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Background: In the resting conditions, narrowing the window of coronary pressure measurements from the whole cardiac cycle to diastole improves diagnostic performance of coronary pressure–derived physiological index. However, whether this also applies to the hyperemic conditions has not yet been thoroughly evaluated. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess whether diastolic fractional flow reserve (diastolic FFR) has better diagnostic performance in identifying ischemia-causing coronary lesions than conventional FFR in a prospective, multicenter, and independent core laboratory–based environment. Methods: In this prospective multicenter registry at 29 Japanese centers, we compared the diagnostic performance of FFR, diastolic FFR, resting distal to aortic coronary pressure (Pd/Pa), and diastolic pressure ratio (dPR) using myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) as the reference standard in 378 patients with single-vessel coronary disease. Results: Inducible myocardial ischemia was found on MPS in the relevant myocardial territory of the target vessel in 85 patients (22%). In the receiver-operating curve analyses, diastolic FFR had comparable area under the curve (AUC) compared with FFR (AUCdiastolic FFR: 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.58-0.73, vs AUCFFR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.58-0.74, P = 0.624). FFR and diastolic FFR showed significantly larger AUCs than resting Pd/Pa (0.62; 95% CI: 0.54-0.70; P = 0.033 and P = 0.046) but did not show significantly larger AUCs than dPR (0.62; 95% CI: 0.55-0.70; P = 0.102 and P = 0.113). Conclusions: Diastolic FFR showed a similar diagnostic performance to FFR as compared with MPS. This result reaffirms the use of FFR as the most accurate invasive physiological lesion assessment. (Diagnostic accuracy of diastolic fractional flow reserve (d-FFR) for functional evaluation of coronary stenosis; UMIN000015906)

The reported prevalence of sarcopenia has shown a wide range, crucially based on the diagnostic criteria and setting. This cross-sectional study evaluated the prevalence of sarcopenia and sought to identify factors associated with sarcopenia on admission in a specialized geriatric rehabilitation setting based on the newly developed the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia algorithm. Among 87 participants (mean age, 76.05 ± 7.57 years), 35 (40.2%) were classified as showing sarcopenia on admission. Prevalence was high, particularly among participants ≥80 years old, with tendencies toward lower body mass index, smoking habit, lower cognitive function, and greater functional impairment compared with the non-sarcopenic group. Identification of sarcopenia in elderly patients before rehabilitation and consideration of risk factors may prove helpful in achieving rehabilitation outcomes.

This paper presents a novel current-resonant-type dc-dc converter. In general, the current-resonant-type converters have several remarkable features such as high efficiency, small size, low cost, and low noise and are often used in many electronic systems such as personal computers, flat-panel displays, and so forth. The current-resonant-type converters commonly employ the pulse frequency modulation for the regulation of the output voltage, and their magnetizing inductance is set relatively small. For this reason, the magnetizing current through the converter causes nonnegligible power losses under not only the light load but also standby conditions. Therefore, power supply systems using this type of converter have a problem in which the required smaller size is not able to be achieved because an auxiliary converter is necessary for the standby operation. In order to solve this problem, a novel current resonant converter has been proposed, in which two driving methods are employed. In these driving methods, the high-side MOSFET, as one of two main switches, is driven by an auxiliary winding of the transformer; and the low-side MOSFET, as another main switch, is driven by the driving integrated circuit with a low withstand voltage. As a result, it is clarified that the output voltage regulation is performed well in the useful operation modes. The maximum efficiency is 95.4% at the rated output power.

The aim of this study was to identify long-term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in Aceh 4.5 years after the tsunami and to examine whether certain factors affected the severity of PTSD symptoms among adolescents. The PTSD symptoms of 482 adolescents aged 11 to 19 years were assessed according to the Child Post-Traumatic Stress Reaction Index (CPTSD-RI). The severity of the disaster was identified by the Traumatic Exposure Severity Scale (TESS). Of the adolescents who completed the questionnaire, 54 (11.2%), 124 (25.7%), 196 (40.7%), 103 (21.4%) and 5 (1%), respectively, reported none, mild, moderate, severe and very severe symptoms on CPTSD-RI. Gender, loss of parents, somatic response and support level were significantly associated with the total score on CPTSD-RI (P < 0.05). The TESS-Occurrence Scale and CPTSD-RI were significantly correlated (r= 0.33, P < 0.05). The TESS-Distress Scale was significantly correlated with CPTSD-RI (r= 0.48, P < 0.05). The study indicated that the symptoms of PTSD, ranging from very severe to moderate, could persist for a long time after the tsunami and be affected by gender, loss of parents, somatic response, support level and severity of the disaster.

