Detection of flash in dermoscopy skin lesion images

Dermoscopy images of skin lesions are often acquired by covering the skin with mineral oil, alcohol, another liquid or a gel and illuminating the area at a low angle of incidence from all directions before taking the photograph. Deeper pigment patterns are more visible in this type of image than in a clinical image because the liquid immersion and structured light effectively make the upper layers of the skin more transparent. Flash regions are the small, high reflectance areas in the image where direct reflections of the illumination source(s) cause undesirable bright spots in the image. These flash regions may be due to reflections from liquid trapped in the rough textured areas of the lesion or to reflections from bubbles in the liquid. This research focuses on the research and evaluation of algorithms to detect and remove high reflectance regions characteristic of flash --Abstract, page iii

Relationship between psychosomatic complaints and circadian rhythm irregularity assessed by salivary levels of melatonin and growth hormone

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In university health care settings, students with psychosomatic complaints often have chronotypic problems. For this reason, we investigated a potential connection between psychosomatic complaints and circadian rhythm irregularity assessed by salivary levels of melatonin and growth hormone.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifteen healthy students between 21 and 22 years of age were examined for physiological parameters of chronotypes based on melatonin and growth hormone secretion patterns, using a fluorescence enzyme immunoassay. Salivary samples were collected from subjects at home five times each day (20:00, 24:00, 04:00, 08:00, and 12:00 h). In addition, the subjects rated their psychosomatic symptoms twice (at 08:00 and 20:00 h).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A group with irregular circadian rhythm of melatonin (ICR) showed more psychosomatic complaints than a group with the regular circadian rhythm (RCR), especially for anxiety.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Psychosomatic symptoms, particularly anxiety, may be associated with irregularity in melatonin and growth hormone rhythms, which can be altered by basic lifestyle habits even in healthy students.</p

SIMULATION STUDY OF MULTILANE SELECTIVITY BANK IN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

This study deals with a very common problem encountered in many automotive industries. Automotive companies try to level the production of different models over time based on the demands for these models in the market. In order to achieve this, they introduce a leveled stream of cars in the beginning of the production line. But because of many reasons this leveled stream gets disturbed in its course. In order to re-level the stream, buffers are used between the shops. One such buffer is called as selectivity bank and it sits between paint shop and assembly shop. This buffer receives a disturbed sequence from the paint shop. The thesis tries to develop different algorithms that can be used to discharge cars from this buffer in order to achieve better leveling in the presence of rework and assembly constraints. These algorithms continuously try to steer the system from an undesirable state to a more desirable state by keeping track of current conditions in the plant. A simulation model is developed, which gives a platform for comparing relative performance of these logics under different conditions. The simulation tool is also helpful in designing optimum size of this buffer that will result in desired leveling performance

Longing for Self-Identity in Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana

The present article dives into Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana to map out the significance of the earnest desire of the characters perfection and self-identity against the backdrop of the features of Indian culture, religion, beliefs, etc. The play is a milestone in the history of Indian Writing in English. Karnad exposes the issue of identity and impersonation leading to conflicts between the mind and the body. This aspect brings us close to the conflict that we face in our daily lives. The conflict between the head and the body is well expressed in Devadatta’s words, “I’d always thought one had to use one’s brain while wrestling or fencing or swimming. But this body does not wait for thoughts, it acts.†The play prospered the regional theatres because of its apt, thought-provoking, mythical, topical and social issues

日本の産学連携を活用した科学技術・イノベーション政策

Scientific research is a process that generates new knowledge, which can be deployed in the industry to create innovation and become an engine of economic growth. In Japan, the Basic Law on Science and Technology was enacted in 1995, and the system was transformed to create an innovation policy with a view to everything from university research to industrialization.This paper outlines the policies for innovation creation from the 1995 Basic Law on Science and Technology to the 5th Science and Technology Basic Plan, and analyzes the environment surrounding innovation in Japan from data from the NISTEP Science and Technology Indicators 2019 (NISTEP, 2019) and the White Paper on Science and Technology (MEXT, 2019). While there is an upward trend in the joint research budgets of universities and companies and also the number of university-launched ventures, the global share of the number of highly cited papers is on the decline. Improving the research environment and resources in universities was identified as a challenge.If industry-academia collaboration encourages only research that is useful for solving immediate problems with an awareness of practical application and commercialization, a variety of knowledge will not be accumulated in the long term, and this may be a factor that hinders the creation of innovation. The presentation of the Society 5.0 concept in the 5th Science and Technology Basic Plan can be seen as an effort to change the policy stance on innovation by presenting a vision of the future and the direction of research and development rather than the immediate issues.科学研究は新たな知識を生み出すプロセスであり、産業に展開してイノベーションを創出することで経済成長のエンジンとなる。日本では1995年に科学技術基本法が成立し、大学での研究から産業化までを視野に入れたイノベーション政策を打ち出す体制へと変わった。本稿では、1995年の科学技術基本法から、第5期科学技術基本計画までのイノベーション創出に向けた政策を概観し、NISTEP科学技術指標2019(NISTEP,2019)や科学技術白書(MEXT,2019)のデータから日本のイノベーションを取り巻く環境の分析を行った。大学と企業の共同研究予算や大学発ベンチャーの創業数には増加傾向が見られる一方で、高被引用論文数の世界シェアは低下傾向にある。大学における研究環境・資源の改善が課題であることが明らかとなった。実用化・商品化を意識して直近の課題解決に役立つ研究だけを推奨する産学連携では、長期的に多様な知識が蓄積されなくなり、イノベーション創出を妨げる要因にもなりうる。第5期科学技術基本計画においてSociety 5.0の概念が示されたことは、直近の課題ではなく未来のビジョンと研究開発の方向性を示すことで、イノベーションに対する政策のスタンスを変える取組みと考えられる。This research was supported by the JST-RISTEX Science of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy "Star Scientists and Innovation in Japan". and KAKENHI (18H00840)

