Detectability of Colon Polyp Using Computed Virtual Chromoendoscopy with Flexible Spectral Imaging Color Enhancement

The aim of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of using computed virtual chromoendoscopy with the flexible spectral imaging color enhancement (FICE) for colon neoplasia screening. A modified back-to-back colonoscopy using FICE and white light in the right-sided colon was conducted prospectively for the consecutive patients attending for the postoperative (sigmoidectomy or anterior resection) follow-up colonoscopy. Histopathology of detected lesions was confirmed by evaluation of endoscopic resection or biopsy specimens. One-hundred and two patients were enrolled, and 100 patients (61 males and mean age 63 years) were finally analyzed. The total number of polyps detected by FICE and white light colonoscopy was 65 and 45, respectively. The miss rate for all polyps with FICE (24%) was significantly less than that with white light (46%) (P = 0.03). Colonoscopy using FICE could beneficially enhance the detection of neoplastic lesions in the right-sided colon compared to white light colonoscopy

Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma with Marked Eosinophil Infiltration

We report a case of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with marked eosinophil infiltration which was identified postoperatively in the esophageal wall in areas not surrounding the SCC. The eosinophil infiltration was seen in the submucosa, muscle and adventitia, but not in the mucosa. Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a pathological condition defined as eosinophil infiltration within the esophageal mucosa. Eosinophil infiltration at the invasion front of esophageal SCC is termed tumor-associated tissue eosinophilia (TATE). However, the eosinophil infiltration in this case may be pathologically different from both EoE and TATE. To our knowledge, this is the first report of esophageal SCC with eosinophil infiltration

X-ray harmonic comb from relativistic electron spikes

X-ray devices are far superior to optical ones for providing nanometre spatial and attosecond temporal resolutions. Such resolution is indispensable in biology, medicine, physics, material sciences, and their applications. A bright ultrafast coherent X-ray source is highly desirable, for example, for the diffractive imaging of individual large molecules, viruses, or cells. Here we demonstrate experimentally a new compact X-ray source involving high-order harmonics produced by a relativistic-irradiance femtosecond laser in a gas target. In our first implementation using a 9 Terawatt laser, coherent soft X-rays are emitted with a comb-like spectrum reaching the 'water window' range. The generation mechanism is robust being based on phenomena inherent in relativistic laser plasmas: self-focusing, nonlinear wave generation accompanied by electron density singularities, and collective radiation by a compact electric charge. The formation of singularities (electron density spikes) is described by the elegant mathematical catastrophe theory, which explains sudden changes in various complex systems, from physics to social sciences. The new X-ray source has advantageous scalings, as the maximum harmonic order is proportional to the cube of the laser amplitude enhanced by relativistic self-focusing in plasma. This allows straightforward extension of the coherent X-ray generation to the keV and tens of keV spectral regions. The implemented X-ray source is remarkably easily accessible: the requirements for the laser can be met in a university-scale laboratory, the gas jet is a replenishable debris-free target, and the harmonics emanate directly from the gas jet without additional devices. Our results open the way to a compact coherent ultrashort brilliant X-ray source with single shot and high-repetition rate capabilities, suitable for numerous applications and diagnostics in many research fields

Potential value of saline-induced Pd/Pa ratio in patients with coronary artery stenosis

BackgroundFractional flow reserve (FFR) is the current gold standard for identifying myocardial ischemia in individuals with coronary artery stenosis. However, FFR is not penetrated as much worldwide due to time consumption, costs associated with adenosine, FFR-related discomfort, and complications. Resting physiological indexes may be widely accepted alternatives to FFR, while the discrepancies with FFR were found in up to 20% of lesions. The saline-induced Pd/Pa ratio (SPR) is a new simplified option for evaluating coronary stenosis. However, the clinical implication of SPR remains unclear.ObjectivesIn the present study, we aimed to compare the accuracies of SPR and resting full-cycle ratio (RFR) and to investigate the incremental value of SPR in clinical practice.MethodsIn this multicenter prospective study, 112 coronary lesions (105 patients) were evaluated by SPR, RFR, and FFR.ResultsThe overall median age was 71 years, and 84.8% were men. SPR was correlated more strongly with FFR than with RFR (r = 0.874 vs. 0.713, respectively; p < 0.001). Using FFR < 0.80 as the reference standard variable, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve for SPR was superior to that of RFR (0.932 vs. 0.840, respectively; p = 0.009).ConclusionSaline-induced Pd/Pa ratio predicted FFR more accurately than RFR. SPR could be an alternative method for evaluating coronary artery stenosis and further investigation including elucidation of the mechanism of SPR is needed (225 words)

kiriyama~’zzz.pe.u-tokyo. ac.Jp

Building a large-scale knowledge base of engineering common sense is in-dispensable for the development of intelligent CAD systems. At The Uni-versity of Tokyo, we have started a project to build a knowledge base of physical features in the domain of mechanical design. A physical feature is a qualitative representation of a physical phenomenon and related attributes. The physical feature database is intended to be used for model building, au-tomatic model generation, consistency management, and qualitative behav-ioral reasoning. This paper presents the knowledge representation scheme for the physical feature database, the current state of development, and future research directions. 1 2L~

The effects of film thickness and incorporated anions on pitting corrosion of aluminum with barrier-type oxide films formed in neutral borate and phosphate electrolytes

The pitting corrosion behavior of high-purity aluminum covered with barrier-type anodic films, which are formed in neutral borate and phosphate electrolytes, has been examined in 0.5 mol dm(-3) NaCl solution at an applied potential of -0.6 V versus Ag/AgCl, which is slightly nobler than the pitting potential of -0.64 V in the same solution. The pitting current density, i (p), increased with time after an incubation time, t (i). The double logarithmic plot of i (p) and polarization time, t, reveal two straight lines, which are separated at the time, tau. The slope becomes larger after tau for the specimens anodized in the phosphate electrolyte, while it becomes smaller for those in the borate electrolyte. Both the t (i) and tau increase with the thickness of the anodic films, and at the similar film thickness, they are much larger for the anodic films formed in the phosphate electrolyte than for those in the borate electrolyte. The corrosion process can be divided into three stages: the incubation period up to t (i), the pit nucleation period before tau, and the pit growth period after tau. We have discussed the different pitting corrosion behavior of the aluminum specimens covered with the anodic films formed in the borate and phosphate electrolytes in terms of ion selectivity of the anodic films