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Introduction and Purpose Surgical left ventricular (LV) septal myectomy in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathyhas been shown to reduce left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient and improve symptoms. We investigated changes in strain analysis, LA volume and LV systolic and diastolic function in patients with HOCM after surgical septal myectomy. Methods We enrolled consecutive 30 patients (age 63.7 ± 11.0 years, 47% Female), who underwent surgical LV septal myectomy for HOCM from 2012 to 2019. We evaluated LV dimension, LVOTG, LV-stroke volume, LV in flow pattern (E wave, A wave, Dct), e’(septal and lateral), LA volume, mitral regurgitation (MR), systolic anterior motion of mitral valve (SAM) and Global longitudinal strain. These parameters were evaluated at baseline and after LV myectomy at medium term (at least 6 months after surgery). Results They are followed for a mean of 3.4± 1.9 years after surgery. Eight patients underwent concomitant procedure; mitral valve repair and annuloplasty in 3 patients (10%), Maze surgery in 1 patient, LV aneurysmectomy in 2 patients and aortic valve replacement in 3 patients (10%). Patients with concomitant procedure were excluded from LV function analysis. Postoperative LVOTG were controlled in 10mmHg or less.Global longitudinal strain (GLS) improved but no significant change. Otherwise LA volume index decreased (from 52.5 ± 16.7 to 32.9 ± 14.6 ml/m2, p = 0.01) and LV diastolic function improved with an increase in lateral e" velocity (from 4.5 ± 2.8 to 9.2 ± 3.4 cm/sec, p = 0.001) and improved E/e’ (from 18.9 ± 5.6 to 10.6 ± 5.2, p Conclusion Excellent relief of LVOT obstruction in HOCM by surgical LV septal myectomy results in decreased LA volume and LV diastolic function with improved symptoms.

Objective Surgical septal myectomy is the gold-standard therapy for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). The aims of our study are to investigate anatomical characteristics and make clear effectiveness of transaortic extended left ventricular (LV) myectomy for HOCM. Methods This study enrolled 28 consecutive patients (age 66.7 ± 12.1 years, 46% Female) from 2012 to 2018 who met the following inclusion criteria: symptoms of heart failure persisting despite optimal medical therapy including beta blockers and Class I anti-arrhythmic agent, LV outflow tract gradient (LVOTG) > 50mmHg at rest or with provocation using stress echo (exercise TTE or low-dose dobutamine stress echo). We evaluated LV dimension, LVOTG, mitral regurgitation (MR), systolic anterior motion of mitral valve (SAM), Mitral complex morphology, high echoic region of endocardium and appearance of abnormal muscle bundles including apical-basal muscle bundle. These parameters were evaluated based on changes in LVOTG, MR and SAM at after LV myectomy. Also, intraoperative findings and cardiomyocytes pathological findings were evaluated. Stress echo were performed to investigate sustained reduction of LVOTG at medium term. Results All patients were successfully underwent transaortic extended LV myectomy. SAM was identified in all and moderate MR in 14 patients. The anterior mitral valve leaflet height was large in all patients and 16 patients had LV abnormal muscle bundles. Postoperative LVOTG were controlled in 10mmHg or less. SAM disappeared completely in all patients and MR were decreased mild or less. LVOTG were sustained good control in 10mmHg or less under stress echo at medium term. Conclusion LV myectomy provides excellent relief from LVOT obstruction. The appearance of mitral valve anterior leaflet and abnormal band may be important keys of LVOT obstruction.

In today's highly globalised world, protecting human security is a core challenge for political leaders who are simultaneously dealing with terrorism, refugee and migration crises, disease epidemics, and climate change. Promoting universal health coverage (UHC) will help prevent another disease outbreak similar to the recent Ebola outbreak in west Africa, and create robust health systems, capable of withstanding future shocks. Robust health systems, in turn, are the prerequisites for achieving UHC. We propose three areas for global health action by the G7 countries at their meeting in Japan in May, 2016, to protect human security around the world: restructuring of the global health architecture so that it enables preparedness and responses to health emergencies; development of platforms to share best practices and harness shared learning about the resilience and sustainability of health systems; and strengthening of coordination and financing for research and development and system innovations for global health security. Rather than creating new funding or organisations, global leaders should reorganise current financing structures and institutions so that they work more effectively and efficiently. By making smart investments, countries will improve their capacity to monitor, track, review, and assess health system performance and accountability, and thereby be better prepared for future global health shocks.

