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The water supply must be safe and sustainable. This requires a regulatory compliance, selection of an optimal water treatment process, timely response to water quality incidents as well as maintaining internal skills and knowledge among utility personnel to keep appropriate operational standards in the long run. Water supply services in Japan face various challenges, including a shrinking revenue base due to a declining population as well as a mass retirement of the baby-boomer generation. The Japan Water Research Center conducted questionnaire surveys and based on our findings developed the ‘knowledge transfer support system for water treatment technology’ for utilities to maintain internal skills and knowledge in the face of shrinking labour forces in the water sector. The system consists of three components: the database on water treatment technology, learning program on water treatment technology, and the assessment tool for knowledge transfer on water treatment technology.

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a newly recognized condition that is characterized by raised levels of serum IgG4, tissue infiltration of IgG4-positive plasma cells and presence of fibrosis. It affects multiple organs, including the pancreas, bile duct, and lacrimal and salivary glands. Skin lesions have rarely been reported, and those that have were described as distributed mainly in the head and neck region. We report a case of IgG4-RD with autoimmune pancreatitis and skin lesions on the trunk and limbs. The skin lesions responded well to oral prednisolone (PSL); however, tapering of PSL to 5 mg/day resulted in recurrence. At present, the skin disease is well controlled at a dose of 7 mg/day. Interestingly, IgG4 levels fluctuated with changes in the PSL dose but did not coincide with the severity of the skin disease, implying that the raised levels of IgG4 did not directly influence the skin symptoms.

During the great east Japan earthquake on March 11, 2011, a lot of ICT resources - telecom switching offices, optical fiber links, and so forth - were completely or partially damaged due to the tremor and the resultant tsunami. As a consequence, the demand for ICT services explosively increased, mainly because the people of the affected areas were trying desperately to communicate with the outside world that led to a phenomenal rise in the network traffic. In the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) East Corporation alone, 385 telephone offices stopped operating immediately following the earthquake because of power outages and disruption of facilities. Approximately 1.5 million users were cut off from using fixed-line telephone service. The demand for fixed-line and mobile telephone services jumped up to 10-50 times the usual. This gave rise to serious traffic congestion, and the emergency ICT networks and services could not deal with this issue sufficiently. This article proposes a network architecture that is resilient even through devastating disasters by effectively exploiting specially designed movable and deployable resource units, which we refer to as MDRUs. An MDRU having the ability to accommodate communication and information processing functions can be rapidly transported or moved to the disaster zone, and can be deployed within a reasonably short time to establish the network at the disaster site and launch ICT services. The concept and configuration of the network architecture based on the MDRU and its features are described in this article. Some preliminary simulation results are also reported to evaluate the performance of our adopted MDRU-based disaster resilient network.

The aim of this study was to investigate, in a rat model, the effects of age on the amount of tooth movement and concomitant changes in alveolar bone turnover activity adjacent to orthodontically treated tooth roots. Rats (n = 48) of four different age groups (10, 30, 50, and 80 wk of age) were used in the experiment. Maxillary first molars were tipped mesially with a nickel titanium alloy coil-spring for 2 wk by a continuous force of 10 cN. Forty-eight age-matched untreated rats were used as controls. The changes in alveolar bone turnover were assessed histomorphometrically. Two weeks after the start of tooth movement, the amount of tooth movement was found to decrease with age and was significantly different among the four age groups. The histomorphometric study demonstrated that, in all experimental groups, turnover of alveolar bone increased significantly compared with that of each age-matched untreated group. However, the rate of increase decreased in an age-related manner. These results suggest that the age-dependent decrease in alveolar bone turnover activity, in response to mechanical forces, may negatively affect the amount of tooth movement.

