[Impact of time to hematological response on survival in patients treated with azacytidine: a single-center retrospective study].

We analyzed 95 cases of MDS (n=78), CMML (n=8) and AML (n=9) with blast counts of <30%, treated by AZA since March 2011, for a possible association of hematological improvement (HI) and overall survival duration (OS). We defined four categories as follows: stable disease (SD): no exacerbation of disease even if HI was not achieved after nine cycles of AZA treatment; early and late response (ER, LR): achievement of HI within and beyond three cycles, respectively; and drop out (DO): termination of treatment within nine cycles due to disease progression or complication without obtaining HI. OS was significantly longer in the LR than in the ER.

The slow earthquake spectrum in the Japan Trench illuminated by the S-net seafloor observatories.

Investigating slow earthquake activity in subduction zones provides insight into the slip behavior of megathrusts, which can provide important clues about the rupture extent of future great earthquakes. Using the S-net ocean-bottom seismograph network along the Japan Trench, we mapped a detailed distribution of tectonic tremors, which coincided with very-low-frequency earthquakes and a slow slip event. Compiling these and other related observations, including repeating earthquakes and earthquake swarms, we found that the slow earthquake distribution is complementary to the Tohoku-Oki earthquake rupture.

Three-dimensional reversed fast imaging with steady-state precession diffusion-weighted imaging for the detection of middle ear cholesteatoma.

Aim: To determine the usefulness of three-dimensional reversed fast imaging with steady-state precession diffusion-weighted imaging (3D-PSIF DWI) for the detection of middle ear cholesteatoma.

Materials And Methods: The study population consisted of 81 patients who underwent 3D-PSIF-DWI at 3 T. They included cholesteatoma in 73 cases, otitis media in five, and cholesterol granuloma in three.

Crohn's-Like Lymphoid Reaction is Associated with Oncological Prognosis and Nutritional Status in Patients with Pathological Stage II/III Gastric Cancer.

Background: Peritumoral lymphoid aggregates, termed Crohn's-like lymphoid reaction (CLR), are markers of an antitumor immune response, which is an important predictor of patient outcome. In this study, we investigated the prognostic utility of CLR and its relationship with nutritional status in patients with gastric cancer (GC).

Methods: The study included 170 patients who underwent curative surgery for pathological stage (pStage) II/III GC.

Facial nerve atrophy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Evaluation with fast imaging employing steady-state acquisition (FIESTA).

Background: In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), motor neurons in the brainstem markedly deplete, whereas sensory neurons are less severely affected.

Purpose: To determine whether facial nerve (FN) measurement on 3D fast imaging employing steady-state acquisition (FIESTA) is useful for ALS diagnosis.

Study Type: Retrospective.

Potential usefulness of signal intensity of cerebral gyri on quantitative susceptibility mapping for discriminating corticobasal degeneration from progressive supranuclear palsy and Parkinson's disease.

Purpose: The typical MRI findings in corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which have been described in previous reports, may be non-specific. We evaluated cerebral gyri (CG) using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) images of patients with CBD, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and Parkinson's disease (PD) to determine the possibility of discriminating them on an individual basis.

Methods: After reviewing the normal appearances on QSM on 16 healthy subjects, two radiologists assessed abnormal findings from 12 CBD, 14 PSP, and 30 PD patients.

Rac GTPase-Activating Protein 1 (RACGAP1) as an Oncogenic Enhancer in Esophageal Carcinoma.

Purpose: Rac GTPase-activating protein 1 (RACGAP1) is associated with cell proliferation, and there is much evidence of its oncogenic role. This study investigated the clinical importance and functional role of RACGAP1 in esophageal carcinoma (EC).

Methods: A total of 81 EC patients were enrolled in the study.

Value of DW-MRI in the preoperative evaluation of congenital cholesteatoma.

Objective: This study evaluated the clinical value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) in the diagnosis and staging of congenital cholesteatoma (CC).

