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Electric retailers need to predict spot market prices in the Japan Electric Power Exchange for efficient daily power procurement. And it is necessary to predict demand and PV output when predicting the price. Therefore, this paper deals with the simple and accurate estimation methods of total PV power over a wide area. We propose two kinds of simple methods to calculate the total PV output in the Kanto and Tohoku areas in Japan based on the predicted values of solar radiation at multiple observation points that are easy to obtain from the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Japanese electricity retail market is fully liberalized in April 2016 and new entry electricity supplier companies make an electricity supply schedule, which target several hundred or more of households. A real time measurement (or now-casting) of the aggregated electricity demand of all households or all distributed micro generation’s outputs are important for them to reduce the electricity supply and demand imbalance. They are able to do it by totaling each household’s demand data or each micro generation power output data that are measured by smart meters or energy management system. However, it seems very costly to now-cast the electricity demand of several hundred or more of households because they need to process a large amount of data. For reducing such processing loads, we have been developing an “upscaling model” which estimates the aggregated electricity demand of several hundred households using a small number of representative households’ electricity demand. The proposed upscaling model consists of a method of selecting representative households and a method of estimating aggregated demand. In this paper, we modify the upscaling model that is proposed in our preceding study. In addition, we combine the upscaling model with one-hour-ahead forecast model to modify the forecasted electricity demand by a day-ahead forecast model.

Background Sarcomas of the larynx are uncommon tumors, and osteosarcoma is the rarest. Only 24 cases of osteosarcoma of the larynx have been reported. The only case reported in Asia was from Thailand in 1981. Methods A 55-year-old male patient was referred to our hospital because of an 8-month history of odynophagia and a gradually enlarging left neck mass. A neck CT scan was performed. A literature review was also performed for this report. Results The CT scan revealed extensive calcification with enlargement of the thyroid cartilage. The patient was diagnosed with osteosarcoma and was successfully treated by surgery alone. Conclusion Adequate surgical resection is required for successful treatment of laryngeal sarcomas. Adjuvant therapy is not contraindicated, but chemotherapy may improve the prognosis in patients with high-grade tumors or metastatic disease. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: E26-E29, 2015

Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess the value of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant thyroid nodules, particularly those found to have indeterminate cytology with fine needle aspiration (FNA). Methods Thirty-eight patients with 42 thyroid nodules underwent neck magnetic resonance imaging consisting of T1-, T2-, and diffusion-weighted imaging. The final diagnosis of all nodules was confirmed by surgery, revealing 23 with benign and 19 with malignant lesions. Preoperative FNA cytology was performed in 38 of 42 nodules, including 15 of indeterminate cytology. The mean ADC values in benign and malignant groups were compared. Results There was a significant difference between mean ADC values in benign and malignant nodules and between mean ADC in benign and malignant nodules of indeterminate cytology. A cutoff value for malignant nodules of 1.60 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s yielded sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 94.73%, 82.60%, and 88.09%, respectively. Conclusion The present study revealed that ADC measurements could potentially quantitatively differentiate between benign and malignant thyroid nodules, even those of indeterminate cytology. We propose that diffusion-weighted imaging evaluation should be used for the assessment of thyroid nodules in addition to FNA cytology.

体幹臓器を原発とする悪性腫瘍の頭頸部領域転移は，その大部分は遠隔転移扱いとされ，予後不良である。今回，われわれは自験例35例の臨床的検討を行ったので報告する。原発部位は3例以上が肺10例，乳腺6例，腎4例，胸部食道3例であった。初診時未治療例は23例，治療後再発例が12例であった。頸部リンパ節転移が28例，その他頭頸部転移が13例16箇所に存在した。頭頸部転移が判明した時点で15例22臓器にその他部位にも転移を認めた。5例で外科切除が行われていた。これら頭頸部領域転移例について外科切除を必要とする場合はまれではあるが存在し，その適応の判断については症例毎に検討していく必要があると考えられた。

Summary Introduction Synovial sarcomas are rare, aggressive malignant soft-tissue tumours. Approximately 85–90% of synovial sarcomas occur in the extremities, with only 3% arising in the head and neck region. The hypopharynx as a site of occurrence has only rarely been reported. We describe herein our experience of free jejunal transfer for an adolescent patient with synovial sarcoma of the hypopharynx. Case report A 15-year-old girl presented with a 2-month history of swallowing difficulties and hoarseness. Laryngoscopy revealed a mass filling the hypopharynx, almost occluding the larynx. Histological diagnosis obtained by biopsy was synovial sarcoma. The patient underwent total pharyngo-laryngo-oesophagectomy and reconstruction with a free jejunal graft. Postoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy was performed. She has been free of recurrence or metastases for 2 years and 6 months. The patient can take a normal diet without dysphagia. Discussion Synovial sarcomas are rare, malignant, soft-tissue tumours primarily affecting the extremities, with only 3% arising in the head and neck region. The cornerstone of treatment for synovial sarcomas is complete surgical resection. Recently, total pharyngo-laryngo-oesophagectomy and free jejunal transfer have become the standard technique for patients with malignancies confined to the hypopharynx because of the minimal morbidity and mortality, favourable functional outcome and low incidence of complications associated with the donor site. Conclusion We report the case of a 15-year-old girl with synovial sarcoma of the hypopharynx. We performed a total pharyngo-laryngo-oesophagectomy and reconstruction with a free jejunal graft. The postoperative course and the functional outcome were satisfactory.

