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Background Long-term prognosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), particularly non-target region stenosis, has not been well improved. Therefore, lifestyle modification should be considered along with medication to prevent the progression of coronary atherosclerosis. Particularly, the promotion of physical activity (PA) is recommended as a core intervention for secondary prevention because of its direct effects on coronary risk factors. However, the factors related to PA after PCI have not been fully investigated. Purpose To explore predictors of PA after discharge in patients underwent PCI. Methods We conducted a multicenter prospective cohort study. Participants were patients aged Results We enrolled 313 patients [median age: 63 {inter-quartile range (IQR):56–67} years, women: 13.1%, ACS: 16.4%]. The median of SC and MVPA at 3-month were 6902 steps (IQR:5078–9095) and 16.2 min (IQR: 8.6–28.9), respectively. Predictors of SC at 3-month ≥the median were SC at 1-month (odds ratio 1.78, per 1000 steps/day; 95% confidence interval 1.51–2.09), hemoglobin (1.43, per 1g/dl; 1.10–1.86), body mass index (BMI) (0.87, per 1kg/m2; 0.82–0.99), use of β-blocker (0.49, 0.25–0.95), and self-efficacy for walking (1.06, per 1 point; 1.00–1.11). Predictors of MVPA ≥the median were MVPA at 1-month (5.66, per 10 minutes/day; 3.63–8.84), hemoglobin (1.57, per 1g/dl; 1.19–2.06), and BMI (0.85, per 1kg/m2; 0.76–0.94). The AUC of the regression model for SC and MVPA were 0.87 and 0.89, respectively. Conclusion PA after PCI could be predicted by modifiable factors with good predictive accuracy. The findings of this study suggest the possibility to develop tailored PA promotion program. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

Objectives To assess the volume reduction ratio, symptom improvement and reintervention rate following magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) for uterine myomas. Methods A total of 91 Japanese women with symptomatic myomas underwent MRgFUS between June 2004 and June 2008 using the ExAblate 2000 system. The volume change ratio was calculated at 6, 12 and 24 months following MRgFUS based on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images. The symptom severity score (SSS) was examined before and after the treatment (at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months). Additional post-MRgFUS treatments, such as hysterectomy, myomectomy, uterine artery embolization or repeat MRgFUS, were recorded and the reinterventional treatment rates were compared according to the signal intensity of pretreatment T2-weighted magnetic resonance images of the myomas. Results The mean volume change ratios of low- and intermediate-intensity (Type 1/2) myomas were −36.5% 6 months post-procedure and −39.5% 24 months post-procedure. The mean ± SD SSS value for patients with Type 1/2 myomas before MRgFUS was 35.1 ± 21.0, and the values diminished significantly during the 24-month follow-up period to a mean value of around 15.0. High-intensity (Type 3) myomas were not observed to have decreased in size 6 months after MRgFUS. Of the 45 Type 1/2 myoma patients with complete follow-up, seven required reinterventional treatment within 24 months. The reintervention rates were 14.0% for Type 1/2 patients and 21.6% for Type 3 patients at 24 months post-treatment. Conclusions Moderate volume reductions of Type 1/2 myomas were noted following MRgFUS, and the reduction in SSS values and the relatively low reintervention rates observed are encouraging. We found MRgFUS to be an appropriate treatment method for Type 1/2 uterine myomas. Copyright © 2009 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

As the mechanical causes for instability and loss in superconducting coils become more pronounced as coils increase in scale, it is important to understand the physical behavior of such failure when developing highly reliable and efficient SMES's of a practical scale. However, it is difficult to understand the mechanical behavior of superconducting coils, especially the local deformation or displacement of coil components. It is helpful to use a model to simulate the mechanical behavior of superconducting coils when discussing the instability and mechanical loss caused by such mechanical factors. A simulation model was developed to show the nonlinear mechanical deformation of a modified D-shaped elemental coil with a Rutherford type conductor in a 1 kWh SMES. The nonlinear characteristics of the conductor were explained by the frictional slip between two layers in the conductor. FEM analysis conducted using this model explained well with the mechanical deformations measured in the coil.

