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This In recent years, the demand and supply of energy has been changing rapidly. Renewable energies have attracted attention worldwide, because they are deemed suitable to realizing a decarbonized society; thus, they are being researched and developed actively. However, the amount of electricity generated by distributed power sources using renewable energy is extremely unstable, and in addition to adjusting the supply-demand balance using base-load power sources and regulating thermal power, it is necessary to adjust the demand for electricity on the consumer side.In this work, data were obtained to conduct a basic study of demand adjustment on the consumer side; in addition, a basic study of the correlation between each element related to air conditioning equipment was conducted to investigate what kind of influence determines the power consumption of air conditioning equipment. The data used comprised moving averages (excluding weekends, which are unoccupied holidays).As a result, a separate correlation was obtained between the operating hours of air-conditioning equipment and outdoor temperature around 15°C. The correlation coefficient below 15°C was found to be -0.7577, while the correlation coefficient above 15°C was 0.7712. The data confirmed that people feel hotter or colder when the temperature is further away from 15°C. Therefore, temperatures around 15℃ were found to be the most comfortable.

In recent years, the use of distributed power sources, such as photovoltaic power generators and fuel cells, has become widespread. In particular, next-generation power distribution systems for residences based on direct current (DC) power supply and distribution are being actively researched in Japan. In this context, this paper investigates the effects of operating home appliances with a DC power supply using a special winding transformer on each device were investigated. To this end, a smart house equipped with DC power supplied by a transformer with a special winding structure was configured. Experimental observations confirmed that all digital home appliances exhibited proper functions on the aforementioned DC power architecture.

In this paper, a 24-pulse converter with a transformer using a special winding structure was fabricated and its efficiency, output voltage ripple and harmonics were compared with those of 6-pulse and 12-pulse converters.

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BACKGROUND/PURPOSE The purpose of the present study was to investigate the possibility of reducing clinical impacts of acute necrotic collection (ANC) on patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) using recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin (rTM). METHODS In this retrospective multicenter study, 233 consecutive AP patients with ANC and acute peripancreatic fluid collection (APFC) from 2012 to 2016 were enrolled. To assess clinical impacts of ANC, severity on admission (JPN score, JPN CT grade, and Modified CT severity index), development of walled-off necrosis (WON), imaging costs for follow-up, and mortality were recorded. Finally, we investigated whether rTM could reduce the clinical impacts, adjusting the severity using propensity analysis with Inverse probability of treatment weighting. RESULTS Patients with ANC developed WON with higher ratio than APFC (58/98 [59.2%] vs 20/135 [14.8%], OR = 8.3, P

In this paper, we advocate utilizing link–level broadcast of wireless LAN (WLAN) for real–time data transmissions from a drone to ground access points (APs) in order to enhance their robustness and spectral efficiency. A WLAN station (STA) is installed on a drone, which broadcasts its real-time data to surrounding multi–APs deployed over a ground field. In order to enhance the reliability of data transmissions, we also apply packet–level forward error correction (FEC). We conduct a field trial with our experimental testbed where all the above functions are implemented into the off–the–shelf WLAN equipment. Our experimental results show that multi–AP broadcast transmissions with packet–level FEC achieve better packet delivery ratio with smaller channel occupancy period than a common approach utilizing unicast transmissions.

When we employ wireless communications in a factory, its channel state can change dynamically due to factory-specific propagation environments. Therefore, it is difficult to realize a stable communication link with common unicast transmissions. In order to realize stable communications in such an environment, in this paper, we focus on broadcast transmissions, where a sender transmits a packet to multiple access points (APs). With broadcast transmissions, even if an AP is not able to receive data because of bad channel conditions, the other APs may receive it, which can contribute to the realization of robust data transmissions. However, link reliability of broadcast transmissions is inherently low due to the absence of ACK and retransmission mechanisms. In order to solve this problem, in this paper, we apply packet-level FEC to broadcast transmissions. With computer simulations and actual indoor experiments, we investigate the effectiveness of broadcast transmissions exploiting multiple AP receptions with packet-level FEC.

To support a human by installing sensor and communication device is widely studied. Human detection is a key technology to trigger such a service. In some cases, the sensor is demanded to be installed into non-electrical object, such as a chair. To make it viable, how electrical power is supplied is problematic. If using commercial electrical power line, the location and mobility of the object are limited. If battery is used, maintenance cost of changing battery arises. Thus, we propose a human detection sensor using electromagnetic noise leaking from commercial power line. This sensor detects a human without electrical power supply, using electromagnetic noise in environment. In past research, basic operation principle is confirmed. However, values of electrical component of the sensor is not explored very well. In this paper, suitable parameters of its CW circuit and antenna are discussed. As a result, it is disclosed that suitable parameter for reverse current of diodes was less than $6 \mu\text{A}$, and capacitance of capacitors was 100 pF. About the size of antenna, the larger output voltage is obtained by the larger size, while the difference of output voltage between presence and non-presence of a human gets smaller. The suitable size of antenna is concluded to be around $30\ \mathbf{cm} \times 40\ \mathbf{cm}$.

