Impact of Fecal Organic Acid Profile Before Training on Athletic Performance Improvement After High-Intensity Interval Training.

Purpose: This study sought to investigate the efficacy of Tabata-style high-intensity interval training (T-HIIT) on athletic performance in judoka and to determine the impact of the fecal organic acid profile before training on the improvement of athletic performance.

Methods: Twenty males from Aichi University Judo Club (10 high-level competitors and 10 others) were included. Physical fitness tests such as the Uchikomi shuttle run, countermovement jump, squat jump, and chin-ups using a judo uniform were performed before and after T-HIIT.

A novel algorithm developed using machine learning and a J-ACCESS database can estimate defect scores from myocardial perfusion single-photon emission tomography images.

Background: Stress myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging (MPI) has been used to diagnose and predict the prognoses of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). An ongoing multicenter collaboration established a Japanese database (J-ACCESS) in 2001 that includes a risk model and expert interpretations. The present study aimed to develop a novel algorithm using machine learning (ML) and resources from the J-ACCESS database to aid SPECT image interpretation.

[Multiple ileal neuroendocrine tumors 10mm in diameter with lymph node metastasis detected on endoscopy:a case report].

A 53-year-old man with an abnormal routine physical examination was referred to our hospital. Colonoscopy showed a 5-mm submucosal tumor that was 7cm proximal to the ileocecal valve. It was identified as a neuroendocrine tumor (NET) on biopsy.

[A Case of Suspected Non-Occlusive Mesenteric Ischemia following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Esophageal Cancer with an Extremely Poor Prognosis].

Non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia(NOMI)is defined as intestinal ischemia or necrosis with patency of the mesenteric arteries. Here, we report a case of suspected NOMI following neoadjuvant chemotherapy for esophageal cancer with an extremely poor prognosis. A 79-year-old man complained of weight loss and vomiting.

Comparison of therapeutic effects of steroid injection by benign vocal fold lesion type.

Background: Benign vocal fold lesions (BVFLs) can cause voice changes, including reduced loudness and pitch range. In recent times, with progression in endoscopic technology, office-based vocal fold steroid injection (VFSI) has been used as an alternative therapy for BVFLs.

Aims/objectives: In this study, we analyzed the efficacy and safety of VFSI to investigate the mechanism underlying its therapeutic effects and determine the conditions in which VFSI will be most effective.

Validation of the Japanese Version of the Singing Voice Handicap Index.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to translate the Singing Voice Handicap Index (SVHI) into Japanese and validate the Japanese version of the SVHI.

Methods: The SVHI was translated into Japanese from the validated original version, and the questionnaire was administered to 102 singers with voice problems and 88 healthy singers. Internal consistency and test-retest methods were implemented to evaluate the reliability of this index.

Robust endocytoscopic image classification based on higher-order symmetric tensor analysis and multi-scale topological statistics.

Purpose: An endocytoscope is a new type of endoscope that enables users to perform conventional endoscopic observation and ultramagnified observation at the cell level. Although endocytoscopy is expected to improve the cost-effectiveness of colonoscopy, endocytoscopic image diagnosis requires much knowledge and high-level experience for physicians. To circumvent this difficulty, we developed a robust endocytoscopic (EC) image classification method for the construction of a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system, since real-time CAD can resolve accuracy issues and reduce interobserver variability.

Advanced Artificial Electronic Skin Based pH Sensing System for Heatstroke Detection.

Heatstroke is a serious illness that can potentially damage many victims every year. Many intelligent physical sensors have been developed to prevent heatstroke fatalities. However, it remains a challenge to fabricate skin-adhesive, small, and low-cost sensors for heatstroke detection to overcome the weaknesses of the physical sensors.

Syntheses and Immunological Evaluation of Self-Adjuvanting Clustered N-Acetyl and N-Propionyl Sialyl-Tn Combined with a T-helper Cell Epitope as Antitumor Vaccine Candidates.

Sialyl-Tn (STn) is a tumor-associated carbohydrate antigen (TACA) rarely observed on healthy tissues. We synthesized two fully synthetic N-acetyl and N-propionyl STn trimer (triSTn) vaccines possessing a T-helper epitope and a TLR2 agonist, since the clustered STn antigens are highly expressed on many cancer cells. Immunization of both vaccines in mice induced the anti-triSTn IgG antibodies, which recognized triSTn-expressing cell lines PANC-1 and HepG2.

Randomized clinical trial of adjuvant gemcitabine chemotherapy versus observation in resected bile duct cancer.

Background: Although some retrospective studies have suggested the value of adjuvant therapy, no recommended standard exists in bile duct cancer. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that adjuvant gemcitabine chemotherapy would improve survival probability in resected bile duct cancer.

Methods: This was a randomized phase III trial.

Spherical harmonics analysis of surface density fluctuations of spherical ionic SDS and nonionic CE micelles: A molecular dynamics study.

The surface structure and its fluctuation of spherical micelles were investigated using a series of density correlation functions newly defined by spherical harmonics and Legendre polynomials based on the molecular dynamics calculations. To investigate the influence of head-group charges on the micelle surface structure, ionic sodium dodecyl sulfate and nonionic octaethyleneglycol monododecylether (CE) micelles were investigated as model systems. Large-scale density fluctuations were observed for both micelles in the calculated surface static structure factor.

Social capital in Japan: What characteristics do public health nurses see in their communities?

Aim: A concept of social capital that accounts for a community's cultural background and incorporates social capital into public health nursing practice are needed. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of social capital in the context of public health nursing in Japan.

Methods: The study interviewed 11 veteran public health nurses from five municipalities across Japan and undertook a qualitative research analysis.

Automatic anatomical labeling of arteries and veins using conditional random fields.

Purpose: For safe and reliable laparoscopic surgery, it is important to determine individual differences of blood vessels such as the position, shape, and branching structures. Consequently, a computer-assisted laparoscopy that displays blood vessel structures with anatomical labels would be extremely beneficial. This paper details an automated anatomical labeling method for abdominal arteries and veins extracted from 3D CT volumes.

Accuracy of computer-aided diagnosis based on narrow-band imaging endocytoscopy for diagnosing colorectal lesions: comparison with experts.

Purpose: Real-time characterization of colorectal lesions during colonoscopy is important for reducing medical costs, given that the need for a pathological diagnosis can be omitted if the accuracy of the diagnostic modality is sufficiently high. However, it is sometimes difficult for community-based gastroenterologists to achieve the required level of diagnostic accuracy. In this regard, we developed a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system based on endocytoscopy (EC) to evaluate cellular, glandular, and vessel structure atypia in vivo.

[A Case of Idiopathic Bridging Vocal Fold Adhesion that was Treated by Ambulatory Surgery under Local Anesthesia].

Patients with vocal fold adhesions usually undergo surgery under general anesthesia, because of the possibility of postoperative adhesions according to the severity and cause. However, it has been reported that patients with minor bridging adhesion can be treated by only discission without any postoperative adhesion. Herein, we report the case of a patient with idiopathic bridging vocal fold adhesions who was treated by ambulatory surgery at the ENT clinic and showed a benign course.

Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for cholelithiasis 2016.

Cholelithiasis is one of the commonest diseases in gastroenterology. Remarkable improvements in therapeutic modalities for cholelithiasis and its complications are evident. The Japanese Society of Gastroenterology has revised the evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for cholelithiasis.

Automatic segmentation of airway tree based on local intensity filter and machine learning technique in 3D chest CT volume.

Purpose: Airway segmentation plays an important role in analyzing chest computed tomography (CT) volumes for computerized lung cancer detection, emphysema diagnosis and pre- and intra-operative bronchoscope navigation. However, obtaining a complete 3D airway tree structure from a CT volume is quite a challenging task. Several researchers have proposed automated airway segmentation algorithms basically based on region growing and machine learning techniques.

Impact of an automated system for endocytoscopic diagnosis of small colorectal lesions: an international web-based study.

Optical diagnosis of colorectal polyps is expected to improve the cost-effectiveness of colonoscopy, but achieving a high accuracy is difficult for trainees. Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) is therefore receiving attention as an attractive tool. This study aimed to validate the efficacy of the latest CAD model for endocytoscopy (380-fold ultra-magnifying endoscopy).

iMAP™ imaging of tumorous lesions surrounding the coronary arteries in a patient with an elevated serum level of immunoglobulin G4.

A 76-year-old woman with multiple coronary risk factors was admitted to our hospital because of episodes of new-onset chest pain that had begun 3 days previously. She underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for severe stenoses in the two high lateral (HL) branches. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) revealed massive stenotic lesions in the HL branches and tumorous nonstenotic lesions in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) and the left circumflex coronary artery (LCx).

Pneumoperitoneum simulation based on mass-spring-damper models for laparoscopic surgical planning.

Laparoscopic surgery, which is one minimally invasive surgical technique that is now widely performed, is done by making a working space (pneumoperitoneum) by infusing carbon dioxide ([Formula: see text]) gas into the abdominal cavity. A virtual pneumoperitoneum method that simulates the abdominal wall and viscera motion by the pneumoperitoneum based on mass-spring-damper models (MSDMs) with mechanical properties is proposed. Our proposed method simulates the pneumoperitoneum based on MSDMs and Newton's equations of motion.

Poor prognosis of common-type invasive ductal carcinomas that originate in the branching pancreatic duct.

Purpose: To clarify the incidence, clinicopathological features and prognosis of pancreatic invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) with different tumor origin sites in the pancreatic duct.

Methods: Based on the relationship between the invasive cancer area (ICA) and the main pancreatic duct (MPD), IDCs less than 2 cm in diameter were classified into two groups: type I, in which the ICA and MPD were separated, and type II, in which the MPD passed through the ICA. The clinicopathological findings and prognosis of each type were compared in a total of 37 patients.