Acotiamide Has No Effects on Esophageal Motor Activity or Esophagogastric Junction Compliance

Hironobu Mikami,Norihisa Ishimura,Mayumi Okada,Daisuke Izumi,Eiko Okimoto,Shunji Ishihara,Yoshikazu Kinoshita 대한소화기 기능성질환∙운동학회 2018 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.24 No.2

Background/Aims The novel prokinetic drug acotiamide is used for treatment of functional dyspepsia. It is still unclear how acotiamide has effects on esophageal motor function. Esophageal peristalsis and esophagogastric junction (EGJ) compliance has an important role for prevention of esophageal mucosal damage caused by gastroesophageal reflux, however, few studies have analyzed the effects of acotiamide on those former activities and none have investigated its effects on EGJ compliance. The aim of our research was to examine the effects of acotiamide on esophageal motility and EGJ compliance. Methods We enrolled 3 gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) patients as well as 9 healthy volunteers. Using high-resolution manometry, we examined esophageal motor activity parameters, including esophageal body contractions and lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure. While, EGJ compliance was evaluated using a functional lumen imaging probe. Following determination of baseline values for esophageal motor activities and EGJ compliance, acotiamide at a standard dose of 300 mg/day was administered for 3 days. All measurements were performed again 2 hours after the last acotiamide administration. Results In the healthy volunteers, as compared with the baseline values, acotiamide administration did not significantly change esophageal body contractions and LES pressure. And EGJ distensibility was not significantly changed (distensibility index in 40-mL distension: 3.5 ± 0.4 vs 3.3 ± 0.5 mm2/mmHg). Similarly in the GERD patients, there were no differences in either esophageal motility or EGJ compliance between before and after acotiamide administration (distensibility index in 40-mL distension: 6.2 ± 0.5 vs 6.5 ± 1.1 mm2/mmHg). Conclusion In both healthy individuals and GERD patients, standard dose acotiamide dose does not have significant effects on esophageal motor activities or EGJ compliance.

Efficacy of the Thoracolumbar Interfascial Plane Block for Lumbar Laminoplasty: A Retrospective Study

Hironobu Ueshima,Tomoyuki Ozawa,Tomoaki Toyone,Hiroshi Otake 대한척추외과학회 2017 Asian Spine Journal Vol.11 No.5

Study Design: This paper was a single center-based retrospective study with prospective data collection. Purpose: Compared with other surgeries, limited options are available for perioperative pain management in spinal surgery. Therefore, we aimed to identify new pain management in this study. Overview of Literature: The thoracolumbar interfascial plane (TLIP) block has been reported to provide effective regional analgesia in the lumbar region. This study investigated the efficacy of the TLIP block for pain management in lumbar laminoplasty. Methods: We investigated patients who underwent lumbar laminoplasty for the treatment of lumbar spinal canal stenosis from April to October 2015. Patients with secondary surgery or surgery involving more than four intervertebral spaces were excluded. The primary outcome measure was the pain scale score within 48 hours after the surgery. The secondary outcomes were the number of additional analgesic drugs used and the number of patients complaining of complications, such as nausea and vomiting, within 24 hours after the surgery. Results: We retrospectively assessed the data of 44 patients who underwent lumbar laminoplasty. Of these, 25 patients received only general anesthesia (G group), whereas 19 patients received the TLIP block along with general anesthesia (T group). Compared with the G group, the T group reported lower pain scores for pain at 1, 2, 4, and 24 hours postoperatively. Moreover, the number of patients who received the additional analgesic pentazocine was lower in the T group than in the G group. The two groups showed no significant differences in the incidence of complications. Conclusions: The TLIP block provides effective analgesia for 24 hours postoperatively in patients undergoing lumbar laminoplasty.

Efficacy of the Erector Spinae Plane Block for Lumbar Spinal Surgery: A Retrospective Study

Hironobu Ueshima,Mayumi Inagaki,Tomoaki Toyone,Hiroshi Otake 대한척추외과학회 2019 Asian Spine Journal Vol.13 No.2

Study Design: A retrospective study. Purpose: The first research on the erector spinae plane (ESP) block was published in 2016. To our knowledge, no cohort studies or randomized controlled trials of the ESP block were performed in 2016 and 2017. Overview of the Literature: This study retrospectively investigated the efficacy of the ESP block in pain management after lumbar spinal surgery. Methods: Patients who underwent lumbar spinal surgery in 2017 were enrolled in the study. Those who underwent secondary surgery with local anesthesia other than the ESP block were excluded. The primary outcome was the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) pain score at various time points until the morning of postoperative day 2. The secondary outcomes were the amount of intravenous fentanyl administered during the first 24 hours following the surgery and the number of patients with complaints of complications such as nausea and vomiting until the morning of postoperative day 2. Results: The data of 41 patients undergoing lumbar spinal surgery were retrospectively analyzed. Of these, 23 received only general anesthesia (G group), whereas the other 18 patients received the ESP block in addition to general anesthesia (E group). The NRS pain scores and the amount of fentanyl administered were lower in the G group than in the E group at all measured time points (all data were less than p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications between the two groups (p=0.11). Conclusions: The ESP block provides effective postoperative analgesic effect for 24 hours in patients undergoing lumbar spinal surgery.

