Creating Classes for Developing the Concept of Functions : A System of Learning Activities for Drawing out Four Qualities Tied to Nurturing the Concept of Functions

本研究は，数・量・図形的要素を見出し，どのような関係があるのかを考え，そこにきまりを発見していく力を育成するために以下の研究を進めた。昨年度は，函数観念の育成につながる授業の中で引き出したい４つの姿である，①事象の中に数・量・図形的要素を見つけようとする姿，②どのような関係かを考えていこうとする姿，③関係の中にある法則を見つけようとする姿，④事象を関係で見ていこうとする姿を発達段階ごとに設定し，その４つの姿を引き出すことを目的とした学習活動を仕組む授業実践を積み重ねた。さらに，本年度は，「関数の考えの指導」の関数の考えの背景となる「物事を動的に見ようとする態度」に焦点をあて，４つの姿を引き出すこととする。それらの取り組みを小学校と中学校で統一して取り組むことで「中一ギャップ」や算数・数学への円滑な移行ができると考えた。その結果，単元の事前と事後，昨年と今年とでは４つの姿をについて，どの項目についても肯定的な回答であった。また，教師が意図的に関数の考えを授業の中で取り扱っていくことが，子どもに「関数の観念」を育んでいく上で効果的であり，小・中学校で統一した指導も可能であることが分かった。This study was conducted, as a means of nurturing the ability to discover set facts when seeking out numerical, volumetric, and graphical elements in pondering relationships. Last year, four of figure you want a drawer in the class, which leads to the development of the function concept has been pulled out. This year, the focus was placed on “attitudes for seeing things dynamically”, as a precursor to thinking about functions, and the instruction thereof. It was felt that unifying these efforts in elementary and junior high schools would relieve the “first-year gap”. The result of these efforts was a positive response to all four qualities in both years, before and after the teaching units. In addition, teachers’ deliberate treatment of the idea of functions in classrooms was effective in engendering the “concept of functions” in children, showing that it is possible to have a unified way of teaching in elementary and junior high schools

Clinical utility of the Bosniak classification version 2019:Diagnostic value of adding magnetic resonance imaging to computed tomography examination

Purpose: To assess the impact of the updated Bosniak classification (BC2019) for cystic renal masses (CRMs) on interobserver agreement between radiologists and urologists and the diagnostic value of adding MRI to CT examination (combined CT/MRI). Method: This study included 103 CRMs from 83 consecutive patients assessed using contrast-enhanced CT and MRI between 2010 and 2016. Nine readers in three groups (three radiologists, three radiology residents, and three urologists) reviewed CT alone and the combined CT/MRI using BC2019. Bosniak category was determined by consensus in each group for diagnosing malignancy, with a cut-off category of ?>= III. Interobserver agreement was assessed using Fleiss' kappa values. The effect of CT or combined CT/MRI on the diagnosis of malignancy was assessed using McNemar's test. Results: Interobserver agreement of BC2019 for CT alone was substantial for radiologists and residents, moderate for urologists (0.77, 0.63, and 0.58, respectively). Interobserver agreement of BC2019 for combined CT/MRI was substantial for all three groups (radiologists: 0.78; residents: 0.65; and urologists: 0.61). Among residents, the sensitivity/specificity/accuracy rates of combined CT/MRI vs. CT alone were 82.1/74.7/76.7% vs. 75.0/66.7/68.9%, and specificity and accuracy were significantly higher for combined CT/MRI than that for CT alone (p = 0.03 and 0.008, respectively). Similarly, sensitivity/specificity/accuracy values were significantly higher for combined CT/MRI among urologists (78.6/73.3/74.8% vs. 64.3/64.0/64.1%, p = 0.04/0.04/0.008). However, sensitivity/specificity/accuracy did not significantly differ between the two among radiologists (89.3/74.7/78.6% vs. 85.7/73.3/76.7%, p = 0.32/0.56/0.32). Conclusions: Combined CT/MRI is useful for diagnosing malignancy in patients with CRMs using BC2019, especially for non-expert readers

Diagnostic Value of the Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System in Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma with Variant Histology

