Inhibitory Effects of Heavy Metal Ions on Endolymphatic DC Potential and Cochlear Microphonics in the Guinea Pig

Endocochlear DC potential (EP) and cochlear microphonics (CM) were investigated in the guinea pig under the influence of the following heavy metal ions; manganese, nickel, cobalt, cadmium and lanthanum. The scala tympani and scala vestibuli were perfused with control and test solutions. CM decreased gradually to 50-80%, but EP showed no change after perfusion with a solution containing 1 mM of metal ions. At a concentration of 10 mM, EP decreased from +80 mV to +11-+48 mV and CM decreased to 15-55%. These decreases in EP and CM were irreversible, and perfusion of the area with the standard solution for 20 min had no effect

Application of gain scheduled H∞ robust controllers to a magnetic bearing

金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科知能情報・数理金沢大学工学部This paper deals with the problem of an unbalance vibration zof the magnetic bearing system. We design a control system achieving the elimination of the unbalance vibration, using a loop shaping design procedure (LSDP). After the introduction of our experimental setup, a mathematical model of the magnetic bearing is shown. Then, the gain scheduled H∞ robust controllers with free parameters are designed, based on the LSDP, so as to asymptotically reject the disturbances caused by unbalance on the rotor, even if the rotational speed of the rotor varies. Finally, several simulation results and experimental results show the effectiveness of this proposed methodology. © 1996 IEEE

Serotonin enhances the production of type IV collagen by human mesangial cells

Serotonin enhances the production of type IV collagen by human mesangial cells.BackgroundThe plasma concentration of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in diabetic patients is higher than that in normal subjects. Since recent reports have demonstrated the presence of 5-HT2A receptor in glomerular mesangial cells, it is possible that 5-HT may be involved in the development of diabetic nephropathy through the 5-HT2A receptor in mesangial cells. Because expansion of the glomerular mesangial lesion is a characteristic feature of diabetic nephropathy, we examined the effect of 5-HT on the production of type IV collagen by human mesangial cells.MethodsHuman mesangial cells were incubated with 5-HT with or without 5-HT receptor antagonists, protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor or transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) antibody. Type IV collagen mRNA and protein concentration in medium were measured by Northern blot analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. TGF-β mRNA and bioactivity in the medium were measured by Northern blot analysis and bioassay using mink lung epithelial cells, respectively.Results5-HT stimulated the production of type IV collagen by human mesangial cells, which was inhibited by ketanserin and sarpogrelate hydrochloride, 5-HT2A receptor antagonists, but not by ondansetron, a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist. 5-HT increased the bioactivities of both active and total TGF-β. However, the 5-HT-enhanced production of type IV collagen was completely inhibited by an anti-TGF-β antibody. Furthermore, a PKC inhibitor, calphostin C, inhibited the 5-HT-induced increase in type IV collagen secretion, and the activity of membrane PKC was increased by 5-HT. Phorbol ester activated type IV collagen production as well as active and total TGF-β. Calphostin C completely inhibited the 5-HT-enhanced activity of active TGF-β, but did not inhibit exogenous TGF-β-induced increase in type IV collagen secretion.ConclusionsOur results suggest that 5-HT-enhanced production of type IV collagen by human mesangial cells is mediated by activation of PKC and subsequent increase in active TGF-β activity

セイショウネン ノ ボウリョク ヨボウ ガッコウ ニ オイテ ジッシ スル ユニバーサル ヨボウ プログラム ノ カイハツ

本論文の目的は,わが国の小学児童用に開発された暴力予防プログラムを紹介することである。論文ではまず,米国におけるこれまでの暴力予防プログラムを概説し,その際だった特徴を指摘した。そして,米国のプログラムをそのまま日本に適用することは,両国間の多くの相違要因のため困難をきわめるとの結論から,日本独自のプログラムである「自律性向上プログラム」を開発した。このプログラムは,小学児童を対象に,暴力の原因を取り除く,ユニバーサル・プログラムである。プログラムの大目標は,暴力予防をめざして,児童の自律性とセルフ・エスティームを向上させることである。この大目標のもとに,いくつかの構成目標が設定され,それぞれ,暴力予防にかかわる認知的,情動的,そして行動的要因を改善することをめざす。プログラムの方法は,ロール・プレイング,自己コントロール,リラクセーションなど多様な技法からなり,それらは,個人,小グループ,クラス全体に適用される。このプログラムの方法や目標は,攻撃性などの暴力をもたらす性格の発達ならびに攻撃的な児童の情報処理にかかわる実証的な科学データにもとづき,また,種々の心理学的理論や技法が利用される。The purpose of this paper is to give an outline of a new violence prevention program developed for elementary-school children in Japan. This paper begins by giving a summary of previous violence prevention programs in the USA, indicating a number of their outstanding characteristics. After concluding that it is difficult to apply US programs to fit Japan because of many different factors, we finally developed our original program, "the Autonomy-Enhancement Program." The Autonomy-Enhancement Program is a universal program for dealing with the causes of violence in elementary-school children. The principal purpose is to enhance autonomy and self-esteem in children with the explicit aim of violence prevention. Under the principal purpose, this program has a few constituent purposes that attempt to improve cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components regarding violence prevention. The methods consist of various techniques such as role playing, self-control, relaxation, and so on, which are implemented individually, in small groups, and in the whole class. The methods and purposes of this program are largely based on empirical scientific data concerning the development of violence-prone personality such as aggressiveness and the information processing of aggressive children, along with various psychological theories and techniques.国立情報学研究所『研究紀要公開支援事業』により電子化

