Efficacy and safety of radial incision and cutting for nonsurgical refractory benign esophageal stricture.

Radial incision and cutting (RIC) was established to improve refractory esophageal anastomotic strictures but its efficacy and safety for nonsurgical refractory strictures remain unclear. To evaluate the usefulness of RIC in nonsurgical refractory strictures, we retrospectively compared outcomes between nonsurgical and surgical strictures. We retrospectively studied 54 consecutive patients who were initially treated with RIC for refractory benign esophageal stricture.

Biostimulant red seaweed ( var. liui) extracts spray improves yield and drought tolerance in soybean.

Drought has a deleterious impact on the growth, physiology, and yield of various plants, including soybean. Seaweed extracts are rich in various bioactive compounds, including antioxidants, and can be used as biostimulants for improving yield and alleviating the adverse effect of drought stress. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of soybean growth and yield with different concentrations (0.

Thermal tissue damage caused by new endoscope model due to light absorption.

Background And Aim: Bright endoscopic light sources improve the visibility of the intestinal mucosa. A newly launched endoscopic system developed by Olympus Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) in 2020 required modification to prevent heat-induced tissue damage, which reportedly occurs during magnifying chromoendoscopy. We investigated the mechanism of this phenomenon by evaluating the rise in temperature of stained and unstained porcine mucosa using the new and previous endoscopic systems.

Repeated talaporfin sodium photodynamic therapy for esophageal cancer: safety and efficacy.

Background: Talaporfin sodium photodynamic therapy (tPDT) is an effective salvage treatment for local failure after chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer. Repeated tPDT could also be indicated for local recurrence or residue after the first salvage tPDT. However, the safety and efficacy of repeated tPDT have not been elucidated.

A novel endoscopic imaging system for quantitative evaluation of colonic mucosal inflammation in patients with quiescent ulcerative colitis.

 Mucosal healing (MH) is associated with clinical outcome in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. In most clinical trials, a Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES) of 0 or 1 is defined as MH. However, several recent studies have reported that clinical outcome is different between UC patients with MES 0 and those with MES 1.

Tricho-hepato-enteric syndrome with novel SKIV2L gene mutations: A case report.

Rationale: Tricho-hepato-enteric syndrome (THES) is a rare disorder caused by mutations in the TTC37 or SKIV2L genes and characterized by chronic diarrhea, liver disease, hair abnormalities, and high mortality in early childhood due to severe infection or liver cirrhosis.

Patient Concerns: The patient is the second child of three siblings born to non-consanguineous healthy Japanese parents. She had intrauterine growth retardation and was delivered at 33 weeks of gestation due to placental abruption.

Carbon-polydimethylsiloxane-based integratable optical technology for spectroscopic analysis.

A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based optical system has been demonstrated. To suppress intense background radiation due to multiple internal scatting in a transparent material, a composite structure of a carbon-PDMS compound and PDMS was proposed. The index matching of the real part of the refractive index can suppress internal scattering, and an absorption of 99-99.

Factors affecting dilation force in balloon dilation of severe esophageal strictures: an experiment using an artificial stricture model.

Background: The multidiameter balloon catheter is used widely for severe esophageal stricture dilation. However, the relationships between inflation pressure, balloon size, and radial dilation force at the stricture site have not been examined fully.

Methods: We performed an experiment using phantom models to investigate the relationships between inflation pressure, balloon size, and radial dilation force.

Diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic features of pediatric acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease.

Background And Aim: Acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease (GI-GVHD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). There are very few studies on specific endoscopic findings in pediatric acute GI-GVHD. The aim of this retrospective case-control study was to elucidate the characteristic endoscopic findings in pediatric acute GI-GVHD that improve the diagnostic accuracy of endoscopy.

Endoscopic laryngo-pharyngeal surgery for superficial laryngo-pharyngeal cancer.

Background And Study Aims: Narrow band imaging (NBI) combined with magnifying endoscopy enables us to detect superficial laryngo-pharyngeal cancers, which are difficult to detect by standard endoscopy. Endoscopic laryngo-pharyngeal surgery (ELPS) is a technique developed to treat such lesions and the purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of ELPS for superficial laryngo-pharyngeal cancer.