In NbTi multifilamentary wires with Cu and CuMn matrices, AC susceptibilities were measured using a SQUID magnetometer and a PPMS susceptometer at temperatures of 2 to 10 K, DC magnetic fields B/sub e/ up to 6 T and AC magnetic fields b/sub 0/ (0.05 to 1 mT, 10 to 53 Hz). Both fields were applied perpendicular to the wire axis. The upper critical fields of proximity-induced superconducting matrices B/sub clp/ were estimated from the peak temperatures appearing in the imaginary parts of the AC susceptibilities /spl chi/". These values were compared with those estimated from measured twist-pitch dependence of magnetization where the scaling law is applied to the critical current densities of the proximity-induced superconducting matrix J/sub cp/. Both results are favorably compared. The lower critical fields of proximity-induced superconducting matrices B/sub clp/ were estimated from the temperatures at which the real part signal /spl chi/' began to decrease. The temperature dependence of B/sub clp/ agrees with that of B/sub c2p/.

This paper demonstrates that motion control of a three-link brachiation robot can be performed via final-state control for a linear parameter-varying system with error learning. Since the root joint of the brachiation robot has no drive unit, the control problem is treated as that for an open-chain manipulator possessing nondriven joints in circumstances with gravity. Also, the brachiation robot possesses a nonlinear property in its wide motion area from an initial state to a final desired state. We treat the brachiation robot as a discrete-time linear parameter-varying system by using an extended linearization method and Euler's method. In the experiments, the second and third joints of the brachiation robot are directly driven by AC servo motors installed in each joint. The free vibration of the brachiation robot is coincident with that of the simulation and gives suggestions of the final time to reach a desired state that has to be specified for final-state control. By simulations and experiments, it is demonstrated that the feedforward input obtained by the final-state control method can bring the three-link brachiation robot from an initial state to a desired state in a specific time. Its robustness under a variation of the link mass is also verified.

The distribution of total uptime during a given time interval for a repairable system is obtained. The total uptime is the total amount of time the system is up (in operation) during the interval. It is assumed that: (1) the system starts to operate at the beginning of the interval and alternately takes only the two states, up and down (under repair); (2) repair restores the system to "like-new". A simple approximation to the distribution function of total uptime for a shorter interval is presented. >

The 1st case was a 74-year-old male diagnosed as femoral neck fracture. Biopsy of the bone revealed metastatic adenocarcinoma. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed a mass lesion located in the right lower lobe. With a diagnosis of primary lung cancer (cT2N1M1), two-staged operation was performed. Pathological diagnosis was pleomorphic carcinoma [pT2N1M1 (OSS), stage IV]. He died 8 months after surgery due to metastasis to the thoracic spine. The 2nd case was a 80-year-old female who complained of lateral chest pain. Chest CT revealed a tumor in the right hilar region, which was diagnosed as adenocarcinoma by transbronchial lung biopsy. Only thoracic drainage was performed since metastases to the brain and the rib were demonstrated. She died 2 months after admission. Autopsy revealed pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung with metastasis to the brain, costa and mediastinal lymph nodes.

In this paper, we apply an error learning method of final-state control to motion control of a 3-link brachiation robot of which the root joint has no drive unit. A brachiation robot moves under a ladder across the ceiling by holding the ladder with arms (just like a monkey moves from a tree to another). We treat the nonlinear terms of the governing equation as if they were linear and represent the dynamic model as a linear parameter-varying system. By simulations and experiments it is demonstrated that the feedforward input obtained by the error learning method can bring the brachiation robot from an initial state to a desired state in a specific time.

A case of primary liposarcoma of the cervix is described in a 49-year-old woman with a fungating cervical mass which was diagnosed as liposarcoma on the basis of cytologic features and the intracellular lipids. Most of the adipocytes and vacuolated lipoblasts were positive for S- 100 protein. The mass was well circumscribed and limited to the superficial cervical stroma. A total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy was performed. There was no clinical evidence of metastasis two years after the operation.

HTS materials have peculiar characteristics for magnetic field and temperature, which may come from weak coupling between crystal grains and anisotropy in pinning behaviors. Under the restricted conditions in the applications of HTS materials, we propose two types of the prospective directions. One is to AC power devices such as transformers cooled around liquid nitrogen temperature, and the other is to pulsed coils cooled by cryocoolers in a temperature range from 30K to 40K. Topics in the application to HTS transformers are pointed out in relation with the development of a 800kVA laboratory-size model cooled by subcooled liquid nitrogen and with a new initiative of high-voltage model with rated levels of 22kV/6.9kV. The key points are winding configuration of parallel conductors with low AC loss and high capacity, reliable response to excess current due to sudden short and high-voltage performance using liquid nitrogen. Secondly, recent study of a IT pulsed coil directly cooled by a cryocooler is presented. The winding is a similar type to the parallel conductor for the above transformers, which is transposed only between successive layers in the solenoid coil. The thermal design for steady operation of 1 Hz is also discussed.