Intraoperative monitoring of flash visual evoked potential under general anesthesia

Hironobu Hayashi,Masahiko Kawaguchi 대한마취통증의학회 2017 Korean Journal of Anesthesiology Vol.70 No.2

In neurosurgical procedures that may cause visual impairment in the intraoperative period, the monitoring of flash visual evoked potential (VEP) is clinically used to evaluate visual function. Patients are unconscious during surgery under general anesthesia, making flash VEP monitoring useful as it can objectively evaluate visual function. The flash stimulus input to the retina is transmitted to the optic nerve, optic chiasm, optic tract, lateral geniculate body, optic radiation (geniculocalcarine tract), and visual cortical area, and the VEP waveform is recorded from the occipital region. Intraoperative flash VEP monitoring allows detection of dysfunction arising anywhere in the optic pathway, from the retina to the visual cortex. Particularly important steps to obtain reproducible intraoperative flash VEP waveforms under general anesthesia are total intravenous anesthesia with propofol, use of retinal flash stimulation devices using high-intensity light-emitting diodes, and a combination of electroretinography to confirm that the flash stimulus has reached the retina. Relatively major postoperative visual impairment can be detected by intraoperative decreases in the flash VEP amplitude.

An Age Estimation System on the AIBO

Hironobu Fukai,Yuuki Nishie,Kohki Abiko,Yasue Mitsukura,Minoru Fukumi,Masahiro Tanaka 제어로봇시스템학회 2008 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2008 No.10

In this paper, we propose an age estimation system on the AIBO. AIBO is an entertainment robot produced by SONY co., Ltd.. AIBO has many sensors to get information around itself and moves according to its instinct. This autonomous action is considerably natural. However, it is inadequate to communicate with people. If AIBO can estimate the human age from a face image, it becomes more excellent entertainment robot. Then, we propose the age estimation method on the AIBO by using face image. In this paper, the apparent age feature is extracted by the fast Fourier transform (FFT), and it is selected by the GA. Moreover, the age is estimated by the 1-dimensional SOM. In order to show the effectiveness of the proposed method, we show the simulation examples.

Fixation Strength of Caudal Pedicle Screws after Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion with the Modified Cortical Bone Trajectory Screw Method

Hironobu Sakaura,Toshitada Miwa,Tomoya Yamashita,Yusuke Kuroda,Tetsuo Ohwada 대한척추외과학회 2016 Asian Spine Journal Vol.10 No.4

Study Design: Clinical case series. Purpose: In the posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) procedure in our institute, the cephalad screw trajectory follows a mediolateral and caudocephalad directed path according to the original cortical bone trajectory (CBT) method. However, the starting point of the caudal screw is at the medial border of the pedicle on an articular surface of the superior articular process, and the trajectory takes a mediolateral path parallel to the cephalad endplate. The incidence of caudal screw loosening after PLIF with this modified CBT screw method was investigated, and significant risk factors for caudal screw loosening were evaluated. Overview of Literature: A biomechanical study of this modified caudal screw trajectory using the finite element method reported about a 20% increase in uniaxial yield pullout load compared with the traditional trajectory. However, there has been no clinical study concerning the fixation strength of this modified caudal screw trajectory. Methods: The subjects were 193 consecutive patients who underwent single-level PLIF with modified CBT screw fixation. Caudal screw loosening was checked in computed tomography at 6 months after surgery, and screw loosening was defined as a radiolucency of 1 mm or more at the bone-screw interface. Results: The incidence of caudal screw loosening after lumbosacral PLIF (46.2%) was significantly higher than that after floating PLIF (6.0%). No significant differences in sex, brand of the instruments, and diameter and length of the caudal screw were evident between patients with and without caudal screw loosening. Patients with caudal screw loosening were significantly older at the time of surgery than patients without caudal screw loosening. Conclusions: Fixation strength of the caudal screw after floating PLIF with this modified CBT screw technique was sufficiently acceptable. Fixation strength after the lumbosacral procedure was not.

RIDE PERFORMANCE ON WHEEL ROTATION SPEED DRIVEN CONTROLLED DAMPER SYSTEM

Hironobu Kikuchi,Kazuaki Inaba 한국자동차공학회 2022 International journal of automotive technology Vol.23 No.5

The trend in vehicle electrification has been increasing. However, the mass of the electric vehicle increases with the battery size. Consequently, the ride and handling performance may be insufficient to meet user expectations. This study aims to provide the value of the dynamic performance of electric vehicles. In a previous study, we proposed a skyhook damping system that is driven by the wheel rotation speed signals. However, there was a problem of the feeling of a stiff ride when applying the skyhook algorithm with a slow signal communication cycle. In this paper, we clarified the causes of an incorrect damping coefficient switching timing, which excites the higher-order mode of the suspension system through a numerical analysis. As a solution, we proposed a minimal control strategy that can achieve both body damping (1–2 Hz) and isolation (3–6 Hz) through its smooth damping switching function under the limitation of a slow communication cycle of 20 ms. The performance of the proposed algorithm showed a significant improvement based on a numerical analysis and vehicle tests. As a limitation of the proposed algorithm, it has a fixed point near the sprung resonance frequency, a recommended treatment for which is discussed herein.

Virus-Evolutionary Genetic Algorithm for Fuzzy Spiking Neural Network of A Mobile Robot in A Dynamic Environment

Hironobu Sasaki,Naoyuki Kubota 제어로봇시스템학회 2006 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2006 No.10

Instructional Intervention on the Proper use of Personal Protective Equipment

Hironobu Ikehara,Yoko Adachi,Taeko Okuda,Shizu Okita,Sawae Kobayashi,Tomohiro Azuma 한국간호과학회 2011 한국간호과학회 학술대회 Vol.2011 No.10

A Design of an Age Estimation System Using the SOM

Hironobu Fukai,Yasue Mitsukura,Hironori Takimoto,Minoru Fukumi 제어로봇시스템학회 2006 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2006 No.10