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Keiko Azuma,1 Ryo Asaoka,1 Aya Matsuda,2 Jihee Lee,3 Kimiko Shimizu,1 Hiroko Inui,1 Hiroshi Murata,1 Asako Ogawa,1 Motoshi Yamamoto,1 Tatsuya Inoue,1 Ryo Obata1 1Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Toranomon Byoin, Tokyo, Japan; 3Department of Ophthalmology, Miyata Eye Hospital, Miyakonojo, Japan Background: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the 2-year outcome and predictive factors of treat-and-extend aflibercept in patients with eyes affected by typical neovascular age-related macula degenelation (t-AMD) or polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), who were switched from ranibizumab. Patients and methods: The patients underwent three monthly aflibercept injections and subsequent administration following the treat-and-extend protocol. Sixty-two eyes of 62 patients were reviewed retrospectively. R statistical software was used for statistical analysis. Results: Twenty-two eyes were t-AMD and the remaining 40 eyes were PCV. There was no significant difference in the logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution visual acuity (VA) between baseline and 2 years after switching to aflibercept (0.40 vs 0.40; P=0.99). Multivariate analyses suggested that the following factors were significantly correlated with better VA at 2 years after switching to aflibercept: patients with PCV, the absence of intraretinal fluid at baseline, and better VA at baseline. Conclusion: In conclusion, VA was maintained and there was an anatomical improvement at 2 years in patients with t-AMD and PCV who were switched from ranibizumab to treat-and-extend aflibercept. PCV patients showed more favorable visual outcomes and less injections at 2 years compared to t-AMD patients. Intraretinal fluid and VA at baseline were predictors of VA at 2 years. Keywords: typical neovascular age-related macular degeneration, polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, persistent exudative changes with ranibizumab, aflibercept, 2-year outcome

SiGe is a promising anode material for replacing graphite in next generation thin-film batteries owing to its high theoretical charge/discharge capacity. Metal-induced layer exchange (LE) is a unique technique used for the low-temperature synthesis of SiGe layers on arbitrary substrates. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of Si1−xGex (x = 0–1) layers on plastic films using Al-induced LE. The resulting SiGe layers exhibited high electrical conductivity (up to 1200 S cm−1), reflecting the self-organized doping effect of LE. Moreover, the Si1−xGex layer synthesized by the same process was adopted as the anode for the lithium-ion battery. All Si1−xGex anodes showed clear charge/discharge operation and high coulombic efficiency (≥ 97%) after 100 cycles. While the discharge capacities almost reflected the theoretical values at each x at 0.1 C, the capacity degradation with increasing current rate strongly depended on x. Si-rich samples exhibited high initial capacity and low capacity retention, while Ge-rich samples showed contrasting characteristics. In particular, the Si1−xGex layers with x ≥ 0.8 showed excellent current rate performance owing to their high electrical conductivity and low volume expansion, maintaining a high capacity (> 500 mAh g–1) even at a high current rate (10 C). Thus, we revealed the relationship between SiGe composition and anode characteristics for the SiGe layers formed by LE at low temperatures. These results will pave the way for the next generation of flexible batteries based on SiGe anodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: M. Yagi (1), S. Homma (2), M. Kubota (1), Y. Iinuma (1), S. Kanada (1), Y. Kinoshita (1), M. Ohtaki (1), S. Yamazaki (1), H. Murata (1) Keywords: Rikkunshi-to; Gastric myoelectric activity; Dyspepsia; Gastrointestinal surgery Abstract: Rikkunshi-to (TJ-43), a gastroprotective herbal medicine, has been used for the symptomatic relief of adult patients with dyspepsia. However, its mechanism has yet to be fully elucidated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of TJ-43 on the gastric myoelectric activity in post-operative dyspeptic patients, whose symptoms persisted for over 1 year after gastrointestinal surgery. Electrogastrography (EGG) recordings were performed to calculate the biomechanical parameters on the dominant peak frequency (DPF). Eight pediatric patients with dyspeptic symptoms after gastrointestinal surgery were examined and six age-matched children without any dyspeptic symptoms were used as controls, and they were compared with nine age-matched children without any dyspeptic symptoms after gastrointestinal surgery as subcontrols. All patients exhibited symptomatic relief after the administration of TJ-43, and the mean symptom score decreased significantly after the treatment of TJ-43 over a 1-month period (P&lt 0.0001). The variability index (VI) and the percentage of normal waves (PNW) were calculated as irregularity parameters of DPF. The power ratio (PR) was calculated as a parameter of the gastric contractile activity. There were no significant differences in the VI and PNW between the controls and patients during the postprandial state after therapy, even though significant differences existed regarding those parameters between the controls and patients before the therapy. There were no significant differences in the DPF, VI, and PNW between the controls and subcontrols. Furthermore, PR exhibited a significant increase after therapy (P&lt 0.05). However, there was a significant difference in the PR between the controls and subcontrols (P&lt 0.05). Postprandial dip was observed in all control subjects, eight patients in the subcontrols, and two patients after administration of TJ-43, respectively. An abnormal gastric electrical activity therefore seems to be an important factor in the pathophysiology of post-operative dyspeptic children. The coordinating and stimulating effect of TJ-43 on the gastric myoelectric activity therefore seems to play an important role in the reduction of dyspeptic symptoms. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Pediatric Surgery, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori, Niigata-City, 951--8510, Niigata , Japan (2) Department of Organ Physiology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori, Niigata-City, 951--8510, Niigata , Japan Article History: Online Date: 09/01/2004