Disparities of indoor temperature in winter: A cross-sectional analysis of the Nationwide Smart Wellness Housing Survey in Japan

The WHO Housing and health guidelines recommend a minimum indoor temperature of 18°C to prevent cold-related diseases. In Japan, indoor temperatures appear lower than in Euro-American countries because of low insulation standards and use of partial intermittent heating. This study investigated the actual status of indoor temperatures in Japan and the common characteristics of residents who live in cold homes. We conducted a nationwide real-world survey on indoor temperature for 2 weeks in winter. Cross-sectional analyses involving 2190 houses showed that average living room, changing room, and bedroom temperatures were 16.8°C, 13.0°C, and 12.8°C, respectively. Comparison of average living room temperature between prefectures revealed a maximum difference of 6.7°C (Hokkaido: 19.8°C, Kagawa: 13.1°C). Compared to the high-income group, the odds ratio for living room temperature falling below 18°C was 1.38 (95% CI: 1.04-1.84) and 2.07 (95% CI: 1.28-3.33) for the middle- and low-income groups. The odds ratio was 1.96 (95% CI: 1.19-3.22) for single-person households, compared to households living with housemates. Furthermore, lower room temperature was correlated with local heating device use and a larger amount of clothes. These results will be useful in the development of prevention strategies for residents who live in cold homes.     

间歇过程的故障分析和互锁控制器综合的集成

Integration amongst various decision-making processes, such as planning, design, and operation is necessary to dynamic and flexible batch production. To achieve a batch production integration, utilization of common models used for various decision-making processes is an effective approach. From this point of view, a batch system common model as described by a Petri net is proposed. In this article, a fault diagnosis technique for batch processes is presented using information about fault propagation and the possibilities of integration of fault analysis and controller synthesis are discussed on the basis of the Petri net based common models.     

Fabrication of a working Bi-2223 superconducting magnet cooled by liquid nitrogen

A practical Bi-2223 superconducting magnet, working in liquid nitrogen (L.N₂), was designed and fabricated. Bi-2223 tape with a critical current of 147 A was prepared by a controlled overpressure (CT-OP) process at 77.3 K in self-field. Ten double-pancake coils were resistively connected by copper terminals. The bore diameter was 54 mm?, the magnet outer diameter was 122 mm?, the height of the magnet was 124 mm, and the weight of the magnet was about 3 kg. The maximum magnetic field at the center of the bore was 0.48 T with an operating current of 50 A. The experimental results agree well with design predictions calculated by finite element method. AC operation was also performed, and no distortion of the voltage waveform was observed. Therefore, this Bi-2223 superconducting magnet is a suitable replacement for copper magnets designed for applications in science and technology.     

Penicillium camemberti and Penicillium roqueforti enhance the growth and survival of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 under mild acidic conditions

The effects of secondary starter molds of common mold-ripened cheeses on the Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 were assessed in 3 model systems. In the 1st model, 8 STEC O157 strains were incubated in the spent culture of Penicillium camemberti or Penicillium roqueforti under mild acidic conditions at 25 °C. In the spent cultures of the mold at pH 4.8 to 5.0, the lag times of STEC O157 growth were significantly shorter than those observed in fresh medium. Analyses of the spent culture of P. camemberti showed that the causative agents of the growth enhancement were produced by the mold in response to an acidic environment and were not fully inactivated in heat treatment. In the 2nd model, P. camemberti and STEC O157 were cocultured in acidified milk at 25 °C. The population of STEC O157 reached 10(8) CFU/mL in the presence of the mold, whereas the population steadily declined in the absence of the mold. Although this growth enhancement was partially attributable to alkalization by the mold, it was observed even when the pH of this model was stabilized. In the 3rd model, 2 STEC O157 strains were incubated in the spent cultures of molds at pH 4.5 at 10 °C. In the spent culture, proportions of injured cells were significantly lower and D values were significantly higher than those in control, except one STEC O157 strain in the spent culture of P. camemberti. These results showed that the molds could enhance the growth and survival of STEC O157 by changing the environment. Practical Application: This study demonstrated that molds in foods can improve the growth and survival of the Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157. Because microbial interactions are ubiquitous in food, our results provide an important insight for understanding the behavior of microorganisms in food.     

