Comparison of Developmental Stages in Relation to Way Finding Behavior in an Immersive Virtual Reality Space

To establish a proper evaluation method for spatial cognitive deficits and a form of developmental disorder, we have used an immersive virtual reality (VR) device to develop a game that involves actually walking through a VR space to search for a target object. In this paper, we presented the results of control experiment with 22 healthy elementary school students as participants. The complexity of the VR space was controlled according to the number of pillars present and whether an overall view was possible (controlled by the height of the pillars). For each set of conditions, 24 trials were performed, and the route and time taken to search for the target were recorded. The starting point was changed in each subsequent trial. Results showed that the search time decreased as the number of trials increase, suggesting a process whereby a cognitive map was formed. We also compared the present results to results from our previous experiment with university students using the same experimental conditions, and we discussed the influence of developmental stage on spatial cognition.

Efficacy of endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor grading

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration(EUS-FNA) for grading pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors(PNETs).METHODS: A total of 22 patients were diagnosed with PNET by EUS-FNA between October 2001 and December 2013 at Fukushima Medical University Hospital.Among these cases,we targeted 10 PNET patients who were evaluated according to the World Health Organization(WHO) 2010 classification.Surgery was performed in eight patients,and chemotherapy was performed in two patients due to multiple liver metastases.Specimens obtained by EUS-FNA were first stained with hematoxylin and eosin and then stained with chromogranin,synaptophysin,CD56,and Ki-67.The specimens were graded by the Ki-67 index according to the WHO 2010 classification.Specimens obtained by surgery were graded by the Ki-67 indexand mitotic count(WHO 2010 classification).For the eight specimens obtained by EUS-FNA,the Ki-67 index results were compared with those obtained by surgery.In the two cases treated with chemotherapy,the effects and prognoses were evaluated.RESULTS: The sampling rate for histological diagnosis by EUS-FNA was 100%.No adverse effects were observed.The concordance rate between specimens obtained by EUS-FNA and surgery was 87.5%(7/8).Fo r t h e t w o c a s e s t re a t e d w i t h c h e m o t h e ra p y,case 1 received somatostatin analog therapy and transcatheter arterial infusion(TAI) targeting multiple liver metastases.Subsequent treatment consisted of everolimus.During chemotherapy,the primary tumor remained unconfirmed,although the multiple liver metastases diminished dramatically.Case 2 was classified as neuroendocrine carcinoma(NEC) according to the Ki-67 index of a specimen obtained by EUS-FNA; therefore,cisplatin and irinotecan therapy was started.However,severe adverse effects,including renal failure and diarrhea,were observed,and the therapy regimen was changed to cisplatin and etoposide.TAI targeting multiple liver metastases was performed.Although the liver metastases diminished,the primary tumor remained unconfirmed.These chemotherapy regimens had immediate effects for both unresectable neuroendocrine tumor(NET) and NEC cases.These two subjects are still alive.CONCLUSION: EUS-FNA was effective for PNET diagnosis and Ki-67 index grading for WHO 2010 classification,enabling informed decisions on unresectable PNET treatment by identifying NET or NEC.

Endoscopic therapy for esophageal hematoma with blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome

A 57-year-old woman previously diagnosed with blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome(BRBNS) reported hematemesis. BRBNS is a rare vascular anomaly syndrome consisting of multifocal hemangiomas of the skin and gastrointestinal(GI) tract but her GI tract had never been examined. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a large bleeding esophageal hematoma positioned between the thoracic esophagus and the gastric cardia. An endoscopic injection of polidocanol was used to stop the hematoma from bleeding. The hematoma was incised using the injectionneedle to reduce the pressure within it. Finally, argon plasma coagulation(APC) was applied to the edge of the incision. The esophageal hematoma disappeared seven days later. Two months after the endoscopic the rapy, the eso phage alulcerhealed and the hemangioma did not relapse. This rare case of a large esophageal hematoma originating from a hemangioma with BRBNS was treated using a combination of endoscopic therapy with polidocanol injection, incision, and APC.

New Gasoline Passenger Car Engine Oil Performance Category

This paper primarily focuses on the development of the International Lubricant Standardization & Approval Committee (ILSAC) GF-5 passenger car engine oil category in North America and Japan including key technical performance requirements. New ILSAC GF-5 is scheduled to be introduced during the 3rd quarter of 2010 and will supersede ILSAC GF-4 and previous categories. It will also be backward compatible and will provide improved performance relative to GF-4 in many respects. At the same time, when GF-5 is introduced, it is anticipated that API SN will also be introduced as a new performance category to supersede the current category, API SM.

