Publications by authors named "Taira T"

Objective: It remains unclear whether general hospitals without psychiatric wards can provide sufficient services for both physical and mental health needs, as they often lack adequate psychiatrists, primarily due to cost constraints. This article explores the relationship between the number of full-time psychiatrists and functionality for integrating physical and mental health services in these settings.

Methods: The Medical Policy Committee of the Japanese Society of General Hospital Psychiatry conducted a nationwide survey in 2022 to evaluate the detailed scope and volume of service of psychiatric departments in general hospitals without a psychiatric ward.

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Millijoule-scale pulses of multicycle terahertz radiation (MC-THz) are increasingly being pursued as drivers for applications requiring high-fields and high spectral brightness. An attractive approach for generating high peak-power MC-THz pulses is nonlinear optical down-conversion of laser pulses in periodically-poled crystals. A principal limitation to the yield, however, is the small (sub-centimeter) apertures of commercially-available crystals which restrict the amount of laser energy that can be used.

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Background: No clinical trials have been reported on the use of focused ultrasound (FUS) for treating cervical dystonia.

Objective: We aimed to confirm the efficacy and safety of FUS pallidothalamic tractotomy for cervical dystonia.

Methods: This was a prospective, open-label, non-controlled pilot study.

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The cultivation of sunflower ( L.) as a cut flower stands out in floriculture due to its aesthetic beauty and commercial value. Understanding how cut sunflower genotypes adapt to different edaphoclimatic regions and management practices is essential to optimize flower quality and productivity.

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Introduction: Delineating subthalamic nucleus (STN) boundaries using microelectrode recordings (MER) and trajectory history is a valuable resource for neurosurgeons, aiding in the accurate and efficient positioning of deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes within the STN. Here, we aimed to assess the application of artificial intelligence, specifically Hidden Markov Models (HMM), in the context of STN localization.

Methods: A comprehensive search strategy was employed, encompassing electronic databases, including PubMed, EuroPMC, and MEDLINE.

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Article Synopsis
  • - In the CAPItello-291 study, capivasertib combined with fulvestrant showed improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared to placebo in patients with advanced HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer, including those with specific genetic alterations (PIK3CA, AKT1, or PTEN).
  • - Among the 708 total patients, 78 were from Japan, where results also indicated a numerical PFS benefit for the capivasertib-fulvestrant group, suggesting consistency with global findings.
  • - The safety profile for the Japanese subgroup was similar to that of the worldwide population, indicating no new safety concerns, thus supporting the efficacy of the treatment approach.
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We report a case with paretic focal hand dystonia, which at first glance was diagnosed as writer's cramp, with poor performance only when playing the guitar and writing but with increased muscle tension around the elbow rather than in the fingers and hands. The muscle tension was around the elbow and the pallidothalamic tract (PTT) was selected as the proximal muscle target with less permanent complications. During the operation, the PTT test electrical stimulation was impaired only for guitar playing, but not for other hand movements.

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  • The study investigated what factors contribute to better neurological outcomes in patients initially experiencing pulseless electrical activity (PEA) who received extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR).
  • Data from the SAVE-J II registry, which included 36 hospitals in Japan, showed that only 8.2% of patients had favorable neurological outcomes, while 16.9% survived to hospital discharge.
  • Key factors linked to better outcomes included absence of cardiac rhythm conversion to asystole, presence of signs of life, pupil size, and temporary return of circulation, with certain causes of cardiac arrest like acute coronary syndrome having higher favorable outcomes.
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Background Meige syndrome is a segmental dystonia affecting the head and neck, with bilateral blepharospasm as the primary symptom. First-line treatment typically involves Botox injections. For cases resistant to this treatment, bilateral deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus internus (GPi) is considered.

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  • * In September 2023, researchers detected a significant seismic signal from East Greenland that corresponded to a rock-ice avalanche leading to a tsunami in Dickson Fjord.
  • * The study reveals that the tsunami transformed into a 7-meter-high long-duration seiche, demonstrating the interplay between glacial melting and geological hazards, emphasizing the dangerous effects of climate change on these environments.
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  • This study investigates the impact of the Tokyo Summer Olympic/Paralympic Games on emergency medical services by analyzing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patient outcomes during and around the event.
  • Researchers compared 30-day survival rates of OHCA patients admitted to hospitals during the Olympics/Paralympics (July-August 2021) with those from the same time in previous years and nearby timeframes before and after the events.
  • The findings indicate that there were no significant differences in 30-day survival rates for OHCA patients across the different time periods, suggesting that the Olympics and Paralympics did not notably influence emergency medical outcomes.
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Importance: Delirium is common among older hospitalized adults. In addition to presenting immediate management issues, delirium can increase the long-term risk of dementia, institutionalization, and mortality. Delirium is associated with disrupted sleep, and prior studies suggest that some specific sleep-promoting agents may reduce delirium.

