Robust control of multi-jointed arm with a decentralized autonomous control mechanism

A decentralized autonomous control mechanism applied to the control of three dimensional manipulators and its robustness to partial damage was assessed by computer simulation. Decentralized control structures are believed to be quite robust to time delay between the operator and the target system. A 10-jointed manipulator based on our control mechanism was able to continue its positioning task in three-dimensional space without revision of the control program, even after some of its joints were damaged. These results suggest that this control mechanism can be effectively applied to space telerobots, which are associated with serious time delay between the operator and the target system, and which cannot be easily repaired after being partially damaged

Effects of the increase in co-payments from 20 to 30 percent on the compliance rate of patients with hypertension or diabetes mellitus in the Employed Health Insurance System

Objectives: How to contain medical expenditures is a universal problem. The Japanese government has increased patient co-payments to control it. The purpose of this study is to clarify whether the increase in co-payments to 30 percent prevented patients with hypertension or diabetes mellitus from receiving necessary care in the Employee Health Insurance System. Methods: The subjects were 211 patients with hypertension and 66 patients with diabetes mellitus who regularly visited physicians from October 2001 to March 2002 and were defined as a cohort that needed health care, and their medical indicators were examined between April and September 2002 (prestage) and between April and September 2003 (poststage). Results: In the hypertensive patients with no complications, the compliance rate was 89.9 percent and 88.0 percent in the prestage, and poststage, respectively, showing no significant change. In the hypertensive patients with complications, the compliance rate was 90.5 percent and 92.1 percent in the prestage and poststage, respectively, showing no significant change. In the diabetic patients with complications, the compliance rate was 77.5 percent and 79.2 percent, in the prestage and poststage, respectively, with no significant change. In the diabetic patients with no complications, however, the compliance rate was 83.7 percent and 66.7 percent, in the prestage and poststage, respectively. A significant decrease was observed among diabetic patients without complications. Conclusions: Increasing co-payments reduced necessary preventive care in diabetic patients without complications.</p

Inverse Correlation between Adiponectin and the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-aged Japanese Male Workers

Despite a close association between adiponectin and both hypertension and type 2 diabetes, the relationship between adiponectin and metabolic syndrome has not yet been well-investigated. To examine and evaluate the association between serum adiponectin levels and metabolic syndrome based on Japanese diagnostic criteria, we analyzed adiponectin and anthropometric parameters in 869 male employees aged 40-59 who belonged to a health insurance society in Fukuoka Prefecture and who underwent annual health check-ups from August 2006 to July 2007. Two hundred and thirty-two of the 869 subjects (26.7%) were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. The serum adiponectin levels were significantly higher in the non-metabolic syndrome group. In a multiple logistic regression analysis, the subjects in the top quartile of serum adiponectin (adjusted odds ratio:0.36;95% confidence interval:0.21-0.63) and the second (adjusted odds ratio:0.51;95% confidence interval:0.31-0.84) quartile had a significantly decreased risk for metabolic syndrome in comparison to the bottom quartile. The dose-response relationship between serum adiponectin levels and metabolic syndrome was significant (p for trend 0.0001) after adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking status, and drinking status. The current findings suggest that hypoadiponectinemia is inversely correlated with the risk of metabolic syndrome in middle-aged Japanese male workers.</p

Soluble CD26 is inversely Associated with Disease Severity in Patients with Chronic Eosinophilic Pneumonia

Backgrounds: CD26, a multifunctional T cell surface glycoprotein, is a type II transmembrane protein containing only six amino acid residues in its cytoplasmic region. In addition to its membrane form, CD26 exists in plasma in a soluble form (sCD26), which is thought to be the extracellular domain of the molecule cleaved from the cell surface. Recent studies indicated CD26 have an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma, known as Th2 like disease. The function of CD26 in the esosinophlic lung disease is not well understood.Methods: Serum sCD26 was determined by enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assay in patients with acute eosinophilic pneumonia, chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP), and sarcoidosis, and in healthy volunteers, to establish its value for discriminating between disease entities and as marker of disease activity.Results: Soluble CD26 was signifi cantly reduced in CEP and was related to disease severity. In particular, sCD26 was inversely correlated with arterial oxygen tension in CEP.Conclusion: Serum levels of sCD26 might appear to be useful as a new marker of CEP disease activity

