Search

This paper proposes a simulation technique for the shipbuilding process based on a multi-agent system. In this paper, we propose a simulation technique for the construction process based on a multi-agent system. In this method, the worker is regarded as an agent and the virtual factory as an environment. Tasks are represented as a combination of more detailed elemental tasks. Three techniques, pathfinding with the A-star algorithm, placements of two-dimensional irregular shapes, and intersection with other equipment or occupied areas, were introduced to allow agents to take spatial constraints into account. It also simulates the manufacturing process by performing task selection through an evaluation function based on weight coefficients. The simulation results for sub-assembly and assembly process in a real shipyard confirmed that the task could be reproduced with high accuracy. It is possible to capture manufacturing features in simulation in advance, without manufacturing them.

Background/Objectives The Japan-multimodal intervention trial for prevention of dementia (J-MINT) is intended to verify the effectiveness of multi-domain interventions and to clarify the mechanism of cognitive improvement and deterioration by carrying out assessment of dementia-related biomarkers, omics analysis and brain imaging analysis among older adults at high risk of dementia. Moreover, the J-MINT trial collaborates with partnering private enterprises in the implementation of relevant interventional measures. This manuscript describes the study protocol. Design/Setting Eighteen-month, multi-centered, randomized controlled trial. Participants We plan to recruit 500 older adults aged 65–85 years with mild cognitive impairment. Subjects will be centrally randomized into intervention and control groups at a 1:1 allocation ratio using the dynamic allocation method with all subjects stratified by age, sex, and cognition. Intervention The multi-domain intervention program includes: (1) management of vascular risk factors; (2) group-based physical exercise and self-monitoring of physical activity; (3) nutritional counseling; and (4) cognitive training. Health-related information will be provided to the control group every two months. Measurements The primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-up. The primary outcome is the change from baseline to 18 months in a global composite score combining several neuropsychological domains. Secondary outcomes include: cognitive change in each neuropsychological test, incident dementia, changes in blood and dementia-related biomarkers, changes in geriatric assessment including activities of daily living, frailty status and neuroimaging, and number of medications taken. Conclusions This trial that enlist the support of private enterprises will lead to the creation of new services for dementia prevention as well as to verify the effectiveness of multi-domain interventions for dementia prevention. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.14283/jpad.2021.29 and is accessible for authorized users.

ICA-selective MRA using a pencil beam presaturation pulse can accurately visualize anterior communicating artery flow. We evaluated the impact of anterior communicating artery flow on the perioperative hemodynamic status and new ischemic lesions after carotid revascularization.Eighty-three patients with carotid artery stenosis were included. We assessed anterior communicating artery flow using ICA-selective MRA. The preoperative hemodynamic status was measured using SPECT. We also measured the change in regional cerebral oxygen saturation after temporary ICA occlusion. New ischemic lesions were evaluated by DWI on the day after treatment.Anterior communicating artery flow was detected in 61 patients, but it was not detected in 22 patients. Preoperative cerebrovascular reactivity was significantly higher in patients with (versus without) anterior communicating artery flow with a mean peak systolic velocity of ≥200 cm/s (39.6% [SD, 23.8%] versus 25.2% [SD, 16.4%];The absence of anterior communicating artery flow influenced the perioperative hemodynamic status in patients with carotid stenosis and was associated with an increased incidence of new ischemic lesions after carotid revascularization.

BackgroundGenome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified 29 disease-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for systemic sclerosis (SSc) in non-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) regions (1-7). While these GWASs have clarified genetic architectures of SSc, study subjects were mainly Caucasians limiting application of the findings to Asians.ObjectivesThe study was conducted to identify novel causal variants for SSc specific to Japanese subjects as well as those shared with European population. We also aimed to clarify mechanistic effects of the variants on pathogenesis of SSc.MethodsA total of 114,108 subjects comprising 1,499 cases and 112,609 controls were enrolled in the two-staged study leading to the ever-largest Asian GWAS for SSc. After applying a strict quality control both for genotype and samples, imputation was conducted using the reference panel of the phase 3v5 1,000 genome project data combined with a high-depth whole-genome sequence data of 3,256 Japanese subjects. We conducted logistic regression analyses and also combined the Japanese GWAS results with those of Europeans (6) by an inverse-variance fixed-effect model. Polygenicity and enrichment of functional annotations were evaluated by linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC), Haploreg and IMPACT programs. We also constructed polygenic risk score (PRS) to predict SSc development.ResultsWe identified three (FCRLA-FCGR, TNFAIP3, PLD4) and four (EOMES, ESR1, SLC12A5, TPI1P2) novel loci in Japanese GWAS and a trans-population meta-analysis, respectively. One of Japanese novel risk SNPs, rs6697139, located within FCGR gene clusters had a strong effect size (OR 2.05, P=4.9×10-11). We also found the complete LD variant, rs10917688, was positioned in cis-regulatory element and binding motif for an immunomodulatory transcription factor IRF8 in B cells, another genome-wide significant locus in our trans-ethnic meta-analysis and the previous European GWAS. Notably, the association of risk allele of rs10917688 was significant only in the presence of the risk allele of the IRF8. Intriguingly, rs10917688 was annotated as one enhancer-related histone marks, H3K4me1, in B cells, implying that FCGR gene(s) in B cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SSc. Furhtermore, significant heritability enrichment of active histone marks and a transcription factor C-Myc were found in B cells both in European and Japanese populations by LDSC and IMPACT, highlighting a possibility of a shared disease mechanism where abnormal B-cell activation may be one of the key drivers for the disease development. Finally, PRS using effects sizes of European GWAS moderately fit in the development of Japanese SSc (AUC 0.593), paving a path to personalized medicine for SSc.ConclusionOur study identified seven novel susceptibility loci in SSc. Downstream analyses highlighted a novel disease mechanism of SSc where an interactive role of FCGR gene(s) and IRF8 may accelerate the disease development and B cells may play a key role on the pathogenesis of SSc.References[1]F. C. Arnett et al. Ann Rheum Dis, 2010.[2]T. R. Radstake et al. Nat Genet, 2010.[3]Y. Allanore et al. PLoS Genet, 2011.[4]O. Gorlova et al. PLoS Genet, 2011.[5]C. Terao et al. Ann Rheum Dis, 2017.[6]E. López-Isac et al. Nat Commun, 2019.[7]W. Pu et al. J Invest Dermatol, 2021.Disclosure of InterestsNone declared