Potent Activation of Human but Not Mouse TRPA1 by JT010

Transient receptor potential (TRP) ankyrin repeat 1 (TRPA1), which is involved in inflammatory pain sensation, is activated by endogenous factors, such as intracellular Zn²⁺ and hydrogen peroxide, and by irritant chemical compounds. The synthetic compound JT010 potently and selectively activates human TRPA1 (hTRPA1) among the TRPs. Therefore, JT010 is a useful tool for analyzing TRPA1 functions in biological systems. Here, we show that JT010 is a potent activator of hTRPA1, but not mouse TRPA1 (mTRPA1) in human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells expressing hTRPA1 and mTRPA1. Application of 0.3–100 nM of JT010 to HEK cells with hTRPA1 induced large Ca²⁺ responses. However, in HEK cells with mTRPA1, the response was small. In contrast, both TRPA1s were effectively activated by allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) at 10–100 μM. Similar selective activation of hTRPA1 by JT010 was observed in electrophysiological experiments. Additionally, JT010 activated TRPA1 in human fibroblast-like synoviocytes with inflammation, but not TRPA1 in mouse dorsal root ganglion cells. As cysteine at 621 (C621) of hTRPA1, a critical cysteine for interaction with JT010, is conserved in mTRPA1, we applied JT010 to HEK cells with mutations in mTRPA1, where the different residue of mTRPA1 with tyrosine at 60 (Y60), with histidine at 1023 (H1023), and with asparagine at 1027 (N1027) were substituted with cysteine in hTRPA1. However, these mutants showed low sensitivity to JT010. In contrast, the mutation of hTRPA1 at position 669 from phenylalanine to methionine (F669M), comprising methionine at 670 in mTRPA1 (M670), significantly reduced the response to JT010. Moreover, the double mutant at S669 and M670 of mTRPA1 to S669E and M670F, respectively, induced slight but substantial sensitivity to 30 and 100 nM JT010. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that JT010 potently and selectively activates hTRPA1 but not mTRPA1.     

Study on numerical design method of frozen inert gas plasma MHD generators

A numerical design method to determine basic specifications of high-performance frozen inert gas plasma (FIP) MHD generators is proposed. To validate the proposed method, time-dependent, two-dimensional (r-z)MHD numerical analyses are performed for several FIP MHD generators with different thermal inputs (30, 100, 300, or 1000 MW) designed by the proposed method. The numerical results indicate that the designed FIP MHD generators with the thermal input of 100 MW or more are able to be operated with the performance approximately same as the designed one. For the designed MHD generator with the thermal input of 30 MW; however, the performance shown by the MHD numerical analysis is considerably lower than the designed one. For such a case, the performance can be improved by operating the MHD generator under an applied magnetic flux density larger and an inlet ionization degree lower than those designed values.     

Development of Amphipathic Antimicrobial Peptide Foldamers Based on Magainin 2 Sequence

Magainin 2 ( Mag 2 ), which is isolated from the skin of frogs, is a representative antimicrobial peptide (AMP), exerts its antimicrobial activity via microbial membrane disruption. It has been reported that both the amphipathicity and helical structure of Mag 2 play an important role in its antimicrobial activity. In this study, we revealed that the sequence of 17 amino acid residues in Mag 2 (peptide 7 ) is required to exert sufficient activity. We also designed a set of Mag 2 derivatives, based on enhancement of helicity and/or amphipathicity, by incorporation of α,α-disubstituted amino acid residues into the Mag 2 fragment, and evaluated their preferred secondary structures and their antimicrobial activities against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. As a result, peptide 11 formed a stable helical structure in solution, and possessed potent antimicrobial activities against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria without significant cytotoxicity.     

Proposal of a risk score for recurrence in patients with curatively resected gastric cancer

In this study, 168 patients who underwent curative resection for gastric cancer with prognostic serosal invasion [ps(+)] and 150 without prognostic serosal invasion [ps(-)] were analyzed separately to determine the prognostic importance of clinicopathological factors, and identify which patients were at high risk of recurrence. A multivariate analysis of survival time using Cox's proportional hazard model revealed the important prognostic factors to be: Lymph node involvement, the classification of gross appearance, macroscopic serosal invasion, and interstitial connective tissue in the ps(+) group; and lymph node involvement, macroscopic serosal invasion, and venous invasion in the ps(-) group. We proposed a risk score of recurrence based on the results of a further multivariate analysis called Hayashi's Quantification Analysis II, in which recurrence was chosen as an objective variable and the above prognostic factors were chosen as explanatory variables. Eighty-four percent of the patients with a score of 0 or higher in the ps(+) group and 83% of those with a score of +6 or higher in the ps(-) group showed recurrence. Thus, we believe that this score is useful for identifying those patients at high risk of recurrence, who should receive intensive chemotherapy even after curative resection.     

Intrapulmonary cystic lymphangioma: report of a case

We describe herein the case of a 52-year-old man found to have a solitary pulmonary lymphangioma. Computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated a nodule with homogeneous density and a well-defined border in the lower lobe of the right lung. T2-Weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a nodule with homogeneously high signal intensity. The tumor was removed by partial resection, and pathologic examination confirmed a diagnosis of primary lymphangioma of the lung.