89 research outputs found
Approach to Object Hardness Prediction by Rubber Ball Hardness Prediction Using Capsule Network
A hardness is often used as an index to compare similar objects such as fruits or wood. To measure an object’s hardness, a hardness meter is required, and certain conditions must be met. The conditions are that the hardness meter is compatible with the object and must be close at hand. This research shows the possibility of measuring hardness without a hardness meter using a neural network. The method employs machine learning using a capsule network (CapsNet) of a neural network model. This research experimented using CapsNet with routing-by-agreement, CapsNet with expectation-maximization routing (EM routing) and the EM routing method with the addition of Tasks-Constrained Deep Convolutional Network (TCDCN). The four-layer CapsNet with EM routing implemented has achieved the state-of-the-art. Multi-layered CapsNet with EM routing was a very effective method for regression analysis as well. And, CapsNet has higher discriminative power using EM-routing than routing-by-agreement
Analysis of the Cost-effectiveness of Photodynamic Therapy in Early Stage Lung Cancer
Methods A cost-effectiveness analysis was carried out for photodynamic therapy (PDT)
performed in early stage lung cancer cases, which by definition have no lymph node metastasis.
The alternative treatment method was lobectomy, which conventionally would have
been the first choice of treatment. Costs (C) and effectiveness (E) both of the PDT group
and operation group were compared. Effectiveness was determined using quality adjusted
life years saved (QALYs) which is the 5-year survival rate adjusted in terms of the quality
of life of the patient, and the cost-effectiveness rate was obtained based on the costs of
treatment methods during the patient's stay in the hospital. Health care costs, including
drugs, were calculated according to the 1992 National Health Insurance list in yen. Costs
which were non-reimbursable by the public insurance system, such as for special rooms and
sun block cream, were also expressed in yen
Trace Elements in Hair: Relevance to Air Pollution
Elemental concentrations of single hair samples taken from 2003 to 2012 had been evaluated by X-ray fluorescence for the assessment of the relation between calcium and cancer. Early results implied a mechanism linking hair and serum element concentrations with a shift in element levels over time. After 2009, pollution-attributable differences were seen in the levels of Ca, Sr, P, Cl, Br, K, S, elements under renal control by parathyroid hormone (PTH), as well as Cu, Zn, Ti. Especially, hair taken from February to March 2011 showed low [Cu] and [Zn] indicating about half of the normal serum level and often three orders of magnitude higher [Ti] than typical. These specimens also showed higher serum [S] than usual, and except for one patient with PTH-related disease, all the subjects had the normal or lower hair calcium than typical for earlier years. Almost all the subjects showed store-operated Ca channel gating. The pollution era is associated with an increase in hair Na, a decrease in K, and abnormally low P, suggesting a functional deterioration of Na+/K+-ATPase. These results can be attributed to increases in serum Ca and S coincident with breathing the polluted air; the incorporated Ca closes the ion channels of hair matrix cells but may be moved with P to bone, resulting in the abnormal P deficiency, likely producing an ATP shortage in serum. This insufficient ATP supply may result in inactivated molecular pumps and hypokalemia contributing to fatal ventricular fibrillation in patients with myocardial infarction. The pollution increase [S] in serum may be excreted by forming sulfide compounds with Cu and Zn, resulting in Cu deficiency necessary for making elastin to repair damage in blood vessels. The K and Cu deficiencies observed appear to account for the reported increase in infarction mortality after high-pollution days
Effectiveness of Photodynamic Therapy and Nd-YAG Laser Treatment for Obstructed Tracheobronchial Malignancies
Since 1980, advanced lung carcinomas were treated with palliative laser therapy for the
purpose of opening the endobronchial stenosis and obstruction by either photodynamic
therapy (PDT) or Nd-YAG laser treatment at Tokyo Medical University. A total of 258
lesions were treated, 81 by PDT and 177 by Nd-YAG laser treatment. PDT achieved effective
results in 61 (75%) of 81 lesions. In the Nd-YAG laser group, 143 (81%) of 177 lesions showed
effective results. When the tumor was located in the trachea or main bronchi, effective results
were obtained in 73% (19 of 26) of cases treated by PDT and in 93% of cases (64 of 69) treated
by Nd-YAG laser. However, in cases in which the tumor was located in lobar or segmental
bronchi, the tumor response was effective in 76% (42 of 55) of PDT-treated patients and 73%
(79 of 108) of Nd-YAG laser-treated patients. With a mortality rate of 0%, the greatest
advantage of PDT over Nd-YAG treatment was safety. Considering complications, PDT
