Metamorphic conditions of garnet-bearing gneisses from Niban Rock in the Lutzow-Holm Complex, East Antarctica

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OG] Polar Geosciences, Wed. 4 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor), National Institute of Polar Researc

ビジュアルフィードバックを用いた口唇閉鎖力の随意的調節の特性

松本歯科大学大学院歯学独立研究科博士（歯学）学位申請論

Bazedoxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, reduces cerebral aneurysm rupture in Ovariectomized rats.

BackgroundEstrogen deficiency is thought to be responsible for the higher frequency of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in post- than premenopausal women. Estrogen replacement therapy appears to reduce this risk but is associated with significant side effects. We tested our hypothesis that bazedoxifene, a clinically used selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulator with fewer estrogenic side effects, reduces cerebral aneurysm rupture in a new model of ovariectomized rats.MethodsTen-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to ovariectomy, hemodynamic changes, and hypertension to induce aneurysms (ovariectomized aneurysm rats) and treated with vehicle or with 0.3 or 1.0 mg/kg/day bazedoxifene. They were compared with sham-ovariectomized rats subjected to hypertension and hemodynamic changes (HT rats). The vasoprotective effects of bazedoxifene and the mechanisms underlying its efficacy were analyzed.ResultsDuring 12 weeks of observation, the incidence of aneurysm rupture was 52% in ovariectomized rats. With no effect on the blood pressure, treatment with 0.3 or 1.0 mg/kg/day bazedoxifene lowered this rate to 11 and 17%, almost the same as in HT rats (17%). In ovariectomized rats, the mRNA level of ERα, ERβ, and the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 was downregulated in the cerebral artery prone to rupture at 5 weeks after aneurysm induction; the mRNA level of interleukin-1β and the matrix metalloproteinase-9 was upregulated. In HT rats, bazedoxifene restored the mRNA level of ERα and ERβ and decreased the level of interleukin-1β and matrix metalloproteinase-9. These findings suggest that bazedoxifene was protective against aneurysmal rupture by alleviating the vascular inflammation and degradation exacerbated by the decrease in ERα and ERβ.ConclusionsOur observation that bazedoxifene decreased the incidence of aneurysmal rupture in ovariectomized rats warrants further studies to validate this response in humans

Subquery Allocation Problem and Heuristics for Secret Sharing Distributed Database System

We discuss query optimization in a secure distributed database system, called the Secret Sharing Distributed DataBase System (SSDDBS). We have to consider not only subquery allocations to distributed servers and data transfer on the network but also decoding distributed shared data. At first, we formulated the subquery allocation problem as a constraints satisfaction problem. Since the subquery allocation problem is NP-complete in general, it is not easy to obtain the optimal solution in practical time. Secondly, we proposed a heuristic evaluation function for the best-first search. We constructed an optimization model on an available optimization software, and evaluated the proposed method. The results showed that feasible solutions could be obtained by using the proposed method in practical time, and that quality of the obtained solutions was good

Hyperhomocysteinemia induced by excessive methionine intake promotes rupture of cerebral aneurysms in ovariectomized rats.

BackgroundHyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is associated with inflammation and a rise in the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in the vascular wall. However, the role of HHcy in the growth and rupture of cerebral aneurysms remains unclear.MethodsThirteen-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were subject to bilateral ovariectomy and ligation of the right common carotid artery and fed an 8 % high-salt diet to induce cerebral aneurysms. Two weeks later, they underwent ligation of the bilateral posterior renal arteries. They were divided into two groups and methionine (MET) was or was not added to their drinking water. In another set of experiments, the role of folic acid (FA) against cerebral aneurysms was assessed.ResultsDuring a 12-week observation period, subarachnoid hemorrhage due to aneurysm rupture was observed at the anterior communicating artery (AcomA) or the posterior half of the circle of Willis. HHcy induced by excessive MET intake significantly increased the incidence of ruptured aneurysms at 6-8 weeks. At the AcomA of rats treated with MET, we observed the promotion of aneurysmal growth and infiltration by M1 macrophages. Furthermore, the mRNA level of MMP-9, the ratio of MMP-9 to the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2, and the level of interleukin-6 were higher in these rats. Treatment with FA abolished the effect of MET, suggesting that the inflammatory response and vascular degradation at the AcomA is attributable to HHcy due to excessive MET intake.ConclusionsWe first demonstrate that in hypertensive ovariectomized rats, HHcy induced by excessive MET intake may be associated with the propensity of the aneurysm wall to rupture

