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The purpose of this study is to verify the moderating effects of consultant's problem-solving ability on the effect of client advance readiness on consulting satisfaction. The survey subjects were the employees who participated in internal consulting project with external professional consultants and questionnaire method was used. The survey was conducted through e-mail and direct questionnaire responses for about 2 months from February 2017. 500 questionnaire were distributed, and 276 responses were finally used for the analysis. Statistical program SPSS 23.0 was used to analyze the validity and reliability, followed by the moderating regression analysis to verify the hypothesis. The result of this study showed that client's advance readiness for consulting had a significant effect on consulting satisfaction. In addition, consultant's problem-solving ability was confirmed to have a significant moderating effect on the influence of client's advance readiness on consulting satisfaction. This study provides implications for the consultant's role as well as the importance of client's advance readiness for consulting before proceeding the consulting project to improve consulting satisfaction of the company using consulting service. Future studies are required to find out various methods to improve client's advance readiness before consulting project and consultant's problem-solving ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvement in soil physical and chemical qualities in a containerised seedling production system is important to manage the survival of seedlings after transplanting and initial growth for reforestation efforts. The effects of mixed ratio of biochar and effective microorganisms (EM) on the growth of Zelkova serrata seedlings were investigated. Five levels of mixed ratio biochar (0-40% v/v with a growth medium) and two levels of fertilisation, either with or without EM, were applied to seedlings for 5 months. Height, root collar diameter and dry weight of each seedling were measured to compare the effects of the treatments. Main effects of the treatments were evident in all parameters. Growth parameters were much higher in seedlings treated with 1 g L-1 fertilisation, EM treatment and low biochar ratio than those treated with 0.5 g L-1 fertilisation, without EM and with high biochar ratio. Quality index was in the order of as 0% > 10%, 20% > 30%, and 40% mixed ratio biochar. Fertilisation and EM treatment increased quality index by 31 and 13% respectively. No significant interactions were found between treatments. These findings indicate that EM with 1 g L-1 fertilisation at low biochar ratio can be applied for better quality of Z. serrata seedlings in a containerised production system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Application of surgical navigation for pelvic bone cancer surgery may prove useful, but in addition to the fact that research supporting its adoption remains relatively preliminary, the actual navigation devices are physically large, occupying considerable space in already crowded operating rooms. To address this issue, we developed and tested a navigation system for pelvic bone cancer surgery assimilating augmented reality (AR) technology to simplify the system by embedding the navigation software into a tablet personal computer (PC)., Questions/purposes: Using simulated tumors and resections in a pig pelvic model, we asked: Can AR-assisted resection reduce errors in terms of planned bone cuts and improve ability to achieve the planned margin around a tumor in pelvic bone cancer surgery?, Methods: We developed an AR-based navigation system for pelvic bone tumor surgery, which could be operated on a tablet PC. We created 36 bone tumor models for simulation of tumor resection in pig pelves and assigned 18 each to the AR-assisted resection group and conventional resection group. To simulate a bone tumor, bone cement was inserted into the acetabular dome of the pig pelvis. Tumor resection was simulated in two scenarios. The first was AR-assisted resection by an orthopaedic resident and the second was resection using conventional methods by an orthopaedic oncologist. For both groups, resection was planned with a 1-cm safety margin around the bone cement. Resection margins were evaluated by an independent orthopaedic surgeon who was blinded as to the type of resection. All specimens were sectioned twice: first through a plane parallel to the medial wall of the acetabulum and second through a plane perpendicular to the first. The distance from the resection margin to the bone cement was measured at four different locations for each plane. The largest of the four errors on a plane was adopted for evaluation. Therefore, each specimen had two values of error, which were collected from two perpendicular planes. The resection errors were classified into four grades: ≤ 3 mm; 3 to 6 mm; 6 to 9 mm; and > 9 mm or any tumor violation. Student's t-test was used for statistical comparison of the mean resection errors of the two groups., Results: The mean of 36 resection errors of 18 pelves in the AR-assisted resection group was 1.59 mm (SD, 4.13 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.24-2.94 mm) and the mean error of the conventional resection group was 4.55 mm (SD, 9.7 mm; 95% CI, 1.38-7.72 mm; p < 0.001). All specimens in the AR-assisted resection group had errors < 6 mm, whereas 78% (28 of 36) of errors in the conventional group were < 6 mm., Conclusions: In this in vitro simulated tumor model, we demonstrated that AR assistance could help to achieve the planned margin. Our model was designed as a proof of concept; although our findings do not justify a clinical trial in humans, they do support continued investigation of this system in a live animal model, which will be our next experiment., Clinical Relevance: The AR-based navigation system provides additional information of the tumor extent and may help surgeons during pelvic bone cancer surgery without the need for more complex and cumbersome conventional navigation systems.

Vaginal Brenner tumor is extremely rare. Only five cases have been reported in the English literature to date. Here we report a vaginal Brenner tumor in a 76-year old postmenopausal woman, who presented with a 2.5cm-sized sessile vaginal polyp. Microscopically, it showed characteristic features of Brenner tumor consisting of three components; transitional islands, glands, and dense fibrous stroma. The epithelial tumor cells were positive for GATA-3, p63 and ER, but negative for PAX8. The origin of Brenner tumors in the vagina is unclear, but previous reports suggested of Müllerian origin. However, our case revealed that vaginal Walthard nests could be possible precursor lesions based on their immunohistochemical staining results.

Anastomotic leak and stricture formation are recognised complications of colorectal anastomoses. Surgical technique has been implicated in its aetiology. The use of innovative anastomotic techniques and technical standardisation may facilitate risk modification. Early detection of complications using novel diagnostic tests can lead to reduction in delay of diagnosis as long as a standard system is used. We review our practice for creation a safe anastomosis for minimal invasive rectal cancer resection. Several technical points discussed and evaluated based on the evidence. We propose several recommendations aiming to standardize the technique and to minimize anastomotic complications., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)