[A Strategy of Treatment for Perforated Gastric Cancer].

In past reports, the incidence of gastric perforation accounts for 0.08 to 3.6% of all gastric cancers, and the proportion of perforated gastric cancer(PGC)in gastric perforations is 26 to 32%.

A novel condition of mild electrical stimulation exerts immunosuppression via hydrogen peroxide production that controls multiple signaling pathway.

Different modes of exogenous electrical stimulation at physiological strength has been applied to various diseases. Previously, we extensively demonstrated the usability of mild electrical stimulation (MES) with low frequency pulse current at 55 pulses per second (MES55) for several disease conditions. Here we found that MES with high frequency pulse-current (5500 pulse per second; MES5500) suppressed the overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by phorbol myristate acetate/ionomycin in Jurkat T cells and primary splenocytes.

Insulin receptor activation through its accumulation in lipid rafts by mild electrical stress.

Insulin resistance is due to the reduced cellular response to insulin in peripheral tissues. The interaction of insulin with its receptor is the first step in insulin action and thus the identified target of insulin resistance. It has been well established that defects or mutations in the insulin receptor (IR) cause insulin resistance.

Diethyldithiocarbamate induces apoptosis in HHV-8-infected primary effusion lymphoma cells via inhibition of the NF-κB pathway.

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a subtype of B-cell lymphoma caused by human herpes virus 8/Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus (HHV-8/KSHV), which is mostly found in patients with AIDS and has poor prognosis. Nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway is constitutively activated in HHV-8-infected PEL cells and plays a crucial role in tumorigenesis. Recently, it has been shown that diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC), an active metabolite of disulfiram, has apoptotic activity in cancer cells.

Glucose uptake in rat skeletal muscle L6 cells is increased by low-intensity electrical current through the activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI-3K) / Akt pathway.

Activation of Akt by insulin is transmitted via phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI-3K) and enhances glucose uptake. The PI-3K/Akt signaling is diminished in insulin resistance. Thus, approaches that activate PI-3K/Akt signaling leading to improved glucose uptake may ameliorate hyperglycemia.

[Varricela vaccination policy subsidy evaluation].

Objectives: Mitoyo and Kanonji cities in Kagawa prefecture began a varicella vaccination subsidy in April 1, 2007. To evaluate this policy, we studied morbidity and vaccination coverage before and after subsidy went into effect, vaccination efficacy for severity and family nursing burden, and cooperation with the Mitoyo Kanonj medical association and Mitoyo and Kanonji municipalities.

Methods: Mitoyo and Kanonji implemented a varicella vaccination subsidy for residents under 5-years-old born after April 1, 2002, and having previous varicella infection.

Light and electron microscopic analyses of immediate and late tissue damage caused by radiofrequency ablation in porcine liver.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an effective procedure for localized hepatocellular carcinoma. Contrast-enhanced CT depicts the ablated area as a hypoattenuated area without hepatic blood flow; however, light microscopy does not show obvious necrosis in the ablated area. We evaluated liver tissue changes after RFA by light microscopy and electron microscopy.

Role of tissue interaction between pineal primordium and neighboring tissues in avian pineal morphogenesis studied by intraocular transplantation.

Tissue interactions play an essential role in organogenesis during embryonic development. However, virtually no attempts have been made to study the role of tissue interaction in pineal development. In the present study we examined the inductive role of the epidermis and mesenchyme in the morphogenesis of quail pineal glands.

FGF signals are involved in the differentiation of notochord cells and mesenchyme cells of the ascidian Halocynthia roretzi.

Differentiation of notochord cells and mesenchyme cells of the ascidian Halocynthia roretzi requires interactions with neighboring endodermal cells and previous experiments suggest that these interactions require fibroblast growth factor (FGF). In the present study, we examined the role of FGF in these interactions by disrupting signaling using the dominant negative form of the FGF receptor. An FGF receptor gene of H.

Successful treatment for bronchial bleeding from invasive pulmonary metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma: a case report.

Pulmonary metastasis is frequently seen in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. However, information is limited concerning life-threatening complications and effective treatment of pulmonary metastasis because of the poor prognosis of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Recent remarkable progress in detection and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma has improved prognosis, making management of pulmonary metastasis an important clinical issue.

Synergistic action of HNF-3 and Brachyury in the notochord differentiation of ascidian embryos.

In vertebrate embryos, the class I subtype forkhead domain gene HNF-3 is essential for the formation of the endoderm, notochord and overlying ventral neural tube. In ascidian embryos, Brachyury is involved in the formation of the notochord. Although the results of previous studies imply a role of HNF-3 in notochord differentiation in ascidian embryos, no experiments have been carried out to address this issue directly.

Bright loop appearance; a characteristic ultrasonography sign of early hepatocellular carcinoma.

Ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography (CT) are the most effective screening methodologies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In our US screening, 20% of small HCC nodules less than 20 mm in diameter were detected as hyperechoic tumors. Among these hyperechoic HCC nodules, we have often observed (BL) which is defined as hypoechoic nodules in the hyperechoic tumor.

Clinical characteristics of patients in their 40s with HCV antibody-positive hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: We investigated the clinical characteristics of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody-positive hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who developed HCC at a relatively young age.