Summary What is known and objective In Japan, although topiroxostat, a selective xanthine oxidoreductase inhibitor, has been used for the treatment of patients with hyperuricemia including gout, no published randomized controlled studies evaluating the dose-dependent relationship with respect to the serum urate-lowering efficacy have been reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dose-dependent relationship with serum urate-lowering efficacy and safety of topiroxostat in Japanese hyperuricemic patients including gout. Methods We conducted an exploratory, phase 2a, multicentre, randomized, double-blind, 8-week, placebo-controlled study in Japanese hyperuricemic patients with or without gout. The study arms were placebo and topiroxostat 40, 60, 80 or 120 mg/day. The primary efficacy endpoint was the per cent change in serum urate level from baseline to the final visit. Results and discussion One hundred and eighty-seven eligible patients were randomized and 186 received at least one dose of the study drug. The study results demonstrated a dose-dependent serum urate reduction effect ranging from 40 to 120 mg/day (P < 0·001, Jonckheere–Terpstra test). The mean per cent change in serum urate level from baseline at the final visit was −30·8% in the 120-mg group and 1·6% with placebo, with a between-group difference of −32·4% ([95% confidence interval, −38·9% to −25·9%]; P < 0·001). Incidences of overall adverse events (AEs) in the topiroxostat groups were comparable to those in the placebo group; however, the incidence of AEs in the 120-mg group was statistically lower than that in the placebo group. The incidences of gouty arthritis were not statistically but numerically higher in the topiroxostat 80- and 120-mg groups. What is new and conclusions A dose-dependent serum urate-lowering efficacy of topiroxostat was observed in Japanese hyperuricemic male patients with or without gout. Further clinical studies aimed at evaluating the long-term safety and clinical efficacy are warranted.

Heavy rain causes landslide and debris flow, which produce sediment and woody debris in the mountain river basin. During the process, woody debris and sediment are trapped by the obstacles. As a result, woody debris accumulations at bridges are formed. Trapped woody debris at the bridge caused inundation because the obstacle blocked the water flow in the river course. To get more information regarding the woody debris accumulation at a bridge, laboratory flume was used for experiments to investigate the characteristics of woody debris accumulation at a model bridge without a pier. As a result, the experiments show that the number of trapped wood pieces increases with the number of released pieces. Moreover, the trapped wood pieces caused wood accumulations at the model bridge and backwater rise in its upstream side region. Besides that, the backwater rise increase with a number of trapped wood pieces at the bridges.

This paper reports the structural and optical investigations of the structural colour of the weevil Lamprocyphus augustus . The photonic crystal structure within the weevil's scales was investigated using sequential focused ion-beam milling and scanning electron microscopy imaging. We carefully analysed the reconstructed three-dimensional structure to determine the unit cell of the photonic crystal. It was found that the cuticle network of the cubic unit cell perfectly matches the previously reported diamond-based network. However, different results were obtained for the crystal orientations of the small crystal domains that comprise the entire photonic crystal structure in the scales: directions are highly preferred along the surface normal of the scale. This finding explains the fact that the scale is almost uniformly coloured despite the multi-domain structure. It is confirmed experimentally and theoretically that the wavelength range of the reflection band corresponds to the gap of the photonic band.