seems to be useful for obstruction of lobar and segmental bronchus. Nevertheless, when
deciding among alternative therapies, physicians treating patients with advanced lung
carcinoma should give careful consideration to the benefit and complications of both laser
therapies and decide the most suitable modality
Automated detection method of thoracic aorta calcification from non-contrast CT images using mediastinal anatomical label map
Progression of thoracic aortic calcification (TAC) has been shown to be associated with hard cardiovascular events including stroke and all-cause mortality as well as coronary events. In this study, we propose an automated detection method of TACs of non-contrast CT images using mediastinal anatomical label map. This method consists of two steps: (1) the construction of a mediastinal anatomical label map, and (2) the detection of TACs using the intensity and the mediastinal anatomical label map. The proposed method was applied to two non-contrast CT image datasets: 24 cases of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and 100 non-CTEPH cases of low-dose CT screening. The method was compared with two-dimensional U-Nets and the Swin UNETR. The results showed that the method achieved significantly higher F1 score of 0.937 than other methods for the non-CTEPH case dataset (p-value < 0.05, pairwise Wilcoxon signed rank test with Bonferroni correction)
Lung Cancers Treated With Photodynamic Therapy and Surgery
Laser endoscopic surgery, especially the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy (PDT) using
Photofrin as a photosensitizer, has now achieved a status as effective treatment modality for
lung cancer. Twenty-six lung cancer patients received the preoperative PDT for the purpose of
either reducing the extent of resection or increasing operability. Bronchoscopical PDT is
performed with topical anesthesia approximately 48 h after the intravenous injection of
2.0 mg/kg body weight of Photofrin. Operation was performed 2–9 weeks after initial PDT. The initial purpose of PDT, i.e. either to reduce the extent of resection or convert inoperable
disease to operable status, was achieved in 22 out of 26 patients treated. The survival rate of T3
(main bronchus invasion) cases treated by surgery alone increased significantly from 50.9% to
60.0% with the application of preoperative PDT. This remarkable result may imply that this
new option of PDT as preoperative laser irradiation may contribute to the management of
advanced lung malignancy
Reconsideration of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy
We describe the surgical method of cases showing a distended gallbladder. Because the most important thing does not cause biliary tract injury, it is to find orientation carefully. The frequency of incidental gallbladder cancer was in 7 (0.7%) of the 983. Only cholecystectomy is necessary to be performed for Tis or T1 cancer, and surgery has to be changed to radical surgery for T2 cancer or deeper invasion. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is already an established standard operation. In the presence of acute or severe chronic inflammation, special attention should be paid to these points
Measurement of serum hepcidin-25 levels as a potential test for diagnosing hemochromatosis and related disorders
石川県立中央病院金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系Iron overload syndromes include a wide spectrum of genetic and acquired conditions. Recent studies suggest suppressed hepcidin synthesis in the liver to be the molecular basis of hemochromatosis. However, a liver with acquired iron overload synthesizes an adequate amount of hepcidin. Thus, hepcidin could function as a biochemical marker for differential diagnosis of iron overload syndromes. Methods We measured serum iron parameters and hepcidin- 25 levels followed by sequencing HFE, HJV, HAMP, TFR2, and SLC40A1 genes in 13 Japanese patients with iron overload syndromes. In addition, we performed direct measurement of serum hepcidin-25 levels using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in 3 Japanese patients with aceruloplasminemia and 4 Italians with HFE hemochromatosis. Results One patient with HJV hemochromatosis, 2 with TFR2 hemochromatosis, and 3 with ferroportin disease were found among the 13 Japanese patients. The remaining 7 Japanese patients showed no evidence for genetic basis of iron overload syndrome. As far as the serum hepcidin-25 was concerned, seven patients with hemochromatosis and 3 with aceruloplasminemia showed markedly decreased serum hepcidin-25 levels. In contrast, 3 patients with ferroportin disease and 7 with secondary iron overload syndromes showed serum hepcidin levels parallel to their hyperferritinemia. Patients with iron overload syndromes were divided into 2 phenotypes presenting as low and high hepcidinemia. These were then associated with their genotypes. Conclusion Determining serum hepcidin-25 levels may aid differential diagnosis of iron overload syndromes prior to genetic analysis. © Springer 2010
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