A new deep-learning model using YOLOv3 to support sperm selection during intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure.

Purpose: To create and evaluate a machine-learning model for YOLOv3 that can simultaneously perform morphological evaluation and tracking in a short time, which can be adapted to video data under an inverted microscope. Methods: Japanese patients who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection at the Jikei University School of Medicine and Keiai Reproductive and Endosurgical Clinic from January 2019 to March 2020 were included. An AI model that simultaneously performs morphological assessment and tracking was created and its performance was evaluated. Results: For morphological assessment, the sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) of this model for abnormal sperm were 0.881 and 0.853, respectively. The sensitivity and PPV for normal sperm were 0.794 and 0.689, respectively. For tracking performance, among the 51 objects, 40 (78.4%) were mostly tracked, 11 (21.6%) were partially tracked, and 0 (0%) were mostly lost. Conclusions: This study showed that evaluating sperm morphology while tracking in a single model is possible by training YOLO v3. This model could acquire time-series data of one sperm, which will assist in acquiring and annotating sperm image data.

Intrafamilial phenotypic distinction of hypophosphatasia with identical tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase gene mutation: a family report.

Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is caused by mutations in the tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) gene in an autosomal recessive or dominant manner and characterized by defective mineralization of bone and low serum ALP levels. In this report, we present a family with HPP mother (case 1) and HPP child (case 2) who have identical TNSALP gene mutation (c.1015G>A p.Gly339Arg heterozygous mutation) but distinct clinical phenotypes. Whereas case 1 appeared to be asymptomatic despite extremely low levels of serum ALP, case 2 had several HPP-related symptoms, such as tooth loss, fractures, short stature, with slightly decreased ALP levels. Upon the diagnosis of HPP, case 1 discontinued denosumab, which was used to treat her rheumatoid arthritis, concerning the risk of atypical femoral fractures. The clinical course of this family was suggestive in a genotype-phenotype imbalance in HPP, the underdiagnosis of HPP in adults, and the risk of atypical femoral fractures using bone resorption inhibitors.

Convolutional neural network for classification of two-dimensional array images generated from clinical information may support diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

This research aimed to study the application of deep learning to the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Definite criteria or direct markers for diagnosing RA are lacking. Rheumatologists diagnose RA according to an integrated assessment based on scientific evidence and clinical experience. Our novel idea was to convert various clinical information from patients into simple two-dimensional images and then use them to fine-tune a convolutional neural network (CNN) to classify RA or nonRA. We semi-quantitatively converted each type of clinical information to four coloured square images and arranged them as one image for each patient. One rheumatologist modified each patient's clinical information to increase learning data. In total, 1037 images (252 RA, 785 nonRA) were used to fine-tune a pretrained CNN with transfer learning. For clinical data (10 RA, 40 nonRA), which were independent of the learning data and were used as testing data, we compared the classification ability of the fine-tuned CNN with that of three expert rheumatologists. Our simple system could potentially support RA diagnosis and therefore might be useful for screening RA in both specialised hospitals and general clinics. This study paves the way to enabling deep learning in the diagnosis of RA.

Note: An innovative method for 12C4+ suppression in 18O6+ beam production in an electron cyclotron resonance ion source.

It is a major and complex task to accelerate an ion which has the same charge to mass ratio with strong contaminant ions, such as 12C4+ in the 18O6+ beam. An innovative method has been developed to suppress the contaminant ions in the Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion source by introducing Li vapor. The ion distribution inside the ECR zone was obtained by the optical analysis of ions inside the ECR ion source. The 12C4+ ions were suppressed as much as by a factor of 10, whereas the 18O6+ beam changed little with the use of this technique.

Plasma spectroscopy of metal ions for hyper-electron cyclotron resonance ion source.

