Prediction of the Growth of Salmonella Enteritidis in Raw Ground Beef at Various Combinations of the Initial Concentration of the Pathogen and Temperature.

Recently we clarified the growth kinetics of Salmonella Enteritidis in raw ground beef at various temperatures with our growth model. Based on those results, this study aimed to build a new methodology to predict the growth of Salmonella in ground beef at given initial concentrations of the pathogen and temperatures. Namely, the maximum cell population of Salmonella at various combinations of its initial concentration and temperature was developed with a polynomial equation.

The Growth Kinetics of Salmonella Enteritidis in Raw Ground Beef.

The growth kinetics of Salmonella Enteritidis in raw beef has been little studied so far. Thus, this study aimed to clarify the growth kinetics of the pathogen in ground beef using a growth model. When Salmonella cells inoculated at various initial doses into ground beef were incubated at a given temperature (24℃), the maximum population (Nmax) of the microbe at the stationary phase varied with the doses.

Preoperative Lower Body Mass Index Correlates with Poorer Prognosis in Patients Undergoing Curative Laparoscopic Surgery for Colorectal Cancer.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlations between clinicopathological findings, laboratory data and survival outcome in patients undergoing curative laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC).

Patients And Methods: Clinicopathological findings and laboratory data, including tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and systemic inflammatory response indicators, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and modified Glasgow prognosis score (mGPS), for 204 patients (tumor stage I-III) undergoing laparoscopic curative surgery for CRC were collected.

Results: Elevated CA19-9 and mGPS, and body mass index (BMI) <20 kg/m(2) were significant indicators of poorer overall survival, while CA19-9 and BMI were validated as independent predictors of overall survival.

Urethra-sparing high-intensity focused ultrasound for localized prostate cancer: Functional and oncological outcomes.

Objectives: To evaluate longitudinal changes in urinary function and quality of life, and the oncological outcomes of patients treated with urethra-sparing high-intensity focused ultrasound for localized prostate cancer.

Methods: Patients with negative findings in the urethra and the anterior urethral zone using transrectal ultrasound-guided targeted biopsies, and magnetic resonance imaging, received urethra-sparing or whole-gland high-intensity focused ultrasound as the primary therapy for localized prostate cancer without transurethral resection of the prostate. Longitudinal changes in urinary function and quality of life, and the oncological outcomes of the patients were analyzed retrospectively.

Erratum to: Intestinal necrosis due to norovirus enteritis.

Erratum to: Clin J Gastroenterol (2015) 8:10–13,DOI 10.1007/s12328-014-0540-0. The name of the third author should be given as Hiroki Imaoka, not Yuhki Imaoka.

Heterologously expressed Aspergillus aculeatus β-glucosidase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a cost-effective alternative to commercial supplementation of β-glucosidase in industrial ethanol production using Trichoderma reesei cellulases.

Trichoderma reesei is a filamentous organism that secretes enzymes capable of degrading cellulose to cellobiose. The culture supernatant of T. reesei, however, lacks sufficient activity to convert cellobiose to glucose using β-glucosidase (BGL1).

Serum Angiopoietin-like Protein 2 Improves Preoperative Detection of Lymph Node Metastasis in Colorectal Cancer.

Aim: We investigated whether serum markers and clinical factors could be used to preoperatively predict lymph node (LN) metastasis in colorectal cancer (CRC).

Patients And Methods: The present study enrolled 157 curative CRC patients for whom preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), systemic inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein (CRP) and angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2)) and objective preoperative clinical factors were available as indicators of pathological LN status.

Results: Specific clinical factors, including gender, tumor size, histopathology of biopsy sample and tumor morphology, were significantly correlated with LN metastases.

Systemic Analysis of Predictive Biomarkers for Recurrence in Colorectal Cancer Patients Treated with Curative Surgery.

Background: Preoperative serum systemic inflammatory response (SIR) in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) has been reported to be a predictive biomarker of early recurrence. The molecular status of CRC, including microsatellite instability (MSI), BRAF and KRAS mutations, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), has also been associated with recurrence in CRC patients treated with curative surgery.

Aim: We investigated the impacts of SIR status, TILs, and MSI on recurrence in curative CRC patients.

Morphological analysis of the effects of intraoperative transrectal compression of the prostate during high-intensity focused ultrasound for localized prostate cancer.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of transrectal compression of the prostate for intra-operative prostatic swelling and intraprostatic point shift during high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment of localized prostate cancer.

Methods: Patients treated with whole-gland high-intensity focused ultrasound as primary monotherapy for localized prostate cancer were enrolled in the study. Using the standard and compression method, the volumes of degassed water in the balloon covering the high-intensity focused ultrasound probe were 50 mL and 80-160 mL, respectively.

Genetic interaction between G2/M phase-specific transcription factor MYB3R4 and MAPKKK ANP3 for execution of cytokinesis in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Plant cells are surrounded by rigid cell walls, and hence, their division is associated with a plant-specific mode of cytokinesis in which the cell plate, a new cell wall, is generated and separates 2 daughter nuclei. The successful execution of cytokinesis requires the timely activation of multiple regulatory pathways, which include the AtNACK1/HINKEL kinesin-induced MAPK cascade and MYB3R1/4-mediated transcriptional activation of G2/M-specific genes. However, it remains unclear whether and how these pathways are functionally interconnected to each other.

A New Statistical Model Identified Two-thirds of Clinical T1 Gastric Cancers as Possible Candidates for Endoscopic Treatment.

