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Shu Kojima,1 Satohiro Matsumoto,1 Yudai Koito,1 Takaya Miura,1 Masanari Sekine,1 Takeshi Uehara,1 Takeharu Asano,1 Yasuhiro Yamaguchi,2 Hirosato Mashima1 1Department of Gastroenterology, Jichi Medical University Saitama Medical Center, Saitama, Japan; 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jichi Medical University Saitama Medical Center, Saitama, JapanCorrespondence: Shu Kojima, Department of Gastroenterology, Jichi Medical University Saitama Medical Center, 1-847 Amanuma, Omiya, Saitama, 330-8503, Japan, Tel +81 48 647 2111, Fax +81 48 648 5188, Email s.kojima@jichi.ac.jpAbstract: A 51-year-old Japanese man was diagnosed with left-sided ulcerative colitis (UC) at age 41. He was treated with mesalazine and azathioprine and maintained remission. At age 51, the patient developed bloody stools, abdominal pain, scleritis, arthritis, cough, bloody sputum, and pericardial effusion. Considering that pericardial effusion is an atypical extraintestinal complication of UC, and the patient met the diagnostic criteria for relapsing polychondritis (RP), a diagnosis of RP complicating a relapse of UC was made. Steroid therapy was administered, and both diseases improved. Golimumab, an anti-tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor, was introduced as maintenance therapy for UC. All symptoms, including pericardial effusion, improved. Subsequently, no relapse of UC or RP was observed. As only a few cases of RP overlapping with UC have been reported and no treatment protocol has been established, we considered this case valuable and worthy of publication.Keywords: ulcerative colitis, relapsing polychondritis, anti-tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor, golimumab

Sadatoshi Watanabe,1 Koshi Kataoka,2 Miwa Sekine,2 David Aune,2 Kiyoshi Shikino,3 Yuji Nishizaki1,2 1Clinical Translational Science, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; 2Division of Medical Education, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; 3Department of Medical Education, Chiba University School of Medicine, Chiba, JapanCorrespondence: Yuji Nishizaki, Clinical Translational Science, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan, Tel +81-3-3813-3111, Fax +81-3-5689-0627, Email ynishiza@juntendo.ac.jpPurpose: In 2004, the postgraduate clinical training system in Japan was radically revised by introducing a super-rotation matching system. Although postgraduate clinical training became a mandatory 2 years of training, the program and operation were left to each facility’s discretion, leading to training-program popularity differences. The Japanese Tasukigake method provides clinical training in which “hospitals where junior residents work” and “external hospitals/clinics that provide clinical training” conduct clinical training alternately on a 1-year basis. The study aimed to identify the characteristics of university hospitals that implement the Tasukigake method to help educators and medical institutions create more attractive and effective programs.Methods: All 81 university main hospitals were included in this cross-sectional study. The information regarding Tasukigake method implementation was collected from the facilities’ websites. The training program’s matching rate (popularity) was calculated from the Japan Residency Matching Program’s interim report data (academic 2020). We used multiple linear regression analysis to evaluate the association between Tasukigake method implementation, program popularity, and university hospital characteristics.Results: The Tasukigake method was implemented by 55 (67.9%) university hospitals, significantly more by public university hospitals (44/55, 80%) than by private (11/55, 20%) (P < 0.01) and by hospitals without branches (38/55, 69.1%) than with branches (17/55, 30.9%) (P < 0.001). The maximum hiring capacity of junior residents (P = 0.015) and number of branches (P < 0.001) were negatively correlated, and the population of the hospital’s city (P = 0.003) and salary/month (P = 0.011) were positively correlated with the Tasukigake method implementation. Multiple linear regression analysis results showed no significant association between the matching rate (popularity) and Tasukigake method implementation.Conclusion: The results show no association between Tasukigake method and program popularity; also, highly specialized university hospitals in cities with fewer branch hospitals were more likely to implement the Tasukigake method.Keywords: clinical training, Japanese residency matching program, junior residents, residency rotations, super-rotation, Tasukigake method

LiteBIRD is a proposed CMB polarization satellite project to probe the inflationary B-mode signal. The satellite is designed to measure the tensor-to-scalar ratio with a 68 % confidence level uncertainty of σr< 10 - 3, including statistical, instrumental systematic, and foreground uncertainties. LiteBIRD will observe the full sky from the second Lagrange point for 3 years. We have a focal plane layout for observing frequency coverage that spans 40–402 GHz to characterize the galactic foregrounds. We have two detector candidates, transition-edge sensor bolometers and microwave kinetic inductance detectors. In both cases, a telecentric focal plane consists of approximately 2 × 10 3 superconducting detectors. We will present the mission overview of LiteBIRD, the project status, and the TES focal plane layout.

Masashi Sekine,1,2 Kahori Kita,1 Wenwei Yu1 1Center for Frontier Medical Engineering, 2Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan Abstract: Unlike forearm amputees, transhumeral amputees have residual stumps that are too small to provide a sufficient range of operation for their prosthetic parts to perform usual activities of daily living. Furthermore, it is difficult for small residual stumps to provide sufficient impact absorption for safe manipulation in daily living, as intact arms do. Therefore, substitution of upper limb function in transhumeral amputees requires a sufficient range of motion and sufficient viscoelasticity for shoulder prostheses under critical weight and dimension constraints. We propose the use of two different types of actuators, ie, pneumatic elastic actuators (PEAs) and servo motors. PEAs offer high power-to-weight performance and have intrinsic viscoelasticity in comparison with motors or standard industrial pneumatic cylinder actuators. However, the usefulness of PEAs in large working spaces is limited because of their short strokes. Servo motors, in contrast, can be used to achieve large ranges of motion. In this study, the relationship between the force and stroke of PEAs was investigated. The impact absorption of both types of actuators was measured using a single degree-of-freedom prototype to evaluate actuator compliance for safety purposes. Based on the fundamental properties of the actuators identified, a four degree-of-freedom robotic arm is proposed for prosthetic use. The configuration of the actuators and functional parts was designed to achieve a specified range of motion and torque calculated from the results of a simulation of typical movements performed in usual activities of daily living. Our experimental results showed that the requirements for the shoulder prostheses could be satisfied. Keywords: shoulder prosthesis, hybrid actuation, pneumatic elastic actuator, antagonistic mechanism, compliance