We report the case of a 78-year-old woman with methotrexate-related gastric lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD). The patient had a history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and had been treated with methotrexate (MTX). Endoscopic examination revealed round elevated lesions in the stomach, and a biopsy specimen showed atypical lymphoid cell proliferation. Immunohistological study found these atypical cells to be positive for L-26 but not for CD3 or EBER. Therefore, we made a diagnosis of MTX-related LPD showing features of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Combined positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) showed increased avidity in the stomach in addition to slightly increased FDG-avidity in the mediastinum and left chest wall. We decided not to start chemotherapy but to discontinue administration of MTX, with follow-up using endoscopy and PET-CT. The endoscopic examinations after cessation of MTX demonstrated gradual regression of the elevated lesions. PET-CT 6 months after cessation showed no increased FDG avidity in the stomach. While disease regression was observed in the stomach, the other FDG-avid spots remained unchanged on PET-CT. Therefore, we performed chemotherapy as additional therapy. On PET-CT after chemotherapy, the FDG-avid spots remained unchanged for more than 1 year, and we eventually concluded that they were RA-related inflammatory lesions. In patients with MTX-related LPD, cessation of MTX may be a therapeutic option, but careful follow-up and chemotherapy in accordance with the clinical course are essential.

Security and privacy are vital to the modern blockchain technology since it can exist without an authorized third party, which means that there may not be a trusted responsible person or organization in charge of systems. In this chapter we make a survey on this issue about blockchain systems. Security of the current systems is based on the computational hardness assumptions and many of the standard cryptography systems are known to be vulnerable against the advent of full-fledged quantum computers. On the other hand, it is possible to make a blockchain more secure by virtue of quantum information technology. In this chapter we give a pedagogical introduction to quantum information theory and quantum computation so that readers can follow advanced researches on application of quantum technology to the blockchain industry. We also explain a novel information system which accommodates quantum states in a peer-to-peer way. It would improve the level of privacy and security by the laws of physics, which is never achievable from nonquantum information theoretic viewpoints.

Storage tanks are constructed using thousands of large curved steel plates, which are manufactured from flat plates. In conventional manufacturing of curved plates, operators fit wooden templates to specific positions on steel plates and measure differences between the current shape and the template. However, it is costly to create many wooden templates for a variety of plates. In addition, it is time-consuming and requires skills to precisely place wooden templates on specific positions to measure differences. In this paper, we discuss methods to automatically calculate differences of shapes during bending processes without wooden templates. We capture dense points on steel plates using a terrestrial laser scanner, and analyze shapes of curved plates using point-clouds. In our method, the system extracts only the points on curved plates, and tracks the amount of deformation on reference lines defined on the plates. Corresponding positions between intermediate curved plates and the original flat shape are calculated using mesh flattening techniques. In our experiments, our method could calculate the amount of differences of steel plates in reasonable performance and precision.

The efficacy of ERCP for histologic diagnosis of malignant biliary strictures is disappointingly low. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of a newly developed endoscopic device with scraping loops in combination with conventional biopsy forceps.We performed a multicenter single-arm prospective study. Between February 2013 and December 2014, 123 patients with suspected malignant biliary strictures were enrolled in the study. The new device and conventional biopsy forceps were applied for histologic diagnosis by ERCP. The primary outcome was to evaluate cancer detectability by biopsy forceps, the new device, and their combined use.Of the 123 patients, 119 were diagnosed with a malignant stricture. Sufficient samples were collected in 83.7% (103/123), 93.5% (115/123), and 95.9% (118/123) of patients using biopsy forceps, the new device, and their combination, respectively. Cancer detectability of forceps biopsy, the new device, and their combination were 51.3% (61/119), 64.7% (77/119), and 74.8% (89/119), respectively. The new device had a significantly higher sample yield and cancer detectability than biopsy forceps (P .01 and P = .018, respectively, McNemar test). Complementary use of the new device with biopsy forceps demonstrated a significantly additive effect in both sample yield and cancer detection (P .01 each, McNemar test). The new device detected 48.3% (28/58) of cancers that were not diagnosed as malignant by biopsy forceps.The new endoscopic scraper demonstrated a large sample yield and high cancer detectability. It could be a first-line tissue-sampling device for biliary strictures. (University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trial Registry [UMIN-CTR] (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm) registration number: UMIN000009895.).

