Search

Although the feasibility of randomized trials for investigating the long-term association between oral health and cognitive decline is low, deriving causal inferences from observational data is challenging. We aimed to investigate the association between poor oral status and subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) using fixed-effects model to eliminate the confounding effect of unobserved time-invariant factors.We used data from Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) which was conducted in 2010, 2013, and 2016. β regression coefficients and 95% confidence intervals [CIs] were calculated using fixed-effects models to determine the effect of deteriorating oral status on developing SCC. Onset of SCC was evaluated using the Kihon Checklist-Cognitive function score. Four oral status variables were used: awareness of swallowing difficulty, decline in masticatory function, dry mouth, and number of teeth.We included 13,594 participants (55.8% women) without SCC at baseline. The mean age was 72.4 (standard deviation [SD], 5.1) years for men and 72.4 (SD, 4.9) years for women. Within the 6-year follow-up, 26.6% of men and 24.9% of women developed SCC. The probability of developing SCC was significantly higher when participants acquired swallowing difficulty (β = 0.088; 95% CI, 0.065-0.111 for men and β = 0.077; 95% CI, 0.057-0.097 for women), decline in masticatory function (β = 0.039; 95% CI, 0.021-0.057 for men and β = 0.030; 95% CI, 0.013-0.046 for women), dry mouth (β = 0.026; 95% CI, 0.005-0.048 for men and β = 0.064; 95% CI, 0.045-0.083 for women), and tooth loss (β = 0.043; 95% CI, 0.001-0.085 for men and β = 0.058; 95% CI, 0.015-0.102 for women).The findings suggest that good oral health needs to be maintained to prevent the development of SCC, which increases the risk for future dementia.

Background: The trend of the diffusion of heated tobacco products (HTPs) is a great concern because HTPs have become available worldwide. This study examined the sociodemographic characteristics of HTPs users in Japan, where HTPs were first launched. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from an online survey conducted in 2017. A total of 4,926 participants, aged 20–69 years, were included. The dependent variable was the type of tobacco products used. The independent variables were age and equivalent income. Two analyses estimated the odds ratios (ORs) for 1) being smokers compared to “non-smokers,” and 2) being “HTP smokers” compared to “only combustible cigarette smokers.” Analyses were stratified by sex. Educational attainment and occupation were also used in the sensitivity analyses. Results: The percentages of “non-smokers,” “only combustible cigarette smokers,” and “HTP smokers” were 82.8%, 14.2%, and 3.0%, respectively. When compared to the oldest participants (aged 60–69), the youngest participants (aged 20–29) tended to be “HTP smokers” (OR 7.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.09–20.22 for men and OR 9.28; 95% CI, 2.14–40.28 for women). Compared to participants with the lowest incomes (

It remains unclear whether severe liver immune-related adverse events (liver-irAEs) can affect the prognosis in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients. Of the 365 NSCLC patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), 19 suffered from severe liver-irAEs (grade ≥3). The median time-to-onset of liver-irAEs was 53 days post-injection of the first ICI. The progression-free survival and overall survival of the liver-irAEs group (median 69 and 262 days, respectively) were significantly worse than the non-liver-irAEs group (128 and 722 days; P = 0.010 and P = 0.007; respectively). In conclusion, liver-irAEs were associated with poor prognosis in NSCLC patients.

Background Although the majority of survivors of the huge Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami evacuated to two types of temporary housings, prefabricated housing and rented housing, health effects of these different environments were unclear. We examined whether prevalent social participation in prefabricated housing brought larger health benefits than in rented housing using the largest health survey data of the disaster survivors. Methods This cross-sectional study used a 2012 survey by the Miyagi Prefectural Government, in which almost all of evacuees were targeted (response rate: 61.6%). Self-rated health (SRH) and psychological distress measured via K6 score were the dependent variables, and social participation was the independent variable. Odds ratios of the social participation on health variables were estimated using logistic regression models. To assess the contribution of social participation, the population attributable fraction (PAF) was estimated. Results The participants lived in prefabricated and rented housing numbered 19,726 and 28,270, respectively. Participants in prefabricated housing had poorer SRH and K6 than those in rented housing. The proportions of participants engaging in social participation of prefabricated and rented housing were 38.2% and 15.4%, respectively. The absence of social participation was significantly associated with poor SRH and K6 among participants in both housing types. The PAFs of social participation with good SRH were 39.5% in prefabricated housing and 14.4% in rented housing. For K6, the PAFs were 47.1% and 19.5% in prefabricated and rented housing, respectively. Conclusion Compared to the residents in rented housing, residents in prefabricated housing had more frequent opportunities for social participation, which was associated with larger health benefits.