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 24 patients with CC. All the patients underwent computed tomography (CT) and DW-MRI preoperatively; thereafter, surgery was performed.

Grapefruit seed extract effectively inhibits the Candida albicans biofilms development on polymethyl methacrylate denture-base resin.

This study aimed to investigate the cleansing effects of grapefruit seed extract (GSE) on biofilms of Candida albicans (C. albicans) formed on denture-base resin and the influence of GSE on the mechanical and surface characteristics of the resin. GSE solution diluted with distilled water to 0.

Cognitive Impairment That Is Induced by (R)-Ketamine Is Abolished in NMDA GluN2D Receptor Subunit Knockout Mice.

Although the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist ketamine has attracted attention because of its rapid and sustained antidepressant effects in depressed patients, its side effects have raised some concerns. Ketamine is a racemic mixture of equal amounts of the enantiomers (R)-ketamine and (S)-ketamine. The neural mechanisms that underlie the differential effects of these enantiomers remain unclear.

3D Scanning Technology Bridging Microcircuits and Macroscale Brain Images in 3D Novel Embedding Overlapping Protocol.

The human brain, being a multiscale system, has both macroscopic electrical signals, globally flowing along thick white-matter fiber bundles, and microscopic neuronal spikes, propagating along axons and dendrites. Both scales complement different aspects of human cognitive and behavioral functions. At the macroscopic level, MRI has been the current standard imaging technology, in which the smallest spatial resolution, voxel size, is 0.

Circulating miR-203 derived from metastatic tissues promotes myopenia in colorectal cancer patients.

Background: Sarcopenia frequently occurs in metastatic cancer patients. Emerging evidence has revealed that various secretory products from metastatic tumours can influence host organs and promote sarcopenia in patients with malignancies. Furthermore, the biological functions of microRNAs in cell-to-cell communication by incorporating into neighbouring or distal cells, which have been gradually elucidated in various diseases, including sarcopenia, have been elucidated.

SETDB1-dependent heterochromatin stimulates alternative lengthening of telomeres.

Alternative lengthening of telomeres, or ALT, is a recombination-based process that maintains telomeres to render some cancer cells immortal. The prevailing view is that ALT is inhibited by heterochromatin because heterochromatin prevents recombination. To test this model, we used telomere-specific quantitative proteomics on cells with heterochromatin deficiencies.

[Cauda equina syndrome as the first presentation of intravascular large B-cell lymphoma: a lung biopsy case].

A 65-year-old male was admitted for bladder and rectal dysfunction with lower-limb sensory disturbance. Although no abnormalities were detected on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and spinal cord, an elevation in the serum anti-cytomegalovirus (CMV) -IgM level and pneumonia suggest viral meningomyelitis. However, steroid pulse and anti-CMV treatments did not resolve the patients' symptoms.

Comparing the effects of ipragliflozin versus metformin on visceral fat reduction and metabolic dysfunction in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes treated with sitagliptin: A prospective, multicentre, open-label, blinded-endpoint, randomized controlled study (PRIME-V study).

A prospective, multicentre, open-label, blinded-endpoint, randomized controlled study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of treatment with ipragliflozin (sodium-dependent glucose transporter-2 inhibitor) versus metformin for visceral fat reduction and glycaemic control among Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes treated with sitagliptin, HbA1c levels of 7%-10%, and body mass index (BMI) ≥ 22 kg/m . Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive ipragliflozin 50 mg or metformin 1000-1500 mg daily. The primary outcome was change in visceral fat area as measured by computed tomography after 24 weeks of therapy.

Efficacy and safety of cefditoren pivoxil for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A prospective multicenter interventional study.

Oral antibiotic therapy for patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) usually involves an aminopenicillin with clavulanic acid, a macrolide, or a quinolone. To date, however, the clinical efficacy and safety of the oral cephalosporin cefditoren pivoxil has not been evaluated in Japanese patients with acute exacerbations of COPD. We conducted a prospective, multicenter, single arm, interventional study from January 2013 to March 2017 to determine the efficacy and safety of oral administration of 200 mg cefditoren pivoxil three times daily for 7 days in a cohort of 29 eligible patients from 15 hospitals.

