Development of Track Condition Monitoring System Using Onboard Sensing Device

Monitoring the conditions of railway tracks is essential for ensuring the railway safety. In-service vehicles equipped with sensors and GPS systems can act as probes to detect and analyse real-time vehicle vibration. Recently, a compact on-board sensing device has been developed. This chapter describes the track condition monitoring system that uses a compact on-board sensing device and diagnosis software. The diagnosis software provides the function of detecting track faults using the root mean square (RMS) of the car-body acceleration. It also allows analysis in the time-frequency domain using wavelet transform. A monitoring experiment in a local railway line showed that the system is effective for practical application

Involvement of Xanthine Oxidoreductase-related Oxidative Stress in a Dermatophagoides farinae-induced Asthma Model of NC/Nga Mice

Oxidative stress is widely known to play a role in asthma. However, the contribution of xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) as a source of the superoxide anion radical (O2－) in oxidative stress associated with asthma has not yet been examined in detail. Here we investigated pathophysiological changes in XOR in an experimental model of asthma induced by the house dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae (Df). In the lungs of Df-treated mice, the production of O2－ from XOR increased and the nitrite concentrations decreased, whereas the protein expression of XOR remained unchanged. Moreover, the protein expression levels of XOR and the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were higher in the Df-treated mice than in saline-treated mice. Immunohistochemically, although XOR was highly localized in the bronchial epithelial cells of the saline-treated mice, immunostaining for XOR was absent in the bronchial epithelium of Df-treated mice. These results suggest that oxidative stress is up-regulated by increases in the conversion of the dehydrogenase form (xanthine dehydrogenase; XDH) of XOR to the oxidase form (xanthine oxidase; XOD)

Relationship between ceruloplasmin and oxidative biomarkers including ferritin among healthy Japanese

Serum ceruloplasmin (CP), a marker relevant to copper metabolism, is one of famous inflammation markers with a reduction in Wilson's disease, whereas serum ferritin is a marker relevant to iron metabolism. Recently, ferritin is pointed out to be related with oxidative stress. However, there is still no population research which showed the relation of CP and ferritin. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between CP and ferritin including oxidative stress biomarkers among healthy Japanese (n = 389). We measured serum CP, ferritin, Fe, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and urinary oxidative stress biomarkers [H2O2, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), 8-isoprostane] and so on. Subjects showed that age; 41.7 ± 10.0 (year), CP; 31.9 ± 6.8 (mg/dl), ferritin; 123.5 ± 121.0 (ng/ml), hs-CRP; 0.89 ± 2.53 (mg/l), 8-OHdG; 10.2 ± 4.4 [ng/mg creatinine (Cre)] and H2O2; 6.5 ± 10.9 (µM/g Cre), (All data mentioned above were expressed as mean ± SD). CP was significantly and positively correlated with hs-CRP and inversely correlated with ferritin, Fe and 8-OHdG. By a multiple logistic regression analysis, odds ratio of CP according to quartiles of hs-CRP was 4.86, and according to quartiles of 8-OHdG was 0.39 after adjusting for age and other confounding factors. In conclusion, our findings suggest that CP was an antioxidative biomarker which controls oxidative stress, whereas ferritin was a marker which may participate in the generation of oxidative stress

Association of Dietary Fat and Carbohydrate Consumption and Predicted Ten-year Risk for Developing Coronary Heart Disease in a General Japanese Population

We examined the relationships between dietary carbohydrate, protein, fat, and the ratio of n6/n3 fatty acid intakes with the predicted 10-year coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in a general Japanese population. We used the Framingham risk score to determine the 10-year CHD risk of the subjects, who were employees of 6 companies in a single prefecture in Japan. After excluding the subjects who reported any history of angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, diabetes, or cancer, and those with missing data resulting in the inability of estimation of 10-year CHD risk and food intakes, the final data analysis was carried out for 809 subjects. The logistic regression models revealed a significantly increased odds ratio of 10-year CHD risk in the subjects with the highest tertile of carbohydrate intake (% energy) (odds ratio 3.64, 95% CI, 2.07-6.40);after adjustment for other variables, the odds ratio for the 10-year CHD risk was also higher in the subjects with the highest tertile of carbohydrate intake (odds ratio 1.72, 95% CI, 0.70-4.25). We also found that fat intake and the ratio of n6/n3 fatty acids were inversely associated with the predicted 10-year CHD risk (p for trend＜0.01). The present findings added evidence of a positive association of dietary carbohydrate and inverse associations of total fat and n6/n3 fatty acid ratio with the predicted 10-year CHD risk in a general Japanese population

Comparison of serum ferritin and oxidative stress biomarkers between Japanese workers with and without metabolic syndrome

Objective Metabolic syndrome (MS) is closely associated to life-style and is characterized by central obesity causing severe diseases such as diabetes mellitus (DM) or atherosclerosis. This study investigates the role of oxidative stress and inflammation in MS. Subjects Total of 685 workers stratified by gender (293 men and 392 women) with a mean age of 41.2 ± 10.4 in different offices in a city in Japan. Methods Fasting blood and urine tests for MS, oxidative and/or inflammatory biomarker analysis and blood pressure (BP) measurement were performed. MS was defined on the basis of the Japanese criterion. Results Serum ferritin and urinary hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels were significantly higher in subjects with MS than those without. Ferritin was positively correlated with 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in all subjects and it was negatively correlated with 8-isoprostane and H2O2 in men. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between ferritin and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-R) in men. By using multiple regression analysis, ferritin was closely correlated with HOMA-R, γ-GT, 8-OHdG, smoking value and amount of alcohol ingestion in men, and it was correlated with 8-OHdG, γ-GT, HOMA-R in women under 50 years old. Conclusions Ferritin is a useful marker of MS including insulin resistance, reflecting the importance of oxidative stress as a cause of MS, especially in men

