Anonymization server system for DICOM images

We have developed an anonymization system for DICOM images. It requires consent from the patient to use the DICOM images for research or education. However, providing the DICOM image to the other facilities is not safe because it contains a lot of personal data. Our system is a server that provides anonymization service of DICOM images for users in the facility. The distinctive features of the system are, input interface, flexible anonymization policy, and automatic body part identification. In the first feature, we can use the anonymization service on the existing DICOM workstations. In the second feature, we can select a best policy fitting for the Protection of personal data that is ruled by each medical facility. In the third feature, we can identify the body parts that are included in the input image set, even if the set lacks the body part tag in DICOM header. We installed the system for the first time to a hospital in December 2005. Currently, the system is working in other four facilities. In this paper we describe the system and how it works

Crystal field excitation in the chiral helimagnet YbNi3_3Al9_9

Crystal field level scheme of a uniaxial chiral helimagnet YbNi$_3$Al$_9$, exhibiting a chiral magnetic soliton lattice state by Cu substitution for Ni, has been determined by inelastic neutron scattering. The ground and the first excited doublets are separated by 44 K and are simply expressed as $\alpha|\pm 7/2\rangle + \beta |\mp 5/2\rangle$ with $\alpha$ and $\beta$ nearly equal to $\pm 1/\sqrt{2}$. The easy axis of the crystal field anisotropy is the $c$ axis when the excited levels are populated at high temperatures and high magnetic fields. On the other hand, the magnetism at low temperatures and low magnetic fields, where only the ground doublet is populated, is described by an easy plane anisotropy which may be treated as an $S=1/2$ system with an anisotropic $g$-factor, $g_{xy}=3.02$ and $g_z=1.14$. An orbital dependent exchange interaction is also discussed to explain the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility based on this level scheme.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 2 figures in the supplemental material, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

An automated distinction of DICOM image for lung cancer CAD system

Automated distinction of medical images is an important preprocessing in Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems. The CAD systems have been developed using medical image sets with specific scan conditions and body parts. However, varied examinations are performed in medical sites. The specification of the examination is contained into DICOM textual meta information. Most DICOM textual meta information can be considered reliable, however the body part information cannot always be considered reliable. In this paper, we describe an automated distinction of DICOM images as a preprocessing for lung cancer CAD system. Our approach uses DICOM textual meta information and low cost image processing. Firstly, the textual meta information such as scan conditions of DICOM image is distinguished. Secondly, the DICOM image is set to distinguish the body parts which are identified by image processing. The identification of body parts is based on anatomical structure which is represented by features of three regions, body tissue, bone, and air. The method is effective to the practical use of lung cancer CAD system in medical sites

Research for carbon dioxide bathing IV, Thermal effect of artificial CO(2)-bathing

1) 炭酸塩と,コ-ク酸からなる錠剤型の｢炭酸ガス浴剤｣の保温作用を健康な男子8名について,サ-モグラフィーを用いて測定した. 入浴10分後の比較で明らかに,炭酸ガス浴はよく温まった結果,表面温度が高くなっている. 2) 腰痛,四肢冷感,その他の患者24名での臨床評価の結果,患者の90%以上が手足が温まり,湯ざめしにくいことを認めた.また,患者の85%は痛みがやわらぐことを認めた. 3) 主婦664名を対象とした使用評価の結果,常時手足の冷感を訴える者の63.6%,身体の疲労感･だるさ56.5%に効果を認めていることがわかった. 4) 副作用は全く認められなかった.The artificial CO(2)-bath was prepared with a tablet (50g), made from sodium bicarbonate and succinic acid, putting simply in plain water bathtub of 150-200 litre at 40℃. Thermal effect was evaluated by means of thermography in healthy 8 men; temperature areas of 34.5℃ or greater were recorded in average compared to a plain bathing and to an artificial Na(2)SO(4)-NaHCO(3) one 10 minutes later. Clinical evaluation by questionnairings of 24 patients suffering mainly from lumbago and 4-extremity coldness revealed a long lasting peripheral warmth in 90% and the ease from pain in 85%. The artificial CO(2)-bathing was effective for women whose health were adversely affected by the cold in 63.6% and for general fatigue or dullness in 56.5% of 664 female volunteers whom the questionnairings were conducted to. No side effect was encountered in the survey

Higgs Boson Mass and Electroweak-Gravity Hierarchy from Dynamical Gauge-Higgs Unification in the Warped Spacetime

Dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking by the Hosotani mechanism in the Randall-Sundrum warped spacetime is examined, relations among the W-boson mass (m_W), the Kaluza-Klein mass scale (M_{KK}), and the Higgs boson mass (m_H) being derived. It is shown that M_{KK}/m_W = (2 pi kR)^{1/2} (pi/theta_W) and m_H /m_W = 0.058 kR (pi/theta_W), where k^2, R, and theta_W are the curvature and size of the extra-dimensional space and the Wilson line phase determined dynamically. For typical values kR = 12 and theta_W = (0.2 to 0.4) pi, one finds that M_{KK} = (1.7 to 3.5) TeV, k = (1.3 to 2.6) x 10^{19} GeV, and m_H = (140 to 280) GeV.Comment: 14 pages. The argument below (22) was elaborate

First observation of MeV gamma-ray universe with bijective imaging spectroscopy using the Electron-Tracking Compton Telescope aboard SMILE-2+

