Solidification of binary aqueous solution cooled from above

金沢大学環日本海域環境研究センターエコテクノロジー研究部門Freezing and melting phenomena are important in many different fields, including crystal growth, casting, metallurgy, geophysics, and oceanography. Solidification of a multi-component solution is the one often observed in nature. In order to investigate basic features of the freezing processes of binary systems, we conducted a series of laboratory experiments in a rectangular box cooled from above using aqueous NaNO3 solution. During the freezing, the solid phase always grows into many needle-like crystals called the mushy layer. We measured the growth of the mushy layer thickness, the solid fraction, the temperature, and the concentration distributions. The average solid fraction is found to increase with time in the mushy layer. This causes a slow descent of the released solute in the mushy layer and its eventual fall into the liquid region below because of gravity. We propose a one-dimensional model to explain the horizontally-averaged mushy layer growth. In the model, the estimate of a heat flux at the mushy-liquid interface due to natural convection is found essential for a correct prediction. The proposed theory predicts well the growth of the mushy-layer and the average solid fraction, once the convective heat flux is properly given. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Severe Renal Hemorrhage in a Pregnant Woman Complicated with Antiphospholipid Syndrome: A Case Report

Antiphospholipid syndrome is a systemic autoimmune disease with thrombotic tendency. Consensus guidelines for pregnancy with antiphospholipid syndrome recommend low-dose aspirin combined with unfractionated or low-molecular-weight heparin because antiphospholipid syndrome causes habitual abortion. We report a 36-year-old pregnant woman diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome receiving anticoagulation treatment. The patient developed left abdominal pain and gross hematuria at week 20 of pregnancy. An initial diagnosis of left ureteral calculus was made. Subsequently abdominal-pelvic computed tomography was required for diagnosis because of the appearance of severe contralateral pain. Computed tomography revealed serious renal hemorrhage, and ureteral stent placement and pain control by patient-controlled analgesia were required. After treatment, continuance of pregnancy was possible and vaginal delivery was performed safely. This is the first case report of serious renal hemorrhage in a pregnant woman with antiphospholipid syndrome receiving anticoagulation treatment and is an instructive case for urological and obstetrical practitioners

Severe renal hemorrhage in a pregnant woman complicated with antiphospholipid syndrome: A case report

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系Antiphospholipid syndrome is a systemic autoimmune disease with thrombotic tendency. Consensus guidelines for pregnancy with antiphospholipid syndrome recommend low-dose aspirin combined with unfractionated or low-molecular-weight heparin because antiphospholipid syndrome causes habitual abortion. We report a 36-year-old pregnant woman diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome receiving anticoagulation treatment. The patient developed left abdominal pain and gross hematuria at week 20 of pregnancy. An initial diagnosis of left ureteral calculus was made. Subsequently abdominal-pelvic computed tomography was required for diagnosis because of the appearance of severe contralateral pain. Computed tomography revealed serious renal hemorrhage, and ureteral stent placement and pain control by patient-controlled analgesia were required. After treatment, continuance of pregnancy was possible and vaginal delivery was performed safely. This is the first case report of serious renal hemorrhage in a pregnant woman with antiphospholipid syndrome receiving anticoagulation treatment and is an instructive case for urological and obstetrical practitioners. Copyright © 2011 Shohei Kawaguchi et al

Ultrafast dissolution and creation of bonds in IrTe2 induced by photodoping

The observation and control of interweaving spin, charge, orbital, and structural degrees of freedom in materials on ultrafast time scales reveal exotic quantum phenomena and enable new active forms of nanotechnology. Bond- ing is the prime example of the relation between electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom. We report direct evidence illustrating that photoexcitation can be used for ultrafast control of the breaking and recovery of bonds in solids on unprecedented time scales, near the limit for nuclear motions. We describe experimental and theoretical studies of IrTe2 using femtosecond electron diffraction and density functional theory to investigate bonding instability. Ir-Ir dimerization shows an unexpected fast dissociation and recovery due to the filling of the antibonding dxy orbital. Bond length changes of 20% in IrTe2 are achieved by effectively addressing the bonds directly through this relaxation process. These results could pave the way to ultrafast switching between metastable structures by photoinduced manipulation of the relative degree of bonding in this manner

Chronological urodynamic evaluation of changing bladder and urethral functions after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy

Objective To examine chronological changes in urethral and bladder functions before, immediately after, and 1 year after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), urodynamic studies were prospectively performed. Methods Sixty-three consecutive patients underwent pressure-flow studies, urethral pressure profiles, and abdominal leak point pressure (ALPP) tests 1-2 days before, immediately after, and 1 year after RARP. Results The mean bladder compliance was 28.3 mL/cm H2O before RARP; it worsened to 16.3 mL/cm H2O immediately after RARP and recovered to 27.1 mL/cm H2O at 1 year. The mean detrusor pressure at maximum flow rate was 61.9 cm H2O before RARP; it decreased to 34.3 cm H2O immediately after RARP and remained at 35.6 cm H2O at 1 year. The mean maximum urethral closure pressure was 84.2 cm H2O before RARP; it decreased to 33.4 cm H2O immediately after RARP and recovered to 63.0 cm H2O at 1 year. Intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD) evaluated by the ALPP test was observed in 53 patients immediately after RARP, although no patient showed ISD before RARP. ISD remained in 7 patients at 1 year. Both ALPP and maximum urethral closure pressure at 1 year were significant factors for continence in multivariate analysis. Conclusion Urethral sphincter and bladder function worsen immediately after RARP and recover over time. The bladder storage function after RARP returns to almost the same level before RARP, and the voiding function improves compared with the condition before RARP; however, the urethral sphincter function does not return to its preoperative level. Urethral sphincter dysfunction is considered the main factor for urinary incontinence after RARP. © 2015 Elsevier Inc.Embargo Period 12 month

