departmental bulletin paper

Background: Angiotensin II (AngII) increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) and induces glomerular sclerosis. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated inflammation enhances the renal impairment in renal inflammatory diseases. The relationship between TLR4 and AngII-induced glomerular sclerosis is unknown.Methods: Mice lacking TLR4 function (Tlr4^{lps-d}) and wild-type (WT) mice were randomized into groups treated with AngII, norepinephrine (NE) or a sub-depressor dose of the AngII receptor blocker irbesartan along with AngII for 2 weeks. We then assessed the expressions of NADPH oxidase and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and the inflammatory cell recruitment in the glomeruli. We also evaluated the mesangial matrix proliferation and ROS.Results: AngII and NE equally increased the systolic blood pressure compared to the control mice (p<0.05). In the WT mice treated with AngII, we observed glomerular sclerosis, an increase in NADPH oxidase, MCP-1 and the infiltration of macrophages as well as ROS content in the glomeruli compared to the control mice (p<0.05), whereas the Tlr4^{lps-d} mice showed little effects of AngII on these indices. In addition, the sub-depressor-dose irbesartan treatment reversed these changes. NE had little effects on these indices. Conclusions: TLR4 plays an important role in AngII-induced oxidative stress, inflammation and glomerular sclerosis through the AT1 receptor.

Aims: To clarify the usefulness of preservative-free ophthalmic preparations equipped with a filter. Methods: A total of 1,615 samples of in-use ophthalmic preparations were examined for microbial contamination. Results: Of 1,094 samples of preservative-containing ophthalmic preparations, 31 (2.8%) showed microbial contamination. Of 289 samples of preservative-free ophthalmic preparations without a filter, 6 (2.1%) were contaminated, consisting of 4 (13.8%) of 29 samples of hospital preparations and 2 (0.8%) of 260 samples of commercially available new quinolone antimicrobial agents. On the other hand, the microbial contamination rate in preservative-free ophthalmic preparations equipped with a filter was 0% (0 of 232 samples).The major contaminants detected in these preservative-containing ophthalmic preparations and preservative-free ophthalmic preparations without a filter were glucose-nonfermentative Gram-negative bacilli such as Pseudomonas fluorescens, Acinetobacter spp., and P. aeruginosa, coagulase (-) staphylococci, and Candida spp. The contaminant level was 10-99 colony forming units (CFU)/mL in 37.8% (14 of 37 samples), and 10^2 - 10^6 CFU/mL in 62.2% (23 of 37 samples). Conclusions: Preservative-free ophthalmic preparations equipped with a filter not only have zero risk of the oculotoxic effects of preservatives, but are also safe in terms of their lack of microbial contamination.

We investigated the relationship between myocardial oxidative stress and cardiac sympathetic hyperactivity in patients with takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) compared with acute anteroseptal myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods: In 10 TC patients and 10 AMI patients, electrocardiogram, echocardiography, cardiac catheterization were conducted, and plasma catecholamines and urinary (U) 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) as a marker of oxidative DNA damage were taken for one week from onset. Results: On admission, the coronary sinus (CS) had significantly higher norepinephrine (NE) and 8-OHdG levels than the aortic root (Ao) and peripheral blood vessels. Circulating catecholamines in TC patients tended to be higher than those in AMI patients

In this study, a novel VR-based system for inspection of deteriorating concrete bridges is proposed to support of the crack and spalling detection which is a key role in existing bridge maintenance. The proposed system, called a VR-based support system for bridge inspection, was applied to an aged bridge for confirming the representing ability of both cracking and spalling damages as a specific example. Experimental results showed that the VR images data with hammering sounds (audio) data have a sufficient ability of representing both crack width over 0.2 mm and a certain spalling area near concrete surface. In this system, the three-dimensional image(photo) data was used to recognize the cracking damage for professional visual inspector. On the other hand, as spalling damage inside the concrete surface couldn’t be identified accurately from only image(photo) data, then the hammering sounds (audio) data was incorporated into the system as an additional function for recoginittion of the spalling damage.

In this study, as one solution to the problem for condition assessment of existing short- and medium-span reinforced/prestressed concrete bridges, a new monitoring method using a public bus as part of a public transit system (bus monitoring system) is proposed, along with safety indices, namely, characteristic deflection, which is relatively free from the influence of dynamic disturbances due to such factors as the roughness of the road surface, and a structural anomaly parameter. A basic study was conducted by using the results of technical verification experiments and numerical analysis simulation. This paper describes the details of not only how to assess the bridge condition by public bus vibration measured in operating on Ube City bus network as a specific example for verify the system but also what kind of consideration we need to apply the system to existing bridges in overseas country. And, the degrees of abnormality of the monitored bridges were expressed with the "inspection necessity level" to enable local governments to prioritize their bridge maintenance needs quantitatively.