Major challenges and solutions for utilizing big data in the maritime industry

The dissertation is a study of big data for the use in the maritime industry. Today’s society is information-intensive. The term “big data” is becoming more common. In fact, some maritime companies and institutions have already been trying to utilize big data for enhancing maritime safety and environmental protection. In order to promote this trend, the dissertation tries to identify common and important challenges for the whole maritime industry in terms of the utilization of big data and propose corresponding solutions. First, by reviewing the definitions of big data, three major features are identified. Big data takes electronic form, is derived through various sensors, and has difficulties in treatment. In terms of difficulty, there are four aspects, which are volume, velocity, variety and veracity. Noting these features, the scope of the dissertation is set as electronic voyage-related data derived on board ships. It is clarified that the major features of big data is applicable to such data. Second, examples of cutting edge institution/framework related to maritime big data are studied. As such institutions, DNV-GL, Lloyd’s Register Foundation and e-navigation framework in the IMO are chosen. Consequently, four major categories of difficulty in further use of maritime big data are identified. They are sound competitive conditions, human resources, technology and security. Third, possible solutions for identified four categories of problem are discussed and proposed. Regarding sound competitive conditions, instructions on rights and responsibilities of treating big data should be provided. As regards human resources, governments are expected to show its strategy on nurturing experts in need and promote cooperation with the academia and associated industry. Development of technology can be underpinned by research and development aid scheme as well as unification of the style of relevant data sets. Security issue requires well-established legislations and secure and resilient system against cyber-attacks

運動負荷はパーキンソン病モデルラットにおいて移植されたドーパミンニューロンの軸索を線条体背外側へ誘導する

京都大学新制・課程博士博士(医学)甲第23095号医博第4722号新制||医||1050(附属図書館)京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻(主査)教授 伊佐 正, 教授 井上 治久, 教授 渡邉 大学位規則第4条第1項該当Doctor of Medical ScienceKyoto UniversityDFA

Solution Structure of IseA, an Inhibitor Protein of DL-Endopeptidases from Bacillus subtilis, Reveals a Novel Fold with a Characteristic Inhibitory Loop

In Bacillus subtilis, LytE, LytF, CwlS, and CwlO are vegetative autolysins, DL-endopeptidases in the NlpC/P60 family, and play essential roles in cell growth and separation. IseA (YoeB) is a proteinaceous inhibitor against the DL-endopeptidases, peptidoglycan hydrolases. Overexpression of IseA caused significantly long chained cell morphology, because IseA inhibits the cell separation DL-endopeptidases post-translationally. Here, we report the first three-dimensional structure of IseA, determined by NMR spectroscopy. The structure includes a single domain consisting of three alpha-helices, one 3(10)-helix, and eight beta-strands, which is a novel fold like a "hacksaw." Noteworthy is a dynamic loop between beta 4 and the 3(10)-helix, which resembles a "blade." The electrostatic potential distribution shows that most of the surface is positively charged, but the region around the loop is negatively charged. In contrast, the LytF active-site cleft is expected to be positively charged. NMR chemical shift perturbation of IseA interacting with LytF indicated that potential interaction sites are located around the loop. Furthermore, the IseA mutants D100K/D102K and G99P/G101P at the loop showed dramatic loss of inhibition activity against LytF, compared with wild-type IseA, indicating that the beta 4-3(10) loop plays an important role in inhibition. Moreover, we built a complex structure model of IseA-LytF by docking simulation, suggesting that the beta 4-3(10) loop of IseA gets stuck deep in the cleft of LytF, and the active site is occluded. These results suggest a novel inhibition mechanism of the hacksaw-like structure, which is different from known inhibitor proteins, through interactions around the characteristic loop regions with the active-site cleft of enzymes.ArticleJOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY. 287(53):44736-44748 (2012)journal articl

Field Survey of Hygrothermal Behaviour within Wall Assembly Derived from Rain Penetration and Ventilation Performance of Exterior System