Androgen replacement therapy for cancer-related symptoms in male advanced cancer patients : study protocol for a randomised prospective trial (ARTFORM study)

Recent studies reveal that hypogonadism with low serum androgen levels is associated with advanced cancer and induction of most cancer-related symptoms.We designed an ARTFORM study to evaluate the efficacy of androgen replacement therapy in male advanced cancer patients. The ARTFORM study is an investigatorinitiated, randomised controlled trial comparing intramuscle injection of testosterone enanthate with non-administration in male advanced cancer patients with non-curative locally advanced or metastatic lesions. Serum total and free testosterone levels are measured and patients with low testosterone level are randomised. The primary endpoint is the difference in validated health-related quality of life questionnaires at week 12. Trial registration of the ARTFORM study is assigned to University hospital Medical Information Network, Center identifier UMIN 000010939

Validation of TNM classification for metastatic prostatic cancer treated using primary androgen deprivation therapy

Purpose: The current tumor–node–metastasis (TNM) classification system has been used for many years. The prognosis of patients with metastatic prostate cancer (mPC) treated using primary androgen deprivation therapy (PADT) was analyzed according to the TNM classification. Methods: A total of 5618 cases with lymph node metastases only (N1M0), non-regional lymph node metastasis (M1a), bone metastasis (M1b), and distant metastasis (M1c) were selected from the Japanese Study Group of Prostate Cancer database. Overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were calculated using Kaplan–Meier analysis. The influence of clinical variables on patient prognosis was evaluated using the Cox proportional hazard regression model. Results: The 5-year OS, CSS, and PFS were 76.0, 83.2, and 38.8 % in N1M0, 57.5, 69.0, and 23.0 % in M1a, 54.0, 63.1, and 23.0 % in M1b, and 40.0, 51.5, and 16.6 % in M1c, respectively. OS, CSS, and PFS worsened as the stages progressed. OS, CSS, and PFS were all significantly worse in N1M1b compared with N0M1b. Multivariate analysis revealed that OS and CSS were worse in patients with a Gleason score ≥8 and that combined androgen blockade (CAB) treatment provided better OS than non-CAB treatments at any tumor stage. However, OS and CSS were worse in individuals with a prostate-specific antigen >100 ng/ml only in M1b. Conclusions: Patient prognosis worsened with stage progression; therefore, current TNM classification system of mPC for PADT was shown to be trustworthy. Each PC cell that develops bone or lymphoid metastasis may exhibit different characteristics. © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Use of preoperative factors including urodynamic evaluations and nerve-sparing status for predicting urinary continence recovery after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: Nerve-sparing technique contributes to the reduction of postprostatectomy incontinence

Aims: To examine which preoperative factors, including urodynamic evaluations, and operative procedures could predict continence status after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) in this study. Materials and Methods: Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses of preoperative factors such as age, body mass index, prostate-specific antigen level before biopsy, prostate size before surgery, membranous urethral length measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), bladder compliance and maximum urethral closure pressure (MUCP) measured by urodynamic study (UDS), and nerve-sparing (NS) status predicting 24-hr pad test >2 g/day at 1 year after RARP were examined in 111 patients enrolled in this study. Results: The number of patients with incontinence at 1 year after RARP was 39 (35.1%). The only predictive factor for urinary continence was NS grades. To investigate the contribution of NS to urinary continence, 84 patients underwent UDS three times; before, immediately after, and 1 year after RARP. Chronological UDS revealed that recovery patterns of storage and voiding functions were the same among non-NS, unilateral-NS, and bilateral-NS groups, and that higher degrees of NS contributed to lesser decreases in MUCP and longer functional urethral length (FUL) after RARP. Conclusion: Preoperative factors, including the results of UDS, could not predict continence 1 year after RARP. The NS procedure contributed to continence status. NS favorably affected MUCP and FUL; however, it did not affect bladder function after RARP. Neurourol. Urodynam. 35:1034–1039, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Embarogo Period 12 month

Changes in penile length after radical prostatectomy: Investigation of the underlying anatomical mechanism

Objective: To measure changes in penile length (PL) over time before and after radical prostatectomy (RP), and to investigate the underlying mechanisms for these changes. Patients and Methods: The stretched PL (SPL) of 102 patients was measured before, 10 days after, and at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months after RP. The perpendicular distance from the distal end of the membranous urethra to the midline of the pelvic outlet was measured on mid-sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) slice at three time points: preoperatively; 10 days after RP; and 12 months after RP. Pre- and postoperative SPLs were compared using paired Student\u27s t-test. Predictors of PL shortening at 10 days and at 12 months after RP were evaluated on univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: The SPL was shortest 10 days after RP (mean PL shortening from preoperative level: 19.9 mm), and gradually recovered thereafter. SPL at 12 months after RP was not significantly different from preoperative SPL. On MRI examination, the distal end of membranous urethra was found to have moved proximally (mean proximal displacement: 3.9 mm) at 10 days after RP, and to have returned to the preoperative position at 12 months after RP. On univariate analysis, only the volume of the removed prostate was a predictor of SPL change at 10 days after surgery; on multivariate analysis, the association was not statistically significant. No predictor of SPL change was found at 12 months after RP. Conclusion: The SPL was shortest at 10 days after RP and gradually recovered thereafter in the present study. Anatomically, the glans and corpus spongiosum surrounding the urethra are an integral structure, and the proximal urethra is drawn into the pelvis during urethrovesical anastomosis. This is the first report showing that slight vertical repositioning of the membranous urethra after RP causes changes in SPL over time. These results can help inform patients about changes in penile appearance after RP. © 2017 BJU International.Embargo Period 12 month