Development of active icosahedron and its application to virtual clay modeling

We have developed an active link mechanism for physical man-machine interaction. We report an active icosahedron consisting of intelligent cylinders and its application to virtual clay modeling. Intelligent pneumatic cylinders are newly developed to realize active link mechanisms. This cylinder aims at a novel cylinder in which various sensors and control devices are built. Active link mechanisms are highly integrated and enhanced by intelligent cylinders. A control system is built for the active icosahedron. In the control system, a key element is a control program implementing drawing of a virtual model on display and controlling of active links. Virtual clays are deformed by the program based on the apex positions converted from cylinder lengths. The active icosahedron realized dynamic interaction with virtual objects in PC, showing the potential of the devices as a haptic interface.</p

テンネン センイ デ キョウカ シタ キノウセイ グリーン コンポジット ノ カイハツ

Various types of unidirectional and random bamboo fiber reinforced “green” composites were fabricated, and examined their damping properties as a function of fiber content. The loss factors decreased with increasing fiber content. However they decreased gently higher than 40mass percent fiber content, the tensile modulus increased proportionally to the fiber content of about 80mass percent. The definite relationship between loss factor and Young’s modulus was not found. In addition, loss factors of random fiber (10mm fiber) reinforced “green” composites are larger than loss those unidirectional (continuous fiber) ones

気管支喘息におけるハウスダストアレルギー. 血清IgE値とIgE抗体価と年齢との関連

Serum IgE levels and IgE antibody values in relation to patient age were examined in 50 patients with house dust mite (HDm) sensitive asthma, 1. IgE antibody values to HDm were highest in patients between the ages of 10 and 19, and the　values generally low in those over the age of 40. 2. High IgE antibody values to HDm　were accompanied by high serum IgE levels in patients between 10 and 19. IgE antibody values and serum IgE levels were in general low in patients over age 40. In patient under　age 9, serum IgE levels were less than 500 IU/ml in 5 of the 10 subjects despite an increased value of IgE antibodies to HDm. These results suggest that an increased　production of IgE antibodies to HDm is usually accompanied by an increased production of total IgE in younger subjects. However, an increase in production of IgE antibodies is not always related to an increase in production of total IgE in patients under age 9. The results also show that production of IgE antibodies to HDm and total IgE is in general low in older patients despite the hyperreactivity to HDm.ハウスダストが原因抗原であるアトピー型気管支喘息50例を対象に,血清IgE値とIgE抗体価を年齢との関連のもとに検討した｡1.IgE抗体価は10-19才の年齢層の症例において最も高く,一方40才以上の症例では全般的に低い傾向が見られた｡2.10-19才の年齢層の症例では,IgE抗体価の高値と同時に血清IgE値も高い値を示したが,40才以上の症例では,IgE抗休価および血清IgE値いずれも10-19才の症例に比べ全般的に低い値を示した｡9才以下の症例では,IgE抗体価の高値にもかかわらず,血清IgE値は比較的低く,500IU/ml以下を示した症例が10例中5例に観察された｡これらの結果は,若年症例では,IgE抗体の産生亢進と総IgEの産生亢進が同時に見られること が多いが,9才以下ではIgE抗体産生亢進に総IgE産生亢進が必ずしもともなわない場合があることを示している｡また,40才以上の症例では,ハウスダストに対する過敏性は有しているものの,IgE抗体価および血清IgEは全般的に低い値を示す傾向が示唆された