In order to study the standardization of the test method for a.c. loss measurement of metallic superconductors, a round robin test (RRT) of Cu/Nb-Ti composite superconductors has been carried out by using the pick-up coil method and the VSM/SQUID method. Several kinds of Cu/Nb-Ti wires were supplied, and several laboratories participated in this RRT. Hysteresis loss was measured under the external magnetic field of ±1T at 4.2K as the regulated measurement. Sample configurations and magnetic field conditions were changed to study the scope of the test method.

We conducted ergometer exercise electrocardiography (ergometry) on 3,477 subjects in a THP (Total Health Promotion Plan). One hundred cases in which abnormal findings were detected by ergometry were analyzed. In the hundred cases there were 3 patterns: abnormal ST change, 50 cases; abnormal reaction, 22 cases; and extreme increase in blood pressure, 28 cases. Electrocardiograms (ECG) in 78 of these 100 cases indicated no abnormalities. Of the 31 subjects who underwent further examinations, in 18 cases abnormal findings were detected, and further observation or treatment was necessary. They were over two thirds of the 26 cases requiring observation or treatment on further examination. In other words, exercise electrocardiography revealed more than 3 times as many problem cases as electrocardiography only. One hundred and four cases were analyzed, and among them abnormal findings on ECG made further examination or treatment necessary. Of 68 subjects with an abnormal ECG and who needed to undergo exercise electrocardiography, 51 (75%) had no need to undergo further examinations, because there were no abnormal findings on ergometry in the THP. Of the 104 subjects who underwent ECG examination at rest, 51 no longer needed to waste time, effort and expense on further medical evaluation. Ergometry in a THP serves as a medical check and as a means to decide the strength of exercise before the initiation of exercise training, which is very important in preventing coronary artery disease, rather than in detecting the disease. Ergometry is expensive and it takes a lot of time and labor, but it is necessary in ensuring the safety of exercise training and in prescribing proper exercise. This analysis has shown that ergometry in THP is very useful and cost effective in improving the accuracy of health examinations.

A spontaneous form of renal cell carcinoma occurs in rats that arises as the result of the inheritance of a mutation in a single autosomal gene. Cytogenetic analysis was performed on seven cell lines and four primary tumor cell preparations derived from this hereditary form of renal cell carcinoma. Banded karyotypes prepared from these seven lines exhibited loss and/or partial deletion of both chromosomes 5 and 6. Translocations involving chromosome 4, resulting in a net loss of genetic material located near the centromere (4q11), were observed in three of the cell lines. Monosomy, translocation, and breakage of chromosome 5 involving band 5q31 and monosomy and partial deletion of chromosome 6 involving band 6q22-q24 were independently observed in primary tumor cells from three of four tumors examined. Monosomy of chromosome 4 was observed in cells from a single tumor. The smallest region of deletion of chromosome 6 common to all the cell lines and tumor cells was 6q24, suggesting the presence of a tumor suppressor gene at this locus. These results indicate that loss of genes located on chromosomes 4, 5, and 6, possibly tumor suppressor gene(s), may be important for tumor development and/or progression in rat renal cell carcinoma and is consistent with the hypothesis that a gene locus on one of these chromosomes may be the site of the original predisposing mutation.

Cancer of the gallbladder is radioresistant. When a case of such was found inoperable, she was subjected to radiotherapy combined with aclarubicin and neocarzinostatin. Therapeutic effectiveness was confirmed at autopsy as she later succumbed to uterine cervical cancer. Thus, the present radiochemotherapeutic regimen would probably provide a means of overcoming those radioresistant inoperable malignancies. Intravenous administrations of appropriate antibiotics such as azthreonam and reniran may probably be helpful in the prevent ion and treatment of septic peritonitis possible during the course of reinforced radiotherapy of the abdomen.

