Derivation of quantum master equation with counting fields by monitoring a probe

We show a microscopic derivation of a quantum master equation with counting terms which describes the electron statistics. A localized spin behaves as a probe whose precession angle monitors the net electron current by the magnetic-moment interaction. The probe Hamiltonian is proportional to the current, and is determined self-consistently for a model of a quantum dot. Then it turns out that the quantum master equation for the spin-precession contains the counting terms. As an application, we show the fluctuation theorem for the electron current.Comment: 7 page

REAL-TIME ONE-PASS DECODING WITH RECURRENT NEURAL NETWORK LANGUAGE MODEL FOR SPEECH RECOGNITION

This paper proposes an efficient one-pass decoding method for realtime speech recognition employing a recurrent neural network language model (RNNLM). An RNNLM is an effective language model that yields a large gain in recognition accuracy when it is combined with a standard n-gram model. However, since every word probability distribution based on an RNNLM is dependent on the entire history from the beginning of the speech, the search space in Viterbi decoding grows exponentially with the length of the recognition hypotheses and makes computation prohibitively expensive. Therefore, an RNNLM is usually used by N-best rescoring or by approximating it to a back-off n-gram model. In this paper, we present another approach that enables one-pass Viterbi decoding with an RNNLM without approximation, where the RNNLM is represented as a prefix tree of possible word sequences, and only the part needed for decoding is generated on-the-fly and used to rescore each hypothesis using an on-the-fly composition technique we previously proposed. Experimental results on the MIT lecture transcription task show that our proposed method enables one-pass decoding with small overhead for the RNNLM and achieves a slightly higher accuracy than 1000-best rescoring. Furthermore, it reduces the latency from the end of each utterance in two-pass decoding by a factor of 10. Index Terms — Speech recognition, Recurrent neural network language model, Weighted finite-state transducer, On-the-fly rescorin

High Efficacy of Preoperative Low-Dose Radiotherapy with Sanazole (AK-2123) for Extraskeletal Ewing's Sarcoma: A Case Report

Extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma is a rare soft tissue tumor that is morphologically indistinguishable from Ewing's sarcoma of bone. We report a case of extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma with several systemic problems. A 69-year-old man presented with a 5-month history of a rapidly enlarging mass in the right thigh. Because preoperative radiotherapy with sanazole (AK-2123) contributed the tumor mass reduction down to 40% in size, the tumor was successfully resected with clear surgical margins and repaired with a musculocutaneous flap. The high efficacy of pre-operative low-dose radiotherapy with sanazole was histologically confirmed that the resected tumor specimen involved no viable tumor cells and showed 100% necrosis. Based on clinical outcomes in this case, the combined modality of pre-operative low-dose radiotherapy with hypoxic cell radiosensitizer and adequate surgical resection might provide for the useful clinical application of extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma treatment

A comparative method for evaluating ecosystem services from the viewpoint of public works

Nature-based solutions (NbS), such as the implementation of environmental conservation and restoration as public works projects, require accurate and cost-effective assessments of the values related to the projects. The values should represent collective ecosystem services, individual services such as food provision and water purification, and other intangible services. To comprehensively assess such services, we proposed a novel method, which we call the comparative evaluation method. Our method is able to assess the value of each service category of an NbS project from a single questionnaire survey. Survey participants are asked to compare values of multiple services having anchoring prices. Our method determines the permissible economic value of environmental public works (PEP) in response to the quantity of service. The questionnaire results used for analysis are limited to those from respondents who made their PEP evaluation on the basis of their consideration of the appropriate expenditure of taxes. In addition, the method controls for the effect of the satisfaction that a person experiences from doing good deeds to reduce an overestimation of the values of services. Moreover, PEPs are not influenced by the respondent's annual income, age, sex, or educational background, and are based on personal values. Applying this new method, we surveyed residents of the watersheds of Tokyo Bay and Osaka Bay and evaluated nine ecosystem services. Overall, our new method is shown to be an effective method for evaluating the ecosystem services of NbS projects from the viewpoint of public works

Dose difference between anisotropic analytical algorithm (AAA) and Acuros XB (AXB) caused by target’s air content for volumetric modulated arc therapy of head and neck cancer