Background Olanzapine (OLZ) 10 mg added to standard antiemetic therapy including aprepitant (APR), palonosetron (PALO), and dexamethasone (DEX) has been recommended for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) caused by cisplatin. Guidelines suggest that OLZ at a dose of 5 mg should be taken into consideration in patients at risk of sedation. OLZ 5 mg showed an equivalent activity and favorable toxicity to somnolence in several phase II studies. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial to evaluate OLZ 5 mg in addition to standard antiemetic therapy for the prevention of CINV. Methods Patients receiving cisplatin (≥ 50 mg/m2) were randomly assigned to either OLZ 5 mg or placebo on days 1–4, combined with APR, PALO and DEX. The primary endpoint was complete response (CR), defined as no vomiting and no rescue medications in the delayed phase (24–120 h). As the secondary endpoints, frequency of sleepiness during daytime and appetite loss were assessed by patient reported outcome. Results A total of 710 patients were enrolled (OLZ 356 and placebo 354). CR in the delayed phase was significantly increased with OLZ than with placebo (79% vs. 66%, P Conclusions OLZ 5 mg can be considered a new standard antiemetic therapy in patients receiving cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Sleepiness during daytime due to OLZ 5 mg seems to be tolerable and addition of OLZ 5mg to the standard antiemetic therapy may reduce appetite loss. Legal entity responsible for the study Masakazu Abe. Funding Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development. Disclosure S. Iwasa: Honoraria (self): Taiho pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (institution): Lilly Japan; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (institution): Chugai Pharma; Honoraria (self): Ono Pharmaceutical; Research grant / Funding (institution): Daiichi Sankyo; Research grant / Funding (institution): Bristol-Myers Squib; Research grant / Funding (institution): Eisai; Research grant / Funding (institution): Novartis; Research grant / Funding (institution): Merck Serono; Research grant / Funding (institution): Otsuka; Research grant / Funding (institution): Bayer. N. Yamamoto: Honoraria (self): AstraZeneca; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (institution): Pfizer; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (institution): Chugai Pharma; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (institution): Bristol-Myers Squibb Japan; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (institution): Ono Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (institution): Lilly Japan; Research grant / Funding (institution): Taiho Pharmaceutical; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Eisai; Research grant / Funding (institution): Astellas Pharma; Research grant / Funding (institution): Novartis; Research grant / Funding (institution): Daiichi Sankyo; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Boehringer Ingelheim; Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Takeda; Research grant / Funding (institution): Kyowa Hakko Kirin; Research grant / Funding (institution): Bayer; Research grant / Funding (institution): Janssen; Research grant / Funding (institution): IQVIA; Research grant / Funding (institution): MSD; Research grant / Funding (institution): Abbvie; Research grant / Funding (institution): Merck Serono. Y. Ohe: Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): AstraZeneca; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Chugai Pharma; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Lilly Japan; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution), Shareholder / Stockholder / Stock options, An Immediate Family Member : Ono Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Novartis; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Kyorin; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy, Research grant / Funding (institution): Takeda; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy: Celltrion; Honoraria (self), Advisory / Consultancy: Amgen; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (institution): Bristol-Myers Squibb Japan; Honoraria (self): Boehringer Ingelheim; Honoraria (self): Bayer; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (institution): Pfizer; Honoraria (self): MSD; Honoraria (self), Research grant / Funding (institution): Taiho pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): Kyowa Hakko Kirin; Research grant / Funding (institution): Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma; Research grant / Funding (institution): Ignyta. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

We (JMAAV [Japanese patients with MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis] Study Group) performed a prospective, open-label, multi-center trial to evaluate the usefulness of severity-based treatment in Japanese patients with myeloperoxidase-anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (MPO-ANCA)-associated vasculitis. Patients with MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis received a severity-based regimen according to the appropriate protocol: low-dose corticosteroid and, if necessary, cyclophosphamide or azathioprine in patients with mild form; high-dose corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide in those with severe form; and the severe-form regimen plus plasmapheresis in those with the most severe form. We followed up the patients for 18 months. The primary end points were the induction of remission, death, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Fifty-two patients were registered, and 48 patients were enrolled in this study (mild form, n = 23; severe form, n = 23; most severe form, n = 2). Among the 47 patients who received the predefined therapies, 42 achieved remission within 6 months, 5 died, and 1 developed ESRD. Disease flared up in 8 of the 42 patients with remission during the 18-month follow-up period. The JMAAV trial is the first prospective trial for MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis to be performed in Japan. The remission and death rates were comparable to those in several previous clinical trials performed in western counties. The regimen employed in this trial was tailor-made based on patients’ disease severity and disease type, and it seems that standardization can be consistent with treatment choices made according to severity.

