A New Laparoscopic Surgical Procedure to Achieve Sufficient Mesorectal Excision in Upper Rectal Cancer

Objective. Mesorectal excision corresponding to the location of a tumor, termed tumor-specific mesorectal excision (TSME), is commonly performed for resection of upper rectal cancer. We devised a new laparoscopic procedure for sufficient TSME with rectal transection followed by mesorectal excision. Operative Technique. After mobilization of the sigmoid colon and ligation of inferior mesenteric vessels, we dissected the mesorectum along the layer of the planned total mesorectal excision. The rectal wall was carefully separated from the mesorectum at the appropriate anal side from the tumor. After the rectum was isolated and transected using an endoscopic linear stapler, the rectal stump drew immediately toward the anal side, enabling the mesorectum to be identified clearly. In this way, sufficient TSME can be performed easily and accurately. This technique has been successfully conducted on 19 patients. Conclusion. This laparoscopic technique is a feasible and reliable procedure for achieving sufficient TSME

Pyogenic Liver Abscess: a Study of 18 Patients

Eighteen patients with pyogenic liver abscess were treated at Hiroshima University Hospital, First Department of Surgery and Hiroshima Memorial Hospital between 1979 and August 1984. The most frequent cause of the disease was infection of the biliary tract, accounting for 44%. The most useful diagnostic methods were echography and CT. The use of these, two techniques enabled us to establish diagnosis in almost all the patients. Sufficient drainage of the biliary tract was important in cases of hepatic abscess via the biliary tract. In other causes of hepatic abscess, drainage under echographic guidance was useful in treatment for solitary liver abscess. In cases of multiple liver abscess, it was also considered necessary to puncture the abscess under echographic guidance, to detect the causative organisms, and to use effective antibiotics against that organisms

A pristine record of outer Solar System materials from asteroid Ryugu’s returned sample

Volatile and organic-rich C-type asteroids may have been one of the main sources of Earth’s water. Our best insight into their chemistry is currently provided by carbonaceous chondritic meteorites, but the meteorite record is biased: only the strongest types survive atmospheric entry and are then modified by interaction with the terrestrial environment. Here we present the results of a detailed bulk and microanalytical study of pristine Ryugu particles, brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Ryugu particles display a close compositional match with the chemically unfractionated, but aqueously altered, CI (Ivuna-type) chondrites, which are widely used as a proxy for the bulk Solar System composition. The sample shows an intricate spatial relationship between aliphatic-rich organics and phyllosilicates and indicates maximum temperatures of ~30 °C during aqueous alteration. We find that heavy hydrogen and nitrogen abundances are consistent with an outer Solar System origin. Ryugu particles are the most uncontaminated and unfractionated extraterrestrial materials studied so far, and provide the best available match to the bulk Solar System composition

Development of a New Videosonde Observation System for In-situ Precipitation Particle Measurements

A new videosonde receiving system consisting of two receiving antennas for a set of videosonde and GPS radiosonde has been developed. The antenna for the videosondes is controlled by a GPS slave method, in which the antenna elevation and azimuth are processed every second using GPS location data obtained from a GPS radiosonde attached to the videosonde. The results of the first experimental flight conducted in Okinawa as part of a synchronized observation campaign of a C-band polarimetric radar and videosondes reveal successful reception of clear images of precipitation particles in clouds