A Recommendation System Keeping Both Precision and Recall by Extraction of Uninteresting Information

A recommendation system which recommends interesting information to the target user must guarantee high precision and recall. However, there is trade-off between precision and recall. In this paper, we propose a web page recommendation method balancing both of them by take advantage of uninteresting information. The proposed method extracts the interest and uninterest indicators from not only historical interesting web pages but also uninteresting ones in a target genre. The historical interesting and uninteresting information is derived based on the browsing time and bookmarking. The proposed method can keep precision and recall by excluding the uninteresting information from the recommended ones based on the interest and uninterest indicators. The experimental result proved that the proposed method can improve the precision and recall than an existing method.     

Shape optimization for a link mechanism

This paper presents a numerical solution for shape optimization problems for link mechanisms, such as a piston-crank mechanism. The dynamic behavior of a link mechanism is described by a differential-algebraic equation (DAE) system consisting of motion equations for each single body and constraints of linkages and rigid motions. In a shape optimization problem, the objective function to maximize is constructed from the external work done by a given external force, which agrees with the kinetic energy of the link mechanism, for an assigned time interval, and the total volume of all the links forms the constraint function. The Fréchet derivatives of these cost functions with respect to the domain variation, which we call the shape derivatives of these cost functions, are evaluated theoretically. A scheme to solve the shape optimization problem is presented using the H ¹ gradient method (the traction method) proposed by the authors as a reshaping algorithm, since it retains the smoothness of the boundary. A numerical example shows that reasonable shapes for each link such that mobility of the link mechanism is improved are obtained by this approach.     

A new optical elasticity resin for mobile LCD modules

Abstract— The display used in current cell phones has an air gap between the cover glass and the liquid‐crystal‐display (LCD) module to prevent the LCD glass from being damaged. Reflections at the boundaries of the air gap cause a reduction in the LCD luminance and contrast. To address this problem, a newly proposed LCD structure has been investigated. The “Super View Resin (SVR),” a transparent elastic resin which improves the shock resistance and visibility of the LCD, has been developed. Filling the air gap between the cover glass and LCD module with a refractive‐index‐matching resin solves the light‐reflection problem inherent in the use of a reinforced cover‐glass lens. Moreover, the elastic filler works as a damper, reducing any external shock, which prevents not only the cover glass and LCD module from being damaged, but also the glass from being shattered when it is broken.     

Three-dimensional medical image recognition of cancer of the liver by a revised radial basis function (RBF) neural network algorithm

In this study, we propose a revised radial basis function (RBF) neural network algorithm and apply this algorithm to computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) of the liver. First, the revised RBF neural network algorithm is applied to recognition of the liver regions, and the recognition results are compared with those obtained using the conventional RBF neural network and the conventional multilayered neural network trained using the back-propagation algorithm. It is shown that the revised RBF neural network is accurate, and is a useful method because the parameters are automatically determined. Then, the revised RBF neural network is applied to CAD of the liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).     

Refined mapping of a gene responsible for Fukuyama-type congenital muscular dystrophy: evidence for strong linkage disequilibrium

Fukuyama-type congenital muscular dystrophy (FCMD), the second most common form of childhood muscular dystrophy in Japan, is an autosomal recessive severe muscular dystrophy associated with an anomaly of the brain. After our initial mapping of the FCMD locus to chromosome 9q31-33, we further defined the locus within a region of approximately 5 cM between loci D9S127 and CA246, by homozygosity mapping in patients born to consanguineous marriages and by recombination analyses in other families. We also found evidence for strong linkage disequilibrium between FCMD and a polymorphic microsatellite marker, mfd220, which showed no recombination and a lod score of (Z) 17.49. A "111-bp" allele for the mfd220 locus was observed in 22 (34%) of 64 FCMD chromosomes, but it was present in only 1 of 120 normal chromosomes. This allelic association with FCMD was highly significant (chi 2 = 50.7; P < .0001). Hence, we suspect that the FCMD gene could lie within a few hundred kilobases of the mfd220 locus.     

