Analgesic efficacy of continuous wound infiltration compared with continuous intravenous fentanyl after gynaecological surgery: a non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial.

Objective: The present trial aimed to prove the non-inferiority of the analgesic efficacy of continuous wound infiltration (CWI) to that of continuous intravenous fentanyl (IV) and to compare the safety of the two methods.

Methods: This trial was a prospective, single-centre, two-arm, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial. Patients participating in the trial were randomised to a CWI group or an IV group.

Longitudinal assessment of anti-Müllerian hormone after cesarean section and influence of bilateral salpingectomy on ovarian reserve.

Objective: This study aimed to compare longitudinal changes in ovarian reserve markers after cesarean section (CS) with and without bilateral salpingectomy (BS).

Study Design: We prospectively enrolled women >35 weeks' gestation scheduled for CS alone or CS + BS and obtained blood samples for anti-Müllerian hormone prior to surgery and at 3 and 6 months after surgery. At the 3-month visit, we similarly performed transvaginal ultrasound for antral follicle count.

Patients' need for information on permanent contraception during a cesarean section: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

Aim: The present study aimed to explore the need for information about permanent contraception in Japanese women with repeated cesarean sections (CS).

Methods: The present, cross-sectional survey used a self-administered questionnaire mailed to women with a second or later CS at Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Medical Center between March 2010 and December 2017. Those who were pregnant, had given birth less than 1 year before the survey or had an hysterectomy were excluded.

Relationship between the precursors of high grade serous ovarian cancer and patient characteristics: decreased incidence of the p53 signature in pregnant women.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the precursors of high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) and the characteristics of patients with a low HGSOC risk in terms of the effects of pregnancy.

Methods: We prospectively examined consecutive cases in which the bilateral fallopian tubes were removed during benign gynecological or obstetric surgery and assessed the relationship between the patient characteristics, including parity and pregnancy, and the incidence of HGSOC precursors. All the fallopian tubes were examined by applying the Sectioning and Extensively Examining the Fimbriated End (SEE-FIM) Protocol.

Management of labor and delivery in myasthenia gravis: A new protocol.

Aim: Pregnancy with myasthenia gravis (MG) is known to be associated with an increased cesarean section rate, presumably due to maternal fatigue during labor. Although epidural labor analgesia (ELA) appears to be a good option for circumventing maternal fatigue, a protocol for managing MG deliveries has not been established. This study, based on a review of our case series, aimed to evaluate the validity of our management protocol for maternal MG, in which ELA is used depending on MG severity.

Clinical features and peripartum outcomes in pregnant women with cardiac disease: a nationwide retrospective cohort study in Japan.

Although the number of pregnancies in women with cardiac disease is increasing worldwide, there are few data concerning their clinical characteristics and peripartum outcomes. Using the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database between 2008 and 2014 in Japan, we retrospectively identified pregnant women who underwent high-risk delivery due to obstetric or non-obstetric comorbidities. We classified eligible women into those with pre-existing cardiac disease (cardiac disease group) and those with non-cardiac comorbidities (non-cardiac disease group) and compared their characteristics and peripartum outcomes.

Adnexal torsion of mature cystic teratoma with hemorrhagic infarction: helpful findings on successive plain abdominal radiographs.

Adnexal torsion is a relatively rare cause of lower abdominal pain in women, but in many cases it leads to a serious condition. We present a case of adnexal torsion of a mature cystic teratoma in which hemorrhagic infarction was reflected by progressive enlargement and wall thickening on successive plain abdominal radiographs. There has been no other report describing such changes of adnexal torsion on plain abdominal radiographs.

Application of FIB with micro pick-up to microstructural study of irradiated SiC/SiC composites.

The combination of focused ion beam (FIB) micro-processing and the lift-out technique using the micro pick-up system was applied to the preparation of TEM specimens of irradiated SiC/SiC composites. The deformation caused by microstructural evolution was observed in the pyrolitic carbon interphase, and several helium bubbles and cavities were detected in the CVI matrix.

Microstructural analysis of the deformation range under nano-indentation in beta-SiC.

As a powerful tool to analyse microstructural evolution under irradiation and the interaction of moving dislocations with radiation-induced defects, a focused ion beam (FIB) method was applied to ion-irradiated SiC followed by the nano-indentation test. An FIB method has excellent capability to prepare thin foils from the area of interest with a high accuracy of location and wide flexibility in the sampling direction. These advantages are demonstrated in the application to Si ion-irradiated SiC by transmission electron microscope observation.

3D analysis of cracking behaviour under indentation in ion-irradiated beta-SiC.

To provide a microstructural basis for evaluating fracture toughness by an indentation test, a new method to analyse three-dimensional (3D) cracking behaviour in beta-SiC is developed. As an example, the effect of ion irradiation on crack propagation was studied. The sequential cutting-out of thinned sections by focused ion beam (FIB) processing around an indentation impression enabled the reconstruction of the 3D behaviour of cracking near the indentation impression.