Background and aims Patients who experience heart failure are prone to malnutrition. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of malnutrition on physical function in patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation following heart failure. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed in consecutive patients hospitalized for cardiac rehabilitation following heart failure. Nutritional status was evaluated using the Mini Nutritional Assessment–Short-Form (MNA-SF). Physical function was evaluated using the Barthel index (BI). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine whether nutritional status was associated with BI in these patients. Results The present study included 105 patients (mean age of 77.3 years; 56 men and 49 women) for analysis. The median (interquartile range) scores of the MNA-SF and BI were 11 (9–13) and 75 (45–90), respectively. Patients with malnutrition (MNA-SF Conclusion Nutritional status is associated with physical function in patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation following heart failure. Early detection of malnutrition can help promote nutritional support to improve functional recovery in these patients.

Eighteen Swedish patients with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy were tested for the met30 mutation of the transthyretin (TTR) (prealbumin) gene by RFLP analysis of genomic DNA using the restriction enzyme NsiI. The results confirmed previous findings that the Swedish variant of familial polyneuropathy has the same valine by methionine substitution at position 30, as seen in patients with FAP from Japan, Portugal or patients of Swedish descent from USA. However, two of the patients were homozygous, totally lacking the wild type allele. Measurable serum values for the variant transthyretin (TTR) was detected with a RIA-method in all the 18 Swedish FAP patients studied with a mean concentration of 12.1 +/- 5.1 (SD) mg/100 ml, (11.0 +/- 4.1 when the two homozygotes were excluded). In 45 Japanese patients the mean was 9.2 +/- 2.7 mg/100 ml. The variant TTR was not detected in the healthy controls. The value for the variant TTR was nearly twice that high in the two homozygous patients, 21.14 and 21.16 mg/100 ml, respectively. There was no correlation between the serum levels of variant TTR and the duration of disease or levels of serum albumin in the FAP-patients.

This paper deals with an analysis of the power efficiency of a multi-oscillated current resonant type DC-DC converter. The current resonant type converter employs generally the pulse frequency modulation. For this reason, the magnetizing current through the converter causes not only a power loss under a light load, but also a loss during stand-by. In order to solve these problems, a multi-oscillated current resonant type DC-DC converter has been proposed, and revealed the advantage of its control method which can reduce power loss under light load and keep low switching noise. An analytical relationship of among states, operating mode and efficiency characteristics of this converter are defined. As a result, it was confirmed that for this converter, the output power depends on the voltage of resonant capacitor, and consequently, it is important to determine constants of resonant capacitor and inductance of transformer. The maximum efficiency is 95.4% with the magnetizing inductance 1.8 mH., 2008 IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference - PESC 2008 : Rhodes, Greece, 2008.06.15-2008.06.19, 2008 IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, pp.1646-1650

This paper presents a new deformable model using both population-based and patient-specific shape statistics to segment lung fields from serial chest radiographs. There are two novelties in the proposed deformable model. First, a modified scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) local descriptor, which is more distinctive than the general intensity and gradient features, is used to characterize the image features in the vicinity of each pixel. Second, the deformable contour is constrained by both population-based and patient-specific shape statistics, and it yields more robust and accurate segmentation of lung fields for serial chest radiographs. In particular, for segmenting the initial time-point images, the population-based shape statistics is used to constrain the deformable contour; as more subsequent images of the same patient are acquired, the patient-specific shape statistics online collected from the previous segmentation results gradually takes more roles. Thus, this patient-specific shape statistics is updated each time when a new segmentation result is obtained, and it is further used to refine the segmentation results of all the available time-point images. Experimental results show that the proposed method is more robust and accurate than other active shape models in segmenting the lung fields from serial chest radiographs.

This paper presents a partially resonant active filter based on a digital PWM control circuit with a DSP that can improve the power factor and input current harmonic distortion factor of distributed power supply systems in communications buildings. The steady-state and dynamic characteristics of this active filter are analyzed experimentally and the relationship between the control variables of digital control circuit with the DSP and performance characteristics such as regulation of the output voltage, input power factor, input current harmonic distortion factor, boundaries of stabilities and transient response are defined. Using the partially resonant circuit, the efficiency is over 91%, which is 0.9 point higher than that of non-resonant circuit and the high frequency switching noise is suppressed. Furthermore, the digital control strategy with the DSP proposed in this paper can realize the superior transient response of input current and output voltage for the step change of load, the power factor over 0.99 and total harmonic distortion factor less than 1.1%.

