The risk of the collapse of public health centres under the current system to prevent the spread of COVID-19

Non

O-Alkylation of Dihydroxo(tetraarylporphyrinato)phosphorus(V) and Antimony(V) Complexes with Alkyl Halides

The O-alkylation of dihydroxo(tetraarylporphyrinato)phosphorus(V) complexes with several kinds of alkyl bromide in MeCN in the presence of K2CO3 and 18-crown-6 ether produced dialkoxo(tetraarylporphyrinato)phosphorus(V) complexes in-moderate-good yields. Similar O-alkylation was applied to dihydroxo(tetraarylporphyrinato)antimony(V) complexes. The O-alkylation proceeded by the occurrence of an SN2 attack of the alkoxide anion of the complexes at the carbon substituted with halides

Dermoscopic Features of Pigmented Bowen's Disease in a Japanese Female Mimicking Malignant Melanoma

Various structures have been reported for dermoscopic features of pigmented Bowen's disease (BD), which could be a mimic of various pigmented skin lesions. A 79-year-old Japanese woman presented with a 3-year history of brown-black macule on her right upper arm without symptom. Dermoscopic examination demonstrated irregular flossy streaks, irregular brown dots/globules, blue-whitish regression structures, and overlaying whitish scaly areas. We suspected pigmented skin lesions including seborrheic keratosis, pigmented eccrine poroma, and malignant melanoma and excised completely with a 5 mm margin. Histopathological features were consistent with a diagnosis of pigmented BD. Although similar dermoscopic features might be revealed in pigmented skin lesions and it may occasionally be difficult to distinguish between pigmented BD and other pigmented skin lesions, dermoscopy would be useful in speculating pathologic features of pigmented BD

A novel high-speed digital imaging system for assessing vocal fold vibration

Observing vocal fold vibration is essential when investigating the causes of hoarseness of voice and determining the appropriate treatment. However, in Japan, it is difficult at present to obtain commercial high-speed digital imaging (HSDI) systems for this purpose because of a lack of marketing routes. Accordingly, we devised an HSDI system using a high-speed camera (monochrome HiSpec1). We chose this camera as it has been an established instrument in industrial and laboratory use; it also provided excellent light sensitivity, and used a 400-watt xenon light source for the acquisition of bright and clear images. The HSDI system enabled video capture of up to 4.4 s with our usual setting of 422 × 384 pixels at 3000 frames per second (fps). It can also capture videos in various settings such as 396 × 256 pixels at 4000 fps. In addition, we equipped the system with devices for concurrent audio waveform acquisition. Our novel laryngeal HSDI system could be a useful clinical tool for vocal fold examination in patients with voice problems when access to commercially available devices is limited

Low-Cost High-Speed Imaging System for Observing Vocal Fold Vibration in Voice Disorders

Purpose: The aim of this study was to establish a method to observe vocal fold vibration using a low-cost high-speed laryngeal imaging system. Procedures: We assembled a high-speed imaging system with a consumer digital camera and a rigid laryngeal endoscope. The camera can shoot digital images at a rate of 1,200 frames per second and be purchased for about USD 1,000 in Japan. Results: We examined the normal and pathological vocal folds of 215 subjects with our new system and analyzed the vocal fold vibration in these subjects by playback of a video and kymograph images. Conclusions: Our high-speed laryngeal imaging system is highly cost-effective and can be a useful tool for examining the vocal folds of patients with voice disorders

High purity NaI(Tl) scintillator to search for dark matter

A high purity and large volume NaI(Tl) scintillator was developed to search for cosmic dark matter. The required densities of radioactive impurities (RIs) such as U-chain, Th-chain are less than a few ppt to establish high sensitivity to dark matter. The impurity of RIs were effectively reduced by selecting raw materials of crucible and by performing chemical reduction of lead ion in NaI raw powder. The impurity of $^{226}$Ra was reduced less than 100 $\mu$Bq/kg in NaI(Tl) crystal. It should be remarked that the impurity of $^{210}$Pb, which is difficult to reduce, is effectively reduced by chemical processing of NaI raw powder down to less than 30 $\mu$Bq/kg. The expected sensitivity to cosmic dark matter by using 250 kg of the high purity and large volume NaI(Tl) scintillator (PICO-LON; Pure Inorganic Crystal Observatory for LOw-background Neutr(al)ino) is 7$\times$10$^{-45}$ cm$^{2}$ for 50 GeV$/c^{2}$ WIMPs.Comment: 6 pages, 2 Figures, Proceedings of International Symposium on Radiation Detectors and Their Uses (ISRD2016). Talk given on 19th Jan. 2016 by K.Fushimi. To be published in Proceedings will be published as JPS conference proceedings (2016

Utility of Contrast-Enhanced FDG-PET/CT in the Clinical Management of Pancreatic Cancer Impact on Diagnosis, Staging, Evaluation of Treatment Response, and Detection of Recurrence

Objectives: Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography/contrast-enhanced computed tomography (PET/CE-CT) involving whole-body scanning first by non-CE-CT and FDG-PET followed by CE-CT has been used for detailed examination of pancreatic lesions. We evaluated PET/CE-CT images with regard to differential diagnosis, staging, treatment response, and postoperative recurrence in pancreatic cancer. Methods: Positron emission tomography/CE-CT was conducted in 108 patients with pancreatic cancer and in 41 patients with other pancreatic tumor diseases. Results: The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) overlapped in benign and malignant cases, suggesting that differential diagnosis of pancreatic tumors based on the SUVmax is difficult. In the evaluation of staging in 31 resectable pancreatic cancer by PET/CE-CT, the diagnostic accuracy rate was more than 80% for most factors concerning local invasion and 94% for distant metastasis but only 42% for lymph node metastasis. Significant positive correlations were found between the SUVmax and tumor size/markers, suggesting that SUVmax may be a useful indicator for the treatment response. Regarding the diagnosis of the postoperative recurrence, PET/CE-CT correctly detected local recurrence in all the 11 cases of recurrence, whereas abdominal CE-CT detected only 7 of 11 cases, suggesting that PET/CE-CT is superior in this context. Conclusions: Positron emission tomography/CE-CT is useful for the clinical management of pancreatic cancer