The value of the Vesicle Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) in the diagnosis of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) for urothelial carcinoma with variant histology (VUC) remains unknown. We retrospectively evaluated 360 consecutive patients with bladder cancer (255 pure urothelial carcinoma [PUC] and 69 VUC) who underwent multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging between 2011 and 2019. VI-RADS scores assigned by four readers were significantly higher for the VUC group than for the PUC group (p &lt; 0.05). In the cohort of 122 pair-matched patients, there was no significant difference in VI-RADS score distribution between the PUC and VUC groups for all readers (p &gt; 0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for MIBC diagnosis via overall VI-RADS score was 0.93-0.94 for PUC and 0.89-0.92 for VUC, with no significant difference between the PUC and VUC groups (p = 0.32-0.60). These data suggests that VI-RADS scores achieved high diagnostic performance for detection of muscle invasion in both PUC and VUC. PATIENT SUMMARY: The Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) is a standardized system for reporting on detection of muscle-invasive bladder cancer via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Our study shows that VI-RADS is also highly accurate for diagnosis for different variants of muscle-invasive bladder cancer, with good inter-reader agreement.</p

Cutaneous T-cell-attracting chemokine as a novel biomarker for predicting prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a prospective observational study

[Background] Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive fibrotic lung disease that leads to respiratory failure and death. Although there is a greater understanding of the etiology of this disease, accurately predicting the disease course in individual patients is still not possible. This study aimed to evaluate serum cytokines/chemokines as potential biomarkers that can predict outcomes in IPF patients. [Methods] A multi-institutional prospective two-stage discovery and validation design using two independent cohorts was adopted. For the discovery analysis, serum samples from 100 IPF patients and 32 healthy controls were examined using an unbiased, multiplex immunoassay of 48 cytokines/chemokines. The serum cytokine/chemokine values were compared between IPF patients and controls; the association between multiplex measurements and survival time was evaluated in IPF patients. In the validation analysis, the cytokines/chemokines identified in the discovery analysis were examined in serum samples from another 81 IPF patients to verify the ability of these cytokines/chemokines to predict survival. Immunohistochemical assessment of IPF-derived lung samples was also performed to determine where this novel biomarker is expressed. [Results] In the discovery cohort, 18 cytokines/chemokines were significantly elevated in sera from IPF patients compared with those from controls. Interleukin-1 receptor alpha (IL-1Rα), interleukin-8 (IL-8), macrophage inflammatory protein 1 alpha (MIP-1α), and cutaneous T-cell-attracting chemokine (CTACK) were associated with survival: IL-1Rα, hazard ratio (HR) = 1.04 per 10 units, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.01–1.07; IL-8, HR = 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.08; MIP-1α, HR = 1.19, 95% CI 1.00–1.36; and CTACK, HR = 1.12 per 100 units, 95% CI 1.02–1.21. A replication analysis was performed only for CTACK because others were previously reported to be potential biomarkers of interstitial lung diseases. In the validation cohort, CTACK was associated with survival: HR = 1.14 per 100 units, 95% CI 1.01–1.28. Immunohistochemistry revealed the expression of CTACK and CC chemokine receptor 10 (a ligand of CTACK) in airway and type II alveolar epithelial cells of IPF patients but not in those of controls. [Conclusions] CTACK is a novel prognostic biomarker of IPF

The effect of hot-pack warming on the deep body temperature -for the development of a nursing care instrument to induce sleep-

A hot-pack made of a dense polymer and covered with a cloth was manufactured as a warming instrument. This hot-pack can be readily warmed in a microwave oven. The present study was performed to examine the effects of warming the lower limbs using this hot-pack on the temperature and blood flow at various sites including the toe, mid-thigh, chest, and forehead. The results were as follows: 1. Hot-pack warming raised the deep body temperature. 2. Lower limb warming by the hot-pack increased the blood flow, by which the increase in temperature spread to the central part of the body. 3. The deep body temperature fell following the removal of the hot-pack, and, in addition, by sweating. It is suggested that hot-pack warming might be useful for inducing sleep in elderly people

The effect of hot-pack warming on the skin temperature of the elderly

A hot-pack made of a dense polymer and warmed in a microwave oven can be used as a warming instrument. This study was performed to examine the effects of a hot-pack, which was used to warm the lower limbs, on the skin surface temperature of elderly people living in a nursing home. The results demonstrated that hot-pack warming is useful to increase the skin surface temperature of elderly people and to maintain a hyperthermic effect. This method of hot-pack warming can also be used as thermal therapy in elderly people living in nursing homes

