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We propose an empirical motion compensation algorithm for a better turbulence intensity (TI) measurement by Floating LiDAR systems (FLSs) with a newly introduced motion parameter, the significant tilt angle θα,1/3, using four datasets from three different FLSs in Japan. The parameter was compared to other environmental parameters; it was confirmed to well represent various types of buoy motion. A sensitivity assessment was conducted for the error of the FLS’s standard deviation of wind speed to the buoy motion. The strong correlation obtained by the assessment suggests that the error of the FLS TI is dominated by the motion and that it is possible to offset the error by applying the relationship back to the measurement. The corrected TI shows good agreement with that of a reference fixed vertical LiDAR (VL). Moreover, the similarity of the relationships for the same type of VL mounted on different buoys implies that the correction may be VL-specific rather than FLS-specific, and, therefore, universal regardless of the FLS type. The successful validation suggests that the correction based on θα,1/3 can be applied not only to the future campaign but also to those performed in the past to revitalize numerous existing FLS datasets.

This study aims to estimate nearshore wind conditions using multiple numerical models and evaluate their accuracy at heights relevant to offshore wind turbines. An intensive observation campaign was conducted from December 2021 to February 2022 at Mutsu Ogawara Port, Japan. The observed data were used to validate the accuracy of numerical models (mesoscale, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and linear models) to estimate wind conditions and investigate thermal environments, including atmospheric stability. The results demonstrated that the accuracy of period-averaged wind speed estimation in the offshore direction improved significantly when using an offshore observation point as a reference, with biases within ±2.5% up to 5 km offshore for all models. However, the accuracy of vertical shear estimation varies widely among models, with several models overestimating vertical shear, particularly in the sea wind sector. The mesoscale model, which accounts for spatiotemporal variations in atmospheric stability, consistently achieves high estimation accuracy. In contrast, standalone CFD models, which typically assume neutral atmospheric stability, are difficult to estimate accurately. Nonetheless, incorporating specific atmospheric stability conditions into the CFD models significantly enhanced their accuracy. These findings underscore the importance of atmospheric stability when estimating offshore wind conditions, particularly in nearshore areas.

The push for decarbonization of internal combustion engines (ICEs) has spurred interest in alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and ammonia. To optimize combustion efficiency and reduce emissions, a closer look at the intake system and in-cylinder flows is crucial, especially when a hard-to-burn fuel, such as ammonia is utilized. In port fuel injection ICEs, airflow within cylinders profoundly affects combustion and emissions by influencing the air–fuel mixing phenomenon. Adjusting intake port openings is an important factor in controlling the in-cylinder airflow. In previous experiments with a transparent cylinder, tangential and helical ports demonstrated that varying the helical port’s opening significantly impacts flow velocities, swirl ratios, and swirl center positions (SCPs). In this study, we used a particle image velocimetry technique to investigate how the tangential port’s opening affects intake and in-cylinder flows. Flow velocities were assessed at different planes near the cylinder head, evaluating streamline maps, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), and SCPs. Under the given experimental conditions, swirl flows were successfully generated early in the compression stroke when the tangential port opening exceeded 25%. Our findings emphasize the importance of minimizing TKE and SCP variation for successful swirl flow generation in engine cylinders equipped with both tangential and helical ports.

There is a great demand for development of a functional tricuspid regurgitation (FTR) model for accelerating development and preclinical study of tricuspid interventional repair devices. This study aimed to develop a severe FTR model by creating a tissue-silicone integrated right ventricular pulsatile circulatory simulator. The simulator incorporates the porcine tricuspid annulus, valve leaflets, chordae tendineae, papillary muscles, and right ventricular wall as one continuous piece of tissue, thereby preserving essential anatomical relationships of the tricuspid valve (TV) complex. We dilated the TV annulus with collagenolytic enzymes under applying stepwise dilation, and successfully achieved a severe FTR model with a regurgitant volume of 45 ± 9 mL/beat and a flow jet area of 15.8 ± 2.3 cm 2 (n = 6). Compared to a normal model, the severe FTR model exhibited a larger annular circumference (133.1 ± 8.2 mm vs. 115.7 ± 5.5 mm; p  = 0.009) and lower coaptation height (6.6 ± 1.0 mm vs. 17.7 ± 1.3 mm; p  = 0.003). Following the De-Vega annular augmentation procedure to the severe FTR model, a significant reduction in regurgitant volume and flow jet area were observed. This severe FTR model may open new avenues for the development and evaluation of transcatheter TV devices.

