Comparison of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen stable isotope ratios and mercury concentrations in muscle tissues of five beaked whale species and sperm whales stranded in Hokkaido, Japan.

We studied C, N and O values, and total mercury (THg) concentrations in muscle samples from deep-sea predators - five beaked whale species and sperm whales - stranded along the coast of Hokkaido, in the north of Japan in 2010 and 2019. The C, N and O values, THg concentrations, and body length (BL) of Stejneger's beaked whales were similar to those of Hubbs' beaked whales, which belong to the same genus. In contrast, C values, THg concentrations, and BL of Sato's beaked whales were markedly different from those of Baird's beaked whales, which belong to the same genus.

Usefulness of the Fibrosis-4 index and alanine aminotransferase at 1 year of nucleos(t)ide analog treatment for prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis B patients.

Aim: Nucleos(t)ide analogs do not completely prevent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic hepatitis B virus infection. This study aimed to evaluate the dynamics of a non-invasive liver fibrosis marker, the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, for predicting HCC development.

Methods: Among a total of 882 chronically hepatitis B virus infection-infected patients who were treated with nucleos(t)ide analogs, 472 patients without HCC history whose FIB-4 at baseline and 1 year of treatment was obtained were evaluated for the incidence of HCC.

Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen stable isotope ratios of striped dolphins and short-finned pilot whales stranded in Hokkaido, northern Japan, compared with those of other cetaceans stranded and hunted in Japan.

Strandings of striped dolphins (SD) and short-finned pilot whales (PW) in Hokkaido, northern Japan, are rare but have recently increased, probably due to global warming. We quantified C, N, and O in muscles of SD ( = 7) and PW ( = 3) stranded in Hokkaido and compared these values with those in muscles (red meat products) of hunted SD and PW in three areas of central and southern Japan. O in stranded SD, except for the calf, decreased with increasing body length (BL), whereas C increased, with no BL-related changes in N.

[A Case of Resected Pancreatic Adenosquamous Carcinoma with Early Hepatic Metastatic Recurrence].

A 73-year-old man was presented with epigastric pain and indicated high CA19-9 levels, and computed tomography detected a tumor in the uncinate process of the pancreas infiltrated duodenum and superior mesenteric artery. The patient was diagnosed with borderline resectable pancreatic carcinoma and received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine and S-1. During neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the patient also received radiotherapy to control duodenal bleeding.