Prevalence of tooth loss has increased due to population aging. Tooth loss negatively affects the overall physical and social well-being of older adults. Understanding the role of socio-demographic and other predictors associated with tooth loss that are measured in non-clinical settings can be useful in community-level prevention. We used high-dimensional epidemiological data to investigate important factors in predicting tooth loss among older adults over a 6-year period of follow-up. Data was from participants of 2010 and 2016 waves of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES). A total of 19,407 community-dwelling functionally independent older adults aged 65 and older were included in the analysis. Tooth loss was measured as moving from a higher number of teeth category at the baseline to a lower number of teeth category at the follow-up. Out of 119 potential predictors, age, sex, number of teeth, denture use, chewing difficulty, household income, employment, education, smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption, community participation, time since last health check-up, having a hobby, and feeling worthless were selected using Boruta algorithm. Within the 6-year follow-up, 3013 individuals (15.5%) reported incidence of tooth loss. People who experienced tooth loss were older (72.9 ± 5.2 vs 71.8 ± 4.7), and predominantly men (18.3% vs 13.1%). Extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) machine learning prediction model had a mean accuracy of 90.5% (±0.9%). A visual analysis of machine learning predictions revealed that the prediction of tooth loss was mainly driven by demographic (older age), baseline oral health (having 10–19 teeth, wearing dentures), and socioeconomic (lower household income, manual occupations) variables. Predictors related to wide a range of determinants contribute towards tooth loss among older adults. In addition to oral health related and demographic factors, socioeconomic factors were important in predicting future tooth loss. Understanding the behaviour of these predictors can thus be useful in developing prevention strategies for tooth loss among older adults.

BackgroundThe clinical course of liver injury induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) varies among individuals, and there were few reports on the therapeutic effects of corticosteroids based on the patterns of liver injury.MethodsWe evaluated the characteristics and clinical course of immune-related liver injury in 1087 patients treated with ICIs for advanced malignancies between August 2014 and December 2020. ResultsDuring the follow-up period (median, 270 days), 56 patients (5.2%) had immune-related liver injury (≥Grade 3). The liver-injury patterns were hepatocellular (n = 25, 44.6%), mixed (n = 10, 17.9%), or cholestatic (n = 21, 37.5%), and the median time to onset of liver injury was 36, 85, and 53 days, respectively; the hepatocellular pattern occurred earlier than the other types (P = 0.036). Corticosteroids were administered to 29 (51.8%) patients. While liver injury was improved in almost all patients with the hepatocellular pattern (n = 13/14, 92.9%), that failed to show improvement in over half of the patients with the non-hepatocellular patterns (mixed, n = 8; cholestatic, n = 7), and three patients with mixed patterns needed secondary immunosuppression with mycophenolate mofetil. Liver biopsies performed in 13 patients mainly showed lobular injury, endothelialitis, and spotty necrosis with infiltration of T cells positive for CD3 and CD8, but not CD4 or CD20. Conclusion The incidence pattern and therapeutic response to corticosteroids in immune-related liver injury differs according to the injury type. Although corticosteroids were effective for the hepatocellular pattern, an additional strategy for refractory non-hepatocellular patterns is needed.

The clinical course of liver injury induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) varies among individuals, and there were few reports on the therapeutic effects of corticosteroids based on the patterns of liver injury. We evaluated the characteristics and clinical course of immune-related liver injury in 1214 patients treated with ICIs for advanced malignancies except for hepatocellular carcinoma between August 2014 and May 2021. During the follow-up period (median, 252 days), 58 patients (4.8%) had an immune-related liver injury (≥ Grade 3). The liver-injury patterns were hepatocellular (n = 26, 44.8%), mixed (n = 11, 19.0%), or cholestatic (n = 21, 36.2%), and the median time to onset of liver injury was 39, 81, and 53 days, respectively; the hepatocellular pattern occurred earlier than the other types (p = 0.047). Corticosteroids were administered to 30 (51.7%) patients; while liver injury was improved in almost all patients with the hepatocellular pattern (n = 13/14, 92.9%), that failed to show improvement in over half of the patients with the non-hepatocellular patterns, and three patients with mixed patterns needed secondary immunosuppression with mycophenolate mofetil. Liver biopsies performed in 13 patients mainly showed lobular injury, endothelialitis, and spotty necrosis with infiltration of T cells positive for CD3 and CD8, but not CD4 or CD20. The incidence pattern and therapeutic response to corticosteroids in immune-related liver injury differ according to the injury type. Although corticosteroids were effective for the hepatocellular pattern, an additional strategy for refractory non-hepatocellular patterns is needed.

