Publications by authors named "Akazawa T"

Article Synopsis
  • Limited research exists on coronal cementum formation, particularly in impacted wisdom teeth.
  • A histological and analytical examination of an impacted wisdom tooth from a 46-year-old female revealed widespread coronal cementum on the enamel with connections between them.
  • Findings suggest that the presence of reduced enamel epithelium may be linked to coronal cementogenesis in impacted teeth, highlighting differences in the types of cementum formed.
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The research focused on evaluating the impact of olive leaf water extract (OEx4) on the microbiological and physical properties of egg gels, as well as its ability to protect the rheological properties of gel throughout freeze-thaw cycles. Egg gels with added OEx4 at concentrations of 0.03% and 0.

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Background: Preoperative nutritional status significantly affects postoperative outcomes in patients with metastatic spinal tumors. Understanding the relationship between nutritional status and survival rates can help optimize treatment strategies and improve patient outcomes.

Methods: This retrospective study was performed on 57 patients who underwent palliative surgery between May 2009 and April 2023.

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Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether a reduction in the retrocrural space (RCS) area is a risk factor for postoperative ileus (POI) in patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD) treated with spinal corrective surgery.

Methods: In total, 100 patients (mean age 67.5 ± 8.

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Tumor cells are known to enhance glycolysis, even under normoxic conditions, via the Warburg effect, producing excess lactic acid in the tumor microenvironment. Lactic acid enhances the IL-23/IL-17 pathway and induces chronic inflammation. The acidic microenvironment formed by lactic acid suppresses immune cell proliferation and activation.

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Negative food effect refers to a reduction in bioavailability, when a drug is taken with food. Voclosporin, a highly lipophilic cyclic peptide drug for treatment of active lupus nephritis, has shown negative food effect in clinical trials. Here, the cause of the negative food effect of voclosporin was investigated using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling to understand the mechanism responsible for oral absorption of voclosporin.

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Transparent in-line optical power monitoring in Si programmable photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is indispensable for calibrating integrated optical devices such as optical switches and resonators. A Si waveguide (WG) photodetector (PD) based on defect-mediated photodetection is a promising candidate for a transparent in-line optical power monitor, owing to its simplicity and ease of integration with a fully complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible process. Here, we propose a simple optical power monitoring scheme for a 2 × 2 Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) optical switch based on InGaAsP/Si hybrid MOS optical phase shifters.

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Background: The semitendinosus tendon is one of the most used autografts in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Although recent evidence indicates that young patients, especially in females, may experience high rates of revision and residual instability, the reasons for the inferior outcomes in these patients remain unclear. To address this issue, we aimed to compare the mechanical properties of the semitendinosus tendon used for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in male and female patients of various ages.

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Article Synopsis
  • This retrospective study aimed to identify risk factors for allogeneic red blood cell transfusion in adult spinal deformity surgery by reviewing the medical records of 151 patients who underwent corrective surgery from 2012 to 2021.
  • Key factors examined included intraoperative hypothermia, autologous blood donation, and the use of hemostatic agents, which have been underexplored in previous research.
  • The findings revealed that not using TXA, lacking autologous blood donation, and having longer surgery times were significant predictors of needing blood transfusions during the perioperative period.
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Objective: This study aims to comprehend the natural history of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients and determine risk factors for facet joint bridging in adolescent-onset adult idiopathic scoliosis with thoracolumbar/lumbar (TL/L) curves.

Methods: We included 50 patients with residual AIS with TL/L curves (3 males, 47 females; age 41.5 ± 17.

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The intramolecular bending mode of water is a possible useful probe of the hydrogen-bond situations in aqueous systems, but the behavior of its frequency and intensity should be further elucidated for better understanding on its nature and, hence, for its better utilization as a probe. Here, an analysis toward this goal is conducted by doing theoretical calculations on molecular clusters of normal isotopic and deuterated species of water and examining the correlations among the vibrational, structural, and electrostatic properties. It is shown that electrostatic interactions, particularly both of the in-plane components of the electric field along the OH bond and perpendicular to it, play a major role in controlling the hydrogen bond-induced shifts of the force constant, but additional factors, including the intermolecular structural and/or charge-transfer properties, are also important.

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Purpose: The crankshaft phenomenon (CSP) is a corrective loss after posterior surgery for early onset scoliosis (EOS). However, an accurate method for CSP evaluation has yet to be developed. In this study, we evaluated pedicle screw (PS) length and rotation angle using an inverse trigonometric function and investigated the prevalence of the CSP.

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Background: To the best of our knowledge, no prior studies have identified any risk factors for subchondral insufficiency fractures of the medial tibial condyle. This study aimed to explain relationships between subchondral insufficiency fractures of the medial tibial condyle and the meniscus status, lower extremity alignment, or osteoporosis.

