Physical frailty recovery is slower than mental frailty recovery after non-cardiac surgery in older adult patients.

Purpose: Frailty is characterized by fragility and decline in physical, mental, and social activities; it is commonly observed in older adults. No studies have reported frailty status changes between the preoperative and postoperative periods, including mental and cognitive factors. Therefore, this study investigated frailty factors, including mental and cognitive functions, that change after non-cardiac surgery in older adults.

In situ characterization of the agglutination of lectins via cross-linking of carbohydrates by time-resolved measurement of forward static light scattering.

We present real-time observations of a structurally variable process for cross-linking agglutination between multivalent lectins and glycoclusters using a small-angle forward static light scattering (F-SLS) technique. In this study, a cross-linking agglutination reaction was carried out using a tetravalent Neu5Acα2,6LacNAc-glycocluster and Sambucus sieboldiana agglutinin (SSA). The scattering intensity of time-resolved F-SLS increased with formation of the Neu5Acα2,6LacNAc-glycocluster-SSA cross-linked complex.

Intraoperative Colonoscopy in Laparoscopic Rectal Cancer Surgery Reduces Anastomotic Leakage.

Objectives: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is the most severe complication of colorectal surgery and is a frequent cause of postoperative mortality. This study aimed to identify the risk factors for AL, including the type of air leak test (ALT) performed, in patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery.

Methods: This study involved a retrospective review of 201 patients who underwent elective laparoscopic procedures using circular stapled anastomosis for colorectal cancer between January 2015 and December 2020 at Kyorin University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Site-specific risk factors for local recurrence after rectal cancer surgery.

Background: Quite few studies examined risk factors for local recurrence after rectal cancer surgery with respect to local recurrence sites.

Methods: Local recurrence sites were categorized into axial, anterior, posterior, and lateral (pelvic sidewall), and axial, anterior, and posterior type were combined as the "other" type of local recurrence. Among 76 patients enrolled into our prospective randomized controlled trial to determine the indication for pelvic autonomic nerve preservation (PANP) in patients with advanced lower rectal cancer (UMIN000021353), multivariate analyses were conducted to elucidate risk factors for either lateral or the "other" type of local recurrence.

Changing Patterns of Distant Metastasis in Patients With Lower Rectal Cancer Undergoing Intraoperative Radiotherapy.

Background/aim: Local radiotherapy for primary tumors may increase the incidence of distant metastasis. However, the patterns of target organs have not been clarified yet.

Patients And Methods: In our randomized controlled trial examining the oncological efficacy of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) for advanced lower rectal cancer, the details of the metastatic organs were evaluated.

[A Case Report of Sigmoid Colon Cancer with Multiple Lung Metastases Successfully Treated with S-1].

A patient in his 70s was diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer[pT3pN1cM1(PUL1), pStage IV ]for which he underwent sigmoid colectomy and received S-1 adjuvant therapy for the lung metastases. The patient received a total of 10 courses of S- 1, administered orally on days 1-14 of a 21-day cycle. The lung metastases showed a complete response, and the patient completed the S-1 chemotherapy.

Emission waveguiding in organic thin films supported by metal.

On silver thin film, an organic semiconductor rubrene layer consisting of a planar waveguide exhibits spectrally narrowing photoluminescence (PL) spectra with an increasing emission angle, which are compared with those of rubrene thin films on glass. The PL spectra of rubrene on Ag have a polarization characteristic. In the side direction of the multilayer structure, spectrally very sharp PL was observed.

[A Case of Rectal Cancer with Multiple Liver, Lung, and Para-Aortic Lymph Node Metastases Successfully Treated with FOLFOX4 plus Bevacizumab].

A patient in his 70s was diagnosed with rectal cancer (pT3, pN1, cM0, and pStage IIIa) for which he underwent low anterior resection of the rectum and received adjuvant therapy with UFT/LV. Multiple liver, lung, and para-aortic lymph node metastases were detected after 6 months, and the patient then received a total of 24 courses of FOLFOX4 plus bevacizumab instead of UFT/LV. The liver and para-aortic lymph node metastases showed a complete response (CR), and the lung metastases markedly diminished.

