Robot-assisted endoscopic surgery experience

In Japan,１２ new operative robot-assisted endoscopic surgery methods were officially approved by the ２０１８ revision of the medical payment system, and robot-assisted endoscopic surgery is using in each field. We have used the pneumatically driven endoscope manipulator robot（EMAROⓇ）in three video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery（VATS）lobectomy cases : right upper lobe lung cancer in a ５３-year-old male, right lower lobe lung cancer in a ７０-year-old male, and right lower lobe lung cancer in an ８１-year-old female. The average operative time was ２０９ min. The average bleeding volume was ４６．７ml. The grades ware nearly equal to those obtained in a standard VATS lobectomy. The head sensor that monitors the movement of the operator is connected to the endoscope holder. The operator can thus move the endoscope smoothly from the operator’s point of view, and endoscope-user skill is not needed. A VATS lobectomy can be performed by only two operators （no scope user is needed）, and this is a major advantage of the new manipulator robot. We expect to see further advances in the use of robot assistance in surgeries

Enhanced CO evolution for photocatalytic conversion of CO2 by H2O over Ca modified Ga2O3

高効率で二酸化炭素を再資源化する光触媒の合成に成功 --CO2を「ひかり」と「みず」でリサイクル--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2020-10-14.Artificial photosynthesis is a desirable critical technology for the conversion of CO2 and H2O, which are abundant raw materials, into fuels and chemical feedstocks. Similar to plant photosynthesis, artificial photosynthesis can produce CO, CH3OH, CH4, and preferably higher hydrocarbons from CO2 using H2O as an electron donor and solar light. At present, only insufficient amounts of CO2-reduction products such as CO, CH3OH, and CH4 have been obtained using such a photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical conversion process. Here, we demonstrate that photocatalytic CO2 conversion with a Ag@Cr-decorated mixture of CaGa4O7-loaded Ga2O3 and the CaO photocatalyst leads to a satisfactory CO formation rate (>835 µmol h−1) and excellent selectivity toward CO evolution (95%), with O2 as the stoichiometric oxidation product of H2O. Our photocatalytic system can convert CO2 gas into CO at >1% CO2 conversion (>11531 ppm CO) at ambient temperatures and pressures

Década de la Energía Sostenible para Todos

Naciones Unidas, tras la proclamación de 2012 como "Año Internacional de la Energía Sostenible para todos", refuerza ahora su ambicioso pero fundamentado proyecto de revolución energética, instituyendo una Década (2014-2024) destinada a la puesta en marcha de las medidas necesarias para que la totalidad de los seres humanos pueda disponer de recursos energéticos renovables y no contaminantes. Se pretende así contribuir a erradicar la pobreza y a atajar el destructivo desarreglo climático que ya estamos empezando a sufrir

Hospitalization for ischemic stroke was affected more in independent cases than in dependent cases during the COVID-19 pandemic: An interrupted time series analysis

[Background] The pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected health care systems globally. The aim of our study is to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of hospital admissions for ischemic stroke by severity in Japan. [Methods] We analysed administrative (Diagnosis Procedure Combination—DPC) data for cases of inpatients aged 18 years and older who were diagnosed with ischemic stroke and admitted during the period April 1 2018 to June 27 2020. Levels of change of the weekly number of inpatient cases with ischemic stroke diagnosis after the declaration of state of emergency were assessed using interrupted time-series (ITS) analysis. The numbers of patients with various characteristics and treatment approaches were compared. We also performed an ITS analysis for each group (“independent” or “dependent”) divided based on components of activities of daily living (ADL) and level of consciousness at hospital admission. [Results] A total of 170, 294 cases in 567 hospitals were included. The ITS analysis showed a significant decrease in the weekly number of ischemic stroke cases hospitalized (estimated decrease: −156 cases; 95% confidence interval (CI): −209 to −104), which corresponds to −10.4% (95% CI: −13.6 to −7.1). The proportion of decline in the independent group (−21.3%; 95% CI: −26.0 to −16.2) was larger than that in the dependent group (−8.6%; 95% CI: −11.7 to −5.4). [Conclusions] Our results show a marked reduction in hospital admissions due to ischemic stroke after the declaration of the state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. The independent cases were affected more in proportion than dependent cases

Endocrine therapy for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer in non-surgery elderly patients aged 75 or above

The treatment of breast cancer in elderly patients is usually surgery, and in the Japanese Breast Cancer Society Clinical Practice Guidelines for Breast Cancer, the use of only drug therapy is limited to cases of co-morbidities or refusal of surgery. However, there are many cases in which surgery is not performed due to co-morbidities and in which the patient or patient's family declines surgery. We retrospectively analyzed the cases of 19 elderly patients aged 75 or above with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer who selected endocrine therapy as early treatment at our hospital or Yamakawa Breast Clinic during the period from December 2009 to December 2019. We determined the treatment effects, changes in the patients' quality of life (QOL), co-morbidities, medication compliance, and more. Six patients died due to causes other than breast cancer, and one case of death due to breast cancer was confirmed. These results indicate that endocrine therapy can contribute to good progress and QOL maintenance. We suggest that selecting only endocrine therapy as early treatment can be an appropriate option for elderly patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer when their daily life can be monitored by their family members

Development of a Super-Small Solid Rocket Motor for OMOTENASHI

Background of the OMOTENASHI Mission. To be launched by NASA’s SLS Artemis 1 in the early 2020s, OMOTENASHI will be one of the 13 CubeSats launched as secondary payloads. With a size of 6U (113×239×366 mm) and a mass of CubeSat, it is the world’s smallest moon lander. Aims to land on the moon

PNLH related to Aspergillus infection

Aspergillus nodules (AN) are an unusual form of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. On the other hand, pulmonary nodular lymphoid hyperplasia (PNLH) is classified as a reactive pulmonary lymphoproliferative disorder. A 65-year-old male was referred to our hospital due to a nodule in the left upper lobe. Histologically, a mixture of prominent lymphoid follicular formation, and hyaline necrosis were observed. Grocott staining revealed morphological forms of Aspergillus spp. in the necrosis. The final clinical diagnosis was suspected AN histologically consistent with PNLH. This case suggests that there may be PNLH cases in which local infection with Aspergillus contributes to its pathophysiology

Dramatic response to immunochemotherapy followed by salvage surgery in an elderly lung cancer patient

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have caused a paradigm shift in the treatment of lung cancer. Here, we encountered a case of inoperable locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the lung that became operable with pembrolizumab-based immunochemotherapy and achieved a pathological complete response. An 82-year-old man suspected of having lung cancer was referred to our hospital. The patient was clinically diagnosed with left upper lobe squamous cell carcinoma cT2aN3M0 c-stage IIIC. Immunostaining revealed the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 in 60% of tumor cells. The cancer cells disappeared after two cycles of chemotherapy with carboplatin and nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel plus pembrolizumab. As the abnormal accumulation of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) on FDG-positron emission tomography/computed tomography before chemotherapy almost disappeared after pembrolizumab-based immunochemotherapy, left upper lobectomy and lymph node dissection were performed. No cancer cells were pathologically detected from the resected tissue. Therefore, ICIs combined with chemotherapy may enable inoperable advanced lung cancer patients to undergo surgery and achieve a complete response