Laryngotracheal separation for a type 4 laryngotracheoesophageal cleft with multiple significant malformations

AbstractLaryngotracheoesophageal cleft (LTEC) is an extremely rare congenital malformation that is difficult to treat. We present a female patient with type 4 LTEC associated with multiple significant malformations. She suffered from a severe asthma attack due to aspiration of saliva, and it was determined that she should undergo surgery for associated congenital heart disease as early as possible to ensure long-term survival. Therefore, we performed laryngotracheal separation with an end-tracheostomy to completely and immediately prevent aspiration. She was then able to undergo radical surgery for her congenital heart disease. She recovered well postoperatively, and long-term survival is expected

Advanced Laser Diagnostics for Electron Density Measurements

This paper describes innovative laser diagnostics under development at the National Institute for Fusion Science, aiming for the establishment of reliable density measurement techniques in the next step magneticallyconfined fusion devices. There are two approaches, interferometry and polarimetry. A new type of two color laser (47.6/57.2-μm CH3OD) interferometer has been developed and its original function, vibration subtraction,was confirmed in a test stand. The line integrated density measurement at Compact Helical System by using the polarimeter based on Cotton-Mouton effect was demonstrated by the use of a 337-μm HCN laser source

Short-Term Impact of Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery on Lung Function, Physical Function, and Quality of Life

Background: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been increasingly used as an approach for lung lobectomy. However, the recovery of respiratory and physical function may be insufficient at discharge because the average length of hospital stay is decreasing after surgery. In this study, we investigated the changes in physical function, lung function, and quality of life (QOL) of lung cancer patients after VATS, and factors for QOL were also evaluated. Methods: The subjects of this study were 41 consecutive patients who underwent video-assisted lung lobectomy for lung cancer. Rehabilitation was performed both before and after surgery. Lung function testing, physical function testing (timed up and go test (TUG) and the 30-s chair-stand test (CS-30)), and QOL (EORTC QLQ-C30) were measured before and 1 week after surgery. Results: Postoperative VC recovered to 76.3% +/- 15.6% 1 week after surgery. TUG, CS-30, and QOL were significantly worse after surgery (p < 0.05). Lung function and physical function were found to affect QOL. Postoperative complications included pneumonia in 1 patient. There were no patients who discontinued rehabilitation. Conclusion: Our rehabilitation program was safe and useful for patients after VATS

Fundamental modeling of vehicle power network system using VHDL-AMS

The vehicle system is a multi-domain system that requires many branches of science and engineering. Therefore the development of the vehicle system requires the use of design methodologies that utilize simulations, which have grown increasingly sophisticated in recent years. This paper describes how VHDL-AMS was used to model the powertrain, alternator and battery system that are the basic elements of the vehicle power network system, and examines the simulation results with the aim of realizing a system simulation whose scope covers the entire vehicle.2010 International Symposium on Power Electronics, Electrical Drives, Automation and Motion (SPEEDAM 2010) : Pisa, Italy, 2010.06.14-2010.06.1

Specific Egg Yolk Immunoglobulin as a New Preventive Approach for Shiga-Toxin-Mediated Diseases

Shiga toxins (Stxs) are involved in the development of severe systemic complications associated with enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infection. Various neutralizing agents against Stxs are under investigation for management of EHEC infection. In this study, we immunized chickens with formalin-inactivated Stx-1 or Stx-2, and obtained immunoglobulin Y (IgY) from the egg yolk. Anti-Stx-1 IgY and anti-Stx-2 IgY recognized the corresponding Stx A subunit and polymeric but not monomeric B subunit. Anti-Stx-1 IgY and anti-Stx-2 IgY suppressed the cytotoxicity of Stx-1 and Stx-2 to HeLa 229 cells, without cross-suppressive activity. The suppressive activity of these IgY was abrogated by pre-incubation with the corresponding recombinant B subunit, which suggests that the antibodies directed to the polymeric B subunits were predominantly involved in the suppression. In vivo, the intraperitoneal or intravenous administration of these IgY rescued mice from death caused by intraperitoneal injection of the corresponding toxin at a lethal dose. Moreover, oral administration of anti-Stx-2 IgY reduced the mortality of mice infected intestinally with EHEC O157:H7. Our results therefore suggest that anti-Stx IgY antibodies may be considered as preventive agents for Stx-mediated diseases in EHEC infection

