Distortion-Free CV/CC AC Power Supply Having the Unity Input Power Factor by the Use of Variable Capacitance Devices

A new CV (Constant-Voltage) CC (Constant-Current) ac power regulator is proposed. Our original Variable Capacitance Device of linear reactance device is utilized in the power stage. This device makes almost no distortion. In this circuit, a sinusoidal output voltage and a high efficiency can be obtained. For the purpose of output voltage/current control and input power-factor correction, two Variable Capacitance Devices were adopted. Two dc-dc converters were used for highspeed driver of these devices. The unity input power factor can be obtained all over the constant-voltage region and the constant-current region. Input current of the proposed power supply becomes almost zero at no load and at short-circuit load

Diagnostic Ureteroscopy for Cases Clinically Suspected of Carcinoma in Situ of the Upper Urinary Tract

　We elucidate the fate of cases clinically suspected of carcinoma in situ (Cis) of the upper tract with serial ureteroscopy. Of 143 patients who underwent ureteroscopy for suspected upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) between January 2008 and February 2016, 12 cases with consistently positive urine cytology and poorly detectable upper-tract malignancies by imaging were reviewed. In these 12 patients, 19 ureteroscopy procedures (25 renal units) were performed. Vesical random biopsy was performed before the 1st ureteroscopy to exclude malignancy of the bladder in all 12 cases. Median follow-up was 42 (13-67) months. Positive biopsy results at the 1st ureteroscopy were obtained in 3 (25%) patients and all were diagnosed wth Cis of the upper tract. Two (17%) of 9 patients who were negative or inconclusive at the 1st ureteroscopy were finally diagnosed as UTUC, but plural ureteroscopy procedures were needed for the diagnoses in both. Carcinoma of the bladder appeared in 5 (42%) patients during follow-up, despite the earlier ruling out of vesical malignancy. Four (33%) of those 5 patients never developed upper-tract urothelial carcinoma during follow-up. Caution is required before undertaking radical surgery for cases clinically suspected of Cis of the upper tract. In our experience, only 42% of such patients developed UTUC; another 33% eventually developed carcinoma of the bladder without UTUC

Recovery of Motor Function in Patients with Subaxial Cervical Spine Injury Relevant to the Fracture Pattern

In this study, we studied the relationship between fracture patterns and motor function recovery in 70 consecutive patients with cervical spinal cord injury. Fractures were categorized into 6 fracture types and subdivided into stages according to the Allen-Ferguson classification system:compressive flexion (CF), distractive flexion (DF), compressive extension (CE), distractive extension (DE), vertical compression (VC) and lateral flexion (LF). Paralysis was evaluated using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale at the time of injury and 3 months afterwards. The residual rate of complete motor palsy (ASIA grade A or B) at the final examination was higher in those patients with DE fractures than those with CF, DF or CE. The final outcomes were as follows. Of the 14 patients who were classified with CF fractures, residual palsy was frequently seen in patients who had stage 5 injury. Of the 27 patients with DF fractures, residual palsy occurred in about half of the patients who had stage 4 or 5 injury. Of the 18 patients with CE fractures, residual palsy occurred in half of the patients with stage 3 injury or higher. Finally, of the 7 patients with DE fractures, the rate of residual palsy was high even for the stage 1 and 2 cases;indeed, all DE patients who had complete motor palsy at the first examination had residual palsy at the final examination. Accordingly, we conclude that motor recovery may be related to fracture pattern

A Combination Therapy of Partial Nephrectomy and Cryoablation Achieved Good Cancer Control and Renal Function in Bilateral Synchronous Renal Cell Carcinoma

We report the case of a 58-year-old Japanese man with bilateral synchronous renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The diameters of the right and left tumors were 56 and 69 mm, respectively. Both tumors were endophytic. Cryoablation with prophylactic embolization was performed for the left tumor, and 1 month later, a right open partial nephrectomy was performed. No recurrence was observed during a 16-month follow-up, and the serum creatinine level has been stable. The prognosis of bilateral synchronous RCC is better than that of dialysis patients. The novel approach of combining cryoablation and partial nephrectomy can achieve good cancer control and renal function in bilateral RCC

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met polymorphism increases segregation of structural correlation networks in healthy adult brains