Summary What is known and objective There are no clinical reports that have compared topiroxostat, a selective xanthine oxidase inhibitor, with allopurinol in serum urate-lowering efficacy. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of topiroxostat and allopurinol in Japanese hyperuricemic patients with or without gout. Methods A phase 3, multicentre, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, active-controlled, parallel-group study conducted in Japan. Patients who had inadequate serum urate levels (a gout patient: serum urate level ≥416·4 μmol/L; an asymptomatic hyperuricemic patient with specific complications (urinary lithiasis, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and/or diabetes): serum urate level ≥475·8 μmol/L; and an asymptomatic hyperuricemic patient with no specific complications: serum urate level ≥535·3 μmol/L) were randomized to topiroxostat 120 mg/day or allopurinol 200 mg/day, with an equal allocation ratio, for 16 weeks. To prevent the onset of gouty arthritis by rapid serum urate reduction, these doses were increased in a stepwise manner. The primary efficacy endpoint was the per cent change in serum urate level from baseline to the final visit. Results and discussion Overall, 206 patients were randomly assigned to topiroxostat and allopurinol. Two hundred and three patients (allopurinol: n = 105, topiroxostat: n = 98) received at least one dose of the study drug and had their serum urate level assessed at least once. The baseline characteristics were comparable between groups. The mean age of patients was 53·0 ± 11·4 years and 99% of patients were male. The primary efficacy endpoint was −34·3 ± 11·1% in the allopurinol group (n = 105) and −36·3 ± 12·7% in the topiroxostat group (n = 98). Non-inferiority of the serum urate-lowering efficacy of topiroxostat to allopurinol was proved by the predefined non-inferiority margin (95% confidence interval, −5·3 to 1·3%). The overall incidences of adverse events and adverse drug reactions were similar between both groups. What is new and conclusion Topiroxostat 120 mg/day provides non-inferior serum urate reduction compared with allopurinol 200 mg/day and is well tolerated in Japanese hyperuricemic patients with or without gout.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of vascular morphology, around and within the B-mode region of abnormality, for improving the diagnostic accuracy of two of the most common solid breast pathologies. MATERIALS UND METHODS: The B-mode and Doppler images of 117 breast cancers and 366 fibroadenomas and lesions with a fibroadenoma-like appearance were reviewed retrospectively and the morphology of the vascular pattern was evaluated. The ratio of external to internal color Doppler, the external vascular pattern and the connecting vessels to internal vessels were assessed and differentiated into benign and malignant vascular patterns. These patterns were correlated with the histological diagnosis. RESULTS: Vascularity was demonstrated in 95 % of cancers and in 46 % of benign lesions with a trend to increasing vascularity in cancers. This provided poor specificity for excluding cancer in fibroadenomas. Variations in vascular pattern were recorded. The observed benign vascular patterns were avascularity, vascularity in the periphery and peripheral marginal vessels connecting with internal vascularity. The observed malignant vascular patterns were radially aligned external vessels with internal vessels being more numerous than external vessels which connected to radial vessels. (Fisher exact test p < 0.0001). Analysis of the vascular morphology improved the sensitivity for identifying cancers from 97 % (B-mode) to 99 % (B-mode and color Doppler) with a minimal reduction in specificity (93.7 to 92.6 %) or accuracy (94.6 to 94.2 %). CONCLUSION: The presence of vascularity within a lesion, by itself, is no longer a good predictor of malignancy because of the increase in Doppler sensitivity associated with improvements in ultrasound technology. The color Doppler ultrasound vascular pattern morphology improves the accuracy and sensitivity of B-mode image diagnosis, breast cancers and fibroadenomas with a minimal loss of specificity. Any breast lesion with radial rather than marginal connecting vessels should be regarded with suspicion.

We experimentally investigate how parameters of ultrashort laser pulses such as the pulse width and wavelength could induce changes in the dynamics of vibrational wave packets on the light-dressed-potential energy surface (LD-PES) of C2H5OH+ using a pump-and-probe pulse excitation scheme. The probability of non-adiabatic transition at 800 nm from the singly ionized ground state to the repulsive excited state leading to C–O bond breaking is enhanced when a probe laser pulse is delayed by ∼180 fs. At this pulse delay, on the other hand, C–C bond breaking is significantly suppressed. Therefore, the deformation of LD-PES is considered to change the direction of the wave packet traveling originally along the C–C stretching into the direction along the C–O stretching. This non-adiabatic transition leading to the redirection of the dissociating wave packet is found to occur more efficiently at the probe laser wavelengths at 400 nm than at 800 nm. The critical pulse delay is still ∼180 fs even at 400 nm.

The objective of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Colorectal Cancer-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-CR38). The questionnaire was tested among 109 colorectal cancer patients on several occasions. The timing was prior to treatment with radiotherapy or chemotherapy, during treatment and 3 months following the second assessment. For purpose of test–retest reliability, a subgroup of patients completed the QLQ-CR38 1 week following the third assessment. Multitrait scaling analysis confirmed the hypothesised scale structure of both the function scales and the symptom scales except female sexual problem scale. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for seven of the nine scales exceeded the 0.7 criterion at one or both assessments. The test–retest reliability for all scales except three symptom scales was 0.67 or higher. On the basis of known-groups comparisons, four of 46 comparisons distinguished between patients differing in disease stage, initial and on-treatment performance status and presence or absence of a stoma. Additionally, these scales detected change over time as a function of change in performance status and treatment-induced change. These preliminary results suggest that the Japanese EORTC QLQ-CR38 may be a reliable and valid supplementary measure of quality of life in colorectal cancer patients.

