SF is a useful expander for post-pneumonectomy syndrome in the long-term course: a case report.

Background: Post-pneumonectomy syndrome (PPS) is a rare but serious condition that can occur after pneumonectomy. It is characterized by a mediastinal shift towards the vacated hemithorax, which can potentially lead to respiratory failure. The management of PPS poses a clinical challenge, especially in the context of the limited availability of certain therapeutic devices due to regulatory restrictions in Japan.

TGF-β inhibitor treatment of H₂O₂-induced cystitis models provides biochemical mechanism for elucidating interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome patients.

Interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) is a chronic disease for which no effective treatment is available. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of IC/PBS, and previous studies have suggested that administrations of a TGF-β inhibitor significantly ameliorated IC/PBS in a mouse model. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of a TGF-b inhibitor on IC/PBS has not been comprehensively analyzed.

Development of a post-treatment system using a downflow hanging sponge reactor - an upflow anaerobic reactor for natural rubber processing wastewater treatment.

This study aimed to evaluate the nitrogen removal of a post-treatment system for natural rubber processing wastewater (NRPW) under low chemical oxygen demand to total nitrogen (COD/TN) ratios without any supplemental external carbon source. The system including a downflow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor and an upflow anaerobic reactor (UAR) was operated in two phases. In phase 1 (day 0-102), under a nitrogen loading rate (NLR) of 0.

Randomized phase III study comparing the first-line chemotherapy regimens in patients with driver mutation-negative advanced non-small cell lung cancer and poor performance status complicated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) complicated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with poor performance status (PS) are common in clinical practice with few related studies. Present studies have found that weekly low-dose docetaxel or gemcitabine combined with platinum is suitable for elderly or poor PS patients with advanced NSCLC.

Methods: Untreated advanced driver mutation-negative NSCLC patients with COPD and PS ≥2 were enrolled in this double-blind randomized trial.

Right top pulmonary veins associated with lung incomplete fissure and displaced bronchus: a retrospective study using multidetector computed tomography.

Objective: Anatomical features associated with the right top pulmonary vein (RTPV) remain unclear. This study aimed to reveal the incidence, form and associated pulmonary anatomical features of RTPVs.

Methods: Thoracic computed tomography images taken from 4673 patients at our hospital between 2016 and 2018 were analyzed retrospectively for frequency, bifurcation pattern, inflow site, vascular diameter, and associated pulmonary anatomical features of RTPV.

Observation of Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect and Exchange Interaction in Topological Insulator/Antiferromagnet Heterostructure.

Integration of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator with a magnetically ordered material provides an additional degree of freedom through which the resulting exotic quantum states can be controlled. Here, an experimental observation is reported of the quantum anomalous Hall effect in a magnetically-doped topological insulator grown on the antiferromagnetic insulator Cr O . The exchange coupling between the two materials is investigated using field-cooling-dependent magnetometry and polarized neutron reflectometry.

Prognostic impact of local radiotherapy on metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients receiving systemic chemotherapy.

Objective: To clarify the prognostic impact of local radiotherapy on metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients treated by systemic chemotherapy.

Methods: Of the 228 metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients treated with systemic chemotherapy, 97 received radiotherapy mainly to metastatic sites. In patients for whom the purpose of radiotherapy was not specified, more than 50 Gy irradiation was considered to be for disease consolidation for survival analysis, while less than 50 Gy was categorized as palliation.

High TNFRSF14 and low BTLA are associated with poor prognosis in Follicular Lymphoma and in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma transformation.

The microenvironment influences the behavior of follicular lymphoma (FL) but the specific roles of the immunomodulatory BTLA and TNFRSF14 (HVEM) are unknown. Therefore, we examined their immunohistochemical expression in the intrafollicular, interfollicular and total histological compartments in 106 FL cases (57M/49F; median age 57-years), and in nine relapsed-FL with transformation to DLBCL (tFL). BTLA expression pattern was of follicular T-helper cells (TFH) in the intrafollicular and of T-cells in the interfollicular compartments.

Tetracycline Reduces Kidney Damage Induced by Loxosceles Spider Venom.

Envenomation by spider can result in two clinical manifestations: cutaneous and systemic loxoscelism, the latter of which includes renal failure. Although incidence of renal failure is low, it is the main cause of death, occurring mainly in children. The sphingomyelinase D (SMase D) is the main component in spider venom responsible for local and systemic manifestations.

Long-term outcomes and prognostic factors of patients with obstructive colorectal cancer: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Aim: To investigate the long-term oncologic outcomes and prognostic factors in patients with obstructive colorectal cancer (CRC) at multiple Japanese institutions.

Methods: We identified 362 patients diagnosed with obstructive colorectal cancer from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2012 in Yokohama Clinical Oncology Group's department of gastroenterological surgery. Among them, 234 patients with stage II/III disease who had undergone surgical resection of their primary lesions were analyzed, retrospectively.

Are the Formulas Used to Estimate Renal Function Adequate for Patients Treated With Cisplatin-Based Chemotherapy After Nephroureterectomy for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma?

Objective: The relationship between endogenous creatinine clearance (eCrCl) and renal function values obtained using mathematical formulas has not yet been fully elucidated, especially in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma that are treated with radical nephroureterectomy followed by cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

Methods: Sixty patients who received cisplatin-based chemotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic upper tract urothelial carcinoma after radical nephroureterectomy between 2000 and 2012 were retrospectively identified. eCrCl was measured based on 24-hour urine specimens obtained immediately prior to each cycle of chemotherapy.

Prevalence of food-responsive enteropathy among dogs with chronic enteropathy in Japan.