The Japanese Lightning Detection Network (JLDN) has been operated to observed lightning occurring in Japan and its surrounding areas since 1998. The frequency of lightning flash is an important parameter for creating lightning protection designs. If the location accuracy of the Lightning Location System (LLS) is not good, it is very difficult to provide parameters for them. We have observed lightning current waveforms using Rogowski coils installed at wind turbines and evaluated the location accuracy of the stroke location estimated by the JLDN by the comparison with the position of the wind turbine. There are two continental scale lightning detection networks in the world. One is the North American Lightning Detection Network (NALDN) in the United States and Canada, and the other is the lightning detection network called European Cooperation for Lightning Detection (EUCLID) in Europe. We investigated the location accuracy of these networks with reference to various papers on their location accuracy. We compared the performances of the JLDN with that of the NALDN and the EUCLID. In the results, we showed that the JLDN has same performance as the NALDN and the EUCLID in location accuracy. However, some recent reports said the location accuracies of the NALDN and the EUCLID were improved by applying various techniques. In this paper, we show some solutions for improving the location accuracy of the JLDN at present.

Purpose Upper extremity lymphedema (LE) is a harmful breast cancer complication. It has been reported that patient- or treatment-related risk factors of LE. Axillary reverse mapping (ARM) has been performed to prevent LE during axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) by visualizing the upper extremity lymphatics. We investigated whether ARM related factors included novel predictive risk factors of LE. Methods ARM revealed fluorescent axillary nodes (ARM nodes) in 76 patients by fluorescence imaging. Only ARM nodes within the ALND field were removed. Twenty-four (32%) patients developed LE (LE+) and 52 did not (LE−) during a median 24-month post-surgical follow-up period. We retrospectively evaluated the clinical features and ARM factors of LE+ and LE−. Results The positive ARM node rate among LE+ was 42%, significantly greater frequency than that among LE− (13%: p ≤ 0.05). Cranial collectors (lymphatic ducts along or above the axillary vein) were significantly more frequent in LE− (44%) than in LE+ (21%: p ≤ 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed postoperative radiation and positive ARM nodes to be positive risk factors and cranial collectors to be a negative risk factor of LE. Conclusions ARM factors could predict the incidence of LE post-axillary surgeries in breast cancer patients.

Active vitamin D3 is extensively used for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in hemodialysis patients. But it is often impossible to administer enough dose to suppress parathyroid hormone (PTH) level, because of hypercalcemia and hyperphosphatemia. New modalities with higher specificity for PTH suppression are desirable. We conducted a crossover comparative study of falecalcitriol, an active vitamin D3 analog, and alfacalcidol (1alpha[OH]D3). In this study, 25 hemodialysis patients with moderate to severe secondary hyperparathyroidism who had normal serum calcium levels were enrolled. They received daily oral doses of alfacalcidol during an 8-week observation period. Based on serum calcium levels and intact PTH, the subjects were allocated into two groups, and a comparative study was conducted using unmasked crossover design of two drugs x two periods. The dosage of both drugs was adjusted to maintain the initial serum calcium levels, and the relative change (%change) of serum biochemical parameters were compared. Comparison of two drugs in period 1 was taken as primary efficacy evaluation. Reproducibility of drug action was confirmed by comparing the effect of falecalcitriol between period 1 and 2. The percent change of PTH of falecalcitriol was lower than that of alfacalcidol: Those were, respectively, -7.89% and +30.42% for c-terminal PTH (P = 0.022), -4.39% and +38.88% for i-PTH (P = 0.077), and +3.68% and +30.52% for midregion PTH (P = 0.099). The similar changes were observed in the falecalcitriol group during period 2, confirming the reproducibility. Falecalcitriol was found to be superior to alfacalcidol in suppression of PTH levels in patients with moderate to severe secondary hyperparathyroidism when it is administered in equivalent doses that might maintain similar serum calcium levels.