A case of primary biliary cirrhosis complicated by Behcet's disease and palmoplantar pustulosis

A 46-year-old woman was diagnosed with palmoplantar pustulosis （PPP） at the Department of Dermatology, Fukushima Medical University Hospital in 2000, and was treated with ointment. However, because liver dysfunction developed in 2003, she was referred to our department, where primary biliary cirrhosis （PBC） was also diagnosed on the basis of clinical findings. One year later, at the age of 49, she developed manifestations of Behcet＇s disease （BD）, including erythema nodosum in the lower extremities. Because she had a history of uveitis, recurrent oral ulceration was present, and the HLA typing was positive for B51, BD was additionally diagnosed. Liver function normalized within three months of the start of treatment with ursodesoxycholic acid （UDCA）. This is the first case of PBC associated with BD and PPP.

Comfort in observing stereoscopic images reduced by vibration stimuli

Numerous studies have been conducted to illuminate the effect of image factors to reduce unexpected influence of stereoscopic images on healthy visual experience. In this paper, we introduce changes in the psychological and physiological indexes of observers of a stereo- scopic image disturbed by vibration stimuli. Forty-four healthy university students participated in the experiment. A programmable vibration table generated two types of vibrations (5 Hz and 20 Hz) and provided intermittent vibration stimuli to a stereoscopic projector installed on a vibration table. Our results showed that the frequency of vibration stimuli has a strong impact in evaluating the local comfort of subjects. Our results also showed that the indexes of visual fatigue increased after observation independent of the frequency. The activity status of the autonomic nervous system as a physiological index significantly increased after observing 3D images with vibration stimuli although the vibrational frequency did not have a significant effect on the activity status.

A Fuel Economy Study in Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Lubricants

Internal combustion engines′ fuel economy is an important role for engine designers,engine manufacturers over the past 30 years,especially passenger car motor oils.In heavy duty diesel engine,over the past 20 years,fuel economy has in some cases been sacrificed for exhaust gas emission optimizations.Now,Heavy Duty Automotive and the related industries have strong interest in fuel economy and the lubricants.It is driven by competitive market forces as well as government mandates and new emission regulations.Japan was the first country in the world to establish and implement heavy duty trucks and buses fuel economy standards.Other countries also have followed either by establishing direct fuel economy standards or greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions standards which are directly tied to fuel economy.This paper is discussing that heavy duty diesel engine lubricants can contribute on fuel economy.The contribution of various aspects of engine oil formulations on fuel economy will be discussed such as lubricant viscosity grade,lubricant additives and friction modifiers.In this paper,the evaluation discussions are based on fuel economy measurements in some bench tests,standardized laboratory engine tests and field tests.

Maintenance time of sedative effects after an intravenous infusion of diazepam: A guide for endoscopy using diazepam

AIM: To examine whether the sedative effects assessed by psychomotor tests would depend on the cytochrome P450 (CYP ) 2C19 genotypes after an infusion regimen of diazepam commonly used forgastrointestinal endoscopy in Japan. METHODS: Fifteen healthy Japanese volunteers consisting of three different CYP2C19 genotype groups underwent a critical ? icker fusion test, an eye movement analysis and a postural sway test as a test for physical sedative effects, and a visual analog scale (VAS) symptom assessment method as a test for mental sedative effects during the 336 h period after the intravenous infusion of diazepam (5 mg). RESULTS: The physical sedative effects assessed by the critical flicker test continued for 1 h (t values of 5 min, 30 min and 60 min later: 4.35, 5.00 and 3.19, respectively) and those by the moving radial area of a postural sway test continued for 3 h (t values of 5 h, 30 h, 60 min and 3 h later: -4.05, -3.42, -2.17 and -2.58, respectively), which changed significantly compared with the baseline level before infusion (P < 0.05). On the other hand, the mental sedative effects by the VAS method improved within 1 h. The CYP2C19 genotype-dependent differences in the postinfusion sedative effects were not observed in any of the four psychomotor function tests. CONCLUSION: With the psychomotor tests, the objective sedative effects of diazepam continued for 1 h to 3 h irrespective of CYP2C19 genotype status and the subjective sedative symptoms improved within 1 h. Up to 3 h of clinical care appears to be required after the infusion of diazepam, although patients feel subjectively improved.

Psychological and physiological effects of stereoscopic movies of real-world scenes containing improper three-dimensional settings

By using psychological and physiological indicators, the effects on the body of three-dimensional (3D) movies containing improper settings were evaluated with 139 university students. The experiment consisted of two sessions: 1) a 3D movie containing improper 3D settings was compared with a 2D movie containing only the rightside images presented to both eyes, and 2) the original 3D movie was compared with the same 3D movie altered to contain improper 3D settings. The results of this experiment demonstrated clear deterioration of the subjective psychological indicators (degree of motion sickness after watching the movies and comfort level at 1-min intervals during the movie) with respect to the 3D movie containing improper settings. On the other hand, the physiological indicators (LF/HF ratio indicating the status of the autonomic nervous system) changed as a result of watching a 3D movie, but were unaffected by the presence or absence of improper 3D settings.

