Image enlargement with high-frequency component augmentation based on predefined codebook describing edge blurring properties

Image super-resolution as high-quality image enlargement is achieved by some type of restoration for high-frequency components that deteriorate through the image enlargement. The estimation methods using the given image itself are effective for the restoration, and we have proposed a method employing the codebook describing edge blurring properties that are derived from the given image. It is, however, unfavourable to apply those image-dependent methods to movies whose scene varies momentarily. In this paper, an image-independent codebook incorporating local edge patterns of images is proposed, and then the predefined codebook is applied. The effectiveness is shown through some experiments

Importance of absorbable surgical sutures for the prevention of stitch abscess after surgery in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

To elucidate the significance of absorbable surgical sutures in the occurrence of stitch abscess after surgery in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The subjects were 251 patients who underwent excision and/or reconstruction and/or neck dissection for oral SCC using absorbable surgical sutures. Detection rates and characteristics of patients with stitch abscess were retrospectively evaluated by comparing between our present and previous data. There was only one stitch abscess among the 251 patients. A significant difference in the incidence of stitch abscess was found between the present data and our previous data. Of course, no significant correlations were found between the occurrence of stitch abscess using absorbable surgical sutures and the various factors seen in our previous analysis. A complete switch of surgical sutures from silk to absorbable surgical sutures is needed for surgery in patients with oral SCC

Occurrence of silk stitch abscess after surgery in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

Objectives: To elucidate the predisposing factors and clinical characteristics related to the occurrence of stitch abscess after surgery in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Patients and Methods: The subjects were 232 patients who underwent excision and/or reconstruction and/or neck dissection for oral SCC using silk sutures for high ligation of the blood vessels. Detection rates and characteristics of patients with stitch abscess were retrospectively evaluated by comparing patients with and without stitch abscesses after surgery diagnosed by ultrasonography and findings of various modalities in 232 patients. Several echogenic dots with subtle acoustic shadows in a hypoechoic mass were identified as the characteristic findings of stitch abscess on US. The patient groups with and without stitch abscess were compared with respect to various factors to identify those that predispose to the occurrence of stitch abscess. The factors analyzed included patients' sex and age, chemotherapy treatment, radiotherapy treatment, the presence of a history of allergy, and blood test results. Results: A significant correlation was found between the occurrence of stitch abscess and age, liver function abnormalities on blood tests, and the presence of a history of allergy. Multiple stitch abscesses clearly tended to occur more often than single ones in patients with stitch abscess. Conclusions: The occurrence of stitch abscesses was related to age, liver dysfunction, and/or the presence of allergies. When diagnosing stitch abscess, the occurrence of multiple stitch abscesses is important

Phase II Study of Pleurodesis using Sterile Graded Talc in Patients with Secondary Intractable Pneumothorax: Protocol for a Multicentre, Open-label Single-arm Trial

A pneumothorax can be primary or secondary. A high proportion of patients with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax are the elderly who are in poor general condition due to their impaired cardiac and pulmonary functions as well as due to other complications. Therefore, it may be difficult for these patients to undergo surgical procedures; in addition, the elderly may be at high risk for postoperative pulmonary fistula due to severe adhesions and emphysema complications. These non-operative and high-risk cases may be treated with pleurodesis (a procedure that involves instillation of a chemical or irritant into the thoracic cavity through an injection), bronchoscopic bronchial embolisation, or other procedures. In Japan, no device is currently approved for performing pleurodesis, but an approval of one device is expected soon. This will be an open-label, single-arm multicentre study conducted among 30 patients with secondary intractable pneumothorax who are not indicated to undergo surgery. The primary endpoint will be presence or absence of chest tube removal. The secondary endpoints will be the disappearance/decrease of air leakage, grade of dyspnoea, and duration of drainage. This study will assess the safety and efficacy of sterile graded talc pleurodesis in patients with secondary intractable pneumothorax.This research is (partially) supported by the Project Promoting Clinical Trials for Development of New Drugs and Medical Devices (Japan Medical Association) and Early/Exploratory Clinical Trial Center Development Projects from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). This study is registered in the Center for Clinical Trials, Japan Medical Association (JMA-IIA00272)

Integrated genetic and clinical prognostic factors for aggressive adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma

成人T細胞白血病リンパ腫（ATL）におけるゲノム情報と臨床情報を統合したリスクモデルを確立 --ATLの個別化医療を推進--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-04-10.The prognosis of aggressive adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is poor, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a curative treatment. To identify favorable prognostic patients after intensive chemotherapy, and who therefore might not require upfront allo-HSCT, we aimed to improve risk stratification of aggressive ATL patients aged <70 years. The clinical risk factors and genetic mutations were incorporated into risk modeling for overall survival (OS). We generated the m7-ATLPI, a clinicogenetic risk model for OS, that included the ATL prognostic index (PI) (ATL-PI) risk category, and non-silent mutations in seven genes, namely TP53, IRF4, RHOA, PRKCB, CARD11, CCR7, and GATA3. In the training cohort of 99 patients, the m7-ATLPI identified a low-, intermediate-, and high-risk group with 2-year OS of 100%, 43%, and 19%, respectively (hazard ratio [HR] 5.46, p < 0.0001). The m7-ATLPI achieved superior risk stratification compared to the current ATL-PI (C-index 0.92 vs. 0.85, respectively). In the validation cohort of 84 patients, the m7-ATLPI defined low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups with a 2-year OS of 81%, 30%, and 0%, respectively (HR 2.33, p = 0.0094), and the model again outperformed the ATL-PI (C-index 0.72 vs. 0.70, respectively). The simplified m7-ATLPI, which is easier to use in clinical practice, achieved superior risk stratification compared to the ATL-PI, as did the original m7-ATLPI; the simplified version was calculated by summing the following: high-risk ATL-PI category (+10), low-risk ATL-PI category (−4), and non-silent mutations in TP53 (+4), IRF4 (+3), RHOA (+1), PRKCB (+1), CARD11 (+0.5), CCR7 (−2), and GATA3 (−3)