In this research, the optical line spectra of metal ions from ECR plasma were observed using a grating monochromator with a photomultiplier. The light intensity of line spectrum from the ECR plasma had a strong correlation with ion beam intensity measured by a magnetic mass analyzer. This correlation is a significant information for the beam tuning process, because it allows to conduct the extraction of the desired metal ion species from the ECR plasma. Separation of ion species of the same charge to mass ratio with an electromagnetic mass analyzer is known to be an exceptionally complex process, but this research provides a new approach for its simplification. In this paper the grating monochromator method for metal ion beam tuning such as (40)Ca(12+), (56)Fe(15+), and (85)Rb(20+) of hyper-ECR ion source as an injector for RIKEN Azimuthal Varying Field cyclotron is described.

Note: 6Li III light intensity observation for 6Li3+ ion beam operation at Hyper-Electron Cyclotron Resonance ion source.

The light intensity of (6)Li III line spectrum at λ = 516.7 nm was observed during (6)Li(3+) beam tuning at the Hyper-Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion source. Separation of ion species of the same charge to mass ratio with an electromagnetic mass analyzer is known to be an exceptionally complex process. However, (6)Li III line intensity observation conducted in this study gives new insights into its simplification of this process. The light intensity of (6)Li III line spectrum from the ECR plasma was found to have a strong correlation with the extracted (6)Li(3+) beam intensity from the RIKEN Azimuthal Varying Field cyclotron.

Grating monochromator for electron cyclotron resonance ion source operation.

Recently, we started to observe optical line spectra from an ECR plasma using a grating monochromator with a photomultiplier. The light intensity of line spectrum from the ECR plasma had a strong correlation with ion beam intensity measured by a magnetic mass analyzer. This correlation is a significant information for beam tuning because it allows the extraction of the desired ion species from the ECR plasma. Separation of ion species of the same charge to mass ratio with an electromagnetic mass analyzer is known to be an exceptionally complex process, but this research gives new insights into its simplification. In this paper, the grating monochromator method for beam tuning of a Hyper-ECR ion source as an injector for RIKEN azimuthal varying field (AVF) cyclotron is described.

Time structure of an accelerated beam using a radio-frequency quadrupole linac with direct plasma injection scheme.

In direct plasma injection scheme, the relation between the ion current from a laser ion source and the accelerated beam current by a radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) linac was studied by a series of the following analyses. First, ion current at beam extraction was calculated from measured plasma parameters using a scaling law. Second, the beam emittance at the entrance of acceleration electrode region was evaluated by the simulation of the ion extraction out of the ion source plasma using the result of the first calculation. Last, the accelerated beam current could be reproduced by the simulation of beam acceleration using the results of the second. The second calculation revealed the time variation in the injected beam parameter to the RFQ linac. Then it was proved that the time structure of the accelerated beam was different from that of the injection beam because the degree of the matching between the injected beam emittance and the RFQ acceptance varied with time.

[Usefulness of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in the differential diagnosis of polypoid gallbladder lesions].

We investigated the usefulness of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography for differential diagnosis of polypoid gallbladder lesions in 60 patients, consisting of gallbladder carcinoma in 20, adenoma in 2, benign polyp in 29, and adenomyomatosis in 9, comparing contrast enhancement patterns with pathologic findings. We monitored vascular flow for 120 sec, constructing a time intensity curve (TIC) by flash-echo imaging. We compared the number of vessels and vessel diameter determined by contrast enhancement patterns and by pathologic examination. Contrast enhancement patterns were classified as linear, scattered, diffuse, or branched. When diffuse type and branched type were considered as indicative of cancer, accuracy was 84.5%, sensitivity 100%, and specificity 76.9%. In gallbladder carcinoma, the TIC rose from no contrast to early-phase contrast sooner than in other diseases. In adenocarcinoma, high-intensity values persisted at 120 sec. With an intensity of 90 or greater at 120 sec taken as indicating cancer, accuracy was 89.7%, sensitivity 89.5%, and specificity 89.7%; Vessels were significantly more numerous in diffuse type cases than in those with other patterns. Vessel diameter was greatest in the diffuse type and the branched type patterns, both differing significantly from the linear type. Ultrasonographic contrast enhancement patterns show characteristic associations with pathologic findings and serve as valuable adjuncts in the diagnosis of gallbladder diseases.