An agriculture-intensive country should be aware of natural toxins, including both mycotoxins and cyanotoxins, which are closely associated with the quality of raw materials, for food safety and industry. The major production chains – corn, wheat, beef, and broiler chicken – are the top components of agribusiness, and they should be tracked by reliable and practical tools. The corn chain is of particular concern in food production; intensive controls, multi-year mycotoxin monitoring, and improved harmless/sustainable management methods for uninterrupted farming in the tropicsubtropics are needed to achieve a long-lasting trend. The rapid control of natural toxins (mycotoxin and cyanotoxin) has focused on immunochemical methods developed with highly specific monoclonal antibodies (mAb) matched with chroma‐ tographic methods. In parallel, the promising widespread application of nondestructive analytical methods based on NIR (Near Infrared Reflectance) © 2015 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. spectroscopy, computer vision and hyperspectral imaging coupled with multivariate analyses have been introduced as an alternative for the prediction of quality and compositional parameters. Rapid quality control and product traceability are discussed, as well as accurate monitoring, which is essential for potentially launching an innovative system for food production in Brazil.

Photo-control of material properties on femto- (10−15) and pico- (10−12) second timescales at room temperature has been a long-sought goal of materials science. Here we demonstrate a unique ultrafast conversion between the metallic and insulating state and the emergence of a hidden insulating state by tuning the carrier coherence in a wide temperature range in the two-leg ladder superconductor Sr14-xCaxCu24O41 through femtosecond time-resolved reflection spectroscopy. We also propose a theoretical scenario that can explain the experimental results. The calculations indicate that the holes injected by the ultrashort light reduce the coherence among the inherent hole pairs and result in suppression of conductivity, which is opposite to the conventional photocarrier-doping mechanism. By using trains of ultrashort laser pulses, we successively tune the carrier coherence to within 1 picosecond. Control of hole-pair coherence is shown to be a realistic strategy for tuning the electronic state on ultrafast timescales at room temperature., Controlling material properties on sub-picosecond scales using photons could allow for ultrafast optoelectronic devices. Here, the authors propose an ultrafast photoinduced metal-to-insulator transition in a two-leg ladder cuprate superconductor based on time-resolved reflection spectroscopy.

Experimental training model of rats with spinal cord injury (SCI).Osaka, JapanObjective:To investigate the effect of forced treadmill training by plantar placement (PP), as compared with dorsal placement (DP), of the dorsal paws on the locomotor behaviors of spinal cord-injured rats.The spinal cord was contusion-injured at the thoracic level. Rats were divided into three groups: forced training involving stepping by PP and DP and non-forced training/assistance (nT). Training began 1 week after injury and was conducted for 4 weeks. Locomotor behaviors were estimated using Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scores, dorsiflexion of the hind paws and footprints of the hind paws. Histological and immunohistochemical examinations of the spinal cord lesions were conducted after 4 weeks of training.The values, respectively, of PP, DP and nT groups at 4 weeks of training were as follows: BBB scores were 15.6±0.8, 7.7±1.3 and 10.3±0.4. The paw dorsiflexion angles were 34.1±5.2, 16.4±2.4 and 23.6±3.0 degrees, respectively. The stride angles were 5.1±0.9, 13.7±4.9 and 17.8±4.0 degrees for the left paws. Cavity volumes were 10.3±2.1, 31.0±2.0 and 28.2±4.9%. In addition to cavities, there were astrocyte-devoid areas containing some loose tissues, through which many axons extended longitudinally.The BBB score, dorsiflexion angle and stride angle were consistently improved in the PP group. Cavity formation was more reduced, and many axons extended through coarse tissues formed in astrocyte-devoid areas at the lesion in the PP group. Forced training by PP of the hind paws promoted the behavioral and histological improvement of rats with SCI.

Summary Aim To systematically determine the usefulness of Helicobacter pylori IgG antibody titer decline as a predictor of treatment success after H. pylori eradication in large patient samples. Patients and Methods Serum samples from 258 H. pylori positive patients (52.8 yrs, 65% males) were retrospectively collected from five medical centers, and H. pylori titers were quantitatively determined by ELISA. Serial serum samples were collected at baseline and for up to 4.9 years after treatment. 169 patients underwent successful eradication while 89 remained infected. The median total observation period was 635 days (range, 51 to 1,800 days). Chronological changes in H. pylori titers were analyzed and compared between cured and infection persistent subjects. Results The proportion of infection persistent patients who developed negative H. pylori IgG antibody titers was below 5%. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the confirmation of successful eradication according to the percent decline over baseline at each time-point showed that a 60% decline at 1 year or more after eradication treatment strongly correlated with successful eradication (sensitivity = 90% and specificity = 87%). Conclusion A 60% decline in H. pylori IgG titers (HEL-p kit) from baseline to one year or greater is a reliable predictor of successful H. pylori eradication.

