[Congenital Bronchial Atresia Requiring Differentiation from Intralobar Sequestration].

We reported a case of bronchial atresia requiring differentiation from the intralobar sequestration. A 42-year-old man was referred to our institution with suspicion of intralobar sequestration, based on a 3-dimensional computed tomography (CT) angiography that showed abnormal blood vessels from the right inferior phrenic artery flowing into the right lower lobe. CT revealed a lesion between S9 and S10 wherein there were refluxed blood vessels from A9 without an accompanying bronchus, with polycysts and emphysematous changes.

[A Recurrent Case of Thymic Adenocarcinoma Effectively Treated with S-1 Over a Long-Term Period].

A 61-year-old woman with an abnormal radiograph shadow in her anterior mediastinum was admitted to our hospital and underwent an extended thymectomy. The pathological diagnosis of the tumor was a non-papillary adenocarcinoma of the thymus in pathological stage IV b using the Masaoka classification owing to mediastinal lymph node metastasis. We found parasternal lymph node metastases 5 months after her first operation, and subsequently, she underwent surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy.

Differences in Brain Hemodynamics in Response to Achromatic and Chromatic Cards of the Rorschach: A fMRI Study.

In order to investigate the effects of color stimuli of the Rorschach inkblot method (RIM), the cerebral activity of 40 participants with no history of neurological or psychiatric illness was scanned while they engaged in the Rorschach task. A scanned image of the ten RIM inkblots was projected onto a screen in the MRI scanner. Cerebral activation in response to five achromatic color cards and five chromatic cards were compared.

Self-face recognition shares brain regions active during proprioceptive illusion in the right inferior fronto-parietal superior longitudinal fasciculus III network.

Proprioception is somatic sensation that allows us to sense and recognize position, posture, and their changes in our body parts. It pertains directly to oneself and may contribute to bodily awareness. Likewise, one's face is a symbol of oneself, so that visual self-face recognition directly contributes to the awareness of self as distinct from others.

Pericoronary adipose tissue ratio is a stronger associated factor of plaque vulnerability than epicardial adipose tissue on coronary computed tomography angiography.

This study was designed to clarify the influence of pericoronary adipose tissue (PAT) on plaque vulnerability using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). A total of 103 consecutive patients who underwent CCTA and subsequent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) for coronary artery disease were enrolled. The PAT ratio was calculated as the sum of the perpendicular thickness of the visceral layer between the coronary artery and the pericardium, or the coronary artery and the surface of the heart at the PCI site, divided by the PAT thickness without a plaque in the same vessel.

Upstream regulation for initiation of restricted Shh expression in the chick limb bud.

Background: The organizing center, which serves as a morphogen source, has crucial functions in morphogenesis in animal development. The center is necessarily located in a certain restricted area in the morphogenetic field, and there are several ways in which an organizing center can be restricted. The organizing center for limb morphogenesis, the ZPA (zone of polarizing activity), specifically expresses the Shh gene and is restricted to the posterior region of the developing limb bud.

Age-dependent atypicalities in body- and face-sensitive activation of the EBA and FFA in individuals with ASD.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficuly in recognizing bodies and faces, which are more pronounced in children than adults. If such difficulties originate from dysfunction of the extrastriate body area (EBA) and the fusiform face area (FFA), activation in these regions might be more atypical in children than in adults. We preformed functional magnetic resonance imaging while children and adults with ASD and age-matched typically developed (TD) individuals observed face, body, car, and scene.

Efficacy and Safety of Vildagliptin as an Add-On Therapy in Inadequately Controlled Type 2 Diabetes Patients Treated With Basal Insulin.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of vildagliptin as an add-on therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus inadequately controlled with basal insulin.

Methods: Twenty-four patients treated with basal insulin and oral anti-diabetes drugs were randomly allocated into two groups: the control group (did not receive any add-on drugs) and vildagliptin group (received vildagliptin 100 mg/day for 6 months). The primary outcome was changes in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) from baseline to end of study.

Functional roles of Aves class-specific cis-regulatory elements on macroevolution of bird-specific features.

Unlike microevolutionary processes, little is known about the genetic basis of macroevolutionary processes. One of these magnificent examples is the transition from non-avian dinosaurs to birds that has created numerous evolutionary innovations such as self-powered flight and its associated wings with flight feathers. By analysing 48 bird genomes, we identified millions of avian-specific highly conserved elements (ASHCEs) that predominantly (>99%) reside in non-coding regions.

Lymph node ratio as a prognostic factor in patients with pathological N2 non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the lymph node ratio (LNR) was associated with the prognosis of patients, who underwent surgery for pathological N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: A total of 182 patients were diagnosed with pathological N2 disease and underwent complete resection surgeries with systematic lymphadenectomies. We counted the number of positives and removed lymph nodes to calculate a ratio between them (LNR).

Application of target capture sequencing of exons and conserved non-coding sequences to 20 inbred rat strains.

We report sequence data obtained by our recently devised target capture method TargetEC applied to 20 inbred rat strains. This method encompasses not only all annotated exons but also highly conserved non-coding sequences shared among vertebrates. The total length of the target regions covers 146.

Ventral striatum dysfunction in children and adolescents with reactive attachment disorder: functional MRI study.

Background: Child maltreatment is a major risk factor for psychopathology, including reactive attachment disorder (RAD).

Aims: To examine whether neural activity during reward processing was altered in children and adolescents with RAD.

Method: Sixteen children and adolescents with RAD and 20 typically developing (TD) individuals performed tasks with high and low monetary rewards while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Clinical outcome of treatment with or without a final kissing balloon technique for bifurcation in-stent restenosis lesions.

Background: The treatment strategy for in-stent restenosis (ISR) with bifurcation lesions has not been well explored. We examined the clinical outcomes between final kissing balloon technique (FKBT) after stent implantation and single-stent implantation without FKBT for bifurcation ISR lesions.