Development of a separable search-and-rescue robot composed of a mobile robot and a snake robot

In this study, we propose a new robot system consisting of a mobile robot and a snake robot. The system works not only as a mobile manipulator but also as a multi-agent system by using the snake robot's ability to separate from the mobile robot. Initially, the snake robot is mounted on the mobile robot in the carrying mode. When an operator uses the snake robot as a manipulator, the robot changes to the manipulator mode. The operator can detach the snake robot from the mobile robot and command the snake robot to conduct lateral rolling motions. In this paper, we present the details of our robot and its performance in the World Robot Summit

Continuing mind for primary care medicine as total family care mailing list (TFC-ML) group

There were historically two great doctors for primary care (PC) medicine in Japan. They are Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara and Dr. Yoshikazu Tasaka. Tasaka was always active in medical treatment, organizational management, postgraduate education, and information dissemination using the Internet, and started Total Family Care Mailing List (TFC-ML) in 1998. TFC-ML included medical information with his comments every day for long. Even after his death in 2007, TFC-ML activity has been continued by many voluntary PC physicians. His TFC mind has been transmitted to future PC physicians. His inspiration may often come to TFC members for better total family care

Effectiveness of adjuvant systemic chemotherapy for intermediate-risk stage IB cervical cancer

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of systemic chemotherapy following radical hysterectomy for women with intermediate-risk stage IB cervical cancer.Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of a previously organized nation-wide cohort study examining 6,003 women with stage IB-IIB cervical cancer who underwent radical hysterectomy between 2004 and 2008 in Japan. Survival of 555 women with stage IB cervical cancer in the intermediate-risk group (deep stromal invasion > 50%, large tumor size > 4 cm, and lympho-vascular space invasion [LVSI]) were examined based on adjuvant therapy patterns: chemotherapy alone (n = 223, 40.2%), concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (n = 172, 31.0%), and radiotherapy alone (n = 160, 28.8%).Results: The most common intermediate-risk pattern was LVSI with deep stromal invasion (n = 216, 38.5%). The most common chemotherapeutic choice was taxane/platinum (52.2%). Women with adenocarcinoma/adenosquamous histology were more likely to receive chemotherapy (P = 0.03), and intermediate-risk pattern was not associated with chemotherapy use (P = 0.11). Women who received systemic chemotherapy had disease-free survival (5-year rate, 88.1% versus 90.2%, adjusted-hazard ratio (HR) 0.98, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.52–1.83, P = 0.94) and cause-specific survival (95.4% versus 94.8%, adjusted-HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.34–2.07, P = 0.71) similar to those who received concurrent chemo-radiotherapy on multivariable analysis. Similar results were seen among 329 women with multiple intermediate-risk factors (5-year rates for disease-free survival, chemotherapy versus concurrent chemo-radiotherapy, 87.1% versus 90.2%, P = 0.86; and cause-specific survival 94.6% versus 93.4%, P = 0.82). Cumulative local-recurrence (P = 0.77) and distant-recurrence (P = 0.94) risks were similar across the adjuvant therapy types.Conclusions: Our study suggests that systemic chemotherapy may be an alternative treatment choice for adjuvant therapy in intermediate-risk stage IB cervical cancer

Complete characterization by Raman spectroscopy of the structural properties of thin hydrogenated diamond-like carbon films exposed to rapid thermal annealing

We have demonstrated that multi-wavelength Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies are sufficient to completely characterize the structural properties of ultra-thin hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (DLC:H) films subjected to rapid thermal annealing (RTA, 1 s up to 659 °C) and to resolve the structural differences between films grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, facing target sputtering and filtered cathodic vacuum arc with minute variations in values of mass density, hydrogen content, and sp3 fraction. In order to distinguish unequivocally between films prepared with different density, thickness, and RTA treatment, a new method for analysis of Raman spectra was invented. This newly developed analysis method consisted of plotting the position of the Raman G band of carbon versus its full width at half maximum. Moreover, we studied the passivation of non-radiative recombination centers during RTA by performing measurements of the increase in photoluminescence in conjunction with the analysis of DLC:H networks simulated by molecular dynamics. The results show that dangling bond passivation is primarily a consequence of thermally-induced sp2 clustering rather than hydrogen diffusion in the film

Functional tooth number and mortality

Aim: Previous studies on the association between intraoral conditions and mortality in community-dwelling older individuals reported that fewer present teeth (PT) are significant risk factors for mortality. However, how the number of PT relative to the number of functional teeth (FT), including both present and rehabilitated teeth, influences mortality has not been investigated fully. This study examined the impact of the number of FT on mortality among community-dwelling Japanese older adults. Methods: This study was a retrospective, observational and population-based follow-up study, which examined 1188 older individuals who participated in an annual geriatric health examination from 2009 to 2015. The average follow-up period was 1697.0 ± 774.5 days. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at follow-up. The numbers of PT and FT of each participant were counted during an oral examination. In addition, demographics, clinical variables, blood nutrient markers, physical functions and perceived masticatory function were measured. Results: Kaplan–Meier analysis, followed by a log-rank test, revealed that fewer PT (P < 0.001) and FT (P = 0.002) were significantly associated with a reduced survival rate. Cox's proportional hazard analysis indicated that the number of FT, but not the number of PT, was a significant independent mortality risk factor after adjusting for demographics, clinical variables, nutrient markers and physical functioning (P = 0.036, hazard ratio: 2.089). Conclusions: Current results suggest that the number of FT more strongly predicts all-cause mortality than the number of PT among community-dwelling older adults. Further studies are necessary to consider the confounding of socioeconomic status and disability status