Methane and nitrous oxide emissions following anaerobic digestion of sludge in Japanese sewage treatment facilities.

Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are potent greenhouse gases with global warming potentials (expressed in terms of CO2-equivalents) of 28 and 265, respectively. When emitted to the atmosphere, they significantly contribute to climate change. It was previously suggested that in wastewater treatment facilities that apply anaerobic sludge digestion, CH4 continues to be emitted from digested sludge after leaving the anaerobic digester.

Capability of new bone formation with a mixture of hydroxyapatite and beta-tricalcium phosphate granules.

Objectives: The aim of this experimental study was to test a mixture of hydroxyapatite (HA) and beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) granules inserted in cranial defects in rabbits, by the evaluation of the hard tissues volume, new bone formation, and residual graft after 4 and 8 weeks.

Material And Methods: Two defects of 8 mm diameter were created at the calvarial bone of 24 Japanese white rabbits for a total of 48 defects. Four groups were created: defects filled with a mixture of HA and beta-TCP granules (test A), defects filled with HA alone (test B), defects filled with beta-TCP (test C), and empty defects (control).

Depigmentation caused by application of the active brightening material, rhododendrol, is related to tyrosinase activity at a certain threshold.

Background: Tyrosinase, the rate-limiting enzyme required for melanin production, has been targeted to develop active brightening/lightening materials for skin products. Unexpected depigmentation of the skin characterized with the diverse symptoms was reported in some subjects who used a tyrosinase-competitive inhibiting quasi-drug, rhododendrol.

Objective: To investigate the mechanism underlying the depigmentation caused by rhododendrol-containing cosmetics, this study was performed.

Factors affecting postoperative activities of daily living in patients with osteoporotic vertebral collapse with neurological deficits.

Surgical treatment of osteoporotic vertebral collapse (OVC) with neurological deficits presents significant clinical challenges because some patients have fragile bones and often have medical comorbidities, which affect the severity of osteoporosis. We hypothesized that clinical results of surgery in these patients depend on the extent of medical comorbidities that induce secondary osteoporosis. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of medical history and comorbidities on surgical outcomes for these patients, along with the factors that predict postoperative function in activities of daily living (ADL).

Comparison of Typical Thoracic Curves and Atypical Thoracic Curves Within the Lenke 1 Classification.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Objectives: To examine the characteristics of Lenke type 1 curves based on the level of the apical vertebra.

Summary Of Background Data: The Lenke classification is the most used system for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, with approximately 50% of the curves falling into the Lenke 1 curve type category.

IL-22 produced by cancer-associated fibroblasts promotes gastric cancer cell invasion via STAT3 and ERK signaling.

Background: Interleukin-22 (IL-22) has been recently highlighted owing to its biological significance in the modulation of tissue responses during inflammation. However, the role of IL-22 in carcinogenesis has remained unclear. Here, we investigated the pathophysiological significance of IL-22 expression in gastric cancer tissues and examined the mechanism by which IL-22 promotes gastric cancer cell invasion.

In vivo 3D kinematic changes in the cervical spine after laminoplasty for cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Object: Cervical laminoplasty is an effective procedure for decompressing the spinal cord at multiple levels, but restriction of neck motion is one of the well-known complications of the procedure. Although many authors have reported on cervical range of motion (ROM) after laminoplasty, they have focused mainly on 2D flexion and extension on lateral radiographs, not on 3D motion (including coupled motion) nor on precise intervertebral motion. The purpose of this study was to clarify the 3D kinematic changes in the cervical spine after laminoplasty performed to treat cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Immunohistochemical assessment of a unique basal pattern of p53 expression in ulcerative-colitis-associated neoplasia using computer-assisted cytometry.

Background: The basal pattern of p53 expression, defined as its immunoreactivity confined to the basal half of the glands, is associated with early neoplastic lesions in ulcerative colitis (UC). However, their clinical utility of this finding is limited by the use of "visual estimation" (approximate immunoreactivity on the basis of scanning the stained slide, without formal counting). This study was designed to analyze the basal pattern of p53 using computer-assisted cytometry and to identify the optimal cutoff value for discriminating between UC-associated early-stage neoplasia and regenerative atypia.

