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This paper proposes a method for the symbolisation of temporal changes of the environments around the autonomous robot in a work space using the scene flow field for recognition of events. The proposed algorithm is a two-phase method for the accurate computation of the scene flow field. The algorithm next symbolises the motion field as a string of words using directional statistics. Our method extracts a string of words of motion in front of the robots from images captured by a robot-mounted stereo camera system. We evaluate performance of our method using KITTI scene flow Dataset 2015. The results shows the efficiency of the method for the extraction of events in front of a robot.

Acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC) is an uncommon, histologically distinctive variant of squamous cell carcinoma. It occurs rarely in the oral cavity, and is especially rare at the maxillary gingiva. We report here the case of a 64-year-old female who requested examination of a diffuse swelling of the anterior maxilla. The histological diagnosis was ASCC. Maxillectomy involving the full-thickness of the upper lip, bilateral selective neck dissection, and immediate reconstruction with a double-folded, free radial forearm flap was conducted. The postoperative course was quite good. Neither recurrence nor metastases was found 30 months postoperatively. Only 15 cases of ASCC in the oral cavity have previously been reported, and our present case was the sixteenth. To improve understanding of the treatment and prognosis of ASCC, all published intraoral cases were reviewed.

In this paper, we discuss decay estimates and Strichartz estimates for dispersive equations with non-homogeneous symbols on modulation spaces M p , q s to obtain the global well-posedness of the Cauchy problems for nonlinear dispersive equations. As a result, we have a generalization of the result in [19] which treated the Schrodinger equations with a nonlinearity of wider class.

Myoepithelial carcinoma of the breast is extremely rare and only 33 cases have been reported in the English literature. Herein, we report a case of myoepithelial carcinoma of the breast with focal rhabdoid features. The patient was a 67-year-old woman, who presented with a lump of the left breast that rapidly grew to 3 cm in diameter within 3 months. Lumpectomy revealed a solid and whitish colored tumor, which was composed mainly of elongated spindle-shaped cells with mild atypia, focal necrosis, and infiltrative margin. In a small area of the lesion, ovoid tumor cells exhibited eccentric nuclei with centrally located nucleoli and plump cytoplasm including round eosinophilic inclusions, resembling a rhabdoid tumor. Immunohistochemically, both types of tumor cells exhibited a myoepithelial phenotype. MIB-1 index was 30%. The cytoplasmic inclusion of the ovoid cells exhibited immunopositivity for both vimentin and cytokeratin. From these findings, this tumor was diagnosed as a myoepithelial carcinoma with focal rhabdoid features. Although rhabdoid features have been reported in some types of malignant and benign tumors, this is the first report of such features in myoepithelial carcinoma of the breast.

Background Atrial fibrillation is common after oesophageal surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether landiolol hydrochloride was effective and safe in the prevention of atrial fibrillation after oesophagectomy, and to see whether a reduction in incidence of atrial fibrillation would reduce other postoperative complications. Methods This single-centre study enrolled patients scheduled for transthoracic oesophagectomy in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial between March 2013 and January 2016. Enrolled patients were randomized with a 1 : 1 parallel allocation ratio to either landiolol prophylaxis or placebo. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of atrial fibrillation after oesophagectomy. Secondary endpoints were incidence of postoperative complications, and effects on haemodynamic and inflammatory indices. Results One hundred patients were enrolled, 50 in each group. Postoperative atrial fibrillation occurred in 15 patients (30 per cent) receiving placebo versus five (10 per cent) receiving landiolol (P = 0·012). The overall incidence of postoperative complications was significantly lower in the landiolol group (P = 0·046). In the landiolol group, postoperative heart rate was suppressed effectively, but the decrease in BP was not harmful. The interleukin 6 level was significantly lower on days 3 and 5 after surgery in the landiolol group (P = 0·001 and P = 0·002 respectively). Conclusion Landiolol was effective and safe in preventing atrial fibrillation after oesophagectomy. Registration number: UMIN000010648 (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/).

In this paper, we consider the Cauchy problem for the nonlinear higher order Schrödinger equations on modulation spaces $M_{p,q}^s$ and show the existence of a unique global solution by using integrability of time decay factors of time decay estimates. As a result, we are able to deal with wider classes of a nonlinearity and a solution space. Moreover, we study time decay estimates of a semi--group $e^{it\phi(\sqrt{-\Delta})}$ with a polynomial symbol $\phi$. Considering multiplicities of critical points and inflection points of $\phi$ carefully, we have time decay estimates with better time decay rate.