This paper presents the analysis of a new multi-oscillated current resonant type DC-DC converter. Current resonant converters have several remarkable features such as high efficiency, small size, low cost and low noise, and are frequently employed in many portable electronic systems such as personal computers, cellular phones and flat panel displays. The current resonant type converter generally employs pulse frequency modulation for constant voltage control in the output. For this reason, the magnetizing current through the converter not only causes a power loss under a light load, but also a loss during stand-by. Therefore, this type of converter has a problem in that the required smaller size cannot be achieved, because an auxiliary source is necessary for stand-by. In order to solve these problems, a new current resonant type power supply is proposed in which two driving methods are employed. In these driving methods, one MOSFET as a main switch is driven by an auxiliary winding of the transformer and another MOSFET as a main switch is driven by the driving IC with a low withstand voltage. Good agreement of the observed and simulated waveforms was confirmed. In addition, eight distinct states and four distinct operating modes, which compose of the sequence of states, were clarified by experimental and simulated analysis., INTELEC 07 - 29th International Telecommunications Energy Conference : Rome, Italy, 2007.09.30-2007.10.4, INTELEC 07, pp.348-354; 2007

Magnetic field dependencies of the Ic of the IBAD/CVD-YBCO short tape sample and its small coil sample were measured in high fields, up to 18 T at 77 K. Compared with the Ic of the tape sample, the Ic of the coil sample at 0.1 muV/cm showed the same tendency in high fields. If YBCO tape is applied to a high-field coil application, the application should be operated at a temperature which is lower than 77 K. Using long CVD-YBCO tape, six stacked pancake coils were fabricated. Various current tests were conducted using one of these stacked coils. In AC current tests, thermal stability of the YBCO coil was estimated. When the peak values of AC current were 1.2 times higher than the maximum DC current in a thermal stable state, Idcmax, and the average electric field of the coil at the first triangular wave was about 10 times higher than 1 muV/cm criterion, the peak values of the built-up voltage did not tend to increase even after the 99th triangular wave current, and thermal run-away in the coil was not observed. In DC current with overlapped pulse current tests, the maximum peak current of the coil in a thermal stable state was obtained as a function of DC current and sweep time. It was 1.3 times higher than Ic and 1.4 times higher than Idcmax in a test condition. These results indicate that the YBCO coil has high potential in short-time, over-current operations at high temperatures. In cases where built-up voltages did not disappear, they began to increase just after the coil currents reverted to the initial DC currents. It was found that DC current influenced the increasing speed of built-up voltages once the pulse current had decreased to zero.

AgGaSe 2 thin films were prepared on quartz glass by using an evaporation method at room temperature. Some of the samples were annealed at temperatures from 100 to 600 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere for 10 min. X-ray diffraction showed that single phase AgGaSe 2 could be grown at an annealing temperature of 600 °C. From transmittance and reflectance spectra, an absorption coefficient of 10 5 cm − 1 around bandgap region and bandgap energy of 1.787 eV could be obtained.

The mechanism of peritoneal fibrosis in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is poorly elucidated. We investigated the cellular mechanism of high-glucose-induced expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), which is important in recruiting monocytes into the peritoneum and progression of peritoneal fibrosis, and examined the inhibitory mechanism of glucocorticoids. Rat peritoneal mesothelial cells were cultured in high-glucose-containing medium and then analyzed for phosphorylation levels of p42/44 and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases (MAPK), MAPK or extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK)1/2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)1/2, and protein kinase C (PKC) by Western blotting. Expression of MCP-1 was examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. DNA-binding activity of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB was measured by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. High glucose increased MCP-1 mRNA and MCP-1 protein expression. Although glucose increased phosphorylation of MEK1/2, p42/44 MAPK, p38 MAPK, JNK1/2, and PKC, and DNA-binding activity of NF-kappaB, its effect on MCP-1 expression was suppressed only by PKC and NF-kappaB inhibitors. Mannitol caused a similar increase in PKC and NF-kappaB activation and MCP-1 synthesis. Prednisolone increased I-kappaB-alpha expression and inhibited glucose/mannitol-induced NF-kappaB DNA binding and MCP-1 expression without affecting PKC phosphorylation. The inhibitory effects of prednisolone on MCP-1 expression were reversed by mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist. Our results indicate that glucose induces MCP-1 mainly through hyperosmolarity by activating PKC and its downstream NF-kappaB, and that such effect was inhibited by prednisolone, suggesting the efficacy of prednisolone in preventing peritoneal fibrosis in patients on CAPD.

