[Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Nab-Paclitaxel plus Ramucirumab Therapy in Patients with Unresectable Advanced or Recurrent Gastric Cancer].

We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and feasibility of the combination of nab-paclitaxel plus ramucirumab(nab-PTX plus RAM)for the treatment of unresectable or recurrent gastric cancer. Sixteen patients received nab-PTX plus RAM. The overall response rate was 37.

Thrombosis of a basilar perforator aneurysm associated with pontine infarction in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that can affect multiple organ systems. Cerebral aneurysm formation is a rare central nervous system manifestation of SLE and tends to present as subarachnoid hemorrhage. Here, we report a 34-year-old woman with SLE complicated by a thrombosed aneurysm that had arose at the origin of a perforating artery, thereby causing obstruction of the artery and subsequent development of pontine infarction.

Solvent-sensitive circularly polarized luminescent compounds bearing a 9,9'-spirobi[fluorene] skeleton.

A series of chiral 9,9'-spirobi[fluorene] (SBF) derivatives with diphenylamino donor and cyano acceptor units were designed as a new family of circularly polarized luminescent materials. The designed SBF derivatives were successfully synthesized from 7,7'-dibromo-9,9'-spirobi[fluorene]-2,2'-diol. No racemization occurred in the synthetic sequence.

Pharmacological Profile of Naldemedine, a Peripherally Acting -Opioid Receptor Antagonist: Comparison with Naloxone and Naloxegol.

Opioid-induced constipation (OIC), a typical side effect of opioids, is due to activation of the -opioid receptors in the enteric nervous system. Peripherally acting -opioid receptor antagonists (PAMORAs) can reverse OIC by inhibiting the peripheral action of opioids without affecting centrally mediated analgesia. Naldemedine is a PAMORA with potent antagonist activity against -, -, and -opioid receptors.

[A Case of Peritoneal Recurrence of HCC Who Achieved Long-Term Survival after a Multidisciplinary Treatment].

The treatment for peritoneal dissemination of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)remains to be established. Therefore, peritoneal recurrence ofHCC has a poor prognosis. Here, we report a case ofperitoneal recurrence ofHCC after a liver resection.

Turbo Spin-echo Diffusion-weighted Imaging Compared with Single-shot Echo-planar Diffusion-weighted Imaging: Image Quality and Diagnostic Performance When Differentiating between Ductal Carcinoma in situ and Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.

Purpose: To compare the image quality between turbo spin-echo (TSE)-diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and single-shot echo-planar imaging (EPI)-DWI, and to verify the diagnostic performance of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) parameters of the two techniques by using histogram analysis in terms of differentiation between ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) lesions.

Methods: Ninety-four women with 94 lesions diagnosed as breast cancer by surgery underwent IRB-approved preoperative magnetic resonance imaging, including TSE and EPI-DWI with b-values of 50 and 850 s/mm. Twenty lesions were identified as DCIS and 74 as IDC.

Effects of denture adhesives and mouth moisturizers to human oral fibroblast and human keratinocyte cells using direct and indirect cell culture systems.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of commercialized denture adhesives and mouth moisturizers using direct and indirect cell cultures for in vitro examinations with human fibroblast and epithelial cells. Denture adhesives (Faston, Poligrip Powder, New Poligrip Free, Tafugurippu Kurimu, Polident Adhesive, Tafugurippu Tomei) and mouth moisturizers (Concool Mouth Gel, Biotene Oral Balance Gel) were subjected to live and dead detection and pH level determination. The mouth moisturizers showed higher cytotoxicity effects comparing with control on every cell cultures and cells, and pH level did not show any significant differences.

Relationship between decreased cerebral blood flow and amnesia after microsurgery for anterior communicating artery aneurysm.

Objective: Postoperative amnesia after surgery for anterior communicating artery aneurysm might be associated with the damage of the basal forebrain. Our purpose was to verify whether decreased regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in basal forebrain could be related to the degree of postoperative amnesia.

Methods: Regional voxel rCBF data analyzed using three-dimensional stereotactic surface projection on I-IMP-SPECT were compared between ten patients with postoperative amnesia and 13 normal subjects.

Clinical implication of myocardial FDG uptake pattern in oncologic PET: retrospective comparison study with stress myocardial perfusion imaging as the reference standard.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical implication of the myocardial FDG uptake patterns by comparing with the results of stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) as the reference standard.

Methods: By reviewing the medical records, 86 pairs of stress MPI and FDG PET/CT of 84 patients who underwent stress MPI and oncologic FDG PET/CT in 1 month were included in this study. The patterns of the myocardial FDG uptake were classified into five patterns such as 'low', 'diffuse', 'basal ring', 'focal high', and 'focal defect on diffuse high'.

Apparent Diffusion Coefficient in the Resolution of Renal Ischemia after Angioplasty on Diffusion-weighted Imaging: Renal Artery Stenosis Caused by Progressive Thrombosis in Residual Chronic Aortic Dissection.

We report a case in which diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) demonstrated renal artery stenosis-related renal ischemia and the therapeutic efficacy of revascularization. The patient was a 73-year-old man, who underwent descending thoracic aortic replacement due to DeBakey IIIb chronic aortic dissection, and who showed progressive renal dysfunction due to right renal artery stenosis caused by false lumen thrombosis. DWI demonstrated a decreased apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the right kidney, indicating renal ischemia.