Megaesophagus resulting from achalasia is a rare but serious cause of acute airway obstruction. We treated achalasia in a 52-year-old woman with acute respiratory distress and stridor. Chest X-ray and endoscopy showed a marked dilatation of the cervical esophagus with a large amount of undigested food. Emergency suction of the food through a nasogastric tube led to decompression of the esophagus and the immediate relief of respiratory symptoms. These findings suggest a dysfunction of the upper esophageal sphincter as a possible mechanism. As this exceptional complication of achalasia is fatal, a wider appreciation is required.

Patients with recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation usually have a high viral load and are generally resistant to interferon (IFN)-alpha2b plus ribavirin (RBV) therapy. However, it remains unclear whether pretreatment viral titre determines the effectiveness of combination therapy, especially in patients with a high viral load. The aim of this study was to identify the viral factors associated with a sustained virological response (SVR) to antiviral therapy in patients with recurrent hepatitis C after living-donor liver transplantation. Twenty-three patients with recurrent hepatitis C received combination therapy of IFN-alpha2b plus RBV. SVR was achieved in 7 of the 23 patients (30.4%). Predictive factors for SVR included a 2 log10 decline in Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA at 2 weeks after the start of therapy and disappearance of HCV RNA at 4 or 24 weeks after the start of therapy. As the pretreatment high viral load showed no association with SVR, we asked whether other viral factor was associated with the response to the combination therapy in transplant recipients. We found the several novel defective HCV clones in 4 of 12 recipients' sera. All defective HCV clones had deletions in the envelope region. Interestingly, no patients with defective clones showed a prompt decrease in HCV RNA after the start of IFN-alpha2b plus RBV therapy. Thus, early decline in serum HCV RNA after treatment was closely associated with SVR. The circulating defective HCV clones are present and might be associated with the response to the combination therapy in patients with recurrent hepatitis after liver transplantation.

It remains unclear whether lymphoma of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) in the extragastric organs is related to Helicobacter pylori infection or not. This report describes three patients with rectal MALT lymphoma negative for H. pylori infection, all of whom showed disease regression after being treated with antibiotics. One patient had MALT lymphoma in both the descending colon and the rectum; the other two patients had rectal disease only. None of the patients had chronic gastritis which was detectable either endoscopically or histologically and H. pylori infection was completely ruled out by various methods, including a urease breath test. These patients received antibiotic therapy. In all the patients, regression of MALT lymphoma was observed endoscopically and histologically, and polymerase chain reaction revealed that a previously observed rearranged band of immunoglobulin heavy chain had also disappeared after antibiotic treatment. These cases therefore suggest involvement of micro-organisms other than H. pylori in the development of rectal MALT lymphoma.

In this paper, we present a sequentially rotated array antenna with a rectangular patch MSA fed by an L-probe. Since it's important to decrease couplings between patch elements in order to suppress the cross-polarization level, rectangular patches with aspect ratio of k are adopted. We investigate the cross-polarization level of the sequential array and discuss the relationship between the cross-polarization level and the mutual coupling. As a result, the bandwdith of the antenna element is obtained 14.6% when its VSWR is less than 1.5, and the directivity and cross-polarization level of a 4-patch sequential array are 10.8dBic and 1.7dBic, respectively, where k=0.6 and the patch spacing of d=0.5 wave length. These characteristics are 5.6dB and 5.8dB better than the corresponding values of a square patch sequential array antenna.

Although bleeding from gastroesophageal varices is common in patients with portal hypertension, bleeding from rectal varices is observed only occasionally. In some patients, however, rectal variceal hemorrhage is fatal.1 Several investigators have reported successful treatment of rectal variceal hemorrhage with interventional radiologic techniques such as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS),2-4 whereas others have shown the usefulness of endoscopic therapy5-9 and surgical treatment.10,11 However, treatment for rectal varices has not been standardized. This is a report of a patient with bleeding rectal varices successfully treated by endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (EIS) after careful hemodynamic evaluation of the varices.

