Evaluation of interferon-gamma, interferon-gamma-inducing cytokines, and interferon-gamma-inducible chemokines in tuberculous pleural effusions.

Tuberculous and malignant pleural effusions are representative of lymphocytic pleural effusions. In tuberculous pleurisy, especially, T-helper type 1 (Th1) cytokines are dominant, containing, for example, high concentrations of interferon (IFN)-gamma. We focused on cytokines that induce expression of IFN-gamma and Th1 cell-specific CXC chemokines induced by IFN-gamma.

Indicator of chaos based on the Riemannian geometric approach.

Using the Riemannian geometric approach to Hamiltonian systems, we show that the empirical indicator of chaos proposed by Kosloff and Rice [J. Chem. Phys.

Flat-type early colorectal cancer preferentially develops in right-sided colon in older patients.

Background: Flat-type colorectal cancer is frequently reported in Japan and Europe, but its clinical features remain obscure. Thus, we investigated the clinical features of flat-type early colorectal cancer with respect to tumor location and patient age and compared them with those of polypoid-type early and advanced cancer.

Methods: Between January 1999 and June 2001, total colonoscopy was performed in 6,178 patients (mean age, 61 years; 4,290 males and 1,888 females).

Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma. An analysis of 1000 cases.

Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) was introduced recently as a therapeutic modality for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), an alternative to percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT), which is coming into use worldwide. Previously reported treatment efficacy and complication rates have varied considerably.

Methods: Between February 1999 and February 2003, the authors performed 1000 treatments of RFA to 2140 HCC nodules in 664 patients with a cooled-tip electrode at the University of Tokyo Hospital (Tokyo, Japan).

Inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver and peripheral eosinophilia in autoimmune pancreatitis.

Aim: Inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) of the liver is a rare benign lesion, the etiology of which remains obscure. It is not associated with any particular diseases apart from phlebitis and Crohn's disease.

Methods: A middle-aged male with hepatic IPT and peripheral eosinophilia associated with autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) was selected for this study and review of literature.

Risk factors for pancreatitis in patients with common bile duct stones managed by endoscopic papillary balloon dilation.

Objectives: Endoscopic papillary balloon dilation has been accepted as a possible alternative to endoscopic sphincterotomy, especially in patients with impaired hemostasis. However, pancreatitis associated with endoscopic papillary balloon dilation has remained a controversial, serious issue. The aim of the study was to investigate the risk factors for postendoscopic papillary balloon dilation pancreatitis in a single-center study.

Boromycin abrogates bleomycin-induced G2 checkpoint.

The DNA-damaging agent bleomycin arrests the cell cycle at the G2 phase of Jurkat cells defective in the G1 checkpoint, and microtubule-acting colchicine arrests it at the M phase. Boromycin itself, an actinomycete metabolite, showed no effect on the cell cycle status of Jurkat cells at least up to 340 nM. However, the compound (3.

Acyclic retinoid inhibits human hepatoma cell growth by suppressing fibroblast growth factor-mediated signaling pathways.

Background & Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common human malignancies. Its high mortality rate is mainly a result of high intrahepatic recurrence. The novel synthetic retinoid acyclic retinoid (ACR) has been reported to prevent the recurrence of human HCC after surgical resection of primary tumors, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its effects remain to be elucidated.

Mechanism responsible for texture transparency tunes to second-order structures.

This study examined the involvement of second-order processing in the perception of transparency from texture. Stimuli consisted of two superimposed plaid patterns with two diagonal gratings defined by contrast modulation. We investigated the probability of reporting transparency (simultaneous percept of the two gratings) as functions of envelope frequency and either carrier frequency (Experiment 1) or carrier orientation (Experiment 2).

Smad4 silencing in pancreatic cancer cell lines using stable RNA interference and gene expression profiles induced by transforming growth factor-beta.

The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)-Smad signaling pathway inhibits the growth of human epithelial cells and plays a role in tumor suppression. The Smad4 gene is mutated or deleted in 50% of pancreatic cancers. In this study, we succeeded in establishing Smad4 knockdown (S4KD) pancreatic cancer cell lines using the stable RNA interference (RNAi) method.

A simple combination of serum type IV collagen and prothrombin time to diagnose cirrhosis in patients with chronic active hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND/AIM:: Cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis C is a major cause of mortality. The components of reported diagnostic indices of cirrhosis based on biochemical markers may be modified by therapies for hepatic inflammation. We aimed to construct index of cirrhosis in patients treated for chronic active hepatitis.