気管支喘息における気道炎症反応の臨床的意義｡慢性閉塞性細気管支炎との比較検討

Clinical significanoce of airway inflammation was assessed in 28 patients with bronchial asthma, and the results were compared with those in 9 patients with chronic obstructive bronchiolitis (COB). 1. Total cell number in bronchoalveolar lavage(BAL) fluid was markedly increased in patients with COB (51.0×10(6)), which was significantly greater than that in those with bronchial asthma (9.6×10(6) ). 2. The proportion of BAL macrophages was significantly higher in patients with bronchial asthma than in those with COB. However, the, absolute number of BAL macrophages was not significantly different between them. 3. The proportion of BAL lymphocytes was higher in patients with bronchial asthma than in those with COB, but this difference was not signifcant. In contrast, the absolute number of BAL lymphocytes was significantly greater in patients with COB than in those with bronchial asthma. 4. The proportion and the number of BAL neutrophils were markedly increased in patients with COB compared to those with bronchial asthma. 5. The proportion and the number of BAL eosinophils were higher in patients with bronchial asthma than in those with COB, although these defferences were not significant. The results suggest that airway inflammation in bronchial asthma is not so intensive as that in COB.気管支喘息28例および慢性閉塞性細気管支炎9例を対象に,気道炎症反応の臨床的意義について検討を加えた｡1.気管支肺胞洗浄(BAL)液中の総細胞数は,慢性閉塞性細気管支炎において著明に増加しており(51.0×10(6)),気管支喘息(9.6×10(6))との間に有意の差が見られた｡2.BAL液中マクロファージの頻度は気管支喘息において,慢性閉塞性細気管支炎に比べ有意に高い値を示したが,絶対数での比較では両疾患群間に有意の差は見られなかった｡ 3.BAL液中リンパ球の頻度は,気管支喘息においてやや高い傾向が見られたが,絶対数の比較では慢性閉塞性細気管支炎において有意に高い値であった｡ 4.BAL液中の好中球は,その頻度および絶対数とも慢性閉塞性細気管支炎において著明に増加しており,これは気管支喘息と比べ有意に高い値であった｡ 5.BAL液中好酸球の頻度および絶対数は,気管支喘息においてやや高い値であったが,両疾患群間に有意の差は見られなかった｡以上の結果より,気管支喘息における気道炎症反応は,慢性閉塞性細気管支炎ほど高度ではない ことが明らかにされた

老年者気管支喘息における液性および細胞性免疫反応について

Humoral and cellular immune responses in bronchial asthma were examined by comparing the results of older asthmatics (group OA) with those of older healthy subjects (group OH) and of younger asthmatics (group YA). In humoral immune response, IgE-mediated immune system expressed by elevated serum IgE levels and IgE antibodies for house dust mite (HDm) and/or Candida albicans was clearly found in older asthmatics, while there was no finding showing the presence of IgE-mediated immune response in older healthy subjects. There was no significant difference in levels of serum IgG and IgA among the three groups. However, the serum IgM level was significantly lower in older asthmatics than in younger asthmatics. IgE antibodies to HDm and/or Candida albicans were more frequently found in older asthmatics compared with older healthy subjects. In contrast, IgG(4) antibodies to HDm were not different among the three groups. IgG(4) antibodies to Candida albicans were significantly higher in both older groups than in younger group. However, there was no significant difference between asthmatic and healthy subjects in the elderly. Delayed skin reaction to PPD was significantly more decreased in older asthmatics. These results show that bronchial asthma in the elderly is characterized by the presence of IgE-mediated immune response and by the changes of immune response with aging.気管支喘息における液性および細胞性免疫反応について,老年者気管支喘息,老年者健常人,および若年者気管支喘息の間で比較検討を行った｡1.まず,液性免疫では,血清IgE値高値,ハウスダストやカンジダに対するIgE抗体陽性などのIgE系反応は,老年者気管支喘息においては明らかに観察されたが,老年者健常人では全く観察されなかった｡血清IgGおよびIgA値には3者間に有意の差は見られなかったが,血清IgMは,若年者喘息に比べ老年者喘息で有意に低い値を示した｡2.ハウスダストやカンジダに対するIgE抗体は老年者喘息において老年者健常人に比べより高い頻度で陽性であったが,一方,ハウスダストに対するIgG(4)抗体は3者聞に有意の差は見られなかった｡また,カンジダに対するIgG(4)抗体は,老年者喘息および健常人において,若年者喘息に比べ有意の高値を示した｡しかし,老年者の喘息と健常人との間には有意の差は見られなかった｡3.PPDによる遅延型皮膚反応は,若年者喘息に比べ老年者喘息において有意の減弱傾向を示した｡これらの結果は,老年者喘息はIgE系反応を有していること,そして,加齢による免疫反応の変化の影響を受けること,を示している