A compact X/Ka bands feeder antenna has been proposed for a Cassegrain type reflector antenna board on a planetary exploration satellite. A sequentially rotated array in X band and a helical array in Ka band are employed for realizing the circular polarization. In the X band array, the unique feeding method has been developed for reducing cross polarization level of the sequential array and in the Ka band array, the compact configuration has been realized by positioning it within the space of the X band elements‥

We have proposed the bandwidth enhancement technique of the MSA with an electromagnetically coupled feed by the offset located FILP. It has been shown that the maximum bandwidth is about 6.0% which is 2.7 times wider than that of the coaxial fed MSA, and that it is slightly effective in bandwidth enhancement compared with the original model of the FILP fed MSA when the patch height is 0.03λ 0 and the permittivity is one. In addition, the offset model can design the height of the FILP without restrictions of the configuration to fabricate, and can widen the bandwidth using substrates with the same thickness.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a potential therapeutic agent for fatal liver diseases, including fulminant hepatic failure (FHF). After performing a number of preclinical tests with recombinant human HGF (rh-HGF), we started a phase I/II study in September 2005 of patients with FHF or late-onset hepatic failure (LOHF), to examine the safety and clinical efficacy of rh-HGF. We first administered rh-HGF (0.6 mg/m(2)/day) for 13 days to a 67-year-old Japanese man with FHF. All data from this patient were reviewed by the independent data monitoring committee, and the safety of rh-HGF was recognized. Finally, a clinical trial of rh-HGF was approved to be continued. As of August 2007, we have administered rh-HGF to four patients with FHF or LOHF. All patients showed a moderate decrease in systolic blood pressure during rh-HGF administration, while the urinary excretion of albumin did not increase in all cases. In the first and third patients, hepatic failure gradually progressed, and they died 66 and 29 days, respectively, after encephalopathy occurred. The second and fourth patients are presently still alive. In conclusion, we started a clinical trial that examined the effects of rh-HGF in patients with FHF or LOHF, and in the four patients with FHF or LOHF enrolled in this study, repeated doses of rh-HGF did not produce any severe side effects.

A microstrip antenna (MSA) has a number of useful properties. However, its narrow bandwidth characteristic is disadvantage in applying to practical wireless systems. Some of the conventional techniques for widening bandwidth for the MSA are using thick structures, adding parasitic patches or using electromagnetically coupled feed. In this paper, we proposed a folded inverted L-shaped probe (FILP) to widen the bandwidth of a low-profile MSA by electromagnetically coupled feed. We showed that the FILP which is placed under the patch can increase the value of the input impedance compared to the L-probe, and that the wide bandwidth characteristics of the low-profile MSA is achieved.

Background Previous exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV) and occult HBV infection may have an important role in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic liver disease related to hepatitis C virus (HCV). Objective To prospectively study the association between antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) and clinical outcomes in patients with HCV-related chronic liver disease. Design Prospective observational study. Setting Kyoto University Hospital and 14 regional core hospitals in Japan. Participants 872 patients with chronic HCV infection (597 with chronic hepatitis and 275 with cirrhosis). Measurements Incidence of HCC on follow-up (from 1995 to 2005). Results Only 846 of the 872 enrolled patients were followed. Hepatocellular carcinoma occurred in 237 of 846 patients (28.0%) during follow-up. Among patients with cirrhosis, HCC was diagnosed in 85 of 141 patients (60.3%) with anti-HBc and 58 of 129 patients (45.0%) without HBV-related serologic markers. Of 224 patients with chronic hepatitis who had interferon monotherapy, 92 (41.1%) had sustained or transient disappearance of HCV RNA. None of the anti-HBc-negative patients who had a virologic response to interferon therapy developed HCC, whereas cancer was diagnosed in 4 of 37 anti-HBc-positive patients (10.8%) with a virologic response to interferon. On multivariate analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model, anti-HBc-positive results on serologic testing was an independent risk factor in patients with cirrhosis (incidence rate ratio, 1.58 [95% CI, 1.12 to 2.22]). Limitations The study included only 1 assessment of smoking and alcohol consumption at study entry and did not precisely determine the duration of smoking or alcohol use. Conclusions Anti-HBc-positive results on serologic testing are a marker of high risk for HCC among patients with HCV-related cirrhosis. Interferon therapy might be less effective in preventing HCC among patients with chronic hepatitis C who are anti-HBc-positive than in those with chronic hepatitis C who are anti-HBc-negative.

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC) is a rare tumor that occurs mostly in the gastrointestinal tract. We encountered a 68-year-old man suffering from HAC with severe ascites. The serum and ascitic alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels were markedly high. Computed tomography (CT) revealed that multiple nodular lesions were disseminated only in the peritoneal cavity. Based on laparoscopic and histological findings, this tumor was diagnosed as diffuse HAC which was developed primarily in the peritoneum. Despite treatments with appropriate chemotherapy, he died six months after diagnosis. According to literature updates, this is the first documented case of diffuse HAC which developed in the peritoneum.