ABSTRACT
High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) launched an education project for the fabrication of an accelerator named "AxeLatoon" in 2020 together with the National Institute of Technology (KOSEN). This project aims to improve engineering skills of students and foster the next generation of accelerator researchers by providing hands-on training in the field of accelerator science. In the first year, we collaborated with the NIT (KOSEN), Ibaraki College to build an accelerator. Students took the initiative in this extracurricular activity and challenged building an accelerator. From 2021, we expanded this project to other prefectures and four schools are now participating. The design and fabrication of a small cyclotron accelerator is currently underway. Despite the restrictions on activities and the limited mobility of people due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the project continues to educate students about basic technologies and accelerators. We are holding seminars a few times a month utilizing online communication tools. In this report, we would like to share the status of AxeLatoon's activities based on the actual production of students at KOSEN and deepen the discussion on accelerator outreach programs. © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
ABSTRACT
Background: To mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have recommended the use of booster vaccinations. The relationship between the degree of adverse vaccine reactions and elevated antibody titers is of interest;however, no studies have investigated the temporal changes in antibody titers based on repeated measurements after a third dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine. Methods: This prospective longitudinal cohort study was conducted with 62 healthcare workers who received a third dose of the BNT162b2 at Okayama University Hospital, Japan. Venous blood draw and fingertip whole blood test sample collection were conducted at the early (3–13 days) and 1-month time points;only FWT sample collection was conducted at the 2-month time point. Information on adverse reactions within 1 week after vaccination was also obtained. The association between fever of 37.5 °C or higher and antibody titers after the third dose of BNT162b2 was examined using a mixed-effects model and Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: A trend toward higher antibody titers in the early period after vaccination was observed in the febrile individuals, but the differences were not significant at 1 and 2 months post-vaccination (the partial regression coefficient for fever was 8094.3 [-1910.2, 18,098.8] at 1 month after vaccination, and 1764.1 [-4133.9, 7662.1] at 2 months after vaccination in the adjusted models). Conclusion: The findings suggest that the presence of fever after the third vaccine does not predict a sustained elevation in serum antibody titers. © 2022 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases
ABSTRACT
Background: Reports identify rates of prolonged intubation as high as 28% in patients who are hospitalized for worsening respiratory status due the SARS-CoV-2 infection. This has placed a toll on healthcare systems around the world. However, we believe we are only seeing the beginnings of complications associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Subglottic tracheal stenosis is a known complication of prolonged intubation and may therefore be on the rise in the wake of the current pandemic. The European Laryngology Society created the Laryngotracheal Stenosis Committee to alert the international medical community of the rise in airway complications associated with long-Term intubation and high rates of tracheostomy seen in the recent months during the pandemic. Optimal surgical management of the unique features of subglottic stenosis following COVID-19 disease, especially in severely deconditioned patients, has yet to be reported. Case Description: We report the surgical management of blind-end Myer-Cotton Grade IV subglottic stenoses in two patients who required prolonged mechanical ventilatory support for respiratory failure resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 infection with a two stage minimally invasive recanalization strategy. Patients underwent two-step minimally invasive process for recanalization. The first step is to re-establish a patent tracheal lumen under direct visualization utilizing both a rigid bronchoscope from proximally as well as a flexible bronchoscope distal to the stenosis from the tracheostomy stoma. Once the tracheal lumen is re-established, proper dilation of the airway and hemostasis is achieved in standard fashion. Both patients have had roughly 6 months of follow-up and have tolerated their silicone T-Tubes capped at all times. Neither patient currently require any oxygen supplementation and continue to phonate well. While they are not at their baseline in terms of physical activity, they are continuing their rehabilitation process. Conclusions: While the definitive treatment continues to be surgical resection, the endoscopic approach to re-establishing the tracheal lumen is a safe and effective method with little to no morbidity and mortality. This will allow for uninhibited rehabilitation following prolonged mechanical ventilatory support and hospital stay following severe COVID-19 infection. © 2022 Audiology and Speech Research. All rights reserved.