SUMMARYThis paper presents a study for the development of a system capable of performing real-time pseudo dynamic testing. The system combines the basics of the pseudo dynamic test with a dynamic actuator, a digital displacement transducer and a digital servomechanism. The digital servo-mechanism has been introduced to ensure accurate displacement and velocity control, in which digital feedback control with a time interval of 2 msec has been performed continuously during actuator motion. Using the system, pseudo dynamic tests under sinusoidal and earthquake ground motion are carried out for a structure having a viscous damper, demonstrating that a perfectly real-time pseudo dynamic test can be achieved by incorporating the modified central difference method into an extra buffer operation of the digital servo-mechanism. The responses solved by the pseudo dynamic tests are compared with the responses of the test structure as well as those obtained from post-numerical analysis, and it is found that the real-time pseudo dynamic test conducted in this study is accurate.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -Subjects with diabetic neuropathy, median motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) Ն40 m/s, and HbA 1c Յ9% were enrolled in this open-label, multicenter study and randomized to 150 mg/day epalrestat or a control group. After excluding the withdrawals, 289 (epalrestat group) and 305 (control group) patients were included in the analyses. The primary end point was change from baseline in median MNCV at 3 years. Secondary end points included assessment of other somatic nerve function parameters (minimum F-wave latency [MFWL] of the median motor nerve and vibration perception threshold [VPT]), cardiovascular autonomic nerve function, and subjective symptoms.RESULTS -Over the 3-year period, epalrestat prevented the deterioration of median MNCV, MFWL, and VPT seen in the control group. The between-group difference in change from baseline in median MNCV was 1.6 m/s (P Ͻ 0.001). Although a benefit with epalrestat was observed in cardiovascular autonomic nerve function variables, this did not reach statistical significance compared with the control group. Numbness of limbs, sensory abnormality, and cramping improved significantly with epalrestat versus the control group. The effects of epalrestat on median MNCV were most evident in subjects with better glycemic control and with no or mild microangiopathies.CONCLUSIONS -Long-term treatment with epalrestat is well tolerated and can effectively delay the progression of diabetic neuropathy and ameliorate the associated symptoms of the disease, particularly in subjects with good glycemic control and limited microangiopathy.

Inflammatory and/or autoimmune diseases like ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) are debilitating chronic disorders that poorly respond to pharmacological interventions. Further, drug therapy has adverse effects that add to disease complications. The current thinking is that disorders like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) reflect an over exuberant immune activation driven by cytokines including TNF-alpha. Major sources of cytokines include myeloid leukocytes (granulocytes, monocytes/macrophages), which in IBD are elevated with activation behavior and are found in vast numbers within the inflamed intestinal mucosa. Accordingly, myeloid cells should be the targets of therapy. Adacolumn is filled with cellulose acetate beads that selectively adsorb and deplete myeloid cells and a small fraction of lymphocytes (FcgammaR and complement receptors bearing cells). In one study, 20 steroid naive patients with moderate (n = 14) or severe (n = 6) UC according to Rachmilewitz despite 1.5-2.25 g/day of 5-aminosalicylic acid received 6 to 10 Adacolumn sessions at 2 sessions/week. Efficacy was assessed 1 week after the last session. The majority of patients responded to 6 sessions, 17 (85%) achieved remission. In 2 of the 3 non-responders, CAI was 8 and 12 in 1; all 3 had deep colonic ulcers at study initiation. Decreases were seen in total leukocytes (P = 0.003), % neutrophils (P = 0.003), % monocytes (P = 0.004), an increase in lymphocytes (P = 0.001), decreases in C-reactive protein (P = 0.0002), and rises in blood levels of soluble TNF-alpha receptors I (P = 0.0007), II (P = 0.0045). In a separate study, a case with very severe steroid refractory UC who received up to 11 sessions responded well and avoided colectomy. Further, myeloid cell purging with Adacolumn has been associated with the release of IL-1 receptor antagonist, suppression of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, down-modulation of L-selectin and the chemokine receptor CXCR3. In conclusion, selective depletion of myeloid cells appears to induce anti-inflammatory effects and represents a non-pharmacological treatment for patients with active IBD. The treatment has a clear drug-sparing role. Changes in blood levels of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors are thought to contribute to the efficacy of this procedure.

This paper presents a test system for conducting on-line tests in a real time and a series of real-time on-line tests conducted to verify the effectiveness of the system. The proposed system is characterized by (1) use of a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) now readily available, (2) adoption of the C language to ensure easy programming, and (3) separation of response analysis and displacement signal generation to apply the system for tests with complex structures. To create displacement signals successively without being interrupted by the computation of equations of motion, extrapolation and interpolation procedures using present and past target displacements are developed. Base-isolated building models were chosen for the real-time on-line test. The effectiveness of the extrapolation and interpolation procedures was demonstrated through a series of real-time on-line tests applied to the models treated as SDOF structures. A five-storey base-isolated building model (treated as a six DOF structure) was tested for various ground motions, and it was verified that the system is able to simulate earthquake responses involving large displacements and large velocities. The number of DOFs that can be handled in the proposed system was investigated, and it was found that the system is capable of performing the test with reasonable accuracy for up to 10 DOF structures with a range of response frequency not greater than 3)0 Hz, or 12 DOF structures with a range of response frequency not greater than 2)0 Hz. from a test conducted in parallel with the direct integration. One of the most significant advantages of the on-line test over the shaking table test is that the on-line test does not require dynamic loading although it is for simulating the earthquake response of the structure tested. This slow (quasi-static) loading makes larger scale testing possible because quasi-static loading actuators can be much larger in their load applying capacity than dynamic actuators if compared for the same hydraulic power. Slower loading also permits closer observation of the response behaviour of the structure. The essentials of the online test and previous applications are documented elsewhere (see for example References 1-6).One of the critical prerequisites for conducting the on-line test is that the effect of the loading rate on the restoring force of the structure should be secondary because, in a real earthquake, the structure would be loaded dynamically. Lately, a variety of new types of structural components and devices have been introduced in structures, particularly in connection with their vibration control. These new devices include rubber bearings, viscous dampers, friction dampers, and sloshing dampers, many of which are very velocity dependent in their vibration characteristics. Unfortunately, the conventional on-line test based on quasi-static loading is not applicable for simulating the earthquake response of structures equipped with such devices.This paper presents an on-line test system capable of applying on-line tests ...

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