Methods: This retrospective study included 325 consecutive patients whose chief complaint is knee joint pain and who had visited one institution between April 2016 and March 2021, of which 70 patients (8 men and 62 women) who had suspected subchondral insufficiency fractures of the medial tibial condyle had undergone magnetic resonance imaging and radiographic examination.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluates a new imaging technique called MIXTURE, developed by Philips, which produces high-resolution T2 maps for diagnosing cervical radiculopathy.
  • It compares T2 relaxation times and their variability using MIXTURE with another method, SHINKEI-Quant (S-Q), in both healthy participants and a patient with cervical disc herniation.
  • Results show that MIXTURE provides significantly shorter T2 relaxation times and lower variability in measurements, indicating its potential for more accurate preoperative functional diagnosis of cervical nerve issues.
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Purpose: Preoperative counting of thoracic and lumbar vertebrae is crucial in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) due to reported anatomical variations and potential surgical site misidentification. This study investigated characteristics associated with the vertebral number variations AIS, particularly focusing on rib morphology.

Methods: Based on three-dimensional computed tomography, patients were categorized into the non-variant number group, comprising individuals with 12 thoracic and 5 lumbar vertebrae, and the variant number group, comprising individuals with different numbers of vertebrae.

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A nonvolatile optical phase shifter is a critical component for enabling the fabrication of programmable photonic integrated circuits on a Si photonics platform, facilitating communication, computing, and sensing. Although ferroelectric materials such as BaTiO offer nonvolatile optical phase shift capabilities, their compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor fabs is limited. HfZrO is an emerging ferroelectric material, which exhibits complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor compatibility.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the impact of the learning curve on the outcomes of the direct anterior approach (DAA) in total hip arthroplasty (THA), focusing on 5-year results following surgery.
  • It involves 402 THA cases, comparing results from the first 50 surgeries by each surgeon during the learning phase against those from more experienced surgeons, with both groups showing a high implant survival rate of 99.2%.
  • Findings suggest that while surgical time and blood loss improve with experience, both the short- and mid-term complication rates and clinical scores remain consistent, indicating the learning curve affects procedural efficiency but not overall patient outcomes.
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  • This research examined the link between spinal characteristics and the length of the abdominal aorta in adult spinal deformity patients who had corrective surgery.
  • Thirteen patients were studied, revealing that the abdominal aorta length increased post-surgery by an average of 4.8%.
  • A negative correlation was found between changes in spinal alignment (specifically thoracolumbar kyphosis) and changes in aorta length, suggesting that spinal correction affects aorta elongation.
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  • Lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) techniques are commonly used for adult spinal deformity surgery, and proper patient positioning on the surgical table is crucial for safety.
  • This study analyzed data from 59 patients to determine the optimal angle for patient positioning using three-dimensional computed tomography (3DCT) images.
  • The findings suggest that by positioning patients at the calculated optimal mean angle (OMA), the rotation of the surgical table is minimized, enhancing safety and efficiency during the procedure.
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  • Conventional methods for assessing vertebral rotation post-surgery are not comprehensive and this study focuses on using inverse trigonometric functions for analyzing adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) after posterior fusion surgery.
  • The study analyzed data from 78 AIS patients, measuring rotation angles right after surgery and at two and five years later, finding a strong correlation between traditional CT measurements and calculated angles.
  • The findings indicate the inverse trigonometric method effectively measures post-surgical rotation, with minimal changes over five years, while also identifying complications like the crankshaft phenomenon in a small percentage of patients.
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  • Adenocarcinomas progress in a stepwise manner from atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) to invasive adenocarcinoma (IA), with associated changes in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and specific protein markers.
  • This study evaluated the expression of immunoglobulin superfamily containing leucine-rich repeat (ISLR), α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA), and fibroblast activation protein (FAP) in lung tissues at different stages of adenocarcinoma progression.
  • Results showed a decrease in ISLR and an increase in αSMA and FAP expression as the disease advanced, indicating that FAP-positive fibroblasts may play a role in tumor development, potentially serving as targets
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Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To identify factors contributing to optimal bracing compliance in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Summary Of Background Data: Poor brace compliance is a key factor affecting brace treatment success in AIS.

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Spinal fixation surgery has been increasingly performed in patients with osteoporosis. Romosozumab, a drug that was introduced in Japan recently, is known to possibly promote bone healing. However, few studies have reported the therapeutic effects of romosozumab in clinical practice in Japan.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to compare patient outcomes using expandable versus static interbody spacers during oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF) surgery, utilizing CT and MRI imaging for evaluations.
  • A total of 35 patients with degenerative disc disease were analyzed, measuring factors like cage height, lordosis, pain levels, and radiologic changes both preoperatively and 6 months post-op.
  • Results indicated that expandable spacers provided better clinical outcomes, including less cage subsidence, improved dural sac area, better correction of vertebral slippage, and reduced leg numbness compared to static spacers.
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Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To develop a machine learning (ML) model that predicts the progression of AIS using minimal radiographs and simple questionnaires during the first visit.

Summary Of Background Data: Several factors are associated with angle progression in patients with AIS.

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