Background: Clinical T1 gastric cancer has low metastatic potential to lymph nodes and is generally curable by local treatment. Endoscopic resection can preserve the whole stomach and does not impair the patient's quality of life; however, its indication is strictly limited to the subset of patients without nodal metastasis. The study was designed to predict reliably the patients without nodal metastasis based only on the clinical information.

Pathological evidence of the cause of spontaneous regression in a case of resected hepatocellular carcinoma.

A 67-year-old man presented for an evaluation after experiencing right hypochondrial pain lasting for two months. Abdominal ultrasonography showed a hepatic tumor in the right liver and extremely mild hepatic steatosis. The imaging findings indicated that the tumor (43 mm in size) was ischemic, and the lesion was surgically resected and examined.

Systemic Acute-phase Response in Laparoscopic and Open Ileal Pouch Anal Anastomosis in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis: A Case-matched Comparative Study.

Aim: The current trial was designed to study and compare the postoperative outcomes and systemic acute responses between patients undergoing laparoscopic-ileal pouch anal anastomosis (LAP-IPAA) and open IPAA for ulcerative colitis.

Methods: The clinical records of patients who underwent 89 restorative proctocolectomy procedures with IPAA were reviewed. After determining which patients underwent LAP-IPAA versus open IPAA, an equivalent number of controls matched for age and ulcerative colitis severity were selected.

The Increased Expression of CCL20 and CCR6 in Rectal Mucosa Correlated to Severe Inflammation in Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis.

Background/Aims. The aim of this study is to clarify the differences of CCL20 and CCR6 expression, chemokine correlated to intestinal homeostasis, between pediatric and adult ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. Methods.

Why do students participate in medical education?

Background: Medical student involvement in curriculum development is important; however, little is known about why medical students become engaged in this activity. The aim of this study was to understand what motivates medical students at one university to participate in the process of curriculum development and gain a wider perspective on student engagement in medical education.

Methods: Grounded theory methodology was the foundation of this study.

FK506-Binding Protein 5 mRNA Levels in Ileal Mucosa Are Associated with Pouchitis in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: Although the pathogenesis of pouchitis is incompletely understood, steroid and FK506 therapy are significantly associated with pouchitis. These medical treatments are regulated by the FK506-binding protein (FKBP) 4 and FKBP5 genes.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between pouchitis and FKBP4 and FKBP5 mRNA expression in ileal mucosa at the time of colectomy.

Flat grating lens utilizing widely variable transmission-phase via guided-modes.

We experimentally demonstrate a polarization-independent flat grating lens in the near-infrared region. The grating lens consists of ridges in the square lattice arrangement, and the ridge dimensions are gradually changed to distribute a phase map with focusing ability. It is well known that guided modes in gratings offer unity-reflection at a resonance, and therefore the transmission phase is widely varied around the resonance.

Loss of Lean Body Mass as an Independent Risk Factor for Continuation of S-1 Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Gastric Cancer.

Background And Aims: Compliance with S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy is not satisfactory, and the aim of the present study was to clarify risk factors for the continuation of S-1 after gastrectomy.

Methods: This retrospective study selected patients who underwent curative D2 surgery for gastric cancer, were diagnosed with stage II/III disease, had a creatinine clearance >60 ml/min, and received adjuvant S-1 at our institution between June 2010 and March 2014. The time to S-1 treatment failure (TTF) was calculated.

Intestinal necrosis due to norovirus enteritis.

Noroviruses cause epidemic and sporadic acute gastroenteritis in both children and adults. We report a rare case of intestinal necrosis due to norovirus gastroenteritis in a healthy adult. A 47-year-old man presented with worsening abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal fullness.

Exploratory Analysis to Find Unfavorable Subset of Stage II Gastric Cancer for Which Surgery Alone Is the Standard Treatment; Another Target for Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

The aim of the present study was to explore the unfavorable subset of patients with Stage II gastric cancer for whom surgery alone is the standard treatment (T1N2M0, T1N3M0, and T3N0M0). Recurrence-free survival rates were examined in 52 patients with stage T1N2-3M0 and stage T3N0M0 gastric cancer between January 2000 and March 2010. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors using a Cox proportional hazards model.

Sphincter-saving resection of rectal hemangioma based on Doppler transrectal ultrasonography findings: report of a case.

A 52-year-old woman was diagnosed with rectal hemangioma that had resulted in chronic bleeding. Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome was diagnosed by clinical examination. She was referred 30 years later because of progressive anemia.

Experimental investigation of double-groove grating satisfying total internal reflection condition.

We experimentally demonstrate a TiO(2) double-groove grating coupler with two different groove widths on a SiO(2) substrate in the visible region. Tolerance investigations based on Bloch-mode profiles in the grating and coupling strengths between the Bloch modes and diffraction orders reveal that the transmission performance is robust when one of the paired ridges is narrow enough (60 nm and less) considering a typical nanofabrication accuracy. Moreover, the ridge shape affects weakly the transmission performance due to the non-resonance operation of our dielectric device.

A methylene blue-assisted technique for harvesting lymph nodes after radical surgery for gastric cancer: a prospective, randomized, controlled study.

Harvesting lymph nodes (LNs) after gastrectomy is essential for accurate staging. This trial evaluated the efficiency and quality of a conventional method and a methylene blue-assisted method in a randomized manner. The key eligibility criteria were as follows: (i) histologically proven adenocarcinoma of the stomach; (ii) clinical stage I-III; (iii) R0 resection planned by gastrectomy with D1+ or D2 lymphadenectomy.