[Severe bone marrow suppression during adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer by S-1 and its possible relationship to dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency].

The patient was a 70-year-old woman, who had undergone total gastrectomy and splenectomy with D2 lymph node dissection, for stage II gastric cancer. We admitted S-1 of 80 mg/day in adjuvant chemotherapy on postoperative day 28. There were no adverse events for one week, and she was discharged.

[Repeated resections of asynchronous liver metastases after pancreatomy for pancreatic cancer--a case report].

The prognosis of pancreatic cancer is most dismal in all gastrointestinal cancers, because the patients with pancreatic cancer are vulnerable for recurrence such as local relapse and liver metastasis even after a complete surgical resection. We herein report a case of pancreatic cancer, which underwent resection of local relapse and multiresections of liver metastases, resulting in a relatively longer survival. A 71-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for a local recurrence in the tail of the pancreas in October 2006, 17 months after the first distal pancreatectomy.

[A case of hemobilia developing after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma].

We report a case of hemobilia developing after RFA for hepatocellular carcinoma. A 75-year-old woman with hepatitis C was diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma (d=15 mm) located in subsegment 7. Laboratory data on admission are AFP 37.

[Advanced lung cancer with mediastinal lymph node metastasis and recurrence of brain metastasis completely responsive to combination chemotherapy and gamma knife radiosurgery--a case report].

We report a case in which advanced lung cancer with mediastinal lymph node metastasis and recurrence of brain metastasis was completely responsive to combination chemotherapy and gamma knife radiosurgery. The patient was a 61-year-old woman, who suffered from advanced lung cancer (SCC) with bilateral mediastinal lymph node metastasis and contralateral lung nodule. She was treated with CBDCA combined with PTX.

Kaolinic clay derived PCDD/Fs in the feed chain from a sorting process for potatoes.

At the end of 2004, during a routine monitoring project, high levels of PCDDs in milk from two farms were found. Using a bioassay and the congener patterns obtained by HRGC/HRMS, the source was traced back to the use of kaolinic clay for sorting potatoes in a production process of French fries. Rest products, especially peelings after scrubbing, were used as feed for dairy cows.

[A case of nonfunctioning islet cell tumor with extensive calcification].

A 52-year-old man was admitted for detailed examination of a mass with extensive calcification in the tail of the pancreas by fluoro-deoxy glucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT). Abdominal CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings showed a calcified tumor 5 cm in diameter with a smooth surface. The tumor mainly showed calcification at it center and a partially solid element around it margin which was enhanced in the early phase.

Need for emergency surgical airway reduced by a comprehensive difficult airway program.

Background: Inability to intubate and ventilate patients with respiratory failure is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. A patient is considered to have a difficult airway if an anesthesiologist or other health care provider experienced in airway management is unable to ventilate the patient's lungs using bag-mask ventilation and/or is unable to intubate the trachea using direct laryngoscopy.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of a departmental database to determine whether a comprehensive program to manage difficult airways was associated with a reduced need to secure the airway surgically via cricothyrotomy or tracheostomy.

Amidation of single-walled carbon nanotubes by a hydrothermal process for the electrooxidation of nitric oxide.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been amidated by hydrothermal treatment with different aliphatic amines. The amido groups modified on the surface of the SWCNTs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The electrooxidation of nitric oxide (NO) at the modified electrodes of amidated SWCNTs was investigated.

Improved sample characterization in terahertz reflection imaging and spectroscopy.

For imaging applications involving biological subjects, the strong attenuation of terahertz radiation by water means that terahertz pulsed imaging is most likely to be successfully implemented in a reflection geometry. Many terahertz reflection geometry systems have a window onto which the sample is placed - this window may introduce unwanted reflections which interfere with the reflection of interest from the sample. In this paper we derive a new approach to account for the effects of these reflections and illustrate its success with improved calculations of sample optical properties.

Terahertz image processing methods for biomedical applications.

Terahertz imaging is in its early stages of development. Due to the sensitivity of terahertz radiation to biomolecules, several potential medical applications are being investigated. In this paper we present examples of our latest measurements of biological samples and explain how we extract frequency domain and time domain information from image data to probe sample structure and composition.

[A case of metastases of umbilicus (Sister Mary Joseph's nodule)].

We report a case of advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer (cT4N1M0/stage IVa). The patient was a 68-year-old man. Chemo-radiation therapy (CRT) with GEM (1,000 mg/body) was administered once a week on days 1, 8 and 15 for 3 weeks.

Mechanism of the prostanoid TP receptor agonist U46619 for inducing emesis in the ferret.

