Sumitomo Precision Products (Japan)

Object detection is a critical component in intelligent surveillance, disaster response, and autonomous dronebased monitoring systems. In recent years, the You Only Look Once (YOLO) family of algorithms has transformed real-time object detection by achieving an effective balance between detection speed and accuracy. This review paper presents a comprehensive analysis of YOLO models from YOLOv1 to YOLOv8, emphasizing their architectural evolution, backbone development, and feature extraction strategies. Each version’s key innovations are discussed in detail—from YOLOv1’s unified detection framework and YOLOv2’s introduction of anchor boxes to YOLOv8’s advanced anchor-free detection mechanism. The comparative evaluation focuses on model accuracy (mAP), inference speed (FPS), and deployment feasibility for embedded and UAV-based systems. Findings from existing literature and experimental insights reveal that successive YOLO versions have progressively enhanced small object detection, robustness to scale variation, and computational efficiency. Overall, the study concludes that YOLOv8 currently achieves the most optimal trade-off between precision, speed, and resource utilization, establishing it as a leading framework for real-time aerial human detection and a promising foundation for future advancements in autonomous surveillance and rescue applications.

The immobilization of barium strontium sulfate and potassium cesium nickel ferrocyanide sludge produced during the treatment of radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was investigated employing multi-component iron phosphate glass. This study examined glass formation, thermal properties, melt viscosity, and water durability as functions of demonstration sludge concentration. The presence of crystalline and non-crystalline phases was determined via X-ray diffraction. Microstructures and composition distributions of the glass samples were evaluated via Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and field-emission SEM coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy. Water durability was evaluated using Materials Characterization Center (MCC)-2 static leaching tests at high temperatures. The melt viscosity was evaluated employing the rotation cylinder method within the temperature range 1000–1200 ∘ C. Differential thermal analysis was performed to evaluate the characteristic temperatures and thermal stability with respect to crystallization. The glass network structure of the PO 4 tetrahedra, evaluated via Raman spectroscopy, was correlated with the thermal properties, melt viscosity, and water durability. Furthermore, the applicability of iron phosphate glasses for sludge immobilization is discussed as a case study of waste treatment arising from accidents for sustainable nuclear power generation.

Regular monitoring of patients with a history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is critical for the detection and management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) has been used to monitor fibrosis progression and predict HCC. However, HCC prediction based on M2BPGi has not been optimized. Here, we identified HCC risk-related glycan signatures of M2BP using a newly developed automated bead array with multiplexed lectins. Among 955 patients with HCV who achieved sustained virological response following direct-acting antiviral treatment, we compared M2BP glycosylation from sera of 42 patients diagnosed with HCC during follow-up and 43 without HCC (control) by the lectin microarray. At the HCC observation point, we found significant differences in 17 lectins. Using an automated bead array with 12 of 17 lectins, a principal component analysis (PCA) biplot differentiated HCC from control, along the PC1 axis, explaining 75.2% of variance. Based on PC1, we generated a scoring formula for an HCC-related glycosylation signature on M2BP (M2BPgs-HCC), showing good diagnostic performance for HCC (p = 2.92 × 10−8, AUC = 0.829). This automated multilectin bead array improved the ability of M2BP to detect HCC, providing a candidate test for HCC surveillance in combination with other HCC markers.

Aluminum alloys with open-channel and columnar structures were fabricated by casting the melt of aluminum alloys using a ceramic fiber template method. Stainless steel plates or wires coated with ceramic fibers impregnated by polyvinyl alcohol were used as cores. The cores were embedded in a melt of an aluminum alloy. After solidification, the ceramic fibers were macerated and became sodden by immersing the aluminum alloy ingots in water so that the plates or wires were easily removed by extraction forces as large as 5N, in other words, by pulling out them manually. Thus, an open-channel aluminum alloy was fabricated by a simple method. On the other hand, ceramic fiber blocks composed of ceramic fibers impregnated by polyvinyl alcohol were perforated by microdrills. Melts of aluminum alloy were cast in the holes by a vacuum suction method. The ceramic fibers were removed by immersing the ingots in water. Thus, a columnar-structured aluminum alloy was produced. Previous methods for the fabrication of open-channel metals necessitates a process to extract the metallic wires embedded in the solidified metals. However, the ceramic fiber template method does not require such an extraction process and thus is a very simple technique for the fabrication of open-channel metals, such as porous metals with rectangular holes and circular holes and columnar structures metals.