In this report, we present a case of fetal goiter with overdistended fetal neck and mild polyhydramnios. Amniocentesis and cordocentesis were conducted at 32 weeks’ gestation and fetal goitrous hypothyroidism was diagnosed. Intra-amniotic injection of l-thyroxine (T4) was performed with a weekly dose of 150 µg four times between 33 and 36 weeks’ gestation. In response to this in utero treatment, the goiter was reduced and polyhydramnios was improved. The mother gave birth to a healthy live male infant with normal thyroid function. From our case report and review of previous literature, we recommend that the amount of l-thyroxine start as low as 150 µg, and that repeat cordocentesis be avoided as long as other clinical and laboratory parameters indicate improvement of the fetal conditions.

A (Bi,Sb)2Te3 alloy powder was sintered via a pulse discharge sintering process followed by a rotary-die equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) process. It was found by x-ray diffraction analysis that the as-sintered material shows preferentially orientated microstructure, which were considerably eliminated by following ECAP processes. Generally, the Seebeck coefficient of the material was reduced by ECAP processing, which was attributed to the increased carrier concentration after the severe plastic deformation. Electrical conductivity increases after ECAP, which was also originated from the increased carrier concentration. The figure of merit of the material in different conditions shows higher value in the transverse direction. In the transverse samples, those after ECAP processing showed increased figures of merit, which reached 3.85 × 10−3/K in the material after 4 passes of ECAP.

The dependence of depth profile on a tilt and twist angle was investigated with a resolution of 0.05/spl deg/ using a stencil mask ion implanter that has less than 0.1/spl deg/ parallelism of ion beam. Angular dependence of depth profiles obtained by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) shows the channeling phenomenon can be controlled using a highly controlled parallel ion beam. This means that if tilt angle is controlled with a resolution of less than 0.1/spl deg/, the variation caused by channeling phenomenon can be neglected. The threshold voltage data of n-type MOSFETs fabricated using a controlled parallel ion beam with resolution of less than 0.1/spl deg/ indicates that the variation is the same as that in the case of one fabricated using 7/spl deg/ implantation.

Background: Fifty-six children with anomalies of the urachus remnant identified by ultrasound scan have been encountered in the authors' hospital over the last 4 years. Methods Twenty of these 56 cases were symptomatic urachal remnants, whereas the urachus remnants were seen incidentally by ultrasound scanning in the other 36 patients. Symptomatic cases were treated with antibiotics or observation. Then, symptomatic cases were divided into 2 groups. One group, surgical group, was treated with surgical resection of the urachal remnant. The other group, observation group, was followed up without its surgical resection. Forty-four patients, 11 cases of symptomatic urachal remnant and 33 asymptomatic cases, were followed up, excluding patients who had surgical treatment and who were lost to follow-up. Results Thirty patients underwent periodical ultrasonographic examination during follow-up. In 9 cases, including 2 symptomatic cases, urachal remnants have disappeared during the follow-up period spontaneously. No symptom had developed during follow-up from asymptomatic cases. Conclusions The patients with asymptomatic urachal remnants do not require follow-up, and urachal remnants, especially those under 1 year of age, do not require surgical resection unless the patient has multiple episodes.

One of the drawbacks of the series-junction detector is that signal heights depend on position of incident photon. A series-junction detector with two-dimensional position resolution has been developed. The effective area is 1.5×1.5 mm 2 . The detector was irradiated by α particles and a position resolution of about 50 μm was obtained. Making use of this position resolution, the position dependence of pulse heights can be corrected, such that the energy resolution was improved from 11% to 0.79%.

A dynamics simulator for a Gas Circuit Breaker (GCB) with spring operating mechanism was developed. The spring stores mechanical energy. When opening and closing instruction are entered in the GCB, the solenoid pushes the trigger, and mechanisms move so as to release the compression force of the spring at a high speed. A compact and light-weight mechanism is required for high-speed operation of the GCB. This means that the high-speed operation must be analytically investigated. We made a mechanical dynamics model of the whole GCB, including an FEM modal analysis. The dynamic simulator incorporates a solenoid electromagnetic field analysis and a gas pressure analysis of puffer chamber in the mechanical dynamics model. The operating characteristics of the GCB were analyzed with the simulator and measured in an operating experiment. The analytical results were in good agreement with the experimental results, and this proved that the simulator can be used to estimate the operating characteristics and appraise the stability of operation. The dynamics simulator can shorten the time it takes to design compact and light-weight GCB.