Operational Calibration method of visible and IR channels of GMS-5 VISSR is as follows. In the visible channel, albedo is computed by the following equation. A={(C−b0)b1}2a−V0a, where C and V0 are digital counts from VISSR and V0 is bias voltage corresponding to 0 albedo respectively, other coefficients are determined from prelaunch test data. A principle of IR channel calibration depends upon a linear relation between incoming IR radiance and output voltage of IR channel. Taking the space as a cold source and a calibration shutter in VISSR as a high source, a calibration regression equation to convert output voltage of IR channel into temperature is determined. A little correction is necessary to compensate non-linear response characteristics of IR detector at low temperature. To cope with a malfunction of calibration shutter (not frequent occurrence) a method of calibration without a shutter information is developed. The monitoring of solar radiance for one year indicates a small degradation in visible channel detectors. The degradation among 4 detectors is not uniform.

The adhesion strength of thermal sprayed coatings is relatively low, and they sometimes tend to delaminate from the substrate during operation. In particular, sprayed ceramic coatings for thermal barriers, such as ZrO2, often delaminate because of thermal shock; therefore, ceramic coatings are often submitted to thermal shock tests. A nondestructive inspection method using ultrasound to detect the delamination of sprayed coating was proposed. In this study, a coating model was made with acrylic plates, and an ultrasonic test was applied to investigate the precision of detecting delamination by the ultrasonic testing method. Results indicate that delamination more than 1mm in diameter can be detected by the ultrasonic testing method. Moreover, the delaminating process of sprayed coatings under thermal shock tests can be detected by this method.

For shaping a beam of millimeter-wave reflectarrays arbitrarily, this paper proposes a directivity synthesis based on the algorithm of the phase-retrieval method. The unknown phase distribution is numerically determined from an illumination distribution on the aperture and a desired beam pattern by iterative approach. As a design example, we present an elliptical-beam microstrip reflectarray with an offset feed. The effectiveness of the proposed reflectarray is verified by the near-field antenna measurements at 45 GHz.

A 10-year-old Japanese male with multiple blister formation and palpable purpura in the course of anaphylactoid purpura is described. Histologically, the lesions showed leukocytoclastic vasculitis in the upper dermis with subepidermal clefts. Blister fluid showed matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2 and MMP-9 gelatinolytic activities using zymography. These enzymatic reactions, especially that involving MMP-9 derived from polymorphonuclear leukocytes, might play an important role in the pathophysiology of this condition.

In Japan, some leading industries and companies have started to apply the eco-efficiency concept in their management, decision-making and/or communication tools with stakeholders. Although still experimental, the eco-efficiency increasingly gains recognition as effective concept at the sectoral /corporate level and at a product level. In this paper, we first describe how the eco-efficiency concept is practiced; especially at a product level for that there are multi-attribute evaluation items. Second, we present an overview of eco-efficiency related activities in Japan, such as eco-efficiency project (funded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. Finally, we introduce one of the project activities, an eco-efficiency handbook that was issued in 2004 and describe coordinating methodologies and steps in the development of eco-efficiency indicators.

We have investigated the long term reliability of a polymer insulators. Especially, we need to grasp the discharge form of the leakage current in various outdoor exposure sites, and thus construct a database for different contaminated environments. In this paper, we have constructed a measurement system which can make automatic remote monitoring of leakage current data using the Internet. We have applied the system to a field test.

We have developed a measuring system to separate leakage current of polymer material for outdoor insulator into three frequency components. We discuss the relation between discharge types and degradation on the surface of polymer materials for outdoor insulators. The special attention is paid to the discharge form in a salt fog test by considering each frequency component. Discharge image is analyzed by gaining the light emission intensity distribution using image-processing technology, allowing us to investigate the relationship between the three frequency components of the leakage current and discharge light emission.

A broadcast technique for encrypted communication is proposed that offers high levels of security with high transmission efficiency. Any encryption algorithm can be used without significantly degrading ciphertext length. The proposed scheme can use parallel processing techniques to realize rapid encryption speeds. Plaintext is processed to yield one common component and as many individual components as there are receivers. Because the common component is used for all receivers, the ciphertext is relatively short. If a public key cryptosystem is used, any receiver's decrypted plaintext can be compared with that of another receiver, thus preventing malicious sender attack. >

This paper discusses a method for solving the optimization problem of district heating and cooling energy supply system, to obtain the optimal selection of the required equipment. The proposed method uses the extended DP algorithm newly developed by the authors, aiming to relax the combinatorial explosion. By using this method, the problem was effectively solved almost in real time.