Property of voluntary control of lip-closing force using visual-feedback

【目的】これまでの研究は，口唇閉鎖力の評価を最大努力時での絶対的な口唇閉鎖力として検討されてきた．今回，新しい口唇の機能評価方法として，多方位口唇閉鎖力測定装置を用いて，ビジュアルフィードバックによる口唇閉鎖の調節能力を見ることができるシステムを構築した．本研究では，このシステムが口唇機能の評価法となり得るかどうかを知るための第一歩として，8方向に分けた時の口唇閉鎖調節能力の特徴を，健常成人を対象として調べることを目的とした．さらに，性差の観点からもその特徴を検討することとした．【対象と方法】被験者は，健康成人男性20名(平均年齢25.1 ± 3.8 歳) ,女性20名(平均年齢23.3±4.7歳)とした．装置は，多方位口唇力測定装置と被験者自身の発揮する口唇閉鎖力の大きさを視覚的に見ることができるビジュアルフィードバック用のサブディスプレイを用いた．最大口唇閉鎖力の測定後,上下2方向と斜め4方向(左上方向,左下方向,右上方向,右下方向) の6方向それぞれの口唇閉鎖調節能力を測定した. これはディスプレイ上に最大口唇閉鎖力の50%の値を目標として表示し，自らの発揮する口唇閉鎖力を目標に一致するように調節することを指示し， 行った. また目標値から±8%（一定）の範囲に入った時間の割合を正確率として口唇閉鎖調節能力を表した. 被験者にはサブディスプレイ上に表示された目標に5秒間維持することを指示し, その測定を連続で3 回行い，正確率を算出した．【結果および考察】最大口唇閉鎖力を男女間で比較すると，各方向において男性の最大口唇閉鎖力は女性の最大口唇閉鎖力よりも有意に高い値を示した．過去の多方位口唇閉鎖力に関する研究で，最大口唇閉鎖力の大きさは小児，成人，高齢者のいずれの年代においても上下方向の口唇閉鎖力が斜め方向よりも大きいことが報告されている．本研究でも，これら過去の報告と同様の結果が得られた．さらに，男性の方が女性よりも大きいことも過去の研究の結果と一致する．男女間で正確率を比較すると男性の方が女性よりも下方向，左下方向，右下方向の正確率が高かった．つまり男性の方が下唇3 方向の調節能力が高いことが示された．男性における方向別の正確率では，上方向が左上方向より有意に正確率が高かった．女性においても上方向が左下方向より有意に正確率が高く，下方向が左下方向より有意に正確率が高いことが示された．この方向別の正確率の相違は口すぼめ時にどの方向を意識するかに原因があると考えられた． すなわち日常の口唇閉鎖機能を考えると，捕食，咀嚼，嚥下および呼吸時に上下口唇を合わせるという口唇閉鎖（リップシール）が重要である．このような運動は上下的な口唇の運動である．口唇を閉鎖する行動には上下方向を意識した方が行いやすいという脳機構が存在する可能性が考えられた．以上の結果から，口唇閉鎖力は正中部で上下方向の強さを調節する方が容易で，性差があることが示された．本研究では，最大口唇閉鎖力は個人間でのばらつきが大きく，口唇機能が正常に営まれていることの直接的な評価となり難いと考え，ビジュアルフィードバックによる口唇閉鎖力の調節能力を機能評価のひとつに出来ないかとの発想により進めた．しかし，本研究の結果から，健常成人においても正確率のばらつきは大きく，正確率が直接的な機能評価に使えるかどうかについては，さらなる研究が必要と思われる．2015博士（歯学）松本歯科大

An Alternative Approach for Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation for Intra-atrial Reentrant Tachycardia Associated with Open-Heart Surgery

We present case reports of 2 patients with scar-related intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia (IART) associated with previous open-heart surgeries, in which standard ablation strategies failed to eliminate atrial tachycardia (AT). The strategies targeted a narrow conducting channel between the right atrial scars or between the scar and inferior vena cava. In these patients, an alternative approach to transect another narrow conducting pathway between the scar and crista terminalis (CT), which was revealed by a noncontact mapping system, successfully terminated and eliminated the IART. Both the cases were free of recurrent AT at the 24-and 25-month follow up visits, respectively. Transection of the corridor between the CT and the incision scar appears to be an effective technique for eliminating scar-related IART and can be considered as a second-line procedure for radiofrequency catheter ablation to eliminate IART

Application of Scan-less Two-Dimensional Confocal Microscopy Based on a Combination of Confocal Slit With Wavelength/Space Conversion

Confocal laser microscope (CLM) has been widely used in the fields of the non-contact surface topography, biomedical imaging, and other applications, because the confocality gives two-dimensional (2D) optical-sectioning or three-dimensional (3D) imaging capability with the depth selectivity. Combination of line-focused CLM with one-dimensional (1D) spectral encoding CLM enables us to obtain the 2D confocal image without the need for the mechanical scanning. So-called scan-less 2D CLM is a unique imaging modality, however, there are no attempts to apply for practical application. In this paper, we constructed scan-less 2D CLM with the image acquisition time of 0.23 ms, the lateral resolution of 1.2 µm, the depth resolution of 2.4 µm, and apply it for different kinds of application to evaluate its practical potential