A possible connection between psychosomatic symptoms and daily rhythmicity in growth hormone secretion in healthy Japanese students

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Students suffering from psychosomatic symptoms, including drowsiness and feelings of melancholy, often have basic lifestyle problems. The aim of this study was to investigate whether psychosomatic complaints may be related to circadian dysfunction.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined 15 healthy students (4 men and 11 women) between 21 and 22 years old. To assess the presence of psychosomatic symptoms among the subjects, we developed a self-assessment psychosomatic complaints questionnaire consisting of five items pertaining to physical symptoms and five items concerning mental symptoms. The subjects rated their psychosomatic symptoms twice a day (08:00 and 20:00 h). We also assessed growth hormone secretion patterns by fluorescence enzyme immunoassay (FEIA). Salivary samples were collected from the subjects at home five times a day (20:00, 24:00, 04:00, 08:00, and 12:00 h) in Salivette tubes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results indicated a relationship between the self-assessment scores and the salivary levels of growth hormone. Subjects with high self-assessment scores showed significant variability in growth hormone secretion over the day, whereas subjects with low self-assessment scores did not.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Psychosomatic symptoms may be associated with circadian dysfunction, as inferred from blunted rhythmicity in growth hormone secretion.</p

二分亀頭を伴った陰茎海綿体異物の1例

We had an opportunity to treat a rare case of foreign body in the corpus cavernosum in a patient with cleft glans penis. The foreign body was a 13 cm wire, which was inserted by the patient himself for masturbation, and was removed surgically. To our knowledge, such a case has never been reported in the literature

Headache Associated with Myasthenia Gravis: The Impact of Mild Ocular Symptoms

Myasthenia gravis (MG) patients visiting outpatient clinics frequently complain of headache. However, there have been few reports on the relation between chronic headache and myasthenia gravis (MG). We aimed to investigate whether MG symptoms affect the development or worsening of chronic headache. Among the 184 MG patients who were followed at the MG clinics, tension-type headache was observed in 71 (38.6%) patients and 9 (4.9%) complained of migraine. Twenty-five (13.6%) complained that headache appeared or was exacerbated after the MG onset. The investigation into differences in the clinical characteristics of the MG patients showed that women tended to suffer from MG-associated headache more often than men. Logistic regression analyses revealed that female gender and mild ocular symptoms were independently predictive of headache associated with MG. Our results suggest that treatment of chronic headache should be required to improve the quality of life in MG patients

Phenothiazine-Based D-A-π-A Dyes for Highly Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Effect of Internal Acceptor and Non-Conjugated π-Spacer on Device Performance.

Three new D-A-π-A metal-free organic dyes based on phenothiazine as a donor (D) and non-conjugated π-spacer were designed and synthesized. The incorporation of different 'internal acceptors' (electron traps) such as benzothiadiazole (BTD), benzotriazole (BTA), and pyridine were shown to allow systematic tuning of the energy levels and the photophysical properties. The AI-1 dye showed lower electronic disorder compared with the other two dyes. The efficiencies achieved with AI-1, AI-2, and AI-3 dyes were 8.5 % (Jsc =15.42 mA cm-2 , Voc =0.78 V, FF=68 %), 7 % (Jsc =12.8 mA cm-2 , Voc =0.78 V, FF=68 %) and 6.7 % (Jsc =11.57 mA cm-2 , Voc =0.82 V, FF=68.26 %), respectively. The incorporation of non-conjugated phenothiazine as a π-spacer in D-A-π-A dyes showed remarkable enhancement in the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) devices. The sealed DSSC devices with iodide/tri-iodide (I- /I3 - )-based liquid electrolyte showed promising stability under ambient conditions