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Thrombocytopenia frequently occurs in patients with sepsis. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) may be a possible cause of thrombocytopenia owing to its high prevalence and association with poor outcomes; however, it is important to keep the presence of other diseases in mind in sepsis practice. Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), which is characterized by thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and complement-mediated HUS, is characterized by thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, and organ damage.

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This case report presents a 77-year-old woman who developed subacute thyroiditis following COVID-19. The patient exhibited atypical symptoms, including fever, fatigue, anorexia, significant weight loss, headaches, and palpitations, without the typical neck pain or tenderness associated with thyroiditis. One week later, a follow-up examination showed mild enlargement and tenderness of the thyroid.

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Objective: The efficacy and safety of zolpidem for treating musician's dystonia are not well understood. We aimed to retrospectively investigate the efficacy and safety of zolpidem for treating musician's dystonia.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records between January 2021 and December 2023 to identify patients with musician's dystonia who had been prescribed zolpidem.

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A Joule-class room-temperature diode-pumped solid-state laser was developed. The energy scaling of the 100 mJ 1064 nm seed pulse was realized by a series of two diode-pumped amplifiers. The gain medium consists in free combinations of Nd:YAG ceramics bonded to sapphire transparent heat sinks, to relax the thermal load induced by the 34 kW pump power.

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Immune checkpoint inhibitors have significantly transformed the landscape of cancer therapy. Nevertheless, while these inhibitors are highly effective for certain patient groups, many do not benefit due to primary or acquired resistance. Specifically, these treatments often lack sufficient therapeutic efficacy against cancers with low antigenicity.

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Objective: The association between fluid balance and outcomes in patients who underwent out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and received extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) remains unknown. We aimed to examine the above relationship during the first 24 h following intensive care unit (ICU) admission.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of the SAVE-J II study, a retrospective multicenter study involving OHCA patients aged ≥ 18 years treated with ECPR between 2013 and 2018 and who received fluid therapy following ICU admission.

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Fat embolism syndrome (FES) is a rare complication of long bone fractures, with fulminant FES developing within 12 h of injury and often proving fatal (Shaikh, 2009 [1]). Here, we present a case of fulminant FES in a patient who developed sudden right heart failure after undergoing external fixation of a lower leg fracture and required veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). A 79-year-old woman injured in a traffic accident was transferred to our emergency department.

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is a prevalent fungal pathogen that displays antibiotic resistance. The polyene antifungal amphotericin B (AmB) has been the gold standard because of its broad antifungal spectra, and its liposomal formulation, AmBisome, has been used widely and clinically in treating fungal infections. Herein, we explored enhancing the antifungal activity of AmBisome by integrating a small chitin-binding domain (LysM) of chitinase A derived from .

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Patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer often present with duodenal bleeding, a potentially life-threatening complication. In our case series of six unresectable pancreatic cancer patients with tumor bleeding, we explored the efficacy and safety of placement of a covered self-expandable metallic stent in the duodenum as a treatment option; we achieved a hemostasis rate of 67% (4/6), with a rebleeding rate of 50% (2/4). No complications occurred with stent placement, except for food impaction in one patient.

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Background: Gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (GnP) therapy has been shown to improve the prognosis in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (PC); however, the efficacy and safety of GnP in PC patients with malignant ascites (MA) remains unknown.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated PC patients with peritoneal dissemination who had received GnP as first-line chemotherapy at our institution between March 2015 and August 2021. The following patient data were reviewed: patient characteristics, overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), adverse events (AEs), and relative dose intensity (RDI).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines how different laser pulse numbers and durations affect the formation of periodic surface structures on silicon carbide (SiC) substrates.
  • As the number of laser pulses increases, surface structures transition from roughness with nanoparticles to laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) that have periods shorter than the laser wavelength.
  • Crucially, maintaining the crystallinity of the surface is essential for achieving these transformations, as longer pulse widths can prevent LIPSS formation due to poly-crystallization of the irradiated area.
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