Brand awareness of virtual advertising in sport

The purpose of this study was to assess the brand awareness levels of virtual advertising in sport. More specifically, this study explored factors affecting brand awareness communicated through virtual advertising in a sport broadcast. Particularly, this study focused on the following factors: baseball involvement, team identification, animation, and repetition. To measure consumers’ awareness levels of virtual advertising and to control for extraneous variables, two 3x3 Latin square designs were adopted. A group in one of the Latin square groups saw three different brands (Champion, Icehouse, and Mercury) appearing in different number of exposures (one, four, and six). The other two groups in the same Latin square groups each saw the same video with different combinations of number of exposures and brands. The three groups in the other Latin square group each saw exactly the same three videos, but with animation effects on the virtual advertisements. A sample of 208 undergraduate students from several physical activity classes was solicited to participate in the study. They were handed a random CD that contained one of the six 24-minute video clips of a Texas Rangers game with virtual advertising embedded. After watching the CD, they were asked to answer an online questionnaire. Unaided and aided recalls, as well as recognition rates were measured to determine the brand awareness levels of virtual advertising. In addition, items measuring baseball involvement, team identification (Rangers & Red Sox), brand involvement, and demand artifacts questions were included in the survey. A series of sequential logistic regression analyses and analysis of covariance were performed on the awareness measures. The results suggest an effect of repetition on unaided recall levels. At the recognition level, repetition had an interaction with baseball involvement, but no other effects were found. Additionally, animation was found to be ineffective in attracting viewers’ attention; however, animation had an interactive effect with repetition on unaided recall. The effects of baseball involvement and team identification were found to affect awareness levels, but were inconsistent in prediction. Limitations and future research questions are discussed

Control of STING Agonistic/Antagonistic Activity Using Amine-Skeleton-Based c-di-GMP Analogues

Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) is a type of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-membrane receptor. STING is activated by a ligand binding, which leads to an enhancement of the immune-system response. Therefore, a STING ligand can be used to regulate the immune system in therapeutic strategies. However, the natural (or native) STING ligand, cyclic-di-nucleotide (CDN), is unsuitable for pharmaceutical use because of its susceptibility to degradation by enzymes and its low cell-membrane permeability. In this study, we designed and synthesized CDN derivatives by replacing the sugar-phosphodiester moiety, which is responsible for various problems of natural CDNs, with an amine skeleton. As a result, we identified novel STING ligands that activate or inhibit STING. The cyclic ligand 7, with a cyclic amine structure containing two guanines, was found to have agonistic activity, whereas the linear ligand 12 showed antagonistic activity. In addition, these synthetic ligands were more chemically stable than the natural ligands

Lightweight High-Speed and High-Force Gripper for Assembly

This paper presents a novel industrial robotic gripper with a high grasping speed (maximum: 1396 mm/s), high tip force (maximum: 80 N) for grasping, large motion range, and lightweight design (0.3 kg). To realize these features, the high-speed section of the quick-return mechanism and load-sensitive continuously variable transmission mechanism are installed in the gripper. The gripper is also equipped with a self-centering function. The high grasping speed and self-centering function improve the cycle time in robotic operations. In addition, the high tip force is advantageous for stably grasping and assembling heavy objects. Moreover, the design of the gripper reduce the gripper's proportion of the manipulator's payload, thus increasing the weight of the object that can be grasped. The gripper performance was validated through kinematic and static analyses as well as experimental evaluations. This paper also presents the analysis of the self-centering function of the developed gripper

上部消化管腫瘍に対する内視鏡的粘膜下層剥離術の最適なトレーニングシステム確立に関する検討

学位の種別:課程博士University of Tokyo(東京大学

FZD10-targeted α-radioimmunotherapy with 225Ac-labeled OTSA101 achieves complete remission in a synovial sarcoma model

Synovial sarcomas are rare tumors arising in adolescents and young adults. The prognosis for advanced disease is poor, with an overall survival of 12-18 months. Frizzled homolog 10 (FZD10) is overexpressed in most synovial sarcomas, making it a promising therapeutic target. The results of a phase 1 trial of β-radioimmunotherapy (RIT) with the 90Y-labeled anti-FZD10 antibody OTSA101 revealed a need for improved efficacy. The present study evaluated the potential of α-RIT with OTSA101 labeled with the α-emitter 225Ac. Competitive inhibition and cell binding assays showed that specific binding of 225Ac-labeled OTSA101 to SYO-1 synovial sarcoma cells was comparable to that of the imaging agent 111In-labeled OTSA101. Biodistribution studies showed high uptake in SYO-1 tumors and low uptake in normal organs, except for blood. Dosimetric studies showed that the biologically effective dose (BED) of 225Ac-labeled OTSA101 for tumors was 7.8 Bd higher than that of 90Y-labeled OTSA101. 90Y- and 225Ac-labeled OTSA101 decreased tumor volume and prolonged survival. 225Ac-labeled OTSA101 achieved a complete response in 60% of mice, and no recurrence was observed. 225Ac-labeled OTSA101 induced a larger amount of necrosis and apoptosis than 90Y-labeled OTSA101, although the cell proliferation decrease was comparable. The BED for normal organs and tissues was tolerable; no treatment-related mortality or obvious toxicity, except for temporary body weight loss, was observed. 225Ac-labeled OTSA101 provided a high BED for tumors and achieved a 60% complete response in the synovial sarcoma mouse model SYO-1. RIT with 225Ac-labeled OTSA101 is a promising therapeutic option for synovial sarcoma

Variable-grasping-mode underactuated soft gripper with environmental contact-based operation