切除不能進行胃癌に対する化学療法有効例の治癒形態の検討

大学院医学系研究

Gamma rays from a reverse shock with turbulent magnetic fields in GRB 180720B

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most electromagnetically luminous cosmic explosions. They are powered by collimated streams of plasma (jets) ejected by a newborn stellar-mass black hole or neutron star at relativistic velocities (near the speed of light). Their short-lived (typically tens of seconds) prompt $\gamma$-ray emission from within the ejecta is followed by long-lived multi-wavelength afterglow emission from the ultra-relativistic forward shock. This shock is driven into the circumburst medium by the GRB ejecta that are in turn decelerated by a mildly-relativistic reverse shock. Forward shock emission was recently detected up to teraelectronvolt-energy $\gamma$-rays, and such very-high-energy emission was also predicted from the reverse shock. Here we report the detection of optical and gigaelectronvolt-energy $\gamma$-ray emission from GRB 180720B during the first few hundred seconds, which is explained by synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission from the reverse shock propagating into the ejecta, implying a low-magnetization ejecta. Our optical measurements show a clear transition from the reverse shock to the forward shock driven into the circumburst medium, accompanied by a 90-degree change in the mean polarization angle and fluctuations in the polarization degree and angle. This indicates turbulence with large-scale toroidal and radially-stretched magnetic field structures in the reverse and forward shocks, respectively, which tightly couple to the physics of relativistic shocks and GRB jets -- launching, composition, dissipation and particle acceleration.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures (main) plus Methods and Supplementary Methods, accepted for publicatio

Epidemiology of Infectious Hepatitis 3rd Report. On the Mass Examination Taken for Shakurenzi Hamlet

The mass examination was carried out in Shakurenji, Kama- Village, Akaiwa Connty, Okayama Pref., where great many deathes have been taken place by infectious hepatitis; results were as follows: 1. 127 persons received the examination; it has covered 94.1% of the entire people. 2. Those who have had jaundice previously were enumerated as 5 cases; as it was just the season when infectious hepatitis was in vogue in other parts of the Prefecture, though slight in degree, it was imagined that probably in the past there might have occurred a few sporadic cases. Among those, 3 were taken record of as new victims of disease, 3. In 6 cases, the patients complained of certain pain, each having some sort of liver disturbance more or less. 4. There were 24 cases in which liver enlargement could be detected; its rate, 18.9%, while splenomegaly been discovered in only one case. 5. Two women in pregnancy were recognized, one sickened case, the other inapparent infection case. 6. As for wide-range judgment taken after the examinaton, must-be-treated case, 5, must-be taken-care-of case 5. inapparent infection 60, 70 in total. percentage of contraction, 55.1%, adding 3 cases starting disease as well as 3 deaths; thus, great total, 76 cases; its rate, 57.1%. 7. Percentage of contraction has proved high in thirties and above 50. By sex, females superseded, but as to age, no definite conclusion could be established. 8. In case those patients exposed would be divided by respective family and investigated, it has been revealed thus: (a) with families which have used a well in common with the family in which death case or at least patient was found, Percentage of contraction has proved high and almost in like degree, since many were adviced to receive treatment, or, be taken care of. (b) Families which employed a well in common, were recognized to have proved about the same ratio in infection, containing not a few ought to be treated or taken care of, which suggests us an infection due to a well. (c) Among the group of families, whose relatives died of this disease, master of the house who had presented himasdlf over the funeral diet has been found to have taken infection alone

Associations of Serum Retinol, alpha-Tocopherol, and gamma-Tocopherol with Biomarkers among Healthy Japanese Men

Retinol, alpha-tocopherol, and gamma-tocopherol are fat-soluble vitamins acting as antioxidants via the prevention of lipid oxidation. Little is known about circulatory levels in healthy individuals. The present cross-sectional study aimed at elucidating the relationship between these antioxidants and clinical biomarkers in 206 male (median age 41 years, range 23-67) employees from companies located in the Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Subjects younger than 40 years (n = 94) showed a positive association of the frequency of alcohol consumption with the circulating retinol (beta = 0.344, p = 0.001) and gamma-tocopherol levels (beta = 0.219, p = 0.041), and an inverse association of fast insulin with serum retinol (beta = -0.301, p = 0.009). In participants older than 40 years (n = 112) we found that an inverse association of HOMA-R with serum retinol (beta = -0.262, p = 0.021), a-tocopherol (beta = -0.236, p = 0.035), and gamma-tocopherol levels (beta = -0.224, p = 0.052); and cigarette smoking was inversely associated with the levels of serum a-tocopherol (beta = -0.286, p = 0.008) and gamma-tocopherol (beta = -0.229, p = 0.040). We further found negative relationships between serum ferritin and the retinol (beta = -0.211, p = 0.032) and a-tocopherol levels (beta = -0.223, p = 0.022) in men over 40 years of age. The present study suggests that the circulatory levels of antioxidant vitamins may modulate the action of insulin and that higher levels of iron might decrease the levels of antioxidant vitamins in the blood