Methods: We identified 115 consecutive ISR with bifurcation lesions among 108 patients who underwent drug-eluting stent implantation.

Hedgehog-BMP signalling establishes dorsoventral patterning in lateral plate mesoderm to trigger gonadogenesis in chicken embryos.

The gonad appears in the early embryo after several events: cells at the lateral plate mesoderm (LPM) undergo ingression, begin gonadal differentiation and then retain primordial germ cells (PGCs). Here we show that in the chicken embryo, these events are triggered on the basis of dorsoventral patterning at the medial LPM. Gonadal progenitor cells (GPCs) at the ventromedial LPM initiate gonadogenesis by undergoing ingression, whereas mesonephric capsule progenitor cells (MCPCs) at the dorsomedial LPM do not.

Oxytocin efficacy is modulated by dosage and oxytocin receptor genotype in young adults with high-functioning autism: a 24-week randomized clinical trial.

Recent studies have suggested that long-term oxytocin administration can alleviate the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, factors influencing its efficacy are still unclear. We conducted a single-center phase 2, pilot, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, clinical trial in young adults with high-functioning ASD, to determine whether oxytocin dosage and genetic background of the oxytocin receptor affects oxytocin efficacy. This trial consisted of double-blind (12 weeks), open-label (12 weeks) and follow-up phases (8 weeks).

Design and application of a target capture sequencing of exons and conserved non-coding sequences for the rat.

Background: Target capture sequencing is an efficient approach to directly identify the causative mutations of genetic disorders. To apply this strategy to laboratory rats exhibiting various phenotypes, we developed a novel target capture probe set, TargetEC (target capture for exons and conserved non-coding sequences), which can identify mutations not only in exonic regions but also in conserved non-coding sequences and thus can detect regulatory mutations.

Results: TargetEC covers 1,078,129 regions spanning 146.

[Lung Cancer Incidentally Detected by a Subcutaneous Nodule at the Drainage Site for Pneumothorax].

A 43-year-old male patient underwent thoracic drainage for the treatment of right pneumothorax. After 6 months, the patient visited our department because of a subcutaneous nodule found at the drainage site. Chest computed tomography revealed a mass lesion associated with a cavity in the right upper lobe of the lung and a subcutaneous nodule.

Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland: a multi-institutional retrospective analysis in the Northern Japan Head and Neck Cancer Society.

Conclusion: The 3-year progression-free survival rate of non-invasive salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) or adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified (NOS) was significantly better than that of invasive SDC or adenocarcinoma NOS in Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma (CXPA). The presence of invasion is an important prognostic factor for SDC and adenocarcinoma NOS in CXPA.

Objectives: CXPA is a rare parotid gland malignant tumor for which therapy is not yet standardized.

Same or Different Drug-Eluting Stent Re-Implantation for Drug-Eluting Stent Restenosis: An Assessment Including Second-Generation Drug-Eluting Stents.

Objectives: We examined the long-term outcomes of implanting a different type of drug-eluting stent (DES), including second-generation DES, for treatment of DES-in stent restenosis (ISR).

Background: Treatment for DES-ISR has not been standardized.

Methods: The subjects were 80 patients with 89 lesions underwent DES implantation for DES-ISR.

Plaque Composition and No-Reflow Phenomenon During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of Low-Echoic Structures in Grayscale Intravascular Ultrasound.

It has been reported that coronary vasa vasorum is associated with plaque vulnerability, and low-echoic structures in grayscale intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) are consistent pathologically with vasa vasorum. However, the association of low-echoic structures with plaque composition and no-reflow phenomenon during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is unclear. We investigated plaque composition in virtual histology IVUS (VH-IVUS) and no-reflow phenomenon during PCI of low-echoic structures.

Imaging characteristics of an 8.8 mm long and 125 μm thick graded-index short multimode fiber probe.

We demonstrated the feasibility of an ultrathin imaging probe with a 50-μm core diameter, a 125 μm total diameter, and an 8.8 mm length, which is a typical graded-index multimode fiber for optical communications. We used an ABCD matrix to analyze the imaging conditions and magnification, which corresponded closely to the measured results.

Gazefinder as a clinical supplementary tool for discriminating between autism spectrum disorder and typical development in male adolescents and adults.

Background: Gaze abnormality is a diagnostic criterion for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, few easy-to-use clinical tools exist to evaluate the unique eye-gaze patterns of ASD. Recently, we developed Gazefinder, an all-in-one eye-tracking system for early detection of ASD in toddlers.

Relationships among maxillofacial morphologies, bone properties, and bone metabolic markers in patients with jaw deformities.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationships among bone properties, bone metabolic markers, and types of jaw deformity. The subjects were 55 female patients with jaw deformities. Skeletal morphology was examined using lateral cephalograms, and the patients were divided into three groups according to the type of anteroposterior skeletal pattern.

Transforming growth factor-β1 induces invasion ability of HSC-4 human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells through the Slug/Wnt-5b/MMP-10 signalling axis.

Molecular mechanism underlying the invasion of oral cancer cells remains to be clarified. We previously demonstrated that transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) induces the expression of mesenchymal markers in human oral squamous cell carcinoma HSC-4 cells. Intriguingly, the expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related transcription factor Slug was also significantly upregulated upon TGF-β1 stimulation.

Empiric Antibiotic Therapy for Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock.

Background: A retrospective study was conducted to investigate the validity and the effectiveness of early empiric antibiotic and de-escalation therapy for the treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: Patients admitted to the ICU at Chiba University Hospital from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2012, for the treatment of severe sepsis or septic shock were selected for analysis.

Results: One-hundred and ten patients were enrolled for the analysis.