A method of gastric conduit elevation via the posterior mediastinal pathway in thoracoscopic subtotal esophagectomy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite efforts to improve surgical techniques, serious complications still sometimes occur. Use of a physiological posterior mediastinal pathway has increased given advances such as automated anastomotic devices and a reduction in the incidence of anastomotic sufficiency. Until now the gastric conduit created has been protected by an echo probe cover and, sown to the ventral side of polyester tape placed through the abdomen to the neck, and then blindly elevated to the neck. We report on a new method of gastric conduit elevation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two 60-cm lengths polyester tape are ligated at both ends to form a loop. An echo probe cover of 10 cm in diameter and 50 cm in length is prepared and the tip cut off, forming a cylinder. The knots in the previously looped polyester tape are inserted into the echo probe cover. The looped polyester tape and echo probe cover is ligated with silk approximately 5 cm in front of the knots on both sides.</p> <p>After dissection is carried out according to practice, the previously crafted polyester tape is inserted into the chest cavity. One end of polyester tape is fixed to the distal esophageal stump with the clips, with the opposite end fixed to the proximal esophageal stump. The echo probe cover that connects the proximal esophagus and distal esophagus is monitored for the presence of creases along the long axis to ensure there are no twists in the echo probe cover.</p> <p>We carry out a laparoscopic-assisted perigastric lymph node dissection, make a small skin incision, and guide part of the thoracic esophagus and stomach outside the body.</p> <p>Either one of the two lengths of polyester tape is connected to the gastric conduit. By pulling up this length of polyester tape from the neck, the gastric conduit can pass through the echo probe cover and be elevated to the neck.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No perioperative complications such as bleeding or difficulty of the gastric conduit elevation were recognized with this method.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This method is considered to serve as a useful technique for gastric conduit elevation.</p

Permeability-control on volcanic hydrothermal system: case study for Mt. Tokachidake, Japan, based on numerical simulation and field observation

We investigate a volcanic hydrothermal system by using numerical simulation with three key observables as reference: the magnetic total field, vent temperature, and heat flux. We model the shallow hydrothermal system of Mt. Tokachidake, central Hokkaido, Japan, as a case study. At this volcano, continuous demagnetization has been observed since at least 2008, suggesting heat accumulation beneath the active crater area. The surficial thermal manifestation has been waning since 2000. We perform numerical simulations of heat and mass flow within a modeled edifice at various conditions and calculate associated magnetic total field changes due to the thermomagnetic effect. We focus on the system’s response for up to a decade after permeability is reduced at a certain depth in the modeled conduit. Our numerical simulations reveal that (1) conduit obstruction (i.e., permeability reduction in the conduit) tends to bring about a decrease in vent temperature and heat flux, as well as heat accumulation below the level of the obstruction, (2) the recorded changes cannot be consistently explained by changing heat supply from depth, and (3) caprock structure plays a key role in controlling the location of heating and pressurization. Although conduit obstruction may be caused by either physical or chemical processes in general, the latter seems more likely in the case of Mt. Tokachidake

Photo-electric conversion in dye-doped nanocrystalline titania films

Influences of the titania nanostructure and dye dispersion in a dye-doped titania electrode on its photoelectric conversion property were investigated by simple spectroscopic and electric measurements. The dye-doped nanocrystalline titania electrodes were prepared on the glass plates coated with ITO and normal crystalline titania films by the following two procedures: (1) the dye-doped titania gel films were prepared from a titanium alkoxide solution containing the dye and then steam-treated, and (2) the titanium alkoxide sol containing the dye was refluxed and then spread onto the plates. The photocurrent quantum efficiency remarkably increased by the steam treatment and the reflux compared to that of the untreated dye-doped electrode consisting of amorphous titania gel. The efficiency in the former was higher than that in the latter. The growth and crystallization of the titania particles and the decrease in the defect density by these treatments improved the electric conductivity. The steam treatment was the more prominent method because it enhanced the electric conductivity of the titania depending on its nanostructure and the dye-titania interaction depending on the dye dispersion. These factors appear to play important roles in transport in the electron through the electrode.ArticleJOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY A-CHEMISTRY. 207(2-3):204-208 (2009)journal articl

Influence of Dye Content on the Conduction Band Edge of Titania in the Steam-treated Dye-dispersing Titania Electrodes

The titania and dye-dispersing titania electrodes were prepared by a nitric acid-catalyzed sol-gel process. The dye-dispersing titania contains the dye molecules dispersed on the surface of the individual nanosized titania particles. The photo-cyclic voltammetry (Photo-CV) and photoelectric measurements of the dye-dispersing titania electrodes were conducted to clarify the factors changing the conduction band edge of the titania and the open-circuit voltage (V-oc) of the electrodes. The remaining nitrate ions caused a negative shift of conduction band edge of the titania of the dye-dispersing titania. The conduction band edge of the titania was shifted in a negative direction in the electrode containing a greater amount of the dye. These results are due to the adsorption of nitrate ions and the dye-titania complex formation on the titania particle surface. The effect of the dye-titania complex formation on the shift in the titania conduction band edge was greater than that of the adsorption of nitrate ions due to strong interaction between the dye and titania through the carboxylate and quinone-like groups of the dye. The shift in the titania conduction band edge corresponded to the change in the V-oc value.ArticlePHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY. 90(5):1004-1011 (2014)journal articl

Liver Functional Tests in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis and Chronic Hepatitis Diagnosed by Operative Biopsy of the Liver

The results of the liver functional tests in 45 cases of liver cirrhosis (LC) and 29 cases of chronic hepatitis (CH) confirmed by liver biopsy during operation were compared and studied. It was recognized that there were significant differences of albumin (p < 0.05), prothrombin time (p < 0.01), cholinesterase (p < 0.01) and KICG (p < 0.05) between LC and CH. The rate of hospital death in LC group proved to higher that that in CH group. Therefore, in the cases where LC is diagnosed before or during operation and the decrease in the above four parameters were low, careful consideration for the selection of surgical formulas and post-operative treatment are required

Molecular forms and fluorescence processes of 9-aminoacridine in thin sol-gel films

Molecular aggregation and fluorescence processes of 9-aminoacridine (9AA) in thin silica gel films have been investigated by the steady state and time-resolved fluorescence measurements. The monomer of 9AA was the preferential species in the sol-gel reaction systems of tetraethylorthosilicate until the gelation occurred. The 9AA molecules formed the dimer or higher aggregates just after preparing the dip-coated thin film from the sol-gel system. The extent of the aggregation decreased in the film prepared from the system in which the reaction further proceeded. This result indicates that the aggregation in the prepared film was gradually prevented by the steric hindrance of the SiO2 network with the progress of the sol-gel reaction. The fluorescence properties of 9AA revealed the behavior of the molecules due to the change in the physicochemical environment in the matrix.ArticleJOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY A-CHEMISTRY. 212(1):62-67 (2010)journal articl