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak has had a significant impact on public health and the global economy. Several diagnostic tools are available for the detection of infectious diseases, with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing specifically recommended for viral RNA detection. However, this diagnostic method is costly, complex, and time-consuming. Although it does not have sufficient sensitivity, antigen detection by an immunoassay is an inexpensive and simpler alternative to RT-PCR. Here, we developed an ultrahigh sensitivity digital immunoassay (d-IA) for detecting SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein as antigens using a fully automated desktop analyzer based on a digital enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Methods: We developed a fully automated d-IA desktop analyzer and measured the viral N protein as an antigen in nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs from patients with coronavirus disease. We studied nasopharyngeal swabs of 159 and 88 patients who were RT-PCR-negative and RT-PCR-positive, respectively. Results: The limit of detection of SARS-CoV-2 d-IA was 0.0043 pg/mL of N protein. The cutoff value was 0.029 pg/mL, with a negative RT-PCR distribution. The sensitivity of RT-PCR-positive specimens was estimated to be 94.3% (83/88). The assay time was 28 min. Conclusions: Our d-IA system, which includes a novel fully automated desktop analyzer, enabled detection of the SARS-CoV-2 N-protein with a comparable sensitivity to RT-PCR within 30 min. Thus, d-IA shows potential for SARS-CoV-2 detection across multiple diagnostic centers including small clinics, hospitals, airport quarantines, and clinical laboratories.

BackgroundOf the shoulder external rotators, the infraspinatus and teres minor are the key muscles that contribute to the dynamic stability of the shoulder. It is crucial to properly measure the strength values to evaluate muscle function and training load for shoulder external rotators. A suspension scale (SPS) can measure the mass of the suspended object, and it may be possible to apply it to measure strength. However, the utility of strength measurements using an SPS has not been clarified in previous studies. In this study, we aimed to investigate the intra-rater reliability of measuring the strength of shoulder external rotators using an SPS and the relationship between strength measurement using an SPS and a handheld dynamometer (HHD).MethodologyThe participants were 10 healthy males with 20 shoulders (24.5 ± 2.5 years old; height = 172.8 ± 5.4 cm; weight = 69.6 ± 8.1 kg). Upper extremity strength was measured at 90° shoulder abduction, 90° external rotation, 0° horizontal adduction/abduction, 90° elbow flexion, and 0° forearm pronation/supination in the prone position. The isometric strength of shoulder external rotation was measured with the SPS and HHD, and one examiner measured the maximum strength value. The intra-rater reliability of the two methods using SPS and HHD was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC1,2), standard error of measurement (SEM), minimum detectable change (MDC), and Bland-Altman analysis. The relationship between the SPS and HHD was calculated as the correlation coefficient between the strength values of SPS and HHD.ResultsThe intra-rater reliability of the strength measurement of shoulder external rotators using SPS was ICC1,2 0.98 (95% confidence interval = 0.95-0.99), and SEM and MDC were 0.3 and 0.9, respectively. The measurements using SPS had no fixed and proportional biases. A significant positive correlation was observed between SPS and HHD (r = 0.94, p < 0.01).ConclusionsThe SPS is an alternative to the HHD for measuring the strength of shoulder external rotators. Thus, measuring the strength of shoulder external rotators using an SPS may be applied as a cost-effective and portable assessment method for shoulder function.

L’auteur relate une tranche d’histoire de l’Association psychanalytique internationale entre 1989 et 2017. La reconnaissance de trois « modèles de formation » a été une réforme cruciale pour la communauté psychanalytique internationale.