Rectal squamous cell carcinoma treated with neoadjuvant fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, cetuximab, and radiation: A case report of pathological complete response.

Rationale: Treatment strategies for rectal squamous cell carcinoma (rSCC) are yet to be established, given its rarity. Although squamous cell carcinoma has been reported to be highly sensitive to cetuximab and radiation, there is no report of combination therapy of cetuximab and radiation for rSCC. In this study, we firstly reported a case of rSCC in which a complete response was achieved with the original chemoradiotherapy comprising oxaliplatin, S-1, cetuximab, and simultaneous radiation.

Localized Expression of Olfactory Receptor Genes in the Olfactory Organ of Common Minke Whales.

Baleen whales (Mysticeti) possess the necessary anatomical structures and genetic elements for olfaction. Nevertheless, the gene () repertoire has undergone substantial degeneration in the cetacean lineage following the divergence of the Artiodactyla and Cetacea. The functionality of highly degenerated mysticete s within their olfactory epithelium remains unknown.

Effects of temperature on eggs and larvae of Anisakis simplex sensu stricto and Anisakis pegreffii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) and its possible role on their geographic distributions.

Effects of temperature on development of eggs, recently hatched larvae and L3 larvae of the marine parasitic nematodes Anisakis simplex sensu stricto (s.s.) and A.

Complete closure of a colo-duodenal fistula in a patient with advanced ascending colon cancer after pembrolizumab combined with radiation therapy: a case report.

Background: A colo-duodenal fistula is a very rare complication of colon cancer that presents with not only severe clinical symptoms, but a poor prognosis due to locally advanced cancer. A novel immune checkpoint inhibitor for colon cancer patients provides a high objective response rate. Recently, radiation therapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy has been reported to have a synergistic antitumor effect.

Anisakis spp. in toothed and baleen whales from Japanese waters with notes on their potential role as biological tags.

In this study, Anisakis nematodes isolated from toothed and baleen whales from localities around Japan were molecularly (PCR-RFLP) identified. In Wakayama, common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were infected with A. simplex sensu stricto (s.

Adrenergic β receptor activation in the basolateral amygdala, which is intracellular Zn-dependent, rescues amyloid β-induced attenuation of dentate gyrus LTP.

On the basis of the evidence that the basolateral amygdala (BLA) modulates hippocampal memory processes via synaptic plasticity, here we report that adrenergic β receptor activation in the BLA rescues amyloid β (Aβ)-induced attenuation of long-term potentiation (LTP) at perforant pathway-dentate granule cell (DGC) synapses. When 500 μM isoproterenol (2 μl), an adrenergic β receptor agonist, was injected into the BLA 20 min before LTP induction, LTP was enhanced. Isoproterenol-mediated enhancement of LTP was blocked by co-injection with 100 μM ZnAF-2DA, an intracellular Zn chelator, suggesting that intracellular Zn is required for the intracellular signaling cascade after adrenergic β receptor activation in the BLA.

Blockade of intracellular Zn signaling in the basolateral amygdala affects object recognition memory via attenuation of dentate gyrus LTP.

Hippocampus-dependent memory is modulated by the amygdala. However, it is unknown whether intracellular Zn signaling in the amygdala is involved in hippocampus-dependent memory. On the basis of the evidence that intracellular Zn signaling in dentate granule cells (DGC) is necessary for object recognition memory via LTP at medial perforant pathway (PP)-DGC synapses, the present study examined whether intracellular Zn signaling in the amygdala influences object recognition memory via modulation of LTP at medial PP-DGC synapses.

Utility of virtual touch quantification in the diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

This study aimed to compare the tissue stiffness of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with that of pancreatic parenchyma using virtual touch quantification (VTQ). SWV was measured in 34 PDAC lesions and in pancreatic parenchyma of both controls and patients. SWVs in PDAC lesions were significantly higher than in pancreatic parenchyma in both healthy controls and in patients with PDAC.

Long-term and large-scale epidemiology of Brucella infection in baleen whales and sperm whales in the western North Pacific and Antarctic Oceans.

In a long-term, large-scale serologic study in the western North Pacific Ocean, anti-Brucella antibodies were detected in common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in the 1994-2010 offshore surveys (21%, 285/1353) and in the 2006-2010 Japanese coastal surveys (20%, 86/436), in Bryde's whales (B. edeni brydei) in the 2000-2010 offshore surveys (9%, 49/542), in sei whales (B. borealis) in the 2002-2010 offshore surveys (5%, 40/788) and in sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the 2000-2010 offshore surveys (8%, 4/50).

[Corrigendum] Preventive effect of caffeine and curcumin on hepato-carcinogenesis in diethylnitrosamine-induced rats.

Following the publication of this article, an interested reader drew to our attention an anomaly associated with the presentation of Figs. 3 and 4; essentially, there was the direct duplication of a panel between Fig. 3B, upper left‑hand panel (the G1-10W data) and Fig.

Left Renal Cortical Thickness Measured by Ultrasound Can Predict Early Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease.

Aims: The kidney becomes atrophic in advanced chronic kidney disease, and renal size and parenchymal volume correlate with renal function. However, alterations in renal parenchymal volume have not been adequately studied in terms of the renal cortex and medulla. We investigated the relationship between the changes in the renal cortex and medulla and renal function.

Mercury speciation and selenium in toothed-whale muscles.

