Prospective evaluation of PI-RADSv2.1 using multiparametric and biparametric MRI for detecting clinically significant prostate cancer based on MRI/US fusion-guided biopsy.

Purpose: To evaluate the cancer detection rates for each category of Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System version 2.1 (PI-RADSv2.1) using multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and biparametric MRI (bpMRI) based on MRI/ultrasound (US)-fusion biopsy.

[F]FDG PET/CT Findings of Mass-Forming Actinomycosis in an Uncontrolled Diabetic Patient.

We report a case of cervicofacial actinomycosis mimicking malignant sarcoma in a 78-year-old man with diabetes. High lesion uptake and decreased cerebral uptake on [F]FDG PET/CT provide a potentially important diagnostic clue suggesting infectious disease in a poorly controlled diabetic patient.

Endoscopic evaluation technique using a camera port for valve-sparing root reconstruction.

Intraoperative aortic valve evaluation should be accurate in valve-sparing root replacement to minimize postoperative aortic valve regurgitation. Ascending aorta de-clamping and weaning of cardiopulmonary bypass are required in intraoperative transoesophageal echocardiography. Aortic valve endoscopy aids in the magnification of structures and enables image sharing within the operative team.

[Preoperative Evaluation of Saphenous Vein Graft Using Plain Computed Tomography for Endoscopic Saphenous Vein Harvesting].

We report the preoperative evaluation of saphenous vein (SV) graft using plain computed tomography (CT) for endoscopic saphenous vein harvesting (EVH). We made three-dimensional (3D) images of SV by using plain CT images. EVH was performed in 33 patients from July 2019 to September 2020.

[Posterior Mediastinal Cyst Resection during Cardiac Surgery through Median Sternotomy:Report of a Case].

A 47-year-old man presented with hematuria. Computed tomography( CT) showed a posterior mediastinal cyst. Chest magnetic resonance imaging showed a well defined mass with high intensity on T2-weighted images.

[Incidental Diagnosis of Giant Cell Myocarditis at Open Heart Surgery:Report of Case].

Giant cell myocarditis (GCM) is one of the rare diseases that cause fatal heart failure and suspected to be associated with autoimmune disorder. There are few reports that the patients of GCM live long because of their progressive heart failure. We report a rare case of patient who was suspected two long hospitalizations due to heart failure in her childhood and peripartum period, and incidentally diagnosed with GCM by myocardial biopsy performed at the aortic valve replacement and mitral annuloplasty for severe aortic valve regurgitation and moderate mitral regurgitation.

High-dose fludrocortisone therapy was transiently required in a female neonate with 21-hydroxylase deficiency.

For salt-wasting 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD), fludrocortisone (FC) is usually supplemented at 0.05-0.2 mg/d dose.

Conformational Control of [2]Rotaxane by Hydrogen Bond.

A series of [2]rotaxanes with various functional groups in the axle component was synthesized by the oxidative dimerization of alkynes, which is mediated by a macrocyclic phenanthroline-Cu complex. The rotaxanes were fully characterized by spectroscopic methods, and the structure of a rotaxane was determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The interaction between the ring component and the axle component was studied in detail to understand the conformation of the rotaxanes.

[Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting and Mitral Annuloplasty in a Patient with Left Ventricular Noncompaction with Low Ejection Fraction:Report of a Case].

A 71-year-old man who hospitalized frequently for heart failure was referred to our hospital for severe coronary disease with mitral regurgitation. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed marked left ventricular dilatation, low ejection fraction (20%) and moderate mitral regurgitation with leaflet tethering. It also revealed myocardium with prominent trabeculations and deep intertrabecular recesses.

[Aortic Valve Replacement through an Upper Hemisternotomy in an Eldery Patient with Heart Failure:Report of a Case].

Cardiac surgery for elder patients should be minimally invasive because of their frailty and concomitant multiple chronic diseases. We performed aortic valve replacement (AVR) via upper hemisternotomy (UHS) on an 85-year-old patient who suffered from severe aortic regurgitation with dobutamine support. The postoperative course was uneventful.

[A Case of Malignant Lymphoma of the Jejunum That Developed Stenosis and Perforation after a Complete Response to Chemotherapy].

A 57-year-old woman was admitted owing to epigastric pain.Abdominal computed tomography demonstrated a tumor in the origin of the jejunum.After an endoscopic biopsy, we diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Syncope caused by coronary artery spasm without chest pain leading to ventricular fibrillation.

We present a case of syncope caused by coronary artery spasm without chest pain leading to ventricular fibrillation despite of vasodilator therapy with a calcium channel blocker (CCB). A 68-year-old man presented with two episodes of syncope without chest pain. Ergonovine provocation test induced a diffuse spasm in the right coronary artery (RCA) and subsequently, ventricular fibrillation.

Structural basis of UV DNA-damage recognition by the DDB1-DDB2 complex.

Ultraviolet (UV) light-induced pyrimidine photodimers are repaired by the nucleotide excision repair pathway. Photolesions have biophysical parameters closely resembling undamaged DNA, impeding discovery through damage surveillance proteins. The DDB1-DDB2 complex serves in the initial detection of UV lesions in vivo.

Characterization of distamycin A binding to damaged DNA.

We previously reported that distamycin A, a natural antibiotic known as a minor groove binder, could bind to DNA duplexes containing the (6-4) photoproduct formed at its target site, whereas the binding was not observed for duplexes containing the cis-syn cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer in the same sequence context. In this study, we have further analyzed the binding of this drug to lesion-containing duplexes to elucidate its damaged-DNA recognition mechanism. Surface plasmon resonance measurements using various types of DNA showed that distamycin A could bind to several types of lesion-containing DNA.

Characterization of the binding of distamycin A to damaged DNA: a comparison with the DNA recognition of the human DDB protein.

Distamycin A binds to DNA containing the (6-4) photoproduct, a major UV lesion that is recognized by the damaged DNA-binding (DDB) protein in human cells. We analyzed the binding properties of distamycin A and compared the results with those of the DDB protein. Structural change of the DNA duplex was not observed for distamycin A in two types of experiments, whereas the protein induced a large bending of the helix.

Preferential formation of (5S,6R)-thymine glycol for oligodeoxyribonucleotide synthesis and analysis of drug binding to thymine glycol-containing DNA.

We previously reported the chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides containing thymine glycol, a major form of oxidative DNA damage. In the preparation of the phosphoramidite building block, the predominant product of the osmium tetroxide oxidation of protected thymidine was (5R,6S)-thymidine glycol. To obtain the building block of the other isomer, (5S,6R)-thymidine glycol, in an amount sufficient for oligonucleotide synthesis, the Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation (AD) reaction was examined.