We have fabricated the powder-metallurgy (P/M) processed Nb 3 Sn superconducting wires as the first trial for the development of P/M processed Nb 3 Sn wires for AC use. The Nb content was chosen as small as 22.5wt% so as to avoid the appearance of interfilamentary coupling inside the wire. Nevertheless, the smallest effective diameter d eff obtained in the present trial was 37μm, while the average diameter of Nb 3 Sn filaments was 1μm. The Critical current density Jc of filamentary region was 1.7×109A/m2at 4.2K at 1T. A test coil with the coil length of 160mm, inner diameter of 34mm and outer diameter of 146.5mm was wound by a (3×7)- strand cable of P/M processed Nb 3 Sn wires in the wind and react method, and a pulse-mode operation was carried out. We have also fabricated the external diffusion (E/D) processed Nb 3 Sn multifilamentary wires to seek for another possibility for the development of Nb 3 Sn superconducting wires for AC uses. The wire diameter was 0.15mm, the filament diameter was 0.5μm, the number of filaments was 17935, and the twist pitch was 1mm. The overall critical current density was 1.8×109A/m2at 4.2K and 2T, which is about 3 times larger than that of the corresponding NbTi multifilamentary wires. A test coil with the coil length of 50mm, inner diameter of 20mm and outer diameter 30.4mm was also wound by 3-strand cable of E/D processed Nb 3 Sn wires in the wind and react method, and 60Hz operation was carried out. The present trial indicates that the superior characteristics of Nb 3 Sn wires such as high temperature margin and large amplitude availability compared with NbTi wires could be the additional advantageous characteristics of further developed Nb 3 Sn wires for AC uses.

The following two types of reactions were investigated for the recovery of hydrogen from hydrogen sulfide: Type 1 H 2 S → H 2 + S 0 , Type 2 H 2 S + O 2 → H 2 + SO 2 Each type of reaction is constructed by a two-step cycle, in which H 2 S is reacted with metal or metal sulfide and then the resulting sulfide undergoes thermal decomposition or oxidation. Ag 2 S, FeS, Co 9 S 8 , Ni 3 S 2 , and the double sulfide CuFeS 2 were examined in the former type of reaction, while Ag, Cu, Ni, liquid Pb, and liquid BiAg alloy were used as an intermediate in the latter.

The two-step thermochemical decomposition cycle of H2S was proposed as described below, and experimental studies were made on cycle. The use of lower sulfide such as Ni3S2 was regarded as rather important on the basis of thermodynamic and kinetic investigations. Ni3S2 powder was mixed with Al2O3 to avoid the sintering associated with the depression of the melting point caused by desulfurization on NiS. In the fundamental experiments, the effects of reaction factors were investigated. The cycle under optimum conditions was scaled up 10 times and the thermal efficiency was estimated to be 43–45%.

The case of a 73-year-old man with right heart failure and systolic and diastolic murmur at the fourth left intercostal space is described. There was a history of rheumatic fever. Two-dimensional echocardiography showed rheumatic change of the tricuspid valve with giant right atrium and ventricle, which was confirmed during operation. This is an unusual case of isolated tricuspid regurgitation and stenosis with convincing evidence of rheumatic etiology.

Giant oocytes and zygotes twice the normal size from the Chinese hamster were studied embryologically and cytogenetically in order to clarify their significance as a cause of digynic triploidy. There were 6 (0.62%) giant eggs among 973 primary oocytes, 5 (1.37%) among 365 secondary oocytes from mature follicles missing ovulation, 3 (0.44%) among 677 secondary oocytes from oviducts, 4 (0.45%) among 886 one-cell zygotes, and 3 (0.49%) among 608 two-cell zygotes. The results indicated that follicles containing a giant oocyte might have a tendency to miss ovulation. But once ovulated, the giant eggs were fertilized normally and developed normally. uclear and chromosomal aspects were studied in 6 primary and 18 secondary oocytes, and 6 one-cell and 5 two-cell zygotes. There were mononuclear and binuclear giant oocytes, but the latter state was rarely maintained to metaphase II. The primary oocytes showed a diploid number of bivalents (22 tetrads) with normal chiasma configuration, and the secondary oocytes had 22 dyads with normal features, indicating normal segregation. The one-cell zygotes exhibited one set of diploid female pronuclear chromosomes and one set of haploid male pronuclear chromosomes in the late prophase. The two-cell zygotes were all digynic triploids; the tail of a fertilizing spermatozoon was attached. There were five XXX and six XXY giant triploids, giving a ratio of 1:1, as expected. t was suggested that the nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio of giant triploid eggs may be more favorable at least for preimplantation development than that of any other type of triploidy. Giant diploid oocytes may be an important source of human digynic triploids, in spite of the prevailing view from studies of marker chromosomes that suppression of first polar body extrusion is the predominant cause.