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered a leading cause of death in patients with haemophilia. Recent advances in the treatment of unresectable HCC with molecular-targeted agents (MTAs) have led to better clinical outcomes. However, the tolerability of MTAs by haemophilic patients with HCC remains unclear. Aim This study aimed to compare the tolerability of MTAs in such patients. Patients and methods From January 2011 to October 2020, five haemophilic patients with HCC were treated with MTAs. Adverse events were assessed in comparison with 265 non-haemophilic patients with HCC. Results The prevalence of hand-foot skin reaction was not higher in the haemophiliacs than in the non-haemophiliacs, whereas the rate of haemorrhagic events was higher in the haemophiliacs (6.0% versus 40.0%, p=0.037). Conclusion Haemophiliacs tolerate long-term MTA use, without the occurrence of life-threatening complications. However, careful observation and prevention are needed for MTA-related gastrointestinal bleeding in haemophiliacs.

Magnetic refrigeration exploits the magnetocaloric effect which is the entropy change upon application and removal of magnetic fields in materials, providing an alternate path for refrigeration other than the conventional gas cycles. While intensive research has uncovered a vast number of magnetic materials which exhibits large magnetocaloric effect, these properties for a large number of compounds still remain unknown. To explore new functional materials in this unknown space, machine learning is used as a guide for selecting materials which could exhibit large magnetocaloric effect. By this approach, HoB$_{2}$ is singled out, synthesized and its magnetocaloric properties are evaluated, leading to the experimental discovery of gigantic magnetic entropy change 40.1 J kg$^{-1}$ K$^{-1}$ (0.35 J cm$^{-3}$ K$^{-1}$) for a field change of 5 T in the vicinity of a ferromagnetic second-order phase transition with a Curie temperature of 15 K. This is the highest value reported so far, to our knowledge, near the hydrogen liquefaction temperature thus it is a highly suitable material for hydrogen liquefaction and low temperature magnetic cooling applications., 12 pages including 3 figures and 1 table + 11 pages of supplementary information. Published version available at: https://rdcu.be/b36ep

Eating alone is reported to deteriorate health; however, the relationship between eating alone and poor dental health remains unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between poor dental health and eating alone. Data of participants (n = 156,287) aged ≥65 years from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study were evaluated using logistic regression to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between dental status, including prosthesis use, and eating status. Differences in these associations according to living status were also examined. The mean age of participants was 73.7 (SD = 6.0) years. The percentages of participants eating alone with 20 or more teeth, 10–19 teeth with dental prostheses, 0–9 teeth with dental prostheses, 10–19 teeth without dental prostheses, and 0–9 teeth without dental prostheses were 13.8%, 16.0%, 18.6%, 18.9%, and 27.0%, respectively. After adjusting for covariates, participants with 0–9 teeth without any dental prosthesis showed a significantly higher odds ratio for eating alone (OR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.58–2.07) than those with 20 or more teeth. Among participants with poorer dental status, the probability of eating alone was higher in those living alone than in those living with others. Among older adults, poor dental status was significantly associated with eating alone, and this association was stronger among those living alone. Maintaining better dental status by using a dental prosthesis might reduce the risk of eating alone, especially for those living alone.

Consumption of green tea without sugar, as well as social networks, are associated with a lower risk of tooth loss. There is a possibility of confounding both factors because tea is often drunk with friends. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine whether green tea consumption is beneficially associated with the number of remaining teeth, while considering social networks. This cross-sectional study was based on the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) in 2016. Self-administered questionnaires containing questions about green tea consumption were mailed to 34,567 community-dwelling residents aged &ge, 65 years. We used the number of remaining teeth as a dependent variable, and green tea consumption and the number of friends met over the past month (social network size) as independent variables. Linear regression models with multiple imputation were used. A total of 24,147 people responded (response rate = 69.9%), and 22,278 valid data were included into our analysis. Participants&rsquo, mean age was 74.2 years (standard deviation = 6.3), and 45.9% were men. Among the participants, 52.2% had &ge, 20 teeth, 34.2% drank 2&ndash, 3 cups of green tea per day, and 32.6% met &ge, 10 people over the past month. After adjusting for all potential confounders, both higher green tea consumption and a larger social network size were associated with more remaining teeth (both p for trend &lt, 0.001). The association of green tea was greater among those with smaller social networks (p for interaction &lt, 0.05). The protective association of green tea was remarkable among people with smaller social networks.