This paper reports the results of a validation experiment on dual and single scanning light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems for near‐shore wind measurements. This experiment was conducted from November 2020 to August 2021 at the Mutsu Ogawara test site for offshore wind measurement in northern Japan. The accuracy of the wind speed and direction measured by dual and single scanning LiDAR systems (DSL and SSL, respectively) was investigated by comparing them with in situ observations by a 60‐m meteorological mast located approximately 1.5 km offshore. The accuracy of the SSL was found to be strongly influenced by the wind direction, whereas the 10‐min wind speeds and directions obtained by the DSL exhibited good agreement with the meteorological mast observations for all wind directions. In addition, a comparison of the turbulence intensity (TI) showed that the TI obtained by the SSL was significantly lower than that obtained by the cup anemometers, while that obtained by the DSL was in line with the cup observations. The accuracy of the potential annual energy production estimates was finally investigated. The results showed no apparent difference between the DSL and SSL. This long‐term experiment indicated that the SSL is suitable for assessing wind resources due to reduced technical and financial constraints in comparison to installing a meteorological mast offshore. However, the DSL would be useful for assessing not only wind resources but also site‐specific conditions, as it performed well for the TI measurements.

Transcriptomic classification methods have been proposed for ovarian clear cell carcinoma. However, their clinical significance and association with pathologically evaluated tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) remain unclear. We established two large transcriptomic datasets and analyzed RNA-sequencing data from 189 (JGOG3025-TR1 cohort) and 38 (Kyoto cohort) ovarian clear cell carcinomas. Representative histopathological slides were also digitized (102 and 38, respectively). Cell types were classified by two state-of-the-art artificial-intelligence models, and TILs were quantified. The transcriptomically defined immune subtype was associated with significantly poor prognosis (hazard ratio, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.42–4.54; p  = 0.002 for OS). However, this group also contained significantly higher proportion of advanced-stage cases ( p  = 0.003), and multivariate analyses showed no independent prognostic effect (hazard ratio, 1.32; 95% CI, 0.68–2.58; p  = 0.42 for OS). In contrast, the pathologically defined inflamed group demonstrated a trend toward improved survival, and the inflamed phenotype emerged as a statistically significant favorable prognostic factor for both OS and PFS in multivariate analyses (hazard ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.13–0.78; p  = 0.013 for OS. hazard ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.15–0.67; p  = 0.0026 for PFS). These findings indicate a discordance between transcriptome- and pathology-based immune classifications and suggest greater prognostic relevance of pathology-derived immune status.

Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors show limited efficacy against immune-desert tumors, including ovarian cancer. We investigated triple therapy combining anti-programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibody, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody, and Poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) on tumor microenvironment using spatial profiling. Methods Two mouse models were employed: MC38 (immune-inflamed phenotype) and HM-1 (immune-desert phenotype). MC38 mice received anti-PD-L1 and anti-VEGF as monotherapy or dual combination. HM-1 mice received anti-PD-L1, anti-VEGF, and PARPi as monotherapy, dual combinations (anti-PD-L1 + anti-VEGF, anti-PD-L1 + PARPi, anti-VEGF + PARPi), or triple combination (anti-PD-L1 + anti-VEGF + PARPi). Spatial distribution of immune cells and the tumor microenvironment was analyzed using immunohistochemistry (CD8) and dual immunofluorescence (CD8/Granzyme B) with distance-based density quantification from tumor margins (0 to − 150, − 150 to − 300, − 300 to – 450 μm). High endothelial venule (HEV) formation was evaluated via CD31/MECA79 dual immunofluorescence. Results MC38 tumors responded to all treatments by day 10. Conversely, HM-1 tumors showed no response at day 10 but responded to two combination therapies by day 20: anti-PD-L1 + anti-VEGF (1.5-fold reduction, p  = 0.04) and triple combination therapy (1.7-fold reduction, p  = 0.03). In MC38, at − 150 to − 300 μm, anti-PD-L1 + anti-VEGF enhanced CD8 + Granzyme B + cells 1.9-fold versus Control ( p  = 0.01). In HM-1, at 0 to − 150 μm, triple therapy enhanced CD8 + Granzyme B + cells 2.8-fold ( p  = 0.02), while anti-PD-L1 + anti-VEGF increased CD8 + Granzyme B + cells 2.5-fold ( p  = 0.03). Both triple and anti-PD-L1 + anti-VEGF therapies induced CD31 + MECA79 + HEV formation ( p  < 0.01). Conclusions Triple therapy may overcome immune-desert ovarian cancer through additive HEV formation, enhancing cytotoxic CD8 + T cell infiltration into the tumor.

