A New Endoscopic Technique for Examination of Esophageal Stenosis: The Funnel-shaped Transparent Cap Technique

We have devised a funnel-shaped transparent cap for the endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of stenosis in the digestive tract. This funnel-shaped cap is made of highly transparent methacrylic resin. A 73-year-old woman with reflux esophagitis (categorized as grade D by the Los Angeles Classification) visited our hospital with the chief complaint of dysphagia. She was examined using an endoscope equipped with a transparent vinyl chloride hood at its tip. Many pieces of food were found to be trapped in the esophagus. These were removed using tripod forceps or aspirated into the hood. The internal diameter of the stenotic segment was as small as 1 or 2 mm, and it was difficult to advance the endoscope past the stenosis. The endoscope was withdrawn, and the attached hood was removed and replaced with a transparent cap. This provided clear visualization of the mucosal surface of the stenotic segment, which could not be examined using any conventional device, permitting the stenosis to be relieved

Color Changes in Electronic Endoscopic Images Caused by Image Compression

In recent years, recording of color still images into magneto–optical video disks has been increasingly used as a method for recording electronic endoscopic images. In this case, image compression is often used to reduce the volume and cost of recording media and also to minimize the time required for image recording and playback. With this in mind, we recorded 8 images into a magneto-optical video disk in 4 image compression modes (no compression, weak compression, moderate compression, and strong compression) using the Joint Photographic Image Coding Experts Group (JPEG) system, which is a widely used and representative method for compressing color still images, in order to determine the relationship between the degree of image compression and the color information in electronic endoscopic images. The acquired images were transferred to an image processor using an offline system. A total of 10 regions of interest (ROls) were selected, and red (R), green (G), and blue (B) images were obtained using different compression modes. From histograms generated for these images, mean densities of R, G, and B in each ROI were measured and analyzed. The results revealed that color changes were greater for B, which had the lowest density, than for R or G as the degree of compression was increased

Liquefaction Fragilities for Buried Lifelines

For buried structures, such as conduits and underground pipes, liquefaction induced forces will depend on the volume of soil surrounding the structure that will liquefy. Here, a methodology to calculate the probability of the onset of liquefaction at a given depth in a soil deposit is extended to assess the probability that a specified volume of soil will liquefy when liquefaction occurs at a given depth in the deposit. To account for the variability of soil properties with depth, the soil deposit is divided into horizontal layers and the volume of liquefied soil in each layer is calculated as the product of the layer thickness by the lateral extent of liquefaction. Within each layer, the horizontal variability of the soil properties is described by a homogeneous and axisymmetric random field. It is assumed that the ground motions in the horizontal direction are perfectly correlated. The results are presented in terms of the probability of liquefaction spreading over a given area (a circle of radius R) as a function of the intensity of the ground motion

Raman Scattering Spectra of Elementary Electronic Excitations in Coupled Double-Quantum Well Structures

Using the time-dependent-local-density-approximation (TDLDA) within a self-consistent linear response theory, we calculate the elementary excitation energies and the associated inelastic light-scattering spectra of a strongly coupled two-component plasma in a double-quantum well system with electron occupation of symmetric and antisymmetric subbands. We find, consistent with the results of a recent experimental Raman scattering study, that the intersubband spin density excitations tend to merge with the single particle excitations (i.e. the excitonic shift decreases monotonically) as the Fermi energy increases beyond the symmetric-antisymmetric energy gap $\bigtriangleup_{SAS}$. However, our TDLDA calculation does not show the abrupt suppresion of the excitonic shift seen experimentally at a finite value of the subband occupancy parameter $\eta \equiv \bigtriangleup_{\text{SAS}} / E_{\text{F}}$.Comment: 9 pages, RevTeX, 5 figures available upon request, PIT-SDS-00

Magnified Examination of Small Colorectal Polyps Using a Prototype Electronic Endoscope

