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In this paper, we propose the "Virtual Assistant, " a novel framework for supporting knowledge capturing in videos. The Virtual Assistant is an artificial agent that simulates a human assistant shown in TV programs and prompts users to provide feedback by asking questions. This framework ensures that sufficient information is provided in the captured content while users interact in a natural and enjoyable way with the agent. We developed a prototype agent based on a chatbot-like approach and applied it to a daily cooking scene. Experimental results demonstrate the potential of the Virtual Assistant framework, as it allows a person to provide feedback easily with few interruptions and elicits a variety of useful information.

The incidence of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is paradoxically increasing in the combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) era. However, there has been no nationwide survey of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated HL (HIV-HL) in Japan. We retrospectively examined the clinical characteristics and outcomes of 19 newly diagnosed HIV-HL patients at 11 HIV/AIDS and hematology regional hospitals in Japan between 1991 and 2010. At the time of HL diagnosis, 79 % of patients were receiving cART. All the patients, but one received HL diagnoses in the cART era. The median CD4+ cell count at HIV-HL diagnosis was 169/μl. Mixed-cellularity classical Hodgkin lymphoma was the most common subtype occurring in 68 % of the patients; 89 % of the patients were positive for Epstein–Barr virus. Of these 19 patients, 84 % were in advanced stages, with bone marrow involvement observed in 47 % of the patients; 58 % had extranodal sites. All the treated patients were given cART concurrent with HL therapy. The complete remission rate of the treated patients was 87 %. The median OS of the entire cohort was 17 months. These results suggest that the characteristics of HIV-HL in Japan are more aggressive than those of non-HIV-associated HL in Japan, but standard chemotherapy is effective and feasible.

A Zernike-type phase-contrast X-ray microscope with a zone plate and a phase plate was constructed at the Photon Factory BL3C2. Parallel monochromatic X-rays of 8.97 keV were incident on a specimen and a direct beam transmitted through the specimen was focused on the back focal plane of the zone plate, where an aluminium phase plate was placed. Tantalum line patterns as fine as 0.3 µm could be imaged. Phase-contrast images of polypropylene wires and polystyrene latex beads were obtained, which showed better contrast than that of their bright field images.

Background: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) of the skin is an aggressive but rare malignant neuroendocrine tumor. For its pathological diagnosis, we use a panel of immunohistochemical markers, such as cytokeratin 20 (CK 20), epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), chromogranin A, neuron specific enolase (NSE), synaptophysin, and Leu7 (CD57) to demonstrate its epithelial and neuroendocrine features. CD56, or neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), has been demonstrated recently as the tumor marker of the pulmonary neuroendocrine cell system. Its expression in MCC, however, has still rarely been investigated. Furthermore, in such very few previous studies on NCAM expression in MCC, all the tumor cells were not necessarily demonstrated to express NCAM. Objectives: To study the immunoreactivity of CD56 in MCC, especially using a monoclonal antibody of a clone 1B6, different from those adopted in the previous reports. Methods: We reexamined CD56 expression immunohistochemically in five MCC cases, along with the conventional panel of markers described above, using paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Results: CD56 revealed the most diffuse and intense positive staining, which was noted along the cell borders, in all specimens compared with other neuroendocrine tumor markers. Conclusions: The results of our study indicate that CD56, especially a new monoclonal antibody (clone 1B6), is a useful immunohistochemical marker for MCC.