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An isolation layer composed of isolators and steel dampers in base-isolated tall buildings can dissipate wind-induced energy via repeated elasto-plastic deformation. Its energy dissipation can be used to estimate its wind-induced responses and the fatigue damage in the steel dampers. Computationally costly time history analyses using multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) models suggest that some structural parameters influence the isolation-layer energy dissipation. However, using common single-degree-of-freedom (CS) models cannot fully capture such influences (e.g., those caused by the damping ratio and the natural period of the upper structure). Hence, this paper proposes a more accurate new equivalent single-degree-of-freedom (ES) model to estimate the isolation-layer energy dissipation in base-isolated tall buildings under strong winds. The ES model considers the influence of structural parameters and uses the first mode shapes of the MDOF models. It is as computationally efficient as, but is more accurate than, the CS model. The results indicate that it can estimate the isolation-layer energy dissipation as closely as MDOF models of base-isolated tall-building under strong winds.

ABSTRACT Various immune‐related adverse events (irAEs), including fulminant type 1 diabetes (FT1D), are known to be associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). We experienced two lung adenocarcinoma cases who developed fulminant type 1 diabetes long after discontinuation of ICI therapies. One, a 74‐year‐old male, received nivolumab and developed fulminant type 1 diabetes 44 days after the last infusion. The other, an 85‐year‐old male, received atezolizumab and developed fulminant type 1 diabetes 171 days after the last infusion. Clinical ICI treatment guidelines recommend laboratory tests during ICI treatments but the necessity of tests in patients whose ICI therapy has been discontinued is not clearly described. These cases indicate that blood glucose monitoring should be continued at least for several months, and that patients should be informed of the possibility of fulminant type 1 diabetes after ICI discontinuation, because fulminant type 1 diabetes progresses rapidly and can be life‐threatening if not promptly recognized.

Background and study aims Gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a highly technical procedure mainly due to the distinctive shape of the stomach and diverse locations of lesions. We developed a new gastric ESD training model (G-Master) that could accurately recreate the location of the stomach and assessed the reproducibility of located lesions in the model. Methods The model comprises a simulated mucous membrane sheet made of konjac flour and a setting frame, which can simulate 11 locations of the stomach. We assessed the reproducibility of each location in the model by assessing the procedure speed and using a questionnaire that was distributed among experts. In the questionnaire, each location was scored on a six-point scale for similarity of locations. Results The mean score for all locations was high with > 4 points. Regarding locations, lower anterior and posterior walls had medium scores with 3 to 4 points. The procedure speed was slower in the greater curvature of the upper and middle gastric portions, where ESD is considered more difficult than the overall procedure speed. Conclusions The new gastric ESD training model appears to be highly reproducible for each gastric location and its application for training in assuming actual gastric ESD locations.

Abstract The diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) using conventional endoscopy is difficult because submucosal tumor (SMT) lesions like GIST are covered by a mucosal layer. Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) can obtain optical information from deep inside tissues. However, far less progress has been made in the development of techniques for distinguishing deep lesions like GIST. This study aimed to investigate whether NIR-HSI is suitable for distinguishing deep SMT lesions. In this study, 12 gastric GIST lesions were surgically resected and imaged with an NIR hyperspectral camera from the aspect of the mucosal surface. Thus, the images were obtained ex-vivo. The site of the GIST was defined by a pathologist using the NIR image to prepare training data for normal and GIST regions. A machine learning algorithm, support vector machine, was then used to predict normal and GIST regions. Results were displayed using color-coded regions. Although 7 specimens had a mucosal layer (thickness 0.4–2.5 mm) covering the GIST lesion, NIR-HSI analysis by machine learning showed normal and GIST regions as color-coded areas. The specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy of the results were 73.0%, 91.3%, and 86.1%, respectively. The study suggests that NIR-HSI analysis may potentially help distinguish deep lesions.