There have been limited reports on the prevalence of adverse food reactions among dogs suffering from chronic enteropathy (CE) in Japan. We examined the prevalence and histological features of food-responsive enteropathy (FRE) in a total of 32 dogs with history of CE. Fourteen of 18 cases (56.

Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting via median sternotomy in a patient with a history of esophagectomy with substernal gastric tube reconstruction: report of a case.

We performed successful off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) in a patient with unstable angina caused by triple-vessel disease, who had undergone esophagectomy with substernal gastric tube reconstruction for esophageal cancer 40 years earlier. Preoperative multidetector-row computed tomography was done to evaluate the course of the gastric tube and also that of the gastroepiploic artery, which feeds the gastric tube. Following careful sternal re-entry and adequate dissection, OPCAB was performed safely via a median sternotomy without injuring the gastric tube or causing hemodynamic instability.

Chronic expanding hematoma in the retroperitoneal space: a case report.

Background: Chronic expanding hematoma is a rare condition that develops after surgery, trauma, or injury. It can also develop at any location in the body in the absence of trauma. Clinical findings and various diagnostic imaging modalities can aid in the differential diagnosis of this condition.

Increased levels of cell-free human placental lactogen mRNA at 28-32 gestational weeks in plasma of pregnant women with placenta previa and invasive placenta.

We compared the levels of cell-free human placental lactogen (hPL) messenger RNA (mRNA) in maternal plasma at 28 to 32 weeks of gestation between women with diagnosis of placenta previa or invasive placenta and women with an uneventful pregnancy. Sensitivity and specificity of hPL mRNA for the prediction of invasive placenta were further explored. Plasma hPL mRNA were quantified by real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in women with placenta previa (n = 13), invasive placenta (n = 5), and normal pregnancies (n = 92).

Rapid measurement of 89,90Sr radioactivity in rinse water.

Rapid measurement of radioactivity from Sr in aqueous solutions is performed using a technique combining a strontium rad disk and a picobeta spectrometer. Identification of Sr radionuclides is accomplished in as little as 90 min in a radiation-tainted solution that contains more highly radioactive cesium. It is possible to perform triage by assessing skin exposure doses in this short time.

Synthesis and structures of cyclic gold complexes containing diphosphine ligands and luminescent properties of the high nuclearity species.

A mixture of cyclic gold(I) complexes [Au(2)(μ-cis-dppen)(2)]X(2) (X = OTf 1, PF(6)3) and [Au(cis-dppen)(2)]X (X = OTf 2, PF(6)4) is obtained from the reaction of [Au(tht)(2)]X (tht = tetrahydrothiophene) with one equivalent of cis-dppen [dppen = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethylene]. The analogous reaction with trans-dppen or dppa [dppa = bis(diphenylphosphino)acetylene] affords the cyclic trinuclear [Au(3)(μ-trans-dppen)(3)]X(3) (X = OTf 11, PF(6)12) and tetranuclear [Au(4)(μ-dppa)(4)]X(4) (X = OTf 13, PF(6)14, ClO(4)15) gold complexes, respectively. Recrystallization of 15 from CH(2)Cl(2)/MeOH yielded a crystal of the octanuclear gold cluster [Au(8)Cl(2)(μ-dppa)(4)](ClO(4))(2)16.

Nodavirus associated with pathological changes in adult spotted coralgroupers (Plectropomus maculatus) in Thailand with viral nervous necrosis.

The present study characterized viral nervous necrosis in sea cage-reared adult spotted coralgroupers (Plectropomus maculatus). Histopathological study showed extensive vacuolation and neuronal necrosis of the olfactory bulb and the optic lobe of the forebrain and the inner and outer nuclear layer of retina. Mild necrosis was observed in the spinal cord.

Nematode homologue of PQBP1, a mental retardation causative gene, is involved in lipid metabolism.

Background: PQBP1 is a causative gene for X-linked mental retardation (MR) whose patients frequently show lean body. C. elegans has a strictly conserved homologue gene of PQBP1, T21D12.

Effect of volume of oocyte cytoplasm on embryo development after parthenogenetic activation, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Animal cloning methods are now well described and are becoming routine. Yet, the frequency at which live cloned offspring are produced remains below 5%, irrespective of the nuclear donor species or cell type. One possible explanation is that the reprogramming factor(s) of each oocyte is insufficient or not properly adapted for the receipt of a somatic cell nucleus, because it is naturally prepared only for the receipt of a gamete.

Intracoronary administration of nicorandil for the treatment of spontaneous microvascular spasm with ST segment elevation.

A 64-year-old man with a history of previous coronary intervention of the left anterior descending artery was admitted to hospital because of recurrent chest pain at rest. Coronary angiography revealed no significant coronary artery stenosis. During preparation for the second shot of the right coronary artery, chest pain occurred unexpectedly, represented by ST segment elevation in leads II, III and aV(F).

[Distribution of hepatitis B virus genotypes and its clinical significance in Guangxi].

Objective: To understand the distribution of hepatitis B virus genotype in Guangxi and its clinical significance.

Methods: Nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) was used for amplification of HBV DNA in sera of asymptomatic carrier (ASC) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and patients with different liver diseases from southern and northern Guangxi. Specimens from 161 subjects were positive for HBV DNA and HBV genotype was determined by using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, direct sequencing or cloning sequencing.

[Nucleotide sequence analysis of new genotype of hepatitis G virus in population at high risk for HCV infection in Guangxi].

Objective: To examine the prevalence and the sequence of the genes of new genotypes of hepatitis G virus (HGV) in Guangxi, China.

Methods: Serum samples were collected from 85 intravenous drug abusers (IVDAs), 80 patients with liver diseases (PLDs) and 50 blood donors (BDs). All sera (n=215) were tested by using EIA for HBsAg, anti-HCV and anti-HIV, and by using nested PCR for HGV RNA.