Author Correction: Heterochromatin links to centromeric protection by recruiting shugoshin.

An Amendment to this Letter has been published and is linked from the HTML version of this paper.

New Vocal Fold-shortening Procedure: External Approach to Anterior Vocal Fold Plication.

Introduction: We believe that our new procedure offers a useful external approach to anterior vocal fold plication. Vocal cord shortening by laryngomicrosurgery (LMS) involves plication of the anterior commissure, but this difficult procedure requires high-level skills. Dehiscence of the plicated location may occur postoperatively.

Risk of haemolytic uraemic syndrome caused by shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli infection in adult women in Japan.

Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections usually cause haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) equally in male and female children. This study investigated the localization of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) in human brain and kidney tissues removed from forensic autopsy cases in Japan. A fatal case was used as a positive control in an outbreak of diarrhoeal disease caused by STEC O157:H7 in a kindergarten in Urawa in 1990.

Competition between human cells by entosis.

Human carcinomas are comprised of complex mixtures of tumor cells that are known to compete indirectly for nutrients and growth factors. Whether tumor cells could also compete directly, for example by elimination of rivals, is not known. Here we show that human cells can directly compete by a mechanism of engulfment called entosis.

The relationship between dioxin congeners in the breast milk of Vietnamese women and sister chromatid exchange.

The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between dioxin concentrations in breast milk and the sister chromatid exchange (SCE) frequency in women from herbicide-sprayed and non sprayed areas. Blood samples were taken from 21 women with high TCDD (tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) levels from sprayed areas, 23 women with moderate TCDD levels from sprayed areas, and 19 women from non sprayed areas to determine their SCE frequency. The SCE frequencies for the high and moderate TCDD groups from the sprayed area and for the non sprayed area group were 2.

p120RasGAP is a mediator of rho pathway activation and tumorigenicity in the DLD1 colorectal cancer cell line.

KRAS is mutated in ∼40% of colorectal cancer (CRC), and there are limited effective treatments for advanced KRAS mutant CRC. Therefore, it is crucial that downstream mediators of oncogenic KRAS continue to be studied. We identified p190RhoGAP as being phosphorylated in the DLD1 CRC cell line, which expresses a heterozygous KRAS G13D allele, and not in DKO4 in which the mutant allele has been deleted by somatic recombination.

Site-specific tumor grading system in colorectal cancer: multicenter pathologic review of the value of quantifying poorly differentiated clusters.

The study aimed to determine the value of a novel site-specific grading system based on quantifying poorly differentiated clusters (PDC; Grade(PDC)) in colorectal cancer (CRC). A multicenter pathologic review involving 12 institutions was performed on 3243 CRC cases (stage I, 583; II, 1331; III, 1329). Cancer clusters of ≥5 cancer cells and lacking a gland-like structure (PDCs) were counted under a ×20 objective lens in a field containing the maximum clusters.

[Primary carcinoma of the female urethra: report of 4 cases].

We experienced 4 cases of primary carcinoma of the female urethra during 1998 to 2011. All of the cases were diagnosed primary urethral cancer according to tumor biopsy, cystoscopy, and computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Patients were between 66 to 92 years of age at the time of presentation.

Suppressor of cytokine signal 3 and IL28 genetic variation predict the viral response to peginterferon and ribavirin.

Aim:   The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship among the expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS 3) in the liver, the SNPs in the IL28B locus, and the outcome of interferon therapy.

Methods:   Prior to interferon treatment, we immunostained 67 liver specimens from chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients who were receiving peginterferon alpha-2b/ribavirin therapy for suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3), and compared the expression of SOCS3, IL28 polymorphisms and other clinical factors between the patients and compared their eventual outcomes.

Results:   Significant differences between the low SOCS3 group and high SOCS3 group were found in age, as well as in the platelet, transaminase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase levels.

[Predictors of operative blood loss in patients undergoing small incision radical prostatectomy].

We performed 82 cases of small incision radical prostatectomy from July, 2003 to September, 2009. There were 38 cases of cT1c, 41 cases of cT2, and 3 cases of cT3. Mean operative time was 222 +/- 31.

Adiponectin enhances insulin sensitivity by increasing hepatic IRS-2 expression via a macrophage-derived IL-6-dependent pathway.

Insulin resistance is often associated with impeded insulin signaling due either to decreased concentrations or functional modifications of crucial signaling molecules including insulin receptor substrates (IRS) in the liver. Many actions of adiponectin, a well-recognized antidiabetic adipokine, are currently attributed to the activation of two critical molecules downstream of AdipoR1 and R2: AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα). However, the direct effects of adiponectin on insulin signaling molecules remain poorly understood.

Influences of Allocating HIV/AIDS Specialized Nurses on Clinical Outcomes in Japan.

Purpose: This retrospective cohort study was conducted to demonstrate how allocation of nurses specialized in HIV care influences clinical outcomes of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with HIV (PLWH).

Methods: The medical records of 116 PLWH who started ART between January 2002 and December 2004 were analyzed. Occurrence of viral suppression and viral relapse after suppression achievement and their time from baseline were observed as clinical outcomes related to ART.