We have developed an approach to control the carrier density in various material under high pressure by the combination of an electric double layer transistor (EDLT) with a diamond anvil cell (DAC). In this study, this EDLT-DAC was applied to a Bi thin film, and here we report the field-effect under high pressure in the material. Our EDLT-DAC is a promising device for exploring unknown physical phenomena such as high transition-temperature superconductivity (HTS)., 10 pages, 4 figures

Objectives Income inequalities in access to dental care have been reported worldwide. While geographical accessibility may affect inequalities, no study has examined whether the use of public transportation reduces income inequalities in access to dental care. Therefore, we examined whether the use of public transportation is associated with reduced income inequalities in access to dental care. Methods This cross-sectional study used data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study conducted in 2016. Self-reported questionnaires were distributed to 34 567 community-dwelling independent older adults aged 65 years or over from 39 municipalities. The dependent variable was dental attendance for any treatment. The independent variables were daily public transportation use and household equivalent income. The covariates were age, years of education, marital status, self-rated health, number of teeth, car use, having bus stops or railway stations nearby for individual level and density of dental clinics for community level. After multiple imputation, a two-level linear regression analysis was performed and stratified by sex. Results The mean age of the 19 664 participants (response rate: 69.9%) was 73.8 years (standard deviation = 6.1). Among the participants with dental attendance for treatment in the past six months, daily public transportation users represented 45.5% of men and 56.1% of women. These users had higher levels of dental attendance for treatment (β = .109, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.051-0.166 for men, β = .094, 95% CI = 0.039-0.149 for women) than nondaily users. Household equivalent income was positively associated with higher dental attendance for treatment (β = .046, 95% CI = 0.029-0.062 for men, β = .029, 95% CI = 0.013-0.045 for women). Income inequalities in access to dental care were smaller among the daily public transportation users than in nondaily users, and a statistically significant interaction was observed only in men (P-value interactions = .025 for men, .188 for women). Conclusion Income inequalities in access to dental care were smaller among older daily users of public transportation than in nondaily users. These results suggest that providing environment in which people can conveniently use public transportation is needed for reducing income inequalities in access to dental care, especially for men.

Risk perception and individual reactions to risk are not necessarily comparable, and socioeconomic status may affect individual reactions to risk. This study aimed to investigate the association between socioeconomic status and reactions to radiation exposure risk. This cross-sectional study, based on a self-reported online survey was conducted between 3 March and 21 March 2012, one year after the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. We used feelings of anxiety and risk-averse behavior concerning radiation exposure as dependent variables, and equivalent income and educational attainment as independent variables. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) with adjustment for possible confounders. Among 10 000 participants, 23.0% felt anxious and 12.0% engaged in risk-averse behavior for radiation exposure. Participants with a higher socioeconomic status tended not to feel anxious but undertook risk-averse behavior. Participants in the highest quartile income category did not report feeling anxious but showed prevalent undertaking of risk-averse behavior for radiation exposure compared to the lowest income category (for anxiety, aOR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64–0.93, for risk-averse behavior, aOR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.04–1.69). University or graduate-school graduates were associated with greater risk-averse behavior compared to junior high school or high school graduates (aOR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.29–1.73). Socioeconomic status may affect reactions to radiation exposure risk. Risk communication strategies should consider the socioeconomic status of those affected.

To estimate quantitatively whether the presence of cough associated with dysphagia (laryngeal cough reflex) increased mortality through respiratory disease among community-dwelling older Japanese.A 6-year follow-up prospective cohort study (from 2010 to 2017).Thirteen municipalities in Japan.Community-dwelling individuals aged 65 years or older (N = 32,682).The baseline survey was conducted through self-reported questionnaire. Exposure was experience of laryngeal cough reflex while drinking. The outcome was all-cause mortality. All covariates were selected from demographic, socioeconomic variables, baseline health and functional status, smoking, alcohol drinking, number of remaining teeth, and stroke. The mediator variable was respiratory disease. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality. Parametric mediation analysis was conducted to estimate the effect of laryngeal cough reflex on the mean residual time to death mediated through respiratory disease.Among the 32,682 participants (mean age = 74.1 years, standard deviation = 5.9 years), 5550 (17.0%) experienced laryngeal cough reflex at baseline. A total of 4037 deaths occurred. Crude mortality rates of the participants with or without laryngeal cough reflex were 16.3% and 11.6%, respectively. After adjusting for covariates, laryngeal cough reflex [HR = 1.10; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02 to 1.19] and respiratory disease (HR = 1.80; 95% CI = 1.62 to 2.00) were associated with mortality. The mediation analysis showed that respiratory disease significantly (P .001) and partially mediated the association between laryngeal cough reflex, an indicator of 1 or more conditions such as chronic aspiration and mortality.Laryngeal cough reflex was a prevalent condition, and it was associated with all-cause mortality in community-dwelling older Japanese individuals. Clinicians could contribute to reduce mortality risk by addressing swallowing function problems using their interprofessional collaboration team (speech-language pathologist, dentist, rehabilitation doctor, otolaryngologist, respiratory physician, and gerontologist).