Plasma levels of adrenomedullin, a potent vasodilator peptide, are increased in cirrhotic patients, whereas its role in vascular hyporeactivity in cirrhosis has not been clarified.Adrenomedullin expression was evaluated by radioimmunoassay and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Vascular reactivity to phenylephrine, alpha-adrenoceptor agonist, was investigated in the aortic rings from control rats and CCl-induced cirrhotic rats with ascites in the presence of the neutralizing antibody against adrenomedullin, human adrenomedullin and/or N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor.Plasma adrenomedullin levels were significantly higher in cirrhotic rats than in controls (16.3 +/- 2.9 versus 7.4 +/- 1.7 fmol/mL, P0.05) and correlated negatively with systemic arterial pressure (r = -0.62, P0.05). Gene expression of adrenomedullin in various organs (liver, kidney, lung) and vessels (portal vein, aorta) was enhanced in cirrhotic rats compared with controls. Neutralizing antibody against adrenomedullin ameliorated the blunted contractile response to phenylephrine in cirrhotic aorta (Rmax: 1.5 +/- 0.1 versus 1.0 +/- 0.1 g/mg tissue, P0.05), whereas contraction remained unchanged in control aorta (Rmax: 1.9 +/- 0.2 versus 1.9 +/- 0.2 g/mg tissue). Intravenous infusion of human adrenomedullin induced a reduction of mean arterial pressure together with an increase of serum nitrate levels, which was abolished by neutralizing antibody against adrenomedullin. Human adrenomedullin caused a blunted contractile response to phenylephrine in both control and cirrhotic aortas, which was not observed in the presence of N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester.These findings indicate that the overproduction of adrenomedullin may contribute to vascular hyporeactivity in cirrhosis via a release of nitric oxide.

Reduced plasminogen activity with a normal level of antigen is commonly observed in Japanese individuals. The first reported patient with plasminogen deficiency was accompanied with deep vein thrombosis. The present study examines whether heterozygous or homozygous deficiency of plasminogen is a risk factor for thrombotic disease. This study measures the plasminogen activity of 4517 individuals in the general population, determines the cut-off to define plasminogen deficiency, and identifies plasminogen deficiencies in the control groups and thrombotic disease groups. In another study, we examined the phenotypes of consecutive patients with homozygous plasminogen deficiency detected in our hospital. We found 173 and two of 4517 individuals to have heterozygous and homozygous deficiency with normal plasminogen antigen level, respectively, and 19 to have heterozygous deficiency with reduced antigen levels. The incidence of plasminogen deficiency in an age- and sex-matched control group (13/324, 4.01% for deep vein thrombosis or 13/330, 3.94% for stroke) selected from the 4517 individuals was not significantly different from those in patients with deep vein thrombosis (3/108, 2.78%) or cardioembolic stroke (6/110, 5.55%). Among 19 patients with homozygous plasminogen deficiency showing about 10% plasminogen activity, none had deep vein thrombosis. These findings indicate that neither heterozygous nor homozygous plasminogen deficiency constitutes a significant risk factor for thrombotic disease.

The television receiver often employs a capacitor-input-type rectifier. In this case, it is regulated as a class D piece of equipment. This paper presents a novel ringing-choke-converter-type switching regulator, which functions as an active filter. The proposed circuit features a simple circuit configuration and cost effectiveness. It achieves a high power factor of about 0.95 and reduces current harmonics (third, fifth, and seventh) in the AC input current to less than 40% of the limit value for class D. The voltage across the input smoothing capacitor does not show large variations and the components in the conventional ringing-choke converter can be used unmodified. Ripple content of the DC output voltage shows a slight increase and is the subject for future research.

Background— C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin (IL)-6 are important risk factors for atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. In the present study, we examined serum levels of CRP and IL-6, IL-6 production by monocytes, and the effect of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Methods and Results— After polysomnography, venous blood was collected at 5 am from 30 patients with OSAS and 14 obese control subjects. Serum levels of CRP and IL-6 and spontaneous production of IL-6 by monocytes were investigated. In addition, the effects of 1 month of nCPAP were studied in patients with moderate to severe OSAS. Levels of CRP and IL-6 were significantly higher in patients with OSAS than in obese control subjects (CRP P P P P P P Conclusions— Levels of CRP and IL-6 and spontaneous production of IL-6 by monocytes are elevated in patients with OSAS but are decreased by nCPAP. Therefore, OSAS is associated with increased risks for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and nCPAP may be useful for decreasing these risks.