A novel display of reconstruction computed tomography for the detection of small hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of the alternate display of arterial and equilibrium phase images (ADAEI) of 2 mm-pitch reconstruction computed tomography (CT) in the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Materials And Methods: One hundred and eleven nodules in 72 patients were confirmed as HCC by radiology, histology, or clinical course. Blinded to the outcome, we retrospectively reviewed the CT images obtained with dual-phase spiral CT (Radix Prima, Hitachi Medical, Tokyo, Japan) by ADAEI and by conventional display on cut films.

Functional variability of cagA gene in Japanese isolates of Helicobacter pylori.

CagA protein of Helicobacter pylori is injected into the epithelium, where CagA undergoes tyrosine phosphorylation and activates proliferation signals. However, the importance of these CagA activities for pathogenesis has yet to be resolved. The aim of this study is to analyze the genetic and functional variability of cagA gene of clinical strains in relation to gastric diseases.

Genes associated with human hepatocellular carcinoma cell chemosensitivity to 5-fluorouracil plus interferon-alpha combination chemotherapy.

Recently, combined chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and interferon (IFN)-alpha has been reported to show marked effects in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. We investigated the genes associated with susceptibility to this combination therapy. The gene expression profiles of eight human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2, Hep3B, Huh7, Huh6, PLC/PRF/5, HLE, HLF, and SK-Hep1) were evaluated using an oligonucleotide microarray that consisted of 3,800 genes.

Pancreatic mass lesions associated with raised concentration of IgG4.

Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a recognized benign disease characterized by irregular narrowing of the pancreatic duct, swelling of parenchyma, lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and fibrosis, and a favorable response to corticosteroid treatment. In this condition, the whole pancreas is diffusely affected. Recently, however, a few cases with locally affected lesions were reported, with some of them showing features similar to cancer.

Peritoneal dialysis solutions contract arteries through endothelium-independent prostanoid pathways.

Conventional peritoneal dialysis solution (PDS) relaxes visceral and parietal peritoneal arterioles (microvessels) by unclear mechanisms. The present study was originally designed to investigate the mechanisms of PDS-mediated vascular reactivity. Surprisingly, our preliminary data indicated that PDS induces contraction in large vessels such as the aorta.

Prevention of bile leak after major hepatectomy.

Background/aims: Bile leak remains a serious complication after major hepatectomy. The usefulness of external biliary drainage to prevent intraperitoneal bile leak was studied.

Methodology: Thirty-nine patients who underwent major hepatectomy from April 1997 through June 2000 were studied.

Early removal of bile duct stones in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis by endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation.

Background/aims: Endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation has been accepted as a novel alternative to endoscopic sphincterotomy for the management of bile duct stones. Hence, little or no attempt was made to retrieve stones in cases with acute biliary pancreatitis by endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation.

Methodology: The present study was conducted in ten patients with acute biliary pancreatitis associated with cholestasis or biliary infection.

Surface segregation driven by orientation-defined junctions.

This study was designed to ascertain whether the human visual system can segregate overlapped surfaces by integrating texture borders at second-order X-junctions. The stimuli used were crossed vertical and horizontal stripes consisting of Gabor micro-patterns. We manipulated the orientation of the center region of each stripe.

Configuration effects on texture transparency.

This study examined the factors producing the perception of transparency between overlaid regions composed of Gabor micro-patterns as functions of their spatial frequency, separation of overlaid regions, and types of orientation modulation. The results showed that the likelihood of perceiving transparency was high both when (1) the difference in Gabor spatial frequency between regions was large, and (2) the region boundary, which was formed by short-range orientation differences in the Gabor micro-patterns, clearly emerged. We conclude that texture transparency appears to result from an interaction between a boundary-detection mechanism defining the shape of each region and a surface-detection mechanism assigning the boundary.

Perceptual grouping in shape from shading.

We report on the reversal of asymmetry in visual-search tasks with shaded items. Previous studies have suggested that the target of a bottom-lit disk among distractors of top-lit disks is detected in a rapid and parallel manner, but not vice versa. However, in this study, we have shown that the compound items of top-lit disks were searched more quickly than those composed of bottom-lit disks where the items had to be segregated from their background.

Vitamin K2 inhibits the growth and invasiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via protein kinase A activation.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common human malignancy. Its high mortality rate is mainly a result of high intrahepatic recurrence and portal venous invasion (PVI). We previously reported that the development of PVI is related to levels of des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP), a serum protein that increases at a notably higher rate in patients with HCC.

Involvement of IL-17 in Fas ligand-induced inflammation.

Fas ligand (FasL) has been well characterized as a death factor. However, recent studies revealed that ectopic expression of FasL induces inflammation associated with massive neutrophil infiltration. We previously demonstrated that the neutrophil infiltration-inducing activity of FasL is partly dependent on, but partly independent of, IL-1beta.