Clinical evaluation of complete solo surgery with the "ViKY" robotic laparoscope manipulator.

Background: Advancement in both surgical technique and medical equipment has enabled solo surgery. ViKY Endoscope Positioning System (ViKY) is a robotic system that remotely controls an endoscope and provides direct vision control to the surgeon. Here, we report our experience with ViKY-assisted solo surgery.

Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the breast. Report of a case with the first electron microscopic study and review of the literature.

Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) is a tumor which occurs outside the nasopharynx and has morphological features identical to nasopharyngeal lymphoepithelioma. LELC of the breast (LELC-B) is uncommon, and its resemblance to medullary carcinoma of the breast (MC-B) obscures distinction between these two tumors. We report a case of LELC-B occurring in a 47-year-old woman.

Polysaccharide-protein interaction: a rheological study of the gel-sol transition of a gelatin-methylcellulose-water system.

Viscoelastic parameters for mixtures of gelatin and methylcellulose were measured as a function of temperature, in order to study the gel-sol transition of the system in which biopolymers forming thermo-setting and thermo-melting gels coexist. At higher temperatures than 45 degrees C, the gel network is mainly formed by methylcellulose while at lower temperatures around 5 degrees C, it is mainly formed by gelatin. At higher temperatures than 45 degrees C, gelatin inhibits the gelation of methylcellulose.

Long esophageal myotomy with a fundic patch procedure for treating diffuse esophageal spasm: report of a case.

A diagnosis of diffuse esophageal spasm (DES) based on radiological and manometric studies was made in a 70-year-old man who presented with severe dysphagia, vomiting, and spontaneous chest pain. The manometric studies revealed a simultaneous onset of high amplitude contractions and a hypertensive lower esophageal sphincter (LES) that was well relaxed in response to deglutition, in contrast to the incomplete relaxation seen in achalasia. Because his dysphagia was so severe and did not respond to pneumatic dilatation, the patient was treated by a long esophageal myotomy with a full thickness incision through the LES and mucosa, adding a Thal-Hatafuku procedure.

Fundic patch operation in the treatment of esophageal stricture with Barrett's esophagus--a case report.

A 66-year-old woman, who had a stricture of the distal esophagus with Barrett's epithelium caused by gastroesophageal reflux, was operated upon by means of the fundic patch method. Preoperative manometric and pH studies revealed that the patient had a cardiac incompetence and a delayed acid clearance of the esophagus. Endoscopic biopsies between 33-35 cm from the incisors, above the gastroesophageal junction, showed columnar metaplasia with a villiform surface, mucous glands, intestinal goblet cells, moderate inflammatory changes and focal mild dysplasia.

Changes in endogenous cytokinin levels in partially synchronized cultured tobacco cells.

During the course of partially synchronized cell divisions in cultured tobacco (Xanthi) cells the amount of endogenous cytokinins in the butanol-soluble fraction increased 5 to 10 times in 3 hours and paralleled the increase in frequency of mitosis. Among three cytokinins detected in tobacco cells, the activity corresponding to the R(F) of authentic zeatin in thin layer chromatography changed in parallel with the mitotic index.