(p = 0.049). No interaction between treatment and exercise was observed (p = 0.519). Higher postprandial concentrations of essential amino acids and leucine are possible mediating factors for the FSR response. Conclusion: Ingestion of a high whey protein, leucineenriched supplement resulted in a higher overall postprandial muscle protein synthesis rate in healthy older subjects compared with a conventional dairy product.

Free convection heat transfer from vertical and horizontal short plates was numerically analyzed by the finite-difference method. The present results regarding average Nusselt number on vertical and horizontal thin plates can be closely approximated by the following equation: Vertical thin plate, Nul = 0.448 + 0.46Grl 1 4 , Pr = 0.72 and 15 ⩽ Grl ⩽ 27,000. Horizontal thin plate, Nuld = 0.353 + 0.509Grd 1 5 , Pr = 0.72 and 4 ⩽ Grd ⩽ 27,000. These relations between Nusselt and Grashof numbers show the same tendency as the experimental results and give slightly lower Nusselt numbers. The average Nusselt numbers on the vertical plate (height = l) with finite thickness (d) can be approximated by the above correlation for a thin vertical plate with an error within about 6% using characteristic length l + d in both Nusselt and Grashof numbers instead of l, in the range of L ⩾ 5 and D ⩽ 10. Where L is dimensionless plate height and D is dimensionless plate thickness.

Systeme permettant de controler le tourbillon a l'admission dans un moteur. Influence sur les caracteristiques et les emissions polluantes d'un moteur diesel

The calcium-sensitive photoprotein aequorin was microinjected into cells of rat and cat ventricular muscle. During subsequent stimulation of the muscle light emission could be detected and this signal is a function of the intracellular [Ca++]. The time course and amplitude of the intracellular [Ca++] transient occurring during contraction is described. The effects on tension and light emission of changing external [Ca++] and stimulus frequency and of adding adrenaline and caffeine to the bathing solution are described. These results show that changes in external calcium and stimulus frequency alter tension by means of changes in the intracellular [Ca++] whereas adrenaline in addition alters the sensitivity of the contractile system to intracellular [Ca++]. The results also suggest that although a fall in intracellular [Ca++] always precedes relaxation, the time course of the fall of [Ca++] is not generally a rate limiting step in the lime course of relaxation.

Reduction des emissions de gaz d'echappement et amelioration du demarrage a froid des moteurs diesel de grande puissance avec une nouvelle pompe a injection avec variation possible de la pression et du moment d'injection

A little-known dermatosis, prurigo pigmentosa, is characterized by itchy reddish lesions and gross reticular pigmentation which occurs mainly on the trunk. Histologically, it is characterized by lichenoid tissue reaction. We present a 23-year-old male patient who showed typical eruption not only on the trunk but also on the forehead. Although the etiology remains to be explained, this unusual distribution of the eruption might help to know the real cause of this peculiar disorder.

A catheter-type semiconductor detector and associated electronics system has been developed. The detectors operate at body temperature and are used for in-vivo beta-ray counting in tissue and body cavities during tracer investigations.

The spontaneous hypertensive rats are the strain which was isolated by Okamoto et al and is known to cause high frequency of spontaneous hypertension in later stage of life. Some of them are also recongnized to have high frequency of the cerebro-vascular accident and is also designated as apoplexy prone strain. The genetic and etiological factors of this spontaneous hypertension are the matters of the extensive survey of the investigators, however, the morphological aspects of this specific strain of causing the hypertension still await further confirmation in future. In this viewpoint, the authors have undertaken the electron microscopic and cytochemical electron microscopic studies of the various arteries in a rather extensive manner.The spontaneous hypertensive rats were supplied from the animal room of the University of Kyoto by courtesy of Drs. Okamoto and Yamori. The rats were kept on the commericially available solid diet and sytolic blood pressure was measured and scored daily.