Dynamic chromatin organization without the 30-nm fiber.

Chromatin in eukaryotic cells is a negatively charged polymer composed of DNA, histones, and various associated proteins. Over the past ten years, our view of chromatin has shifted from a static regular structure to a dynamic and highly variable configuration. While the details are not fully understood yet, chromatin forms numerous compact domains that act as dynamic functional units of the genome in higher eukaryotes.

Phase I study of preoperative chemoradiotherapy with sequential oxaliplatin and irinotecan with S-1 for locally advanced rectal cancer.

The present study designed a novel preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with sequential oxaliplatin and irinotecan with S-1 for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). This phase I study evaluated the maximum tolerated dose and recommended dose (RD) of oxaliplatin following irinotecan with S-1. Patients with clinical stage T3 or 4 or involvement of the regional nodes and no evidence of distant metastases were treated with fixed doses of S-1 (80 mg/m/day) on days 1-5, 8-12, 15-19, 22-27 and 29-33, and irinotecan (40 mg/m/day) on days 1 and 8, followed by oxaliplatin on days 22 and 29.

[Successful management of drug-induced skin rash in a relapsed multiple myeloma patient with pomalidomide desensitization].

A 71-year-old man diagnosed with IgG-κ type multiple myeloma 11 years ago was treated with low doses of pomalidomide (POM, 1 mg/daily) and dexamethasone (20 mg/week) as the third-line of salvage regimen. The treatment was terminated 4 days later owing to the appearance of a severe skin rash, which had also occurred after previous treatment with lenalidomide. After 2 months, POM was readministered via an outpatient desensitization protocol under prednisolone administration.

An iliopsoas abscess caused by Parvimonas micra: a case report.

Background: Parvimonas micra, a Gram-positive anaerobic coccus, is a rare pathogen for psoas abscess. We describe a case of a patient with iliopsoas abscess caused by P. micra.

Leftward Optical Shift Induces Bias in Line Bisection: A Study with Healthy Subjects Using a Head-mounted Display.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to verify the effect on spatial perception in healthy young subjects of an unconscious leftward optical shift created by a head-mounted display (HMD) with an offset camera.

Methods: We recruited 40 healthy right-handed adults who were divided into four groups according to the hand used in the tests and the visual direction displayed by the HMD (centered or 10° left). Each of the four groups (n = 10) undertook line bisection tasks across four combinations of variables: using a finger/stick or a mouse to point at a touch panel located 60 or 120 cm away from the subject.

Effectiveness of 405-nm blue LED light for degradation of Candida biofilms formed on PMMA denture base resin.

This study investigated (i) the degradation effect of 405-nm blue light-emitting diode (LED) light irradiation on Candida albicans and C. glabrata biofilms formed on denture base resin and (ii) the effects of 405-nm blue LED light irradiation on the mechanical and surface characteristics of the resin. Polymethyl methacrylate denture base resin discs were prepared, and C.

Three-dimensional alteration of neurites in schizophrenia.

Psychiatric symptoms of schizophrenia suggest alteration of cerebral neurons. However, the physical basis of the schizophrenia symptoms has not been delineated at the cellular level. Here, we report nanometer-scale three-dimensional analysis of brain tissues of schizophrenia and control cases.

A Reversible Gastric Uptake of Bone Scintigraphy in a Patient with Hypercalcemia.

Hypercalcemia is a severe complication in cases of vitamin D intoxication that can result in metastatic calcification. We herein report a female case with hypercalcemia due to eldecalcitol administration associated with the increased uptake of technetium-99m hydroxymethylene diphosphonate (Tc-HMDP) as the bone-scanning agent in the stomach. A histologic assessment using biopsy specimens identified metastatic calcification of the stomach.