Publications by authors named "Akao T"

Purpose: To evaluate functional and oncological outcomes in patients who underwent unilateral or bilateral nerve-sparing (NS) robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) for high-risk prostate cancer.

Methods: The cohort comprised 2683 patients with clinical stage T1-4, N0M0 high-risk prostate cancer who underwent RARP in Japanese tertiary care centers from August 2011 to April 2023. High risk was defined using the European Association of Urology risk stratification criteria.

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A recent trend in some wineries is the return to using spontaneous fermentation, but it is not clear whether winery flora or vineyard microorganisms drive fermentation. We compared fungal communities during the spontaneous fermentation of wine produced in a winery and in a laboratory with sterilized equipment using three grape cultivars (Chardonnay, Merlot, and Muscat Bailey A) obtained from the same harvest. High-throughput sequencing analysis based on the ITS1 region showed that Saccharomyces cerevisiae was the dominant species in winery batches at the end of fermentation, but it was not always dominant in laboratory batches.

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A large number of recombinant plasmids for the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been constructed and accumulated over the past four decades. It is desirable to apply the recombinant plasmid resources to Saccharomyces sensu stricto species group, which contains an increasing number of natural isolate and industrial strains. The application to the group encounters a difficulty.

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Vaginal cuff dehiscence after total hysterectomy or total cystectomy had been increasing since laparoscopic or robotic surgery became a common surgery among gynecologists and urologists. A 52-yearold woman underwent laparoscopic radical total cystectomy for muscle invasive bladder carcinoma at Rakuwakai Otowa Hospital. She was emergently admitted with a fist-sized lump protruding from her vagina four months after surgery.

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This study aimed to assess the effects of thienopyridine-class antiplatelet agents (including ticlopidine, clopidogrel, and prasugrel) on bleeding complications in patients who underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. This cohort study used a database for robot-assisted radical prostatectomy at 23 tertiary centers nationwide between 2011 and 2022. Patients who received thienopyridines (thienopyridine group) were compared with those who received aspirin monotherapy (aspirin group).

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A rare case of an ascending colon injury and ileal perforation in a 34-year-old male patient due to blunt abdominal trauma caused by a road traffic accident is reported in this study. This paper reports the clinical and imaging findings of seat belt syndrome. The seat belt syndrome primarily involves soft tissue injury; however, lacerations of the colon, small intestine, and mesentery have rarely been reported in the literature.

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Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the most important microorganisms for the food industry, including Japanese sake, beer, wine, bread, and other products. For sake making, Kyokai sake yeast strains are considered one of the best sake yeast strains because these strains possess fermentation properties that are suitable for the quality of sake required. In recent years, the momentum for the development of unique sake, which is distinct from conventional sake, has grown, and there is now a demand to develop unique sake yeasts that have different sake making properties than Kyokai sake yeast strains.

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Introduction: Robot-assisted surgery is increasingly deployed in colorectal surgery, and decompression surgery using a stent is considered a standard treatment for malignant stenosis of the large intestine. Surgery after stent placement is also frequently performed. However, the anastomosis method remains controversial.

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Background: This study aimed to investigate factors, including the degree of hydronephrosis, that may be associated with decreased renal function after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU).

Methods: This study included 252 patients who underwent laparoscopic RNU with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥ 30 ml/min/1.73 m in three institutions.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hineka is an off-flavor in sake caused mainly by dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS) and involves a precursor production pathway related to yeast metabolism.
  • The Km67 yeast strain, which is not a Kyokai strain, shows lower DMTS production due to its unique mechanism that affects S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM) levels during fermentation.
  • Research indicates that increased SAM accumulation enhances DMTS production, but the Km67 strain has a low SAM accumulation trait, which helps explain its low DMTS production in sake.
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The EHL1/2/3 genes were identified by whole-genome sequencing of Kyokai No. 7 (K7), which is a well-known representative Japanese sake yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The genes are present in K7, but not in laboratory strain S288C.

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Emergency appendectomy (EA) is the gold standard management for acute appendicitis (AA). However, whether EA or interval appendectomy (IA) after conservative treatment is the optimal approach in AA with abscess remains controversial. This study compared IA and EA in patients presenting with AA accompanied by abscess.

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The sorghum plant bug, Stenotus rubrovittatus (order Heteroptera: family Miridae), is a notorious insect pest in Japan that causes pecky rice. In the present study, we sampled this insect pest in the northern part of Honshu Island in Japan and investigated its associated microbiota. The results obtained showed that Pantoea dominated the associated microbiota and was the sole genus detected in all samples.

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Modification of the genetic background and, in some cases, the introduction of targeted mutations can play a critical role in producing trait characteristics during the breeding of crops, livestock, and microorganisms. However, the question of how similar trait characteristics emerge when the same target mutation is introduced into different genetic backgrounds is unclear. In a previous study, we performed genome editing of , , , and on the standard sake yeast strain Kyokai No.