Methods: Clinical characteristics of patients in their 40s were investigated and were compared with those of patients 50 years and older. The subjects were 648 HCC patients, 469 men (72%) and 179 women (28%), who were treated at our hospital between 1991 and 1997.

Children in Japan and multimedia.

Many parents in Japan today are very concerned and have daily problems with their children over the following kind of issues concerning video games, multimedia, and similar devices. 1) Is children's enthusiasm for video games actually harming their growth (physically or mentally)? 2) Is there any way that video games can help children in the future? For example, will playing these games help children learn to use computers or develop their power of thought? 3) Will excessive enthusiasm for TV games undermine our basic lifestyle? Is the time they spend studying at home or playing outside actually decreasing? 4) Will the methods of communication brought about by computers, pagers, and cellular phones weaken human relations among children? 5) Will being immersed in a virtual world created by computers result in a diminished sense of reality? The causes of this uneasiness may be traced to parents' own anxieties and concerns about the exceedingly rapid growth of the "information society" of today, together with the fact that their children are directly caught up in the deluge of this information and multimedia society. The development of media has coincided with the growth of today's adults, but children are immersed in a media-filled environment from the day they are born.

A simultaneous monitoring of Lens culinaris agglutinin A-reactive alpha-fetoprotein and des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin as an early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in the follow-up of cirrhotic patients.

To elucidate the risk factors for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) during the follow-up of patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), outpatients with LC were examined periodically by means of serum biochemical assessments, ultrasonography, and computed tomography. Risk factors for HCC were statistically analyzed. We also examined an efficacy of Lens culinaris agglutinin A-reactive profiles of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP-L3%) and des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) value using a highly sensitive DCP determination kit (ED036) for the early recognition of HCC.

Increased expression of membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase and matrix metalloproteinase-2 with tumor dedifferentiation in hepatocellular carcinomas.

Destruction of the extracellular matrices is required for tumor invasion and metastasis. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 degrades type IV collagen and laminin, major components of the basement membrane. Membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase activates the latent form of matrix metalloproteinase-2.

Autonomy of ascidian fork head/HNF-3 gene expression.

We have characterized the expression pattern of a class I fork head/HNF-3 gene (HrHNF3-1) of the ascidian Halocynthia roretzi. Zygotic HrHNF3-1 expression was detectable as early as the 16-cell stage, and the transcript was evident in blastomeres of the endoderm, notochord and mesenchyme lineages of the early embryos. After the late gastrula stage, HrHNF3-1 was also expressed in the presumptive spinal cord cells and some brain cells.

Usefulness of ED036 kit for measuring serum PIVKA-II levels in small hepatocellular carcinoma.

As a tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), serum protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) has high specificity, yet its sensitivity is relatively low, marking it less suitable to serve as an adjunct in the diagnosis of small HCC. Recently, the ED036 kit (Eisai, Tokyo, Japan), whose detection limit is approximately ten times superior to that of a conventional kit (Eitest MONOP II, Eisai) has been developed. In this study, serum PIVKA-II levels in serum samples from 83 patients with benign chronic liver diseases (CLD) and 129 patients with HCC were measured with those two kits.

The ascidian genome contains another T-domain gene that is expressed in differentiating muscle and the tip of the tail of the embryo.

The vertebrate Brachyury (T) gene is transiently expressed in nascent and migrating mesoderm, in the differentiating notochord, and in the tail bud, reflecting its independent functions. In contrast, the expression of an ascidian Brachyury gene (As-T) is restricted to differentiating notochord. The present study revealed that the genome of Halocynthia roretzi contains another T-domain gene (As-T2) which encodes a divergent T-domain protein.

A patient with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent resection of the primary lesion 10 years ago and resection of a giant adrenal metastasis 8 and a half years later.

A 56-year-old male consulted us because of a palpable mass and pain of the left flank 8 and a half years after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma of the left lobe about 3 cm in diameter. Ultrasound examination of the abdomen demonstrated a tumor about 10 cm in diameter showing a mosaic of hyperechoic and hypoechoic areas on the upper pole of the left kidney. By angiography, the tumor was found to be supplied mainly by the inferior adrenal artery.

Ultrastructure of intracellular membranous system and intracellular transport of asialoglycoproteins in rat hepatocytes.

The ultrastructure of the intracellular membranous system in rat hepatocytes was observed three dimensionally with a scanning electron microscope using the aldehyde prefix osmium-dimethyl sulfoxide-osmium method. Intracellular organelles were clearly observed in three dimensions, and direct connection of tubular structures with the bile canalicular membrane was clearly seen. The transcellular pathway of asialoglycoproteins in isolated cultured rat hepatocytes was also investigated, by affinity cytochemistry, using gold-conjugated asialofetuin, under a transmission electron microscope.

Structures of OA-6129D and E, new carbapenam antibiotics.

The structures and stereochemistry of OA- 6129D and E, new carbapenam compounds produced by Streptomyces sp. OA-6129, were determined by spectroscopic analysis and chemical transformation.

Deepoxidation of 16-membered epoxyenone macrolide antibiotics. II. Chemical deepoxidation by dissolving metal reduction.

16-Membered epoxyenone macrolide antibiotics were reductively deepoxidized with dissolving metals such as zinc. Angolamycin and rosamicin which have a methyl substituent at C-12 in the epoxyenone structure were deepoxidized, but not isomerized further to the geometric isomers P2 and P3.