Mercury accumulates at high levels in marine mammal tissues. However, its speciation is poorly understood. The main goal of this investigation was to establish the relationships among mercury species and selenium (Se) concentrations in toothed-whale muscles at different mercury levels.

Clinical usefulness of the ablative margin assessed by magnetic resonance imaging with Gd-EOB-DTPA for radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of ablative margin (AM) grading by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with Gd-EOB-DTPA administered prior to radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and to identify factors for achieving a sufficient AM and predictors for local tumor progression.

Methods: A total of 124 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) were treated by RFA after Gd-EOB-DTPA administration. MRI and enhanced CT were performed within seven hours and one month after RFA.

Rapid and early α-fetoprotein and des-γ-carboxy prothrombin responses to initial arterial infusion chemotherapy predict treatment outcomes of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

The aim of the present study was to predict the effects of transarterial infusion (TAI) chemotherapy based on early changes in α-fetoprotein (AFP) and des-γ-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Seventy-four patients who underwent TAI with cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, mitomycin C and epirubicin for advanced HCC were enrolled. Antitumor responses were evaluated 6 months after TAI.

Excess influx of Zn(2+) into dentate granule cells affects object recognition memory via attenuated LTP.

The influx of extracellular Zn(2+) into dentate granule cells is nonessential for dentate gyrus long-term potentiation (LTP) and the physiological significance of extracellular Zn(2+) dynamics is unknown in the dentate gyrus. Excess increase in extracellular Zn(2+) in the hippocampal CA1, which is induced with excitation of zincergic neurons, induces memory deficit via excess influx of Zn(2+) into CA1 pyramidal cells. In the present study, it was examined whether extracellular Zn(2+) induces object recognition memory deficit via excess influx of Zn(2+) into dentate granule cells.

Spatial and temporal variation of PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in the Antarctic minke whales, Balaenoptera bonaerensis, in the period 1987-2005.

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and chlordane compounds (CHLs) were determined in the blubber of males (20-25 years old) of Antarctic minke whales, Balaenoptera bonaerensis, from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) management Areas IV (70°-130°E) and V (130°E-170°W), south 60°S. The ranges of concentrations (ng g(-1) lipid wt.) for each compound were, PCBs: 7.

Treatment of lethal acetylsalicylic acid poisoning without hemodialysis.

Case: A woman aged in her 20s ingested approximately 99 g acetylsalicylic acid, and was transported to our hospital 2 h later. She was lucid, but complained of hearing loss and tinnitus. We performed gastric lavage and gave her activated charcoal several times.

Effects of persistent organochlorine exposure on the liver transcriptome of the common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) from the North Pacific.

Hepatic concentrations of persistent organochlorines (OCs) were determined in the common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) from the North Pacific. To investigate the effects of OCs on the transcriptome in the minke whale, the present study constructed a hepatic oligo array of this species where 985 unique oligonucleotides were spotted and further analyzed the relationship between the OC levels and gene expression profiles of liver tissues. The stepwise multiple linear regression analysis identified 32 genes that correlated with hepatic OC levels.

Aortic valve aneurysm responsible for acute congestive heart failure and histological findings: A case report.

We experienced a case of acute congestive heart failure in a 73-year-old man who had been followed up due to mild-to-moderate aortic stenosis and moderate-to-severe aortic regurgitation. A huge aortic valve aneurysm was found to extend from his right coronary cusp to a left ventricular outflow tract, resulting in moderate subaortic obstruction and severe aortic regurgitation. Surgical repair was performed and a perforated aneurysm of right aortic cusp was identified.

Usefulness of contrast-enhanced ultrasound with Sonazoid for evaluating liver abscess in comparison with conventional B-mode ultrasound.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) with Sonazoid (perfluorobutane) in patients with liver abscess. Sonazoid is a contrast agent with a low mechanical index and is phagocytosed by Kupffer cells.

Methods: Twenty-two patients with liver abscess were evaluated with conventional US, real-time CEUS with Sonazoid, and enhanced computed tomography (CT).

Null anticarcinogenic effect of silymarin on diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats.

The aim of this study was to investigate the anticarcinogenic effects of silymarin in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocarcinogenic rat models. Severe and mild models of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were generated by the intraperitoneal administration of 40 mg/kg DEN once a week for 18 weeks and 100 mg/kg DEN every 2 weeks for 6 weeks in male Wistar rats, respectively. In the severe and mild models of HCC, the rats were treated with 0.

Assessment of track microbubble flow signals on contrast-enhanced ultrasound with perflubutane following percutaneous liver biopsy.

Objective: It is important to detect post-liver biopsy hemorrhage early and confirm hemostasis in the clinical setting. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a sensitive and highly specific tool for detecting active bleeding. The aim of this study was to investigate the rate of detection of track microbubble flow signals on CEUS with perflubutane following liver biopsy and to assess the disappearance of these signals.

Ablative margin states by magnetic resonance imaging with ferucarbotran in radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma can predict local tumor progression.

Background: Our aim was to determine how well ablative margin (AM) grading assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with ferucarbotran administered prior to radiofrequency ablation (RFA) predicts local tumor progression in comparison with enhanced computed tomography (CT).

Methods: 101 hepatocellular carcinomas were treated by RFA after ferucarbotran administration. We performed T2*-weighted MRI after 1 week and enhanced CT after 1 month.