New classification system for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament using CT images.

Background: Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is most frequently seen in the cervical spine. The types of cervical OPLL are classified into continuous, mixed, segmental, and other based on plain lateral X-ray. Computed tomography (CT) imaging is often used in clinical practice for evaluating ossified lesions as it can detect their precise location, size, and shape.

Spirulina-templated metal microcoils with controlled helical structures for THz electromagnetic responses.

Microstructures in nature are ultrafine and ordered in biological roles, which have attracted material scientists. Spirulina forms three-dimensional helical microstructure, one of remarkable features in nature beyond our current processing technology such as lithography in terms of mass-productivity and structural multiplicity. Spirulina varies its diameter, helical pitch, and/or length against growing environment.

The inhibitory effect of a Platycodon root extract on ultraviolet B-induced pigmentation due to a decrease in Kit expression.

The signaling of stem cell factor (SCF) through its receptor Kit is known to play an important role in regulating cutaneous melanogenesis. In the course of UVB-induced pigmentation, the expression of membrane-bound SCF by epidermal keratinocytes is upregulated at an early phase and subsequently activates neighboring melanocytes via their Kit receptors. In order to identify effective skin-lightening materials, we screened botanical extracts to determine their abilities to diminish Kit expression in melanocytes.

Long fusion from sacrum to thoracic spine for adult spinal deformity with sagittal imbalance: upper versus lower thoracic spine as site of upper instrumented vertebra.

Object: Despite increasing numbers of patients with adult spinal deformity, it is unclear how to select the optimal upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) in long fusion surgery for these patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the use of vertebrae in the upper thoracic (UT) versus lower thoracic (LT) spine as the upper instrumented vertebra in long fusion surgery for adult spinal deformity.

Methods: Patients who underwent fusion from the sacrum to the thoracic spine for adult spinal deformity with sagittal imbalance at a single medical center were studied.

Malignant transformation of hyperplastic gastric polyps: An immunohistochemical and pathological study of the changes of neoplastic phenotype.

In spite of the evidence that the malignant transformation of gastric hyperplastic polyps (HPs) is a rare event, it must always be taken into account during diagnosis. The aim of the current study was to clarify the mechanism of the malignant transformation of gastric hyperplasia polyps, with focus on phenotypic expression, cell proliferation and p53 overexpression. Immunohistochemistry for mucin phenotypic markers, including MUC1, MUC2, MUC5AC, MUC6, tight junction factors (claudin-3, -4 and -18), an intestinal phenotypic marker [caudal type homeobox 2 (Cdx2)], Ki-67 proliferative index and p53 overexpression, was performed on archival specimens of gastric polyps excised from six patients.

Analysis of the anatomic subsites, gender and age in unresectable advanced colorectal carcinomas in Tochigi, Japan suggests a shift in location towards the right side colon in elderly patients treated with cetuximab.

Colorectal cancer is a frequently occurring cancer whose incidence has shown a marked increase in recent years. Additionally, an increase in right side colon in elderly patients has been identified. Therefore, a clinicopathological study was conducted in 49 patients with unresectable advanced colorectal carcinomas to elucidate the association of clinicopathological characteristics and mutation.

Analysis of KRAS mutations in cases of metastatic colorectal cancer at a single institution in Tochigi, Japan.

Objective: Colorectal cancer patients bearing wild-type KRAS benefit from anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody treatment. Since clinical studies showed the efficacy of anti-EGFR antibody treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), we analyzed KRAS mutations in mCRC to gain insight into the association between these mutations and clinicopathological characteristics.

Methods: KRAS mutations were analyzed in 109 tissue samples of mCRC using amplification refractory mutation system-Scorpion (ARMS/S) assay (68 samples) and direct sequencing (41 samples).

[The brand new trend of colorectal carcinoma pathology].