ガン カガク リョウホウ ニオケル ショウカカン ドクセイ ト ケッセイ Diamine Oxidase DAO カッセイ ニ カンスル ケントウ

There are so many patients with advanced gastric cancer who undergo systemic chemotherapy worldwide. The quality of life（QOL）of patients with gastric cancer who receive chemotherapy is often lowed by various gastrointestinal toxicities during the chemotherapy. Nutrition is also impaired by gastrointestinal toxicities. However, it is difficult to predict their occurrence in advance and further there is no good serum marker for nutrition in the patients treated with chemotherapy. Thus, it is important to objectively evaluate and predict the toxicity of the digestive tract during cancer chemotherapy. Diamine Oxidase（DAO）is an enzyme that is expressed in intestinal epithelial cells. Recently it has been reported that DAO activity may reflect damage or atrophy of the intestinal villi, and therefore it may be a sensitive serum marker for nutritional state. In this study, we measured serum DAO activity of patients with gastric cancer treated with systemic chemotherapy, and investigated the correlation between DAO activity and gastrointestinal toxicities. Six patients with gastric cancer, who were treated by docetaxel+cisplatin+S‐１combination chemotherapy, were enrolled. DAO activity was measured by sensitive colorimetric assay. DAO activities diminished after treatment in４patients with moderate to severe gastrointestinal toxicities. In contrast, they did not change in２patients with no gastrointestinal toxicities. Our results may suggest that DAO activity is a good serum marker for the gastrointestinal toxicities as well as nutrition state in patients who receive systemic chemotherapy. More large scale study is needed to warrant

Lower-limb warming improves sleep quality in elderly people living in nursing homes

Sleep disturbances are common in older people. This study was conducted to examine the effects of a hot pack, which was used to warm the lower limbs, on the sleep of elderly people living in a nursing home. This is a prospective cohort involving seven elderly women. Subjects aged 74-93 years old were treated by warming the lower limbs for 40 minutes using hot packs every night over 8 weeks. A hot pack made of a dense polymer and warmed in a microwave oven was used as a warming device. In the first and last week, the subjects were required to wear an activity monitor to determine their sleep-awake status. During the second to ninth week, they received limb-warming treatment by a hot pack heated to 42ºC for 40 min every night. Surface skin temperature data were collected by thermographic measurement. As a result, lower-limb warming by a hot pack significantly improved the quality of sleep in the subjects. During warming, the surface temperature of the hands and face rose by approximately 0.5-1.5ºC. This study showed that lower-limb warming with a hot pack reduced sleep latency and wake episodes after sleep onset; thus, improving the quality of sleep in elderly people living in a nursing home

Generation of Facial-Expression-Attachable Face Models from Range Data

火の国情報シンポジウム2006 : 2006年3月13日(月)，14日(火) : 熊本 : B-2-4近年、計算機性能の向上及びCG技術の進歩により、精巧なCGを作成することができるようになった。それに伴い、映画やゲームのキャラクタとして、また各種アプリケーションにおけるアバタとして、様々な場面で人物CGが用いられている。しかし、それらは無生物のものに比べてリアルさに欠けている。特に人物の顔面は、人間の顔面認知能力の高さもあって、自然にみせるには製作者の経験とセンスが要求される。さらに、人物CGをアニメーションさせる場合、必要な表情の形状を全て作り上げなければならないため、作成に多くの時間を必要とする。これらの理由から、本稿では、表情による変形ができない顔面形状データに対して、予め用意しておいた変形情報を適用することで表情付けを行える顔面モデルを生成する手法について述べる。Recently, we can see many sophisticated computer graphics, and also those of human as characters in cinemas, computer games, or avatars in come applications. We can, however, often hardly feel those as real, because we are able to distinguish a face from another even if they are resemble each other. Therefore, skillful people only can create human graphics very well. However making up all of possible facial expressions by hand requires long time. In this paper, we propose an approach to generate deformable face model that can attach prepared expressions to non-deformable facial model