Non-blind Image Restoration Based on Convolutional Neural Network

Blind image restoration processors based on convolutional neural network (CNN) are intensively researched because of their high performance. However, they are too sensitive to the perturbation of the degradation model. They easily fail to restore the image whose degradation model is slightly different from the trained degradation model. In this paper, we propose a non-blind CNN-based image restoration processor, aiming to be robust against a perturbation of the degradation model compared to the blind restoration processor. Experimental comparisons demonstrate that the proposed non-blind CNN-based image restoration processor can robustly restore images compared to existing blind CNN-based image restoration processors.Comment: Accepted by IEEE 7th Global Conference on Consumer Electronics, 201

Importance of Acid–Base Equilibrium in Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Formic Acid on Platinum

This work was supported by Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grants Nos. 24550143 and 24750117 and MEXT Project of Integrated Research on Chemical Synthesis. M.T.M.K. gratefully acknowledges the award of Long-Term Fellowship of JSPS (No. L-11527) and Visiting Professorship of Hokkaido University. T.U. acknowledges Grants-in-Aid for Regional R&D Proposal-Based Program from Northern Advancement Center for Science & Technology of Hokkaido, Japan. J.J. acknowledges scholarship of Asian Graduate School, Hokkaido University.Peer reviewedPostprin

(1R*,2S*,4S*,5R*)-Cyclo­hexane-1,2:4,5-tetra­carb­oxy­lic dianhydride

The title compound, C10H8O6, a promising raw material to obtain colorless polyimides which are applied to microelectronic and optoelectronic devices, adopts a folded conformation in which the dihedral angle between the two anhydro rings is 55.15 (8)°. The central six-membered ring assumes a conformation inter­mediate between boat and twist-boat. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by weak C—H⋯O inter­actions, forming a layer parallel to the bc plane

Ulinastatin did not reduce mortality in elderly multiple organ failure patients: a retrospective observational study in a single center ICU

AimOur aim was to evaluate the effect of ulinastatin on 28‐day mortality in patients who developed multiple organ failure (MOF) related to their acute illness and were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).MethodsWe carried out a retrospective observational study of MOF patients in a general ICU of a tertiary care hospital in Japan from January 2009 to December 2012. The primary outcome was 28‐day all‐cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were ventilator‐free days, ICU‐free days, and vasopressor‐free days at day 28. We investigated the association between ulinastatin treatment and outcomes using multivariable regression analysis.ResultsA total of 212 MOF patients were included, 79 (37%) of whom received ulinastatin. The median age was 70 years (interquartile range, 60–77) and median APACHE II score was 25 (interquartile range, 19–29). Overall 28‐day mortality was 20%. There were no significant differences between the ulinastatin group and the control group in age, gender, or APACHE II score. The ulinastatin group had higher prevalence of sepsis (44% versus 22%, P = 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that ulinastatin was not associated with 28‐day mortality (odds ratio = 1.22; 95% confidence interval, 0.54–2.79). Moreover, ulinastatin did not reduce the mortality in patients with sepsis (odds ratio = 1.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.52–7.13). However, ICU‐free days and ventilator‐free days was significantly fewer in the ulinastatin group than control group.ConclusionsIn this retrospective observational study, ulinastatin was not associated with mortality in elderly patients with established MOF, although it might be related to patient\u27s utility

Vertical distributions of plutonium isotopes in marine sediment cores off the Fukushima coast after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident led to the release of large amounts of radionuclides into the atmosphere as well as direct discharges into the sea. In contrast to the intensive studies on the distribution of the released high volatility fission products, such as 131I, 134Cs and 137Cs, similar studies of the actinides, especially the Pu isotopes, are limited. To obtain the vertical distribution of Pu isotopes in marine sediments and to better assess the possible contamination of Pu from the FDNPP accident in the marine environment, we determined the activities of 239+240Pu and 241Pu as well as the atom ratios of 240Pu/239Pu and 241Pu/239Pu in sediment core samples collected in the western North Pacific off Fukushima from July 2011 to July 2012. We also measured surface sediment samples collected from seven Japanese estuaries before the FNDPP accident to establish the comprehensive background baseline data. The observed results of both the Pu activities and the Pu atom ratios for the sediments in the western North Pacific were comparable to the baseline data, suggesting that the FDNPP accident did not cause detectable Pu contamination to the studied regions prior to the sampling time. The Pu isotopes in the western North Pacific 30 km off Fukushima coast originated from global fallout and Pacific Proving Ground close-in fallout