The fractional derivative (FD) model is one kind of numerical model of viscoelastic (VE) damper, which can describe the behavior of the frequency sensitivity of VE damper well with some empirical parameters. However, the FD model is difficult to apply to practice design because of its complex calculation. Compared with the FD model, the integer derivative (ID) models are widely used as the VE damper equipped in the high-rise building. However, ID models lack consideration of frequency sensitivity, which significantly affects their accuracy. To consider frequency sensitivity in the ID model, this study attempted to use the 4-element and 6-element models of ID models to approximate the FD model, easily describing the VE characteristic of the damper. The wind forces of 500-year-return periods were employed to analyze the influence of the frequency sensitivity of the VE damper on wind-induced responses and energy dissipation. The results of this study showed that the 4-element and 6-element models not only matched frequency sensitivities well to the FD model in the low-frequency region of wind excitation but also had good agreements with the FD model in wind-induced responses and energy dissipation. Based on the findings in this study, the 4-element and 6-element models were recommended as numerical models for the wind-resistant design of high-rise buildings with VE dampers. It helps improve the wind-induced behavior simulation of VE dampers considering their frequency sensitivity in high accuracy without massive experimental cost.

Background and study aims The Japan Narrow-band imaging (NBI) Expert Team (JNET) classification was proposed for evaluating colorectal lesions. However, it remains unknown whether the JNET classification can be applied to magnifying endoscopy with image-enhanced endoscopies other than NBI. This study aimed to compare the diagnostic ability of JNET classification by magnifying endoscopy with blue laser imaging (ME-BLI) and with ME-NBI. Patients and methods We retrospectively assessed consecutive patients diagnosed per the JNET classification by ME-BLI (BLI group) or ME-NBI (NBI group) between March 2014 and June 2017. We compared the diagnostic value of JNET classification between the groups with one-to-one propensity score matching. Results Four hundred and seventy-one propensity score-matched pairs of lesions were analyzed. In the BLI and NBI groups, the overall diagnostic accuracies were 92.1 % and 91.7 %, respectively, and those for differentiating between neoplastic and non-neoplastic polyps were 96.6 % and 96.8 %, respectively. The positive predictive value by each JNET classification in BLI vs. NBI group was 90.6 % vs. 96.2 % in Type 1, 94.3 % vs. 94.6 % in Type 2A, 57.7 % vs. 42.3 % in Type 2B, and 100 % vs. 91.7 % in Type 3. The negative predictive value was 97.0 % vs. 96.9 % in Type 1, 88.1 % vs. 82.8 % in Type 2A, 98.0 % vs. 98.2 % in Type 2B, and 98.5 % vs. 98.7 % in Type 3. No statistical difference in the diagnostic results was found between the groups. Conclusions The diagnostic ability of the JNET classification by ME-BLI and ME-NBI was comparable, with the former also applicable for diagnosis of colorectal lesions.

The active structural control (ASC) has been applied to base-isolated buildings to achieve a high-damping system. The critical step for designing an ASC system is selecting control parameters and isolation parameters that satisfy the design restrictions. However, the conventional methods are limited in theoretically estimating the maximum control force, which requires great demand for trial-and-error approaches and numerical simulations. This paper constructed the equivalent model of the feedback control system that theoretically expresses the dependence of vibration characteristics (natural period and damping ratio) of the control system on the feedback gain. Then, the control-force spectrum is proposed that estimates the maximum control force for a feedback control system, adjusting both the natural period and damping ratio of the control system. The maximum responses and control force are estimated without additional numerical simulations and trial-and-error approaches using the equivalent model and control-force spectrum. Moreover, a design method was devised for determining the allowance range of the vibration characteristics of structures (damping ratio and natural period) and controllers that satisfy the design limitations (maximum responses and maximum control force). The design method does not require trial-and-error and numerical simulations, thus simplifying the design procedure. Finally, this paper uses numerical examples and a design example to verify the validity of the control-force spectrum and design method.