Summary Background Suplatast tosilate is an anti-allergic agent that suppresses cytokine production by human Th2 cells. Objective We investigated the effects of suplatast tosilate on the production of thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) by T cells from allergic patients with asthma. Methods Purified protein derivative (PPD)-specific Th1 cell lines and Dermatophagoides farinae (Der f)-specific Th2 cell lines were established from nine patients with house dust mite-allergic asthma. The effects of suplatast tosilate on mRNA expression of TARC and protein production of TARC from antigen-specific Th1 or Th2 cell lines were investigated after stimulation with relevant antigens or phytohemagglutinin (PHA). In addition, the effects of IL-4, IL-10, and IFN-γ on TARC production by Der f-specific Th2 cell lines in the presence or absence of suplatast tosilate were studied. Results Although PPD-specific Th1 cell lines did not produce TARC after stimulation with PPD antigen or PHA, stimulation of Der f-specific Th2 cell lines with Der f antigen or PHA increased production of TARC. Suplatast tosilate significantly and dose-dependently inhibited production of TARC by Der f-specific Th2 cell lines stimulated with either Der f antigen (76.5% inhibition at 100 µg/mL, P

Background: Nebulized lidocaine enables dosages of oral corticosteroids to be tapered in the treatment of severe asthma. Objective: We sought to investigate the effect of lidocaine on T cells from patients with allergic asthma. Methods: PBMCs and CD4 + T cells were isolated from 6 patients with asthma and house dust mite allergy. PBMCs were cultured with lidocaine for up to 7 days and then stained with propidium iodide to evaluate the involvement of apoptosis. In addition, the viability of CD4 + T cells when cultured with lidocaine was investigated. Effects of lidocaine on proliferative response, mRNA expression, and protein production of IL-5 and IFN-γ by PBMCs were investigated after stimulation with Dermatophagoides farinae , purified protein derivative, and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate plus calcium ionophore. The effects of lidocaine on the proliferative response of steroid-insensitive PBMCs from 6 nonallergic donors induced by preculture with IL-2 and IL-4 were also investigated. Results: No significant increase in the staining of PBMCs with propidium iodide was observed in the presence of 100 μmol/L lidocaine. The viability of CD4 + T cells was not significantly affected by culture with lidocaine at this concentration. However, lidocaine inhibited, in a dose-dependent manner, the proliferative response and mRNA expression and protein production of IL-5 and IFN-γ of PBMCs stimulated with D farinae , purified protein derivatives, or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate plus calcium ionophore. Preincubation of PBMCs with IL-2 and IL-4 significantly decreased the inhibitory effects of both corticosteroids and lidocaine compared with that after preincubation with medium alone. Conclusion: Lidocaine has immunoregulatory effects on T cells. Therefore, lidocaine might be studied as an anti-inflammatory agent in the treatment of severe steroid-dependent asthma. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002;109:485-90.)

The prevalence of atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) in a general referral population of patients was investigated by use of transthoracic (TTE) and transesophageal echocar diographies (TEE). Contrast TEE was performed to detect interatrial shunting in patients with ASA. In this population, the prevalence of ASA as determined by TTE was 0.47% (24/5,079), and 0.78% (40/5,079) by TEE. Of these 40 patients 16 (40%) were judged to be normal by TTE. Of the forty patients who were positive for ASA, 50% demonstrated interatrial shunting (atrial septal defects, 10; patent foramen ovale, 10). The authors concluded that TEE is of significant value in detecting the presence of ASA and associated cardiac abnormalities. Contrast TEE further enhances the detection of interatrial shunting in patients with ASA.

This paper deals with stability and stabilization of a deployable flexible beam. It is proved that the motion of the structure is basically stable in station-keeping phase and deploying phase and unstable in retracting phase, if there is no control for it. Boundary controllers are proposed for the structure, which may dissipate the unwanted vibration and rotation energy of the structure, thus stabilize the structure during all the motion phases.

It has been stated that an unbalanced data flow cannot be handled by blocking switches such as a barrel shifter. It is not true for a square switch, which has the same number of destination nodes as source nodes. However, if the switch is not square, a simple barrel shifter is not adequate. We have studied the minimal switch configuration for the event builder system in a BELLE experiment in KEK. The performance in the actual experiment was measured.

In the conventional digitally controlled DC-DC power converter with current-injected control, the overcurrent cannot be suppressed because of the intrinsic characteristics of the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) as an analog-to-digital signal converter. This paper presents a new digital current-injected control circuit to realize the overcurrent limiting characteristics and the design-oriented analysis of the overcurrent limiting characteristics of the proposed digitally controlled DC-DC power converter.