We aim to facilitate the search for relevant academic papers according to various aspects such as the "objective" and "result". We constructed an annotated corpus consisting of the abstracts of approximately 6300 papers written in Japanese. We labeled the sentences according to their roles such as "objective" and "result" to construct an automatic sentence role classifier in abstracts. In this paper, we describe the definition of the sentence roles (the coding frame) and report some statistical properties of the constructed annotated corpus.

今回，主膵管内へ進展を呈した膵漿液性嚢胞腺腫の1例を経験した．症例は82歳，男性．前医にて急性膵炎の精査中に膵頭部に充実性腫瘍を指摘され，精査目的にて紹介となった．腫瘍は約2cm大で，造影CT早期相で造影効果を示し，後期相でwash outした．CPR構築像やMRCPでは膵頭部主膵管に狭窄と思われる不明瞭な所見を認めた．EUS，IDUSでは比較的高エコーパターンを呈した腫瘍と，腫瘍の一部が主膵管内へ突出，進展している所見が認められた．主膵管進展を呈した膵腫瘍の診断にて，幽門輪温存膵頭十二指腸切除術が施行された．病理組織学的には腫瘍は増生した繊維性間質を伴った微小な嚢胞で構成され，漿液性嚢胞腺腫と診断された．腫瘍は主膵管を圧排し，管腔内への突出，進展も認められた．過去に主膵管内進展を呈した膵漿液性嚢胞腺腫の報告例はなく，非常に興味深い症例と思われた．

Tin oxide, SnO2, transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was investigated. We found that an electrical conductivity is not the only parameter that governs conversion efficiency of DSSC. The conversion efficiency was strongly influenced by haze ratio that is easily tuned by controlling the surface morphology of TCO layer by spray pyrolysis deposition (SPD) technique. The conversion efficiency was enhanced as high as 7.6%, attributing to an effective incident light harvest of a working electrode in the consequence of the confinement of the incident light within the cell.

The aim of this study was to further examine the utility of mucin (MUC) expression profiles as prognostic factors in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Mucin expression was examined by immunohistochemistry analysis in endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration specimens obtained from 114 patients with PDAC. The rate of expression of each MUC was compared with clinicopathologic features.The expression rates of MUCs in cancer lesions were MUC1, 87.7%; MUC2, 0.8%; MUC4, 93.0%; MUC5AC, 78.9%; MUC6, 24.6%; and MUC16, 67.5%. MUC1 and MUC4 were positive, and MUC2 was negative in most PDACs. Patients with advanced stage of PDAC with MUC5AC expression had a significantly better outcome than those who were MUC5AC-negative (P = 0.002). With increasing clinical stage, total MUC6 expression decreased (P for trend = 0.001) and MUC16 cytoplasmic expression increased (P for trend = 0.02). The prognosis of patients with MUC16 cytoplasmic expression was significantly poorer than those without this expression. Multivariate survival analysis revealed that MUC16 cytoplasmic expression was a significant independent predictor of a poor prognosis after adjusting for the effects of other prognostic factors (P = 0.002).Mucin expression profiles in ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration specimens have excellent diagnostic utility and are useful predictors of outcome in patients with PDAC.

The virtual reality is one in the intelligence information carrier technology. As the application to the education field of the virtual reality, we examine a support system for the calligraphy mastering. The purpose of this system is to realize the model where the information during writing progress can be real time displayed. As a result, we can learn calligraphy casually without being limited to the place and the time. We use 3-D computer graphics (CG) for the virtual image to decrease memory capacity and we examine about the learning effect of this system. We can not get the sense of the writing brush from the tablet pen of the conventional system. Therefore, we developed the writing brush type input device which is near the sense of the writing brush. Moreover, we developed the automatic animation generation processing used 3-D CG. The practice person can experience the subtle writing progress of calligraphy from the eye of calligraphy teacher using this animation. We are using a semitransparent screen and a half mirror instead of HMD to use in general VR. Practice persons improve at the short time by learning their writing brush forming die input pen synchronous with virtual writing brush.

We report a rare case of a huge subacromial bursitis in rheumatoid arthritis. A solid tumor was initially suspected because it was very large with no apparent local sign of inflammation, and because no fluid retention was observed. We performed radiograms, a plain computed tomogram, a (99)mTc-MDP bone scintigram, a (67)Ga-citrate scintigram, and a digital subtraction arteriogram, which all indicated no evidence of tumor. Finally, a bursogram proved the mass to be a huge enlarged subacromial bursa. Surgical exploration revealed that the bursa contained 450 g of a yellowish, jelly-like substance, which was considered to be a thick collection of fibrin. No recurrence was noted at a follow-up 16 years after surgery.

