Efficacy of 10-day Sitafloxacin-Containing Third-Line Rescue Therapies for Helicobacter pylori Strains Containing the gyrA Mutation.

Background And Aim: Sitafloxacin-containing Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy is a promising third-line therapeutic approach, but there is no previous studies between gyrA mutation status of H. pylori strains and the efficacy of 10-day sitafloxacin-containing regimens. Here, we assessed the efficacy of 2 different 10-day sitafloxacin-containing rescue regimens.

Antitumor effect of afatinib, as a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-targeted therapy, in lung cancers harboring HER2 oncogene alterations.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a member of the HER family of proteins containing four receptor tyrosine kinases. It plays an important role in the pathogenesis of certain human cancers. In non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), HER2 amplification or mutations have been reported.

Presence of Nitric Oxide-Sensing Systems in the Human Pathogen Vibrio vulnificus.

Vibrio vulnificus is a halophilic estuarine bacterium, but this species causes fatal septicemia in humans. V. vulnificus may encounter many kinds of stresses either in the natural environment or in the human body.

Primary pulmonary melanoma: a report of two cases.

Malignant melanoma is a refractory malignancy with a dismal prognosis. It generally arises from the skin in most cases, and cases of primary pulmonary malignant melanoma are rare and often behave aggressively. We have treated two cases of localized primary pulmonary malignant melanoma using surgical resection.

A neutrophil elastase inhibitor improves lung function during ex vivo lung perfusion.

Objective: Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) has been used not only for graft evaluation but also for graft reconditioning prior to lung transplantation. Inflammatory cells such as neutrophils may cause additional graft injury during EVLP. Neutrophil elastase inhibitors protect lungs against neutrophil-induced lung injury, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Human collagen XV is a prominent histopathological component of sinusoidal capillarization in hepatocellular carcinogenesis.

Background: Increased expression of collagen XV has been reported in hepatocellular carcinogenesis in mice. The aim of this study was to confirm the previous murine findings in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) specimens, along with the histopathological distribution of collagen XV in tumoral tissues.

Methods: Sixty-three primary HCC specimens were examined.

Acquisition of cancer stem cell-like properties in non-small cell lung cancer with acquired resistance to afatinib.

Afatinib is an irreversible epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that is known to be effective against the EGFR T790M variant, which accounts for half of the mechanisms of acquired resistance to reversible EGFR-TKIs. However, acquired resistance to afatinib was also observed in clinical use. Thus, elucidating and overcoming the mechanisms of resistance are important issues in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

Surgical Outcomes of Patients With Stage III Thymoma in the Japanese Nationwide Database.

Background: To investigate the clinical characteristics and therapeutic outcomes of patients who underwent surgery for stage III thymoma in Japan.

Methods: Using the Japanese nationwide database, which contains the records of 2,835 patients with thymic epithelial tumors who underwent treatment between 1991 and 2010, we extracted and analyzed the records of those who underwent surgery for stage III thymoma.

Results: A total of 310 patients (170 males, 140 females; median age, 58 years) were analyzed.

Predicting pleural invasion using HRCT and 18F-FDG PET/CT in lung adenocarcinoma with pleural contact.

Objective: To evaluate the relevance of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings and fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) uptake for risk stratification of visceral pleural invasion by lung adenocarcinoma.

Methods: The HRCT findings and (18)F-FDG uptake for lung adenocarcinomas with pleural contact on CT were retrospectively analyzed in 208 consecutive patients (94 females and 114 males; median age, 69.0 years) between January 2009 and December 2013, with institutional review board approval.

Effect of lateral body position on transesophageal echocardiography images and the association with patient characteristics: A prospective observational study.

Background: Changes in heart position are occasionally observed on the transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) image screen after changing the body position from supine to lateral, although the magnitude of change in cardiac position varies individually. We hypothesized that this variation is associated with certain patient characteristics and evaluated how lateral positioning affects visualization of the heart on TEE and whether the magnitude of change in the heart position correlates with patient characteristics.

