Development of Algorithms for Estimating Apartment Rents in Metropolitan Area Based on a Combined Micro-Macro Approach

Information about the rental costs of the large apartment buildings is asymmetric in that thereal estate companies tend to disclose such information to a customer only for the large apartmentbuildings of potential interest to the customer, and any information irrelevant to the ongoing businesswould be sealed. This information imbalance prevents the market to be transparent, and theeconomic market principles are often ignored. In order to overcome this pitfall, this paper aims atdeveloping a numerical algorithm for estimating the unit rent of a large apartment building based ona set of real data in the metropolitan Tokyo. The algorithm is based on the combined micro-macroapproach, where the local information such as the nearest rail station, the distance to it, and the likewould be used first to estimate the unit rent through the micro approach. For the macro approach,the linear regression is employed based on the real data, and the resulting estimation formula wouldyield the second estimate. The two estimates would then be linearly combined, where the optimalweighting factor would be determined so as to minimize the discrepancy between the combinedestimated values and the unit rents obtained from the real data

Three-dimensional iodine mapping quantified by dual-energy CT for predicting programmed death-ligand 1 expression in invasive pulmonary adenocarcinoma

Yamagata K., Yanagawa M., Hata A., et al. Three-dimensional iodine mapping quantified by dual-energy CT for predicting programmed death-ligand 1 expression in invasive pulmonary adenocarcinoma. Scientific Reports 14, 18310 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-69470-9.We examined the association between texture features using three-dimensional (3D) io-dine density histogram on delayed phase of dual-energy CT (DECT) and expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) using immunostaining methods in non-small cell lung cancer. Consecutive 37 patients were scanned by DECT. Unenhanced and enhanced (3 min delay) images were obtained. 3D texture analysis was performed for each nodule to obtain 7 features (max, min, median, mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis) from iodine density mapping and extracellular volume (ECV). A pathologist evaluated a tumor proportion score (TPS, %) using PD-L1 immunostaining: PD-L1 high (TPS ≥ 50%) and low or negative expression (TPS < 50%). Associations between PD-L1 expression and each 8 parameter were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that skewness and ECV were independent indicators associated with high PD-L1 expression (skewness: odds ratio [OR] 7.1 [95% CI 1.1, 45.6], p = 0.039; ECV: OR 6.6 [95% CI 1.1, 38.4], p = 0.037). In the receiver-operating characteristic analysis, the area under the curve of the combination of skewness and ECV was 0.83 (95% CI 0.67, 0.93) with sensitivity of 64% and specificity of 96%. Skewness from 3D iodine density histogram and ECV on dual energy CT were significant factors for predicting PD-L1 expression

Association between interstitial lung abnormality and mortality in patients with esophageal cancer

The version of record of this article, first published in Japanese Journal of Radiology, is available online at Publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-024-01563-x.Purpose: To investigate the relationship between interstitial lung abnormalities (ILAs) and mortality in patients with esophageal cancer and the cause of mortality. Materials and methods: This retrospective study investigated patients with esophageal cancer from January 2011 to December 2015. ILAs were visually scored on baseline CT using a 3-point scale (0 = non-ILA, 1 = indeterminate for ILA, and 2 = ILA). ILAs were classified into subcategories of non-subpleural, subpleural non-fibrotic, and subpleural fibrotic. Five-year overall survival (OS) was compared between patients with and without ILAs using the multivariable Cox proportional hazards model. Subgroup analyses were performed based on cancer stage and ILA subcategories. The prevalences of treatment complications and death due to esophageal cancer and pneumonia/respiratory failure were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test. Results: A total of 478 patients with esophageal cancer (age, 66.8 years ± 8.6 [standard deviation]; 64 women) were evaluated in this study. Among them, 267 patients showed no ILAs, 125 patients were indeterminate for ILAs, and 86 patients showed ILAs. ILAs were a significant factor for shorter OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10–2.55, P = 0.016) in the multivariable Cox proportional hazards model adjusting for age, sex, smoking history, clinical stage, and histology. On subgroup analysis using patients with clinical stage IVB, the presence of ILAs was a significant factor (HR = 3.78, 95% CI 1.67–8.54, P = 0.001). Subpleural fibrotic ILAs were significantly associated with shorter OS (HR = 2.22, 95% CI 1.25–3.93, P = 0.006). There was no significant difference in treatment complications. Patients with ILAs showed a higher prevalence of death due to pneumonia/respiratory failure than those without ILAs (non-ILA, 2/95 [2%]; ILA, 5/39 [13%]; P = 0.022). The prevalence of death due to esophageal cancer was similar in patients with and without ILA (non-ILA, 82/95 [86%]; ILA 32/39 [82%]; P = 0.596). Conclusion: ILAs were significantly associated with shorter survival in patients with esophageal cancer