Background: We clarified the dose difference between the anisotropic analytical algorithm (AAA) and Acuros XB (AXB) with increasing target’s air content using a virtual phantom and clinical cases. Material and methods: Whole neck volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plan was transferred into a virtual phantom with a cylindrical air structure at the center. The diameter of the air structure was changed from 0 to 6 cm, and the target’s air content defined as the air/planning target volume (PTV) in percent (air/PTV) was varied. VMAT plans were recalculated by AAA and AXB with the same monitor unit (MU) and multi-leaf collimator (MLC) motions. The dose at each air/PTV (5%–30%) was compared between each algorithm with D98%, D95%, D50% and D2% for the PTV. In addition, MUs were also compared with the same MLC motions between the D95% prescription with AAA (AAA_D95%), AXB_D95%, and the prescription to 100% minus air/PTV (AXB_D100%-air/PTV) in clinical cases of HNC. Results: When air/PTV increased (5–30%), the dose differences between AAA and AXB for D98%, D95%, D50% and D2% were 3.08–15.72%, 2.35–13.92%, 0.63–4.59%, and 0.14–6.44%, respectively. At clinical cases with air/PTV of 5.61% and 28.19%, compared to AAA_D95%, the MUs differences were, respectively, 2.03% and 6.74% for AXB_D95% and 1.80% and 0.50% for AXB_D100%-air/PTV. Conclusion: The dose difference between AAA and AXB increased as the target’s air content increased, and AXB_D95% resulted in a dose escalation over AAA_D95% when the target’s air content was ≥ 5%. The D100%-air/PTV of PTV using AXB was comparable to the D95% of PTV using AAA

Green port structures and their ecosystem services in highly urbanized Japanese bays

Green port structures (i.e. green infrastructure in ports and harbors) featuring habitats for marine organisms have been promoted in Japan as part of a comprehensive policy to reduce the environmental impact of ports and carry out habitat conservation, restoration, and creation. In this study, we evaluated the ecosystem services provided by green port structures in two highly urbanized bays (Tokyo Bay and Osaka Bay) in Japan. Our results show that the provision of some ecosystem services can be limited by circumstances particular to ports and other areas with restricted access. In the case of green port structures that have strong usage restrictions, for example, cultural services can only be provided if relevant authorities are prepared to conduct public events while ensuring participant safety. On the other hand, green port structures with weak usage restrictions are often equipped with incidental facilities such as parking lots and restrooms; these facilities can enhance the provision of cultural services (e.g. recreation and environmental education). Green port structures in highly urbanized bays often have usage restrictions, but their proximity to large populations means that they can potentially provide numerous ecosystem services. However, our study shows that appropriate management goals, such as protecting species and ensuring healthy habitats, are needed to maintain the value of these services in highly urbanized and eutrophic bays

Mendelian Randomization on hs-CRP and eGFR

Background: Inflammation is thought to be a risk factor for kidney disease. However, whether inflammatory status is either a cause or an outcome of chronic kidney disease remains controversial. We aimed to investigate the causal relationship between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using Mendelian randomization (MR) approaches. Methods: A total of 10,521 participants of the Japan Multi-institutional Collaborative Cohort Study was analyzed in this study. We used two-sample MR approaches (the inverse-variance weighted (IVW), the weighted median (WM), and the MR-Egger method) to estimate the effect of genetically determined hs-CRP on kidney function. We selected four and three hs-CRP associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as two instrumental variables (IV): IVCRP and IVAsian, based on SNPs previously identified in European and Asian populations. IVCRP and IVAsian explained 3.4% and 3.9% of the variation in hs-CRP, respectively. Results: Using the IVCRP, genetically determined hs-CRP was not significantly associated with eGFR in the IVW and the WM methods (estimate per 1 unit increase in ln(hs-CRP), 0.000; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.019 to 0.020 and −0.003; 95% CI, −0.019 to 0.014, respectively). For IVAsian, we found similar results using the IVW and the WM methods (estimate, 0.005; 95% CI, −0.020 to 0.010 and −0.004; 95% CI, −0.020 to 0.012, respectively). The MR-Egger method also showed no causal relationships between hs-CRP and eGFR (IVCRP: −0.008; 95% CI, −0.058 to 0.042; IVAsian: 0.001; 95% CI, −0.036 to 0.036). Conclusion: Our two-sample MR analyses with different IVs did not support a causal effect of hs-CRP on eGFR

Emergence of a Helical Flux Rope Under an Active Region Prominence

Continuous observations were obtained of active region 10953 with the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on board the \emph{Hinode} satellite during 2007 April 28 to May 9. A prominence was located over the polarity inversion line (PIL) in the south-east of the main sunspot. These observations provided us with a time series of vector magnetic fields on the photosphere under the prominence. We found four features: (1) The abutting opposite-polarity regions on the two sides along the PIL first grew laterally in size and then narrowed. (2) These abutting regions contained vertically-weak, but horizontally-strong magnetic fields. (3) The orientations of the horizontal magnetic fields along the PIL on the photosphere gradually changed with time from a normal-polarity configuration to a inverse-polarity one. (4) The horizontal-magnetic field region was blueshifted. These indicate that helical flux rope was emerging from below the photosphere into the corona along the PIL under the pre-existing prominence. We suggest that this supply of a helical magnetic flux into the corona is associated with evolution and maintenance of active-region prominences.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter