Staying connected: implementing avatar robots at schools in Germany and Japan.

Introduction: With advancements in communication technologies and internet connectivity, avatar robots for children who cannot attend school in person due to illness or disabilities have become more widespread. Introducing these technologies to the classroom aims to offer possibilities of social and educational inclusion. While implementation is still at an experimental level, several of these avatars have already been introduced as a marketable service.

Practice and Challenges of Bangladeshi Occupational Therapists during COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

This descriptive study describes the practice and challenges of occupational therapists in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic using an online survey. Eighty-four participants who are practising in both clinical and community settings anonymously participated in the study between January - March 2021. About a third (38.

Social impact and governance of AI and neurotechnologies.

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and brain science are going to have a huge impact on society. While technologies based on those advances can provide enormous social benefits, adoption of new technologies poses various risks. This article first reviews the co-evolution of AI and brain science and the benefits of brain-inspired AI in sustainability, healthcare, and scientific discoveries.

Serious Game for Change in Behavioral Intention Toward Lifestyle-Related Diseases: Experimental Study With Structural Equation Modeling Using the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Background: Health activities should be tailored to individual lifestyles and values. To raise awareness of health behaviors, various practices related to health education, such as interactive activities among individuals with different backgrounds, have been developed. Moreover, serious games have been used as a tool for facilitating communication.

[A Case of Resection of Para-Aortic Lymph Node Recurrence following Rectal Cancer Surgery].

A 54-year old man diagnosed with rectal cancer underwent laparoscopic high anterior resection with Japanese D3 lymph node dissection. The pathology results were as follows: pT2pN3M0, pStage Ⅲb(Japanese Classification of Colorectal, 8th edition). Adjuvant chemotherapy with CapeOX regimen was administered 8 courses.

[A Case of Recurrent Gastric Cancer with Clinical Complete Response after Ramucirumab plus Paclitaxel Therapy].

We report a case of a 61-year-old man who underwent open total gastrectomy and D2 lymph node dissection for gastric cancer. The pathological findings were suggestive of pT2N3M0, fStage ⅢA. S -1 was administered for 1 year post-surgery.

Delta-shaped anastomosis vs circular stapler anastomosis after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with Billroth I reconstruction: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of delta-shaped anastomosis compared to circular stapler anastomosis in laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with Billroth I reconstruction.

Methods: This is a single-center randomized controlled study. Eligibility criteria included histologically proven gastric adenocarcinoma in the lower third of the stomach, clinical stage I tumor.

Cancer-specific promoter DNA methylation of Cysteine dioxygenase type 1 (CDO1) gene as an important prognostic biomarker of gastric cancer.

Background: There have been few available prognostic biomarkers in gastric cancer. We rigorously assessed the clinical relevance of promoter DNA methylation of Cysteine dioxygenase type 1 (CDO1) gene, a cancer-specific aberration, in human gastric cancer.

Methods: Quantitative CDO1 methylation value (TaqMeth V) was initially calculated in 138 gastric cancer patients operated in 2005, and its clinical significance was elucidated.

Safety and Feasibility of Robotic Distal Gastrectomy for Stage IA Gastric Cancer: A Phase II Trial.

Background: Conventional laparoscopic and open distal gastrectomy procedures have inherent limitations such as restricted movement of straight forceps and tremor of the tip of the devices that can potentially be overcome using robotic distal gastrectomy (RDG). This single-institutional phase II trial aimed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of RDG with lymph node dissection for clinical stage IA gastric cancer.

Methods: The study included patients with clinical stage IA gastric cancer in the lower two-thirds of the stomach considered to be curatively resected via distal gastrectomy.

Lymph Node Progression and Optimized Node Dissection of Middle Thoracic Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma in the Latest Therapeutic Surgical Strategy.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to elucidate the optimized lymph node dissection range in middle thoracic (Mt) esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) requiring surgery.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 165 ESCC patients who underwent surgery with curative intent between 2009 and 2016, including 99 (60%) with MtESCC. Preoperative chemotherapy was administered in more than 80% of cStage II/III MtESCC patients.

Carcinosarcoma of the esophagus: A report of 6 cases associated with zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 expression.

Esophageal carcinosarcoma (ECS) has been suggested to result from an epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenomenon. However, knowledge on its underlying molecular features is limited. The clinical and pathological features, and the prognosis of ECS require further investigation.

Neuroethics Questions to Guide Ethical Research in the International Brain Initiatives.

Increasingly, national governments across the globe are prioritizing investments in neuroscience. Currently, seven active or in-development national-level brain research initiatives exist, spanning four continents. Engaging with the underlying values and ethical concerns that drive brain research across cultural and continental divides is critical to future research.

A phase II study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin, and S-1, followed by gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection for high-risk advanced gastric cancer: results of the KDOG1001 trial.

Background: The prognosis of patients with gastric cancer with bulky node metastasis, linitis plastica (type 4), or large ulcero-invasive-type tumors (type 3) remains poor. We conducted a phase II study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin, and S-1 (DCS) for establishing a new treatment modality that improves prognosis.

