Extraskeletal Osteosarcoma of the Thigh: An Autopsy Case Report

We report a case of extraskeletal osteosarcoma (ESOS) and autopsy findings. A 35-year-old man presented with an ossified tumor in the right thigh and lung metastasis. The lung tumors continued to develop despite multiagent chemotherapy and caused death within 8 months. Autopsy revealed many secondary lesions in the lungs, especially in the left lung. Histopathologically, the primary tumor and one of the secondary tumors showed proliferation of spindle-shaped tumor cells focally forming lace-like osteoid material. Therefore, we made a definite diagnosis of ESOS

Does a Wife’s Employment Affect her Husband’s Retirement Decision? : Evidence from Japanese Longitudinal Data

Based on a large longitudinal dataset on Japanese middle-aged and older individuals, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether women’s labor force participation affects their husbands’ retirement decisions. Employing a simple fixed-effects model, a significant positive effect of wives’ labor force participation on husbands’ retirement decisions was found, which seems to imply that a husband’s leisure is complementary to that of his wife. However, when employing instrumental variables such as the wife’s health condition, the existence of care needs in the household, and statutory pensionable age, no significant effect of the wife’s employment on her husband’s retirement decision was found, regardless of employment type. This result indicates that a Japanese wife’s retirement decision is independent of her husband’s employment and marks a sharp contrast with those of western industrialized countries

Peripheral Chorioretinal Imaging Through a Front Prism on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical feasibility of peripheral chorioretinal imaging through a front prism on swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA). Methods: We prospectively obtained en face OCTA images using SS-OCTA in 10 eyes of 10 healthy volunteers. For the peripheral chorioretinal imaging, the scanning laser passed and refracted through a 45 −90 −45 right-angle prism. We evaluated the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of chorioretinal vessels in the periphery. Results: Using peripheral chorioretinal imaging through a prism, the retinal vasculature was delineated to the equator on the OCTA images, and varices of the vortex vein ampullae were observed on choroidal OCT images. The 3×3-mm images revealed three-dimensional morphologies unique to the peripheral vasculature, such as the gap between retinal arterioles and venules in the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and elliptical and greater lobules in the choriocapillaris layer. Compared with OCTA images obtained without the prism, those obtained through the prism demonstrated an approximately 1.24-fold increase in the lengths in the base apex direction, whereas the lengths in the perpendicular direction showed concordance. The peripheral vessel density (VD) in the inferior quadrant was lower than those in the other quadrants on the SCP and deep capillary plexus, whereas on the SCP images of the macula the lowest VD was observed in the temporal subfield. Conclusions: Peripheral chorioretinal imaging allowed us to generate ultra-widefield panoramic OCTA images and demonstrated morphologic characteristics unique to peripheral chorioretinal vessels. Translational Relevance: OCTA imaging through a front prism can be a technique for acquiring chorioretinal vasculature images in the periphery

High-speed stereoscopy of aurora

第6回極域科学シンポジウム[OS] 宙空圏11月16日（月）　国立極地研究所 2階 大会議

Multilevel recording in Bi-deficient Pt/BFO/SRO heterostructures based on ferroelectric resistive switching targeting high-density information storage in nonvolatile memories

We demonstrate the feasibility of multilevel recording in Pt/Bi1-δFeO3/SrRuO3 capacitors using the ferroelectric resistive switching phenomenon exhibited by the Pt/Bi1−δFeO3 interface. A tunable population of up and down ferroelectric domains able to modulate the Schottky barrier height at the Pt/Bi1−δFeO3 interface can be achieved by means of either a collection of SET/RESET voltages or current compliances. This programming scheme gives rise to well defined resistance states, which form the basis for a multilevel storage nonvolatile memory

Prevention of Image Quality Degradation in Wider Field Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Images Via Image Averaging