Japanese classification of colorectal carcinoma continues to develop several decades. In 2015, the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum published the eighth edition of the general rules for clinical and pathological studies on cancer of the colon, rectum, and anus. The new Japanese classification of colorectal carcinoma based on new evidences including sessile serrated adenoma/polyp (SSA/P) of serrated polyp, budding, desmoplastic reaction, head/stalk invasion, submucosal invasion depth for early cancer, EX (extramural cancer deposit), and PN (perineural invasion) for advanced cancer.

CLOCK-controlled polyphonic regulation of circadian rhythms through canonical and noncanonical E-boxes.

In mammalian circadian clockwork, the CLOCK-BMAL1 complex binds to DNA enhancers of target genes and drives circadian oscillation of transcription. Here we identified 7,978 CLOCK-binding sites in mouse liver by chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-Seq), and a newly developed bioinformatics method, motif centrality analysis of ChIP-Seq (MOCCS), revealed a genome-wide distribution of previously unappreciated noncanonical E-boxes targeted by CLOCK. In vitro promoter assays showed that CACGNG, CACGTT, and CATG(T/C)G are functional CLOCK-binding motifs.

Statistical hypothesis testing of factor loading in principal component analysis and its application to metabolite set enrichment analysis.

Background: Principal component analysis (PCA) has been widely used to visualize high-dimensional metabolomic data in a two- or three-dimensional subspace. In metabolomics, some metabolites (e.g.

Bre1a, a histone H2B ubiquitin ligase, regulates the cell cycle and differentiation of neural precursor cells.

Cell cycle regulation is crucial for the maintenance of stem cell populations in adult mammalian tissues. During development, the cell cycle length in neural stem cells increases, which could be associated with their capabilities for self-renewal. However, the molecular mechanisms that regulate differentiation and cell cycle progression in embryonic neural stem cells remain largely unknown.

Mechanical control of notochord morphogenesis by extra-embryonic tissues in mouse embryos.

Mammalian embryos develop in coordination with extraembryonic tissues, which support embryonic development by implanting embryos into the uterus, supplying nutrition, providing a confined niche, and also providing patterning signals to embryos. Here, we show that in mouse embryos, the expansion of the amniotic cavity (AC), which is formed between embryonic and extraembryonic tissues, provides the mechanical forces required for a type of morphogenetic movement of the notochord known as convergent extension (CE) in which the cells converge to the midline and the tissue elongates along the antero-posterior (AP) axis. The notochord is stretched along the AP axis, and the expansion of the AC is required for CE.

Manganese superoxide dismutase plays an important role in the inflammatory process and predicts disease severity and activity in patients with ulcerative colitis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression pattern of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) in relation to inflammatory factors in ulcerative colitis (UC) and characterize this enzyme as a newly identified biomarker potentially linked to disease pathogenesis of UC. MnSOD expression was analyzed immunohistochemically in 48 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens from patients with UC who had undergone endoscopical biopsy. MnSOD expression was observed in vascular endothelium, macrophages, and polymorphonuclear leukocytes within lamina propria of inflamed mucosa.

Extraneural metastasis of ependymoma in the cauda equina.

We report a rare case of extraneural metastasis of spinal ependymoma that developed over a very long period. A 28-year-old man underwent surgery for ependymoma in the cauda equina. After he experienced three local recurrences and had undergone five operations, a lung metastasis occurred 46 years after the first operation.

Safety of pedicle screws and spinal instrumentation for pediatric patients: comparative analysis between 0- and 5-year-old, 5- and 10-year-old, and 10- and 15-year-old patients.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Objective: To investigate the safety of pedicle screws and constructs for infantile and juvenile patients with spinal deformity.

Summary Of Background Data: Few studies have examined the safety and complication rates associated with the usage of pedicle screw for children younger than 10 years.

Kinematics of the thoracic spine in trunk lateral bending: in vivo three-dimensional analysis.

Background Context: In vivo three-dimensional kinematics of the thoracic spine in trunk lateral bending with an intact rib cage and soft tissues has not been well documented. There is no quantitative data in the literature for lateral bending in consecutive thoracic spinal segments, and there has not been consensus on the patterns of coupled motion with lateral bending.

Purpose: To demonstrate segmental ranges of motion (ROMs) in lateral bending and coupled motions of the thoracic spine.