SUMMARY Objective: A prospective determination of the kinetic parameters of prothrombin complex activity (PCA) during initiation of anticoagulation in seven adult patients (4 males and 3 females, age 62.9 ± 5.8 years, mean ± SD) receiving anticoagulant therapy with warfarin. Method: All excluding one patient received a fixed daily dose of 5 mg warfarin over an initial 3 days. Three successive daily doses of warfarin were recorded, together with the corresponding PCA. The kinetic parameters for elimination of PCA during the initiation of anticoagulation were estimated from the log PCA-time plot with a 1-compartment model. Results: The mean elimination rate constant (kp) of PCA was 0.377 day -1 (range 0.242–0.588 day-3) during initiation of anticoagulation. The coefficient of variation in kp was about 28%, indicating the considerable inter-individual differences in PCA response to warfarin. The mean plasma half-life of PCA was 1.96 days. There were no significant relationships (by simple regression analysis) between kp and cumulative warfarin doses per kg of body weight or age during initiation of anticoagulation. Conclusion: The results suggest that for a 50% reduction of PCA, one would need about 2 days after initiation of anticoagulation.

The peribronchovascular interstitium, including bronchial vessels and lymphatic channels, is an important anatomic component of the lung, especially the pulmonary hilum [1-3] (Fig.1). Various pathologic processes involve and spread along this interstitium [4, 5]. Although it has been difficult to accurately evaluate the morphologic changes occurring in the peribronchovascular interstitium with conventional CT or MR imaging [6], spiral CT and electron-beam CT can show these changes clearly and consistently [7, 8]. A judgement as to whether the peribronchovascular interstitium is normal or abnormal is necessary for the CT diagnosis of pulmonary hilar lesions. In this assay, the normal peribronchovascular interstitium and various pathologic processes involving this interstitium are shown as they appear on thin-section electron-beam CT scans.

The authors have developed a new longitudinal vibration analysis model of a tape transport system for VCRs containing a tension control mechanism. Using this analysis model, we have achieved an effective vibration control method.

The solid solubility of Cu in Al under pressure is studied using the microscopic electronic theory. An increase of the solubility up to 10 at% Cu in Al is predicted under a pressure of 10 GPa. The obtained results for the lattice constant, the heat of solution, the pressure-volume relation, and elastic moduli in the Al-Cu system are presented theoretically. Die feste Loslichkeit von Kupfer in Aluminium unter Druck wird mit Hilfe der mikroskopischen Elektronentheorie untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine Zunahme der Loslichkeit bis zu 10 At% Kupfer in Aluminium unter einem Druck von 10 GPa. Die berechneten Daten fur die Gitterkonstante, die Losungswarme, die Druck-Volumen-Relation und die Elastizitatsmodule in der Aluminium- Kupfer-Legierung werden theoretisch angegeben.

It is well known that the protective laryngeal closure is elicited by mechanical or chemical stimulation of the epithelium in the glottis. In this study we used light microscopic observation and relative examination of the intraepithelial nerve fibers in the glottis to clarify the perceptive mechanism using immunohistochemical methods. In the anterior glottis, a moderate number of protein gene product 9.5-immunoreactive intraepithelial nerve fibers were observed, most of which were found to be located just anterior to the vocal process. The number of fibers in the upper surface of the vocal fold was larger than that in the free edge and the lower surface. Only a few calcitonin gene-related polypeptide-immunoreactive fibers were seen, and substance P-immunoreactive fibers were rarely seen. On the other hand, a dense distribution of protein gene product 9.5-immunoreactive nerve fibers was observed throughout the epithelium of the posterior glottis. The number of calcitonin gene-related peptide-immunoreactive fibers was about 20% that of protein gene product 9.5-immunoreactive fibers, whereas the number of substance P-immunoreactive fibers was only 1% to 2%. The results of this study suggest that possible existence of regional differences in the perceptive mechanism between the anterior and posterior glottis.