Purpose: To evaluate the mutual effect of widening the field of view and multiple en face image averaging on the quality of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images. Methods: This prospective, observational, cross-sectional case series included 20 eyes of 20 healthy volunteers with no history of ocular or systemic disease. OCTA imaging of a 3 × 3-mm, 6 × 6-mm, and 12 × 12-mm area centered on the fovea was performed nine times using the PLEX Elite 9000. We acquired averaged OCTA images generated from nine en face OCTA images. The corresponding areas in the three scan sizes were evaluated for the original single-scanned OCTA images and averaged OCTA images both qualitatively and quantitatively. Quantitative measurements included vessel density (VD), vessel length density (VLD), fractal dimension (FD), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Results: Significant differences in VD, VLD, FD, and CNR (P < 0.001) were observed due to the mutual effect of averaging and differences in scan size. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluations indicated that the quality of 6 × 6-mm averaged images was equal to or better than that of 3 × 3-mm single-scanned images. However, the quality of 12 × 12-mm averaged images did not reach that of 3 × 3-mm single-scanned images. Conclusions: To some extent, multiple en face OCTA image averaging can compensate for the deterioration in image quality caused by widening the field of view. Translational Relevance: Multiple en face OCTA image averaging can be a technique for acquiring wider field OCTA images with good quality

Isolated gestational proteinuria preceding the diagnosis of preeclampsia : an observational study

Introduction. Some pregnant women develop significant proteinuria in the absence of hypertension. However, clinical significance of isolated gestational proteinuria (IGP) is not well understood. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of IGP in singleton pregnancies and the proportion of women with IGP who subsequently developed preeclampsia (IGP-PE) among all PE cases. Material and methods. This was an observational study of 6819 women with singleton pregnancies at 12 centers, including 938 women with at least once determination of protein-to-creatinine ratio (P/Cr). Significant proteinuria in pregnancy (SPIP) was defined as P/Cr (mg/mg) level >0.27. IGP was defined as SPIP in the absence of hypertension. Gestational hypertension (GH) preceding preeclampsia (GH-PE) was defined as preeclampsia (PE) in which GH preceded SPIP. Simultaneous PE (S-PE) was defined as PE in which both SPIP and hypertension occurred simultaneously. Results. IGP and PE were diagnosed in 130 (1.9%) and 158 (2.3%) of 6819 women, respectively. Of 130 women with IGP, 32 (25%) progressed to PE and accounted for 20% of all women with PE. Hence, women with IGP had a relative risk of 13.1 (95% CI; 9.2-18.5) for developing PE compared with those without IGP [25% (32/130) vs. 1.9% (126/6689)]. At diagnosis of SPIP, P/Cr levels already exceeded 1.0 more often in women with S-PE than in those with IGP-PE [67% (33/49) vs. 44% (14/32), respectively, p = 0.031]. Conclusions. IGP is a risk factor for PE, and IGP-PE accounts for a considerable proportion (20%) of all PE

A New Electrophysiological Method for the Diagnosis of Extraforaminal Stenosis at L5-S1

Study DesignA retrospective study.PurposeTo examine the effectiveness of using an electrodiagnostic technique as a new approach in the clinical diagnosis of extraforaminal stenosis at L5-S1.Overview of LiteratureWe introduced a new effective approach to the diagnosis of extraforaminal stenosis at the lumbosacral junction using the existing electrophysiological evaluation technique.MethodsA consecutive series of 124 patients with fifth lumbar radiculopathy were enrolled, comprising a group of 74 patients with spinal canal stenosis and a second group of 50 patients with extraforaminal stenosis at L5-S1. The technique involved inserting a pair of needle electrodes into the foraminal exit zone of the fifth lumbar spinal nerves, which were used to provide electrical stimulation. The compound muscle action potentials from each of the tibialis anterior muscles were recorded.ResultsThe distal motor latency (DML) of the potentials ranged from 11.2 to 24.6 milliseconds in patients with extraforaminal stenosis. In contrast, the DML in patients with spinal canal stenosis ranged from 10.0 to 17.2 milliseconds. After comparing the DML of each of the 2 groups and at the same time comparing the differences in DML between the affected and unaffected side of each patient, we concluded there were statistically significant differences (p<0.01) between the 2 groups. Using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the cutoff values were calculated to be 15.2 milliseconds and 1.1 milliseconds, respectively.ConclusionsThis approach using a means of DML measurement enables us to identify and localize lesions, which offers an advantage in diagnosing extraforaminal stenosis at L5-S1