Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis (PCI) is a rare gastrointestinal complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc) characterized by intramural accumulation of gas within thin-walled cysts. We report the case of an 82-year-old female patient with pneumoperitoneum due to PCI associated with SSc and review the features of the 39 Japanese cases. The median patient age was 57 years (range 24–83 years) and the male/female ratio was 1 : 12. In the recent decade, 14 out of 15 cases (93.3%) evaluated with CT scans were diagnosed with PCI. The results suggest that CT scan may be a useful diagnostic tool for detecting PCI. PCI in patients with SSc is usually benign and requires only conservative therapy. However, two patients (5.1%) with signs of peritoneal irritation required surgery. When peritoneal irritation secondary to additional pathology is observed, surgical treatment may be warranted; a precise diagnosis for this condition is therefore essential.

A noncontact measurement of electric field is proposed based on the Kerr effect in gases. With the Kerr sensing technique, the electric field can be measured without causing any field disturbance. Kerr constants of gases are, however, very small compared with those of liquids, and this ideal technique has not been applied to electric field measurement in gas. In this study, a system is developed for a highly sensitive measurement of the small phase retardation caused by the Kerr electro-optic effect in gases. An optical phase modulation technique is effectively adopted to improve the sensitivity of the system. With this optical system, (i) dc stressed uniform electric fields in sulfur hexafluoride, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide gases at the pressure of 0.2–0.5 MPa and (ii) ac stressed uniform electric fields in atmospheric air are measured.

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Abstract. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of underweight status on the survival of elderly patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC). A total of 113 patients aged ≥75 years who underwent curative surgery for CRC were included. In addition to standard perioperative variables, body mass index (BMI) was assessed. The patients were categorized as underweight (BMI<18.5 kg/m 2 ) or non-underweight (BMI≥18.5 kg/m 2 ). The 3-year overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were analyzed. Of the 113 patients, 24 (21%) were underweight. The two groups were well-balanced regarding all factors evaluated. In the multivariate analysis, underweight status was an independent indicator of lower 3-year OS [hazard ratio (HR)=2.65; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08-6.50; P= 0.033] and CSS (HR=3.51, 95% CI: 1.16-10.60; P=0.025) rates. Compared with the non-underweight group, the underweight group had significantly worse 3-year OS (66.7 vs. 86.5%, respectively; P= 0.017) and CSS (74.1 vs. 90.9%, respectively; P= 0.025) rates. Therefore, underweight status was a significant risk factor for poor survival in elderly CRC patients. The development of effective nutritional interventions may improve the prognosis of such patients.

Scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) system was applied to measure corrosion current density profiles around Pt foil embedded in epoxy resin except its edge, which was used to simulate intergranular corrosion. The system was calibrated under the condition of uniform current. Output voltage, V, became larger with decreasing conductivity of the test solution, ic, and increasing vibrating amplitude of sensor probe, a. Measuring sensitivity did not depend on frequency of vibration, f, under the condition of uniform current. Laplace equation could be applied for corrosion current distributions around foil-shape electrode with width of t. When height of sensor probe from the specimen surface, h, could be decreased down to ht/2, condition A, corrosion current distribution could be considered to be uniform and net corrosion current density, io, could be determined as io=iripl2, where ip was the corrosion current density just above the center of the electrode. When h was larger than t/2, condition B, corrosion current flowed out in all directions from the electrode and identification sensitivity of ip=tiol7rh became better with decreasing h. Corrosion current profiles around Pt foil electrode were measured under various conditions of f, h and width of Pt foil, t. Measuring sensitivity became improved with increasing f and then leveled off after a f-value of 300Hz. Because V was unstable under the conditions with f=50 n (Hz) (n=7, 8, 9) under the influence of AC power source (f=50 Hz), f=370 Hz was adopted in this work. Relationship between ip and h satisfied the Laplace equation under condition B. With regard to corrosion current flowing out from two Pt foils at the distance of d, h was required to be less than d/2 to detect two peaks of corrosion current and to determine the positions of Pt foils. These strong dependency on h of the measured intergranular corrosion current profiles are attributed to the adopted conditions which remains within condition B.

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