著者
Kenji Suzuki Yurika Hara Takuji Sugidachi Kensaku Shimizu Masatomo Fujiwara
出版者
公益社団法人 日本気象学会
雑誌
SOLA (ISSN:13496476)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.19, pp.261-268, 2023 (Released:2023-10-31)
参考文献数
28
被引用文献数
2

A new particle imaging radiosonde “Rainscope” has been developed, and for the first time, particle fall velocity measurement functionality was added to a balloon-borne device. Rainscope can capture a clear still image of precipitation particles in a cloud when they interrupt an infrared beam, using a CMOS camera equipped with an electronic shutter. It can also record the time when a particle passes the upper and lower built-in infrared sensors, enabling measurement of the velocity of falling precipitation particles. For ground testing in rain and snow, a ground-based Rainscope showed raindrop/snowflake size-fall velocity distributions similar to those obtained in previous studies. In a comparison with a Parsivel2 disdrometer in rain, the Rainscope results were in good agreement with the distributions obtained by an adjacent Parsivel2. In a test flight of Rainscope into a stratiform cloud, raindrops, mostly melted particles, snowflakes in the process of melting, graupel, and snowflakes were observed. It was observed that the fall velocity varied depending on the type of solid precipitation particles.
著者
Masahiko Inami Hiroyasu Iwata Minao Kukita Yuichi Kurita Kouta Minamizawa Masaaki Mochimaru Takuji Narumi Junichi Rekimoto Kenji Suzuki
出版者
Fuji Technology Press Ltd.
雑誌
Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics (ISSN:09153942)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.33, no.5, pp.985-986, 2021-10-20 (Released:2021-10-20)

Information technologies, such as IoT, artificial intelligence (AI), and virtual reality (VR), have seen so much development that there is now a wide variety of digital equipment incorporated into the infrastructure of daily life. From the agrarian society (Society 1.0) through the information society (Society 4.0), humankind has created farmlands and cities by structuring natural environments physically and has built information environments by structuring them informationally. However, despite the rapid development of information environments, it may be fair to say that the perspectives of the human body have not changed at all since the industrial revolution.In the context of these recent technological developments, greater attention is being paid to human augmentation studies. These studies aim for a new embodiment of “human-computer integration,” one which can physically and informationally compensate or augment our innate sensory functions, motor functions, and intellectual processing functions by using digital equipment and information systems at will, as if they were our hands and feet. It has also been proposed that the technical systems that enable us to freely do what we want by utilizing human augmentations be called “JIZAI” (freedomization) as opposed to “automation.”The term “JIZAI body” used in these studies represents the new body image of humans who will utilize engineering and informatics technologies to act at will in the upcoming “super smart society” or “Society 5.0.” In these studies, human augmentation technologies are an important component of JIZAI, but JIZAI is not the same as human augmentation. JIZAI is different in scope from human augmentation, as it aims to enable humans to move freely among the five new human body images: “strengthened sense” (augmented perception), “strengthened physical body” (body augmentation), “separately-designed mind and body” (out of body transform), “shadow cloning,” and “assembling.” In the society of the future where JIZAI bodies widely prevail, we will use technologies that enable us to do what we have failed at or given up due to limitations of our physical bodies. We believe that a future society, one in which aging does not reduce our capabilities but instead increased options give us hope, can be realized. This special issue, consisting of two review papers and twelve research papers, deals with diverse and wide-ranging areas, including human augmentation, robotics, virtual reality, and others. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all the authors and reviewers of the papers contributed to this special issue and to the editorial committee of the Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics for their gracious cooperation.
著者
Rimpei Kamamoto Kenji Suzuki Tetsuya Kawano Hiroshi Hanado Katsuhiro Nakagawa Yuki Kaneko
出版者
Meteorological Society of Japan
雑誌
SOLA (ISSN:13496476)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.16, pp.115-119, 2020 (Released:2020-07-04)
参考文献数
12

Two products from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) algorithms, a flag of intense solid precipitation above the −10°C height (“flagHeavyIcePrecip”) and a classification of precipitation type (“typePrecip”) were validated by ground-based hydrometeor measurements and X-band multi-parameter (X-MP) radar observations of snow clouds on 4 February 2018. Contoured frequency by altitude diagrams of the X-MP radar reflectivity exhibited a significant difference between footprints flagged and unflagged by the “flagHeavyIcePrecip” algorithm, which indicated that the algorithm is reasonable. The hydrometeor classification (HC) by the X-MP radar, which was confirmed by microphysical evidence from ground-based hydrometeor measurements, suggested the existence of graupel in the footprints with “flagHeavyIcePrecip”. In addition, according to the information of the GPM DPR, the “flagHeavyIcePrecip” footprints were characterized by not only graupel but also large snowflakes. According to the information of X-MP radar HC, the “typePrecip” algorithm by the detection of “flagHeavyIcePrecip” was effective in classifying precipitation types of snow clouds, whereas it seems that there is room for improvement in the “typePrecip” algorithms based on the extended-DPRm-method and H-method.
著者
Rimpei Kamamoto Kenji Suzuki Tetsuya Kawano Hiroshi Hanado Katsuhiro Nakagawa Yuki Kaneko
出版者
Meteorological Society of Japan
雑誌
SOLA (ISSN:13496476)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.2020-020, (Released:2020-06-03)

