Modified Triaxial Apparatus for Determination of Elastic Wave Velocities during Infiltration Tests on Unsaturated Soils

Muhammad Irfan,Taro Uchimura 대한토목학회 2016 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.20 No.1

An ordinary triaxial apparatus was modified to reproduce field stress path and the failure mechanism during rainfall induced slope failures. In addition, the system was equipped with piezoelectric sensors for the measurement of shear, and compression wave velocities during the water infiltration process. The fundamental construction of axial loading system, for the application of constant total stress is discussed herein. The axial loading system was found to be capable of maintaining constant axial stress for long duration of times with an accuracy of ±1%. A new technique of water injection through base pedestal ceramic disk, and its distribution in the specimen through a helical filter paper is presented. Distribution of injected moisture with helical filter paper was found to be reasonably uniform with maximum moisture variation in the specimen observed to be less than 2%. A miniature pore water pressure sensor, placed mid-height of the specimen was used to measure soil matric suction. Performance evaluation of miniature sensor with respect to suction measurement through base pedestal ceramic disk is presented. Effects of various types of sealing methods on the performance of miniature sensor are also discussed. Calibrations and performance of disk type piezoelectric transducers, which are capable of measuring both shear and compression wave velocities in triaxial specimen, are discussed. Effect of isotropic confining stress, on elastic wave velocity measured by disk transducers is found to be consistent with previous researches.

Discourse Analysis of Encouragement in Healthcare Manga

( Rieko Matsuoka ),( Ian Smith ),( Mari Uchimura ) 범태평양응용언어학회 2011 범태평양응용언어학회지 Vol.15 No.1

This article examines how healthcare professionals use encouragement. Focusing on GAMBARU [``to try hard``], forty-one scenes were collected from healthcare manga. Each scene of encouragement was analyzed from three perspectives; the contextual background of the communication, the relationship with the patients and the patients`` response to the encouragement, and the evaluation of the imposition of face-threatening acts, social distance, and relative power (Politeness Theory). Further analysis was conducted using Leech``s (2009) Grand Strategy of Politeness, and each chosen communication event was categorized among ten types of speech acts. The findings suggest some implications to enhance the quality of healthcare communication that offers patients encouragement.

Detection of Human Papillomavirus among Women with Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance Referred to Colposcopy: Implications for Clinical Management in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

de Abreu, Andre LP,Gimenes, Fabricia,Malaguti, Natalia,Pereira, Monalisa W,Uchimura, Nelson S,Consolaro, Marcia EL Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.7

To determine the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) among women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) referred to colposcopy and the implications for clinical management in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), the present study was conducted. We included 200 women living in $Maring{\acute{a}}$/Brazil referred to colposcopy service between August 2012 and March 2013 due to an abnormal cytology from ASC-US until high-grade intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). HPV was detected and genotyped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The mean age was $36.8{\pm}10.5$ years, and women with and without ASC-US had similar mean ages ($37.4{\pm}11.5$ and $36.4{\pm}9.96$ years, respectively). The highest prevalence of ASC-US occurred at 20-24 years (40%). HPV-DNA was positive in 164 (82.0%) women.Of the 57 women with ASC-US, 30 (52.6%) were HPV-DNA-positive and 21 (70%) were high-risk HPV-positive (HR-HPV); the latter was similar to women without ASC-US (76.9%) but with other abnormal cytological findings present. Our data demonstrated that performing tests for HR-HPV can be used for management of women with ASC-US to support the decision of which women should be referred for an immediate or later colposcopy. The same conclusions can be applied to other LMICs for which HPV testing for primary screening has not been adopted.

Rehabilitation Nutrition and Exercise Therapy for Sarcopenia

Kakehi Shingo,Wakabayashi Hidetaka,Inuma Hayato,Inose Tomomi,Shioya Moeka,Aoyama Yohei,Hara Taiki,Uchimura Kosuke,Tomita Kazusa,Okamoto Mizuki,Yoshida Masato,Yokota Shohei,Suzuki Hayato 대한남성과학회 2022 The World Journal of Men's Health Vol.40 No.1

Sarcopenia is an age-related loss of skeletal muscle associated with adverse outcomes such as falls, fractures, disability, and increased mortality in older people and hospitalized patients. About half of older male nursing home residents have sarcopenia. The diagnostic criteria by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) and the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) have led to increased interest in sarcopenia. Exercise and nutritional management are crucial for the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia. Nutritional therapy for sarcopenia that includes 20 g of whey protein and 800 IU of vitamin D twice a day improves lower limb strength. Exercise therapy for sarcopenia, such as resistance training and 6 months of home exercises, improves muscle strength and physical function. Combination therapy that includes both nutritional and exercise therapy improves gait speed and knee extension strength more than either exercise alone or nutrition therapy alone. Excessive bedrest and mismanagement of nutrition in medical facilities can lead to iatrogenic sarcopenia. Iatrogenic sarcopenia is sarcopenia caused by the activities of health care workers in health care facilities. Appropriate nutritional management and exercise programs through rehabilitation nutrition are important for prevention and treatment of iatrogenic sarcopenia. Nutritional and exercise therapy should be started very early after admission and adjusted to the level of inflammation and disease status. Repeated assessment, diagnosis, goal setting, interventions, and monitoring using the rehabilitation nutrition care process is important to maximize treatment effectiveness and improve patients’ functional recovery and quality of life.

Graft immaturity and safety concerns in transplanted human kidney organoids

Sun Ah Nam,Eunjeong Seo,Jin Won Kim,Hyung-Wook Kim,Hong Lim Kim,Kyuryung Kim,Tae-Min Kim,주지현,Ivan G. Gomez,Kohei Uchimura,Benjamin D. Humphreys,양철우,Jae Yeon Lee,김진,Dong Woo Cho,Benjamin S. Freedman,Yo 생화학분자생물학회 2019 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.51 No.-

For chronic kidney disease, regeneration of lost nephrons with human kidney organoids derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells is proposed to be an attractive potential therapeutic option. It remains unclear, however, whether organoids transplanted into kidneys in vivo would be safe or functional. Here, we purified kidney organoids and transplanted them beneath the kidney capsules of immunodeficient mice to test their safety and maturity. Kidney organoid grafts survived for months after transplantation and became vascularized from host mouse endothelial cells. Nephron-like structures in grafts appeared more mature than kidney organoids in vitro, but remained immature compared with the neighboring mouse kidney tissue. Ultrastructural analysis revealed filtration barrier-like structures, capillary lumens, and tubules with brush border in the transplanted kidney organoids, which were more mature than those of the kidney organoids in vitro but not as organized as adult mammalian kidneys. Immaturity was a common feature of three separate differentiation protocols by immunofluorescence analysis and single cell RNA sequencing. Stroma of transplanted kidney organoid grafts were filled with vimentin-positive mesenchymal cells, and chondrogenesis, cystogenesis, and stromal expansion were observed in the long term. Transcription profiles showed that long-term maintenance after kidney organoid transplantation induced transcriptomic reprogramming with prominent suppression of cell-cycle-related genes and upregulation of extracellular matrix organization. Our data suggest that kidney organoids derived from iPS cells may be transplantable but strategies to improve nephron differentiation and purity are required before they can be applied in humans as a therapeutic option.