Architecture of the Medial Smooth Muscle of the Arterial Vessels in the Normal Human Brain: A Scanning Electron-Microscopic Study

The architecture of the medial smooth muscle of arterial vessels in normal human brains was investigated using scanning electron microscopy. We could divide the arterial vessels into four subdivisions according to the number of the circular muscle cells. The arteries ( \u3e 100 μm in diameter) had 4-20 layers of circular smooth muscle cells; individual circular muscle cells were spindle-shaped and occasionally had branches at their ends. Multidirectional muscle cells were observed in the medio-adventitial border only at the branching sites in large arteries (\u3e300 μm), but at both branching and non-branching sites in the small arteries (100-300 μm). The nonterminal arterioles (30-100 μm) had 2-3 layers of circular muscle cells; most of the circular muscle cells had nodular or rod-like processes at their branched ends. Multidirectional muscle cells were most frequently observed in the medio-adventitial border in this subdivision at both branching and non-branching sites. The terminal arterioles (10-30 μm) had a single layer of circular muscle cells. Multipolar (stellate in appearance) smooth muscle cells were mainly seen in the medio-adventitial border at branching sites. The precapillary arterioles (7-10 μm) had a single layer of branched muscle cells; individual muscle cells had 2-4 circular branches on both sides of the central bulges

FINE STRUCTURE OF SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS GROWN IN TISSUE CULTURE

The fine structure of smooth muscle cells of the embryo chicken gizzard cultured in monolayer was studied by phase-contrast optics and electron microscopy. The smooth muscle cells were irregular in shape, but tended to be elongate. The nucleus usually contained prominent nucleoli and was large in relation to the cell body. When fixed with glutaraldehyde, three different types of filaments were noted in the cytoplasm: thick (150–250 A in diameter) and thin (30–80 A in diameter) myofilaments, many of which were arranged in small bundles throughout the cytoplasm and which were usually associated with dark bodies; and filaments with a diameter of 80–110 A which were randomly orientated and are not regarded as myofilaments. Some of the aggregated ribosomes were helically arranged. Mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, and dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum were prominent. In contrast to in vivo muscle cells, micropinocytotic vesicles along the cell membrane were rare and dense areas were usually confined to cell membrane infoldings. These cells are compared to in vivo embryonic smooth muscle and adult muscle after treatment with estrogen. Monolayers of cultured smooth muscle will be of particular value in relating ultrastructural features to functional observations on the same cells

IgG4-related chronic rhinosinusitis: A new clinical entity of nasal disease

Conclusion: IgG4-related disease involves nasal manifestations with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). This type of sinusitis is a new clinical entity of nasal disease associated with a high level of serum IgG4 for which steroid therapy is effective. Objectives. To confirm whether IgG4-related disease has distinctive chronic rhinosinusitis. Methods: We compared serum IgG4 levels as well as nasal computed tomography (CT) and clinicopathological findings before and after glucocorticoid treatment in 31 patients diagnosed as having IgG4-related disease with nasal manifestations. To evaluate immunohistochemical findings of nasal mucosa, we compared them with IgG4-related CRS and common CRS. Results: All patients had levels of high serum IgG4. Ten of the 31 patients had nasal obstruction, nasal discharge, postnasal discharge, hyposmia, and dull headache. They also demonstrated sinus lesions on radiological findings. After glucocorticoid treatment, serum IgG and IgG4 levels were markedly decreased and along with improvement of the symptoms, nasal sinus CT findings also revealed improvement of the sinus opacification. In immunohistochemical examination, the magnitude of IgG4-positive plasma cell infiltration in common CRS was almost the same as in the IgG4-related CRS group. Therefore, in nasal mucosa immunocytochemical positive staining for IgG4 is not specific for definition of IgG4-related disease.ArticleACTA OTO-LARYNGOLOGICA. 131(5):518-526 (2011)journal articl

Off-Policy Evaluation of Ranking Policies under Diverse User Behavior

Ranking interfaces are everywhere in online platforms. There is thus an ever growing interest in their Off-Policy Evaluation (OPE), aiming towards an accurate performance evaluation of ranking policies using logged data. A de-facto approach for OPE is Inverse Propensity Scoring (IPS), which provides an unbiased and consistent value estimate. However, it becomes extremely inaccurate in the ranking setup due to its high variance under large action spaces. To deal with this problem, previous studies assume either independent or cascade user behavior, resulting in some ranking versions of IPS. While these estimators are somewhat effective in reducing the variance, all existing estimators apply a single universal assumption to every user, causing excessive bias and variance. Therefore, this work explores a far more general formulation where user behavior is diverse and can vary depending on the user context. We show that the resulting estimator, which we call Adaptive IPS (AIPS), can be unbiased under any complex user behavior. Moreover, AIPS achieves the minimum variance among all unbiased estimators based on IPS. We further develop a procedure to identify the appropriate user behavior model to minimize the mean squared error (MSE) of AIPS in a data-driven fashion. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the empirical accuracy improvement can be significant, enabling effective OPE of ranking systems even under diverse user behavior.Comment: KDD2023 Research trac

The Mechanism of Water Cycle System in Lake Inba-Numa Watershed:A Comparative Study of Runoff Mechanisms of Small Watersheds

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Evaluation of hemodynamic imaging findings of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma: comparison between dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging using radial volumetric imaging breath-hold examination with k-space-weighted image contrast reconstruction and dynamic computed tomography during hepatic arteriography