Methods: Fifty-three lung resection patients were enrolled.

Lower lobe origin is a poor prognostic factor in locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients treated with induction chemoradiotherapy.

The AIM of this study was to identify prognostic factors in patients receiving trimodality therapy for locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Among patients who underwent induction chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by surgery between 1999 and 2011 at our institution, 76 NSCLC patients with clinical (c) N2/3 stage III were enrolled in this retrospective study. Induction CRT consisted of docetaxel and cisplatin with concurrent 40-60 Gy radiation therapy.

International collaborative research on infectious diseases by Japanese universities and institutes in Asia and Africa, with a special emphasis on J-GRID.

In developed countries including Japan, malignant tumor (cancer), heart disease and cerebral apoplexy are major causes of death, but infectious diseases are still responsible for a high number of deaths in developing countries, especially among children aged less than 5 years. World Health Statistics published by WHO reports a high percentage of mortality from infectious diseases in children, and many of these diseases may be subject to transmission across borders and could possibly invade Japan. 　Given this situation, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan initiated Phase I of the Program of Founding Research Centers for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease, which ran from FY 2005 to 2009, and involved 8 Japanese universities and 2 research centers.

TAE226, a Bis-Anilino Pyrimidine Compound, Inhibits the EGFR-Mutant Kinase Including T790M Mutant to Show Anti-Tumor Effect on EGFR-Mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells.

TAE226, a bis-anilino pyrimidine compound, has been developed as an inhibitor of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR). In this study, we investigated the effect of TAE226 on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), especially focusing on the EGFR mutational status. TAE226 was more effective against cells with mutant EGFR, including the T790M mutant, than against cells with wild-type one.

Early Growth Response-1 Plays an Important Role in Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Lung Transplants by Regulating Polymorphonuclear Neutrophil Infiltration.

Background: Early growth response-1 (Egr-1) has been shown to be a trigger-switch transcription factor that is involved in lung ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI).

Methods: Mouse lung transplants were performed in wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 and Egr1-knockout (KO) mice in the following donor → recipient combinations: WT → WT, KO → WT, WT → KO, and KO → KO to determine whether the presence of Egr-1 in the donor or recipient is the most critical factor for IRI. Pulmonary grafts were retrieved after 18 hours of ischemia after 4 hours of reperfusion.

Complete genome sequence of pigeon circovirus detected in racing pigeons in western Japan.

We report the genetic analysis of a pigeon circovirus (PiCV/Japan/2/2010) detected in a racing pigeon with diarrheal symptoms in western Japan. Sequencing revealed a genome size of 2,041 bp that contained 3 open reading frames (ORFs), designated V1, C1, and C2, a structure consistent with to those of other pigeon circoviruses. Phylogenetic analyses of the ORF C1 revealed that PiCV/Japan/2/2010 diverges from other Asian pigeon circoviruses, suggesting genetic diversity of pigeon circoviruses in Asia.

Investigation of Mechanisms for MK-801-Induced Neurotoxicity Utilizing Metabolomic Approach.

Single treatment of rats with the noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist MK-801 induces neuronal cell degeneration and death in the retrosplenial/posterior cingulate cortex (RS/PC) region, along with local cerebral glucose utilization. However, the relationship between this neuronal cell degeneration and death and glucose utilization remains unclear. To investigate the mechanism of MK-801-induced neurotoxicity and its relation to glucose utilization, changes in endogenous metabolites in the RS/PC region of MK-801 treated rats were assessed using metabolomics.

CT fluoroscopy-guided preoperative short hook wire placement for small pulmonary lesions: evaluation of safety and identification of risk factors for pneumothorax.

Objectives: To retrospectively evaluate the safety of computed tomography (CT) fluoroscopy-guided short hook wire placement for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and the risk factors for pneumothorax associated with this procedure.

Methods: We analyzed 267 short hook wire placements for 267 pulmonary lesions (mean diameter, 9.9 mm).