Endolithic microbial habitats hosted in carbonate nodules currently forming within sediment at a high methane flux site in the sea of Japan

Concretionary carbonates in deep-sea methane seep fields are formed as a result of microbial methane degradation, called anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). Recently, active microorganisms, including anaerobic methanotrophic archaea, were discovered from methane seep-associated carbonate outcroppings on the seafloor. However sedimentary buried carbonate nodules are a hitherto unknown microbial habitat. In this study, we investigated the microbial community structures in two carbonate nodules collected from a high methane flux site in a gas hydrate field off the Oki islands in the Sea of Japan. The nodules were formed around sulfate-methane interfaces (SMI) corresponding to 0.7 and 2.2 m below the seafloor. Based on a geochemical analysis, light carbon isotopic values ranging from −54.91‰ to −37.32‰ were found from the nodules collected at the shallow SMI depth, which were attributed to the high contributions of AOM-induced carbonate precipitation. Signatures of methanotrophic archaeal populations within the sedimentary buried nodule were detected based on microbial community composition analyses and quantitative real-time PCR targeted 16S rRNA, and functional genes for AOM. These results suggest that the buried carbonate nodule currently develops AOM-related microbial communities, and grows depending on the continued AOM under high methane flux conditions

ANTITOXOPLASMIC EFFECT OF IMMUNE SWINE SERUM REVEALED IN THE CULTURE OF SWINE LEUKOCYTES

Samples of buffy coat obtained from pigs actively immunized with Toxoplasma gondii and from a normal pig were cultivated separately in immune and normal swine sera, and the multiplication of toxoplasms in these cultures was studied. In the presence of immune serum, multiplication of toxoplasms was inhibited. The inhibition by immune serum was observed in the cultures of leukocytes derived from both immunized and normal pigs. On the contrary, in the presence of normal serum, toxoplasms multiplied abundantly in the cultures of leukocytes derived from immunized and normal pigs. These findings suggest that circulating immune substances will play a leading role in immunity against toxoplasmosis. The antitoxoplasmic effect of immune serum hardly reached to toxoplasms which had previously penetrated inside leukocytes. The antitoxoplasmic effect shown in the present study proved to be heat-stable, thus was considered different from the neutralizing antibody reported by SABIN and OLITZKY. However, the difference between the two is not yet elucidated

NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF CORYNEBACTERIUM RENALE

The growth factor and amino acid requirements of Corynebacterium renale were investigated with special reference to the 3 types of this species reported by YANAGAWA et al. (1967). The results are summarized as follows. 1) Strains of type I required thiamine, biotin and pantothenic acid for maximum growth. These vitamins acted as growth stimulatory factors. Strains of type II required biotin, nicotinic acid and p-aminobenzoic acid as essential growth factors. Thiamine and pantothenic acid acted as growth stimulants. Strains of type III which was most exacting, required thiamine, biotin, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid and pyridoxine as essential growth factors. Without even one of these vitamins type III strains did not grow. Pyridoxine was required by type III but not by type II while p-aminobenzoic acid was essential for type II but not for type III. 2) Sodium bicarbonate stimulated the growth of all 3 types of C. renale. 3) Ammonium sulfate was necessary for maximum growth of each type. 4) The essential amino acid common to the 3 types of C. renale included glutamic acid, valine and isoleucine, Type I required only these 3 amino acids. Type II required the 3 amino acids essentially ; the growth was accelerated with the addition of methionine, phenylalanine and histidine. Growth of type III was most exacting. In addition to the common 3 amino acids, it required tryptophane essentially. Methionine, phenylalanine and arginine were also needed for maximum growth. Thus, in complexity, the requirements of both growth factors and amino acids was as follows : types III, II and I. 5) Growth inhibition by cystine was particularly noticeable in type I. 6) There was discussion on the comparison of the nutritional requirements of C. diphtheriae, C. sepedonicum and C. renale

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE TYPE SPECIFIC ANTIGENS OF THREE TYPES OF CORYNEBACTERIUM RENALE

Type specific antigens were obtained by heating at pH 2.8 from three types of C. renale. The main antigen, which formed a heavy precipitin line with the homologous antiserum, was isolated by DEAE cellulose and Sephadex G-200 columns. The main antigen of each type contained sugars and protein and was resistant to heat, phenol treatment, and protease digestion. The facts suggest that antigenic determinants are sugars. Arabinose, mannose, and glucose were commonly found in the 3 main antigens