Methods: Patients received up to four 28-day cycles of DCS therapy (docetaxel at 40 mg/m, cisplatin at 60 mg/m on day 1, and S-1 at 40 mg/m twice daily for 2 weeks) followed by gastrectomy with D2 nodal dissection.

Optimized lymph node dissection range during progression of lower thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in the latest therapeutic surgical strategy: A retrospective analysis.

The distribution of lymph node metastases, including recurrences, remains elusive in lower thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (LtESCC). The present study was a retrospective investigation into the optimized lymph node dissection range during LtESCC. Esophagectomies were performed on 163 patients with ESCC between 2009 and 2016, among whom 41 patients with LtESCC were examined.

Expression of KK-LC-1, a cancer/testis antigen, at non-tumour sites of the stomach carrying a tumour.

Kita-Kyushu lung cancer antigen-1 (KK-LC-1) is a cancer/testis antigen (CTA) and predominant target for cancer immunotherapy. Our previous study indicated that KK-LC-1 was expressed in 82% of gastric cancers, and also in 79% of early stage of gastric cancers, with a correlation to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection.

Patients' preoperative background causes gastric stasis after laparoscopy-assisted pylorus-preserving gastrectomy.

Introduction: Despite technical improvements in laparoscopic gastrectomy, gastric stasis is still a serious problem in laparoscopy-assisted pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (LAPPG). The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that might cause gastric stasis in LAPPG.

Methods: From April 2004 through November 2012, 85 patients with cT1N0 middle-third gastric cancer who underwent LAPPG at Kitasato University Hospital; these patients were included in the present study.

Prognostic relevance of FGFR2 expression in stage II/III gastric cancer with curative resection and S-1 chemotherapy.

Curative gastrectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy using S-1 is a standard treatment for stage II/III gastric cancer in Japan. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic relevance of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)2 expression in patients with stage II/III gastric cancer that underwent postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded surgical specimens were retrospectively examined in 167 patients with stage II/III gastric cancer that underwent curative gastrectomy followed by adjuvant S1 chemotherapy.

Prognoses of advanced esophago-gastric junction cancer may be modified by thoracotomy and splenectomy.

Globally, the incidence of esophago-gastric junction (EGJ) cancer is rapidly increasing. However, the proposed strategies for the treatment of these types of cancer are so diverse that there is no established consensus on the optimal treatment. The aim of the present study was to identify independent prognostic factors to delineate the optimal strategies for the treatment of EGJ cancer.

Robust vascular invasion concurrent with intense EGFR immunostaining can predict recurrence in patients with stage IB node-negative gastric cancer.

Purpose: The prognosis of most patients with stage IB node-negative gastric cancer is good without postoperative chemotherapy; however, about 10% suffer recurrence and inevitably die. We conducted this study to establish the optimal indications for postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients at risk of recurrence.

Methods: The subjects of this retrospective study were 124 patients with stage IB node-negative gastric cancer, who underwent gastrectomy at the Kitasato University East Hospital, between 2001 and 2010.

The axis promotes gastric cancer progression in patients with high lymph node ratios.

We previously demonstrated that the lymph node ratio (LNR) is a prognostic factor associated with expression, among first priority genes amplified or overexpressed in cancer. Here, we investigated the associations between high LNR and second, third, and fourth priority genes. We performed mRNA expression microarray analysis of tumor tissue from patients with stage III gastric cancer and high or low LNRs.

Study of soil-fern transfer of naturally occurring alpha emitting radionuclides in the Southern Region of Cameroon.

This study was carried out in the localities Melondo and Ngombas located in the Southern Region of Cameroon where there are known to be uranium-bearing and high background radiation areas. Activity concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides Po, U, U, U, Th, Th, Th and Ra were determined in soil and fern (filicophyta) samples collected at 10 points in both localities. In soil, the average values of these activity concentrations (in Bq.

Esophagogastric junction cancer successfully treated by laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy and lower esophagectomy with intrathoracic double-flap technique: A case report.

A 66-year-old man was referred to our hospital for treatment of esophagogastric junction cancer. He was diagnosed as cT2N0M0, and the esophageal invasion was found to be 1 cm from the esophagogastric junction. He underwent laparoscopy-assisted proximal gastrectomy and lower esophagectomy with esophagogastrostomy using the intrathoracic double-flap technique through the transhiatal approach.

Video-assisted thoracic surgery and jejunal reconstruction in a case of situs inversus totalis with esophageal cancer.

A 78-year-old man with situs inversus totalis who had a previous history of distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer was referred to our hospital for treatment of esophageal cancer. He was diagnosed as cT2N0M0 and underwent video-assisted thoracic surgery and open completion gastrectomy with jejunal reconstruction via the ante-thoracic route. The postoperative period was uneventful except for transient palsy of the right recurrent laryngeal nerve.