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"Morimoto, Takeshi"
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School judgment
\"At Tenbin Elementary, there is only one way to settle a dispute--in a court of law! All quarrels bypass the teachers and are settled by some of the best lawyers in the country...who also happen to be elementary school students. The accused this time is a boy named Tento. His crime? The murder of a beloved member of the classroom! Luckily for him, the state has sent him a defense attorney--Abaku Inugami. But is this wild young lawyer skilled enough to argue his client off the hook?\"--Back cover.
BOOK
Transcorneal electrical stimulation: impact on healthcare and future potential
Transcorneal electrical stimulation (TES), a noninvasive therapeutic technique, has gained attention for its potential to treat retinal and optic nerve diseases. TES involves applying weak electrical currents via electrodes on the cornea to stimulate retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) without causing activation of photoreceptors, inducing phosphenes, and enabling the evaluation of inner retinal function. This is valuable for assessing residual retinal activity in patients with photoreceptor or RGC degeneration. Furthermore, TES has shown significant neuroprotective effects on RGCs and photoreceptors through mechanisms involving the upregulation of neurotrophic factors (e.g., insulin-like growth factor 1, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and ciliary neurotrophic factor), reduction of inflammatory responses, and enhanced ocular blood flow. These findings are supported by extensive animal studies, showing its efficacy in mitigating retinal degeneration and optic nerve damage while promoting axonal regeneration. Clinically, TES has shown potential in improving visual function in diseases such as RP, optic neuropathies, and ischemic retinal conditions; however long-term benefits remain a challenge. Randomized controlled trials have indicated the safety and modest therapeutic effects of TES, suggesting its potential as an adjunct treatment for visual impairments. Moreover, TES may extend beyond ophthalmology into neurology. Because the retina is anatomically connected to the brain, TES can influence brain regions such as the visual cortex and hippocampus. Preliminary research proposes its potential for modulating brain, such as those with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). TES has demonstrated significant neuroprotective effects in networks, cognition, and emotional pathways, offering hope for treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. In summary, TES represents a versatile and promising therapy for retinal and neurological disorders, and ongoing advancements will likely expand its applications in clinical practice. Further studies are warranted to optimize its parameters, enhance its efficacy, and explore its full therapeutic potential.
Journal Article
School judgment
\"At Tenbin Elementary, there is only one way to settle a dispute--in a court of law! All quarrels bypass the teachers and are settled by some of the best lawyers in the country...who also happen to be elementary school students. The accused this time is a boy named Tento. His crime? The murder of a beloved member of the classroom! Luckily for him, the state has sent him a defense attorney--Abaku Inugami. But is this wild young lawyer skilled enough to argue his client off the hook?\"--Back cover.
Book
Rapid Breakdown Time in Positive Impulse Voltages through Spectroscopy Analysis
The air discharge phenomenon, characterized by its rapid and transient nature, is inherently unpredictable, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive understanding of its physical interactions. Our experimental setup involved voltage generators producing both positive and negative impulse voltages (±100 kV, ±125 kV, and ±150 kV) at a 3.5 cm gap distance in a needle-to-plane geometry. This setup facilitated the study of individual spectral lines of impulse voltage discharges, with a specific emphasis on examining oxygen transitions through spectroscopy analysis. To explore the influence of photon emission on the breakdown rate, we examined the correlation between decay time, excitation temperature, and peak intensity during the transition from an upper state to a lower state. Our findings reveal that positive impulse voltage discharges more rapidly than negative impulse voltages. This heightened discharge rate is attributed to the higher peak intensities of O II at 313.421 and 241.162 nm, as well as O IV at 337.806 nm, observed in the excited state, as opposed to O I at 777.417 nm in the combination state. The inference drawn from the larger peak intensity suggests that energetic photon emission plays a pivotal role in initiating and expediting electron discharge in positive voltages.
Journal Article
Breakdown Time Phenomena: Analyzing the Conductive Channel of Positive Impulse Voltage Discharges under Standard Temperature and Pressure Air Conditions
Even though the streamer process can be identified in nanoseconds and microseconds through experimental measurements, the breakdown time of air discharge is still unknown. The instability of electrons is suspected to be an attachment-instability phenomenon of the channel conductivity. We investigated breakdown time across milliseconds to better understand how the oxygen excitations of the 200–400 nm range influence a high-conductivity channel even with a weaker applied voltage. Experiments were performed with positive impulse voltages ranging from +42 to +75 kV in the step of +6 kV at a 3 cm gap between needle-to-plane electrodes in a horizontal configuration. A spectrometer with an integration time of 70 ms was used to capture the spectra during voltage discharge. The shortest breakdown time was found at +60 kV with 77 ns compared to +66, +72, and +75 kV. We conclude that the shorter breakdown time at +60 kV is primarily due to the oxygen-excited state in O IV at 262.999 nm. This state helps maintain electron flow by preventing electron loss, with a decay time of 2.5 µs, while releasing Joule heat at a temperature of 26,003 K, which optimizes conductivity. This process occurs before the recombination of the O I line at 777.417 nm, which has a significantly shorter decay time of 27 ns.
