Isolated sphenoid sinus opacification is often asymptomatic and is not referred for otolaryngology consultation.

Isolated sphenoid sinus opacifications (ISSOs) are clinically important because they can lead to serious complications. However, some patients with ISSOs are asymptomatic, and not all patients are properly referred to the otolaryngology department. Because past studies of ISSOs focused only on patients who received treatment, in this study we selected ISSO cases based on radiology reports, then determined whether these patients had symptoms and were appropriately referred for specialty care.

Fast Deep Stacked Networks based on Extreme Learning Machine applied to regression problems.

Deep learning techniques are commonly used to process large amounts of data, and good results are obtained in many applications. Those methods, however, can lead to long training times. An alternative to simultaneously tune all parameters of a large network is to stack smaller modules, improving the model efficiency.

Antitumor effects of novel highly hydrophilic and non-ATP-competitive MEK1/2 inhibitor, SMK-17.

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal pathway plays a central role in regulating tumor cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation. The components of this pathway, Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK, are frequently activated in human cancers. Targeting this pathway is considered to be a promising anticancer strategy.

Therapeutic sclerosis of a small liver cyst that caused obstructive jaundice.

The authors describe the case of a small liver cyst (2 cm in diameter) causing obstructive jaundice that was treated with aspiration and therapeutic sclerosis. The procedure was performed with use of a microcatheter and wire system to access the cyst, which was injected with minocycline hydrochloride. At present, 9 months after treatment, the levels of hepatobiliary enzymes are within normal ranges, and no sign of cyst regrowth has been detected on imaging.

The vasopressin injection technique for laparoscopic excision of ovarian endometrioma: a technique to reduce the use of coagulation.

Study Objective: To estimate the efficacy of the vasopressin injection technique for laparoscopic cystectomy of ovarian endometriomas with regard to operative time and coagulation events.

Design: Prospective study (Canadian Task Force Classification II-1)

Setting: Osaka Central Hospital in Osaka, Japan

Patients: Fifteen women with single lobular similarly-sized ovarian endometrioma.

Interventions: Women who planned to undergo laparoscopic cystectomy of endometrioma were allocated randomly to 3 groups: (1) ordinary laparoscopic cystectomy without injection, (2) laparoscopic cystectomy with the injection of saline solution, and (3) laparoscopic cystectomy with the vasopressin injection technique.