ACCURACY EVALUATION OF STRUCTURE FROM MOTION THERMAL MOSAICING IN THE CENTER OF TOKYO

In the airborne and high-resolution measurement of Land Surface Temperature (LST) over large area, capturing and synthesizing of many images are necessary. In the conventional method, the process of georeferencing a large number of LST images is necessary to make one large image. Structure from Motion (SfM) technique was applied to automized the georeferencing process. We called it “SfM Thermal Mosaicing”. The objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of SfM thermal mosaicing in making an orthogonal LST image. By using airborne thermal images in the center of Tokyo, the LST image with the 2m resolution was created by using SfM thermal mosaicing. Its accuracy was then analyzed. The result showed that in the whole examined area, the mean error distance was 4.22m and in the small parts of the examined area, the mean the error distance was about 2m. Considering the image resolution, the error was minimal indicating good performance of the SfM thermal mosaicing. Another advantage of SfM thermal mosaicing is that it can make precise orthogonal LST image. With the progress of UAV and thermal cameras, the proposed method will be a powerful tool for the environmental researches on the LST

Network optimization for enhanced resilience of urban heat island measurements

The urban heat island is a well-known phenomenon that impacts a wide variety of city operations. With greater availability of cheap meteorological sensors, it is possible to measure the spatial patterns of urban atmospheric characteristics with greater resolution. To develop robust and resilient networks, recognizing sensors may malfunction, it is important to know when measurement points are providing additional information and also the minimum number of sensors needed to provide spatial information for particular applications. Here we consider the example of temperature data, and the urban heat island, through analysis of a network of sensors in the Tokyo metropolitan area (Extended METROS). The effect of reducing observation points from an existing meteorological measurement network is considered, using random sampling and sampling with clustering. The results indicated the sampling with hierarchical clustering can yield similar temperature patterns with up to a 30% reduction in measurement sites in Tokyo. The methods presented have broader utility in evaluating the robustness and resilience of existing urban temperature networks and in how networks can be enhanced by new mobile and open data sources

IDENTIFYING VISITOR PREFERENCES FOR LOCATIONS AND FEATURES IN BOGOR BOTANICAL GARDEN, INDONESIA, USING GPS TRACKING AND GEOTAGGED PHOTOS

Research on visitors’ landscape preferences in a botanical garden is useful for understanding what visitors see while they visit the site. Analyzing visitors’ preference by using GPS tracking data and Visitors’-Employed Photography (VEP) is one of approach that successfully implemented in some studies. GPS loggers and visitors’ photos were used in this study to identify and locate features considered impressive by visitors. This research involved 35 normal visitors of Bogor Botanical Garden (BBG) as respondents, who were asked to capture impressive landscape features while visiting the BBG. Each respondent used their own smartphone or camera to take photographs and recorded their actual positions using a GPS logger.  The data of GPS tracking and geo-tagged photos were exported into ArcGIS. The 20 by 20 meters square cell were joined with points' data to calculate density of tracking points and photos points. A cell was categorized as hotspots if the number of points more than 2.5 times of standard deviation. The results show that respondents were concentrated on several geographic locations within the BBG; the most-photographed features were water, structures, and plants. Interestingly, the most-photographed plants were those arranged for recreational (rather than botanical or educational) purposes, suggesting new considerations for managers of botanical gardens

A primary aorto-duodenal fistula associated with an inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm: a case report.

Primary aorto-enteric fistula (PAEF)is a serious complication of abdominal aortic aneurysm(AAA). We report a patient with PAEF associated with inflammatory AAA who underwent emergent surgery. A 52-year-old male presented with recurrent hematemesis. A computer tomography scan showed a sealed rupture of the AAA adjacent to the duodenum. At surgery, a coin-sized PAEF was noted. The aorta was replaced with a Dacron graft in situ . Histological examination revealed the characteristics of an inflammatory AAA. The postoperative course was uneventful, and there has been no evidence of infection during a follow-up period of 3 years. We discuss the etiologic and surgical considerations regarding this unusual entity.</p

Receptor-Mediated Bioassay Reflects Dynamic Change of Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide by Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitor Treatment in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes.

Objective: We recently observed a greater increase in plasma levels of bioactive glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) than glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) using the receptor-mediated bioassays in the subjects with normal glycemic tolerance (NGT) treated with dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, which may be unappreciated using conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) during oral glucose tolerance test. Thus, we determined incretin levels in addition to glucagon level using the bioassays in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) subjects with or without treatment of DPP-4 inhibitor, to evaluate whether these assays can accurately measure bioactivity of these peptides.Methods: We performed single meal tolerance test (MTT) by using a cookie meal (carbohydrate 75.0 g, protein 8.0 g, fat 28.5 g) in the subjects with NGT (n = 9), the subjects with T2DM treated without DPP-4 inhibitor (n = 7) and the subjects with T2DM treated with DPP-4 inhibitor (n = 10). All subjects fasted for 10-12 h before the MTT, and blood samples were collected at 0, 30, 60, and 120 min. We used the cell lines stably cotransfected with human-form GIP, GLP-1 or glucagon receptor, and a cyclic adenosine monophosphate-inducible luciferase expression construct for the bioassays. We measured active GIP, active GLP-1, and glucagon by the bioassays. To evaluate the efficacy of bioassay, we measured identical samples via ELISA kits.Results: During the single MTT study, postprandial active GIP bioassay levels of T2DM with DPP-4 inhibitor treatment were drastically higher than those of NGT and T2DM without DPP-4 inhibitor, although the DPP-4 inhibitor-treated group showed moderate increase of active GIPELISA and active GLP-1 bioassay , while active GLP-1 bioassay levels of T2DM subjects without DPP-4 inhibitor were comparable to those of NGT subjects. During the serial MTT, administration of DPP-4 inhibitor significantly increased active GIP bioassay levels, but not active GLP-1 bioassay .Conclusions: In comparison to conventional ELISA, receptor-mediated bioassay reflects dynamic change of GIP polypeptide by DPP-4 inhibitor treatment in subjects with type 2 diabetes

Non-Surgical Management of Bile Leakage After Hepatectomy: A Single-Center Study

【Background】 Bile leakage after hepatectomy is a common complication. The purpose of the present study was to retrospectively evaluate the usefulness of non-surgical management of bile leakage after hepatectomy, using 12-year data from a single center study. 【Methods】 Data from 15 patients (13 men, two women; mean age 67.1 ± 7.0 years) who had undergone nonsurgical management for bile leakage between January 2005 and November 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. 【Results】 We categorized bile leakage as central (n = 5) or peripheral (n = 10) leakage based on communication with the biliary tree. Percutaneous bile leakage drainage and/or endoscopic naso-biliary drainage (ENBD) (n = 2) or the rendezvous technique (n = 3) was successfully performed in five central-type cases, while all peripheral-type cases were treated with drainage alone; only one case required additional ethanol ablation. Bacterial bile cultures were positive in 11 cases and negative in four cases. The drainage catheters were removed after complete resolution in 13 cases (86.7%), while two patients with cases of peripheral-type leakage died due to cancer progression while the drain was in place. No case needed conversion to reoperation. The mean duration of drainage therapy in all cases was 210.1 ± 163.0 days (range 17?531 days), with 316.8 ± 180.8 days in the central type and 156.7 ± 131.5 days in the peripheral type; this duration was not significantly different (P = 0.129). 【Conclusion】 Non-surgical treatment is a minimally　invasive and effective management strategy for postoperative bile leakage and the modality used depends on the type of bile leakage encountered