A 78-year-old man with young onset parkinsonism and sudden death

We report a right-handed 78-year-old man with early onset parkinsonism. The patient had an onset of micrographia at 23 years of the age in 1939. Seven years later he started to drag his right foot, and at 38 years of age, he walked with small steps with festination. Tremor was also present in his right hand. His daily life was independent as a otorhinolaryngologist. He visited our clinic on March 24, 1977 when he was mentally sound and showed mild parkinsonism consisting of masked face, stooped posture, small step gait, bradykinesia, and right side dominant rigidity and tremor. He showed good response to trihexyphenidyl and amantadine HCl. Two month later, he developed dyskinesia and some worsening of parkinsonism, and was admitted to our hospital for the first time. He was treated with 400 to 600 mg/day of levodopa/ carbidopa. He showed marked improvement, however, dyskinesia remained in his mouth. He was doing well until 77 years of age (June of 1993) when he developed hallucination and motor fluctuations. He was admitted again to our hospital on June 22, 1993. On admission, he was alert and appeared mentally sound. However, Hasegawa dementia scale was 18/30. Upward gaze was slightly restricted (3/5). Voice was somewhat small but no masking was noted. His posture was stooped and the gait was of small step. Dyskinesia was noted during walk. No rigidity nor tremor was noted. Deep tendon reflexes were lost but no sensory loss or motor weakness was noted. Routine laboratory studies were unremarkable. A cranial CT scan revealed only mild to moderate cortical atrophy. Motor and sensory conduction velocities were within normal limits, however, motor action potentials could not be obtained with stimulation to the right common peroneal nerve. He was treated with 600 mg/day of levodopa with carbidopa, 100 mg of amantadine HCl, 300 mg of Dops, and 25 mg of tiapride. He continued to show motor fluctuations, and was discharged on July 23, 1993. Since then his motor functions had become progressively worse with frequent falls, but he was still able to walk without support. On October 3 of 1994, he went to bed as usual. On the next morning, he was found dead in his bed at 9: 30. The patient was discussed in neurological CPC, and the chief discussant arrived at the conclusion that the patient had young-onset Parkinson's disease with Lewy bodies in the substantia nigra. Opinions were divided between Parkinson's disease and Lewy body negative young onset parkinsonism. Postmortem examination revealed obstruction of the trachea by aspirated foods, and the cause of death appeared to have been suffocation by the foods. Macroscopically, the external appearance of the brain was unremarkable except for slight frontal atrophy. The substantia nigra showed depigmentation in the lateral part, but the pigmentation of the medial part was well preserved. Upon histologic examination, the number of pigmented neurons in the dorsomedial part was well preserved. In the lateral part, pigmented neurons were well preserved in the dorsal area, however, in the ventral area, only non-pigmented neurons were seen; they appeared to be neurons in the pars reticulata. No gliosis was seen in any of the nigral areas. No Lewy bodies were seen in the remaining neurons. So-called immature neurons with rounded shape without neuromelanin could not be detected. The locus coeruleus neurons were well preserved. The putamen and the other basal ganglia structures were also intact. Slight myelin pallor was noted in the subcortical white matter, however, otherwise cerebral cortices were normal. The histology of this patient is unique in that only the ventrolateral part of the substantia nigra showed abnormal finding consisting of lack of pigmented neurons without gliosis. It is not clear whether the nigral change represents degeneration or a congenital "hypoplasia'. To our knowledge, such a unique pathology of the substantia nigra has not been reported in the literature. Our patient ma     

A control method with pheromone information for a transport system

Since the control methods of a transport system between processing machines are specialized for each layout of the system, it is difficult to design prompt schedules and control logic for new complicated systems, especially in cases of machine faults or restructuring the system to modify the layout. In this article, we describe a multiagent transport control system which utilizes pheromone information. Each element of the system acts as an agent and estimates the appropriate path and time to drive out the products using information obtained by communication with other elements as well as pheromone information deposited on the tracks of the products.     

Free-living inferential modeling of blood glucose level using only noninvasive inputs

The goal of this work is to present a causation modeling methodology with the ability to accurately infer blood glucose levels using a large set of highly correlated noninvasive input variables over an extended period of time. These models can provide insight to improve glucose monitoring, and glucose regulation through advanced model-based control technologies. The efficacy of this approach is demonstrated using real data from a type 2 diabetic (T2D) subject collected under free-living conditions over a period of 25 consecutive days. The model was identified and tested using eleven variables that included three food variables as well as several activity and stress variables. The model was trained using 20 days of data and validated using 5 days of data. This gave a fitted correlation coefficient of 0.70 and an average absolute error (AAE) (i.e., the average of the absolute values for the measured glucose concentration minus modeled glucose concentration) of 13.3 mg/dL for the validation data. This AAE result was significantly better than the subject’s personal glucose meter AAE of 15.3 mg/dL for replicated measurements.     

Plasmonic enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy using side-polished microstructured optical fiber

We report excitation of surface plasmon in a gold-coated side-polished D-shape microstructure optical fiber (MOF). As the leaky evanescent field from the fiber core becomes highly localized by the plasmon wave, its intensity also gets amplified significantly. Here we demonstrate an efficient use of this intensified field as excitation in fluorescence spectroscopy. The so-called plasmonic enhanced fluorescence emission from Rhodamine B has been investigated experimentally. First, plasmonic effect alone was found to provide an immediate fluorescence enhancement factor of two. Second, experimental results show a good agreement with theoretical modeling. Strong evanescent field generation and surface enhancement with simple metallic coating makes this fiber based device a good candidate for compact fluorescence spectroscopy.     

Peroxiredoxin 2 as a chemotherapy responsiveness biomarker candidate in osteosarcoma revealed by proteomics

Purpose : We aimed to identify novel chemotherapy responsiveness biomarkers for osteosarcoma (OS) by investigating the global protein expression profile of 12 biopsy samples from OS patients. Experimental design : Six patients were classified as good responders and six as poor responders, according to the Huvos grading system. The protein expression profiles obtained by 2‐D DIGE consisted of 2250 protein spots. Results : Among them, we identified 55 protein spots whose intensity was significantly different (Bonferroni adjusted p‐value<0.01) between the two patient groups. Mass spectrometric protein identification demonstrated that the 55 spots corresponded to 38 distinct gene products including peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX 2). Use of a specific antibody against PRDX 2 confirmed the differential expression of PRDX 2 between good and poor responders, while PRDX 2 levels as measured by Western blotting correlated highly with their corresponding 2‐D DIGE values. The predictive value of PRDX 2 expression was further confirmed by examining an additional four OS cases using Western blotting. Conclusions and clinical relevance : These results establish PRDX 2 as a candidate for chemotherapy responsiveness marker in OS. Measuring PRDX 2 in biopsy samples before treatment may contribute to more effective management of OS.