Study and Development of a Screener Test for Fuel Economy Passenger Car Motor Oil

Fuel economy regulations have been issued in many countries to save energy,and it is one of the most essential performance requirements for Passenger Car Motor Oil(PCMO) this decade.The performance is also important to reduce green house gas(GHG) emissions.Automotive,Oil and Additive industries have been developing fuel economy tests in fired engine for PCMO.The ASTM 5 Car test was started in 1982 and ASTM Sequence Ⅵ series test was also developed by the industries as one of fuel economy tests after the 5 Car test.However,the fired engine(combustion) test condition is more complicated and the combustion mode in engine introduce high variability into a fuel economy measurement.Screening by bench testing is complicated by the difficulty to reproduce friction conditions of all of engine parts.Based on the background,a motored engine friction torque test(MEFT) was developed as one of the solutions for fuel economy screening test.Using a newly developed MEFT,key additive chemistries were evaluated and compared in the test,and it distinguished the differences in additive chemistries,in addition to those in viscosity and friction modifiers.The Sequence Ⅵ-D FEI 1(Seq.Ⅵ-D FEI 1) and chassis dynamometer vehicle tests were also conducted in this study,and the test data has shown an excellent correlation among MEFT,Seq.Ⅵ-D FEI 1 and chassis dynamometer vehicle tests.

Short-Term Drug-Drug Interaction between Sildenafil and Bosentan under Long-Term Use in Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Sildenafil and bosentan are often co-administered for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) treatment. The plasma concentration of sildenafil can be decreased by half if co-administered with bosentan. Many patients take these agents simultaneously in the morning and the evening. The aim of this study was to examine the pharmacokinetics of sildenafil which was interfered with bosentan administration to ascertain whether these agents should be given concomitantly or separately. A two-way crossover study was conducted in 6 PAH patients with combination therapy of sildenafil and bosentan. Participants underwent the sequence of treatment phases: phase S (sildenafil administered 3 h before bosen-tan);phase B (bosentan administered 3 h before sildenafil);and phase C (administered concomitantly). Blood samples were collected on the last day of each phase. There was no significant difference in maximum plasma concentration or area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC0-8) between phase C and phase S (95.5 ± 24.8 vs. 72.9 ± 40.9 (p = 0.07), 209.7 ± 81.8 vs. 180.2 ± 126.4 (p = 0.24), respectively) or between phases C and B (87.8 ± 42.0 vs. 99.6 ± 33.9 (p = 0.59), 197.2 ± 88.2 vs. 240.7 ± 121.8 (p = 0.19), respectively) (ng/mL, mean ± standard deviation). Large intra-and inter-individual variability in sildenafil concentration was noted. The timing of administration of sildenafil and bosentan does not significantly influence the plasma concentration of sildenafil. Physicians do not need to be overly concerned about the timing of administration of these drugs to maximize the sildenafil concentration.

Percentile analysis of plasma total bilirubin—How different will the rate of phototherapy for jaundice of neonates be by different standards?

Phototherapy of a jaundiced neonate is usually started when bilirubin exceeds a threshold in the standard. There are several standards used in the developed countries even though the guideline of American Academy of Pediatrics is considered to be a global standard. Although the purpose of phototherapy is the prevention of kernicterus, nowadays the prevalence of kernicterus in otherwise healthy term neonates in the developed countries is rare. Meanwhile several potential adverse effects of phototherapy have been reported. In the present study we tried to estimate how different the rate of phototherapy for the jaundice of neonates at lower risk of kernicterus would be by different standards. For this purpose, we utilized the records of plasma total bilirubin (TB) values of 1893 healthy neonates of 38 weeks and more which were measured on day 6 for the percentile analysis. However, this database did not include the TB values of the neonates who received phototherapy by day 6. Then the database was corrected with an assumption that TB on day 6 would have been normally distributed if no phototherapy had been performed. The mean and the standard deviation (SD) of corrected database were 11.29 mg/dl (193 μmol/l) and 3.63 mg/dl (62 μmol/l), respectively. Using a standard distribution with these mean and SD, the percents of TB values which exceed 18.0, 19.0, 20.0 and 21.0 mg/dl on day 6 were estimated 3.22%, 1.70%, 0.82% and 0.35%, respectively. Results of the present report would help to estimate the relative rate of phototherapy that is performed for the neonates who are term and otherwise healthy by different standards.