Electricity has been one of the main needs of human beings. Moreover, it is worth noting that its uncontrolled or inefficient use generates high costs and in some cases reduces devices’ lifespans. However, it is not possible to visually identify abnormalities in energy consumption. This paper describes the design of a low-cost system for residential electrical energy monitoring, similar to a smart plug, based on IoT (Internet of Things) concepts. Specifically, it is proposed the use of an Arduino Uno microcontroller together with an ESP-8266 Wi-Fi module and the voltage (ZMPT101B) and current (SCT-013-020) sensors. The IoT ThingSpeak platform is used for data storage and processing in the cloud. As a result, there is a system to which the measured device is connected and an Android application that, according to user registration, allows the management of energy consumption measurement points, with detailed consumption data and illustrative graphics.

Although most patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) receive antibiotics, little is known about patterns of antibiotic use in ICUs in Japan. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pattern of antibiotic use in ICUs. A nationwide one-day cross-sectional surveillance of antibiotic use in the ICU was conducted three times between January 2011 and December 2011. All patients aged at least16 years were included. Data from 52 ICUs and 1148 patients were reviewed. There were 1028 prescriptions for intravenous antibiotics. Of 1148 patients, 834 (73%) received at least one intravenous antibiotic, and 575 had at least one known site of infection. Respiratory and intra-abdominal infections were the two most common types. Of 1028 prescriptions, 331 (34%) were for surgical or medical prophylaxis. Excluding prophylaxis, carbapenems were the most commonly prescribed agent. Infectious disease consultations, pre- and post-prescription antimicrobial stewardship, and ICU-dedicated antibiograms were available in 44%, 52%, 77%, and 21% of the ICUs, respectively. In logistic regression analysis adjusting for patient characteristics, treatment in a university hospital (adjusted odds ratio, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.05–2.84; P = 0.033) and an open ICU (adjusted odds ratio, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.02–5.17; P = 0.044) were significantly associated with greater likelihood of carbapenem use. An increase in the number of closed ICUs and more intensive care specialists may reduce carbapenem use in Japanese ICUs. Large-scale epidemiological studies of antimicrobial resistance in the ICU are needed.

In 2011, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) declared global freedom from rinderpest, formally announcing that rinderpest virus infections had been eliminated from susceptible livestock populations. At the same time, it was recognised that rinderpest virus, and material containing rinderpest virus, remained stored in an unspecified number of facilities across the world. Although natural infections had been eliminated, there remained a risk that rinderpest could reoccur if such infectious material accidentally leaked or was intentionally released from one of these facilities into a susceptible animal population. To minimise this risk, the OIE and FAO, with the support of international partners, set in place a framework to: reduce the quantity of remaining rinderpest-virus-containing material; ensure that such material was only stored in high-security facilities; regulate any handling or manipulation of the virus; maintain vigilance amongst livestock keepers and Veterinary Services in the post-eradication era; and develop contingency plans to deal with any suspected or actual reoccurrence of rinderpest disease. In 2016, five years after the declaration of global freedom from rinderpest, official reports to the OIE show that virus and virus-containing material remain stored in 21 countries worldwide in 22 separate facilities, of which only five have been inspected and approved for holding rinderpest virus or vaccine. There is still much work to be done to further reduce the risk of a reoccurrence.

In this paper, we propose a new concept of using the paint replacement films covering a ship-hull surface instead of paint based on lines of curvature. Firstly, we correct the B-spline hull surface within the prescribed deviation from the original surface shape based on nonlinear optimization to smooth the flow of curvature lines. After shape optimization, we adjust the position and the number of curvature lines so that it becomes the surface developments suitable for applying to thin sheet films. Using our method, it is possible to stick the films on the hull surface with few wrinkles. Finally, we applied proposed techniques to a bow of a bulk carrier to demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithms.

We report the effect of O concentration in Cldoped ZnTeO on the photovoltaic (PV) properties of intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs) with a n-ZnS/ZnTe/Cl-doped ZnTeO/ ZnTe/p-ZnTe structure. With increasing O concentration in ZnTeO, an open circuit voltage does not change largely but a short circuit current density decreases significantly. On the other hands, the photocurrent induced by two-step photon absorption (TSPA) through the IB increases with the increase of O concentration, probably due to the increased density of states in IB.