MeV gamma-rays provide a unique window for the direct measurement of line emissions from radioisotopes, but observations have made little significant progress after COMPTEL/{\it CGRO}. To observe celestial objects in this band, we are developing an electron-tracking Compton camera (ETCC), which realizes both bijective imaging spectroscopy and efficient background reduction gleaned from the recoil electron track information. The energy spectrum of the observation target can then be obtained by a simple ON-OFF method using a correctly defined point spread function on the celestial sphere. The performance of celestial object observations was validated on the second balloon SMILE-2+ installed with an ETCC having a gaseous electron tracker with a volume of 30$\times$30$\times$30 cm$^3$. Gamma-rays from the Crab nebula were detected with a significance of 4.0$\sigma$ in the energy range 0.15--2.1 MeV with a live time of 5.1 h, as expected before launching. Additionally, the light curve clarified an enhancement of gamma-ray events generated in the Galactic center region, indicating that a significant proportion of the final remaining events are cosmic gamma rays. Independently, the observed intensity and time variation were consistent with the pre-launch estimates except in the Galactic center region. The estimates were based on the total background of extragalactic diffuse, atmospheric, and instrumental gamma-rays after accounting for the variations in the atmospheric depth and rigidity during the level flight. The Crab results and light curve strongly support our understanding of both the detection sensitivity and the background in real observations. This work promises significant advances in MeV gamma-ray astronomy

Association between shift work and the risk of death from biliary tract cancer in Japanese men

Background: There is increasing evidence suggesting that shift work involving night work may increase cancer risk. Methods: We examined the association between working rotating shifts and the risk of death from biliary tract cancer among Japanese men who participated in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study. Of the 46, 395 men recruited, 22, 224 men aged 40-65 at baseline (1988-1990) who reported working full-time or were self-employed were included in the present analysis. The study subjects were followed through December 31, 2009. Information regarding occupation and lifestyle factors was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) for the risk of death from biliary tract cancer in relation to shift work. Results: During a mean 17-year follow-up, we observed 94 biliary tract cancer deaths, including 23 deaths from gallbladder cancer and 71 deaths from extrahepatic bile duct cancer. Overall, shift work was associated with a statistically non-significant increase in the risk of biliary tract cancer, with an HR of 1.50 (95 % CI: 0.81-2.77), among rotating shift workers. When the analysis was limited to extrahepatic bile duct cancer, a significant association appeared, with a multivariable-adjusted HR of 1.93 (95 % CI: 1.00-3.72) for rotating shift workers. Conclusion: Our data indicate that shift work may be associated with increased risk of death from extrahepatic bile duct cancer in this cohort of Japanese men. The association with gallbladder cancer remains unclear because of the small number of deaths

Insights into Land Plant Evolution Garnered from the Marchantia polymorpha Genome.

The evolution of land flora transformed the terrestrial environment. Land plants evolved from an ancestral charophycean alga from which they inherited developmental, biochemical, and cell biological attributes. Additional biochemical and physiological adaptations to land, and a life cycle with an alternation between multicellular haploid and diploid generations that facilitated efficient dispersal of desiccation tolerant spores, evolved in the ancestral land plant. We analyzed the genome of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, a member of a basal land plant lineage. Relative to charophycean algae, land plant genomes are characterized by genes encoding novel biochemical pathways, new phytohormone signaling pathways (notably auxin), expanded repertoires of signaling pathways, and increased diversity in some transcription factor families. Compared with other sequenced land plants, M. polymorpha exhibits low genetic redundancy in most regulatory pathways, with this portion of its genome resembling that predicted for the ancestral land plant. PAPERCLIP

Plaque progression assessed by a novel semi-automated quantitative plaque software on coronary computed tomography angiography between diabetes and non-diabetes patients: A propensity-score matching study

Background and aimsWe aimed at investigating whether diabetes is associated with progression in coronary plaque components.MethodsWe identified 142 study subjects undergoing serial coronary computed tomography angiography. The resulting propensity score was applied 1:1 to match diabetic patients to non-diabetic patients for clinical risk factors, prior coronary stenting, coronary artery calcium (CAC) score and the serial scan interval, resulting in the 71 diabetes and 71 non-diabetes patients. Coronary plaque (total, calcified, non-calcified including fibrous, fibrous-fatty and low attenuation plaque [LAP]) volume normalized by total coronary artery length was measured using semi-automated plaque software and its change overtime between diabetic and non-diabetic patients was evaluated.ResultsThe matching was successful without significant differences between the two groups in all matched variables. The baseline volumes in each plaque also did not differ. During a mean scan interval of 3.4 ± 1.8 years, diabetic patients showed a 2-fold greater progression in normalized total plaque volume (TPV) than non-diabetes patients (52.8 mm3vs. 118.3 mm3, p = 0.005). Multivariable linear regression model revealed that diabetes was associated with normalized TPV progression (β 72.3, 95%CI 24.3-120.3). A similar trend was observed for the non-calcified components, but not calcified plaque (β 3.8, 95%CI -27.0-34.7). Higher baseline CAC score was found to be associated with total, non-calcified and calcified plaque progression. However, baseline non-calcified volume but not CAC score was associated with LAP progression.ConclusionsThe current study among matched patients indicates diabetes is associated with a greater plaque progression. Our results show the need for strict adherence of diabetic patients to the current preventive guidelines