Journal Article
Effect of binocular vision during target shooting in archery
This study aimed to evaluate the difference between binocular and monocular vision and eye movements during the competition using video-oculography (VOG).
Experiment 1 included 14 participants to evaluate differences in arrow convergence. Then, seven participants in Experiment 1 were randomly selected and included in Experiment 2, which evaluated eye movements during archery using VOG. The target used an 80-cm waterproof target face and was set at a distance of 30 m. All players shot the target 36 times using their bows and arrows. Experiments 1 and 2 evaluated the distribution of arrows in each score and the number of focus points, respectively, between binocular and monocular conditions.
The arrows, which include the area of 9 points, were significantly greater in the binocular condition (11.85 ± 5.04 shots) than in the monocular condition (9.36 ± 5.41 shots) in Experiment 1 (P = 0.047). The players focused on the target under both binocular and monocular conditions, although the players were switching off fixation between the target and shooting sight under the binocular condition in Experiment 2.
These behaviors indicated that the players were trying to accurately shoot the target by exploring the distance between themselves and the target as a cue for depth perception.
Journal Article
Terahertz radiation by quantum interference of excitons in a one-dimensional Mott insulator
Nearly monocyclic terahertz waves are used for investigating elementary excitations and for controlling electronic states in solids. They are usually generated via second-order optical nonlinearity by injecting a femtosecond laser pulse into a nonlinear optical crystal. In this framework, however, it is difficult to control phase and frequency of terahertz waves. Here, we show that in a one-dimensional Mott insulator of a nickel-bromine chain compound a terahertz wave is generated with high efficiency via strong electron modulations due to quantum interference between odd-parity and even-parity excitons produced by two-color femtosecond pulses. Using this method, one can control all of the phase, frequency, and amplitude of terahertz waves by adjusting the creation-time difference of two excitons with attosecond accuracy. This approach enables to evaluate the phase-relaxation time of excitons under strong electron correlations in Mott insulators. Moreover, phase- and frequency-controlled terahertz pulses are beneficial for coherent electronic-state controls with nearly monocyclic terahertz waves.
THz pulses with tuneable properties are desirable for manipulating electronic states in materials. The authors report generation of THz pulses with phase, frequency, and amplitude control by tuning exciton interference in a 1D Mott insulator of transition metal complex and provide insight into exciton dynamics.
Journal Article
Postoperative outcomes of biopsy versus debulking surgery for immunoglobulin G4-related ophthalmic disease: a retrospective comparative study
Purpose
To compare the postoperative outcomes of corticosteroid therapy following biopsy with those following debulking surgery in patients with immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related ophthalmic disease (IgG4-ROD).
Study Design
Retrospective comparative study.
Methods
Fifteen patients diagnosed with IgG4-ROD (5 unilateral, 10 bilateral) were retrospectively analyzed. IgG4-ROD was diagnosed based on imaging, histopathology, and blood test results. The biopsy group included patients who underwent resection of minimal tissue for diagnosis, whereas the debulking group included patients who underwent resection of a substantial portion of the mass to decrease the tumor size. Postoperative outcomes after steroid administration, recurrence rates, and changes in lacrimal gland function were compared between the groups.
Results
The biopsy and debulking groups included seven and eight patients, respectively. All patients in the biopsy group and 25% of patients in the debulking group required steroid treatment postoperatively (
p
= 0.0070). Relapse occurred in 71.4% and 12.5% (
p
= 0.041) and maintenance therapy was required in 57.1% and 12.5% (
p
= 0.12) patients in the biopsy and debulking groups, respectively. Twelve patients had extraorbital lesions, with one patient receiving corticosteroid treatment for sphenoid bone lesion. Schirmer I test values did not differ preoperatively and postoperatively in either group (biopsy:
p
= 0.47; debulking:
p
= 0.72). One patient from the biopsy group developed severe dry eyes, necessitating lacrimal canalicular excision.
