East Asian VLBI Network observations of active galactic nuclei jets:imaging with KaVA+Tianma+Nanshan

The East Asian Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI) Network(EAVN) is a rapidly evolving international VLBI array that is currently promoted under joint efforts among China,Japan and Korea.EAVN aims at forming a joint VLBI Network by combining a large number of radio telescopes distributed over East Asian regions.After the combination of the Korean VLBI Network(KVN) and the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry(VERA) into Ka VA,further expansion with the joint array in East Asia is actively promoted.Here we report the first imaging results(at 22 and 43 GHz) of bright radio sources obtained with Ka VA connected to Tianma 65-m and Nanshan 26-m Radio Telescopes in China.To test the EAVN imaging performance for different sources,we observed four active galactic nuclei(AGN) having different brightness and morphology.As a result,we confirmed that the Tianma 65-m Radio Telescope(TMRT) significantly enhances the overall array sensitivity,a factor of 4 improvement in baseline sensitivity and 2 in image dynamic range compared to the case of Ka VA only.The addition of the Nanshan 26-m Radio Telescope(NSRT) further doubled the east-west angular resolution.With the resulting high-dynamic-range,high-resolution images with EAVN(Ka VA+TMRT+NSRT),various fine-scale structures in our targets,such as the counter-jet in M87,a kink-like morphology of the 3 C 273 jet and the weak emission in other sources are successfully detected.This demonstrates the powerful capability of EAVN to study AGN jets and to achieve other science goals in general.Ongoing expansion of EAVN will further enhance the angular resolution,detection sensitivity and frequency coverage of the network.

Cytomegalovirus colitis followed by ischemic colitis in a non-immunocompromised adult:A case report

We report a rare case of cytomegalovirus(CMV) colitis followed by severe ischemic colitis in a nonimmunocompromised patient. An 86-year-old woman was admitted after experiencing episodes of vomiting and diarrhea. The next day, hematochezia was detected without abdominal pain. The initial diagnosis of ischemic colitis was based on colonoscopy and histological findings. The follow-up colonoscopy revealed a prolonged colitis. Immunohistochemical staining detected CMVpositive cells following conservative therapy. Intravenous ganciclovir therapy led to successful healing of ulcers and disappearance of CMV-positive cells. The prevalence of CMV infection is common in adults. CMV colitis is relatively common in immunocompromised patients; however, it is rare in immunocompetent patients. In our case, CMV infection was allowed to be established due to the disruption of the colonic mucosa by the prior severe ischemic colitis. Our experience suggests that biopsies may be necessary to detect CMV and the prompt management of CMV colitis should be instituted when intractable ischemic colitis is observed.

Effects of air sac compliances on flow in the parabronchi: Computational fluid dynamics using an anatomically simplified model of an avian respiratory system

Air flow in an avian lung was studied numerically to determine the effects of air sac compliance on flow in the parabronchi. In this preliminary study, the geometry of the avian respiratory system was simplified to capture the characteristics of respiratory flow. The pressure fluctuation within air sacs caused by inflation and deflation was expressed by a lumped parameter model. The results demonstrate that the flow direction in the parabronchi varied, depending upon the compliance of the air sacs. A unidirectional flow in the parabronchi was achieved for compliances where pressure fluctuations in all air sacs were in phase. Air sac compliance significantly affected the pressures in the anterior and posterior air sacs and thus the pressure difference over the parabronchi that drove the flow in the parabronchi. These results address the importance of air sac compliance in the avian respiratory system and suggest that the compliance of air sacs would be optimized to accomplish unidirectional flow in the parabronchi.

Simultaneous measurements of aeroacoustic sounds and wall vibration for exploring the contribution of tooth vibration in the production of sibilant sounds/s/

In order to understand the contribution of teeth vibration to the production of sibilant/s/, the pre-sent study was designed to develop a method of simultaneously measuring aeroacoustic sounds and the vibration of an obstacle. To measure the vibration without disturbing flow, the Michelson interferometer was employed. The flow channel, which had an obstacle wall inside of it, was fabricated such that it morphologically mimicked the simplified geometry of the oral cavity. Given airflows at a flow rate of 7.5 × 10–4 m3/s from the inlet, aeroacoustic sounds were generated. A spectrum analy-sis of the data demonstrated two prominent peaks in the sound at 1,300 and 3,500 Hz and one peak in the wall vibration at 3,500 Hz. The correlation in peak frequencies between the sound and wall vibration suggests that the sound at 3,500 Hz was induced by the wall vibration. In fact, the sound amplitude at 3,500 Hz decreased when the obstacle wall was thickened, which increased its rigidity (p < 0.05, t-test). The experimental results demonstrate that the developed techniques are capable of measuring aeroacoustic sound and obstacle wall vibration simultaneously, and suggest the potential to pave the way for detailed analysis of the production of sibilant sounds /s/.

Breast Conserving Surgery and Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy under Local Anesthesia for Breast Cancer

Background: Breast conserving surgery and sentinel lymph node biopsy has become the standard operation for early breast cancer. This operation has been performed under local anesthesia for patients that would like short-term admission or for those not indicated for general anesthesia due to complications. This report presents the outcomes of breast conserving surgery and sentinel lymph node biopsy under local anesthesia. Patients and Methods: The study included 61 patients with breast cancer that were all definitely diagnosed before surgery. The indications were preoperatively diagnosed localized DCIS, invasive carcinoma measuring less than 3 cm in tumor diameter on ultrasound, and tumors with negative axillary lymph nodes. The surgical procedures included breast conserving surgery associated with sentinel lymph node navigation biopsy. Results: The surgery could be performed under local anesthesia in all 61 patients, and no patient was converted to general anesthesia. Four patients had sentinel lymph node metastasis. Surgical stumps were positive in 18 patients (29.5%). Ten Gy of boost irradiation of the tumor bed was added to the conventional breast irradiation for these patients. There were no serious complications associated with surgery. Conclusion: Breast conserving surgery and sentinel lymph node biopsy for early breast cancer can be performed safely under local anesthesia. This procedure contributes to shortening the length of hospitalization and thereby saving medical resources without deceasing the quality of treatment.