The aim of this phase II study was to evaluate the feasibility of a neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen consisting of divided-dose docetaxel and cisplatin, with 5-fluorouracil (NAC-DCF), for treatment of patients with stage II/III squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE).The NAC-DCF regimen, consisting of 2-h infusion of docetaxel at 35 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8, 4-h infusion of cisplatin at 12 mg/m(2) on days 1-5, and continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil at 600 mg/m(2) on days 1-5, was administered. We compared NAC-DCF with conventional NAC-CF.The DCF group comprised of 45 patients, and the CF group comprised of 28 patients. The incidence of grade 3/4 neutropenia was significantly higher in the DCF group (56%) than in the CF group (0%). Grade 2/3 pathological response was attained in a significantly higher percentage of patients in the DCF group (40%) than in the CF group (11%) (p=0.0153).This DCF regimen led to a high frequency of pathological responses among patients with advanced SCCE.

The two-dimensional molecular assembly was accomplished of bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl a) and zinc-substituted BChl a (Zn-BChl a) together with synthetic poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG)-linked light-harvesting (LH) model polypeptides on a gold Au(111) electrode modified with supported lipid bilayers. Model polypeptides for LH1-α from Rhodospirillum (Rs.) rubrum were successfully synthesized and stably assembled with Zn-BChl a in 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-[phospho-rac-(1′-glycerol)] (DOPG) lipid bilayers on an electrode at room temperature, as well as in liposomal solution, in which the Zn-BChl a complex unlike BChl a, was stably assembled. The PEG moiety of the model polypeptide assisted the stable assembly with an α-helical conformation of the LH1-α model peptides together with these pigments onto the gold electrode with defined orientation. The photocurrent response depended on the combinations of the pigments and synthetic LH model polypeptides. The results presented herein will be useful for the self-assem...

Photoinduced surface friction variations of the polished surface of polycrystalline rutile ceramics under UV illumination in different atmospheres was evaluated using FFM. When UV was irradiated onto the rutile surface, the surface friction force first increased and then decreased. Once the water contact angle of the rutile surface reached the lower limit, the surface friction force increased gradually. Increased friction force on the surface in the early stage of UV illumination was attributable to decomposition of the surface organic contaminant and the resultant increase of surface energy from the fitting of calculated contact angles to practical values. However, the friction force decrease and gradual increase after a certain period of UV illumination are attributed to the lubrication effect and either a capillary effect or the increased adsorbed water layer by humidity control. From the force curve measurement on the highly hydrophilic rutile single crystal (1 0 0), the repulsion force was detected from 2 to 3 nm separation distance.

A 70-year-old man complained of fever and sore throat accompanied by hoarseness of voice. On physical examination, there was no systemic abnormality but a mild lymphadenopathy of cervical lymph nodes. With laryngoscopy, there was a marked outgrowth of the bilateral palatine tonsils proximal to the vocal cord. The histology of the resected tumor was compatible with angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma (AITL), revealing the effacement of normal tonsillar architecture and small to medium-sized neoplastic cell proliferation around marked vascular proliferation and atrophic lymphoid follicles. Tumor cells were positive for conventional T-cell antigens as well as for the follicular helper T-cell marker, PD-1, and CXCL13. Large hodgkinoid cells, but no tumor cells, were positive for latent membrane protein-1 and Epstein-Barr virus-encoded small RNA (EBER)-1 (in situ hybridization). Non-neoplastic, double positive cells for EBER-1 and CD20 were also scattered. Southern blot analysis revealed dual TCR-Cβ1 and IGH-JH gene rearrangements. Although the swelling of bilateral inguinal and perigastric lymph nodes developed later, the radical resection of tumor and chemotherapy appeared to be effective for the treatment of AITL with clinical stage IIIa. We here report a rare case of AITL involving palatine tonsil as primary site and give a review of the literature.

Kindergartens have been expected to take on a new role of child-raising support due to changes in the social environment such as declining birthrate and deregulation. A web page can be an important means for parents to gather information on the kindergarten efficiently and a web page can strongly influence the parents’ satisfaction of the kindergarten. The paper first clarifies what parents hoped for in kindergarten websites by the questionnaire survey. It then focuses on private use of the blog and blog syndication, and devised Kindergarten-Family Collaboration Model (KFCM) by which childcare workers and parents can efficiently share children’s information with each other, and finally, the paper describes the development and implementation of the system. Establishing a new mechanism which allows kindergartens and families to connect to each other enables seamless sharing of perceptions and information regarding children at kindergartens and families, thus easing the child-rearing anxiety of the parents. Consequently, the research showed that KFCM enabled effective collaboration between kindergartens and families and that the substitution of the conventionally-used correspondence notebook (used by a class teacher and parents to exchange messages) was possible by this system and that it improved parents’ satisfaction.