Rainwater and moisture control are key factors for maintaining the durability of wooden houses. Wall assemblies with sidings are installed on vented cavities to build durable wooden houses.Moisture condensation does not occur generally behind a vapor retarder in walls assembled with a vented cavity; however, it is reported that the condensation mechanism which occurs in the wall assembly due to the high humidity of the vented cavity by rain penetration in Japan, there are only a few studies that investigate hygrothermal behaviour considering effects such as rain penetration in the exterior system. To unravel the mechanism of internal condensation derived from rain penetration, labexperiments and field measurements were conducted. In the lab experiments, rain penetration from siding joints were quantitated using a water spray test. In the field measurements, for the exterior finishes of the experimental house, the sidings were installed on three types of vented cavities. To verify hygrothermal behavior within the wall assembly, intermittent long-term rain penetration into the vented cavity was reproduced for the experimental house. The measurements confirmed that internal condensation occurs with low ventilation performance, when moisture retained in the vented cavity is released into the wall assembly. This phenomenon is caused when the surface temperature on the sidings is increased because of solar radiation after rain. In conclusion, rain penetration through exterior finishes has a significant effect on the moisture behavior of wall assemblies. The obtained results verify that moisture condensation at the vapor retarder was caused by several factors including rain penetration, insufficient ventilation, and solar radiation. To maintain durability, it is important to ensure a ventilation performance and not retain moisture

The hippocampus plays an important role in eyeblink conditioning with a short trace interval in glutamate receptor subunit delta 2 mutant mice.

Mutant mice lacking the glutamate receptor subunit delta2 exhibit changes in the structure and function of the cerebellar cortex. The most prominent functional feature is a deficiency in the long-term depression (LTD) at parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapses. These mutant mice exhibit severe impairment during delay eyeblink conditioning but learn normally during trace eyeblink conditioning without the cerebellar LTD, even with a 0 trace interval. We investigated the hippocampal contribution to this cerebellar LTD-independent "0 trace interval" learning. The mutant mice whose dorsal hippocampi were aspirated exhibited severe impairment in learning, whereas those that received post-training hippocampal lesions retained the memory. The wild-type mice showed no impairment in either case. These results suggest that the hippocampal component of the eyeblink conditioning task becomes dominant when cerebellar LTD is impaired

Comparison of animal communities on benthic and drifting brown algae Sargassum horneri in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

2018年5月，6月に広島県竹原市周辺海域にて着生している状態および流れ藻のアカモクを採集し，動物群集相の比較を行った。着生状態および流れ藻ともにソコミジンコ目カイアシ類，端脚類，等脚類，多毛類などがアカモク上で生息していることがわかった。Hornの重複度指数を用いて，月別の着生状態と流れ藻につく動物群集組成を比較したところ，6月の流れ藻における動物群集組成がほかと大きく異なることが明らかとなった。In May and June 2018, we collected both benthic and drifting large brown algae Sargassum horneri on the coast of Takehara City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The animal communities on benthic and drifting thalli were compared. Phytal animals such as harpacticoid copepods, amphipods, isopods, and polychaetes were predominantly found on both thalli. The Horn’s overlap index showed that the animal communities on drifting thalli in June 2018 were clearly different from those of the benthic thalli

Pretreatment with Perlecan-Conjugated Laminin-E8 Fragment Enhances Maturation of Grafted Dopaminergic Progenitors in Parkinson’s Disease Model

The therapeutic effect of a cell replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD) depends on the proper maturation of grafted dopaminergic (DA) neurons and their functional innervation in the host brain. In the brain, laminin, an extracellular matrix protein, regulates signaling pathways for the survival and development of neurons by interacting with integrins. The heparan sulfate (HS) chain binds mildly to various neurotrophic factors and regulates their intracellular signaling. Perlecan-conjugated laminin 511/521-E8 fragments (p511/p521) were designed to contain an integrin-binding site and HS chains. Here we examined the effect of treating DA progenitors with p511/p521 prior to transplantation in rodent PD models. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that p511/p521 treatment enhanced the maturation and neurite extension of the grafted DA progenitors by activating RAS-ERK1/2 signaling. This strategy will contribute to an efficient cell replacement therapy for PD in the future