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Naoko Kamiya,1 Yukiko Ishikawa,1 Kazuhiko Kotani,2 Shuji Hatakeyama,1,3 Masami Matsumura1 1Division of General Internal Medicine, Jichi Medical University Hospital, Shimotsuke-shi, Tochigi, Japan; 2Division of Community and Family Medicine, Center for Community Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke-shi, Tochigi, Japan; 3Division of Infectious Diseases, Jichi Medical University Hospital, Shimotsuke-shi, Tochigi, JapanCorrespondence: Naoko Kamiya, Division of General Internal Medicine, Jichi Medical University Hospital, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke-shi, Tochigi, 329-0498, Japan, Tel +81-285-58-7498, Fax +81-285-40-5160, Email m01015no@jichi.ac.jpBackground: Lymphomas, including Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, are one of the differentials for peripheral lymphadenopathy and are difficult to diagnose clinically. Biopsy is essential for diagnosing lymphoma, although it is invasive. Non-invasive methods are required to identify patients with suspected lymphoma who should undergo a biopsy. The relevance of the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio has recently been reported to be a useful diagnostic marker in children with lymphoma and a prognostic marker of various other diseases. This study aimed to determine the relevance of the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio in the diagnosis of lymphoma in adults.Methods: The study included 246 adult outpatients (median age of 49.0 years) presenting with peripheral lymphadenopathy. The final diagnosis was determined by reviewing the medical records. We categorized all patients into either the lymphoma group or the non-lymphoma group. The lymphoma group included patients who underwent biopsy and were diagnosed with lymphoma by histopathology, while the non-lymphoma group included those diagnosed with disease excluding lymphoma. The monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratios were compared between the two groups.Results: Of the participants, 33 (13.4%) were assigned to the lymphoma group. The median age of the lymphoma and non-lymphoma groups were 67.0 years (interquartile range [IQR] 55.5– 75.5 years) and 46.0 years (IQR 36.0– 61.0 years), respectively. The lymphocyte and monocyte levels showed no significant differences between the two groups individually. Nonetheless, the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio was significantly higher in the lymphoma group (median, 0.36; IQR, 0.24– 0.73) than in the non-lymphoma group (median, 0.29; IQR, 0.21– 0.43; P = 0.022), independent of lymph node diameter ≥ 1 cm and C-reactive protein levels.Conclusion: This study suggests that the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio can be a helpful diagnostic marker for lymphoma in adults with peripheral lymphadenopathy when the etiology is unclear even after a medical interview and physical examination.Keywords: lymphadenopathy, lymphoma, monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio, diagnostic marker

Jun Watanabe, Kazuhiko Kotani Center for Community Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke-City, JapanCorrespondence: Kazuhiko KotaniCenter for Community Medicine, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke-City, Tochigi 329-0498, JapanTel +81-285-58-7394Fax +81-285-44-0628Email kazukotani@jichi.ac.jpBackground: The importance of management of metabolic syndrome (MetS) for risk reduction of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been recognized worldwide. Because of the comparatively unique characteristics of bodily figure/obesity and incident CVD in Japan, the relevance of MetS on CVD can be still discussed among Japanese people. The present study aimed to review briefly the relationship of MetS with CVD morbidity/mortality among general Japanese people.Methods: Population-based prospective cohort studies evaluating the predictive value of MetS on CVD morbidity/mortality via a PubMed search up to 2019 were summarized.Results: We identified two studies on morbidity that reported MetS to predict CVD morbidity. We identified three studies on mortality, and these studies showed an increased direction of hazard ratio (HR) of CVD mortality, while one study reported an insignificant prediction of MetS for CVD mortality. In the meta-analysis method, MetS significantly predicted CVD morbidity (HR=1.71 [95% confidence interval=1.34– 2.18] in men and HR=1.89 [95% confidence interval=1.45– 2.46] in women) as well as CVD mortality (HR=1.68 [95% confidence interval=1.37– 2.06] in men and HR=1.73 [95% confidence interval=1.39– 2.15] in women).Conclusion: Among general Japanese people, MetS can be a positive predictor of CVD morbidity/mortality. Since the studies are limited, more research is needed to establish the findings.Keywords: cardiometabolic health, disease morbidity, disease mortality, obesity

A new methodology for the determination of an objective metric for still image coding is reported. This methodology is applied to obtain a Picture Quality Scale (PQS) for the coding of achromatic images over the full range of image quality defined by the subjective Mean Opinion Score (MOS). This Picture Quality Scale takes into account the properties of visual perception for both global features and localized disturbances. PQS closely approximates the MOS, with a correlation coefficient of more than 0.92, as compared to 0.57 obtained using the conventional WMSE. Extensions and applications of the methodology and of the resulting metric are discussed.

A new methodology for the determination of an objective metric for still image coding is reported. This methodology is applied to obtain a Picture Quality Scale (PQS) for the coding of achromatic images over the full range of image quality defined by the subjective Mean Opinion Score (MOS). This Picture Quality Scale takes into account the properties of visual perception for both global features and localized disturbances. PQS closely approximates the MOS, with a correlation coefficient of more than 0.92, as compared to 0.57 obtained using the conventional WMSE. Extensions and applications of the methodology and of the resulting metric are discussed.

Background Kimura's disease (KD) is known to be dominant among young Asian men, but it can also occur in middle- and advanced-aged people. The clinical characteristics of KD, especially by age, are not well known. Aim This study was performed to investigate the effects of age on the clinical characteristics of KD. Design We conducted a case series study. Methods All case studies of patients diagnosed with KD were collected via a PubMed search of studies published until August 2018. The data were analyzed by age group. Results In total, 215 studies were reviewed (238 patients; mean age of 36 years). The male:female ratio was 4:1 overall, 17:1 in patients aged <20 years, 4:1 in patients aged 20–39 years and 2:1 in patients aged ≥40 years (P = 0.01). The percentage of patients with pruritus was 15.4% overall, 3.8% in patients aged <20 years, 15.5% in patients aged 20–39 years and 21.7% in patients aged ≥40 years (P = 0.02). The time to diagnosis was 5.3 years overall, 3.2 years in patients aged <20 years, 4.7 years in patients aged 20–39 years and 7.1 years in patients aged ≥40 years (P < 0.01). Conclusions The proportion of female patients affected the incidence of pruritus, and the time to diagnosis increased as the patients' age increased. There were no significant age-related differences in region/race, complications, multiplicity, laterality, anatomical distribution, maximum size, eosinophil count, immunoglobulin E level, initial treatment, recurrence or outcomes. This may be useful information for the diagnosis of KD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in-plane dielectric and ferroelectric properties of c-axis oriented epitaxial strontium bismuth tantalate (SBT) thin films were investigated by interdigital surface electrode measurement. The four types of SBT thin films, which have various Sr/Bi atomic ratios, were prepared on MgO substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The dielectric properties at kilohertz and megahertz frequencies were studied from 20 to 870 K. Above room temperature, all the films show the phase transition. Sr0.99Bi1.61Ta2O9, Sr0.97Bi2.10Ta2O9, and Sr0.88Bi1.79Ta2O9 thin films show frequency dispersions near phase transition temperature. At low temperatures, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of Sr0.97Bi2.10Ta2O9 and Sr0.83Bi2.08Ta2O9 thin films were investigated. Both dielectric constant and remanent polarization show a tendency to decrease as temperature decreases, and the rapid change, which may indicate a phase transition, was observed in Sr0.97Bi2.10Ta2O9 near 80 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study hypothesizes that the wrist approaches more of a neutral posture as the keyboard distance from the edge of the work surface increases, requiring less ulnar deviation and forearm muscle activity.