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Garnet-type Li La Zr O (LLZ) materials are attracting attention as solid electrolytes (SEs) in oxide-based all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) owing to their high ionic conductivity. Although the electrochemical stability of LLZ against Li metal is demonstrated with possible high energy density, high-temperature sintering above 1000 °C, which is required to achieve high Li-ion conductivity, results in the formation of insulating impurities at the electrode-electrolyte interfaces. Here, nanosized fine-particle samples of Ta-substituted Li La Zr Ta O (LLZT) are successfully prepared at a remarkably low temperature of 400 °C utilizing an amorphous precursor oxide.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study focused on identifying risk factors for intravesical recurrence in patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma who underwent laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy.
  • The analysis included 283 patients, revealing that 31.7% experienced recurrence, with a significant follow-up period of 33.3 months.
  • Results highlighted the importance of ureter tumors and multiple tumors as key predictors, leading to a three-tier risk classification system that can guide patient monitoring and treatment strategies post-surgery.
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To investigate the recurrence patterns and the atypical oncologic failure (AOF) defined as the presence of atypical recurrences, such as retroperitoneal carcinomatosis or port-site recurrence, after laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy (LRNU). LRNU performed at three institutions were included in this retrospective study. The primary endpoints were the first recurrence site and recurrence-free survival.

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Biotin is an essential coenzyme that is bound to carboxylases and participates in fatty acid synthesis. The fact that sake yeast exhibit biotin prototrophy while almost all other Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains exhibit biotin auxotrophy, implies that biotin prototrophy is an important factor in sake brewing. In this study, we inserted a stop codon into the biotin biosynthetic BIO3 gene (cording for 7,8-diamino-pelargonic acid aminotransferase) of a haploid sake yeast strain using the marker-removable plasmid pAUR135 and investigated the fermentation profile of the resulting bio3 mutant.

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Garnet-type Ta-substituted LiLaZrO materials attract considerable attention as solid electrolytes for use in future oxide-based all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries owing to their superior ionic conductivity and chemical and electrochemical stabilities. However, high-temperature sintering above 1000 °C, which is needed to realize high lithium-ion conductivity, results in the formation of insulating interface impurities at the electrode-electrolyte interface. Herein, the low-temperature sintering of the LiLaZrTaO (LLZT) solid electrolyte at a remarkably low temperature of 400 °C was demonstrated using the submicrometer-sized garnet-type LLZT fine powder sample prepared at 600 °C through a reaction of LiO and LaZrTaO.

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A 73-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for treatment of a 12 mm stone in the right ureteropelvic junction and pyonephrosis. A double-J ureteral stent was indwelled for right hydronephrosis and emphysematous pyelonephritis. After antibiotic treatment, flexible transurethral lithotripsy (f-TUL) was performed and all the stones were disintegrated and extracted without any complications.

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Background: This study aimed to compare the incidence of postoperative complications occurring within 30 days of surgery between octogenarians and younger patients and identify preoperative risk factors for the incidence of postoperative complications. Moreover, we also compared the oncological outcomes between octogenarians and younger patients.

Methods: This retrospective study included 283 patients who underwent laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma from 2002 to 2020.

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In fields such as the food industry, it is very important to identify target bacteria at the species level or lower for optimal product quality control. Bacteria identification at the subspecies or lower level requires time-consuming and high-cost analyses such as multi-locus sequence typing and amplified fragment length polymorphism analyses. Herein, we developed a primer design algorithm for precisely identifying bacteria based on a whole genome DNA sequence that is easy to apply.

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Introduction: Strategies to postpone elective surgeries were proposed to maintain the hospital capacity to cater for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and emergency non-COVID cases. Non-operative management (NOM) was recommended when possible during the COVID-19 era. However, the optimal approach to acute appendicitis (AA) in patients with COVID-19 remains controversial.

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Introduction: Immediate appendectomy for acute appendicitis with abscess has a high frequency of ileocecal resection and postoperative complications compared with interval appendectomy after conservative treatment. The optimal approach to acute appendicitis with abscess remains controversial.

Presentation Of Case: A 69-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for abdominal pain.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined the outcomes and recurrence patterns in clinically node-negative patients with renal pelvic and ureteral tumors who underwent a specific surgical approach combining retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) and laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy (LRNU).
  • A total of 283 patients from three Japanese institutions participated, with 47 matched pairs of patients undergoing RPLND and those who did not for fair comparison.
  • Results showed that the RPLND group had a significantly higher 5-year recurrence-free survival rate (86.8%) compared to the non-RPLND group (64.2%), suggesting that RPLND reduces distant recurrence effectively, although cancer-specific survival differences were not statistically significant.
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