The results of a measurement intercomparison aimed at assessing the systematic errors in near-millimetre-wavelength dielectric measurements on reasonably transparent solid specimens are presented and discussed. Various monochromatic, broad band, guided wave and free space measurement methods were intercompared in the frequency region from 30 to 900 GHz using round-robin measurements of the refractive index and absorption coefficient of seven specimens. Typically, systematic errors of up to 1% were found in the refractive index results, while very much larger systematic errors were found in the absorption results. >

Information about breakdown time-lags under pulsed voltage stress is prerequisite to the insulation design of superconducting devices. Experiments have been carried out using a pulse generator which provides a step voltage with 200 ns rise time and a long decay time constant of more than 1 ms. The present experiments may bridge the information gap between time lag measurements in the ns range using extremely high field strengths, and existing data found with usual lightning impulse voltage. The test device is described in the paper, and some typical results are discussed in detail. >

We present release 2.0 of the ALPS (Algorithms and Libraries for Physics Simulations) project, an open source software project to develop libraries and application programs for the simulation of strongly correlated quantum lattice models such as quantum magnets, lattice bosons, and strongly correlated fermion systems. The code development is centered on common XML and HDF5 data formats, libraries to simplify and speed up code development, common evaluation and plotting tools, and simulation programs. The programs enable non-experts to start carrying out serial or parallel numerical simulations by providing basic implementations of the important algorithms for quantum lattice models: classical and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) using non-local updates, extended ensemble simulations, exact and full diagonalization (ED), the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) both in a static version and a dynamic time-evolving block decimation (TEBD) code, and quantum Monte Carlo solvers for dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). The ALPS libraries provide a powerful framework for programers to develop their own applications, which, for instance, greatly simplify the steps of porting a serial code onto a parallel, distributed memory machine. Major changes in release 2.0 include the use of HDF5 for binary data, evaluation tools in Python, support for the Windows operating system, the use of CMake as build system and binary installation packages for Mac OS X and Windows, and integration with the VisTrails workflow provenance tool. The software is available from our web server at http://alps.comp-phys.org/., 18 pages + 4 appendices, 7 figures, 12 code examples, 2 tables

To facilitate making the physical fitness programs for obesity control, we investigated the effects of obesity on the ventilatory response during exercise and exercise tolerance. One hundred eighteen adults were divided into a normal group and fatty group by percentage of body fat. Each subject performed a submaximal exercise test under the gas-exchange measurement. The fatty group was inferior to the normal group in exercise tolerance. The respiratory mode, during exercise, in the fatty group was characterized by higher respiratory rate and less tidal volume compared with the normal group. This mode may result in increased dead space and therefore unavailable ventilation capacity. These data suggest that the characteristic respiratory mode in the fatty group was a factor in the lower exercise tolerance.

We have fabricated a millimeter wave observation system using an array of bolometric detectors. The performance of the system depends largely on obtaining identical performance from each bolometer. We achieved a variance in the responsivity of less than 4% except for one of the seven elements. The bolometers had an electrical NEP of 1.3×10−16 W/√Hz under radiation background loading of 30pW. We used an AC bridge readout circuit to significantly improve the stability of the array and showed that observations can be done without a mechanical beam switch. The bolometer array is now in use on the Nobeyama 45-m telescope for 150GHz observations.

Three cases are reported of the association of childhood onset of thoracic aortic calcification with mucocutaneous candidiasis, endocrine dysfunction and recurrent non-fungal pulmonary disease. The aortic calcification affects the thoracic aorta and the low lumbar aorta and common iliac arteries, sparing the mid-lumbar aorta and its major branches. Ischemic signs and symptoms of the head and neck and lower limbs are absent. This peculiar, slowly progressive vascular calcification, although unexplained to date, appears to be a non-random part of the more common candidiasis-endocrinopathy syndrome.

Our purpose is to realize a multi-pixel sub-millimeter/terahertz camera with the superconductor - insulator - superconductor photon detectors. These detectors must be cooled below 1 K. Since these detectors have high impedance, signal amplifiers of each pixel must be setting aside of them for precise signal readout. Therefore, it is desirable that the readout system work well even in cryogenic temperature. We selected the n-type GaAs JFETs as cryogenic circuit elements. From our previous studies, the n-type GaAs JFETs have good cryogenic properties even when those power dissipations are low. We have designed several kinds of integration circuits (ICs) and demonstrated their performance at cryogenic temperature. Contents of ICs are following; AC coupled trans-impedance amplifiers, voltage distributors for suppressing input offset voltage of AC coupled CTIAs, multiplexers with sample-and holds, and shift-registers for controlling multiplex timing. The power dissipation of each circuit is 0.5 to 3 micro watts per channel. We also have designed and manufactured 32-channel multi-chip-modules with these ICs. These modules can make 32- channel input photo current signals into one or two serial output voltage signal(s). Size of these is 40mm x 30mm x 2mm and estimated total power dissipation is around 400 micro watts.