High-dose dexamethasone therapy as the initial treatment for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

There is a controversy which short term high dose dexamethasone therapy (HDD) or standard dose prednisolone therapy as the initial treatment leads to long term efficacy in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) patients. We conducted a multicenter, prospective trial to determine the efficacy and safety of short-term HDD in ITP patients aged 18-80 years with platelet counts of < 20 × 10/l, or < 50 × 10/l and bleeding symptoms. The primary endpoints are the proportion of complete response (CR) plus partial response (R) on day 180 after the completion of the 46-day HDD.

Clinical investigation of pituitary incidentalomas: A two-center study.

Recent advances in imaging technology resulted in an increase in pituitary incidentalomas (PIs) detection. PIs were reported to be present in 1.6% persons with magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.

4D-flow MRI assessment of blood flow before and after endovascular intervention in a patient with pulmonary hypertension due to isolated pulmonary artery involvement in large vessel vasculitis.

A 43-year-old woman presented with dyspnea during exertion and lower leg edema. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography images demonstrated extensive proximal narrowing in the right main pulmonary artery with thickening and enhancement. Right heart catheterization revealed the presence of precapillary pulmonary hypertension with a mean pulmonary arterial pressure of 45 mm Hg.

Differences between predictive factors for early neurological deterioration due to hemorrhagic and ischemic insults following intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator.

Early neurological deterioration (END) following intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) treatment is a serious clinical event that can be caused by hemorrhagic or ischemic insult. We investigated the differences in predictive factors for END due to hemorrhagic and END due to ischemic insults. Consecutive patients from four hospitals who received 0.

Evaluation of viscoelastic properties, hardness, and glass transition temperature of soft denture liners and tissue conditioner.

Soft denture liners and tissue conditioners are widely used for the denture patients to cushion masticatory force and condition abused tissues, respectively. This study assessed methods for the evaluation of the viscoelasticity and glass transition temperature (T) of the silicone permanent soft liner, acrylic permanent soft liner, and tissue conditioner. Three rheological parameters of storage modulus (E'), loss modulus (E''), and loss tangent ([Formula: see text]), T, and hardness were determined using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the Shore A0 hardness test.

Modified diffusion-weighted imaging-Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score including deep white matter lesions predicts symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage following intravenous thrombolysis.

The Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (ASPECTS) is widely used for the assessment of early ischemic changes (EICs) before thrombolysis. However, for symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) following intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA), the prediction abilities of CT-ASPECTS, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)-ASPECTS, and DWI-ASPECTS including EICs in deep white matter (DWI-ASPECTS + W) are unclear. We investigated associations between each score and sICH following intravenous rt-PA.

Association of the incidence of venous air embolism on coronary computed tomography angiography with the intravenous access route preparation process.

Venous air embolism (VAE) can be observed in the right heart system on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), following injection of contrast media with a power injector system. Although most VAEs are mostly asymptomatic, they may result in paradoxical air embolism (PAE).To evaluate whether the incidence of VAE on coronary CT angiography is associated with the process of preparation of the intravenous access route.

Pediatric directors' perception of clinical research education in Japan.

Background: Pediatric clinical research in Japan has declined recently, and a new policy requiring manuscripts of residents for the pediatric board examination was established in 2017. However, pediatric faculties appear to be confused about research education in residencies.

Methods: Questionnaires on research activities in residencies were distributed during the spring of 2018 to 500 pediatric directors in all educational hospitals in Japan.

Plasmonic Silver Nanoprism-Induced Emissive Mode Control between Fluorescence and Phosphorescence of a Phosphorescent Palladium Porphyrin Derivative.

We have succeeded in significantly enhancing fluorescence from intrinsically phosphorescent palladium octaethylporphyrin (Pd-porphyrin) that has an intersystem crossing efficiency of ∼1 by using silver nanoprisms (AgPRs). This was achieved by controlling the wavelength of the localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance of AgPRs and the distance between the Pd-porphyrin molecules and the AgPR surfaces. In addition to enhancing phosphorescence by spectrally overlapping the phosphorescence band with the LSP resonance band, tuning the LSP wavelength to approximately 520 nm led to the appearance of a new emission band around the wavelength corresponding to the fluorescent radiation.

Comparison of calcineurin inhibitors in combination with conventional methotrexate, reduced methotrexate, or mycophenolate mofetil for prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease after umbilical cord blood transplantation.

Umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) is a curative treatment for hematological malignancies. However, appropriate prophylaxis against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), aimed at obtaining rapid and stable engraftment and avoiding toxicity, remains controversial in UCBT. We retrospectively compared outcomes in 409 patients who received calcineurin inhibitors (CIs) plus conventional-dose methotrexate (conv-MTX/CIs, n = 77; methotrexate, 10 mg/m on day 1, 7 mg/m on days 3 and 6) with those who received CIs plus reduced-dose methotrexate (reduced-MTX/CIs, n = 209; methotrexate, 5 mg/m or 5 mg/body on days 1, 3, and 6) or CIs with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF/CIs, n = 123) for GVHD prophylaxis after UCBT.

Use of cellulose nanofibers as a denture immersing solution.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) solution on the mechanical and biological properties of denture base resins (DBR). Two types of CNFs obtained from bamboo (BB) and needle-leaved (NB) trees were used in this study. We prepared 18 different CNF solutions based on their fibrillation (A-low, B-middle, and C-high) and concentration (0.