Ten-year inhospital mortality trends for patients with trauma in Japan: a multicentre observational study

Objectives: Trauma is one of the main causes of death in Japan, and treatments and prognoses of these injuries are constantly changing. We therefore aimed to investigate a 10-year trend (2004–2013) in inhospital mortality among patients with trauma in Japan.Design: Multicentre observational study.Setting: Japanese nationwide trauma registry (the Japan Trauma Data Bank) data.Participants: All patients with trauma whose Injury Severity Score (ISS) were 3 and above, who were aged 15 years or older, and whose mechanisms of injury (MOI) were blunt and penetrating between 2004 and 2013 (n=90 833).Outcome measures: A 10-year trend in inhospital mortality.Results: Inhospital mortality for all patients with trauma significantly decreased over the study decade in our Cochran-Armitage test (P<0.001). Similarly, inhospital mortality for patients with ISS 16 or more and patients who scored 50% or better on the Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) probability of survival scale significantly decreased (P<0.001). In addition, the OR for inhospital mortality of these three patient groups decreased yearly after adjusting for age, gender, MOI, ISS, Glasgow Coma Scale, systolic blood pressure and respiratory rate on hospital arrival in multivariable logistic regression analyses. Furthermore, inhospital mortality for patient with blunt trauma significantly decreased in injury mechanism-stratified Mantel-extension testing (P<0.001). Finally, multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that the OR for inhospital mortality of patients with ISS 16 and over decreased each year after adding and adjusting for means of transportation and usage of whole-body CT.Conclusion: Inhospital mortality for patients with trauma in Japan significantly decreased during the study decade after adjusting for patient characteristics, injury severity and the response environment after injury

Ultrathin GeSn p-channel MOSFETs grown directly on Si(111) substrate using solid phase epitaxy

Ultrathin GeSn layers with a thickness of 5.5 nm are fabricated on a Si(111) substrate by solid phase epitaxy (SPE) of amorphous GeSn layers with Sn concentrations up to 6.7%. We demonstrate well-behaved depletion-mode operation of GeSn p-channel metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (pMOSFETs) with an on/off ratio of more than 1000 owing to the ultrathin GeSn channel layer (5.5 nm). It is found that the on current increases significantly with increasing Sn concentration at the same gate overdrive, attributed to an increasing substitutional Sn incorporation in Ge. The GeSn (6.7%) layer sample shows approximately 90% enhancement in hole mobility in comparison with a pure Ge channel on Si.status: publishe

Epidemiology and patterns of tracheostomy practice in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in ICUs across 50 countries

BackgroundTo better understand the epidemiology and patterns of tracheostomy practice for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), we investigated the current usage of tracheostomy in patients with ARDS recruited into the Large Observational Study to Understand the Global Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Failure (LUNG-SAFE) study.MethodsThis is a secondary analysis of LUNG-SAFE, an international, multicenter, prospective cohort study of patients receiving invasive or noninvasive ventilation in 50 countries spanning 5 continents. The study was carried out over 4 weeks consecutively in the winter of 2014, and 459 ICUs participated. We evaluated the clinical characteristics, management and outcomes of patients that received tracheostomy, in the cohort of patients that developed ARDS on day 1–2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, and in a subsequent propensity-matched cohort.ResultsOf the 2377 patients with ARDS that fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 309 (13.0%) underwent tracheostomy during their ICU stay. Patients from high-income European countries (n = 198/1263) more frequently underwent tracheostomy compared to patients from non-European high-income countries (n = 63/649) or patients from middle-income countries (n = 48/465). Only 86/309 (27.8%) underwent tracheostomy on or before day 7, while the median timing of tracheostomy was 14 (Q1–Q3, 7–21) days after onset of ARDS. In the subsample matched by propensity score, ICU and hospital stay were longer in patients with tracheostomy. While patients with tracheostomy had the highest survival probability, there was no difference in 60-day or 90-day mortality in either the patient subgroup that survived for at least 5 days in ICU, or in the propensity-matched subsample.ConclusionsMost patients that receive tracheostomy do so after the first week of critical illness. Tracheostomy may prolong patient survival but does not reduce 60-day or 90-day mortality