オーバーコンプリート・ブラインド信号源分離のフィードバック形構成とその学習アルゴリズム(画像信号処理及び一般)

金沢大学理工研究域　電子情報学系本稿では,信号源の数がセンサ数より多いオーバーコンプリート・ブラインド信号源分離においてフィードバック形構成法と分離回路の学習アルゴリズムを提案する.まず,1巡目で信号源の分離を行う.ここでは,一つの信号源が複数の出力に含まれないことを分離の条件とする.このための学習法を提案している.センサ数を信号源数の約半分以上とすることにより,1巡目の信号源分離で少なくとも1個の出力に単一信号源を分離できる.この出力を単一信号源の特徴を利用して検出する.更に,この出力をフィードバックして観測信号からキャンセルすることにより,等価的に信号源の数を低減する.当該出力と混合過程の情報を使ってキャンセルする他,観測信号と当該出力のヒストグラムを使ってキャンセルする方法を組み合わせることにより,条件不足の問題を解消する.2巡目では,観測信号に含まれる信号源が1個少ない状態で1巡目と同じ処理を行う.このように,提案法では,観測信号における信号源の数を1個ずつ減らしながら信号源分離を繰り返す.信号源として音声を用いたシミュレーションにより,従来法との比較を行い,提案方法の有効性を確認している. A feedback structure and its learning algorithm are proposed for overcomplete blind source separation, where the number of sources is larger than that of sensors. In the first phase, the signal sources are separated so as to satisfy the condition, under which one signal source is not included in different outputs. By setting the number of the sensors to be more than a half of the sources, at least one output includes a single source. This output is selected based on property of a single source. Furthermore, this output is fed back and cancelled from observed signals. The selected single source, information about a mixing process and histogram of the observations and the separated source are used for this cancellation. In the second phase, the same process is carried out by using the modified observations, in which the source, separated in the first phase, is cancelled. Like this, in the proposed method, the source separation is repeated by reducing the number of equivalent sources. Simulations using speech signals demonstrate usefulness of the proposed method compared to the conventional methods

Extensive genomic diversity and selective conservation of virulence determinants in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli strains of O157 and non O157 serotypes

Background: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157 causes severe food-borne illness in humans. The chromosome of O157 consists of 4.1 Mb backbone sequences shared by benign E. coli K-12, and 1.4 Mb O157-specific sequences encoding many virulence determinants, such as Shiga toxin genes (stx genes) and the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE). Non-O157 EHECs belonging to distinct clonal lineages from O157 also cause similar illness in humans. According to the "parallel" evolution model, they have independently acquired the major virulence determinants, the stx genes and LEE. However, the genomic differences between O157 and non-O157 EHECs have not yet been systematically analyzed. Results: Using microarray and whole genome PCR scanning analyses, we performed a whole genome comparison of 20 EHEC strains of O26, O111, and O103 serotypes with O157. In non-O157 EHEC strains, although genome sizes were similar with or rather larger than O157 and the backbone regions were well conserved, O157-specific regions were very poorly conserved. Around only 20% of the O157- specific genes were fully conserved in each non-O157 serotype. However, the non-O157 EHECs contained a significant number of virulence genes that are found on prophages and plasmids in O157, and also multiple prophages similar to, but significantly divergent from, those in O157. Conclusion: Although O157 and non-O157 EHECs have independently acquired a huge amount of serotype- or strain-specific genes by lateral gene transfer, they share an unexpectedly large number of virulence genes. Independent infections of similar but distinct bacteriophages carrying these virulence determinants are deeply involved in the evolution of O157 and non-O157 EHECs

Literature survey on epidemiology and pathology of cardiac fibroma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although cardiac fibroma has been regarded as benign tumor, it presents various symptoms and may lead to death. Unfortunately, only a few studies have reported the epidemiology, embryology, and histopathology of the tumor, and the factors predicting poorer outcome are still obscured.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In July 2011 we searched for English and Japanese cases of cardiac fibroma using the PubMed and IgakuChuoZasshi databases. We then extracted and sampled raw data from the selected publications in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) style as much as was possible.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Details of a total of 178 patients with cardiac fibroma were retrieved. The mean age was 11.4 years (median: 2.8 years). Tumor sizes ranged from 8.0 to 150.0 mm (mean 53.1 mm). The left ventricle was found to be the most common site associated with the tumor at a rate of 57.3%, followed by the right ventricle, and interventricular septum. The highest mortality was found in patients with septal involvement (58.6%). In all, 111 patients survived among the 160 patients with a recorded outcome. A younger age of the patient at the time of diagnosis was associated with a decreased survival rate. In addition, a significant positive association was found between ages for patients younger than 17 years of age and the diameter of the tumor at the time of diagnosis (r = 0.341, <it>P </it>= 0.006).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Both the younger age of patients at the time of diagnosis and septal involvement can be regarded as factors significantly indicating a poor prognosis. Furthermore, our statistical analyses support the following hypotheses. First, the high ratio of tumor-to-heart size may generate low cardiac output and therefore lead to poor outcome. Second, the ratio of the sites where cardiac fibroma occurred corresponds with the ratio of the muscular weight of the cardiac chamber. Third, cardiac fibroma involving the interventricular septum more frequently induces conduction system disease.</p

EFFECTS OF ALUMINUM OVER-LAYER THICKNESS ON CHARACTERISTICS OF NIOBIUM TUNNEL-JUNCTIONS FABRICATED BY DC MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

We have fabricated Nb/AlOX/Nb Josephson tunnel junctions using a sputtering apparatus with a load-lock system. The junctions that had 50 mu m x 50 mu m area showed a V-m value (the product of the critical current and the subgap resistance at 2 mV) as high as 50 mV at a current density of 160 A/cm(2). Moreover, junctions having different thicknesses of the Al over-layer were concurrently fabricated on one wafer to study the dependence of the current-voltage characteristics on this Al over-layer. The I-V characteristics were also calculated by McMillan\u27s tunneling model and were compared with the measured I-V characteristics

Gene Expression Analysis of a Murine Model with Pulmonary Vascular Remodeling Compared to End-Stage IPAH Lungs

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) continues to be one of the most serious intractable diseases that might start with activation of several triggers representing the genetic susceptibility of a patient. To elucidate what essentially contributes to the onset and progression of IPAH, we investigated factors playing an important role in IPAH by searching discrepant or controversial expression patterns between our murine model and those previously published for human IPAH. We employed the mouse model, which induced muscularization of pulmonary artery leading to hypertension by repeated intratracheal injection of Stachybotrys chartarum, a member of nonpathogenic and ubiquitous fungus in our envelopment. METHODS: Microarray assays with ontology and pathway analyses were performed with the lungs of mice. A comparison was made of the expression patterns of biological pathways between our model and those published for IPAH. RESULTS: Some pathways in our model showed the same expression patterns in IPAH, which included bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling with down-regulation of BMP receptor type 2, activin-like kinase type 1, and endoglin. On the other hand, both Wnt/planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling and its downstream Rho/ROCK signaling were found alone to be activated in IPAH and not in our model. CONCLUSIONS: Activation of Wnt/PCP signaling, in upstream positions of the pathway, found alone in lungs from end stage IPAH may play essential roles in the pathogenesis of the disease

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009–associated Pneumonia in Children, Japan

To describe clinical aspects of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus–associated pneumonia in children, we studied 80 such children, including 17 (21%) with complications, who were admitted to 5 hospitals in Japan during August–November 2009 after a mean of 2.9 symptomatic days. All enrolled patients recovered (median hospitalization 6 days). Timely access to hospitals may have contributed to favorable outcomes