Two products from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) algorithms, a flag of intense solid precipitation above the −10°C height (“flagHeavyIcePrecip”) and a classification of precipitation type (“typePrecip”) were validated by ground-based hydrometeor measurements and X-band multi-parameter (X-MP) radar observations of snow clouds on 4 February 2018. Contoured frequency by altitude diagrams of the X-MP radar reflectivity exhibited a significant difference between footprints flagged and unflagged by the “flagHeavyIcePrecip” algorithm, which indicated that the algorithm is reasonable. The hydrometeor classification (HC) by the X-MP radar, which was confirmed by microphysical evidence from ground-based hydrometeor measurements, suggested the existence of graupel in the footprints with “flagHeavyIcePrecip”. In addition, according to the information of the GPM DPR, the “flagHeavyIcePrecip” footprints were characterized by not only graupel but also large snowflakes. According to the information of X-MP radar HC, the “typePrecip” algorithm by the detection of “flagHeavyIcePrecip” was effective in classifying precipitation types of snow clouds, whereas it seems that there is room for improvement in the “typePrecip” algorithms based on the extended-DPRm-method and H-method.
著者
Kenji Suzuki Rimpei Kamamoto Katsuhiro Nakagawa Michinobu Nonaka Taro Shinoda Tadayasu Ohigashi Yukiya Minami Mamoru Kubo Yuki Kaneko
出版者
Meteorological Society of Japan
雑誌
SOLA (ISSN:13496476)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.15, pp.94-98, 2019 (Released:2019-05-14)
参考文献数
21
被引用文献数
5

A field observation was carried out along the coast of the Japan Sea in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 winter seasons, using the Ground-based Particle Image and Mass Measurement System (G-PIMMS) to evaluate the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) dual-frequency precipitation radar (DPR) precipitation type classification algorithm. The G-PIMMS was installed at Kanazawa University and Ishikawa Prefectural University, which are around 10 km apart from each other. The G-PIMMS observations showed that the major precipitation particle type (graupel or snowflake) was different in the precipitation types classified by the GPM DPR algorithm.
著者
Kenji Suzuki Katsuhiro Nakagawa Tetsuya Kawano Shuichi Mori Masaki Katsumata Fadli Syamsudin Kunio Yoneyama
出版者
Meteorological Society of Japan
雑誌
SOLA (ISSN:13496476)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.14, pp.148-152, 2018 (Released:2018-10-17)
参考文献数
20
被引用文献数
3

Videosonde observations were conducted at the southwestern coastal region of Sumatra Island, Indonesia, as part of a pilot field campaign of the Years of the Maritime Continent project (Pre-YMC), to investigate the role of solid hydrometeor for precipitation processes in clouds. Videosondes were launched into three types of clouds: convective and stratiform clouds, and a thick upper stratiform cloud with shallow convection at lower level. A quantitative evaluation of the graupel shape data obtained from the videosondes showed different graupel formations in different rain systems. For the typical stratiform cloud, almost no graupel was observed. In contrasts, for the thick upper stratiform clouds with shallow convection, large numbers of ice crystals in the upper layer suggested to act as embryos and form a lot of graupel with the riming of the supercooled droplets that was supposed to be provided from the shallow convection. On the other hand, for the convection case, the videosonde observed spherical graupel just above the freezing level. This suggested that frozen drops acting as embryos formed spherical graupel, which were uplifted by the strong updraft in the convective cloud, and were different from the generally irregular-shaped graupel in the thick upper stratiform cloud.
著者
Keiko Fukino Daisuke Ueshima Tetsuo Yamaguchi Atsushi Mizuno Kazuki Tobita Kenji Suzuki Naotaka Murata Kentaro Jujo Takahide Kodama Fumitaka Nakamura Michiaki Higashitani
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.CJ-23-0215, (Released:2023-10-06)
参考文献数
48

