Lifelong Change Detection: Continuous Domain Adaptation for Small Object Change Detection in Every Robot Navigation

The recently emerging research area in robotics, ground view change detection, suffers from its ill-posed-ness because of visual uncertainty combined with complex nonlinear perspective projection. To regularize the ill-posed-ness, the commonly applied supervised learning methods (e.g., CSCD-Net) rely on manually annotated high-quality object-class-specific priors. In this work, we consider general application domains where no manual annotation is available and present a fully self-supervised approach. The present approach adopts the powerful and versatile idea that object changes detected during everyday robot navigation can be reused as additional priors to improve future change detection tasks. Furthermore, a robustified framework is implemented and verified experimentally in a new challenging practical application scenario: ground-view small object change detection

Stereoscopic Three-Dimensional Images of an Anatomical Dissection of the Eyeball and Orbit for Educational Purposes

The purpose of this study was to develop a series of stereoscopic anatomical images of the eye and orbit for use in the curricula of medical schools and residency programs in ophthalmology and other specialties. Layer-by-layer dissection of the eyelid, eyeball, and orbit of a cadaver was performed by an ophthalmologist. A stereoscopic camera system was used to capture a series of anatomical views that were scanned in a panoramic three-dimensional manner around the center of the lid fissure. The images could be rotated 360 degrees in the frontal plane and the angle of views could be tilted up to 90 degrees along the anteroposterior axis perpendicular to the frontal plane around the 360 degrees. The skin, orbicularis oculi muscle, and upper and lower tarsus were sequentially observed. The upper and lower eyelids were removed to expose the bulbar conjunctiva and to insert three 25-gauge trocars for vitrectomy at the location of the pars plana. The cornea was cut at the limbus, and the lens with mature cataract was dislocated. The sclera was cut to observe the trocars from inside the eyeball. The sclera was further cut to visualize the superior oblique muscle with the trochlea and the inferior oblique muscle. The eyeball was dissected completely to observe the optic nerve and the ophthalmic artery. The thin bones of the medial and inferior orbital wall were cracked with a forceps to expose the ethmoid and maxillary sinus, respectively. In conclusion, the serial dissection images visualized aspects of the local anatomy specific to various procedures, including the levator muscle and tarsus for blepharoptosis surgery, 25-gauge trocars as viewed from inside the eye globe for vitrectomy, the oblique muscles for strabismus surgery, and the thin medial and inferior orbital bony walls for orbital bone fractures

Metastatic carcinoma of the colon similar to Crohn's disease: a case report.

A 68-year-old Japanese man with a history of linitis plastica carcinoma of the stomach and subsequent gastrectomy 8 years previously presented with lower abdominal pain. Radiological and endoscopic examinations showed multiple submucosal nodular lesions similar to Crohn's disease in the ileocecal area. A firm diagnosis could not be made after initial multiple biopsies. Finally, a submucosal biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma. The ileocecal lesion was diagnosed as a recurrence because of the histological findings, which included mucosal preservation, a similarity with the histologic type of stomach carcinoma, and atypical immunoreactivity for primary colon carcinoma; the lesion was negative for both cytokeratin 7 and cytokeratin 20. In cases where metastatic carcinoma of the colon is suspected, we recommend early consideration of a submucosal biopsy.</p

The close relationship between decreases in extracellular GABA concentrations and increases in the incidence of hyperbaric oxygen-induced electrical discharge.

To elucidate the mechanism by which hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) induces electrical discharge, changes in the extracellular concentrations of GABA and glutamate were measured every 5 min using a microdialysis technique in rats during a period of exposure to HBO2 (5 atm abs). Electrical discharge was observed at 28 +/- 4 min after the onset of exposure. Though the extracellular concentrations of glutamate remained unchanged, the extracellular GABA concentrations (pre-exposure level, 0.026 +/- 0.005 microM in dialysate) began to decrease 15 min after the onset of exposure and reached their lowest level (74 +/- 14%, 0.019 +/- 0.004 microM) at the time of appearance of the discharge. There was a close logistic relationship between extracellular GABA concentrations and the discharge incidence, and the extracellular concentrations of GABA causing electrical discharge in 50% of the animals were estimated to be 80% of the pre-exposure level. These results suggest a possible mechanism that HBO2 exposure-induced discharge is caused by the decrease in extracellular concentration of GABA.</p

The Excitement of Multiple Noradrenergic Cell Groups in the Rat Brain Related to Hyperbaric Oxygen Seizure

The mechanism of oxygen toxicity for central nervous system and hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) seizure has not been clarified. Noradrenergic cells in the brain may contribute to HBO seizure. In this study, we defined the activation of noradrenergic cells during HBO exposure by c-fos immunohistochemistry. Electroencephalogram electrodes were pre-implanted in all animals under general anesthesia. In HBO seizure animals, HBO was induced with 5 atm of 100% oxygen until manifestation of general tonic convulsion. HBO non-seizure animals were exposed to 25 min of HBO. Control animals were put in the chamber for 120 min without pressurization. All animals were processed for c-fos immunohistochemical staining. All animals in the HBO seizure group showed electrical discharge on EEG. In the immunohistochemistry, c-fos was increased in the A1, A2 and A6 cells of the HBO seizure group, and in the A2 and A6 cells of the HBO non-seizure group, yet was extremely low in all three cell types in the control group. These results suggest the participation of noradrenaline in HBO seizure, which can be explained by the early excitement of A1 cells due to their higher sensitivity to high blood pressure, hyperoxia, or by the post-seizure activation of all noradrenergic cells

