Low-dose cytarabine and aclarubicin in combination with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for elderly patients with previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia.

We evaluated the efficacy of low-dose cytarabine and aclarubicin combined with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (CAG) in elderly patients with previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia. Patients aged between 60 and 70 years who were not eligible for standard chemotherapy protocols and patients aged over 70 years were all registered. Thirty-three of 68 patients (49%) achieved remission.

Abdominal visceral fat accumulation is associated with hippocampus volume in non-dementia patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Obesity is associated with cognitive dysfunction, for which changes in the hippocampus plausibly play a pivotal role. We tested the hypothesis that an elevated level of visceral fat accumulation (VFA) correlates with hippocampus volume and insulin resistance in non-dementia patients with type 2 diabetes. Subjects included 48 non-dementia patients with type 2 diabetes, who were divided into two groups, high VFA group (mean+/-standard deviation: age=65+/-6 years, n=30) and normal VFA group (65+/-5 years, n=18).

Effect of water on structure of hydrophilic imidazolium-based ionic liquid.

The state of water in room-temperature ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMI(+)BF(4)(-)), has been investigated by measurements of absorption and desorption isotherms, attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy, and (2)H NMR relaxation method. The absorption enthalpies of water for the ionic liquid were estimated from the absorption isotherms. The enthalpies in the water mole fraction range of x(w) View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The ratio between metastatic and examined lymph nodes is an independent prognostic factor for patients with resectable middle and distal bile duct carcinoma.

Background: The lymph node ratio, defined as the ratio between the number of lymph node metastasis and the total number of lymph nodes examined, has been reported to be an important prognostic factor in other gastrointestinal carcinomas except middle and distal bile duct carcinomas.

Methods: Between 1991 and 2004, 62 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for middle and distal bile duct carcinoma were retrospectively analyzed concerning prognostic factors.

Results: The median number of lymph nodes examined was 12 (range 5 to 38).

Patterns of failure and influence of potential prognostic factors after surgery in transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract.

Background: We investigated the long-term outcome of upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) after surgery.

Methods: The study population comprised 114 surgically treated patients with upper urinary tract TCC treated at Jikei University Hospital between March 1990 and December 2004. All these patients underwent radical surgery without any type of neoadjuvant therapy.

Expression levels of p18INK4C modify the cellular efficacy of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors via regulation of Mcl-1 expression in tumor cell lines.

Because cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) play a pivotal role in cancer progression, the development of CDK inhibitors has attracted attention in antitumor therapy. However, despite significant preclinical and clinical developments, CDK inhibition biomarkers for predicting efficacy against certain cancers in individual patients have not been identified. Here, we characterized a macrocyclic quinoxalin-2-one CDK inhibitor, compound A, and identified a gene biomarker for predicting its efficacy.

Visceral fat accumulation is a significant risk factor for white matter lesions in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients.

Background: The presence of white matter lesions (WML) is an important prognostic factor for the development of stroke. The elevated visceral fat accumulation (VFA) has been reported to be closely related to the development of atherosclerosis. This preliminary study was therefore designed to test the hypothesis that the presence of WML correlates with VFA and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic patients not receiving insulin treatment.

Amperometric determination of choline with enzyme immobilized in a hybrid mesoporous membrane.

Choline sensor is successfully prepared by using immobilized enzyme, i.e., choline oxidase (ChOx) within a hybrid mesoporous membrane with 12 nm pore diameter (F127M).

Current and future perspectives on the TARGET system: the registration system for Glivec established by the JSH.

Since hematology is a highly specialized field, an individual physician may not have much direct treatment experience with a given disease. Therefore, the Japanese Society of Hematology (JSH) has discussed establishing a registry of hematologic disorders, in order to contribute to improving the quality of treatments and clinical outcomes in this field. As a first step, the Timely and Appropriate Registration System for GLIVEC Therapy (TARGET), a registration system for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients treated with imatinib, was established in October 2003.

Comparison of anteroposterior lip positions of the most-favored facial profiles of Korean and Japanese people.

Introduction: A consensus on the contemporary perception of beauty might have been developed between different countries because of increased worldwide access to variations in pleasing facial profiles. The objectives of this study were to determine, assess, and compare the ranges of values of the most-favored facial profiles rated by young Korean and Japanese adults.

Methods: Average profiles were constructed from the profiles of 30 Japanese men and women with normal occlusions.

Bilateral pedicle stress fracture in a patient with lumbar spinal stenosis: a case report.

Study Design: A case of bilateral pedicle stress fracture in a patient with lumbar spinal stenosis is reported, and the literature is reviewed.

Objectives: To report a rare case of bilateral pedicle stress fracture without a history of major trauma or surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: Bilateral pedicle fracture is a rare entity and few cases have been reported in the literature.