Molecular assembly of Zn porphyrin pigments, Zn substituted bacteriochlorophyll a ([Zn]-BChl a ) and Zn mesoporphyrin monomer (ZnMPMME) on a gold electrode using synthetic 1α-helix hydrophobic polypeptides which have similar amino acid sequences to the hydrophobic core in the native photosynthetic light-harvesting (LH) 1-β polypeptide from Rhodobacter sphaeroides , has been achieved: this process is dependent on the structures of pigments and polypeptides. Interestingly, an enhanced photoelectric current was observed when ZnMPMME with the LH1 model polypeptide in an α-helical configuration was assembled onto the electrode.

A highly stereoselective total synthesis of arenastatin A, an extremely potent cytotoxic cyclic depsipeptide from marine sponge, was developed. The desired 7,8-β-epoxide in arenastatin A was constructed by asymmetric sulfur ylide-mediated epoxidation in good yield and highly stereoselective manner.

The use of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) with zinc oxide as electrodes is expected to contribute to a CO2 emission-reduction. In this study we examined the CO2 emission-reduction effect by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) was estimated with the LCA software “AIST-LCA ver.4”. LCI was applied to predict the CO2 emission per unit of generated electricity for several potential technical developments of DSC. And the CO2 pay-back time for such solar cells based on conventional power generation systems in Japan was investigated, compared with those for polysilicon solar cells. In addition, according to several solar cell installation scenarios, the installation area and the number of years required by DSC to exceed the polysilicon solar cell in the amount of CO2 reduction were estimated. It was confirmed that DSC technologies are potentially capable of exceeding the polysilicon solar cell in the level of CO2 reduction. The LCI results have lead to an understanding of the differences and factors that influence them. This study offers many important suggestions that will be helpful in making decisions about future research and development into DSC.

Background: Recently, advances in bronchoscopic techniques such as bronchial valves have been increasing in value for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Bronchial valve therapy has been proven to be useful for patients with lobar heterogeneous emphysema and complete fi ssure. In this study, we measured emphysema scores and fi ssure integrity in patients with emphysema, then classifi ed these based on computed tomography image patterns to examine which patients were candidates for bronchial valve therapy. Methods: Between February 2013 and May 2014, we studied 40 consecutive patients with CT-detected emphysema. Quantitative CT imaging analysis was performed using software. Emphysema scores per lobe were converted to the Likert scale, where a score of 1 equals 1 to 25%, 2 (26 to 50%), 3 (51 to 75%), and 4 (76 to 100%). Lobar heterogenity of more than or equal to a 2-unit difference was needed between the adjacent lobes. The heterogeneous group was divided into complete and incomplete fi ssure groups. Fissure integrity scores of ≧80% and < 80% were defi ned as complete and incomplete fi ssure integrity, respectively. Results: Forty patients were classifi ed into either a heterogeneous group (5 patients), or a homogeneous group (35 patients). The heterogeneous group was then divided into a complete fi ssure group (2 patients) or incomplete fi ssure group (3 patients). In the homogeneous group, 14 patients were classifi ed into the complete fi ssure group and 21 patients to the incomplete fi ssure group. This study revealed that, of the 40 patients who were indicated, only 2 patients met the criteria of heterogeneous and complete fi ssure for bronchial valve therapy. Conclusion: We attempted to select candidates for bronchoscopic lung volume reduction with valve using VIDA Apollo software. However, we could not recruit a suffi cient number of outpatients with CT-detected emphysema.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we develop a quadratic tracker which computes a locally quadratic optical flow field by solving a model-fitting problem for each point in its local neighbourhood. This local method allows us to select a region of interest for the optical flow computation. Secondly, we propose a method to compute the transportation of a motion field in long-time image sequences using the Wasserstein distance for cyclic distributions. This measure evaluates the motion coherency in an image sequence and detects collapses of smoothness of the motion vector field in an image sequence.

Herein is presented a case of cytokeratin (CK) 20-positive large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the colon, in which the tumor was clinically at stage IV and located in the ascending colon. Pathological examination of the resected tumor revealed nested and solid proliferation of large undifferentiated cells with vesicular nucleus and prominent nucleoli. No areas showed differentiation toward adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. Tumor cells were immunohistochemically positive for chromogranin A, synaptophysin, CD 56 (focal), and bore electron-dense granules. With these features, the tumor was diagnosed as a large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the colon. Liver metastasis and local recurrence progressed, and the patient died of the primary disease 7 months after operation. The autopsy confirmed this diagnosis without detectable tumors in the lungs. Interestingly, more than half of the tumor cells were positive for CK 20, while CK 7 was not expressed. Most neuroendocrine carcinomas do not express CK 20, with the exception of Merkel cell carcinomas, and most colorectal adenocarcinomas express CK 20. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the present case is the first CK 20-positive, CK 7-negative colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma to be described, suggesting a link between colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma and conventional adenocarcinoma.