With the incorporation of immune checkpoint inhibitors into the treatment of endometrial cancer (EC), a deeper understanding of the tumor immune microenvironment is critical. Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are considered favorable prognostic factors for EC, but the significance of their spatial distribution remains unclear. B cell receptor repertoire analysis performed using six TLS samples located at various distances from the tumor showed that TLSs in distal areas had more shared B cell clones with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. To comprehensively investigate the distribution of TLSs, we developed an artificial intelligence model to detect TLSs and determine their spatial locations in whole-slide images. Our model effectively quantified TLSs, and TLSs were detected in 69% of the patients with EC. We identified them as proximal or distal to the tumor margin and demonstrated that patients with distal TLSs (dTLSs) had significantly prolonged overall survival and progression-free survival (PFS) across multiple cohorts [hazard ratio (HR), 0.56; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.36–0.88; p  = 0.01 for overall survival; HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.40–0.84; p  = 0.004 for PFS]. When analyzed by molecular subtype, patients with dTLSs in the copy-number-high EC subtype had significantly longer PFS (HR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.29–0.91; p  = 0.02). Moreover, patients with dTLSs had a higher response rate to immune checkpoint inhibitors (87.5 vs. 41.7%) and a trend toward improved PFS. Our findings indicate that the functions and prognostic implications of TLSs may vary with their locations, and dTLSs may serve as prognostic factors and predictors of treatment efficacy. This may facilitate personalized therapy for patients with EC.

BackgroundCryoballoon ablation, especially Arctic Front Advance Pro (AFA-Pro) (Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA), has been widely recognised as a standard approach to atrial fibrillation (AF). Recently, Boston Scientific has released a novel cryoballoon system (POLARx). Despite comparable acute clinical outcomes of these two cryoballoons, the recent study reported a higher complication rate, especially for phrenic nerve palsy, with POLARx. However, their impact on biological tissue remains unclear.ObjectiveThe purpose of our study is to evaluate temperature change of biological tissue during cryoablation of each cryoballoon using a porcine experimental model.MethodA tissue-based pulmonary vein model was constructed from porcine myocardial tissue and placed on a stage designed to simulate pulmonary vein anatomy and venous flow. Controlled cryoablations of AFA-Pro and POLARx were performed in this model to evaluate the tissue temperature. A temperature sensor was set behind the muscle and cryoballoon ablation was performed after confirming the occlusion of pulmonary vein with cryoballoon.ResultsThe mean tissue nadir temperature during cryoablation with AFA-Pro was −41.5°C±4.9°C, while the mean tissue nadir temperature during cryoablation with POLARx was −58.4°C±5.9°C (p<0.001). The mean balloon nadir temperature during cryoablation with AFA-Pro was −54.6°C±2.6°C and the mean balloon nadir temperature during cryoablation with POLARx was −64.7°C±3.8°C (p<0.001).ConclusionPOLARx could freeze the biological tissue more strongly than AFA-Pro.

BackgroundIn 2018, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) revised its cervical cancer staging system to enhance clinical relevance, notably by categorizing lymph node metastases (LNM) as an independent stage IIIC. This multicenter study evaluates the prognostic implications of the FIGO 2018 classification within a Japanese cohort.MethodsThis study included 1468 patients with cervical cancer. Initial FIGO 2009 stages were restaged under FIGO 2018. Stage IIIC was further compared based on the location of LNM (pelvic or para-aortic, i.e., IIIC1 and IIIC2, respectively), local tumor stage, and histology.ResultsA total of 345 cases (27.4%) were upstaged to stage IIIC, which exhibited a poorer prognosis compared to stage II (HR, 2.12; 95% CI 1.29 − 3.48; p = 0.004) and better than stage IIIAB (HR, 0.46; 95% CI 0.27 − 0.78; p = 0.004). Notably, stage IIIC2 showed a significantly worse prognosis than IIIC1 (HR, 2.32; 95% CI 1.37 − 3.93; p = 0.003). Subdivisions of stage IIIC1 (T1, T2, and T3AB) displayed significantly varied prognoses, with the prognosis for IIIC1-T3AB similar to that of stage IIIAB. In contrast, all subdivisions of IIIC2 showed uniformly poor outcomes. Multivariate analysis of stage IIIC patients revealed that para-aortic LNM, adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma histology, and local T3AB tumor remained significant.ConclusionsThe classification of para-aortic LNM as stage IIIC2 has proven to be of critical relevance in the Japanese cohort. However, the prognostic impact of stage IIIC1 remains influenced by local tumor factors and histological subtypes.