Simulation of running impact using a viscoelastic model considering contact phase

AbstractThe purposes of this study were to develop and validate a new viscoelastic model which can consider the contact phases of running. For these purposes, a simple mechanical model of the human body including two contact points was developed. Three healthy male performed barefoot running at different speeds. The simulated values during the passive phase using this model were well estimated. It was shown that this new model may be useful to analyze the impact force during running

HAND PROPULSION TECHNIQUE OF SKILLED SPRINT SWIMMERS

This study investigated the technique of skilled sprint front-crawl swimmers in terms of the exertion of hand propulsive forces quantified by the dynamic pressure approach. Four skilled sprint front-crawl swimmers, who can swim a 100 m in less than 49 seconds, swam at a 25 m swimming pool where a motion capture system for above and under water was set up. Pressure sensors were attached on the hand to estimate hydrodynamic forces acting on the hand. The mean propulsions in the downsweep, insweep, and upsweep were 26 ± 4 N, 57 ± 12 N, and 46 ± 9 N, respectively. The four swimmers used propulsive lift of 36 ± 6 N in the downsweep, propulsive drag of 40 ± 7 N in the insweep, and propulsive drag and lift of 25 ± 9 N and 21 ± 10 N in the upsweep while swimming at their race pace

DIFFERENCES IN STROKE TECHNIQUE TO EXERT HAND PROPULSION BEWEEN ADVANCED AND INTERMEDIATE SWIMMERS

The aim of this study was to investigate differences in hand propulsion exerted by advanced and intermediate swimmers during insweep and upsweep phases in the front crawl stroke. Swimmers wore pressure sensors on their hands while performing the front crawl stroke in the swimming pool where a motion capture system was set up. The hand propulsive drag (PD) and lift (PL) were estimated during the two phases. The advanced swimmers exerted more PD than PL (70% vs 30%) during the insweep phase and used a similar amount of PD to PL in the upsweep phase. The intermediate swimmers used a similar amount of PD to PL in the insweep phase and exerted more PD than PL in the upsweep phase (65% vs 35%). The advanced swimmers used the different technique to exert hand propulsion in the two phases as compared to the intermediate ones

A Clinical Study Evaluating an Aspiration-type Semi-Automatic Cutting Biopsy Needle (SCIRO-1702)

An aspiration-type semi-automatic cutting biopsy needle enables tissue cutting during application of negative pressure, which is expected to contribute to a larger amount of specimen. The aim of the present study was to evaluate this novel needle in a clinical setting. Patients who underwent image-guided percutaneous biopsy for lung or renal masses were enrolled. Cutting biopsy was performed with and without aspiration during each procedure. The specimens were weighed using an electronic scale. The weights were compared between specimens obtained with and without aspiration using a paired t-test. The data from 45 lung and 30 renal biopsy procedures were analyzed. In lung biopsy, the mean±standard deviation weights of specimens obtained with and without aspiration were 2.20±1.05 mg and 2.24±1.08 mg, respectively. In renal biopsy, the mean weights were 6.52±2.18 mg and 6.42±1.62 mg, respectively. The weights were not significantly different between specimens obtained with and without aspiration either in lung (p=0.799) or renal (p=0.789) biopsies. The application of negative pressure with the aspiration-type semi-automatic cutting biopsy needle did not contribute to an increase in the amount of the specimen obtained in lung and renal biopsies

Atomic-scale characterization of nitrogen-doped graphite: Effects of dopant nitrogen on the local electronic structure of the surrounding carbon atoms

We report the local atomic and electronic structure of a nitrogen-doped graphite surface by scanning tunnelling microscopy, scanning tunnelling spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations. The nitrogen-doped graphite was prepared by nitrogen ion bombardment followed by thermal annealing. Two types of nitrogen species were identified at the atomic level: pyridinic-N (N bonded to two C nearest neighbours) and graphitic-N (N bonded to three C nearest neighbours). Distinct electronic states of localized {\pi} states were found to appear in the occupied and unoccupied regions near the Fermi level at the carbon atoms around pyridinic-N and graphitic-N species, respectively. The origin of these states is discussed based on the experimental results and theoretical simulations.Comment: 6 Pages, with larger figure

Safety of Percutaneous Cryoablation in Patients with Painful Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors: A Single Center Prospective Study (SCIRO-1502)

This single center prospective study is being conducted to evaluate the safety of the cryoablation for patients with pathologically diagnosed painful bone and soft tissue tumors. Enrollment of 10 patients is planned over the 3-year recruitment period. Patients have related local pain after receiving medications or external radiation therapies will be included in this study. Cryoablation will be percutaneously performed under imaging guidance, and a temperature sensor will be used during treatment as necessary. The primary endpoint is prevalence of severe adverse events within 4 weeks after therapy. The secondary endpoint is effectiveness 4 weeks after the procedure

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