The aim of this study was to assess the utility of the touch smear cytology for the detection of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection compared with biological culture, immunohistochemistry and rapid urease test. 1) The diagnostic concordance rate of touch smear cytology compared with both immunohistochemistry and biological culture of the same specimen were 94.2% and 93.8%, respectively. Diagnosis using the touch smear cytology had no statistically significant relation with numbers of H. pylori in the samples determined by immunohistochemistry. 2) Compared with biologic culture, the sensitivity and specificity of rapid urease test were 85.0% and 96.3%, and that of touch smear cytology were 91.2%, 96.3%, respectively. 3) Two biopsies were taken from each lesion (all the patients had two lesions; at the body and antrum) and examined using touch smear cytology. In all the positive lesions, the two biopsies were positive and p value concerning the numbers of H. pylori was significant. In conclusion, touch smear cytology is considered to be one of the reliable methods for the detection of H. pylori infection because of its high accuracy rate, convenience, rapidity, low cost and stability.

Japan’s industry-academia collaborations started against the backdrop of economic stagnation. A variety of legislation was passed, leading to the birth of technology licensing offices and head offices of intellectual property. However, industry-academia collaborations really started to take off in 2004. That is why it is too soon now to determine whether technology transfer contributes to innovation in Japan. However, the prospects for the future look bright if we take into consideration the fact that the number of licenses from universities has now reached the level that the United States was at 20 years ago and is continuing to grow steadily. Furthermore, promising university-based startup companies (university spin-offs) are continuing to form, and technology transfer intermediaries are continuing to learn and grow. Thus, technology transfer from universities to industry is likely to contribute to innovation.

n removable prosthetic dentistry, the interrelations among anatomical landmarks, which can give significant information for diagnosis, can be observed on an orthopantomogram.This study was to investigate how to use an orthopantomogram in prosthetic therapy.Veraview (J.Morita Corp., Tokyo) was used as panoramic equipment.The removable hand-made ear-rods that attach to the plates supporting the temples, were used to ensure correct posture of the head, with the forehead rest.First, the effects of posture of the head in the equipment on the image were examined experimen-tally by using dry skulls, one with dentulous ridges and the other with edentulous ridges.Theposture depends on the positions and angle of the antero-posterior direction.Secondly, 63 orthopantomograms of students in our dental school were traced.The interrelations among certain anatomical landmarks on those traces were analyzed linearly and angularly.Finally, the measurements from the orthopantomograms of the students were used to make a diagnosis of the occlusal plane and vertical dimension for old and new dentures of an edentulous patient.This study indicates that the analyzing method, on the traces of orthopantomograms, was useful for the diagnosis of the occlusal plane and vertical dimension in edentulous patients.

The study concerns a 2D safety vision system for human-robot collaborative work environments. The vision system is characteristic of having a freedom from structuring the environment by setting passive markings, i.e. neither painting on the floor nor hanging a camera up on a ceiling is necessary. To preserve safety states, we set the passive markings in the original image based upon Shannon information quantity and monitor the drastic changes of the states by the measures of Kullback-Leibler divergence and Levy-distance. The experimental result shows that all of the markings are successfully traced even when the camera view angle is changed and that the system detects any difference of an image from the original one as a human hand intrudes to the detection area. We discuss the performance of the applied measures from a detectability view point.

The study concerns a safety vision system for human-robot collaborative work environments. The vision system is characteristic of having a freedom from structuring the environment by setting passive markings, i.e. neither painting on the floor nor hanging a camera up on a ceiling is necessary. To preserve safety states, we set the passive markings in the original image based upon Shannon information quantity and to monitor the states by the drastic changes in the measures of Kullback-Leibler divergence and Levy-distance. Our experimental result shows that all of the markings are successfully traced even when the camera view angle is changed and that the system detects any difference of an image from the original one as a human hand intrudes to the detection area. We discuss the performance of the applied measures from a detectability view point.

The results of treatment of patellar fractures with the Herbert Screw were reviewed retrospectively to clarify the usefulness of this screw.Three patients had open reduction and internal fixation with the screw. The other two patients were established non-unions of the patella, so they had bone-grafting with internal fixation. None of the patients required external fixation after surgery and knee exercises were encouraged as soon as possible.Three fractures healed primarily and all of these three achieved a painless knee which had a full range-of-motion. Both cases of non-union achieved a solid union clinically as well as radiologically.By using guide wires and X-ray images, this screw could be driven safely and accurately, and bone fragments could be fixed solidly. In addition, as they were buried in the bones, no irritable symptoms caused by screw heads developed after surgery and therefore removal of the screw was not required in any cases. However this screw could not be used for comminuted fractures of the patella.