A novel robotic gripper with soft surfaces and underactuated joints was proposed. The soft surface was fabricated from a deformable rubber bag filled with incompressible fluid and a microgripper inside the fluid. A ratchet was installed at the underactuated joint so that the joint\u27s rotation caused by contact with an environment, such as a supporting surface, can be preserved, and the actions of scooping and enveloping an object are realized. With one actuator, the gripper realized three modes, i.e., parallel gripper, pinching, and enveloping. The range of graspable objects was wide and included soft, rigid, deformable, fragile, small (boundary length less than 30 mm), large (more than 80 mm long), thin (less than 0.5 mm), and heavy (more than 3 kg) objects.INSPEC Accession Number: 1671251

Atlantoaxial Stabilization Using C1 and C2 Laminar Screw Fixation

We describe the use of a C1 laminar screw in combination with a C2 laminar screw as a salvage technique to treat two patients, one with persistent first intersegmental artery and the other with vertebral artery occlusion after cervical spine fracture. The combined use of C1 and C2 laminar screws allows for good fixation of the atlantoaxial joint with a lower risk of vertebral artery injury; therefore, it can be an alternative surgical procedure for patients with congenital or traumatic anomalous vertebral artery

Endonuclease increases efficiency of osteoblast isolation from murine calvariae

Bone is a highly dynamic organ that undergoes remodeling equally regulated by osteoblast-mediated bone formation and osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. To clarify the regulation of osteoblastogenesis, primary murine osteoblasts are required for an in vitro study. Primary osteoblasts are isolated from neonatal calvariae through digestion with collagenase. However, the number of cells collected from one pup is not sufficient for further in vitro experiments, leading to an increase in the use of euthanized pups. We hypothesized that the viscosity of digested calvariae and digestion solution supplemented with collagenase results in cell clumping and reduction of isolated cells from bones. We simply added Benzonase, a genetically engineered endonuclease that shears all forms of DNAs/RNAs, in order to reduce nucleic acid-mediated viscosity. We found that addition of Benzonase increased the number of collected osteoblasts by three fold compared to that without Benzonase through reduction of viscosity. Additionally, Benzonase has no effect on cellular identity and function. The new osteoblast isolation protocol with Benzonase minimizes the number of neonatal pups required for an in vitro study and expands the concept that isolation of other populations of cells including osteocytes that are difficult to be purified could be modified by Benzonase

Silica-associated systemic lupus erythematosus with lupus nephritis and lupus pneumonitis A case report and a systematic review of the literature

Introduction Several epidemiological studies have shown that silica exposure triggers the onset of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); however, the clinical characteristics of silica-associated SLE have not been well studied. Patient concerns A 67-year-old man with silicosis visited a primary hospital because of a fever and cough. His respiratory condition worsened, regardless of antibiotic medication, and he was referred to our hospital. Diagnosis The patient showed leukopenia, lymphopenia, serum creatinine elevation with proteinuria and hematuria, decreased serum C3 level, and was positive for anti-double stranded DNA antibody, anti-nuclear antibody, and direct Coombs test. He was diagnosed with SLE. Renal biopsy was performed, and the patient was diagnosed with lupus nephritis (class IV-G(A/C) + V defined by the International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society classification). Computed tomography revealed acute interstitial pneumonitis, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid showed elevation of the lymphocyte fraction, and he was diagnosed with lupus pneumonitis. Interventions Prednisolone (50 mg/day) with intravenous cyclophosphamide (500 mg/body) were initiated. Outcomes The patient showed a favorable response to these therapies. He was discharged from our hospital and received outpatient care with prednisolone slowly tapered off. He had cytomegalovirus and herpes zoster virus infections during treatment, which healed with antiviral therapy. Review: We searched for the literature on sSLE, and selected 11 case reports and 2 population-based studies. The prevalence of SLE manifestations in sSLE patients were comparative to that of general SLE, particularly that of elderly-onset SLE. Our renal biopsy report and previous reports indicate that lupus nephritis of sSLE patients show as various histological patterns as those of general SLE patients. Among the twenty sSLE patients reported in the case articles, three patients developed lupus pneumonitis and two of them died of it. Moreover, two patients died of bacterial pneumonia, one developed aspergillus abscesses, one got pulmonary tuberculosis, and one developed lung cancer. Conclusion Close attention is needed, particularly for respiratory system events and infectious diseases, when treating patients with silica-associated SLE using immunosuppressive therapies

T-status and an oral fluoropyrimidine, S-1, adjuvant chemotherapy are prognostic factors in reduced-RADPLAT for resectable hypopharyngeal cancer

Conclusion: Reduced-RADPLAT for HPC achieved comparative survival and locoregional control rates with lower toxicities compared with concurrent chemoradiotherapies including original RADPLAT. S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy showed a survival benefit. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicities of targeted intra-arterial (IA) infusion of cisplatin with concurrent radiotherapy with a reduced dose (reduced-RADPLAT) for resectable hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC). Methods: Between 1999–2012, 50 patients with stage II–IVA HPC primarily treated by reduced-RADPLAT were analyzed. They were treated by 2–5 courses of IA cisplatin infusion (100 mg per body) with simultaneous systemic infusion of sodium thiosulfate concurrent with conventional radiotherapy (66–70 Gy). After 2003, S-1, an oral fluoropyrimidine, adjuvant chemotherapy was administered to all eligible patients. Results: During a median follow-up of 48.6 months, the estimated 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), locoregional control, and laryngoesophageal dysfunction-free survival (LEDFS) rates were 76.0% and 62.0%, 58.0% and 50.0%, 66.0% and 62.0%, and 56.0% and 54.0%, respectively. Grade 3 toxicities were observed in 30.0%. No patient had grade 4 or higher toxicities. No patient required tube feeding or tracheotomy at 3 months after treatment. T4-lesions and S-1 administration were significant factors predicting poor and good OS, PFS, and LEDFS, respectively. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupEmbargo Period 12 month