Hyperleptinemia is associated with hypertension in Japanese males

Leptin is a hormone which is predominantly secreted by adipose tissue. Recent studies have shown that leptin increases arterial blood pressure. Although data from available animal studies clearly indicate an association between leptin and hypertension, results of human studies have been less definitive. We conducted a case-control study to examine the association between serum leptin levels and hypertension in 111 hypertensive subjects and 222 male controls, using conditional logistic regression analyses. Mean serum leptin levels were found to be marginally higher in the case subjects than in the control subjects (3.3 ng/ml versus 3.0 ng/ml), however, conditional logistic regression analysis revealed that subjects in the highest quartile had a significantly increased risk of hypertension compared with those in the lowest quartile, even after adjusting for drinking status and diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR, 2.11;95% CI, 1.01-4.39). Our findings suggest that leptin plays an important role in the development of hypertension.</p

Japanese Encephalitis Virus in Meningitis Patients, Japan

Cerebrospinal fluid specimens from 57 patients diagnosed with meningitis were tested for Japanese encephalitis virus. Total RNA was extracted from the specimens and amplified. Two products had highest homology with Nakayama strain and 2 with Ishikawa strain. Results suggest that Japanese encephalitis virus causes some aseptic meningitis in Japan

Analysis of the Relationship between Hypertrophy of the Ligamentum Flavum and Lumbar Segmental Motion with Aging Process

Study DesignRetrospective cross-sectional study.PurposeTo investigate the relationship between ligamentum flavum (LF) hypertrophy and lumbar segmental motion.Overview of LiteratureThe pathogenesis of LF thickening is unclear and whether the thickening results from tissue hypertrophy or buckling remains controversial.Methods296 consecutive patients underwent assessment of the lumbar spine by radiographic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Of these patients, 39 with normal L4–L5 disc height were selected to exclude LF buckling as one component of LF hypertrophy. The study group included 27 men and 12 women, with an average age of 61.2 years (range, 23–81 years). Disc degeneration and LF thickness were quantified on MRI. Lumbar segmental spine instability and presence of a vacuum phenomenon were identified on radiographic images.ResultsThe distribution of disc degeneration and LF thickness included grade II degeneration in 4 patients, with a mean LF thickness of 2.43±0.20 mm; grade III in 10 patients, 3.01±0.41 mm; and grade IV in 25 patients, 4.16±1.12 mm. LF thickness significantly increased with grade of disc degeneration and was significantly correlated with age (r=0.55, p<0.01). Logistic regression analysis identified predictive effects of segmental angulation (odds ratio [OR]=1.55, p=0.014) and age (OR=1.16, p=0.008).ConclusionsAge-related increases in disc degeneration, combined with continuous lumbar segmental flexion-extension motion, leads to the development of LF hypertrophy

The C-Terminal Fragment of Prostate-Specific Antigen, a 2331 Da Peptide, as a New Urinary Pathognomonic Biomarker Candidate for Diagnosing Prostate Cancer

Background and Objectives: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancers and leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men. Mass screening has been carried out since the 1990s using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in the serum as a PCa biomarker. However, although PSA is an excellent organ-specific marker, it is not a cancer-specific marker. Therefore, the aim of this study was to discover new biomarkers for the diagnosis of PCa. Materials and Methods: We focused on urine samples voided following prostate massage (digital rectal examination [DRE]) and conducted a peptidomic analysis of these samples using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS_n). Urinary biomaterials were concentrated and desalted using CM-Sepharose prior to the following analyses being performed by MALDI-TOF/MS_n: 1) differential analyses of mass spectra; 2) determination of amino acid sequences; and 3) quantitative analyses using a stable isotope-labeled internal standard. Results: Multivariate analysis of the MALDI-TOF/MS mass spectra of urinary extracts revealed a 2331 Da peptide in urine samples following DRE. This peptide was identified as a C-terminal PSA fragment composed of 19 amino acid residues. Moreover, quantitative analysis of the relationship between isotope-labeled synthetic and intact peptides using MALDI-TOF/MS revealed that this peptide may be a new pathognomonic biomarker candidate that can differentiate PCa patients from non-cancer subjects. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that the 2331 Da peptide fragment of PSA may become a new pathognomonic biomarker for the diagnosis of PCa. A further large-scale investigation is currently underway to assess the possibility of using this peptide in the early detection of PCa