Patients And Methods: Seventy five consecutive patients with 104 fresh superficial laryngo-pharyngeal cancers are included in this study.

Prior use of immunomodulatory drugs improves the clinical outcome of endoscopic balloon dilation for intestinal stricture in patients with Crohn's disease.

Background: Endoscopic balloon dilation is a promising procedure to improve symptoms of intestinal stricture in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). However, the long-term efficacy of endoscopic balloon dilation combined with immunomodulatory drugs remains unclear. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether prior use of immunomodulatory drugs affects the clinical outcome of endoscopic balloon dilation for intestinal stricture in CD.

Differences of image enhancement in image-enhanced endoscopy: narrow band imaging versus flexible spectral imaging color enhancement.

Background: Narrow band imaging (NBI) can emphasize images of the surface microvasculature of lesions, because the central wavelengths of the NBI filter are 415 and 540 nm and these wavelengths are well absorbed by hemoglobin. Flexible spectral imaging color enhancement (FICE) increases the contrast in depictions of mucosal lesions. However, quantitative evaluation of the image enhancement shown by NBI and FICE has not been reported.

The impact of adenosine pharmacologic stress combined with low-level exercise in patients undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging (BIWAKO adenosine-Ex trial).

Background: The combination of adenosine infusion with low-level exercise has become a common approach for inducing stress during stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). We investigated stress MPI performed by combined low-level exercise and adenosine infusion. This combined protocol can decrease adverse reactions and reduce the effect of scattered rays from the liver.

Effects of free immunoglobulin light chains on viral myocarditis.

Rationale: In recent work, we have demonstrated a crucial role of mast cells in the development of viral myocarditis. Viral infection could lead to increased synthesis of free immunoglobulin light chains (FLC) and our earlier work showed that FLC can trigger mast cell activation.

Objective: We studied the possible involvement of FLC in the pathogenesis of viral myocarditis, and therapeutic effects of FLC using an animal model of viral myocarditis.

New protocol of myocardial SPECT imaging with technetium-99m sestamibi for reducing the time interval between rest and adenosine stress phases.

We have developed a new protocol of myocardial perfusion-gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), by use of technetium-99m sestamibi (MIBI), in which SPECT imaging at rest followed by SPECT imaging after adenosine with low level ergometer stress can be conducted by use of the Monzen position within a shortened total testing time of 1 h or less. The study group consisted of 137 patients who underwent this new imaging protocol. The diagnostic quality of the images was as good as that of images obtained with the conventional method (30-60 min after the injection of MIBI).

Mast cells play a critical role in the pathogenesis of viral myocarditis.

Background: Mast cells are powerful producers of multiple cytokines and chemical mediators playing a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular diseases. We examined the role of mast cells in murine models of heart failure due to viral myocarditis, using 2 strains of mast cell-deficient mice.

Methods And Results: Two strains of mast cell-deficient mice, WBB6F1-Kit(W)/Kit(W-v) (W/W(V)) and WCB6F1-Kitl(Sl)/Kitl(Sl-d) (Sl/Sl(d)), were inoculated with 10 plaque-forming units of the encephalomyocarditis virus intraperitoneally.

French maritime pine bark extract inhibits viral replication and prevents development of viral myocarditis.

Background: French maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol) revealed diverse anti-inflammatory actions by an inhibition of NF-kappaB-dependent gene expression. The aim of this study was to determine whether Pycnogenol had a beneficial effect on viral myocarditis in mice.

Methods And Materials: Four-week-old inbred male DBA/2 mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with 10 plaque-forming units (pfu) of the encephalomyocarditis (EMC) virus.

Combined measurements of cardiac troponin T and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in patients with heart failure.

Background: To examine the prognostic contribution of combined cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with heart failure (CHF) in the absence of acute coronary syndrome.

Methods And Results: Between July 2001 and March 2002, 71 consecutive patients (mean age = 68.4+/-1.