TREM2 Expression in Schizophrenia

TREM2 and TYROBP are causal genes for Nasu–Hakola disease (NHD), a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by bone lesions and early-onset progressive dementia. TREM2 forms a receptor signaling complex with TYROBP, which triggers the activation of immune responses in macrophages and dendritic cells, and the functional polymorphism of TREM2 is reported to be associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The objective of this study was to reveal the involvement of TYROBP and TREM2 in the pathophysiology of AD and schizophrenia. Methods: We investigated the mRNA expression level of the 2 genes in leukocytes of 26 patients with AD and 24 with schizophrenia in comparison with age-matched controls. Moreover, we performed gene association analysis between these 2 genes and schizophrenia. Results: No differences were found in TYROBP mRNA expression in patients with AD and schizophrenia; however, TREM2 mRNA expression was increased in patients with AD and schizophrenia compared with controls (P < 0.001). There were no genetic associations of either gene with schizophrenia in Japanese patients. Conclusion: TREM2 expression in leukocytes is elevated not only in AD but also in schizophrenia. Inflammatory processes involving TREM2 may occur in schizophrenia, as observed in neurocognitive disorders such as AD. TREM2 expression in leukocytes may be a novel biomarker for neurological and psychiatric disorders

ステロイド依存性重症難治性喘息に対する温泉療法の重要性｡過去10年間の181例を対象に。

Characteristics of 181 patients with steroid-dependent intractable asthma (SDIA) who were admitted to our hospital and had spa therapy for last 10 years were examined in relation to the methods of spa therapy. For last 10 years, three kinds ofspa therapies were administered: spa therapy A (swimming training in a hot spring pool) in the first atage (1982-1985), spa therapy B (swimming training + inhalation of iodine salt solution) in the middle stage (1986 -1989), and spa therapy C (swimming training + inhalation of iodine salt solution + fango therapy) in the last stage (1990-1991) of this study. 1. The number of patients with SDIA who were admitted to our hospital and had spa therapy tended to increase from 2 in 1986 to 35 in 1991. 2. The number of SDIA patients over the age of 60 or over the age at onset of 40 tended to increase from the first stage to the last stage. 3. The proportion of patients from distant areas (prefectures other than Tottori) was decreasing for the last stage, although the number of these patients was increasing in recent years. 4. The proportions of patients divided by serum IgE levels and by clinical asthma types did not change for last 10 years. 5. The proportion of type Ib and type II asthma was considerably high in patients with SDIA for last 10 years. 6. Clinical effects of spa therapy were observed in 21 of the 30 (70.0%)patients with SDIA in the first stage (1982-1985) with spa therapy A, 68 of the 83 (74.7%) patients with SDIA in the middle stage (1986-1989) with spa therapy B, and 61 of the 68 (89.7%) patients with SDIA in the last stage (1990-1991) with spa therapy C.最近10年間に三朝分院へ入院し,温泉療法を受けたステロイド依存性重症難治性喘息181例を対象に,温泉療法の方法との関連のもとに,対象患者の背景について検討を加えた｡最近10年間に3種類の温泉療法が行われた｡温泉療法A(温泉プール水泳訓練)は初期(1982-1985),温泉療法B(水泳訓練+ヨードゾル吸入)は中期(1986-1989),また,温泉療法C(水泳訓練＋ヨードゾル吸入＋鉱泥湿布療法)は後期(1990-1991)に行われた｡1.当院へ入院し,温泉療法を受けたステロイド依存性重症難治性喘息(SDIA)患者の数は,1986年の2例から1991年の35例へと増加の傾向を示した｡2.SDIA患者のうち,60才以 上の症例および40才以降の発症症例の数は,1986年以降急激な増加傾向を示した｡3.鳥取県以外の他県(遠隔地)からの入院患者の頻度は,近年減少の傾向を示したが,その絶対数は増加の傾向であった｡4.血清IgE値はいずれの時期においても200IU/mℓ以下の症例が多い傾向が見られた｡5.臨床病型では,通常の喘息に比べIb型およびII型の頻度が高い傾向が見られた｡6.温泉療法の臨床効果は,温泉療法Aが行われた初期では70.0%,温泉療法Bの中期では74.7%,温泉療法Cの後期では89.7%であった

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements