Enhancement of measurement range of MicroLiDAR with multi-reference paths.

The measurement range of the MicroLiDAR was enhanced with multi-reference paths. The multi-reference paths were composed of four paths with polarization maintaining optical fibers, each with different lengths. 50-mm-long measurement range was demonstrated with an oscilloscope with 15-GHz bandwidth.

Optimum Achievable Rates in Two Random Number Generation Problems with -Divergences Using Smooth Rényi Entropy.

Two typical fixed-length random number generation problems in information theory are considered for sources. One is the source resolvability problem and the other is the intrinsic randomness problem. In each of these problems, the optimum achievable rate with respect to the given approximation measure is one of our main concerns and has been characterized using two different information quantities: the information spectrum and the smooth Rényi entropy.

A case of laparoscopic sigmoidectomy using thermography for colonic blood flow assessment.

Background: Indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging is widely used in gastrointestinal surgery and is considered useful for reducing anastomotic leakage; however, because ICG remains in the tissue for a certain amount of time, we occasionally must re-evaluate colonic blood flow over a short time period during surgery. Herein, we verify the usefulness of thermography (TG) for evaluating colonic blood flow in a patient who underwent a laparoscopic sigmoidectomy for sigmoid colon cancer.

Case Presentation: The patient is 43-year-old man who underwent laparoscopic resection of the sigmoid colon for colon cancer.

Administration of suppresses DSS-induced colitis.

, a filamentous fungus, has long been used for the production of traditional Japanese foods. Here, we analyzed how administration affects the intestinal environment in mice. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the gut microbiota indicated that after the administration of heat-killed spores, the relative abundance of an anti-inflammatory strain became 2.

In-process measurement of a keyhole using a low-coherence interferometer with a high repetition rate.

The shape of an instance hole (keyhole) created via a high-power laser was measured using a low-coherence interferometer with the following parameters: repetition rate, 10 MHz; center wavelength, 1550 nm; absolute spatial resolution, 10 µm; and measurement range, 5 mm. The keyhole was created on a 3-mm-thick stainless-steel plate using a high-power laser with 8-kW peak power and 1070-nm center wavelength. The cross-sectional area of the keyhole was measured to be 0.

A class A β-lactamase produced by borderline oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus hydrolyses oxacillin.

Objectives: Recently, mecA-negative Staphylococcus aureus strains with decreased susceptibility to oxacillin have been sporadically reported worldwide. They have been called borderline oxacillin-resistant S. aureus (BORSA).

Apolipoprotein E and clusterin inhibit the early phase of amyloid-β aggregation in an in vitro model of cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is characterized by cerebrovascular amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, which leads to lobar hemorrhage and dementia. Biological molecules affecting the development of CAA have not been fully characterized. In this study, we performed proteome analysis of biopsied leptomeningeal and cortical vessels obtained from 6 CAA patients and 5 non-CAA patients who underwent surgery for large lobar hemorrhages.

First- and Second-Order Hypothesis Testing for Mixed Memoryless Sources.

The first- and second-order optimum achievable exponents in the simple hypothesis testing problem are investigated. The optimum achievable exponent for type II error probability, under the constraint that the type I error probability is allowed asymptotically up to ε , is called the ε -optimum exponent. In this paper, we first give the second-order ε -optimum exponent in the case where the null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis are a mixed memoryless source and a stationary memoryless source, respectively.

Multifaceted anti-amyloidogenic and pro-amyloidogenic effects of C-reactive protein and serum amyloid P component in vitro.

C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid P component (SAP), two major classical pentraxins in humans, are soluble pattern recognition molecules that regulate the innate immune system, but their chaperone activities remain poorly understood. Here, we examined their effects on the amyloid fibril formation from Alzheimer's amyloid β (Aβ) (1-40) and on that from D76N β2-microglobulin (β2-m) which is related to hereditary systemic amyloidosis. CRP and SAP dose-dependently and substoichiometrically inhibited both Aβ(1-40) and D76N β2-m fibril formation in a Ca(2+)-independent manner.

[Natori EI project: the early intervention project for psychiatric disorders by the Miyagi Psychiatric Center].

Attempts to promote early intervention (EI) for psychiatric disorders are becoming accepted worldwide. Although several attempts at EI have begun in Japan, this movement is still limited, and the development of concrete EI services suited to individual regions is required. At the Miyagi Psychiatric Center, the "Natori EI project" is being carried out with the aim of improving the mental health of young people.

Critical role of interfaces and agitation on the nucleation of Abeta amyloid fibrils at low concentrations of Abeta monomers.

Amyloid deposits are pathological hallmarks of various neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD), where amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) polymerizes into amyloid fibrils by a nucleation-dependent polymerization mechanism. The biological membranes or other interfaces as well as the convection of the extracellular fluids in the brain may influence Abeta amyloid fibril formation in vivo. Here, we examined the polymerization kinetics of 2.