In this study, a laparoscopic imaging device and a light source able to select wavelengths by bandpass filters were developed to perform multispectral imaging (MSI) using over 1000 nm near-infrared (OTN-NIR) on regions under a laparoscope. Subsequently, MSI (wavelengths: 1000–1400 nm) was performed using the built device on nine live mice before and after tumor implantation. The normal and tumor pixels captured within the mice were used as teaching data sets, and the tumor-implanted mice data were classified using a neural network applied following a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure. The system provided a specificity of 89.5%, a sensitivity of 53.5%, and an accuracy of 87.8% for subcutaneous tumor discrimination. Aggregated true-positive (TP) pixels were confirmed in all tumor-implanted mice, which indicated that the laparoscopic OTN-NIR MSI could potentially be applied in vivo for classifying target lesions such as cancer in deep tissues.

Background and study aims Visual assessment of laterally spreading tumors non-granular type (LST-NG) and depressed lesions by narrow band imaging (NBI) without magnification has not been studied. We investigated the role of non-magnifying NBI in detecting LST-NG and type IIc lesions on colonoscopy. Patients and methods This retrospective study examined consecutive patients diagnosed as having LST-NG and/or type IIc lesions in our hospital between August 2011 and July 2013. These lesions were classified as “Brownish area (BA),” “Brown only in the margins (O-ring sign),” “Same color as the normal mucosa (SC),” and “Whitish area (WA)” based on their appearance on non-magnifying NBI, and their appearance were compared with their histopathological findings. Results A total of 18 type IIc and 180 LST-NG lesions were analyzed. Among the type IIc lesions, 5 (28 %), 12 (67 %), and 1 (5 %) were classified as BA, O-ring sign, and SC, respectively. Among the LST-NG lesions, 126 (70 %), 26 (14 %), and 28 lesions (16 %) were classified as BA, O-ring sign, and SC, respectively. The IIc lesions were found to have 1 lesion (20 %) with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) in the BA, and 2 lesions (17 %) with invasive cancer (IC) in the O-ring sign group. Among the LST-NG lesions, 27 (21 %) were found to have IC and 49 (39 %), HGD in the BA group; 8 lesions (31 %) had IC and 4 (15 %) had HGD in the O-ring sign group; and 1 lesion (4 %) had IC and 4 (14 %) had HGD in the SC group. Conclusions Most flat and depressed colorectal lesions were seen on non-magnifying NBI as brown lesions with the exception of some flat lesions that were indistinguishable in color from the adjacent normal mucosa. Some of these flat lesions were also found to have HGD or IC.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are a group of soil microorganisms that establish symbioses with most land plant species. “Root trap culture” generally has been used for isolating a single regenerated spore in order to establish a monospecific, native AMF line. Roots may be co-colonized with multiple AMF species; however, only a small portion of AMF within roots sporulate, and do so only under certain conditions. In this study, we tested whether young thalli (Marchantia paleacea harbour monospecific AMF, and can be used as a vegetative inoculant line. When M. paleacea gemmae were co-cultivated with roots obtained from the field, the young thalli were infected by AMF via rhizoids and formed arbuscules after 18 days post-sowing. Ribosomal DNA sequencing of the AMF-colonized thalli (mycothalli) revealed that they harboured phylogenetically diverse AMF; however, new gemmae sown around transplanted mycothalli showed evidence of colonization from phylogenetically uniform Rhizophagus species. Of note, mycothalli can also be used as an inoculum. These results suggest that the young thalli of M. paleacea can potentially isolate monospecific AMF from field soil in a spore-independent manner.

This paper describes the performance prospect of scaled cross-current tetrode (XCT) CMOS devices and demonstrates the outstanding low-energy aspects of sub-30-nm-long gate XCT-SOI CMOS by analyzing device operations. The energy efficiency improvement of such scaled XCT CMOS circuits (two orders higher) stems from the “source potential floating effect”, which offers the dynamic reduction of effective gate capacitance. It is expected that this feature will be very important in many medical implant applications that demand a long device lifetime without recharging the battery.

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