This paper deals with the novel soft-switching inverter topology and its capability of high frequency switching technology to be applicable to the power conversion system. To realize the switching power supply in the MHz switching application, there are some problems to be solved. Especially, the switching loss and EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) noise increase by the MHz switching operation is significant. In order to overcome these problems, we propose the phase-shift controlled ZCS (zero current switching) inverter in this paper. This circuit has soft-switching capability in the MHz switching range by the ZCS circuit topology and can control the output power by the phase-shift controlled method. In addition, effectiveness of this circuit is confirmed by simulation and experimental result.

This paper deals with a novel composite resonance DC-DC converter with the voltage doubler rectifier, which is developed to be applied to the power conditioner of the photovoltaic generation system. The proposed DC-DC converter has the current and voltage resonance functions. Therefore, the output voltage regulation can be achieved for the large variations of the input voltage and load. Also, this converter has the high power efficiency. The maximum power efficiency 96.1% can be realized., INTELEC 2009 - 2009 International Telecommunications Energy Conference : Incheon, South Korea, 2009.10.18-2009.10.22, INTELEC 2009, pp.1-8; 2009

In order to control output voltage with stability, digital power supplies repeatedly perform high-speed computations in cycles ranging from several mus through to several tens of mus. Until recently, the digitization of power supply controls required lengthy processing times and used assembly language, and developers and design engineers had to be constantly mindful of execution times. Consequently, this method became the subject of research amongst highly skilled engineers. Although many products have used analog control power supplies up until now, it is anticipated that digital power supplies with dual capabilities for both ldquoinformationrdquo and ldquocontrolrdquo will be used more frequently in the future. This paper discusses how a digital power supply was created using object-oriented tools and C++ programming language to enable even those engineers with no programming skills to easily create digital power supply programs. The prototype used in our experiments was the TMS320F2808 DSP (digital signal processor) manufactured by Texas Instruments.

The many geologists have been giving us words of warning that recently the first extraordinary phenomenon of abrupt increase in CO2 has been occurring in the earth history for the latest several hundred millions. This extraordinary phenomenon is one of the most serious problems to be solved by any scientific methods. In the telecommunication fields, the electric energy is processed adequately by the switching power supply, that is employed to get the energy saving. Therefore, the digitally controlled switching power supply is required to achieve the intellectual energy saving systematically. Especially, it is more effective in the distributed power supply because the opportunity of the energy control is enlarged by the embedded software. It is important to realize the compatibility between the high reliability and functional complexity in case of using the embedded software in microcontrollers and digital signal processors(DSPs) That is, even when the function increases, the reliability has to be kept high. However, when the embedded software performs the real-time control of the telecommunication system, the bug of the software causes the serious system trouble. Therefore, it is strongly required that the software bug is removed perfectly. This requirement is achieved by the proposed embedded software, that is, "capsule works" The proposed capsule works has the following features; 1) common structure, 2) input, process and output, 3)unity function, 4)small code, 5)periodic repeat operation, 6) freedom of the reaction speed, 7) setting of the process order.

In this paper, we propose a small-size boost type DC-DC converter module with the tiny embedded inductor. The proposed converter module is composed with a boost converter controller IC chip with built-in switching devices and an inductor in one package, and it needs only two capacitors as external parts. Therefore it achieved the same usability as a series regulator of buck converter. The proposed boost type DC-DC converter is composed in 2.4 mm(typ.) by 2.4 mm(typ.) by 0.9 mm(max.) size 8 pin SON (small outline non-lead) package. The power supply voltage of the proposed boost type DC-DC converter is determined from applications of single lithium-ion cell inputs such as cellular phones. The proposed proto type DC-DC converter achieves high efficiency up to 93%.

Studies in mammalian systems have shown an array of changes in transmitter signaling in diverse brain regions in response to stress, which differ depending on the age and genetic makeup of the animal, as well as the type of stress. Here, we exploit the genetic tractability of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, a comparatively simple but useful model in which to elucidate conserved components of stress response pathways. We show that structures within the mushroom bodies and central complex, two distinct anatomical regions within the Drosophila brain, modulate behavioral responses to two different environmental stressors. Modification of behavioral output after exposure to these stressors was dependent on the sex, sexual maturity, and reproductive status of the animal. These parameters also affected whether a mutant Drosophila strain carrying specific defects within the mushroom bodies and/or central complex modified its response to stress relative to wild-type flies. Our results suggest that for each population, unique subsets of neurons are recruited into the stress response circuitry and differentially affect locomotor behavior and cardiac function. These data also provide evidence for neural plasticity in the adult insect brain.