Application of thermoluminescence for detection of cascade shower 2: Detection of cosmic ray cascade shower at Mount Fuji

The results of a thermoluminescence (TL) chamber exposed at Mt. Fuji during Aug. '83 - Aug. '84 are reported. The TL signal induced by cosmic ray shower is detected and compared with the spot darkness of X-ray film exposed at the same time

Application of thermoluminescence for detection of cascade shower 1: Hardware and software of reader system

A reader system for the detection of cascade showers via luminescence induced by heating sensitive material (BaSO4:Eu) is developed. The reader system is composed of following six instruments: (1) heater, (2) light guide, (3) image intensifier, (4) CCD camera, (5) image processor, (6) microcomputer. The efficiency of these apparatuses and software application for image analysis is reported

On-line assessment of regional ventricular wall motion by transesophageal echocardiography with color kinesis during minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting

AbstractObjective: Our objective was to determine the changes in regional ventricular wall motion during minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting by color kinesis using transesophageal echocardiography. Methods: Minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting was performed in 34 patients, during which transesophageal echocardiography was used. Thirteen patients had isolated disease of the left anterior descending artery. Regional ventricular wall motion was analyzed by color kinesis with the SONOS 2500 transesophageal echocardiograph (Hewlett-Packard Co, Andover, Mass). On-line assessment of regional wall motion was continued during the operation. Results: Wall motion abnormalities during ischemia were present in 4 cases, left ventricular mid-anterior hypokinesis in 3 cases, and left ventricular apical-lateral hypokinesis in 1 case. In all cases, wall motion was maintained after bypass. In patients with total coronary occlusion, changes in wall motion did not occur during anastomosis. Conclusions: Color kinesis allowed us to evaluate the change in regional ventricular wall motion induced by myocardial ischemia during minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting both objectively and quantitatively. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1999;117:912-7

Network-dependent modulation of brain activity during sleep

AbstractBrain activity dynamically changes even during sleep. A line of neuroimaging studies has reported changes in functional connectivity and regional activity across different sleep stages such as slow-wave sleep (SWS) and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. However, it remains unclear whether and how the large-scale network activity of human brains changes within a given sleep stage. Here, we investigated modulation of network activity within sleep stages by applying the pairwise maximum entropy model to brain activity obtained by functional magnetic resonance imaging from sleeping healthy subjects. We found that the brain activity of individual brain regions and functional interactions between pairs of regions significantly increased in the default-mode network during SWS and decreased during REM sleep. In contrast, the network activity of the fronto-parietal and sensory-motor networks showed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, in the three networks, the amount of the activity changes throughout REM sleep was negatively correlated with that throughout SWS. The present findings suggest that the brain activity is dynamically modulated even in a sleep stage and that the pattern of modulation depends on the type of the large-scale brain networks

Dementia from the perspective of social welfare

認知症の予防・治療法が確立していない中で，診断前後のサポートは極めて重要である．社会福祉の立場からサポートの対象を家族，地域に焦点をあて，特に家族が担う負担の重さ，バーチャルリアリティ技術を活用した認知症の普及啓発，徳島県内の地域包括支援センターによる先進的な取組みについて紹介する．そして，認知症になっても住み慣れた地域で住み続けられる共生社会の実現に向けた展望について述べる

Relevance between Alzheimer’s disease patients and normal subjects using go/no-go tasks and Alzheimer assessment scores

It is a well-known fact that Alzheimer increases with aging. Early detection of Alzheimer has emerged as an important, because it can prevent of further deterioration of the disease. However, early detection is not always easy because of the lack of good methods to identify the early stage of Alzheimer. The screening tests of Alzheimer used around the world. These tests are relatively time-consuming, difficult and distressing for Alzheimer patients. We consider whether go/no-go task can become the screening test of the Alzheimer patient in future. This study compared results of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the go/no-go task for between Alzheimer disease patients and normal subjects. The average reaction time and number of total error of go/no-go task that Alzheimer patients were significantly higher than among the normal subjects. About correlation with MMSE and the go/no-go task, 6 items of MMSE had correlations of 4 or more test results concerning response time, forgets and mistakes of go/no-go tasks. These characteristics suggest that there is a possibility that go/no-go tasks could be applied as a measuring method when screening for early signs of Alzheimer.ArticleJournal of Child and Adolescent Behaviour.2(4):162(2014)journal articl

Long-term outcomes of microendoscopic laminoplasty in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis: impact of the surgical approach and facet tropism

　Microendoscopic laminoplasty (MEL) is the surgical procedure of choice at our institution for decompressing nerve roots in lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). This minimally invasive procedure allows for bilateral decompression via unilateral endoscopic surgical access and maximum preservation of the lumbar zygapophyseal (facet) joints at the level (s) of interest. For this procedure, the surgical approach is generally made on the ipsilateral side of the stenosis. However, this rule of thumb is not always applicable because of lumbar facet joint degeneration and variations in the long-axis orientation of the spinous processes. 　Few studies to date have proposed criteria about the surgical approach for MEL. Surgeons use their clinical judgment to decide on a case-by-case basis. Facet tropism is frequently encountered in patients with LSS undergoing MEL. Long-term postoperative changes in spinal alignment parameters could guide selection of the side for the surgical approach in MEL.　This retrospective study included 45 patients who underwent MEL for single-level LSS between April 1, 2010 and June 30, 2014. The mean age of the patients was 74.8 ± 8.2 years; 23 (51%) were male. FT was defined as a bilateral facet joint angle difference of ≥10 degrees. Study variables included lumbar lordosis angle, Cobb angle, and vertebral slippage based on standing radiographic images. The study population was divided into two groups based on the degree of facet joint sagittal orientation on the side of the incision. Specifically, patients in whom the surgical approach was made on the side of the more sagittally oriented facet joint were categorized into Group S. The other patients were categorized into Group N.　The percent change in mean Cobb angle between preoperative and postoperative assessments was 124 ± 164% for Group S and 45.6 ± 62.5% for Group N (P < 0.05), indicating postoperative progression of scoliosis in Group S.　Considering the postoperative risk of scoliosis and related complications, approaching from the side of the less sagittally oriented facet joint is preferable in MEL for the treatment of LSS in patients with FT

Topographic Survey of the Kaidahara Tumulus No. 29 in Kisa, Miyoshi City <Research and Studies at the Department of Archaeology: Research Note>

The Kaidahara Tumulus No. 29 is a scallop-shaped burial mound located near the Kisacho area of Miyoshi City, Hiroshima prefecture. As part of field training for the twenty-fourth annual class of archaeology majors at the Hiroshima University School of Letters, we conducted a topographic survey of the area with the aim of creating a detailed survey map of this mound, and to clarify the ranking of Kaidahara tumulus No. 29. The results of this survey indicated that this tumulus is a scallop-shell kofun burial mound, 29 m in length and was constructed in the middle of the 6th century CE. Additionally, we proposed the hypothesis that this tumulus was constructed using the same mound-building techniques as in the case of the Kaidahara tumulus No. 20. Further, we discovered a trend in the scallop-shaped tumuli of the region upstream of the Basen River, whereby, over time, the size of square shaped mounds grew in relation to the round ones