¹¹C-choline and F-18 FDG PET/CT images of hemangioblastoma.

We present the F-18 FDG and ¹¹C-choline PET/CT images obtained in 2 cases of hemangioblastoma. Hemangioblastoma is a highly vascular benign tumor that typically arises in the cerebellum or spine. The characteristic findings of a hemangioblastoma on both CT and MR include a peripherally located cerebellar lesion with a central cystic region and a peripherally enhanced nodule.

Habitual use of warm-water cleaning toilets is related to the aggravation of vaginal microflora.

Aim: Warm-water cleaning toilets, or ‘bidet toilets’, are one of the most popular household goods in Japan. However, a recent large-scale survey raised questions about the relationship between bidet toilet use and bacterial vaginitis as reflecting bacterial vaginosis with inflammation. Recently, gynecologists have expressed concerns about the increase in aggravated vaginal microflora in habitual bidet users.

Murine typhus in two travelers returning from Bali, Indonesia: an underdiagnosed disease.

Two Japanese travelers from Bali were diagnosed with murine typhus in Japan during the same period. Although one had only mild illness, the other experienced liver and kidney dysfunction. Murine typhus may be missed not only in endemic areas around the world, but also in travelers, especially those returning from marine resorts in these areas.

[A survey of perioperative asthmatic attack among patients with bronchial asthma underwent general anesthesia].

Background: We investigated the risk factor of perioperative asthmatic attack and effectiveness of preventing treatment for asthmatic attack before operation.

Methods: We performed retrospective chart review of one hundred eleven patients with asthma underwent general anesthesia and surgical intervention from January 2006 to October 2007 in our hospital.

Results: The rate of perioperative asthmatic attack were as follows; 10.

Association of resistin polymorphism, its serum levels and prevalence of stroke in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients.

Unlabelled: Aims/Introduction:  Resistin, an inflammatory cytokine, might be involved in the development of atherosclerosis. In a recent paper, we showed that resistin polymorphism might be a risk marker for stroke susceptibility in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients. We tested whether the serum resistin levels might be also a risk marker of stroke independently from RETN polymorphism.

VEGF signaling is disrupted in the hearts of mice lacking estrogen receptor alpha.

Estrogen has widely been credited for cardioprotection in women. However, the exact mechanisms that underlie these beneficial estrogenic effects are not completely understood. Here, we sought to: 1) elucidate estrogen's influence on levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a key regulator of cardiovascular processes, and components of its basic signaling machinery (VEGF receptors, Akt, and eNOS) in the heart, and 2) delineate the specific estrogen receptor signaling pathway that mediates its beneficial effects using mice lacking either estrogen receptor alpha or estrogen receptor beta.

Association of weight change in different periods of adulthood with risk of type 2 diabetes in Japanese men and women: the Japan Public Health Center-Based Prospective Study.

Background: Few studies have examined the impact of weight change in different periods of lifetime on type 2 diabetes risk, and the association of weight loss with type 2 diabetes is unclear. We prospectively investigated the association of weight change since age 20 y and that during middle-to-late adulthood with the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Subjects were 52,014 men and women aged 45-75 y who participated in the Japan Public Health Center-Based Prospective Study and had no history of diabetes.

Deficiency of chemokine receptor CCR1 causes osteopenia due to impaired functions of osteoclasts and osteoblasts.

Chemokines are characterized by the homing activity of leukocytes to targeted inflammation sites. Recent research indicates that chemokines play more divergent roles in various phases of pathogenesis as well as immune reactions. The chemokine receptor, CCR1, and its ligands are thought to be involved in inflammatory bone destruction, but their physiological roles in the bone metabolism in vivo have not yet been elucidated.

[Altered gut bacterial flora and organic acids in feces of patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation with quinolone-based antibacterial prophylaxis].

Gastrointestinal toxicity and various infections are serious problems associated with high-dose chemotherapy. Antibacterial chemoprophylaxis reduces the incidence of gram-negative bacterial infection; however, it may affect the normal intestinal flora and induce drug resistance in organisms. We evaluated the chronological changes in fecal bacteria and organic acids in 6 patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation with quinolone-based chemoprophylaxis.

Role of radiotherapy for local control of asymptomatic adrenal metastasis from lung cancer.

Introduction: Several studies have reported improved survival after adrenalectomy in patients with adrenal metastases from lung cancer. In this study, we evaluated the clinical results of radiotherapy performed for local control in patients with this disease.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 19 patients with adrenal metastasis from lung cancer, who were treated by radiation therapy between 1999 and 2008.

Blood pressure and hypertension are associated with 7 loci in the Japanese population.

Background: Two consortium-based genome-wide association studies have recently identified robust and significant associations of common variants with systolic and diastolic blood pressures in populations of European descent, warranting further investigation in populations of non-European descent.

Methods And Results: We examined the associations at 27 loci reported by the genome-wide association studies on Europeans in a screening panel of Japanese subjects (n=1526) and chose 11 loci showing association signals (1-tailed test in the screening, P<0.3) for an extensive replication study with a follow-up panel of 3 Japanese general-population cohorts (n < or =24 300).