The computational results are validated in typical cases of young adults, children, and the elderly. The computational time for estimating the body temperature elevation and water loss for three hours based on the forecasted temperature, humidity, and solar radiation was 8 min for a total of nine human models that cover an estimated 90% of the population. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed system for pre-emptive health risk management. To improve public awareness, a web-based risk management application has been developed and used since the spring of 2017 in Japan.Peer reviewe

Benzbromarone Attenuates Oxidative Stress in Angiotensin II- and Salt-Induced Hypertensive Model Rats

Oxidative stress induced by hyperuricemia is closely associated with the renin-angiotensin system, as well as the onset and progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). It is therefore important to reduce oxidative stress to treat hyperuricemia. We previously found that benzbromarone, a uricosuric agent, has a direct free radical scavenging effect in vitro. The antioxidant effects of benzbromarone were evaluated in vivo via oral administration of benzbromarone for 4 weeks to model rats with angiotensin II- and salt-induced hypertension. Benzbromarone did not alter plasma uric acid levels or blood pressure but significantly reduced the levels of advanced oxidation protein products, which are oxidative stress markers. Furthermore, dihydroethidium staining of the kidney revealed a reduction in oxidative stress after benzbromarone administration. These results suggest that benzbromarone has a direct antioxidant effect in vivo and great potential to prevent CVD and CKD

JPCOARスキーマの策定 : 日本の学術成果の円滑な国際的流通を目指して

日本国内において，機関リポジトリに登録されたコンテンツのメタデータは，junii2を標準的なメタデータスキーマとして，国立情報学研究所（NII）の学術機関リポジトリデータベース（IRDB）を介して広く流通している。近年の学術情報流通をめぐる国際的な状況の変化や技術的な発展に対応し，日本の学術成果の円滑な国際的流通を図るため，オープンアクセスリポジトリ推進協会（JPCOAR）では，junii2に代わる次世代のメタデータスキーマとして，2017年10月に「JPCOARスキーマ ver1.0」を公表した。本稿では，策定過程での議論も含め，新しいメタデータスキーマの考え方と概要を紹介する。Scholarly output deposited in institutional repositories in Japan has been broadly distributed in a standard metadata schema called junii2, and through Institutional Repositories Database (IRDB) developed by National Institute of Informatics (NII). With recent global situation change and technology development on scholarly communications, Japan Consortium for Open Access Repository (JPCOAR) has just developed and released JPCOAR Schema ver1.0 on October 2017, which is a brand-new metadata schema that will succeed junii2 and promote smooth international distribution of research outputs created in Japan. In this article, we will provide an overview and philosophy of this new schema, including discussion during the development process