Modern state of acute myocardial infarction in the interventional era: Observational case–control study—Japanese acute coronary syndrome study (JACSS)

SummaryThe Japanese acute coronary syndrome study (JACSS) is a retrospective and multicenter observational study conducted in 35 medical institutions across Japan. The JACSS database included 5325 consecutive patients hospitalized at the participating institutions within 48h after the onset of symptoms of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) between January 2001 and December 2003. The JACSS data vividly displayed the modern state of AMI in the interventional era. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) including balloon angioplasty and stent implantation was performed in 80% of the patients and approximately 90% of the treated patients had successful coronary recanalization during the acute phase of MI. The results showed very low rates of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular deaths during hospitalization. Various types of novel information have been produced from JACSS data by several leading clinical researchers in Japan and this may also be helpful in making plans for a prospective study

Increased Density of the Liver and Amiodarone-Associated Phospholipidosis

This is a case report in which a 60-year-old man who suffered from ventricular tachycardia with dilated cardiomyopathy was prescribed amiodarone. After taking amiodarone, liver enzymes were increased and computed tomographic (CT) scanning of the abdomen showed a significant increase in the density of the liver without contrast medium. He was suspected as hemochromatosis and liver biopsy was performed. An abnormal high density of liver tissue may be observed in an unenhanced CT in patients treated with amiodarone and we suggest that periodic monitoring of liver function and/or liver biopsy is warranted before an irreversible stage is reached

Introduction of underwater video system for the observation of coastal macroalgal vegetation

Benthic vegetation has important roles in coastal ecosystems. Vegetation analysis and biomass estimation are urgently required for proper utilization and conservation of coastal area and also for sustainable fisheries. Although remote sensing methods such as aerial photography and satellite imaging give us efficient ways for vegetation mapping on wide area, these methods are limited to shallow and flat bottom waters where seagrasses mainly occur. For macroalgae, predominant on rocky littoral and sub-littoral zones, direct visual observation with SCUBA has been used. The accuracy of species identification is expected to be high, but the time consuming procedures result in limited coverage of area. To overcome the limitation we have developed a monitoring system for seaweed vegetation in conjunction with underwater video, GPS and depth sounder. Although limited resolution of the image might affect the accuracy of species identification, the synchronized recordings of video image and three-dimensional positioning of vegetation enabled quick monitoring to cover certain spread of area. It was possible to deploy the system in different ways, from traditional quadrat placement on transect line, to serial towing, so that the diversity of species and bottom environments could be adequately observed. Bathymetry and monitoring of bottom substrate and invertebrates were also enabled with the system. For the effective extraction of information from observation and also aimed to improve the accuracy of biomass estimation, we developed a numerical analysis using generalized additive models (GAMs). The two distinctive properties of GAMs analysis, constraint free smoothing and model selection by AIC, enabled versatile modeling of macroalgae distribution in direct/indirect association with environmental factors. Together with categorization by life forms of macroalgae, it was possible to deduce a possible vegetation pattern and a numerical prediction of standing stock biomass for each category even from small samplesized quadrat observations. The application of this system in the Otsuchi bay, Tohoku districts, Japan was introduced, and further expansion of the methods to include tropical waters were discussed

Implications of statistics of near-range Doppler velocity observed with the Syowa East HF radar

A large data-set of line-of-sight Doppler velocity obtained with the Antarctic Syowa East HF radar from February to December 1997 is analyzed to discuss the statistical characteristics of Doppler velocity (V_D) at ranges of 180-1200 km and their implications. Syowa Station K-indices during the observation period were between 0 and 7 with a maximum occurrence at K = 1. On average V_D has a minimum of about 100 m/s at 180-225 km ranges. With increasing range it increases monotonically to attain a maximum of 300-350 m/s at 400-500 km, decreases gradually to reach 250-300 m/s at about 700km, and again increases slowly at farther ranges. These values of V_D and the range vary depending on both local time and radar beam direction. In the light of recent knowledge of plasma instabilities in the ionosphere we suggest that such range profile of V_D is mainly caused by the combined effects of altitude-dependent phase velocities of ionospheric plasma waves, HF wave refraction due to enhanced E region electron density, and latitude-dependent electric field. We infer that the low V_D (～ 100 m/s) at ranges of 180-225 km may originate in part from neutral winds and/or turbulence of the neutral atmosphere