Deep learning-based corrosion inspection of long-span bridges with BIM integration.

Infrastructure operation and maintenance is essential for societal safety, particularly in Japan where the aging of infrastructures built during the period of high economic growth is advancing. However, there are issues such as a shortage of engineers and inefficiencies in work, requiring improvements in efficiency and automation for their resolution. Nevertheless, there are still many inefficiencies in the current procedures for bridge inspections. Usually, inspection engineers check for damage on bridges through close visual inspections at the site, then photograph the damaged parts, measure the size by touch, and create a report. A three-dimensional representation, considering the front and back of the structural elements, is needed for identifying damage, necessitating the creation of multi-directional three-dimensional drawings. However, this process is labor-intensive and prone to errors. Furthermore, due to the lack of uniformity in records, it is challenging to refer to past inspection histories. Especially for long bridges, without resolving such issues, the required labor and the number of mistakes could exceed acceptable limits, making proper management difficult. Therefore, in this study, we developed a method for automatically measuring the position and area of corroded parts by capturing images of the lower surface of the stiffening girder using a bridge inspection vehicle and utilizing image diagnosis technology. By integrating these results into a 3D model called BIM (Building Information Modeling), it becomes possible to manage the bridge more efficiently. We verified this method on actual long bridges and confirmed its effectiveness.

Inverse associations between serum concentrations of zeaxanthin and other carotenoids and colorectal neoplasm in Japanese.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the associations between serum concentrations of carotenoids and the presence of colorectal polyps and cancers in Japanese using a cross-sectional study. METHODS: 893 subjects who underwent colorectal endoscopy between 2001 and 2002 provided serum samples and information on lifestyle factors. Serum concentrations of six carotenoids were compared among patients with polyps, cancers, and controls. RESULTS: In males, high serum zeaxanthin was associated with decreased rates of polyps [odds ratio (OR) = 0.48, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.27-0.87] and cancer (OR = 0.35, 95 % CI 0.12-1.06), adjusting for age, body mass index, serum cholesterol, smoking status, and alcohol intake. In females, zeaxanthin (OR = 0.25, 95 % CI 0.07-0.82), lutein (OR = 0.30, 95 % CI 0.10-0.94), alpha-carotene (OR = 0.30, 95 % CI 0.10-0.90), and beta-carotene (OR = 0.27, 95 % CI 0.09-0.85) showed significant inverse associations with cancer development. These associations were consistent with findings of inverse associations between the ingestion of green-yellow vegetables (OR = 0.44, 95 % CI 0.23-0.84), carrots and pumpkins (OR = 0.46, 95 % CI 0.25-0.86), and fruits (OR = 0.53, 95 % CI 0.30-0.94) and polyp in males, and between carrots and pumpkins (OR = 0.30, 95 % CI 0.09-0.99), legumes (OR = 0.14, 95 % CI 0.04-0.44), and seaweed (OR = 0.23, 95 % CI 0.07-0.75) and cancer development in females. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide further support for the protective effects of carotenoids contained in green-yellow vegetables and fruits against colorectal neoplasm in Japanese.

Rapid development of diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma after successful eradication of Helicobacter pylori for gastric MALT lymphoma.

Primary low-grade mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma of the stomach has a potential to transform to high-grade diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, the clonal relation between MALT lymphoma and de novo DLBCL is still controversial. We report here three patients with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-positive gastric MALT lymphoma rapidly progressing to DLBCL at the same site after successful eradication of H. pylori. Although MALT lymphomas in our cases did not possess t(11; 18)(q21;q21), sequence analysis of the rearranged immunoglobulin heavy chain gene showed no clonal relation between preceding MALT lymphoma cells and de novo DLBCL cells at the same site. These findings question the scenario of direct clonal progression of low-grade MALT lymphomas without t(11; 18)(q21;q21) to DLBCL and serve as a reminder of the risk of the progression of DLBCL with a distinct clonality immediately after H. pylori eradication for low-grade MALT lymphoma.