A study about the improvement of the interpretative accuracy of compound geophysical explorations by self-organizing maps

In Japan, in the high economic growth period in 1960’s, a great number of slopes were formed to construct many roads. Now, the slopes have been aging, it is important to estimate the health of the aging slope and maintain slopes effectually. So, in situs, we usually carry out seismic wave method, surface wave method, electric method, electromagnetic wave method, frequency domain electromagnetic method and so on. However, there is not the technique to compound and interpret the result of each geophysical exploration in a numerical formula of the engineering now. Therefore, we notice to self-organizing maps (SOM) used widely in a field of the information processing engineering, and tried to interpret multidimensional data by integrating. In this paper, we classified the ground property by self-organizing maps. The classification result is relatively conformal with boring data. Therefore, it is recognized that it can be used to improve the interpretative accuracy of compound geophysical explorations. And, it can be shown that this technique is effective to estimate of the ground property of the aging slope

A trial about the evaluation of compound geophysical explorations by self-organizing maps

In Japan, in the high economic growth period in 1960’s, a great number of slopes were formed to construct many roads. Now, the slopes have been aging, it is important to estimate the health of the aging slope and maintain slopes effectually. So, in situs, we usually carry out seismic wave method, surface wave method, electric method, electromagnetic wave method, frequency domain electromagnetic method and so on. However, there is not the technique to compound and interpret the result of each geophysical exploration in a numerical formula of the engineering now. Therefore, we notice to self-organizing maps (SOM) used widely in a field of the information processing engineering, and tried to interpret multidimensional data by integrating. In this paper, we classified the ground property by self-organizing maps. The classification result is relatively conformal with boring data. Therefore, it is recognized that it can be used to improve the interpretative accuracy of compound geophysical explorations. And, it can be shown that this technique is effective to estimate of the ground property of the aging slope

A study of the compound evaluation for geophysical explorations by self-organizing maps

In Japan, in the high economic growth period in 1960’s, a great number of cutting ground and embankment slopes were formed to construct many roads. They have been aging now, it is important to estimate the health of them and maintain effectually. So, in situs, we usually carry out many kinds of the geophysical exploration. However, there is not the technique to compound and interpret the result of each geophysical exploration in a numerical formula of the engineering now. Therefore, we notice to self-organizing maps (SOM) used widely in a field of the information processing engineering, and tried to interpret multidimensional data by integrating. In this paper, we classified the ground property by SOM. The classification result is relatively conformal with boring data. Therefore, it is recognized that it can be used to improve the interpretative accuracy of compound geophysical explorations.12th ISRM International Congress on Rock Mechanics "Harmonizing Rock Mechanics and the Environment" 18-21 October 2011, Beijing, Chin

Edgewise Bending Strain in Helical Coils With Geodesic Windings Based on Virial Theorem

Distributions of edgewise bending strain in helical coils with the geodesic winding based on virial theorem are analyzed theoretically and numerically. A force-balanced coil (FBC) is a multipole helical coil combining toroidal field (TF) coils and a solenoid helically wound on a torus. The combination reduces the net electromagnetic force in the direction of the major radius by canceling out the centering force due to the TF coil current and the hoop force due to the solenoid current. The FBC concept was extended using the virial theorem, which shows the theoretical lower limit of stress in the coils and their supporting structure. High-field coils should accordingly have the same averaged principal stresses in all directions, which is named the virial-limit condition. Since FBC winding is modulated to reduce the tilting force, the winding is slightly similar to but different from the shortest geodesic trajectory and has no tensile load. To apply FBC to high-temperature superconducting tapes, the degradation of superconducting properties originating from edgewise bending strain is an important problem. Since the geodesic trajectory is a kind of a straight line on a curved surface and curves only to the normal direction of the surface, it is expected that the tape with geodesic trajectories has a small residual stress. In this paper, we analyze the effect of the winding modulations including the geodesic modulation for the optimization of residual stress in helical windings