極めて予後不良とされる甲状腺未分化癌の局所進行例に対し早急に拡大切除を2例に施行し，局所制御しえたので報告する。症例1：63歳男性，主訴は急速増大する甲状腺腫瘤。術前診断cT4bN1bM0stage IVBに対し，初診日より10日目に喉頭全摘出術＋甲状腺全摘出術＋両側頸部郭清術を施行した。術後27ヶ月経過し，現在再発を認めていない。（症例2）66歳女性，主訴は右頸部痛と急速増大する甲状腺腫瘤。術前診断cT4bN1bM0stage IVBに対し，初診日より7日目に咽頭喉頭頸部食道摘出術＋甲状腺全摘出術＋両側頸部郭清術＋遊離空腸再建術を施行した。術後放射線照射施行したが，術後4ヶ月で多発転移出現し翌月原病死した。局所は最後まで制御されていた。根治切除可能な病変ならば，治癒の可能性があることや上気道の確実な確保のため，拡大切除での局所制御に取り組む意義はあると考える。

甲状腺乳頭癌は生命予後良好な癌腫であり，その根治治療は治癒切除が原則である。従って進行癌であっても生命予後改善が見込めるため拡大切除の適応となりうる。今回われわれは初診時に両側反回神経麻痺，右総頸動脈浸潤，単発肺転移を来し，右総頸動脈および左内頸静脈の再建を要した進行甲状腺乳頭癌の切除を経験した。症例は69歳女性で主訴は嗄声。術前診断甲状腺乳頭癌cT4bN1bM1stage IVCに対し甲状腺全摘術（右総頸動脈合併切除）＋喉頭全摘術＋両側頸部郭清術＋右総頸動脈再建＋左内頸静脈再建施行した。拡大切除に際して，術前から合併症回避および治療完遂のために必要十分な手術戦略を建てることが重要と再認識した。

Recently, for the purpose of utilizing renewable energy in a community, interactive electricity power networks, such as smart grid, have received much attention. In those electricity power networks, the technologies for maintain the balance of electricity demand and supply in a limited area become more important. Installing photovoltaic system can be effective for supplying electricity in a limited area at the peak load time, but PV output depends on weather conditions. Thus we propose to combine PV power generation with demand response program. We simulate interchange PV power with demand response program in a residential community. Some numerical results, which demonstrate the validity of the proposed method, will be presented.

Sarcomas of the larynx are uncommon tumors, and osteosarcoma is the rarest. Only 24 cases of osteosarcoma of the larynx have been reported. The only case reported in Asia was from Thailand in 1981.A 55-year-old male patient was referred to our hospital because of an 8-month history of odynophagia and a gradually enlarging left neck mass. A neck CT scan was performed. A literature review was also performed for this report.The CT scan revealed extensive calcification with enlargement of the thyroid cartilage. The patient was diagnosed with osteosarcoma and was successfully treated by surgery alone.Adequate surgical resection is required for successful treatment of laryngeal sarcomas. Adjuvant therapy is not contraindicated, but chemotherapy may improve the prognosis in patients with high-grade tumors or metastatic disease.

Osteomyelitis is one of the most severe late complications of radiation therapy. The condition can arise from osteoradionecrosis and can be fatal if it occurrs in vertebrae. A 71-year-old woman, who had undergone chemoradiotherapy for hypopharyngeal cancer 6 months previously, presented with severe neck pain. An MRI examination revealed pyogenic spondylitis and an epidural abscess of the neck. Neurological disturbance in the extremities developed despite the administration of antibiotics for 5 days. Drainage and a laminectomy were performed to control the infection and to relieve spinal cord compression. The patient had no postoperative complications at 15 months after surgery. Previous case reports of osteomyelitis and epidural abscess following radiation therapy for head and neck cancer with surgical treatment tended to have a good clinical course. Severe neck pain and a limitation in the range of motion of the neck are considered to be serious clinical features of osteomyelitis. Since infection in the necrotic mucosa leads to pyogenic spondylitis, a repeated cultivation survey of the mucosa is nessesary for adequate antibiotics therapy. For osteomyelitis and epidural abscess following radiation therapy, immediate specific surgical treatment of the involved region is strongly suggested if antibiotics are not effective or spinal cord compression develops.

Synovial sarcomas are rare, aggressive malignant neoplasms, and less than 10% of cases involve the head and neck. Cases that involve the nasopharynx are even more exceptional and little information is available concerning their diagnosis and management. We report the third case of synovial sarcoma of the nasopharynx, which was diagnosed as a monophasic type and was successfully treated with a complete surgical excision followed by irradiation. The present case indicates that appropriate immunohistochemical and cytogenetic analysis are essential for accurate diagnosis of monophasic synovial sarcoma in unusual locations. A review of the literature indicates that synovial sarcoma of the nasopharynx exhibits an improved prognosis following tumor resection and postoperative adjuvant radiation unless it invades adjacent bones, even though the tumor is larger than 4 cm.