A Multi-institutional Prospective Observational Study of Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Patients With Multiple Brain Metastases (JLGK0901 Study Update): Irradiation-related Complications and Long-term Maintenance of Mini-Mental State Examination Scores.

Purpose: The JLGK0901 study showed the noninferiority of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) alone as initial treatment of 5 to 10 brain metastases (BMs) compared with 2 to 4 BMs in terms of overall survival and most secondary endpoints (Lancet Oncol 2014;15:387-95). However, observation periods were not long enough to allow confirmation of the long-term safety of SRS alone in patients with 5 to 10 BMs.

Methods And Materials: This was a prospective observational study of Gamma Knife SRS-treated patients with 1 to 10 newly diagnosed BMs enrolled at 23 facilities between March 1, 2009, and February 15, 2012.

The iron chelating agent, deferoxamine detoxifies Fe(Salen)-induced cytotoxicity.

Iron-salen, i.e., μ-oxo-N,N'-bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine iron (Fe(Salen)) was a recently identified as a new anti-cancer compound with intrinsic magnetic properties.

Junctional delay, frequency, and direction-dependent uncoupling of human heterotypic Cx45/Cx43 gap junction channels.

Gap junction (GJ) channels form low resistance passages between cardiomyocytes and play a role in the rapid propagation of action potentials in the heart. A GJ channel is formed by two properly docked hemichannels and each hemichannel is a hexamer of connexins. Connexin40 (Cx40) and Cx43 are the dominant connexins in atrial myocytes, while Cx45 is mostly expressed in the sinoatrial (SA) and atrioventricular (AV) nodes which directly connect nodal cells with atrial myocytes, possibly via heterotypic Cx40/Cx45 and/or Cx43/Cx45 GJs.

Crucial motifs and residues in the extracellular loops influence the formation and specificity of connexin docking.

Most of the early studies on gap junction (GJ) channel function and docking compatibility were on rodent connexins, while recent research on GJ channels gradually shifted from rodent to human connexins largely due to the fact that mutations in many human connexin genes are found to associate with inherited human diseases. The studies on human connexins have revealed some key differences from those found in rodents, calling for a comprehensive characterization of human GJ channels. Functional studies revealed that docking and formation of functional GJ channels between two hemichannels are possible only between docking-compatible connexins.

Concise synthesis of oxacyclic compounds using highly discriminative two-way transformations of α,β-unsaturated esters in the presence of enones.

Highly discriminative transformation of α,β-unsaturated esters in the presence of enones using two types of phosphonium salts, and their application to the synthesis of oxacyclic compounds in six steps in one pot have been achieved.

Coronary computed tomography angiography using 128-slice dual-source computed tomography in patients with severe calcification.

Purpose: To compare coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) and coronary angiography (CAG) with regard to luminal graphic definition of calcified segments using 128-slice dual-source computed tomography (DSCT), specifically for patients with an Agatston score >400.

Materials And Methods: Of 1148 consecutive patients who underwent coronary CTA using a 128-slice DSCT, 132 subjects had severe calcification with an Agatston score >400. Thirty-nine of the 132 patients who had undergone CAG within 3 months before or after coronary CTA were included.

[A Case Report on a Successful Resection after FOLFIRI plus Cetuximab Therapy for Unresectable Colorectal Cancer with Multiple Liver Metastases].

The patient was a 66-year-old woman with a history of right breast cancer 20 years prior. Her chief complaint was hematochezia, and she was diagnosed as having rectal cancer. She underwent laparoscopic high anterior resection.

Recurrent female adnexal tumor of probable Wolffian origin treated with debulking surgery, imatinib and paclitaxel/carboplatin combination chemotherapy: A case report.

In view of the small number of recurrent and metastatic cases of female adnexal tumors of probable Wolffian origin (FATWO), there is a distinct lack of evidence to support recommendations regarding treatment. In the present study, a 37-year-old female was diagnosed with a left adnexal tumor and underwent a left salpingo-oophorectomy (SO). The tumor was found to arise from the left tubal fimbria and extend to the posterior leaf of the broad ligament.

Primary Villoglandular Mucinous Adenocarcinoma of the Vulva.

Primary villoglandular mucinous adenocarcinoma of the vulva is rare tumor. We report a case of 68-year-old woman who developed this very uncommon malignant tumor. Immunohistochemical examination of this tumor revealed positive staining for Cytokeratin 20, Mucin 2, and CDX2, although Cytokeratin 7 and Mucin 6 were negative.

The role of dentistry other than oral care in patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

The usefulness of dental approaches, such as oral management, has gained recognition among patients treated for head and neck cancer. In particular, oral management plays a very important role before, during, and after treatment in patients undergoing radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of both. However, specialized dentistry knowledge and techniques that are useful for patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancer have yet to be reported.

Comparison of interferon-γ release assays, QuantiFERON TB-GIT and T-Spot.TB, in renal transplantation.

Renal transplant recipients are at increased risk of reactivating latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and progressing to active tuberculosis (TB). This study was conducted in National hospital for tuberculosis and renal transplantation (RT) in Japan. The purpose is to compare two interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs), QuantiFERON-TB Gold in Tube (QFT) and T-SPOT.

