Areal distribution of water-insoluble particles in snow covers of the central mountainous area, Japan

The vertical snow samples collected from 6 locations (Iou-zen: 800m A.M.S.L; the nearest site from the Sea of Japan, Kongoudou-zan: 1300m, Nishi-Hodaka-Dake: 2200m; the Northern Japan Alps, Hachimori-yama: 2100m, Kiriga-mine: 2000m, Yatsuga-take: 2200m; the most inlying site) in the central mountainous area, Japan, during early spring season 2004, were analyzed for size-separated concentrations of water-insoluble particles in snow layers to investigation of long-range transportation of chemical substances from the Asian continent to high mountainous areas in Japan. Most of particles are less than 30 μm in diameter, the greater part of particles observed at the 6 locations were considered to be transported from the Asian continent sources as Asian dust (KOSA). The variation patterns of the vertical profiles of particle concentrations in snow layers were corresponding among each location. The concentrations of particles with less than 30 μm was gradually increased with increasing distance from the Sea of Japan to the Japan Alps, although, sharply-decreased at 3 sites located the monsoon-leeward of the Japan Alps, suggesting that the particles transported with monsoon were gradually removed from air and deposited in snow cover when the air parcel pass through the Japan Alps

Kyphectomy for severe kyphosis with pyogenic spondylitis associated with myelomeningocele: a case report

A 32-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for a refractory ulcer on her back. She had a history of myelomeningocele with spina bifida that was treated surgically at birth. The ulcer was located at the apex of the kyphosis. An X-ray film revealed a kyphosis of 154° between L1 and 3 and a scoliosis of 60° between T11 and L5. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and laboratory data indicated the presence of a pyogenic spondylitis at L2/3. To correct the kyphosis and remove the infected vertebrae together with the skin ulcer, kyphectomy was performed. Pedicle screws were inserted from T8 to T12 and from L4 to S1. The dural sac was transected and ligated at L2, followed by total kyphectomy of the L1-L3 vertebrae. The spinal column was reconstructed by approximating the ventral wall of the T12 vertebral body and the cranial endplate of the L4 vertebra. Postoperatively, the kyphosis was corrected to 61° and the scoliosis was corrected to 22°. In the present case, we treated the skin ulcer and pyogenic spondylitis successfully by kyphectomy, thereby, preventing recurrence of the ulcer and infection, and simultaneously obtaining sufficient correction of the spinal deformity

Development of "Shoshin Nembtsuge" e-Learning material

　浄土真宗各派の日常的な勤行において用いられる「正信偈」の旋律を収集・採譜し、web 上にデータ ベース化した。採譜にあたっては、主に西洋音楽で広く用いられ、最も一般的な記譜法である五線譜を 用い、初学者が容易に理解できるような記譜を工夫するとともに、口伝によって伝承されてきた旋律を、 可能な限り忠実に再現できるように配慮した。その結果、これまでほとんど知られてこなかった各派「正信 偈」の旋律を、広く一般に共有することが可能となり、将来的には、「正信偈」に関心をもつ学習者がe- ラーニングの教材として利用できるようになった

骨髄系腫瘍におけるDNAヒドロキシメチル化異常に関する研究

学位の種別:課程博士University of Tokyo(東京大学

Long-term Performance and Community Analysis of Spirodela Polyrrhiza-bacteria Association Treating Phenol-contaminated Water

『大阪大学大学院工学研究科環境・エネルギー工学専攻生物圏環境工学領域 研究活動報告』, (2010.4.1～2011.3.31), pp.83-94, 大阪大学大学院工学研究科環境・エネルギー工学専攻環境資源・材料学講座生物圏環境工学領域, 2011.5 に掲

Dislocated dental bridge covering the larynx: usefulness of tracheal tube guides under video-assisted laryngoscopy for induction of general anesthesia, thus avoiding tracheostomy

BACKGROUND: To describe a case with dislodgement of dental bridge with clasps covering the vocal cords, in a patient who was successfully intubated using tube exchanger under video-assisted laryngoscopy. STUDY DESIGN, METHODS: Clinical case record with a video clip. SETTING: University hospital. CASE PRESENTATION: A 83-year-old woman presented with dislodgement of her dental bridge whilst eating. Laryngoscopy revealed a foreign body almost entirely covering the vocal cords, with the clasps of the dislodged partial denture piercing the pharyngeal wall. Before induction of general anesthesia, a tracheal tube introducer combined with video-assisted laryngoscopy was introduced into the trachea in the awake condition, followed by successful endotracheal intubation. Thereafter, the dislodged denture was extracted via the oral cavity. CONCLUSIONS: Tracheal tube introducers combined with video-assisted laryngoscopy appear to be useful for airway management, decreasing the number of avoidable tracheostomies performed

Deep learning reconstruction for brain diffusion-weighted imaging: efficacy for image quality improvement, apparent diffusion coefficient assessment, and intravoxel incoherent motion evaluation in in vitro and in vivo studies

PURPOSEDeep learning reconstruction (DLR) to improve imaging quality has already been introduced, but no studies have evaluated the effect of DLR on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) or intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) in in vitro or in vivo studies. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of DLR for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in terms of image quality improvement, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) assessment, and IVIM index evaluation on DWI through in vitro and in vivo studies.METHODSFor the in vitro study, a phantom recommended by the Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance was scanned and reconstructed with and without DLR, and 15 patients with brain tumors with normal-appearing gray and white matter examined using IVIM and reconstructed with and without DLR were included in the in vivo study. The ADCs of all phantoms for DWI with and without DLR, as well as the coefficient of variation percentage (CV%), and ADCs and IVIM indexes for each participant, were evaluated based on DWI with and without DLR by means of region-of-interest measurements. For the in vitro study, using the mean ADCs for all phantoms, a t-test was adopted to compare DWI with and without DLR. For the in vivo study, a Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the CV% between the two types of DWI. In addition, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the ADC, true diffusion coefficient (D), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*), and percentage of water molecules in micro perfusion within 1 voxel (f) with and without DLR; the limits of agreement of each parameter were determined through a Bland–Altman analysis.RESULTSThe in vitro study identified no significant differences between the ADC values for DWI with and without DLR (P > 0.05), and the CV% was significantly different for DWI with and without DLR (P < 0.05) when b values ≥250 s/mm2 were used. The in vivo study revealed that D* and f with and without DLR were significantly different (P < 0.001). The limits of agreement of the ADC, D, and D* values for DWI with and without DLR were determined as 0.00 ± 0.51 × 10-3, 0.00 ± 0.06 × 10-3, and 1.13 ± 4.04 × 10-3 mm2/s, respectively. The limits of agreement of the f values for DWI with and without DLR were determined as −0.01 ± 0.07.CONCLUSIONDeep learning reconstruction for MRI has the potential to significantly improve DWI quality at higher b values. It has some effect on D* and f values in the IVIM index evaluation, but ADC and D values are less affected by DLR