The compaction behaviours of wet granulated aluminium powder were examined by uniaxial die compaction, and their effect on rearrangement and plastic deformation was analysed by using the Cooper–Eaton equation. Based on the calculation results and structure/morphology of the granulated powder, a new compaction model for granulated powder, which consists of three compaction mechanisms (macrorearrangement, microrearrangement, and plastic deformation), and a modified equation has been proposed in this study. A macrorearrangement indicates it to be a dominant factor on the compaction behaviour of granulated powder and the modified equation is sufficient to analyse the compaction behaviour.

This paper focuses on the results of finite element modeling of a full-scale, concrete-block, geosynthetic-reinforced soil retaining wall constructed at the Public Works Research Institute in Japan. A nonlinear hyperbolic geosynthetic model was incorporated into a computer program that is capable of simulating soil-structure interaction behavior. The soil was simulated using a hyperbolic model while the block-block and soil-block interactions were simulated using interface elements. Comparison of numerical and measured experimental results indicated that the finite element model is capable of simulating the construction behavior of concrete-block geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures.

The purpose of this study was to assess the value of routine clinical examination using three-dimensional power Doppler sonography of intratumoral blood flow. Twenty-two hepatocellular carcinomas, seven cases of hepatic metastasis, four hepatic hemangiomas, six renal cell carcinomas, two cases of hepatic focal nodular hyperplasia, and one case of splenic metastasis were included in the study. Three-dimensional images were reconstructed by maximum intensity projection method using cine-loop data on a built-in computer in a LOGIQ 500 and a LOGIQ 700 from GE Yokogawa Medical Systems. The three-dimensional images obtained were viewed multidirectionally on a monitor screen. Three-dimensional representations of intratumoral blood flow became available for all tumors approximately 5 s to 30 s after scanning. In every case, the entire vasculature of the tumor was appreciated more easily from three-dimensional images than from cross-sectional two-dimensional images. These three-dimensional images of intratumoral blood flows corresponded to the tumor vessels that could be visualized by angiography at the early arterial phase. Differential diagnosis of hepatic tumors based on distinct difference in their intratumoral vascular structures was performed. Our results suggest that three-dimensional power Doppler sonography can be used for routine clinical examination of tumor vascularity and may provide improved diagnostic information.

Spherical Aberration Free Focus (AFF) conditions for taking atomic resolution electron microscope images of single crystals and pseudo-Aberration Free Focus (ψ-AFF) conditions for taking atomic images of more than two adjoining single crystals are discussed by using diagrams of Cs (spherical aberration coefficient) and Δf (defocus). Calculated image contrast in those conditions is shown for three individual crystals of MgO, MgAl2O4, Al2O3 and their adjoining crystal blocks. It is shown that at least two kinds of Bragg reflected waves can be in the AFF condition in each case, and thus the size of the aperture for limiting the waves becomes important in some cases, Cs can be changed by changing the position of the specimen along the objective lens axis but highly coherent illuminating waves are needed for large Csand δf.

A direct numerical simulation of a stratified boundary layer under various stable conditions is made by a finite-difference method without any turbulence model. The numerical simulation is very successful, showing variations of turbulent quantities due to thermal stratification. Namely, the intensities and fluxes of velocity and temperature fluctuations are significantly suppressed with increasing stability similar to the experimental results. Flow visualization of computational results is very useful to understand changes in the flow structure under stable stratification. However, compared with experimental results, the discrepancies in turbulence structure in the lowest part of the boundary layer (especially for z / δ δ is the boundary layer thickness) are observed.

In a transcutaneous energy transmission system for a totally implantable artificial heart, it is necessary that the efficiency of the implantable devices be improved and the temperature rise be minimized. In this paper, we first discuss the properties of Li-ion and Ni-MH batteries for driving an artificial heart, and then consider driving methods for a vibrating flow pump that is used in some electromagnetic artificial hearts. A pump using asymmetrical-wave voltage is 1-4% more efficient than one driven by square-wave voltage.