A member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase superfamily, MAK, has been proposed to have an important role in spermatogenesis, since Mak gene expression is highly restricted to testicular germ cells. To assess the biological function of MAK, we have established MAK-deficient (Mak(-/-)) mice. Mak(-/-) mice developed normally, and no gross abnormalities were observed. Spermatogenesis of the Mak(-/-) mice was also intact, and most of the mice were fertile. However, Mak(-/-) male-derived litter sizes and their sperm motility in vitro were mildly reduced. These data show that function of MAK is not essential for spermatogenesis and male fertility.

The rapid outbreak of the highly pathogenic A/H5N1 avian influenza virus among domestic birds and its transmission to humans have induced world-wide fears of a new influenza pandemic. If a human-trophic strain of A/H5N1 is replicated in domestic animals, it might have high transmissivity and pathogenicity to humans. If the misassembling of both avian and swine influenza viruses occur in the same cells in domestic fowl, novel pandemic infections among humans might emerge due to human-fowl contacts. In the present study, examinations of mixed infections with A/H5N1 and A/H1N1 viruses were carried out using living chickens to elucidate the possibility of chimeric avian-swine influenza virus replication in domestic fowl. The sporadic strains of avian A/H5N1 and swine A/H1N1 viruses were co-infected into embryonated eggs and post-hatched chickens. A double staining method using the anti-A/H5N1 and anti-A/H1N1 antibodies indicated that A/H5N1 and A/H1N1 viruses were co-localized in the same cells in the chorioallantoic membrane of embryos, and in the lungs of chickens challenged by the double infections. This indicated that the avian influenza and swine influenza viruses might be assembling in the same cells of chickens, and chimeric viruses containing the characteristics of both viral strains might appear.

Fundoplication during esophagogastrostomy (EG) after proximal gastrectomy (PG) is a useful procedure to prevent reflux esophagitis, but it is unclear how much of the remnant stomach should be wrapped around the esophagus.We analyzed data from 101 patients who underwent PG for upper third early gastric cancer between 1999 and 2011. In all, 64 patients underwent EG, 25 underwent jejunal interposition (JI), and 12 underwent jejunal pouch interposition (JPI). We compared intraoperative details and postoperative outcomes, and investigated the relationships between the degree of the fundoplication during EG and endoscopic findings.The length of the operation was significantly shorter in the EG group than in the other 2 groups (P.05), and the intraoperative blood loss was significantly less in the EG group (P.05). The JI and the JPI groups had significantly greater rates of early complications than did the EG group (P = .01). Reflux esophagitis was present in 22% of patients in the EG group, 8% in the JPI group, and none in the JI group. In the EG group, reflux esophagitis was significantly less common in patients with a180° wrap of the remnant stomach around the esophagus than in patients with a smaller wrap (P = .0008). The rate of body weight loss was significantly less in the EG group compared with the other 2 groups (P.05).Considering the low invasiveness of the procedure and postoperative outcomes, we consider that EG with a180° wrap as the optimal reconstructive procedure.

An 83-year-old man presented with a three-week history of dyspnea. The clinical features suggested a diagnosis of relapsing polychondritis (RP); however, the patient died of heart failure. An autopsy revealed active chondritis of the tracheal and bronchial cartilage. Furthermore, giant cell myocarditis (GCM) and myositis were detected. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first report of RP complicated by GCM and myositis. In patients with RP, GCM and myositis, CD163-positive macrophages and T-cells are most common, and the T-cell subset exhibits CD8 predominance. Common mechanisms of tissue damage caused by cytotoxic T-cells are likely to contribute to RP, GCM and myositis.