Functional brain mapping during recitation of Buddhist scriptures and repetition of the Namu Amida Butsu: a study in experienced Japanese monks.

Background: The invocation Namu Amida Butsu (Nembutsu), voices the hope of rebirth into Amida's Pure Land. In the Nembutsu, Buddhists imagine that they are absorbed into Amida's Pure Land. Shiritori, a Japanese word chain game, is a common task used to activate language related regions in Japanese.

A novel mediator-polymer-modified anode for microbial fuel cells.

A high-performance anode system based on a combination of mediator-polymer-modified graphite felt and bacteria capable of reducing extracellular materials shows significant potential for practical use in microbial fuel cells (MFCs).

The role of microalbuminuria and insulin resistance as significant risk factors for white matter lesions in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients.

Objective: The presence of white matter lesions (WML) is an important prognostic factor for the development of stroke. Microalbuminuria, which is associated with diabetes, has been flagged as a novel predictor for cerebrovascular events. This preliminary study was therefore designed to test the hypothesis that the presence of WML correlates with microalbuminuria and insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetic mellitus (DM) not receiving insulin treatment.

Thoracic myelopathy due to ossification of the yellow ligament in young baseball pitchers.

Study Design: Case series.

Objectives: To report rare cases of thoracic myelopathy due to ossification of the yellow ligament (OYL) in relatively young baseball pitchers and show clinical evidence of the role of dynamic mechanical stress on the development of OYL.

Summary Of Background Data: The pathogenesis of OYL is still unclear.

Fas ligand expression on human nucleus pulposus cells decreases with disc degeneration processes.

Background: The intervertebral disc has been reported to be an immunologically privileged environment, possibly mediated by Fas ligand (FasL) expression. On the other hand, recent studies have shown the infiltration of host immune cells into the degenerated disc, which may indicate the failure of the immune-privilege feature of the disc with degeneration. However, the relationship between FasL expression and disc degeneration is still unclear.

High-contrast, high-intensity laser pulse generation using a nonlinear preamplifier in a Ti:sapphire laser system.

We report a high-contrast, high-intensity Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse amplification system that incorporates a nonlinear preamplifier based on optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA). By cooling the Ti:sapphire crystal in the final amplifier down to 77 K, the chirped-pulses are amplified to 2.9 J at a 10 Hz repetition rate without a thermal lensing effect.

Development of a compact optical system for microarray scanning using a DVD pickup head.

We present a compact optical system using a commercially available DVD pickup head for microarray scanning. Our instrument successfully provides a low-cost, compact, and simple microarray scanning optical system in comparison to conventional ones due to the use of small-sized optical components and the implementation of a simple autofocusing system using an embedded voice coil motor. The performance of this system was validated by using a microarray slide with spots of fluorescent dyes.

Stochastic approach in the efficient design of the direct-binary-search algorithm for hologram synthesis.

An algorithm incorporating a stochastic approach is proposed for reducing the computation time of the direct-binary-search algorithm for hologram synthesis. Two variants of this new algorithm are considered for a number of hologram-generation problems. Both variants can reduce the computation time significantly with a very small increase in the reconstruction error on average.

Error dependence of quantized kinoform reconstruction on the position of the desired image.

Two-dimensional Fourier transform kinoforms can be calculated by use of a discrete Fourier transform. It is well known that the off-axis reconstruction has lower reconstruction error than the on-axis one. Here we make what to our knowledge is a new analysis on the effect of phase quantization in the Fourier domain.

Error reduction of quantized kinoforms by means of increasing the kinoform size.

There are two kinds of method that utilize the redundancy in kinoform domains for reducing the reconstruction errors of quantized kinoforms. One is the iterative-dummy area (IDA) method, which increases the kinoform size indirectly by the addition of a dummy area to the desired image. The other is the interlacing technique (IT), which increases the kinoform size directly by the interlacing of a number of subkinoforms whose sizes are the same as the desired image.

Hyperhomocysteinaemia is a significant risk factor for white matter lesions in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients.

The presence of white matter lesions (WML) is an important prognostic factor for the development of stroke. Plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), which increases with diabetes, has been flagged as a novel predictor for cerebrovascular events. We tested the hypothesis that the presence of WML correlates with tHcy and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic patients not receiving insulin treatment.

Two-stage decompression, reduction, and interbody fusion for lumbosacral spondyloptosis through a posterior approach using Ilizarov external fixation.

The suggested methods of treatment for spondyloptosis have included benign neglect, in situ fusion and variations, decompression and fusion, and vertebrectomy (the Gaines procedure). On review of the literature, the authors found no previous report in the English-language literature in which external fixation was used in the treatment of spondyloptosis. This 33-year-old woman with spondyloptosis underwent a 2-stage operation involving decompression, reduction, and posterior fusion in which an Ilizarov external fixator and transpedicular fixation system were used.