Glomangioma of the ankle simulating injury to the flexor hallucis longus: a case report

The glomangioma is one of a group of benign tumors of glomus body origin. Commonly found in the distal extremities, they may present with pain, tenderness to palpation, and sensitivity to temperature. Histologically, varying proportions of glomus cells, as well as vascular and smooth muscle elements, are found. Complete surgical excision is usually curative. We report on a glomangioma of the ankle in a 12-year-old male patient that simulated injury to the flexor hallucis longus tendon.     

Finding module-based gene networks with state-space models - Mining high-dimensional and short time-course gene expression data

This study explores some problems to analyze time-course gene expression data by state-space models (SSMs). One problem is regarding the methods of parameter estimation and determination of the dimension of the internal state variable. Although several methods have been applied, there are few literature studies which with to compare them. Thus, this paper gives a brief review of the existing literature that use the SSM to analyze the gene expression time-course data. Another problem is the identifiability of the model. If the parameters of SSMs are simply estimated without any constraints for parameter space, they lack identifiability. To identify a system uniquely, it requires a specific algorithm to estimate the parameters with some constraints. For that purpose, an identifiable form of SSMs and an algorithm for estimating parameters are derived. The last problem is the extraction of biological information by interpreting the estimated parameters, such as mechanism of gene regulations at the module level. For that one, this paper explores methods to extract further information using the estimated parameters, that is, reconstruction of a module network from time-course gene expression data     

Snow Entrainment Coefficient Estimated by Field Observations and Wind Tunnel Experiments

The boundary condition for concentration of snow particles at the bed is necessary to calculate snowdrifts by a numerical analysis model. The flux type or the gradient type boundary conditions are reasonable. An idea of an entrainment coefficient of snow particle at the snow surface is useful. The values of the coefficient are considered to be a function of the density and viscosity of the working fluid and the properties of snow particles. In this paper, the values of the coefficient are estimated based on the k–ε turbulence model and the distribution of snow particle flux observed at the Mizuho Station, Antarctica in 2000, assuming the steady, fully developed flow over a flat snow surface. The snow entrainment coefficient is two or three orders smaller than the sand entrainment coefficient in a river. The reason is that the specific weight of snow particles in air is much larger than that of sand particles in water.     

Low-power logic circuit and SRAM cell applications with silicon on depletion Layer CMOS (SODEL CMOS) technology

In this paper, the switching performance of Silicon on Depletion Layer CMOS (SODEL CMOS) is investigated with a view to realizing high-speed and low-power CMOS applications. Thanks to smaller parasitic capacitance, the propagation delay time (/spl tau//sub pd/) in SODEL CMOS has been improved by up to 25% compared to that of conventional bulk CMOS in five stacked nFET inverters at the same V/sub dd/. It is also confirmed that about 30% better power-delay product can be realized at the same /spl tau//sub pd/ with reduced V/sub dd/ in SODEL CMOS. In SRAM cell applications, SODEL CMOS shows high Static Noise Margin (SNM) of /spl sim/95 mV at V/sub dd/=0.6 V. Smaller bitline delay is expected and confirmed in SODEL CMOS SRAM by SPICE simulations. Latch-up immunity for /spl alpha/-particle irradiation in SODEL CMOS was also found to be comparable to that of conventional bulk CMOS. Therefore, SODEL CMOS device and circuit technology is expected to provide a better solution for low-power system-on-a-chip (SoC).     

Identifying rotation and oscillation in surface tension measurement using an oscillating droplet method

We proposed a new approach to identify the frequencies of droplet rotation and m=±2 oscillation that degrade the accuracy of surface tension measurement by an oscillating droplet method. Frequencies of droplet rotation and m=±2 oscillation can be identified by a phase unwrapping analysis of time dependence of the deflection angle for the maximum diameter of the droplet image observed from above. The present method was validated, using test data with given frequencies. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 37(7): 421–430, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20214     

Carbon-coated stainless steel as PEFC bipolar plate material

Stainless steel is quite attractive as bipolar plate material for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Passive film on stainless steel protects the bulk of it from corrosion. However, passive film is composed of mixed metal oxides and causes a decrease in the interfacial contact resistance (ICR) between the bipolar plate and gas diffusion layer. Low ICR and high corrosion resistance are both required. In order to impart low ICR to stainless steel (SUS304), carbon-coating was prepared by using plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Carbon-coated SUS304 was characterized by Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Anodic polarization behavior under PEFC operating conditions (H₂SO₄ solution bubbled with H₂ (anode)/O₂ (cathode) containing 2 ppm HF at 80 °C) was examined. Based on the results of the ICR evaluated before and after anodic polarization, the potential for using carbon-coated SUS304 as bipolar plate material for PEFC was discussed.     

Robustness of a selective epitaxial-growth process of silicon and its application to the fabrication of a high-quality hybrid SOI wafer

Robustness of a selective epitaxial growth of silicon is demonstrated. The process window of selectivity was estimated quantitatively using the Taguchi method and signal-to-noise ratio analysis for the first time. Both the number of the silicon nuclei on the mask layer and the growth rate of silicon on a silicon substrate were investigated as the output parameters of the Taguchi method. One of the most effective process parameters for the suppression of silicon nucleation on the mask layer without retarding the growth rate of silicon is revealed to be the flow rate of SiH/sub 2/Cl/sub 2/. By calculating the number of the silicon nuclei, which could not be detected by an available measurement method, the process window of the selectivity could be determined with which a wafer with selective epitaxial silicon layer having LSI-quality could be fabricated. A high-quality silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer that has both an SOI region and bulk-silicon region can be obtained, and a high-quality embedded device could be realized on the SOI wafer.     

Relationship between redistribution rate (RD rate) of 123I-IMP SPECT and prognosis by Barthel index in cerebral infarction]

A comparative study of RD rate and the Barthel index was performed in 26 patients who had cerebral infarction. On 123I-IMP SPECT, the RD rate was calculated as follows, RD rate = (I-II)/I x 100(%). (I = (B-A)/B, where A is the mean count of the low density area (LDA) on brain CT on the early image and B the mean count of the opposite portion of LDA on the early image. II = (B'-A')/B', where A' is the mean count of the LDA on the delayed image and B' is the mean count of the opposite portion of the LDA on the delayed image. delta Barthel index (delta B. I.) was defined as follows: delta B. I. = B. I. (post-rehabilitation)-B. I. (pre-rehabilitation). In the group with B. I. (pre rehabilitation) < 85, the RD rate and delta B. I. were well correlated. In the group with B. I. (pre-rehabilitation) > or = 85, the RD rate and delta B. I. were not correlated. This result suggests that the RD rate might be useful in predicting prognosis and selecting the principle of therapy.