Background Although structural correlation network (SCN) analysis is an approach to evaluate brain networks, the neurobiological interpretation of SCNs is still problematic. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is well-established as a representative protein related to neuronal differentiation, maturation, and survival. Since a valine-to-methionine substitution at codon 66 of the BDNF gene (BDNF Val66Met single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)) is well-known to have effects on brain structure and function, we hypothesized that SCNs are affected by the BDNF Val66Met SNP. To gain insight into SCN analysis, we investigated potential differences between BDNF valine (Val) homozygotes and methionine (Met) carriers in the organization of their SCNs derived from inter-regional cortical thickness correlations. / Methods Forty-nine healthy adult subjects (mean age = 41.1 years old) were divided into two groups according to their genotype (n: Val homozygotes = 16, Met carriers = 33). We obtained regional cortical thickness from their brain T1 weighted images. Based on the inter-regional cortical thickness correlations, we generated SCNs and used graph theoretical measures to assess differences between the two groups in terms of network integration, segregation, and modularity. / Results The average local efficiency, a measure of network segregation, of BDNF Met carriers’ network was significantly higher than that of the Val homozygotes’ (permutation p-value = 0.002). Average shortest path lengths (a measure of integration), average local clustering coefficient (another measure of network segregation), small-worldness (a balance between integration and segregation), and modularity (a representative measure for modular architecture) were not significantly different between group (permutation p-values ≧ 0.01). / Discussion and Conclusion Our results suggest that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism may potentially influence the pattern of brain regional morphometric (cortical thickness) correlations. Comparing networks derived from inter-regional cortical thickness correlations, Met carrier SCNs have denser connections with neighbors and are more distant from random networks than Val homozygote networks. Thus, it may be necessary to consider potential effects of BDNF gene mutations in SCN analyses. This is the first study to demonstrate a difference between Val homozygotes and Met carriers in brain SCNs

Robotic Renal Autotransplantation: First Case Outside of North America

A 38-year-old woman with a 2.7-cm left ureteral stenosis requiring chronic ureteral stent exchange elected to undergo robotic renal autotransplantation. Left ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) was also suspected. Robotic donor nephrectomy contributed to the fine dissection for desmoplastic changes. The kidney was removed through a Gelport and examined on ice. UPJO was not seen. An end-to-side robotic anastomosis was created between the renal and external iliac vessels. The console time was 507 min, and the warm ischemia time was 4 min 5 sec. She became stent-free. Robotic renal autotransplantation is a new, minimally invasive approach to renal preservation

Brain structural connectivity and neuroticism in healthy adults

Understanding the neural correlates of the neurotic brain is important because neuroticism is a risk factor for the development of psychopathology. We examined the correlation between brain structural networks and neuroticism based on NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) scores. Fifty-one healthy participants (female, n = 18; male, n = 33; mean age, 38.5 ± 11.7 years) underwent the NEO-FFI test and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including diffusion tensor imaging and 3D T1WI. Using MRI data, for each participant, we constructed whole-brain interregional connectivity matrices by deterministic tractography and calculated the graph theoretical network measures, including the characteristic path length, global clustering coefficient, small-worldness, and betweenness centrality (BET) in 83 brain regions from the Desikan-Killiany atlas with subcortical segmentation using FreeSurfer. In relation to the BET, neuroticism score had a negative correlation in the left isthmus cingulate cortex, left superior parietal, left superior temporal, right caudal middle frontal, and right entorhinal cortices, and a positive correlation in the bilateral frontal pole, left caudal anterior cingulate cortex, and left fusiform gyrus. No other measurements showed significant correlations. Our results imply that the brain regions related to neuroticism exist in various regions, and that the neuroticism trait is likely formed as a result of interactions among these regions. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Comprehensive Brain Science Network) from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan

Burned-out Prostate Cancer ? Primary Metastatic Cancer Not Detected on Repeat Biopsy

Metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) cases that cannot be detected on repeat prostate biopsy are extremely rare. Our patient was a 51-year-old Japanese man diagnosed as metastatic PCa by histopathological examination of lesions obtained bone biopsy and lymph node dissection. The primary tumor was not detected after repeated prostate biopsy. Metastatic PCa was diagnosed based on immunohistochemical staining: PSA, AR, P504S, and NKX3.1 of bone and lymph node with metastasis. We speculate that the primary PCa was “burned-out,” demonstrating remote metastases with no apparent primary tumor in the prostate. Burned-out PCa may be difficult to diagnose and treat due to its rarity

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection