Validation of the risk stratification newly defined in the Japanese Urological Association guidelines 2019 for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: A multi-institutional collaborative study.

Objectives: To validate the risk stratification newly defined in the Japanese Urological Association guidelines 2019 for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and provide a more accurate stratification model for a heterogeneous intermediate-risk group.

Methods: A total of 1610 patients, who underwent transurethral resection, diagnosed with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer in nine collaborating hospitals were retrospectively reviewed. They were classified into low-risk, intermediate-risk, high-risk, and highest-risk groups, and recurrence-free survival, progression-free survival, cancer-specific survival, and overall survival were compared among the groups.

Compact automated culture machine for human induced pluripotent stem cell maintenance and differentiation.

The technologies used to generate human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) from somatic cells potentially enable the wide application of iPSC-derived differentiated cells in industrial research fields as a replacement for animals. However, as highly trained individuals are required to obtain reproducible results, this approach has limited social implementation. In the research field of iPSC, it is believed that documentable information is not enough for reproducing the quality of the differentiated cells.

A new risk stratification model for intravesical recurrence, disease progression, and cancer-specific death in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: the J-NICE risk tables.

Background: The aim of this study is to establish new risk tables for the current clinical setting, enabling short- and long-term risk stratification for recurrence, progression, and cancer-specific death after transurethral resection in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Currently available risk tables lack input from the 2004 World Health Organization grading system and risk prediction for cancer-specific death.

Methods: This was a multi-institutional database study of 1490 patients diagnosed with NMIBC (the development cohort).

Comparison of the morphology of the rotator cuff muscles across age groups.

We aimed at investigating the morphological difference of the rotator cuff (RC) muscles among age groups from elementary school students to college students. The subjects included 10 college (22.6 ± 1.

[Case of primary retroperitoneal GIST (gastrointestinal stromal tumor) with rapid progression].

A 69-year-old man complaining of left abdominal pain was referred from a private clinic for retroperitoneal masses that were discovered on abdominal ultrasound in November 2010. CT scan showed retroperitoneal masses, located above the left kidney, measuring 10 cm. Para-aortic lymph nodes were swelling.

Effects of strenuous exercise with eccentric muscle contraction: physiological and functional aspects of human skeletal muscle.

Purpose: we used magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and ultrasonography in combination with a dynamometer to assess physiological and functional aspects of the skeletal muscles after strenuous exercise that included eccentric contraction.

Methods: seven male subjects (mean age, 21.7 years) performed ankle plantar flexion that included eccentric contraction and underwent diffusion-weighted MR imaging for calculation of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the triceps surae muscles.

Effect of urea surface modification and photocatalytic cleaning on surface-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry with amorphous TiO2 nanoparticles.

We have investigated the effect of urea surface modification and the photocatalytic cleaning on surface-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) with amorphous TiO2 nanoparticles for the reduction of the background noise and the improvement of the sensitivity. In the use of nanoparticles of high surface area, chemical background signals arising from ambient environments and organic contaminants can frequently be serious problems below 500 Da, possibly reducing the advantages of the matrix-free approach. In this study, removal of contaminants and enhanced SALDI efficiency were easily achieved with UV irradiation via the photocatalyst effect of TiO2 before SALDI-MS measurements.

Dietary isoflavones may protect against prostate cancer in Japanese men.

We examined associations between nutritional and other lifestyle factors and the prevalence of prostate cancer in a case-control study of Japanese men. Two hundred patients and 200 age-matched controls (+/-5 y) were selected from 3 geographic areas of Japan. BMI, physical activity, occupation, family history of prostate cancer, and medical history were not associated with prostate cancer risk.

Gene expression analysis using a modified HiCEP method applicable to prokaryotes: a study of the response of Rhodococcus to isoniazid and ethambutol.

We established a novel method to analyze the gene expression of prokaryotes by modifying and optimizing the HiCEP (high coverage gene expression analysis) method, which was originally developed for eukaryotic gene expression profiling. Following the removal of abundant rRNA, the mRNA of prokaryotic cells was enzymatically polyadenylated and subjected to HiCEP analysis. This method was highly reproducible due to selective PCR that was performed by using adaptor specific primers.

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor type1 (IP3R1) modulates the acquisition of cisplatin resistance in bladder cancer cell lines.

To investigate the molecules that regulate the acquisition of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (cisplatin) resistance, we performed cDNA microarrays using two pairs of parental and cisplatin-resistant bladder cancer cell lines. We found a markedly reduced expression of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor type1 (IP3R1), endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein, in cisplatin-resistant cells. The suppression of IP3R1 expression using small interfering RNA in parental cells prevented apoptosis and resulted in decreased sensitivity to cisplatin.

Multicentric papillary renal cell carcinoma associated with renal adenomatosis.

A case of multicentric papillary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) associated with renal adenomatosis in the bilateral kidneys is reported. Bilateral multiple renal cysts in a 46-year-old man were pointed out incidentally by ultrasonography. Some of the left renal lesions were considered to be RCC, and left radical nephrectomy was performed accordingly.

A case-control study of diet and prostate cancer in Japan: possible protective effect of traditional Japanese diet.

The age-adjusted incidence of prostate cancer is low in Japan, and it has been suggested that the traditional Japanese diet, which includes many soy products, plays a preventive role against prostate cancer. We performed a case-control study on dietary factors and prostate cancer in order to assess the hypothesis that the traditional Japanese diet reduces the risk of prostate cancer. Four geographical areas (Ibaraki, Fukuoka, Nara, and Hokkaido) of Japan were selected for the survey.

Complete sequencing and characterization of 21,243 full-length human cDNAs.

As a base for human transcriptome and functional genomics, we created the "full-length long Japan" (FLJ) collection of sequenced human cDNAs. We determined the entire sequence of 21,243 selected clones and found that 14,490 cDNAs (10,897 clusters) were unique to the FLJ collection. About half of them (5,416) seemed to be protein-coding.

A novel mechanism of nuclear factor kappaB activation through the binding between inhibitor of nuclear factor-kappaBalpha and the processed NH(2)-terminal region of Mig-6.

Mitogene-inducible gene-6 (Mig-6), an adaptor molecule containing the Cdc42/Rac interaction and binding (CRIB) domain, is rapidly induced by mitogenic and stressful stimuli, and sustained mig-6 expression is observed in chronic pathological conditions. The function of this molecule has remained elusive. We find that mig-6 is constitutively expressed in many human cancer cell lines, and Mig-6 is cleaved into the NH(2)-terminal region containing the CRIB domain and the remainder of the COOH-terminal region by limited proteolytic processing.