Driver\u27s Licence Ownership in Japan : Long Term Forecasting by Cohort Analysis

This　paper，　in　the　attempt　of　presenting　a　part　of　study　examining　the　theoretical　and empirical　relationships　between　driver，s　licence　ownership　and　passenger　car　ownership， shows　the　results　of　a　long　term　forecast　of　the　driver，s　licence　ownership　by　sex　and age－group　in　Japan．　The　method　of　cohort　analysis　is　applied　to　Japan，s　data　in　order　to estimate　the　future　rates　of　driver，s　licence　ownership．　It　has　been　fou訟d　that，　under assumptio且s　set　in　this　study，　the　marginal　increlnent　of　total　driver，s　licence　ownership remains　approximately　six　to　eight　times　larger　than　that　of　population　level　ulltil　the beginning　of　the　next　century．論文(Article

Applying artificial intelligence to disease staging: Deep learning for improved staging of diabetic retinopathy.

Disease staging involves the assessment of disease severity or progression and is used for treatment selection. In diabetic retinopathy, disease staging using a wide area is more desirable than that using a limited area. We investigated if deep learning artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to grade diabetic retinopathy and determine treatment and prognosis.The retrospective study analyzed 9,939 posterior pole photographs of 2,740 patients with diabetes. Nonmydriatic 45° field color fundus photographs were taken of four fields in each eye annually at Jichi Medical University between May 2011 and June 2015. A modified fully randomly initialized GoogLeNet deep learning neural network was trained on 95% of the photographs using manual modified Davis grading of three additional adjacent photographs. We graded 4,709 of the 9,939 posterior pole fundus photographs using real prognoses. In addition, 95% of the photographs were learned by the modified GoogLeNet. Main outcome measures were prevalence and bias-adjusted Fleiss' kappa (PABAK) of AI staging of the remaining 5% of the photographs.The PABAK to modified Davis grading was 0.64 (accuracy, 81%; correct answer in 402 of 496 photographs). The PABAK to real prognosis grading was 0.37 (accuracy, 96%).We propose a novel AI disease-staging system for grading diabetic retinopathy that involves a retinal area not typically visualized on fundoscopy and another AI that directly suggests treatments and determines prognoses

Development of serum-free and grain-derived-nutrient-free medium using microalga-derived nutrients and mammalian cell-secreted growth factors for sustainable cultured meat production

Abstract Considering the amount of global resources and energy consumed, and animal welfare issues associated with traditional meat production, cultured meat production has been proposed as a solution to these problems and is attracting worldwide attention. Cultured meat is produced by culturing/proliferating animal muscle cells in vitro. This process requires significant amounts of culture medium, which accounts to a major portion of the production cost. Furthermore, it is composed of nutrients derived from grains and heterotrophic microorganisms and fetal bovine serum (FBS), which will impact the sustainability of cultured meat in future. Here, we developed a novel medium containing nutrients extracted from microalga and cell-secreted growth factors. First, rat liver epithelial RL34 cells were cultured by adding Chlorella vulgaris extract (CVE) to inorganic salt solution. The supernatant, containing the RL34 cell-secreted growth factors, was used as the conditioned medium (CM). This CM, with CVE added as a nutrient source, was applied to primary bovine myoblast cultures. This serum-free and grain-derived-nutrient-free medium promoted the proliferation of bovine myoblasts, the main cell source for cultured beef. Our findings will allow us to take a major step toward reducing production costs and environmental impacts, leading to an expansion of the cultured meat market

Present and Future Prospects of Radiation Therapy Using α-Emitting Nuclides

Therapy with α-radiation has issues associated with internal exposure; its clinical use has been avoided. However, phase III clinical tests of the α-emitting nuclide 223 Ra on patients with cancer have been conducted, and results were reported in 2011 to 2012. Since then, research has being carried out on targeted internal therapy by introducing α-emitting nuclides directly into the cancers. For many decades, nontargeted radon therapy has been carried out and is controversial because its mechanism of action is stimulation. The low-level radiation sends powerful signals to upregulate many biological protection systems, which protect against the effects of radiogenic and nonradiogenic toxins. These vital systems prevent, repair, and remove DNA and other biomolecular damage being produced endogenously at a very high rate by the very abundant reactive oxygen species associated with aerobic metabolism. Stimulation of protection systems results in beneficial effects, including a lower risk of cancer. This article reports the results of treatments on 4 patients with cancer and reviews the clinical use of α-radiation from 223 Ra and radon. It discusses the prospect of using the novel 225 Ac-prostate-specific membrane antigen ligand-617 ligand as a therapeutic agent for prostate cancer. It presents a new treatment system that we developed, α-Radiorespir o-Rn , which seems to be extremely effective in treating cancer

Radon Therapy for Autoimmune Diseases Pemphigus and Diabetes: 2 Case Reports

We report on the application of radon therapy to relieve the suffering of 2 patients with autoimmune diseases, one with pemphigus with an old myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus and the other with type I diabetes. We include a lengthy discussion of the biological mechanisms that we believe produced the observed benefits. During the 6 to 9 months of the treatments, the marker values decreased to the upper limit of their normal ranges and the symptoms of the diseases were alleviated. Disorders of Th1/Th2 balance are implicated in the onset of many diseases, including autoimmune diseases. Our decision to give radon ( 222 Rn) therapy to these patients was based on the results of 2 similar case reports and our earlier mouse experiments, which indicated that low doses of radiation induce regulatory T cells. Regulatory T cells regulate the T helper 1 cell and the T helper 2 cell balance. There are more than 80 different autoimmune diseases that are treated with anti-inflammatory agents or immune-suppressing drugs because the exact causes of these diseases and the cures are unknown. These and other case reports indicate that proper radon therapy is an effective treatment. We urge physicians to consider radon as a standard therapy for refractory autoimmune diseases

A Case of Cardiac Sarcoidosis ―Significance of Ventricular Tachycardia Originating From the Septum―(心サルコイド症の1例 中隔起源心室頻拍の意義)

雑誌掲載版65歳男.反復する頻拍発作の為入院.心エコー図では心室中隔前方基部が薄く,収縮異常を認めた.電気生理学的検査では心室頻拍があり,右室中隔前方部で著明に分裂した電位が記録され,最初期の電位はHis束近傍にあった.心筋生検により心サルコイド症と診断され

The images from the middle layer of the neural network.

<p><b>(</b>A) Representative color fundus photograph of NDR and an image of the middle layer, which has few characteristics. B-F: Representative color fundus photographs of PDR and their images of the middle layer. (B) Laser scars (white arrow head) were enhanced in the middle image. (C) Hard exudates (white arrow head) were enhanced in the middle image. (D) Soft exudates (white arrow head) were enhanced in the middle image. (E) Proliferative membranes (white arrow head) were enhanced in the middle image. (F) Reflections of the retina (white arrow head) were enhanced in the middle image.</p