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Superficial duodenal epithelial tumors were previously considered rare. Laparoscopic and endoscopic cooperative surgery for duodenal tumors (D-LECS) has been developed to achieve successful endoscopic treatment. Patients who have undergone living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) may have severe abdominal adhesions, and immunosuppressive agents (IAs) may affect the degree of postoperative abdominal adhesions and wound healing, but their effects remain unclear. Herein, we present the first case of D-LECS for duodenal adenoma after LDLT. A 66-year-old man underwent D-LECS for a non-ampullary duodenal high-grade adenoma after LDLT with an IA. The patient's condition was uneventful 36 months after the surgery. In gastrointestinal surgery, IAs may affect the resected duodenal repair process. For duodenal neoplasms in high-risk patients, D-LECS may be better than endoscopic submucosal dissection alone. D-LECS after LDLT is a feasible and less invasive procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer with Virchow's lymph node metastasis (LNM) is not indicated for initial curative surgery. Although there have been some case reports of curative resections after pre-operative treatment, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), there is no consensus regarding the optimal timing of surgery. We describe a rare case of initially unresectable gastric cancer treated preoperatively with nivolumab combined chemotherapy, which achieved a pathologically complete response. An 82-year-old man was referred for gastric cancer treatment. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed stomach wall thickening and swollen left supraclavicular LN. This gastric cancer was assessed as unresectable due to the presence of Virchow's LNM; therefore, chemotherapy and ICI using S-1 plus oxaliplatin plus nivolumab were administered. After three courses of treatment, the primary tumor and Virchow's LN showed a marked reduction in size. The patient underwent Virchow's LNM resection as a preliminary step to determine indications for curative surgery. A pathological examination revealed no viable cancer cells were found inside the resected LN. The patient underwent distal gastrectomy. Pathological examination revealed complete degeneration of the primary tumor and regional LN without residual carcinoma. The patient did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy and survived with no evidence of recurrence for one year after the initial treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas (ICC) are rare primary liver tumors. In few cases, they may invade nearby organs and present as extrahepatic growths, leading to poor prognosis. We report a case of a 78-year-old man who presented with fatigue. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed to find a cause for his anemia, which showed a submucosal tumor with delle at the lesser curvature of the gastric cardia. A computed tomography revealed a low-density tumor of diameter 70 mm at the cardia. It appeared to infiltrate the liver directly. We performed lateral hepatectomy, proximal gastrectomy and lymphadenectomy. The pathological findings revealed an ICC with gastric infiltration. Although adjuvant chemotherapy was administered, 12 months postoperatively, the patient developed pain and multiple bone metastases for which palliative radiation was initiated. The guidelines for lymphadenectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy in such cases are unclear. Appropriate regional lymphadenectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy can improve the prognosis of such patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By relying only on the conventional technology, it may be difficult to meet the recent requirements of electric power systems such as further improvement of the quality of electric power supply, environmental compatibility, and so on. Some of the limitations of conventional technology can be eliminated by the application of superconductivity technology. Roughly speaking, superconductivity-applied components which have relatively high feasibility are the superconducting generator, small-capacity SMES, and liquid nitrogen-cooled superconducting cable. To use them practically, reliability, maintainability, controllability abd economy must be improved to the level of conventional components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leiomyosarcomas (LMS) of the ovarian vein are extremely rare and have a poor prognosis. Only 10 cases have been reported since 1977. The patient is a 69-year-old woman presented with right abdominal pain. Computed tomography showed a regularly shaped tumor, 80 mm in diameter in the retroperitoneum, adjacent to the descending part of the duodenum. Intraoperatively, the right ovarian vein was found to run through the tumor and was, therefore, resected together with the tumor. Pathological examination revealed a LMS of the right ovarian vein. Nine months postoperatively, multiple lung metastases were detected and chemotherapy was initiated. Delayed diagnosis is associated with high mortality. It is important that the diagnosis of LMS should be made preoperatively when you have already diagnosed a tumor to better direct the surgical approach. Multimodal therapy may improve prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We fabricated an inverted-staggered amorphous In–Ga–Zn-oxide (a-IGZO) thin film transistor (TFT) and measured the temperature dependence of its characteristics. A threshold voltage (Vth) shift between 120 and 180 °C was as large as 4 V. In an analysis with two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulation, we reproduced the measured result by assuming two types of donor-like states as carrier generation sources. Furthermore, by ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, we determined the electronic structures of three types of a-IGZO structures, namely, “stoichiometric a-IGZO”, “oxygen deficiency”, and “hydrogen doping”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have newly developed a 4.0-in. quarter video graphics array (QVGA) active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display integrated with gate and source driver circuits using amorphous In–Ga–Zn-oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). Focusing on a passivation layer in an inverted staggered bottom gate structure, the threshold voltage of the TFTs can be controlled to have “normally-off” characteristics with suppressed variation by using a SiOx layer formed by sputtering with a low hydrogen content. In addition, small subthreshold swing S/S of 0.19 V/decade, high field-effect mobility µFE of 11.5 cm2 V-1 s-1, and threshold voltage Vth of 1.27 V are achieved. The deposition conditions of the passivation layer and other processes are optimized, and variation in TFT characteristics is suppressed, whereby high-speed operation in gate and source driver circuits can be achieved. Using these driver circuits, the 4.0-in. QVGA AMOLED display integrated with driver circuits can be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]