Recent studies have shown that the modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS), which is an inflammation-based prognostic score, is useful as a prognostic index for some cancer cases. The purpose of this study was to create a prognostic scoring system for patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) that was more independent and sensitive than the mGPS. One hundred sixty-eight patients who had undergone esophagectomy for ESCC were included in the study. The new mGPS (NmGPS) was calculated based on the following cutoff values: CRP >0.75 mg/dL indicated NmGPS 1 or 2, depending on the absence or presence of hypoalbuminemia (

47 Background: No predictive biomarker of the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel and cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil (NAC-DCF) is available for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE) in a clinical setting. The aim of this study was to identify the biomarkers associated with chemotherapeutic efficacy and long-term survival for patients with advanced SCCE who had received NAC-DCF followed by surgery. Methods: This study included 45 patients with advanced SCCE who received NAC-DCF between January 2008 and December 2012. The NAC-DCF was conducted as a phase II study (UMIN000007408). The expressions of excision repair cross-complementing-1 (ERCC1), class III beta-tubulin, breast cancer susceptibility gene I (BRCA1), and thymidylate synthase were investigated simultaneously in the pre-treatment endoscopic tumor biopsy samples. Results: The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that pathological responses were significantly associated with tumors with low ERCC1 expression (P = 0.016) and with tumors with high BRCA1 expression (P = 0.014). The incidence of pathological responses to DCF in patients with low ERCC1 and high BRCA1 expressions was 100%. The multivariate Cox proportional hazard model analysis for relapse-free survival (RFS) revealed tumors with high BRCA1 expression (P = 0.031, hazards ratio, 4.39) as independent prognostic factors. Conclusions: Low ERCC1 expression and high BRCA1 expression in patients with SCCE were predictive biomarkers for chemotherapeutic efficacy. High BRCA1 expression was considered as prognostic factors for long-term RFS. These results may be a helpful tool for tailoring chemotherapy of patients with SCCE. Prospective validation of this biomarker panel is warranted. Clinical trial information: UMIN000007408.

Case 1 was a 73-year-old woman admitted to our hospital due to bilateral pneumonia with respiratory failure. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) analysis confirmed 2009 H1N1 influenza infection. Streptococcus pneumoniae was confirmed from sputum culture and a urine antigen test on admission. She was treated with antiviral drugs and antibiotics, and improved gradually. Case 2 was a 66-year-old woman admitted to our hospital due to suspected acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonitis. RRT-PCR analysis confirmed 2009 H1N1 influenza infection, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was cultured from her sputum. Mixed pneumonia due to influenza virus, bacteria and fungus was suspected. Although she was treated with medicines for these pathogens, she died from respiratory failure. An autopsy confirmed primary viral pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Not only viral pneumonia, but also mixed infections due to bacteria or fungus, might influence the prognosis of 2009 H1N1 influenza infection. These cases indicate the importance of early identification of complicating pathogens and treatment in 2009 H1N1 influenza infection.

A highly stereoselective total synthesis of arenastatin A, an extremely potent cytotoxic cyclic depsipeptide from marine sponge, was developed. The desired 7,8-β-epoxide in arenastatin A was constructed by asymmetric sulfur ylide-mediated epoxidation in good yield and highly stereoselective manner.

Synthetic single alpha-helix hydrophobic polypeptides, which have similar amino acid sequences to the hydrophobic core in the native light-harvesting 1-beta polypeptide from Rhodobacter sphaeroides, formed Zn porphyrin complexes on a gold electrode, as well as in n-octyl-beta-glucoside micelles: this process is dependent on the structure of the pigments and the polypeptides. Interestingly, an enhanced photoelectric current was observed when Zn mesoporphyrin monomer complexed with the synthetic light-harvesting model polypeptide in an alpha-helical configuration was assembled with a defined orientation onto the electrode. Analog of these light-harvesting model complexes are also useful in providing insights into the effect of polypeptide structure on the formation of light-harvesting complexes on and off electrodes.

In order to increase metabolic stability and water solubility of arenastatin A, an extremely potent cytotoxic depsipeptide from the Okinawan marine sponge of Dysidea arenaria, several 15,20-triamide analogues with a polar substituent on the phenyl ring were synthesized. The 15,20-triamide analogues with a polar substituent (24, 30, and 31) showed increased solubility to MeOH and stronger cytotoxicity against KB cells in comparison with the parental 15,20-triamide analogue (2). Furthermore, the diethylamine analogue (30) exhibited in vivo anti-tumor activity against subcutaneously implanted murine sarcoma.

1α-Helix hydrophobic polypeptide bearing spermine, which has similar amino acid sequences to the hydrophobic core in the native photosynthetic light-harvesting (LH) 1-α polypeptide from Rhodospirillum (Rsp.) rubrum, was synthesized. Interestingly, an enhanced photoelectric current was observed when BChI a complexes together with the LH1-α model polypeptide were assembled onto an ITO electrode.

Arrays of large Si grains have been grown by phase-modulated excimer-laser annealing at room temperature. Home-plate- and square-shaped grains could be grown over the whole irradiated substrate area. These results indicate that the fabrication of x-Si TFTs on glass is a realistic development target.