We developed a dual gate FET hydrogen gas sensor for application to hydrogen vehicles. The dual gate FET hydrogen sensor was integrated with Pt-gate FET to detect hydrogen and Ti-gate FET as the reference sensor in the same Si chip. Ti-gate FET has the same structure as Pt-FET except for the gate metal. The Pt-FET showed good response to hydrogen gas above 10 ppm in air, while the Ti-FET did not show any response to hydrogen gas. The differential output voltage between the Pt-FET and the Ti-FET was stable in the range of room temperature to 80°C because of the same temperature dependence of the I–V characteristic.

Multiseptate gallbladder, characterized by the presence of multiple septa dividing the gallbladder lumen, is a very extremely rare congenital anomaly of the gallbladder. On the other hand, anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal union is also one of the congenital anomalous biliary diseases and thought to be related with choledochal cyst or biliary tract malignancies. In this paper, we describe a unique and first patient of multiseptate gallbladder with anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal union and a review of the literature. To clarify more characters of the multiseptate gallbladder, examination of a larger patient population will be needed and further studies will be required.

An 84-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a 1-month history of epigastralgia. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed gastric cancer and a gastric submucosal tumor (SMT) on the greater curvature of the gastric body. By endoscopic ultrasonography, SMT was demonstrated as a well-circumscribed, smooth-bordered and hypoechoic mass localized in the submucosal layer. Total gastrectomy was performed. The histology of the resected specimen revealed a gastric lipoma and an early gastric cancer widespread to the surface on the lipoma. Two lesions were present in the same lesion, but not linked. We report a rare case of gastric lipoma complicated with early gastric cancer.

There have been many publications referring to the various methods of operation for the treatment of pressure metatarsalgia. Among those methods, Helal's metatarsal osteotomy is an operation with a simple technique which can be applied easily and it has the merit of obtaining an adequate telescoping effect on weight bearing easily.We perfomed the Helal metatarsal osteotomy operation on five patients who had symptoms of a clawing toe after trauma, which had developed into pressure metatarsalgia.At final review, we noticed in the X-rays that three patients still had a slight degree of clawing deformity and one patient had a non-union. Nevertheless, the symptom of pressure metatarsalgia was nearly removed from all the patients.Helal's metatarsal osteotomy is simple in technique and an effective treatment for pressure metatarsalgia.

Introduction Patients with masticatory dysfunction have a higher incidence of gastrointestinal disorders including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Masticatory function is significantly lower in patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion than in those with normal occlusion. However, GERD symptoms in patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion are still unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine GERD symptoms and masticatory functions in patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion. Methods Nineteen adult patients with severe skeletal Class III malocclusion (Class III group) and 20 adults with normal occlusion (control group) participated in this study. The results of the Carlsson-Dent self-administered questionnaire (QUEST) and the frequency scale for the symptoms of GERD (FSSG) were compared between the 2 groups, along with occlusal contact area, maximal voluntary bite force, and salivary flow rate. Results The QUEST and FSSG scores were significantly higher in the Class III group. Occlusal contact area and maximal voluntary bite force were significantly smaller in the Class III group. There was no significant difference in the salivary flow rates between the groups. Conclusions GERD symptoms were observed more often in patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion than in normal subjects as determined by the questionnaires.

The spiral bacteria, Helicobacter heilmannii (H.heilmannii), distinct from Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), was found in the gastric mucosa of a 71-year-old man without clinical symptoms. The endoscopic examination revealed erosive gastritis. Rapid urease test from the antral specimen was positive, but both culture and immunohistological staining for H.pylori were negative. Touch smear cytology showed tightly spiral bacteria, which were consistent with H.heilmannii. At the second endoscopy after medication regimen for eradication of H. pylori, inflammation was decreased and the rapid urease test was negative. The second cytology showed no evidence of H.heilmannii. Anti-H.pylori therapy may be a useful medication for H.heilmannii.(Internal Medicine 38: 240-243, 1999)

The authors report a rare case of spinal cord compression secondary to new bone formation in the thoracic spince as a result of metastasis of prostatic cancer

