A 2.75-Approximation Algorithm for the Unconstrained Traveling Tournament Problem

A 2.75-approximation algorithm is proposed for the unconstrained traveling tournament problem, which is a variant of the traveling tournament problem. For the unconstrained traveling tournament problem, this is the first proposal of an approximation algorithm with a constant approximation ratio. In addition, the proposed algorithm yields a solution that meets both the no-repeater and mirrored constraints. Computational experiments show that the algorithm generates solutions of good quality.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur

Evaluation of Infliximab Effects on Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Crohn's Disease Using Double-Balloon Endoscopy

Tumor necrosis factor α plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD). The effects of infliximab on gastrointestinal bleeding in CD have not yet been fully evaluated. Herein we describe three CD cases who presented with gastrointestinal bleeding and received infliximab treatment. In case 1, double-balloon endoscopy showed a large ulcer with several irregularly shaped ulcers in the terminal ileum; 8 weeks after infliximab administration, complete healing of all lesions was observed. In case 2, double-balloon endoscopy showed linear ulcers and mucosal edema in the jejunum and ileum; 5 weeks after infliximab administration, all lesions were decreased in size and were healed. In case 3, double-balloon endoscopy revealed ulcerations and stenosis in the terminal ileum; 12 weeks after infliximab administration, ulcer healing and an increased diameter of the ileal stenosis were observed. These three cases have been receiving ongoing infliximab maintenance therapy and are currently symptom-free. Infliximab thus appears to be useful for treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding in CD patients

Thermal neutron flux evaluation by a single crystal CVD diamond detector in LHD deuterium experiment

The single crystal CVD diamond detector (SDD) was installed in the torus hall of the Large Helical Device (LHD) to measure neutrons with high time resolution and neutron energy resolution. The LiF foil with 95.62 % of 6Li isotope enrichment pasted on the detector was used as the thermal neutron convertor as the energetic ions of 2.0 MeV alpha and 2.7 MeV triton particles generated in LiF foil and deposited the energy into SDD. SDD were exposed to the neutron field in the torus hall of the LHD during the 2nd campaign of the deuterium experiment. The total pulse height in SDD was linearly propotional to the neutron yield in a plasma operation in LHD over 4 orders of magnitude. The energetic alpha and triton were separately measured by SDD with LiF with the thickness of 1.9 μm, although SDD with LiF with the thickness of 350 μm showed a broadened peak due to the large energy loss of energetic particles generated in the bulk of LiF. The modeling with MCNP and PHITS codes well interpreted the pulse height spectra for SDD with LiF with different thicknesses. The results above demonstrated the sufficient time resolution and energy discrimination of SDD used in this work

Regulation of Mesodermal Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells by Basement Membranes

This research was originally published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Hironobu Fujiwara, Yoshitaka Hayashi, Noriko Sanzen, Reiko Kobayashi, Charles N. Weber, Tomomi Emoto, Sugiko Futaki, Hitoshi Niwa, Patricia Murray, David Edgar and Kiyotoshi Sekiguchi. Regulation of Mesodermal Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells by Basement Membranes. J. Biol. Chem. 2007; 282: 29701–29711 © the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biolog

Association between the tissue accumulation of advanced glycation end products and exercise capacity in cardiac rehabilitation patients

Background Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are associated with aging, diabetes mellitus (DM), and other chronic diseases. Recently, the accumulation of AGEs can be evaluated by skin autofluorescence (SAF). However, the relationship between SAF levels and exercise capacity in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between the tissue accumulation of AGEs and clinical characteristics, including exercise capacity, in patients with CVD. Methods We enrolled 319 consecutive CVD patients aged >= 40 years who underwent early phase II cardiac rehabilitation (CR) at our university hospital between November 2015 and September 2017. Patient background, clinical data, and the accumulation of AGEs assessed by SAF were recorded at the beginning of CR. Characteristics were compared between two patient groups divided according to the median SAF level (High SAF and Low SAF). Results The High SAF group was significantly older and exhibited a higher prevalence of DM than the Low SAF group. The sex ratio did not differ between the two groups. AGE levels showed significant negative correlations with peak oxygen uptake and ventilator efficiency (both P <0.0001). Exercise capacity was significantly lower in the high SAF group than in the low SAF group, regardless of the presence or absence of DM (P <0.05). A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that SAF level was an independent factor associated with reduced exercise capacity (odds ratio 2.10; 95% confidence interval 1.13-4.05; P = 0.02). Conclusion High levels of tissue accumulated AGEs, as assessed by SAF, were significantly and independently associated with reduced exercise capacity. These data suggest that measuring the tissue accumulation of AGEs may be useful in patients who have undergone CR, irrespective of whether they have DM

Low HER2 expression is a predictor of poor prognosis in stage I triple-negative breast cancer

IntroductionTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is negative for hormone receptors and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). In stage I TNBC, adjuvant therapy or follow-up are performed according to risk factors, but clinical trial data is scarce. In recent years, it has been reported that HER2-low cases (1+/2+ and in situ hybridization negative) have different prognoses than HER2-0 cases. However, the risk of recurrence and risk factors in this HER2-low population for stage I TNBC have not yet been investigated.MethodsHerein, out of 174 patients with TNBC who underwent surgery from June 2004 to December 2009 at the National Cancer Center Hospital (Tokyo), we retrospectively examined 42 cases diagnosed as T1N0M0 TNBC after excluding those treated with preoperative chemotherapy.ResultsAll patients were female, the median age was 60.5 years, and 11 cases were HER2-low and 31 cases were HER2-0. The median follow-up period was 121 months. Postoperative adjuvant therapy was administered in 30 patients and recurrence occurred in 8 patients. HER2-low cases showed a significantly shorter disease-free survival (HR: 7.0; 95% CI: 1.2– 40.2; P=0.0016) and a trend towards shorter overall survival (hazard ratio [HR]: 4.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.58–31.4) compared with that of HER2-0 cases. HER2 was also identified as a factor for poor prognosis from the point- estimated values in univariate and multivariate analyses after confirming that there was no correlation between the other factors.ConclusionFor patients with stage I TNBC, the HER2-low population had a significantly worse prognosis than the HER2-0 population