IPC prediction of patent documents using neural network with attention for hierarchical structure.

International patent classifications (IPCs) are assigned to patent documents; however, since the procedure for assigning classifications is manually done by the patent examiner, it takes a lot of time and effort to select some IPCs from about 70,000 IPCs. Hence, some research has been conducted on patent classification with machine learning. However, patent documents are very voluminous, and learning with all the claims (the part describing the content of the patent) as input would run out of the necessary memory, even if the batch size is set to a very small size. Therefore, most of the existing methods learn by excluding some information, such as using only the first claim as input. In this study, we propose a model that considers the contents of all claims by extracting important information for input. In addition, we focus on the hierarchical structure of the IPC, and propose a new decoder architecture to consider it. Finally, we conducted an experiment using actual patent data to verify the accuracy of the prediction. The results showed a significant improvement in accuracy compared to existing methods, and the actual applicability of the method was also discussed.

Elevated concentration of hyaluronan in the cerebrospinal fluid is a secondary marker of spinal disorders: hyaluronan in the cerebrospinal fluid in patients with spinal disorders.

BACKGROUND: Hyaluronan (HA) was measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to ascertain the clinical significance of this substance in patients with spinal disorders, a topic that, to the best of our knowledge, has not previously been studied. METHODS: We examined correlations of CSF HA concentration with age, sex, height, body weight, and spinal disorders. By using a sandwich-binding protein assay, HA was measured in CSF samples obtained from 500 patients aged 12 to 104 years who underwent lumbar spinal anesthesia for surgery, myelography, or CSF examination. These patients were classified into 3 groups: (1) a control group (306 patients with injury or benign tumor of the lower limbs); (2) a cervical disorders group (84 patients with cervical disc herniation, cervical spondylotic myelopathy, or ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament); and (3) a lumbar disorders group (110 patients with lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spinal canal stenosis tethered cord syndrome, lumbar fracture, or spondylolytic spondylolisthesis). RESULTS: CSF HA concentration was found to be positively correlated with age, and was significantly higher in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, or lumbar spinal canal stenosis tumor than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: CSF HA concentration might be a secondary marker for inflammation in patients with spinal disease.

Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma treated with total en bloc spondylectomy for 2 consecutive lumbar vertebrae resulted in continuous disease-free survival for more than 5 years: case report.

STUDY DESIGN: A case report of an extremely rare malignant spinal tumor successfully treated with total en bloc spondylectomy and chemotherapy. OBJECTIVE: To describe points for consideration when an osteogenic lesion in the spine is diagnosed and treated. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Primary mesenchymal chondrosarcoma in the spine is extremely rare. There were no reports of this tumor being treated with spondylectomy to achieve total surgical resection with a wide margin followed by chemotherapy. METHODS: A 44-year-old female presented with low back pain and left flank pain. Magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography showed an osteosclerotic tumor of the lumbar vertebrae. Tc-99m HMDP bone scintigraphy was positive, but thallium-201 scintigraphy and gallium scintigraphy were negative. The patient was diagnosed as having chondrosarcoma based on biopsy findings. RESULTS: To resect the tumor completely, total en bloc spondylectomy for 2 consecutive lumbar vertebrae was performed. However, the postoperative pathologic diagnosis was extremely difficult because the patient was initially suspected to have osteosarcoma, but the final diagnosis was mesenchymal chondrosarcoma. Five years after surgery, there have not been any signs of local recurrence or distant metastasis, and the patient has remained continuously disease free. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, we reported the first case of mesenchymal chondrosarcoma occurring from the lumbar spine treated with total en bloc spondylectomy and chemotherapy. Successful radical resection of the tumor could be accomplished. Although the effect of chemotherapy on the final results could not be clearly determined, considering that at least continuous disease-free survival was achieved, it is highly likely that chemotherapy contributed to the favorable results.

A child who recovered completely after spinal cord injury complicated by C2-3 fracture dislocation: case report.

