Filter with variable transmission characteristics for determination of three-dimensional roughness

In this study, we propose a low-pass filter whose transmission characteristics are determined to be more than 99.99% identical to the designed transmission characteristics at wavelengths greater than the cut-off wavelength. This low-pass filter is realized using a frequency-domain method which uses down-sampling, a frequency filter, and a cubic B-spline. When the frequency characteristics of a Gaussian filter (GF) were used as the designed transmission characteristics, this low-pass filter perfectly replaced the GF. In addition, no end effects and directional characteristics developed, and high-speed computation was possible. Furthermore, we can easily realize a low-pass filter having transmission characteristics that rise sharply at a right angle like a step edge.     

Relationship of atopic dermatitis to residential environment. A study of the comparison between diagnosis by medical examination and assessment by questionnaire]

Diagnosis of atopic dermatitis (AD) according to criterion of the Japanese Dermatology Society by medical examination and a questionnaire survey concerning the living environment and presence of allergic diseases were performed on 1725 elementary school children living in Hirosaki-city and its suburbs in Aomiri Prefecture. In addition a scratch test for mite antigen was conducted 523 of the children and a patch test on 240. No difference was found between the rate of children diagnosed as having AD during the medical examination which was 12.9%, and the rate of children who responded as presently having AD in the questionnaire which was 12.8%. However the rate of concordance between those diagnosed to have AD by medical examination and the group that responded as having AD in the questionnaire was about 50%. For AD in children diagnosed by medical examination, a residential environment of the houses that there were moldy and leaking appeared to be a risk factor. Risk factors of children with AD from the questionnaire survey appeared to be houses built within 20 years. Clearly there were differences in conclusions regarding risk factor between the medical examination and the questionnaire. In terms of increasing reliability, a medical examination would be preferred. From the results of allergic tests, the children who lived in houses built within 20 years had a high response to the patch test. These results suggest that houses that are moldy and leaking, or built within 20 years may be considered to be risk factors for outbreak of AD.     

High resolution NMR spectroscopy using a recursive algorithm

When the DFT (discrete Fourier transform) is used as a method for obtaining NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectrum, resolution of the obtained NMR spectrum depends clearly on spin-spin relaxation times of the nucleus and the sampled number of NMR signal. That is, the NMR spectrum is affected by decay of NMR signal due to the relaxation times and errors associated with discrete approximation of NMR spectrum. As a results, its resolution is degraded and the spectrum disagrees with the density distribution of the nucleus. In the present paper, we propose a new NMR spectrum estimation method for reducing their effects, demonstrating a high resolution NMR spectrum which is closer to the density distribution than that of the DFT. The proposed method is derived from applying the Kalman filter or the recursive least-square method to a NMR signal model based on Bloch equation. Under various conditions, the proposed method is compared with the DFT using a proton 1H NMR signal observed from mayonnaise in a 2 [T] static magnetic field. The results show that if spin-spin relaxation times are known previously, the proposed method can provide a higher resolution NMR spectrum than the DFT. In addition, it is shown that the method can reduce the discrete approximation errors of NMR spectrum. Finally, we demonstrate that if frequency components of sources of NMR signal are present in a limited range in frequency domain of interest, the method can magnify NMR spectrum with a sampling time and interval fixed.     

Prevention of carcinogenicity of anticancer drugs by metallothionein induction

We examined the efficacy of metallothionein induction in the prevention of the carcinogenic action of cis-platinum and melphalan administered repeatedly to mice over a relatively long period. The increased pulmonary metallothionein induced by bismuth or zinc compounds during the period of chemotherapy with cis-platinum or melphalan protected the mice from carcinogenesis of these drugs in the lung. These results suggested the efficacy of metallothionein inducers in suppression of carcinogenicity considered as a secondary effect of anticancer agents in cancer chemotherapy.     

Bladder compliance in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia

Factors influencing bladder compliance were examined in 116 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), by evaluating patients' histories, response of isolated bladder strips to acetylcholine, and the effect of prostatic urethral anesthesia. Patients' age, frequency of micturition, and duration of voiding difficulty were not correlated with bladder compliance. Bladder compliance was significantly low in patients within 30 days after urinary retention, as compared with bladder compliance in patients without an episode of retention. More than 30 days after retention, however, there was a tendency toward increased bladder compliance. Restricted to patients without an episode of retention, bladder compliance in the overactive detrusor group was found to be significantly lower than in the normal group. The responses to acetylcholine of bladder strips were compared between patients with low and normal-compliance bladders. The dose-response curve of patients with low-compliance bladders did not differ from that of those with normal compliance bladders, even when patients with an episode of retention were excluded. After prostatic urethral anesthesia, a significant increase of bladder compliance was observed in patients with an overactive detrusor, while the increase was not significant in patients with a normal detrusor. Our results strongly suggest that easy irritability of the anatomically altered prostatic urethra, as well as bladder over-distension caused by urinary retention, are important factors affecting bladder compliance in BPH patients.     

Design of an optimal series compensator based on DARMA model — The MIMO case

Design of an optimal series compensator for MIMO systems is considered in this paper using the DARMA form. The main purpose is to show how to find the smallest number of samples in each output channel to yield an optimal series compensator which is of the smallest possible order.     

Expressions Recognition of North-East Indian (NEI) Faces

Facial expression is one of the major distracting factors for face recognition performance. Pose and illumination variations on face images also influence the performance of face recognition systems. The combination of three variations (facial expression, pose and illumination) seriously degrades the recognition accuracy. In this paper, three experimental protocols are designed in such a way that the successive performance degradation due to the increasing variations (expressions, expressions with illumination effect and expressions with illumination and pose effect) on face images can be examined. The whole experiment is carried out using North-East Indian (NEI) face images with the help of four well-known classification algorithms namely Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), K-Nearest Neighbor algorithm (KNN), combination of Principal Component Analysis and Linear Discriminant Analysis (PCA + LDA), combination of Principal Component Analysis and K-Nearest Neighbor algorithm (PCA + KNN). The experimental observations are analyzed through confusion matrices and graphs. This paper also describes the creation of NEI facial expression database, which contains visual static face images of different ethnic groups of the North-East states. The database is useful for future researchers in the area of forensic science, medical applications, affective computing, intelligent environments, lie detection, psychiatry, anthropology, etc.     

Cathodic activity of deep-sea manganese nodule in Leclanché-type test dry cell

The present study has examined the performance of the manganese nodule by incorporating it into the Leclanché cathode mix of D-size test cells.It has been found that, with the particular species collected from the Pacific Ocean, off-shore California, the value of O.C.V. was about 1.62 V, which is quite close to the value with naturally occurring manganese dioxide ores of battery grade. An intermittent discharge on a 4 Ω load, down to a cut-off voltage of 0.75 V, showed approximately half the service duration time obtained with E.M.D.However, when taking into consideration a low MnO₂ content of about 38% in the deep-sea ore tested and the various constituent elements present therein together, the exhibited performance as battery cathode active material was quite surprising.Digestion of the deep-sea nodule with hot sulfuric acid revealed that almost all the original content of MnO₂ was retained in the digested residue, while a 10–20 per cent portion of the accompanying elements was brought into the digesting solution. The “up-graded” MnO₂ product of nodule showed a better battery performance in accordance with the increase in MnO₂ content.These results suggest that the MnO₂ phase present in the manganese nodule might be quite similar to the one possessed by the cathode active γ-MnO₂ species, and that the MnO₂ crystalline net work formation mechanisms involved in “autoclave” of the deep sea might have something in common with the anode oxidation product synthesized by electrolysis.