Multiple-window Bag of Features for Road Environment Recognition

The idea of Bag of Features (BoF) is recently often employed for general object recognition. But, as it does not take positional relations of detected features into account, the recognition rate is still not very high for practical use. This paper proposes a method of describing the feature of an object by the BoF representation which considers positional information of the features. Although the original BoF representation is applied to an entire image, the proposed method employs multiple windows on an image. The BoF representation is applied to each of the windows to represent an object in the image interested for recognition. The performance of the proposed method is shown experimentally

Arterial embolization of an extrapleural hematoma from a dislocated fracture of the lumbar spine: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We present a report of a blunt-trauma patient who developed an atypical extrapleural hematoma with hemodynamic instability following a dislocation fracture of the first lumbar vertebra. We successfully treated her with arterial embolization (AE) of the lumbar and intercostal arteries.</p> <p>Case report</p> <p>The patient, a 74-year-old woman, was injured in a traffic accident. At the scene of the accident, she was found to be alert, and her hemodynamic condition was stable. She arrived at our hospital complaining of lumbago. A thoracoabdominal computed tomography (CT) scan with contrast enhancement showed a dislocation fracture of the first lumbar vertebra along with paravertebral and retroperitoneal hematomas. Therefore, we managed the patient conservatively with bed rest. However, 3 h after admission, her blood pressure suddenly decreased. A repeated thoracoabdominal CT scan showed enlargement of the right retroperitoneal hematoma with extravasation of the contrast medium into the right extrapleural space. Angiography was immediately performed, showing extravasation of the contrast media from the right intercostal (Th12) and lumbar arteries (L1). After arterial embolization (AE) with gelatin-sponge particles, extravasation of the contrast medium ceased, and the patient's hemodynamic condition stabilized without massive fluid resuscitation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The extrapleural hematoma reduced in size after AE, and almost disappeared on the 14^thday of hospitalization. The lumbar spinal fracture was successfully repaired on day 16, and the patient was kept in the hospital to recuperate. We believe that AE is effective for the management of intractable bleeding following fractures of the spine.</p

A 92-year-old man with retropharyngeal hematoma caused by an injury of the anterior longitudinal ligament

AbstractTraumatic retropharyngeal hematoma is a rare condition and may be lethal in some cases. In patients with this condition, the absence of a vertebral fracture or a major vascular injury is extremely rare. We present the case of a 92-year-old man who hit his forehead by slipping on the floor in his house. He had no symptoms at the time; however, he experienced throat pain and dyspnea at 6 hours after the injury. On arrival, he complained of severe dyspnea; therefore, an emergency endotracheal intubation was performed. A lateral neck roentgenogram after intubation showed dilatation of the retropharyngeal and retrotracheal space and no evidence of a cervical vertebral fracture. Cervical computed tomography (CT) with contrast medium revealed a massive hematoma extending from the retropharyngeal to the superior mediastinal space but no evidence of contrast medium extravasation or a vertebral fracture. However, sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an anterior longitudinal ligament (C4-5 levels) injury. We determined that the cause of the hematoma was an anterior longitudinal ligament injury and a minor vascular injury around the injured ligament. Therefore, we recommend that patients with retropharyngeal hematoma undergo sagittal cervical MRI when roentgenography and CT reveal no evidence of injury

Arterial embolization in patients with grade-4 blunt renal trauma: evaluation of the glomerular filtration rates by dynamic scintigraphy with 99mTechnetium-diethylene triamine pentacetic acid

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High-grade blunt renal trauma has been treated by arterial embolization (AE). However, it is unknown whether AE preserves renal function, because conventional renal function tests reflect total renal function and not the function of the injured kidney alone. Dynamic scintigraphy can assess differential renal function.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed AE in 17 patients with grade-4 blunt renal trauma and determined their serum creatinine (sCr) level and glomerular filtration rate (GFR; estimated by dynamic scintigraphy) after 3 months. In 4 patients with low GFR of the injured kidney (<20 ml·min^-1·1.73 m^-2), the GFR and sCr were measured again at 6 months. Data are presented as median and interquartile range (25th, 75th percentile).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The median GFR of the injured kidney, total GFR, and median sCr at 3 months were 29.3 (23.7, 35.3) and 96.8 (79.1, 102.6) ml·min^-1·1.73 m^-2and 0.6 (0.5, 0.7) mg/dl, respectively. In the patients with low GFR (ml·min^-1·1.73 m^-2), the median GFR of the injured kidney, total GFR, and median sCr (mg/dl) were 16.2 (15.7, 16.3), 68.7 (61.1, 71.6), and 0.7 (0.7, 0.9), respectively, at 3 months and 34.5 (29.2, 37.0), 90.9 (79.1, 98.8), and 0.7 (0.7, 0.8), respectively, at 6 months.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The function of the injured kidney was preserved in all patients, indicating the efficacy of AE for the treatment of grade-4 blunt renal trauma.</p

Untersuchung von der Bewegungslehre des Sportsfϋr die Einzelntaktik des Kugelspiel

本研究では、ターンオーバーを多発するチームにおいて、フリーランスオフェンスの攻撃法を用い、バスケットボールの攻撃における個人戦術のパスをすべきかドリブルをすべきかに着目し、ボール保持者の次のプレーが「パス」か「ドリブル」かという選択について、状況に適合した選択行動を適切に行えないバスケットボールプレイヤーにおいて、ターンオーバーの減少させるための戦術行動の課題を明確にしようとした。そこで、適切に次のプレーを選択させる方法として、ディーン・スミス氏の考案したフリーランスオフェンスの考え方を簡素化したものを図式化し、〝行動規範のトレーニングチャート〟とし、また〝行動規範のトレーニングチャート〟から実践トレーニングを作成し、トレーニング群とコントロール群の二つのグループに〝行動規範のトレーニング実践〟を行い、その効果を観察した。結果として、トレーニング群はターンオーバーの減少や行動規範に沿わない選択が減少するなどの効果が見られた。研究論

Discordance between hyposalivation and xerostomia

Individuals with an objective decrease in salivary flow (objective dry mouth) may not be aware of subjective dry mouth (xerostomia). However, no clear evidence exists to explain the discordance between subjective and objective dry mouth. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence of xerostomia and decreased salivary flow among community-dwelling elderly adults. In addition, this study assessed several potential demographic and health status determinants of the discrepancy between xerostomia and reduced salivary flow. The 215 participants in this study were community-dwelling older people aged 70 years and above who underwent dental health examinations between January-February 2019. Symptoms of xerostomia were collected in the form of a questionnaire. The unstimulated salivary flow rate (USFR) was measured by a dentist using visual inspection. The stimulated salivary flow rate (SSFR) was measured using the Saxon test. We identified 19.1% of participants as having mild-severe USFR decline with xerostomia and 19.1% as having mild-severe USFR decline without xerostomia. Additionally, 26.0% of participants had low SSFR and xerostomia, and 40.0% had low SSFR without xerostomia. Except for the age trend, no factors could be associated with the discordance between USFR measurement and xerostomia. Furthermore, no significant factors were associated with the discordance between the SSFR and xerostomia. However, females were significantly associated (OR = 2.608, 95% CI = 1.174–5.791) with low SSFR and xerostomia, as compared to males. Age was a factor that was also significantly associated (OR = 1.105, 95% CI = 1.010–1.209) with low SSFR and xerostomia. Our findings indicate that approximately 20% of the participants had low USFR without xerostomia, and 40% had low SSFR without xerostomia. This study showed that age, sex, and the number of medications may not be factors in the discrepancy between the subjective feeling of dry mouth and reduced salivary flow