The ratio of the atrial areas reflects the clinical status of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Purpose: Echocardiography is useful not only for detecting pulmonary hypertension (PH) but also for estimating the severity of PH by evaluating various morphological changes of the heart caused by pressure and volume overload and by ventricular interaction. We investigated whether a novel echocardiographic index, i.e.

Advantages of second line estramustine for overall survival of hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) patients.

There is no effective standard therapy for the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC), and treatments vary among different medical institutions with efforts to improve results. The present retrospective investigation was performed to assess the outcomes of second line, third line, and fourth line therapies. A total of 142 patients with HRPC were treated at Nagoya City University Hospital and its affiliate hospitals during the 10 years between October 1996 and August 2006.

Femtosecond pulse laser-oriented recording on dental prostheses: a trial introduction.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using a femtosecond pulse laser processing technique to store information on a dental prosthesis. Commercially pure titanium plates were processed by a femtosecond pulse laser system. The processed surface structure was observed with a reflective illumination microscope, scanning electron microscope, and atomic force microscope.

Proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma of the perineum: calling attention of urologists.

A subcutaneous mass in the perineum of a middle-aged man was excised and pathologically diagnosed at first as 'undifferentiated carcinoma' of unknown origin, which recurred 2 years later without any metastasis. Further histological evaluation ultimately established a correct diagnosis of 'proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma', a variant of rare epithelioid sarcoma. This type of tumor may confuse pathologists because its histological characteristics resemble undifferentiated carcinoma or malignant rhabdoid tumor.

Osteopontin regulates adhesion of calcium oxalate crystals to renal epithelial cells.

Background: The association of calcium crystals with renal tubular cells is an important factor during the formation of urinary stones. We previously reported the strong expression of osteopontin (OPN) on renal tubular cells in the stone-forming kidney, suggesting that OPN plays a role in the crystal-cell interaction. In the present study, we examined the biological consequences of inhibiting OPN expression at the translational level on the formation and adhesion of crystals.