症例は急性リンパ性白血病の11歳男児．寛解導入療法中にL-アスパラギナーゼ投与に伴う重症急性膵炎を発症した．膵尾部に約60mmの膵仮性嚢胞が遷延し，有症状であった．自然消退が望めないものは，出血や感染の合併症もあるため，ドレナージが必要と判断した．嚢胞は主膵管と交通を有さないものであったため超音波内視鏡ガイド下に経胃的に穿刺，ドレナージを施行した．約3ヶ月プラスチックステントを留置した．施行後血清アミラーゼ値の正常化，腹部CTにて嚢胞の縮小を認めた．成人同様，小児においても超音波内視鏡下経消化管的嚢胞ドレナージは有効であった．

assay. Results: Of 113 children with UC, 37 (33%) were anti-CBir1 + and 76 (67%) antiCBir1-. No statistically significant differences between CBir+ and CBirsubjects were noted in terms of age at diagnosis (11±4 vs 12±4 yrs), % < 8yrs at diagnosis (16 vs 15%), % male (46 vs 59%), % pancolitis (81 vs 83%), % moderate/severe UC activity at diagnosis (57 vs 74%) or duration of follow-up (35±20 vs 36±20 months). There were also no statistically significant differences in the rates of pANCA (81 vs 78%), anti-ompC (8 vs 9%), ASCA IgA (8 vs 3%) or ASCA IgG (5 vs 1%). Initial treatments were similar between groups (all comparisons p=NS): 5ASA (68 vs 53%), Steroids (43 vs 55%), 6MP/Azathioprine (3 vs 8%), infliximab (0 vs 3%). UC activity by physician's global assessment at 1 and 2 yrs after diagnosis was inactive or mild in 92-95% of both groups. Two (5%) CBir+ and 9 (12%) CBirsubjects received at least 1 dose of infliximab within 2 yrs of diagnosis (p=NS). Two (5%) CBir+ subjects required colectomy (both treated with infliximab) as did 10 CBir(13%) subjects (6 after infliximab) by 2 yrs after diagnosis (p=NS). Conclusions: Anti-CBir1 is found in a third of children newly diagnosed with UC. However, anti-CBir1 status does not appear to affect disease course or need for infliximab or colectomy in the first 2 years after diagnosis.

AIMS: Pancreaticobiliary ductal maljunction(PBM) is associated with several pancreatobiliary diseases including pancreatitis and carcinoma. Relation between adenomyomatosis (ADM) of the gallbladder and malignancy is not clear because of lacking of the data. However patients with ADM but free from abdominal symptoms are usually followed as benign proliferative disease although it is hard to differentiate from gallbladder cancer. To clarify the relation, histological studies were conducted for specimens obtained by surgical resection of the gall bladder from patients with ADM including those with both ADM and PBM. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Four patients, 1 male and 3 females, with gallbladder ADM associated with PBM and 32 patients, 21 males and 11 females, with gallbladder ADM but free from PBM were enrolled in this study. In 13 patients without symptoms related to the pancreatobiliary area ADM was found by transabdominal ultrasonography performed for the other purposes. ADM were divided into 3 subtypes, segmental, fundal and diffused types. PBM and ADM were diagnosed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and histological study for the surgical specimen respectively. RESULTS: Among 32 patients with ADM free from PBM, totally 21 (65.6%), consisting of 14 (66.7%) segmental type, 2 (66.7%) fundal type and 5 (62.5%) diffused type had clinical symptoms. Of these 24 (75.0%) patients, consisting of 16 (76.2%) segmental type, 2 (66.7%) fundal type, 6 (75.0%) diffused type were complicated by gallbladder stones. However there was no significant clinical difference among the subtypes. Two out of 4 patients (50%) with ADM associating with PBM, belonging to segmental type, had symptoms. However none of the four patients were complicated with gallbladder stones. None of the thirty-six patients with ADM were complicated with gallbladder cancer at all. CONCLUSION: None of 36 patients with ADM including 4 patients associated with PBM are not complicated with gallbladder cancer.

Introduction and aim: Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) plays a major role in diagnosis of the gallbladder lesions. The normal gallbladder wall has been demonstrated to consist of 3 layers on EUS images. It is generally accepted that the 2nd and the 3rd layers include the muscularis propria and subserosal fibrous tissue, and the subserosal adipose tissue, respectively. However these 3 layers cannot be seen in some normal gallbladder by EUS images. Therefore this study was aimed to clarify the cause of these 2 different EUS images seen normal gallbladder by histological study of the gallbladder wall performed simultaneously. Materials and methods: Gallbladder specimens from 12 autopsy cases without biliary tract disorders, 6 with the three EUS layers (goup A) and 6 with one uniform layer (group B), were enrolled in this study. Two needles were stabbed into the gallbladder wall from the mucosa to perform EUS and histological study for the same area of the specimen. For this study an Olympus GFUMQ 240 with a frequency of 7.5MHz was used. Results: Histology of the specimens were summarized in the table. The thickness of the muscularis propria and fibrous layer showed no significant differences between group A and B. While the thickness of the adipose layer of group B was determined to be one half of group A. Conclusions: This study indicates that the one uniform layer seen in normal gallbladder on EUS images reflects a thin subserosal adipose layer.