U46619 is a potent thromboxane A(2) mimetic with emesis-inducing actions that are mediated via prostanoid TP receptors. We investigated its emetic mechanism of action in more detail using the ferret as model animal. The emesis induced by U46619 (30 microg/kg, intraperitoneal) was antagonized significantly by (+)-(2S,3S)-3-(2-methoxybenzylamino)-2-phenylpiperidine hydrochloride (CP-99,994; 1 and 10 mg/kg; P < 0.

[Anesthetic management of cesarean section in a patient with pulmonary embolism due to protein S deficiency diagnosed postoperatively].

A 27-year-old pregnant woman with pulmonary embolism was scheduled for cesarean section. She received anticoagulant therapy with continuous infusion of heparin and prophylactic placement of an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter. Heparin was discontinued 7 hours before operation.

[A case of gemcitabine-based chemo-radiation therapy for unresectable pancreatic cancer with liver metastases].

We report a case of advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer with multiple liver metastases (cT4N x M1, stage IVb). The patient is a 68-year-old man. Serum DUPAN-2 was 15,800 U/mL.

The physicochemical properties and the in vivo AChE inhibition of two potential anti-Alzheimer agents, bis(12)-hupyridone and bis(7)-tacrine.

The lipophilicity and solubility profiles of bis(12)-hupyridone (B12H) and bis(7)-tacrine (B7T), two novel acetylcholinesterase inhibitors dimerized from huperzine A fragments and tacrine, respectively, were investigated over a broad pH range. Lipophilicity was assessed by both shake flask method with 1-octanol-water system and a reverse-phase HPLC system with methanol-water as mobile phase. The former method was used for determining the lipophilicities of the ionized forms (log D) of the dimers while the latter method was used for that of the neutral forms (log P).

East meets West in the search for Alzheimer's therapeutics - novel dimeric inhibitors from tacrine and huperzine A.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is linked to cholinergic deficiency and the overactivation of glutamate receptors. The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition treatment approach has produced the most encouraging results in clinical practice, and memantine, a moderate antagonist of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, has been approved for treating AD. However, AChE inhibitors have limited success as they only improve memory in mild dementia but cannot stop the process of neurodegeneration; while memantine possesses neuroprotective effects only with a little ability in memory enhancement.

[Survey of glycoalkaloids content in the various potatoes].

The content of potato glycoalkaloid (PGA) was investigated in 27 cultivars of raw potatoes and 31 potatoes in commercial foods with peel. The investigation of the 27 cultivars of potatoes showed different contents of glycoalkaloids. "May queen" and "Sherry" showed high contents of PGA (180 mg/kg and 320 mg/kg, respectively) among the raw potatoes of middle size (ca.

Development of a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass method for determination of bis(7)-tacrine, a promising anti-Alzheimer's dimer, in rat blood.

An analytical method using on-line high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization was developed and applied for the quantification of bis(7)-tacrine (B7T) in rat blood. B7T and pimozide (internal standard, IS) were extracted in a single step from 100 microl of alkalized blood with ethyl acetate. Analytes were separated using an Extend C-18 column at 25 degrees C.

[Anesthetic practices and use of brain protective therapies for cerebral aneurysm surgery in Japan].

We surveyed anesthetic practices and the use of cerebral monitoring and brain protective therapies during cerebral aneurysm surgery by sending a questionnaire to 822 hospitals in Japan. Three hundred and fifty four hospitals responded. For induction, 51% used thiopental, 41% used propofol, and 94% supplemented induction with fentanyl.

Synergistic neuroprotection by bis(7)-tacrine via concurrent blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and neuronal nitric-oxide synthase.

The excessive activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)/nitric oxide (NO) pathway has been proposed to be involved in the neuropathology of various neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, NO was found to mediate glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in primary cultured neurons. Compared with the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor, N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), and the NMDAR antagonist memantine, bis(7)-tacrine was found to be more potent in reducing NO-mediated excitotoxicity and the release of NO caused by glutamate.

The automaticity of emotional Stroop: a meta-analysis.

An automatic bias to threat is often invoked to account for colour-naming interference in emotional Stroop. Recent findings by McKenna and Sharma [(2004). Reversing the emotional Stroop effect reveals that it is not what it seems: The role of fast and slow components.

Alkylene tether-length dependent gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor competitive antagonism by tacrine dimers.

Bis(7)-tacrine was previously demonstrated as an antagonist of gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptors. In this study, the effects of a series of alkylene-linked tacrine dimers on GABA(A) receptors were examined. In radioligand binding assay, the analogues differed in binding affinity for GABA(A) receptors, and potency monotonically increased as the tether was shortened from nine to two methylenes.

[Anesthetic management of a patient with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy under total intravenous anesthesia].

This report describes a patient with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy who underwent tracheostomy under total intravenous anesthesia. This 15-year-old girl had been suffering from aspiration pneumonia repeatedly. Anesthesia was induced with propofol (30 mg) and fentanyl (50 microg), and the trachea was intubated without a muscle relaxant.