In recent years, many SNS exist. Especially Facebook is very popular. However, the number of friends increases too much and the time line is disorderly. Therefore, the friend who has not taken communication at all exists. Moreover, time to use SNS is increasing. Therefore, We develop new SNS. This system restricts a friend's number and makes the time line smart. The purpose of this system is to shorten utility time on SNS. Information is summarized for time reduce. This system does not increase a friend.

Static and dynamic light-scattering measurements are made for colloidal-crystals,-liquids and-gases of silica spheres, 103 nm in diameter, in the exhaustively deionized suspension and in the presence of sodium chloride. Sharp peaks in the scattering curve are observed, for the first time, for the colloidal crystals in very diluted aqueous suspension. The product of the effective diffusion coefficient and the scattered light intensity is found constant over the whole range of the scattering angle measured for the colloidal crystals and liquids. Three and two dynamic processes have been extracted separately from time profiles of autocorrelation function of colloidal crystals and liquids, respectively from Marquadt histogram analysis. Decay curves of colloidal gases are characterized by a single translational diffusion coefficient,D0.D0 of the gases is always lower than the calculation from the Stokes-Einstein equation with the true diameter of spheres, and increases as ionic concentration increases. These experimental results emphasize the important role of the expanded electrical double layers on the diffusive properties in the colloidal crystals, liquids and gases.

Purpose: There have been few reports for independent dose verification for Tomotherapy. We evaluated the accuracy and the effectiveness of an independent dose verification system for the Tomotherapy. Methods: Simple MU Analysis (SMU, Triangle Product, Ishikawa, Japan) was used as the independent verification system and the system implemented a Clarkson-based dose calculation algorithm using CT image dataset. For dose calculation in the SMU, the Tomotherapy machine-specific dosimetric parameters (TMR, Scp, OAR and MLC transmission factor) were registered as the machine beam data. Dose calculation was performed after Tomotherapy sinogram from DICOM-RT plan information was converted to the information for MU and MLC location at more segmented control points. The performance of the SMU was assessed by a point dose measurement in non-IMRT and IMRT plans (simple target and mock prostate plans). Subsequently, 30 patients’ treatment plans for prostate were compared. Results: From the comparison, dose differences between the SMU and the measurement were within 3% for all cases in non-IMRT plans. In the IMRT plan for the simple target, the differences (Average±1SD) were −0.70±1.10% (SMU vs. TPS), −0.40±0.10% (measurement vs. TPS) and −1.20±1.00% (measurement vs. SMU), respectively. For the mock prostate, the differences were −0.40±0.60% (SMU vs. TPS), −0.50±0.90% (measurement vs. TPS) and −0.90±0.60% (measurement vs. SMU), respectively. For patients’ plans, the difference was −0.50±2.10% (SMU vs. TPS). Conclusion: A Clarkson-based independent dose verification for the Tomotherapy can be clinically available as a secondary check with the similar tolerance level of AAPM Task group 114. This research is partially supported by Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)

We investigated the correlation between the temperature coefficient of elasticity (TCE) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) absorption spectra of SiO(2) for SAW devices. The measurement indicated that the TCE is strongly correlated with peak frequencies; that is, with the fractional change of the Si-O-Si bond angle with temperature.

Yean-ri human skeletal remains from South Korea have been dated to the fourth to seventh century AD. They have morphological similarities to immigrants of the Yayoi period excavated in northern Kyushu and Yamaguchi prefecture in Japan. The overall dental caries prevalence was 8.1% in the Yean-ri skeletal remains, indicating a much lower prevalence than that of most Yayoi immigrant skeletal remains from Japan, although similar to that of the Kofun people (8.3%) in Japan. There was no significant difference in the dental caries prevalence between the males and females of the same age group, but there were differences in the prevalence by age. The late middle age and elderly males and females had significantly higher dental caries prevalence than the early middle age males and females, indicating increased prevalence with age. Root caries prevalence tended to increase in old age. The percentage of root caries increased, accounting for 80% of all caries in Yean-ri human skeletal remains. Agriculture is believed to have arisen approximately 3,000 years ago in Korea. Therefore, agriculture was practiced during this period, but since the Yean-ri tumuli are from coastal areas, their diet may have retained a significant marine component. Additionally, caries prevalence was not very high in Nukdo human remains (ca. 2100–2000 BC) in Korea. We speculate that they maintained subsistence activities suitable for their environment despite their knowledge of agriculture. This hypothesis is supported by differences in the caries prevalence between excavation sites of the Yayoi and Kofun periods in Japan.