Magnifying electronic endoscopes are frequently used to evaluate the pit patterns of the colorectal mucosa, but such endoscopes suffer from a number of problems. For example, they tend to have long, hard tips and heavy controller sections. In addition, the magnified endoscopic images obtained are often quite coarse due to the small number of pixels in the charge-coupled device (CCD). As a result, at higher magnification ratios, the orientation of the field of view is easily lost. A newly developed prototype colorectal electronic endoscope (Toshiba Corporation, Tokyo) overcomes these problems. The length of the hard tip of the scope and the weight of the controller section are comparable to those of the TCE-3680MH (Toshiba Corporation). High-resolution magnified images can be obtained, because a 410,000-pixel CCD is employed. Two magnification methods are available, optical magnification and electronic zooming, permitting images to be magnified by a factor of up to 90–120 without losing the orientation of the field of view. This newly developed magnifying electronic endoscope was found to be very useful, allowing us to observe the pit patterns of the colorectal mucosa in 82 small colorectal polyps measuring 7 mm or less in diameter

Trimer Formation and Metal-Insulator Transition in Orbital Degenerate Systems on a Triangular Lattice

As a prototypical self-organization in the system with orbital degeneracy, we theoretically investigate trimer formation on a triangular lattice, as observed in LiVO2. From the analysis of an effective spin-orbital coupled model in the strong correlation limit, we show that the previously-proposed orbital-ordered trimer state is not the lowest-energy state for a finite Hund's-rule coupling. Instead, exploring the ground state in a wide range of parameters for a multiorbital Hubbard model, we find an instability toward a different orbital-ordered trimer state in the intermediately correlated regime in the presence of trigonal crystal field. The trimer phase appears in the competing region among a paramagnetic metal, band insulator, and Mott insulator. The underlying mechanism is nesting instability of the Fermi surface by a synergetic effect of Coulomb interactions and trigonal-field splitting. The results are compared with experiments in triangularlattice compounds, LiVX2 (X=O, S, Se) and NaVO2.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jp

A Study of Meson Correlators at Finite Temperature

We present results for mesonic propagators in temporal and spatial directions at T below and above the deconfining transition in quenched QCD. Anisotropic lattices are used to get enough information in the temporal direction. We use the Wilson fermion action for light quarks and Fermilab action for heavy quarks.Comment: LATTICE 99 (finite temperature and density), 3 pages, LaTeX with 3 eps figures, espcrc2.sty, psfig.st

Systematic analysis of interannual and seasonal variations of model-simulated tropospheric NO₂ in Asia and comparison with GOME-satellite data

International audienceSystematic analyses of interannual and seasonal variations of tropospheric NO2 vertical column densities (VCDs) based on GOME satellite data and the regional scale chemical transport model (CTM), Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ), are presented over eastern Asia between 1996 and June 2003. A newly developed year-by-year emission inventory (REAS) was used in CMAQ. The horizontal distribution of annual averaged GOME NO2 VCDs generally agrees well with the CMAQ results. However, CMAQ/REAS results underestimate the GOME retrievals with factors of 2?4 over polluted industrial regions such as Central East China (CEC), a major part of Korea, Hong Kong, and central and western Japan. For the Japan region, GOME and CMAQ NO2 data show good agreement with respect to interannual variation and show no clear increasing trend. For CEC, GOME and CMAQ NO2 data show good agreement and indicate a very rapid increasing trend from 2000. Analyses of the seasonal cycle of NO2 VCDs show that GOME data have systematically larger dips than CMAQ NO2 during February?April and September?November. Sensitivity experiments with fixed emission intensity reveal that the detection of emission trends from satellite in fall or winter have a larger error caused by the variability of meteorology. Examination during summer time and annual averaged NO2 VCDs are robust with respect to variability of meteorology and are therefore more suitable for analyses of emission trends. Analysis of recent trends of annual emissions in China shows that the increasing trends of 1996?1998 and 2000?2002 for GOME and CMAQ/REAS show good agreement, but the rate of increase by GOME is approximately 10?11% yr?1 after 2000; it is slightly steeper than CMAQ/REAS (8?9% yr?1). The greatest difference was apparent between the years 1998 and 2000: CMAQ/REAS only shows a few percentage points of increase, whereas GOME gives a greater than 8% yr?1 increase. The exact reason remains unclear, but the most likely explanation is that the emission trend based on the Chinese emission related statistics underestimates the rapid growth of emissions