STUDY DESIGN: This was a case of a child who recovered completely after spinal cord surgery complicated by C2-C3 fracture dislocation. OBJECTIVES: To clarify the important issue with regard to the diagnosis and treatment of possible spinal cord injury complicated by C2-C3 fracture dislocation in children. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Reports on spinal cord injury complicated by C2-C3 fracture dislocation in children who recovered completely after surgery are very rare. Moreover, there are no reports of cases in which described MRI and magnetic resonance angiography obtained 5 years after surgery. METHODS: A 4-year-old girl with complete fracture dislocation of C2-C3 and spinal cord injury of Frankel B because of a traffic injury. A middle incision was made in a prone position under general anesthesia, and C2-C3 was fixed with interlaminal wiring according to the McGraw modified method. RESULTS: The postoperative course was excellent, and the patient recovered completely. An MRI performed 5 years after surgery revealed no definitive abnormality in spinal cord and patency of vertebral arteries. CONCLUSION: This was a very rare case of spinal cord injury complicated C2-C3 fracture dislocation in children. The present case is of interest in that it demonstrated the possibility of recovery in a child from spinal cord injuries of Frankel B immediately after injury, if complex injuries in multiple organs are controlled by systemic management.

A simple bone cyst located in the pedicle of the lumbar vertebra.

A simple bone cyst located in the spine is rare. In the current work, we have documented the first case of a simple bone cyst located in the pedicle of the lumbar vertebra. The patient was a 50-year-old woman with low back pain. Radiographs of the lumbar region of the spine showed a well circumscribed radiolucent lesion with surrounding bone sclerosis in the right pedicle of L3. Computed tomography (CT) showed that the right pedicle was completely occupied by the cyst and slightly expanded. The cystic lesion extended to both the vertebral body and the lamina. T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed uniform low intensity, and T2-weighted MRI showed uniform very high intensity. Signal enhancement by gadolinium diethylenetriaminepenta-acetic acid was not observed in the lesion. During the operation, the cavity of the cyst was filled with 2 mL of serosanguinous fluid. Subsequent histologic examination showed a thin layer of connective tissue in the inner surface of the cyst.

Active-dimeric form of lipoprotein lipase increases in the adipose tissue of patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with prednisolone.

The synthesis, activity and mass of LPL in adipose tissue were studied in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with prednisolone (PSL) (PSL-treated group) and untreated patients with osteoarthritis (untreated group). LPL activity and mass in the extracts of acetone/ether powder of adipose tissue were 2.4 and 1.6 times, respectively, higher in the PSL-treated group than in the untreated group. There were no differences in the amount of 35S incorporated into LPL during the 2-h incubation of adipose tissue with [35S]methionine between PSL-treated and untreated groups. These results indicate that degradation of LPL was inhibited in the adipose tissue of the PSL-treated group. In the adipose tissue of the untreated group, 72% of the LPL was the inactive-monomeric form, which was eluted with 0.4-0.75 M NaCl from the heparin-Sepharose column, and 28% was the active-dimeric form, which was eluted with 0.8-1.2 M NaCl. In the adipose tissue of the PSL-treated group, 40% was inactive-monomeric, and 60% was active-dimeric. Thus, the relative amount of the active-dimeric form of LPL was increased in the adipose tissue of the PSL-treated group. Taken together, our present results indicate that the higher level of LPL activity in the PSL-treated group was a result of the inhibition of the degradation of the active-dimeric form.

Subdural spinal granuloma resulting from Candida albicans without immunosufficiency: case report.

STUDY DESIGN: This was a case of spinal subdural granuloma of Candida albicans. A high cerebrospinal fluid protein level without pleocytosis (albuminocytologic dissociation) was observed. This case proved difficult to diagnose and treat. OBJECTIVES: To clarify the important issues in regard to the diagnosis and treatment of possible spinal subdural granuloma resulting from C. albicans. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Reports on subdural infection of C. albicans are very rare. Moreover, there are no reports of cases in which patients have survived this type of infection. METHODS: A 66-year-old man developed paralysis in the lower limbs, as well as vesicorectal disorder (anuresis). There were no obvious causes. Signs of meningeal irritation later appeared. A high cerebrospinal fluid protein level without pleocytosis was observed through a laboratory test. The cause of these disorders was unclear, and a final diagnosis could not be made on the basis of the test results and angiograph. Possible diagnoses included tumor, infection, and others such as Guillain-Barré syndrome. The authors therefore carried out surgery to reduce the pressure on the spinal cord and ultimately make a definitive diagnosis. RESULTS: The final diagnosis was spinal subdural granuloma of C. albicans. Granuloma was widespread (T3-T10). Surgery, various drug treatments, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy all contributed to saving the patient's life. CONCLUSION: This was a very rare case of spinal subdural granuloma resulting from C. albicans, and the authors had difficulty diagnosing and treating the patient. A distinctive gadolinium-enhanced MRI was obtained. The effect of treatment by drugs alone was limited. An intraoperative ultrasonography proved useful. The authors concluded that a combination of early surgery and hyperbaric oxygen therapy was effective.