Background: The mechanism underlying a poor prognosis in patients with lower-extremity artery disease (LEAD) with heart failure is unknown. We examined the prognostic impact of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in patients with LEAD who underwent endovascular therapy (EVT).Methods and Results: From August 2014 to August 2016, 2,180 patients with LEAD (mean age, 73.2 years; male, 71.9%) underwent EVT and were stratified into low-LVEF (LVEF <40%; n=234, 10.7%) and not-low LVEF groups. In the low- vs. not-low LVEF groups, there was a higher prevalence of heart failure (i.e., history of heart failure hospitalization or New York Heart Association functional class III or IV symptoms) (44.0% vs. 8.3%, respectively), diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, below-the-knee lesion, critical limb ischemia, and incidence of major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) and major adverse limb events (MALEs) (P<0.001, all). Low LVEF independently predicted MACCEs (hazard ratio: 2.23, 95% confidence interval: 1.63–3.03; P<0.001) and MALEs (hazard ratio: 1.85, 95% confidence interval: 1.15–2.96; P=0.011), regardless of heart failure (P value for interaction: MACCEs: 0.27; MALEs: 0.52).Conclusions: Low LVEF, but not symptomatic heart failure, increased the incidence of MACCEs and MALEs. Intensive cardiac dysfunction management may improve LEAD prognosis after EVT.
著者
Tomonori Sugiura Yasuaki Dohi Yasuyuki Takagi Takashi Yokochi Naofumi Yoshikane Kenji Suzuki Takamasa Tomiishi Takashi Nagami Mitsunori Iwase Hiroyuki Takase Nobuyuki Ohte Yoshihiro Seo
出版者
Japan Atherosclerosis Society
雑誌
Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis (ISSN:13403478)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.63368, (Released:2022-02-03)
参考文献数
49
被引用文献数
5

Aims: Serum uric acid increases with metabolic disorders; however, whether the effects of uric acid on atherosclerosis are different in females and males has not been sufficiently evaluated. Therefore, this study compared the impact of uric acid on arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis between females and males. Methods: We enrolled 10196 untreated middle-aged subjects (46±8 years, 3021 females and 7175 males) who underwent periodic health check-ups. Serum uric acid levels were measured and arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis were assessed by the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and plaque, using ultrasound imaging. Results: Females with increased arterial stiffness (CAVI ≥ 8.0) or carotid plaques had higher uric acid than those without (P<0.0001), but males did not. In multivariable regression analyses including overall participants, uric acid was significantly associated with the CAVI, where sex interacted with uric acid. In sex-specific analyses, uric acid was significantly associated with the CAVI, but not with carotid IMT, in both sexes. However, logistic regression analyses revealed that serum uric acid was independently associated with the presence of carotid plaques in females. The exclusion of subjects with abdominal obesity or metabolic syndrome from the analysis did not alter the results in females. Conclusions: Serum uric acid was significantly associated with the CAVI in both sexes, but the interaction of sex was confirmed and associated with a carotid plaque only in females. These findings support the increased impact of serum uric acid on arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis in females.
著者
Noriyuki NAKANISHI Toshio TAKATORIGE Kenji SUZUKI
出版者
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
雑誌
Industrial Health (ISSN:00198366)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.43, no.2, pp.295-301, 2005 (Released:2006-03-17)
参考文献数
35
被引用文献数
66 69

To examine the association between cigarette smoking and the risk of the metabolic syndrome (MS), 3,649 Japanese male office workers aged 35-59 yr who did not have a history of cardiovascular disease were enrolled in this study. 2,994 men without the MS at entry were followed up over a 7-yr period. A modified National Cholesterol Education Program definition with body mass index instead of waist circumference was used for the MS. With adjustment for age, family history of diabetes, alcohol intake, and regular physical activity, the odds ratios of the MS were 1.0 (referent), 1.30 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00-1.68), 1.07 (95% CI, 0.82-1.39), 1.17 (95% CI, 0.88-1.56), and 1.66 (95% CI, 1.24-2.20) for never smokers, ex-smokers, and those who smoked 1-20 cigarettes/d, 21-30 cigarettes/d, and ≥31 cigarettes/d, respectively (P for trend for current smokers only =0.006). As for the risk of developing the MS, the respective multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios of developing the MS were 1.0 (referent), 1.43 (95% CI, 1.14-1.79), 1.14 (95% CI, 0.91-1.44), 1.45 (95% CI, 1.14-1.84), and 1.59 (95% CI, 1.24-2.05) (P for trend for current smokers only =0.001). Among men without the MS at entry, body weight gain over 7 yr, compared with never smokers, was significantly higher in smokers who quit smoking. It is important for the prevention of the MS not only to quit smoking but also to prevent weight gain after smoking cessation.
著者
Yusuke Yuasa Kenji Suzuki
出版者
Japanese Society for Medical and Biological Engineering
雑誌
Advanced Biomedical Engineering (ISSN:21875219)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.8, pp.85-91, 2019 (Released:2019-02-23)
参考文献数
15
被引用文献数
1 12

