Localizing Acoustic Energy in Sound Field Synthesis by Directionally Weighted Exterior Radiation Suppression

A method for synthesizing the desired sound field while suppressing the exterior radiation power with directional weighting is proposed. The exterior radiation from the loudspeakers in sound field synthesis systems can be problematic in practical situations. Although several methods to suppress the exterior radiation have been proposed, suppression in all outward directions is generally difficult, especially when the number of loudspeakers is not sufficiently large. We propose the directionally weighted exterior radiation representation to prioritize the suppression directions by incorporating it into the optimization problem of sound field synthesis. By using the proposed representation, the exterior radiation in the prioritized directions can be significantly reduced while maintaining high interior synthesis accuracy, owing to the relaxed constraint on the exterior radiation. Its performance is evaluated with the application of the proposed representation to amplitude matching in numerical experiments.Comment: Accepted to International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP) 202

Comparison of Latanoprost/Timolol with Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitor and Dorzolamide/Timolol with Prostaglandin Analog in the Treatment of Glaucoma

Purpose. We retrospectively reviewed medical records of glaucoma patients to investigate how switching medications may affect intraocular pressure (IOP) management. Three concomitant medications were changed to two medications: one combination drop and one single-action drop. Associated adverse effects were also examined. Subjects and Methods. A total of 112 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension were examined. All patients were concomitantly using a prostaglandin (PG) analog, a β-blocker, and a carbonic anhydrate inhibitor (CAI). Fifty-five patients began using latanoprost (PG analog)/timolol (β-blocker) fixed-combination (LTFC) drops and a CAI (group 1), and 57 patients began using dorzolamide (CAI)/timolol fixed-combination (DTFC) drops and a PG analog (group 2). The IOP was measured every 6 months for 2 years following medication changes. Changes in visual field mean deviation (MD) and medication discontinuations were also examined. Results. There were no significant differences in IOP or MD values before and after medication changes in either group. The proportion of medication discontinuations, uncontrolled IOP, and adverse reactions was similar in both groups. Conclusion. Switching patients from multiple single-action medications to combination medications was not associated with changes in IOP, visual field testing results, or adverse event frequency

外科的に切除しえた, 肝硬変を伴う維持透析患者に発症した右腎癌下大静脈腫瘍塞栓の1例

症例は54歳, 男性。1900年, CGNにて血液透析導入となった。2005年2月に肉眼的血尿が出現。CTにて右腎癌を指摘され, 3月9日当科紹介。当科にて施行したCTでは直径7cm大の右腎腫瘍とともに下大静脈内の肝静脈流入部まで達する腫瘍塞栓を認めた。右腎腫瘍, 下大静脈塞栓, T3bN0M0 stage IIIの診断で4月28日, 根治的右腎摘除ならびに腫瘍塞栓摘除術を施行した。手術時間4時間28分, 出血量1, 400ml, 摘出標本は重量800g, 病理所見はrenal cell carcinoma, G2, pT3bであった。術前の凝固系検査は異常を認めなかったが, 肝硬変が原因と考えられる出血時間の延長と血小板数の低下を認めたため, 周術期は血小板輸血などにて対応した。術後経過は良好で, 後出血などの術後合併症もなく, 術後18日目に退院した。現在IFNα投与にて後療法を施行中であるが, 再発を認めていない。透析患者における下大静脈腫瘍塞栓を伴う腎癌に対して外科的治療を施行した症例についての報告例については比較的少なく, 文献的考察も含めて報告する。(著者抄録)A 54-year-old man who had been under hemodialysis therapy for 16 years presented with gross hematuria at our department in February 2005. Imaging findings revealed right renal tumor of8.2 cm in diameter. In addition, the tumor extended into inferior vena cava at the level of the hepatic vein. There were no findings of distant metastasis. Right radical nephrectomy and thrombectomy were performed on April 2006. Histopathological analysis showed that the tumor was renal cell carcinoma of clear cell type, grade 2. Postoperative course was uneventful, and the adjuvant therapy with interferon alpha was initiated. He has been free from recurrence for 22 months after surgery

Resuscitation of Preterm Infants with Reduced Oxygen Results in Less Oxidative Stress than Resuscitation with 100% Oxygen

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of the level of inhaled oxygen during resuscitation on the levels of free radicals and anti-oxidative capacity in the heparinized venous blood of preterm infants. Forty four preterm infants <35 weeks of gestation with mild to moderate neonatal asphyxia were randomized into two groups. The first group of infants were resuscitated with 100% oxygen (100% O2 group), while in the other group (reduced O2 group), the oxygen concentration was titrated according to pulse oximeter readings. We measured total hydroperoxide (TH) and redox potential (RP) in the plasma within 60 min of birth. The integrated excessive oxygen (∑(FiO2-0.21) × Time(min)) was higher in the 100% O2 group than in the reduced O2 group (p<0.0001). TH was higher in the 100% O2 group than in the reduced O2 group (p<0.0001). RP was not different between the 100% O2 and reduced O2 groups (p = 0.399). RP/TH ratio was lower in the 100% O2 group than in the reduced O2 group (p<0.01). We conclude that in the resuscitation of preterm infants with mild to moderate asphyxia, oxidative stress can be reduced by lowering the inspired oxygen concentration using a pulse oximeter

Activation of tumor suppressor protein PTEN and induction of apoptosis are involved in cAMP-mediated inhibition of cell number in B92 glial cells

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系During brain development, cAMP induces morphological changes and inhibits growth effects in several cell types. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the growth inhibition remain unknown. Tumor suppressor protein phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) is a lipid phosphatase that inhibits the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. The phosphorylation of Akt, which is one of the key molecules downstream of PI3K, inhibits apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the role of PTEN in cAMP-mediated growth inhibition. B92 rat glial cells were treated with 2 different cAMP stimulatory agents, a phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor and a β-adrenoceptor agonist. Both cAMP stimulatory agents induced marked morphological changes in the cells, decreased cell number, decreased Akt phosphorylation, activated PTEN, cleaved caspase-3, and induced the condensation and fragmentation of nuclei. These results indicate that the cAMP stimulatory agents induced apoptosis. Protein phosphatase inhibitor prevented cAMP-induced dephosphorylation of PTEN and Akt. In addition, cAMP analogs and Epac-selective agonists affected PTEN and Akt activities. These results suggested that cAMP-induced apoptosis may be mediated by PTEN activation and Akt inhibition through protein phosphatase in B92 cells. Our results provide new insight into the role of PTEN in cAMP-induced apoptosis in glial cells. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd

Effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease from Japan: exploratory analyses from EMPA–KIDNEY

Background: EMPA–KIDNEY assessed the effects of empagliflozin 10 mg once daily vs. placebo in 6609 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) at risk of progression, including 612 participants from Japan. Methods: Eligibility required an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of ≥ 20  Results: Japanese participants had higher levels of albuminuria and eGFR than those from non-Japan regions. During a median of 2.0 year follow-up, a primary outcome occurred in 432 patients (13.1%) in the empagliflozin group and in 558 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio [HR], 0.72, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 0.64–0.82; P  Conclusions: Empagliflozin safely reduced the risk of “kidney disease progression or cardiovascular death” in patients with CKD, with consistent effects in participants from Japan