Method and apparatus for characterization of electric field-induced aggregation in pre-crystalline protein solutions.

The article presents a method and an apparatus for the characterization of protein aggregation under an applied internal electric field. The method is based on a forward light scattering technique that is highly sensitive to aggregates in pre-crystalline protein solutions. Transparent conductive films are used as electrodes for a planar thin sample cell, which enables precise measurement of the forward light scattering at small angles through the electrodes.

Changes in radiocesium contamination from Fukushima in foliar parts of 10 common tree species in Japan between 2011 and 2013.

Yearly changes in radiocesium ((137)Cs) contamination, primarily due to the Fukushima accident of March 2011, were observed in the foliar parts of 10 common woody species in Japan (Chamaecyparis obtusa, Cedrus deodara, Pinus densiflora, Cryptomeria japonica, Phyllostachys pubescens, Cinnamomum camphora, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Prunus × yedoensis, Acer buergerianum, and Aesculus hippocastanum). The samples were obtained from Abiko (approximately 200 km SSW of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant) during each growing season between 2011 and 2013, and the foliar parts were examined based on their year of expansion and location in each trees. The radiocesium concentrations generally decreased with time; however, the concentrations and rates of decrease varied among species, age of foliar parts, and locations.

Emission-angle-dependent photoluminescence of rubrene thin films on silver.

Rubrene layers with thickness comparable to a visible light wavelength on silver thin film exhibit anomalous photoluminescence (PL) spectra that depend strongly on emission angle. The PL properties demonstrated for rubrene (500 nm)/Ag (50 nm) were modulated from yellow green to red luminescence with an increasing emission angle. The factors influencing the emission-angle-dependent PL spectra are discussed from two viewpoints: spectral modulation of rubrene PL by loss of fluorescence photon energy and additional luminescence resulting from optical interference in the rubrene layer or optical modes excited by rubrene molecules.

Enhanced photoluminescence spectroscopy for thin films using the attenuated total reflection method.

We present a powerful spectral photoluminescence measurement method for thin films that utilizes the enhanced absorption of the fluorescent thin films on metal thin films with attenuated total reflection (ATR). The photoluminescence measurement has the advantageous effects of avoiding transmitted light and preventing the loss of luminescence through waveguiding in the film substrates. The ATR modes excited by low-power incident light provide fluorescence intensities that are considerably larger than that of conventional photoluminescence measurements and preserve the spectral profile of the photoluminescence.

Characteristics of metal enhanced evanescent-wave microcavities.

This article presents the concept of storing optical energy using a metallic air gap microcavity. Evanescent waves are stored in the air gap of a dielectric/metal/air gap/metal planar microcavity. For an air gap with a micron scale distance between the two metals, incident light excites the optical interface modes on the two metal-air interfaces simultaneously, being accompanied by enhanced evanescent fields.

Low-refractive-index dye-aggregate films with small absorption based on anomalous dispersion.

Complex-refractive-index spectra of Squarylium (SQ) dye-aggregate films deposited upon metal films have been investigated by measurements of properties of the films including absorption spectra (AS) and attenuated total reflection. Complex refractive indices are estimated by Kramers-Kronig analysis for the AS and by a theoretical curve-fitting analysis for attenuated total reflection. The dye-aggregate films exhibited an absorption that was blueshifted from that of a monomer, as a result of the H-aggregate formation of SQ molecules, and had a changing refractive index with anomalous dispersion about the H-absorption band.

Thermal-changeable complex-refractive-index spectra of merocyanine aggregate films.

Thermal behaviors of complex refractive index of merocyanine (MC) Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films have been investigated with absorption spectrum measurements, which are obtained from the Kramers-Kronig (K-K) analysis. The complex-refractive-index spectra with an anomalous dispersion around a J-aggregate absorption band of MC molecules are changed by annealing temperatures. This thermal characteristic is attributed to the annealing-changeable MC J-aggregates.