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease, in which symptoms appear or intensify suddenly, even when patients are being monitored by doctors. Continuous measurement is important to monitor a patient's breathing without missing asthma attacks. In this study, we propose a method of continuous breathing monitoring in daily life using a wearable device. There are several studies using microphones to continuously monitor breathing during activities, which show various possibilities of extracting qualitative characteristics related to asthma. Other studies on breathing measurement using accelerometers or belts have achieved breathing detection and measurement without ambient acoustic noises. Taking advantage of the breathing sound and chest movement signals, they are simultaneously acquired using a chest-mounted device, which consists of a microphone, a photoreflector, and a flexible cover. Various acoustic noises and body movements are present in the environment. Thus, acquiring these two different signals in a complementary manner makes it easier to detect breathing in daily life. For monitoring asthma, we focused on detecting the breathing phases. Most of the asthma symptoms appear during the exhalation phase. Thus, phase detection plays an important role as an asthma symptom identifier. We developed a new algorithm for breathing phase measurement using both acquired signals. The algorithm is based on the periodicity of the chest movement signal. Breathing sounds are analyzed considering their frequency characteristics. In this paper, the basic performance of the proposed device in an experimental condition which is quiet and without participant movements is examined. The results of performance evaluation confirm that the left medial side of the second intercostal space is appropriate for placing the device and studying the correlation between breathing sound amplitude and tidal volume, which implies a potential to acquire tidal volumes. The phase measurement experiment shows that chest movement can be used for estimating the breathing period. The portable system developed can measure breathing in external conditions and tracking the wearer's location. Making the system portable expands the measurable situations and facilitates an acquisition of time and location information, which is useful in identifying the causes of asthma attacks.
著者
Kenji Suzuki Rimpei Kamamoto Katsuhiro Nakagawa Michinobu Nonaka Taro Shinoda Tadayasu Ohigashi Yukiya Minami Mamoru Kubo Yuki Kaneko
出版者
Meteorological Society of Japan
雑誌
SOLA (ISSN:13496476)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.2019-018, (Released:2019-04-10)
被引用文献数
5

A field observation was carried out along the coast of the Japan Sea in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 winter seasons, using the Ground-based Precipitation particle Image and Mass Measurement System (G-PIMMS) to evaluate the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) dual-frequency precipitation radar (DPR) precipitation type classification algorithm. The G-PIMMS was installed at Kanazawa University and Ishikawa Prefectural University, which are around 10 km apart from each other. The G-PIMMS observations showed that the major precipitation particle type (graupel or snowflake) was different in the precipitation types classified by the GPM DPR algorithm.
著者
Michiaki Higashitani Yukari Uemura Atsushi Mizuno Makoto Utsunomiya Tetsuo Yamaguchi Akihiro Matsui Shunsuke Ozaki Kazuki Tobita Atsushi Tosaka Akitsugu Oida Kenji Suzuki Takahide Kodama Kentaro Jujo Tatsuki Doijiri Yasuhiro Takahashi Shunsuke Matsuno Nobuhito Kaneko Akira Moriguchi Shohei Kishi Hitoshi Anzai on behalf of Toma-Code Registry Investigators
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.CJ-18-0105, (Released:2018-05-11)
参考文献数
27
被引用文献数
21

Background:The present study was performed to clarify whether the preoperative clinical symptoms for endovascular therapy (EVT) can predict post-EVT death and cardiovascular prognosis in Japanese patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), including acute disease.Methods and Results:The TOkyo taMA peripheral vascular intervention research COmraDE (Toma-Code) Registry is a Japanese prospective cohort of 2,321 consecutive patients with PAD treated with EVT, in 34 hospitals in the Kanto and Kōshin’etsu regions, from August 2014 to August 2016. In total, 2,173 symptomatic patients were followed up for a median of 10.4 months, including 1,370 with claudication, 719 with critical limb ischemia (CLI), and 84 with acute limb ischemia (ALI) for EVT. The all-cause death rates per 100 person-years for claudication, CLI and ALI were 3.5, 26.2, and 24.5, respectively. Similarly, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) rates per 100 person-years for claudication, CLI, ALI, and others were 5.2, 31.2, and 29.7, respectively. After adjusting for the predictors of all-cause death and MACCE, namely, age, body mass index <18, diabetes mellitus, dialysis, cerebrovascular disease, and low left ventricular ejection fraction, it was determined that the preoperative indication for EVT was strongly associated with all-cause death and MACCE.Conclusions:The preoperative clinical symptoms for EVT can predict the prognosis in patients with PAD undergoing EVT.