To compare the visualization of hemodynamic imaging findings of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) using radial volumetric imaging breath-hold examination with k-space-weighted image contrast reconstruction (r-VIBE-KWIC) versus dynamic computed tomography during hepatic arteriography (dyn-CTHA). We retrospectively reviewed the databases of preoperative DCE-MRI using r-VIBE-KWIC, dyn-CTHA, and postoperative pathology of resected specimens. Fourteen patients with 14 hypervascular HCCs underwent both DCE-MRI and dyn-CTHA. The imaging findings of the tumor and adjacent liver parenchyma were assessed on both modalities by two readers. The tumor enhancement time was also compared between the two modalities. On DCE-MRI/dyn-CTHA, early staining, peritumoral low-intensity or low-density bands, corona enhancement, and washout of HCC were observed in 14/14 (100%), 10/12 (83%), 11/14 (78%), and 4/14 (29%) patients, respectively. Pathologically, four HCCs with low-density bands on dyn-CTHA had no fibrous capsules. The median tumor enhancement time on DCE-MRI and dyn-CTHA was 24 (9-24) and 23 (8-35) s, respectively. The correlation coefficient between the two groups was 0.762 (P < 0.002). DCE-MRI using r-VIBE-KWIC has diagnostic potential comparable with that of dyn-CTHA in the hemodynamic evaluation of hypervascular HCC except for the washout phenomenon.ArticleJAPANESE JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY.36(4):295-302(2018)journal articl

ハイビジョン ドラマ セイサク ノ コウサツ : タイガ ドラマ ホウジョウ トキムネ デノ ジレイ ケンキュウ ジョウホウ ヒョウゲン ガッカ トクシュウゴウ

2001年からデジタルハイビジョン放送が開始された。デジタルハイビジョンは縦横比(16 : 9)の安定したフレーム、高画質、高音質、マルチ画面、双方向、データ放送など多機能なメディアである。この方式は現行のテレビでの視聴覚体験や映像表現の技法を根本から変えはじめている。大画面の迫力ある映像、CD並みの優れた音質は臨場感にあふれている。技術的には画質、音質とも劣化がなく、CGとの合成もしやすく、映画などでも幅広く活用されている。私はNHKにおいて、デジタルハイビジョン・大河ドラマ「北条時宗」のTD(技術責任者)を担当した。この経験をふまえ、作品制作の意義およびハイビジョン制作での課題を考察する。Digital hi-vision broadcasting (digital high-definition broadcasting) was inaugurated here in Japan in 2001. The digital hi-vision broadcasting is a superb medium with multilateral functions, such as the stable frame of horizontal and vertical ratio (16:9), high definition, high quality of sound, multilateral frame, interactive TV broadcasting, data broadcasting, among others. This system has begun to change from the ground up the attitude and participation of the audience and the techniques of the image presentation of the conventional TV broadcasting. No doubt the huge, impressive image and high quality of sound equivalent to that of CDs give us a sense of presence. Technically, no deterioration is evident both in images and sound, and this system is widely employed in movies because of CG composite. I was in charge of TD (technical director) of NHK, when the digital hi-vision drama-roman "Hojo Tokimune" was produced. Based on my experiences, I consider the vital significance of producing the program and the problems involved in the hi-vision production

ジョジシテキ エイガ ノ イチコウサツ : アンゲロプロス カントク サクヒン カラ

映画は19世紀末のルミエール兄弟のシネマトグラフを起源として、110年の時間が経過した。今日の映画界において、歴史と社会と風土と人間を一体として、壮大な映画を制作する監督の一人にテオ・アンゲロプロスがいる。彼のテーマはギリシアの現代社会の動向、民族、移民、国境、家族の絆、人間疎外など幅広い。そしてギリシア人独特な神話、叙事詩、悲劇を映画に取り入れ、現代と過去を融合させる。演出手法は徹底したリアリズムであるが、ユーモアとペーソスを滲ませ秀逸である。彼は映像をあくまでも実写の迫力で描き、その絵画的な美しさは比類がない。映像表現は1シーン=1カット、360度パン、移動ショット、オフシーンの重視により、「現在と過去の同一画面での描写」「現実と幻想の共存」など斬新な表現で映像空間を構成する。そしてギリシア独特の演劇と演舞が哀愁をこめた音楽と共に演じられる。この研究ノートではアンゲロプロス監督の「再現」から「エレニの旅」を分析し、我々の映像制作の参考にしたい。It has been hundred ten years since Lumiere brothers delighted the audiences with their cinematograph in the late nineteenth century. Today in film industry, Theo Angelopoulos regarded as a director, who captures history, society, custom and people into creating a spectacles film.His interests vary from actual events of people, ethnicities, immigrants, boundaries, family ties to alienations of human beings, which are structured into one spectacle film. Also he finds sources for film making from a Greek myth, epic and tragedy and overlaps the past with the present need we feel for human community. Although his directing style is regarded as realism, at the same time his humor and pathos used in his films fascinate audiences. He shoots sources of all the raw material as they are and still his cinematographic style is no mach. His emphasis on techniques that using one shoot in a single take, 360 degree pan and off scene helps construct a scene such as "simultaneous shooting of pastime and presence" and "coexistence of reality and fantasy" in a screen. Moreover, traditional Greek theatrical act and dance combined with sentimental music provide a film nostalgic image. This paper explores the film works of director Angelopulous from "Reconstruction" to "A trip of ELENI" and attempts to search hints for our picture making