Prediction of Intestinal Perforation by Daily Radiographic Findings in Very Low Birth Weight Infants With Meconium Ileus.

Background: This study aimed to develop a prediction model for intestinal perforation from meconium ileus (MI) based on findings from plain X-ray images.

Methods: Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with MI hospitalized in two tertiary centers between 2011 and 2022 were included in this study. We retrospectively reviewed clinical parameters and assessed plain X-ray images from 0 to 5 days of age.

Effectiveness of Intravenous Cyclophosphamide in a Patient With Anti-amphiphysin Autoimmunity Presenting With Bulbar Palsy and Cerebellar Ataxia: A Case Report.

Anti-amphiphysin antibody is a rare paraneoplastic autoantibody. A case of a 74-year-old man with anti-amphiphysin antibody and multiple symptoms, including bulbar palsy along with cerebellar ataxia, who responded to treatment with intravenous cyclophosphamide is reported. The patient presented with progressive unsteady gait and difficulty in swallowing food and water for three months.

Efficacy of Continuous Intravenous Fentanyl for Oral Mucosal Pain in Stevens-Johnson Syndrome: A Case Report.

The management of oral mucosal pain in Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), known for its severe mucocutaneous reactions, is a significant challenge due to the paucity of effective treatments reported in the literature. This case report aims to help fill this gap by describing the effective use of continuous intravenous fentanyl for the relief of severe oral mucosal pain in a patient with SJS. A patient with postoperative recurrence of cervical cancer developed SJS following chemotherapy.

Effect of a Balance Adjustment System on Postural Control in Patients with Chronic Ankle Instability.

Background/purpose: This study aimed to evaluate how a two-week program using the in-phase mode of a balance adjustment system (the BASYS) affected postural control in participants with chronic ankle instability (CAI). It was hypothesized that the in-phase mode on the BASYS would lead to improved postural control compared with training on a balance disc.

Study Design: Randomized control trial.

Inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity of genetic and immune profiles in inherited renal cell carcinoma.

Patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease (vHL) are at risk of developing spatially and temporally multiple clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs), which offers a valuable opportunity to analyze inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity of genetic and immune profiles within the same patient. Here, we perform whole-exome and RNA sequencing, digital gene expression, and immunohistochemical analyses for 81 samples from 51 ccRCCs of 10 patients with vHL. Inherited ccRCCs are clonally independent and have less genomic alterations than sporadic ccRCCs.

Genomic alterations in STK11 can predict clinical outcomes in cervical cancer patients.

Objective: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Asian women, due to its poor prognosis. This study aimed to decipher genomic alteration profiles of a cohort of Japanese cervical cancer patients to understand why certain patients benefited from molecular targeted therapies and their prognostic significance.

Methods: During 2008-2018, 154 cervical cancer patients underwent a potentially curative resection procedure at the National Cancer Center Hospital.

The first case of SMARCB1 (INI1) - deficient squamous cell carcinoma of the pleura: a case report.

Background: SMARCB1 (INI1) is a tumor-suppressor gene located at 22q11.2. Loss of SMARCB1 protein expression has been reported to be associated with atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors and malignant rhabdoid tumors of the kidney and extrarenal tissues.

Circulating cell-free plasma tumour DNA shows a higher incidence of mutations in patients with extrathoracic disease progression.

Background: Non-invasive monitoring of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations conferring sensitivity and resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is vital for efficient therapy of lung adenocarcinoma (LADC). Although plasma circulating cell-free tumour DNA (ctDNA) is detectable at an early stage, the size of the tumour does not strongly correlate with concentration of whole cell-free DNA (cfDNA), including normal leucocyte DNA. We sought to examine the clinical features of patients with LADC whose cfDNA examination held clues for analysis of cancer genomics.

Common Polymorphisms in Relation to Survival among Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: A Multicenter Study from the International Lung Cancer Consortium.

DNA topoisomerase inhibitors are commonly used for treating small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase (TDP1) repairs DNA damage caused by this class of drugs and may therefore influence treatment outcome. In this study, we investigated whether common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) are associated with overall survival among SCLC patients.

Inhalation of a racemic mixture (R,S)-linalool by rats experiencing restraint stress alters neuropeptide and MHC class I gene expression in the hypothalamus.

Some odorants have physiological and psychological effects on organisms. However, little is known about the effects of inhaling them, particularly on the central nervous system. Using DNA microarray analysis, we obtained gene expression profiles of the hypothalamus from restraint stressed rats exposed to racemic (R,S)-linalool.

[Lung Cancer].

Personalized lung cancer therapy has progressed by targeting several oncogenic aberrations that drive lung carcinogenesis. Recent advances in gene analysis technologies, including next-generation sequencing that yields large amounts of genomic data, have greatly contributed to this progress. In addition, immune checkpoint blockade therapy has become available in Japan, and extensive searches for biomarkers predictive of therapeutic response have been carried out.

Characteristics and overall survival of EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors: a retrospective analysis for 1660 Japanese patients.

Background: The Japan Guidelines of Lung Cancer Therapy recommend epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors as a first-line therapy for advanced/recurrent non-small cell lung cancer patients with epidermal growth factor receptor mutation. Although survival periods in recent reports of epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment have been getting longer, the reasons why are unclear. We investigated the survival, prognostic factors and real-world treatment of non-small cell lung cancer patients with epidermal growth factor receptor mutation in clinical practice.

Clinical and genetic investigation of 17 Japanese patients with hyperekplexia.

Aim: The aim of the study was to determine clinical and genetic characteristics of Japanese patients with hyperekplexia.

Method: Clinical courses, responses to antiepileptic drugs, outcomes, and genetic testing were investigated in 17 Japanese patients (nine males, eight females, median age 1y, range birth-45y) with hyperekplexia.

Results: In all patients, muscle stiffness and startle responses appeared soon after birth.

Temporally-regulated quick activation and inactivation of Ras is important for olfactory behaviour.

Responses to environmental stimuli are mediated by the activation and inactivation of various signalling proteins. However, the temporal dynamics of these events in living animals are not well understood. Here we show real-time imaging of the activity of the key regulator of the MAP kinase pathway, Ras, in living Caenorhabditis elegans and that Ras is transiently activated within a few seconds in olfactory neurons in response to increase in the concentration of odorants.

Odour concentration-dependent olfactory preference change in C. elegans.

The same odorant can induce attractive or repulsive responses depending on its concentration in various animals including humans. However, little is understood about the neuronal basis of this behavioural phenomenon. Here we show that Caenorhabditis elegans avoids high concentrations of odorants that are attractive at low concentrations.

Long-tail behavior in locomotion of Caenorhabditis elegans.

The locomotion of Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits complex patterns. In particular, the worm combines mildly curved runs and sharp turns to steer its course. Both runs and sharp turns of various types are important components of taxis behavior.

Parallel use of two behavioral mechanisms for chemotaxis in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Caenorhabditis elegans shows chemotaxis to various odorants and water-soluble chemoattractants such as NaCl. Previous studies described the pirouette mechanism for chemotaxis, in which C. elegans quickly changes the direction of locomotion by using a set of stereotyped behaviors, a pirouette, in response to a decrease in the concentration of the chemical.