Use of Extended-Criteria Lungs on a Lobe-by-Lobe Basis Through Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Assessment.

Initially rejected and extended-criteria lungs were partially used through an ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) assessment that was first clinically applied in Asia. The truly injured lobe (left lower lobe) was identified during 89-minute normothermic EVLP and was excised, and the remaining lobes were successfully transplanted into a patient with lymphangioleiomyomatosis. The lung lobes showed heterogeneous changes on the ex vivo rig, and a brief duration of EVLP helped differentiate lung quality on a lobe-by-lobe basis.

Demonstration of the stabilization technique for nonplanar optical resonant cavities utilizing polarization.

Based on our previously developed scheme to stabilize nonplanar optical resonant cavities utilizing polarization caused by a geometric phase in electromagnetic waves traveling along a twisted path, we report an application of the technique for a cavity installed in the Accelerator Test Facility, a 1.3-GeV electron beam accelerator at KEK, in which photons are generated by laser-Compton scattering. We successfully achieved a power enhancement of 1200 with 1.

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy and Subsequent Seizures Induced by Flexible Bronchoscopy.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a transient left-ventricular dysfunction that typically occurs in elderly women due to emotional or physical stress. An 85-y-old woman underwent flexible bronchoscopy to evaluate her malignant lymphoma. After flexible bronchoscopy, she experienced takotsubo cardiomyopathy diagnosed by left ventriculography and subsequent generalized tonic-clonic seizure diagnosed by electroencephalography.

A case of EGFR mutant lung adenocarcinoma that acquired resistance to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors with MET amplification and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

EGFR mutant lung cancer responds to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), but all patients eventually develop resistance to EGFR-TKIs. Herein we report a case of EGFR mutant lung adenocarcinoma that acquired resistance to EGFR-TKI with MET amplification and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). A 73-year-old woman was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma harboring an EGFR exon 19 deletion.

Development of a real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for the sensitive and rapid detection of Listeria monocytogenes.

Unlabelled: A real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RealAmp) assay for the detection of Listeria was developed. The RealAmp assay, using primers specific for the hemolysin-encoding hlyA gene, was verified using Listeria monocytogenes strains (n = 58) from different regions of the world. Both the sensitivity and specificity of the RealAmp assay were high.

Japan PGx Data Science Consortium Database: SNPs and HLA genotype data from 2994 Japanese healthy individuals for pharmacogenomics studies.

Japan Pharmacogenomics Data Science Consortium (JPDSC) has assembled a database for conducting pharmacogenomics (PGx) studies in Japanese subjects. The database contains the genotypes of 2.5 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 5 human leukocyte antigen loci from 2994 Japanese healthy volunteers, as well as 121 kinds of clinical information, including self-reports, physiological data, hematological data and biochemical data.

Pneumocephalus and chylothorax complicating vertebrectomy for lung cancer.

Pneumocephalus is a rare, but potentially fatal complication of thoracic surgery. We describe a case of successful management of pneumocephalus complicated by persistent chylothorax developing after en bloc partial vertebrectomy performed after induction chemoradiotherapy for lung cancer invading the spine. Surgical treatment should be considered for pneumocephalus complicated by any condition requiring persistent chest drainage.

Electrical superior vena cava isolation using photodynamic therapy in a canine model.

Aims: With the new era of multi-tip radiofrequency or balloon ablation catheters replacing the point-to-point ablation strategy, we aimed to determine the feasibility of a ring-laser catheter ablation technology to electrically isolate the superior vena cava (SVC) by exploring the advantages of the limitless catheter tip size possibly with the photodynamic therapy (PDT)-mediated ablation.

Methods And Results: We developed a first-generation prototype of a circular-laser-mapping catheter by fitting a 7 cm plastic optical fibre onto a circular variable-loop Lasso™ mapping catheter. Following SVC venography, both the laser catheter and another ring catheter for monitoring the SVC potentials were placed at the SVC.