Anesthetic management of a patient with sodium-channel myotonia: a case report

Background: Sodium-channel myotonia (SCM) is a nondystrophic myotonia, characterized by pure myotonia without muscle weakness or paramyotonia. The prevalence of skeletal muscle channelopathies is approximately 1 in 100,000, and the prevalence of SCM is much lower. To our knowledge, this is the first report on anesthetic management of a patient with SCM. Case presentation: A 23-year-old woman with congenital nasal dysplasia and SCM was scheduled to undergo rhinoplasty with autologous costal cartilage. Total intravenous anesthesia without muscle relaxants was administered followed by continuous intercostal nerve block. Although transient elevation of potassium level in the blood was observed during surgery, the patient did not show exacerbation of myotonic or paralytic symptoms in the postoperative period. Conclusion: Total intravenous anesthesia and peripheral nerve block can be administered safely to a patient with SCM. However, careful monitoring of the symptoms and electrolytes is recommended

Increase in Cerebral Blood Flow as a Predictor of Hyperbaric Oxygen-Induced Convulsion in Artificially Ventilated Rats

In spontaneously breathing rats, a transient increase in cerebral blood flow (CBF) has been shown to be a predictor of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO)-induced convulsion. In the present study, we evaluated whether artificially ventilated animals also show an increase in CBF prior to the onset of HBO-induced convulsion. Rats were ventilated with 100% oxygen in 5 atmospheres. CBF, blood pressure, and an electroencephalogram were monitored continuously. Convulsion was observed at 41 +/- 12 min after the initiation of HBO treatment. A single abrupt increase in CBF, reaching 223 +/- 39% of the control level, was observed at 29 +/- 13 min after the initiation of HBO exposure and lasted until the onset of convulsion 12 +/- 2 min later. The time of the increase in CBF correlated strongly with the onset of convulsion (r = 0.99, P &#60; 0.001). Further, the logistic regression curve demonstrated a close relationship between the duration of increased CBF and percentage of epileptiform electrical-discharge incidence (r = 0.92, P &#60; 0.006). The durations of increased CBF causing convulsion in 10%, 50%, and 90% of the rats were 8.4 min, 11.7 min, and 15.1 min, respectively. These results indicate that an increase in CBF is a predictor of HBO-induced convulsion in artificially ventilated rats. The increase in CBF may be involved in the pathogenesis of HBO-induced convulsion

Quantitative evaluation of the neuroprotective effects of a short-acting β-adrenoceptor antagonist at a clinical dose on forebrain ischemia in gerbils: effects of esmolol on ischemic depolarization and histologic outcome of hippocampal CA1.

BACKGROUND: Neuroprotective effects of esmolol in laboratory and clinical settings have been reported. The present study was designed to quantitatively evaluate the neuroprotective effects of esmolol using logistic regression curves and extracellular potentials. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 42 gerbils, bilateral occlusion of common carotid arteries was performed for 3, 5, or 7 minutes (n=7 in each group). In treated animals, esmolol (200 µg/kg/min) was administered for 90 minutes, 30 minutes before the onset of ischemia. Direct current potentials were measured in the bilateral CA1 regions, in which histologic evaluation was performed 5 days later. Relations of neuronal damage with ischemic duration and duration of ischemic depolarization were determined using logistic regression curves. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in onset time between the 2 groups (the control group vs. the esmolol group: 1.65±0.46 vs. 1.68±0.45 min, P=0.76), and significant differences in durations of ischemic depolarization were not observed with any ischemic duration. However, logistic regression curves indicated that esmolol has a neuroprotective effect from 2.95 to 7.66 minutes of ischemic depolarization (P<0.05), and esmolol prolonged the duration of ischemic depolarization causing 50% neuronal damage from 4.97 to 6.34 minutes (P<0.05). Logistic regression curves also indicated that esmolol has a neuroprotective effect from 3.77 to 7.74 minutes of ischemic duration (P<0.05), and esmolol prolonged the ischemic duration causing 50% neuronal damage from 4.26 to 4.91 minutes (P<0.05)

Intraluminal implantation of rectal carcinoma successfully resected by endoscopy.

A 55-year-old Japanese woman presented at our hospital complaining of hematochezia 4 months after surgery for a rectal carcinoma. A proctoscopy revealed 2 protuberant lesions in the rectum, 5 mm anally from the anastomotic suture line. The diagnosis of adenocarcinoma was confirmed by biopsy. It was considered that these lesions were caused by intraluminal implantation from the primary rectal carcinoma. The patient underwent an endoscopic resection for these recurrent lesions and has remained stable, with neither recurrence nor metastasis, in the 7 years since the resection. For rectal carcinoma, we propose early follow-up by proctoscopy, namely within 4 months after surgery.</p