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Breast feeding is known to be a major cause of vitamin D deficiency in infants because the content of vitamin D in breast milk is significantly lower than that in formula. We report a case of a 1-mo-old boy who developed hypocalcemic seizures and dilated cardiomyopathy caused by vitamin D deficiency despite being fed a sufficient amount of regular formula. The cause of vitamin D deficiency in this case was maternal vitamin deficiency due to severe hyperemesis and insufficient sunlight exposure, induced mainly by the malabsorption of fat-soluble vitamins caused by maternal cholestasis. We should carefully consider maternal conditions during pregnancy and the postpartum period to detect and prevent vitamin D deficiency in the fetus and infant.

A 15-month-old infant presented with thrombocytopenic purpura after sequential administration of measles-rubella combined vaccine, varicella vaccine and mumps vaccine every 4 weeks. Her thrombocytopenia persisted for more than 12 months. Both anti-measles and anti-rubella virus IgG antibodies were detected in the patient's-isolated platelets on day 154 of illness, which were not detected when there was a reduction of the serum IgG antibody titers on days 298 and 373 of illness, respectively.We also detected the isolated platelet-binding anti-measles and anti-rubella virus IgG antibodies in two other pediatric patients. This is the first report demonstrating direct evidence of vaccine-induced thrombocytopenic purpura.

Since the longest stay cables of the Tatara Bridge are about 460 m, various wind tunnel tests were carried out. As a result of the tests, it was found that an indent cable is very effective against rain vibration and the indent cables were applied to the bridge for the first time in the world. It was also found that smooth wind flow without rain is possible to generate large amplitude vibration. As it was thought that this vibration was rarely generated due to actual wind condition, it was decided that countermeasures against this vibration were studied based on monitoring results, if necessary. Monitoring of the cables has been conducted with measurement of wind and rain fall. Although medium amplitude vibration, which was not rain vibration, was observed on the short indent stay cables, harmful vibration such as rain vibration has not been observed until now. Therefore, it was confirmed that the indent cable is effective against rain vibration.

Seismic retrofit work for the Honshu-Shikoku Bridges has recently been launched because there is a concern that seismic risk for the bridges increases. This paper presents a seismic performance verification of the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, the world’s longest suspension bridge, against large-scale earthquakes that are predicted at the bridge location. In the verification, an analytical model incorporated nonlinear behaviors, such as geometric nonlinearity, material nonlinearity, bearing failure and collision between a girder and an anchorage, was used for dynamic analyses. And analysis was also conducted simulating damage of members which had less effect on seismic performance. As a result, although some accessory members such as expansion joints or bearings are damaged partially, it was found that taking some minor countermeasures ensured the target seismic performance.

The interaction of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 has been implicated in the formation of coronary aneurysms in Kawasaki disease. MMP-9 and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 were distributed predominantly in the granulocytes and platelets, respectively, in patients with Kawasaki disease. The plasma values of MMP-9 correlated positively with the circulating neutrophil count. Inhibiting the activity of granulocytes and maintaining the platelet activity might prevent coronary aneurysms.

With the goal of diagnosing the soundness of the world longest Akashi Kaikyo Bridge with a center span length of 1,991 meters, advanced monitoring system was installed; these include seismometers, accelerometers, anemometers and so on. First, the overall monitoring system of the bridge is described. One characteristic of suspension bridges is that temperature constitutes the major factor affecting their configurations under normal load conditions. Temperatures and the positions at 3 locations measured by GPS (global positioning system) has been recorded since September 1, 1998. Through continuous measurement of bridge positions and temperatures, along with the use of statistical methods, possibility to evaluate the configuration of a suspension bridge as a whole from the temperature at representative points is shown. Through this method using GPS, possibility to identify the location when deformation is caused by an earthquake or typhoon or when the measured values are off by normal observation is indicated.