Ellagitannins of Davidia involucrata. I. Structure of Davicratinic Acid A and Effects of Davidia Tannins on Drug-Resistant Bacteria and Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas.

We isolated a new ellagitannin, davicratinic acid A (), together with four known ellagitannins, davidiin (), granatin A (), pedunculagin (), and 3--galloylgranatin A (), from an aqueous acetone extract of dried leaves. The known ellagitannins were identified based on spectroscopic data. The structure of davicratinic acid A (), a monomeric ellagitannin possessing a unique, skew-boat glucopyranose core, was established based on spectroscopic data.

Respiratory gating and multifield technique radiotherapy for esophageal cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of a respiratory gating and multifield technique on the dose-volume histogram (DVH) in radiotherapy for esophageal cancer.

Methods And Materials: Twenty patients who underwent four-dimensional computed tomography for esophageal cancer were included. We retrospectively created the four treatment plans for each patient, with or without the respiratory gating and multifield technique: No gating-2-field, No gating-4-field, Gating-2-field, and Gating-4-field plans.

Genome Sequence of Lactobacillus paracasei Strain LC-Ikematsu, Isolated from a Pineapple in Okinawa, Japan.

The draft genome sequence of Lactobacillus paracasei strain LC-Ikematsu, isolated from a pineapple in Okinawa, was determined. The total length of the 87 contigs was 3.08 Mb with a G+C content of 46.

Five-year quality of life assessment after carbon ion radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

The aim of this study was to prospectively assess 5-year health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients treated with carbon ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) for clinically localized prostate cancer. A total of 417 patients received carbon ion radiotherapy at a total dose of 63-66 Gray-equivalents (GyE) in 20 fractions over 5 weeks, and neoadjuvant and adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) were administered for intermediate and high-risk patients. A HRQOL assessment was performed at five time points (immediately before the initiation of C-ion RT, immediately after, and at 12, 36 and 60 months after completion of C-ion RT) using Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) questionnaires.

Factors Affecting the Baseline and Post-Treatment Scores on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised Japanese Version before and after Whole-Brain Radiation Therapy.

Our objectives were to (1) investigate the feasibility of the use of the Japanese version of the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R); (2) identify the clinical factors influencing the HVLT-R scores of patients undergoing whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT); and (3) compare the neurocognitive function (NCF) after WBRT in different dose fractionation schedules. We administered the HVLT-R (Japanese version) before (baseline) and at four and eight months after WBRT in 45 patients who received either therapeutic (35Gy-in-14, = 16; 30Gy-in-10, = 18) or prophylactic (25Gy-in-10, = 11) WBRT. Sixteen patients dropped out before the eight-month examination, due mostly to death from cancer.

A study on a dental device for the prevention of mucosal dose enhancement caused by backscatter radiation from dental alloy during external beam radiotherapy.

The changes in dose distribution caused by backscatter radiation from a common commercial dental alloy (Au-Ag-Pd dental alloy; DA) were investigated to identify the optimal material and thicknesses of a dental device (DD) for effective prevention of mucositis. To this end, 1 cm of DA was irradiated with a 6-MV X-ray beam (100 MU) in a field size of 10 × 10 cm using a Novalis TX linear accelerator. Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, polyolefin elastomer, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were selected as DD materials.

Complete Genome Sequence of the Intracellular Bacterial Symbiont TC1 in the Anaerobic Ciliate Trimyema compressum.

A free-living ciliate, Trimyema compressum, found in anoxic freshwater environments harbors methanogenic archaea and a bacterial symbiont named TC1 in its cytoplasm. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of the TC1 symbiont, consisting of a 1.59-Mb chromosome and a 35.

Artepillin C, a Typical Brazilian Propolis-Derived Component, Induces Brown-Like Adipocyte Formation in C3H10T1/2 Cells, Primary Inguinal White Adipose Tissue-Derived Adipocytes, and Mice.

Induction of brown-like adipocytes (beige/brite cells) in white adipose tissue (WAT) suggests a new approach for preventing and treating obesity via induction of thermogenesis associated with uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). However, whether diet-derived factors can directly induce browning of white adipocytes has not been well established. In addition, the underlying mechanism of induction of brown-like adipocytes by diet-derived factors has been unclear.

Characterization of stochastic noise and post-irradiation density growth for reflective-type radiochromic film in therapeutic photon beam dosimetry.

The aim of this study is to investigate the dosimetric uncertainty of stochastic noise and the post-irradiation density growth for reflective-type radiochromic film to obtain the appropriate dose from the exactly controlled film density. Film pieces were irradiated with 6-MV photon beams ranging from 0 to 400cGy. The pixel values (PVs) of these films were obtained using a flatbed scanner at elapsed times of 1min to 120h between the end of irradiation and the film scan.

Complete mitochondrial genome of (Dictyoceratida: Demospongiae): the first report for the sponge family Thorectidae.

We sequenced a complete mitochondrial genome of the marine sponge, , which is the first report for the family Thorectidae in the class Demospongiae. The mitogenome was obtained from a assembly of shotgun genome sequencing using Illumina Miseq technology, which reconstructed a circular genome with 97 × of sequence coverage. The assembled mitochondrial genome consisting of 16,227 bp includes 14 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs and 2 tRNAs.