Conclusions
Debulking surgery effectively reduced the requirement for postoperative steroid administration for recurrent lacrimal gland lesion in patients with IgG4-ROD, indicating its potential as an effective alternative to current standard treatment.
Journal Article
Effect of dexmedetomidine on inflammation in patients with sepsis requiring mechanical ventilation: a sub-analysis of a multicenter randomized clinical trial
Background
Administration of dexmedetomidine has been reported to improve inflammatory response in animals. We explored the effects of administering dexmedetomidine on the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin, and thus on inflammation, in patients with sepsis enrolled in a randomized clinical trial.
Methods
The DESIRE trial was a multicenter randomized clinical trial in which adult patients with sepsis were sedated with (DEX group) or without (non-DEX group) dexmedetomidine while on mechanical ventilators. As a prespecified sub-analysis, we compared CRP and procalcitonin levels during the first 14 days of treatment between the two groups. The 14-day mortality rate, albumin level, and the number of patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) were also assessed. We used generalized linear models to estimate the differences in these outcomes between groups. We also used the Kaplan-Meier method to estimate the 14-day mortality rate and the log-rank test to assess between-group differences.
Results
Our study comprised 201 patients: 100 in the DEX group and 101 in the non-DEX group. CRP and procalcitonin levels were lower in the DEX vs. non-DEX group during the 14-day treatment period [CRP—range, 5.6–20.3 vs. 8.3–21.1 mg/dL (
P
= 0.03); procalcitonin—range, 1.2–37.4 vs. 1.7–52.9 ng/mL (
P
= 0.04)]. Albumin levels were higher in the DEX group (range, 2.3–2.6 g/dL) than in the non-DEX group (range, 2.1–2.7 g/dL;
P
= 0.01). The percentage of patients with DIC did not significantly differ between the groups (range, 21–59% and 17–56% for the DEX and non-DEX groups, respectively;
P
= 0.49). The 14-day mortality rates in the DEX and non-DEX groups were 13 and 21%, respectively (
P
= 0.16).
Conclusion
Sedation using dexmedetomidine reduced inflammation in patients with sepsis requiring mechanical ventilation.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov,
NCT01760967
. Registered on 4 January 2013.
Journal Article
Prevalence of post-intensive care syndrome among Japanese intensive care unit patients: a prospective, multicenter, observational J-PICS study
Background
Many studies have compared quality of life of post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) patients with age-matched population-based controls. Many studies on PICS used the 36-item Short Form (SF-36) health survey questionnaire version 2, but lack the data for SF-36 values before and after intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Thus, clinically important changes in the parameters of SF-36 are unknown. Therefore, we determined the frequency of co-occurrence of PICS impairments at 6 months after ICU admission. We also evaluated the changes in SF-36 subscales and interpreted the patients’ subjective significance of impairment.
Methods
A prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study was conducted in 16 ICUs across 14 hospitals in Japan. Adult ICU patients expected to receive mechanical ventilation for > 48 h were enrolled, and their 6-month outcome was assessed using the questionnaires. PICS definition was based on the physical status, indicated by the change in SF-36 physical component score (PCS) ≥ 10 points; mental status, indicated by the change in SF-36 mental component score (MCS) ≥ 10 points; and cognitive function, indicated by the worsening of Short-Memory Questionnaire (SMQ) score and SMQ score at 6 months < 40. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify the factors associated with PICS occurrence. The patients’ subjective significance of physical and mental symptoms was assessed using the 7-scale Global Assessment Rating to evaluate minimal clinically important difference (MCID).
Results
Among 192 patients, 48 (25%) died at 6 months. Among the survivors at 6 months, 96 patients responded to the questionnaire; ≥ 1 PICS impairment occurred in 61 (63.5%) patients, and ≥ 2 occurred in 17 (17.8%) patients. Physical, mental, and cognitive impairments occurred in 32.3%, 14.6% and 37.5% patients, respectively. Population with only mandatory education was associated with PICS occurrence (odds ratio: 4.0, 95% CI 1.1–18.8,
P
= 0.029). The MCID of PCS and MCS scores was 6.5 and 8.0, respectively.
Conclusions
Among the survivors who received mechanical ventilation, 64% had PICS at 6 months; co-occurrence of PICS impairments occurred in 20%. PICS was associated with population with only mandatory education. Future studies elucidating the MCID of SF-36 scores among ICU patients and standardizing the PICS definition are required.
Trial registration
UMIN000034072.
Journal Article