Pryce type I interlobar pulmonary sequestration with anomalous return to the left inferior pulmonary vein

A 50-year-old woman was examined because of chest discomfort. Chest X-ray films disclosed a tumorous shadow behind the heart. Chest computed tomography (CT) scans revealed a mass connected to the descending aorta, with increased blood flow in the left basal segment. The patient was admitted for further examination. Chest CT scans and cardioscintigrams were very useful as diagnostic tools, but the final diagnosis was made on the basis of angiography. An anomalous tortuous artery ran from the descending aorta into the left basal segment and returned to the left inferior pulmonary vein. The left pulmonary arterial trunk had no basal branch (A8-A10). A loop corresponding to the superior vein (V6) ran beneath the anomalous tortuous artery. To our knowledge, this is the second case of Pryce type-I interlobar pulmonary sequestration with anomalous return to the left inferior pulmonary vein to be reported in Japan. A left inferior lobectomy was performed. Histological finding from the excised tissues showed prominent interstitial fibrosis, atypical adenomatous hyperplasia, and atherosclerosis. Following surgery, the patient's PaO2 increased from 80.4 Torr to 95.8 Torr, suggesting that left inferior lobectomy was an appropriate treatment.     

Coronary artery perforation with rotational coronary atherectomy]

We tried to determine whether women with a urinary tract infection (UTI) were more likely to have had a recent pelvic examination than were women seen for other reasons. We compared 56 women who were diagnosed as having a UTI with 49 controls who had an unrelated complaint (sinusitis). Significantly more women with UTIs had received a pelvic examination within the preceding 2 months (43% vs 16%, P = .01). We conclude that having a pelvic examination is associated with an increased risk of a UTI developing within the following 2 months. This may be due to physical factors related to the examination or to risk factors related to the patients' reasons for obtaining a pelvic examination. Further study is needed to determine if the pelvic examination is an independent risk factor. If so, established preventive measures could reduce this risk.     

Recognizing machines with parametric and nonparametric learning methods using contextual information

Pattern recognition systems using information from the pattern which follows the present pattern are discussed. Parametric learning methods in the supervised and unsupervised machines are proposed and compare favorably with conventional methods. Furthermore, a semilinear machine with a nonparametric learning method is considered. The results of computer experiments with artificially generated data and with handprinted alphanumeric characters are given to show that the approach we adopt is quite useful for recognition of Markovian patterns.     

Quantitative determination of isomeric glycerides,free fatty acids and triglycerides by thin layer chromatography-flame ionization detector system

Partial glyceride mixtures, which include 1-monoglyceride, 2-monoglyceride, free fatty acid, 1,2-diglyceride, 1,3-diglyceride and triglyceride, could be separated from each other on a 3% boric-acid-impregnated Chromarod S-II (silica gel sintered quartz rod) with either chloroform/acetone (96∶4, v/v) or chloroform/acetone/acetic acid (100∶1∶1, v/v) as the developing solvent mixtures. The components separated on the boric-acid-impregnated rod were automatically quantitated in a hydrogen flame ionization detector (Iatroscan). The relative responses of 1,2-diglyceride, 1,3-diglyceride, free fatty acid and triglyceride were slightly lower than theoretical responses based on weight percentage, whereas 1-monoglyceride and 2-monoglyceride showed slightly higher responses. These responses were converged within a maximal error of 5–10% (SD). Boric-acid-impregnated rods could be used repeatedly, ca. 5 times without any reconditioning procedure. Part of this investigation was reported at the 2nd JOCS-AOCS joint meeting, San Francisco, May 1979.     

Development of Divertor Plasma Simulators with High Heat Flux Plasmas and its Application to Nuclear Fusion Study: A Review

This overview describes recent studies of nuclear fusion by using divertor plasma simulators generating high heat flux plasma. The experimental results regarding plasma-material interaction related to tungsten and carbon dusts, and detached recombining plasma are reviewed. © 2009 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Production of recombinant tumor necrosis factor receptor/Fc fusion protein by genetically manipulated chickens

We previously reported the production of recombinant proteins using genetically manipulated chickens and quails. In this study, we constructed a retroviral vector encoding an expression cassette for a fusion protein of the extracellular domain of the human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor 2 and Fc region of human IgG1 (TNFR/Fc), which is expected as an effective drug for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The concentrated viral vector was injected into developing chicken embryos. The chickens that hatched stably produced TNFR/Fc in the serum and egg yolk for six months. It appears that the fused protein is transported and accumulated into yolk from the serum, which is mediated by the Fc receptor. The protein purified from the yolk and serum inhibited the cytotoxic activity of TNF-* toward L929 cells, indicating that the protein produced by the chickens is biologically active. These results indicate the effectiveness of the recovery of Fc-fused proteins from the yolk of genetically manipulated chickens.     

Ground object recognition and segmentation from aerial image‐based 3D point cloud

Several attempts have been made to grasp three‐dimensional (3D) ground shape from a 3D point cloud generated by aerial vehicles, which help fast situation recognition. However, identifying such objects on the ground from a 3D point cloud, which consists of 3D coordinates and color information, is not straightforward due to the gap between the low‐level point information (coordinates and colors) and high‐level context information (objects). In this paper, we propose a ground object recognition and segmentation method from a geo‐referenced point cloud. Basically, we rely on some existing tools to generate such a point cloud from aerial images, and our method tries to give semantics to each set of clustered points. In our method, firstly, such points that correspond to the ground surface are removed using the elevation data from the Geographical Survey Institute. Next, we apply an interpoint distance‐based clustering and color‐based clustering. Then, such clusters that share some regions are merged to correctly identify a cluster that corresponds to a single object. We have evaluated our method in several experiments in real fields. We have confirmed that our method can remove the ground surface within 20 cm error and can recognize most of the objects.