Factors influencing lateral margin diagnosis challenges in Barrett's esophageal cancer: a bicenter retrospective study in Japan.

Background/aims: We aimed to clarify the clinicopathological characteristics and causes of Barrett's esophageal adenocarcinoma (BEA) with unclear demarcation.

Methods: We reviewed BEA cases between January 2010 and August 2022. The lesions were classified into the following two groups: clear demarcation (CD group) and unclear demarcation (UD group).

Efficacy and safety of endoscopic ultrasound-guided hepaticogastrostomy for biliary drainage in hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective study from Japan.

Background/aims: Biliary obstruction drainage in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with symptom palliation, improved access to chemotherapy, and improved survival. Stent placement and exchange via endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography biliary drainage risk traversing the HCC, a hypervascular tumor and causing bleeding. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided hepaticogastrostomy (EUS-HGS) potentially prevents procedure-related bleeding.

Improved visibility of palisade vessels within Barrett's esophagus using red dichromatic imaging: a retrospective cross-sectional study in Japan.

Background/aims: Visualization of palisade vessels (PVs) in Barrett's esophagus is crucial for proper assessment. This study aimed to determine whether red dichromatic imaging (RDI) improves PV visibility compared with white-light imaging (WLI) and narrow-band imaging (NBI).

Methods: Five expert and trainee endoscopists evaluated the PV visibility in Barrett's esophagus using WLI, NBI, and RDI on 66 images from 22 patients.

Gray Matter Asymmetry Alterations in Patients With Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3: A Voxel-Based Morphometric Comparison Study.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the whole-brain asymmetry changes in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) and their association with movement disorders.

Methods: Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to assess asymmetry in gray matter (GM) volume in 83 genetically confirmed SCA3 patients and 83 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs). The asymmetry index (AI) was analyzed for partial correlation with disease severity, as measured by the Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) and International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS).

School-Based Fluoride Mouth-Rinse Programs and Dental Caries Treatment Expenditure: An Ecological Study of the NDB Open Data Japan.

Objectives: The prevalence of dental caries is high in Japan, leading to a huge burden of overall expenditure on dental caries treatment for the population. School-based fluoride mouth-rinse (S-FMR) has been implemented as a public health intervention. However, its cost-effectiveness remains unclear, where universal health insurance covers a broad range of dental treatments at relatively low cost.

Antifungal Treatment for Japanese Patients with Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis.

Introduction: Despite the ongoing efforts to refine treatment durations and methods for patients with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, the clinical use of antifungal agents remains unclear. This study aimed to describe the treatment practices, trajectories, and prognoses of newly diagnosed patients with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis.

Methods: Data from a longitudinal database from hospitals in Japan was used.

The role of surgical approach in recovery from extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: hemihepatectomy vs. pancreatoduodenectomy.

Background: This study compared short- and mid-term outcomes of hemihepatectomy (HH) and pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) in patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, focusing on surgical outcomes, body composition, and nutritional status.

Method: A retrospective review was conducted to assess short-term outcomes, including operative time, blood loss, complications, and mortality. Body composition and nutritional parameters were analyzed preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively.

Tumor infiltration of inactive CD8 + T cells was associated with poor prognosis in Gastric Cancer.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) shows limited response to immune checkpoint inhibitors due to its complex tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). This study explores the functions of various immune cells in the complex TIME in GC.

Methods: We assessed CD8 + T-cell infiltration of GC tissues by immunohistochemistry, and performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of tumor and normal tissues from 34 patients with GC.

Current practice and awareness of perioperative do-not-attempt-resuscitation orders: a single-center retrospective survey and complete questionnaire survey.

Purpose: We investigated whether patients who have been issued a do-not-attempt-resuscitation order (DNAR) preoperatively (hereafter, DNAR patients) are informed of the DNAR code change when they undergo anesthesia. We also conducted a survey of the awareness of medical staff regarding perioperative DNARs, and investigated the current situation at a single-center in Japan.

Methods: For DNAR patients managed by anesthesiologists from January 2019 to September 2022, we retrospectively investigated whether the patient was informed of the DNAR code change or the DNAR was automatically suspended without explanation.

A practical, biomimetic, one-pot synthesis of firefly luciferin.

The bioluminescence reaction of firefly luciferase with D-luciferin has become an indispensable imaging technique in modern biology and life science experiments, but the high cost of D-luciferin is limiting its further application. Here, we report a practical, one-pot synthesis of D-luciferin from p-benzoquinone (p-BQ), L-cysteine methyl ester and D-cysteine, with an overall yield of 46%. Our route, which is six steps in length and proceeds via 2-cyano-6-hydroxybenzothiazole, is inspired by the mechanistic study of our previously reported biomimetic, non-enzymatic, one-pot formation of L-luciferin from p-BQ and L-cysteine.

Discrepancy between radiography and magnetic resonance imaging in Japanese Investigation Committee classification type C osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

Purpose: The Japanese Investigation Committee (JIC) classification for osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is based on the necrotic area relative to the weight-bearing surface on anteroposterior (AP) radiographs or central coronal MRI. Discrepancies exist between these methods, potentially related to the AP necrosis area. This study evaluated these discrepancies and the extent of AP necrotic lesions.

Elevated serum neprilysin levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: hepatic oxidative stress as an underlying mechanism.

Background: Neprilysin (NEP) is a metalloprotease that has become a therapeutic target for the treatment of heart failure and hypertension. However, the significance of NEP in chronic liver diseases has rarely been investigated. In this study, we investigated the serum NEP levels in patients with chronic liver disease and their relationship with clinical parameters.

Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis of Trapezoidal and Arc-Shaped Membranes Mimicking the Organ of Corti.

In a previous study [H. Shintaku et al., Sensors and Actuators A: Physical 158 (2010): 183-192], an artificially developed auditory sensor device showed a frequency selectivity in the range from 6.

Enhancing nature's palette through the epigenetic breeding of flower color in chrysanthemum.

Flower color is an important character of ornamental plants and one of the main target traits for variety innovation. We previously identified a CmMYB6 epigenetic allele that affects the flower color in chrysanthemum, and changes in flower color are caused by the DNA methylation level of this gene. However, it is still unknown which DNA methyltransferases are involved in modifying the DNA methylation levels of this gene.

Japanese clinical practice guidelines for oral cancer, 2023.

The Japanese Society of Oral Oncology and Japanese Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons have jointly developed clinical practice guidelines for oral cancer (oral squamous cell carcinoma) to improve and standardize the quality of oral cancer treatment in Japan. The first, second, and third editions were published in 2009, 2013, and 2019, respectively, and the 2023 edition was recently developed. In the development of the 2023 edition, 60 clinical questions (CQs) were listed.

Reappraisal of carcinoma in situ residue at the bile duct margin: a single-center review of 681 patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: A histologically involved surgical margin (R1) is often observed after resection for cholangiocarcinoma. Compared with a negative margin (R0), R1 with invasive carcinoma (R1inv) markedly worsens survival, whereas the prognostic effect of R1 with carcinoma in situ (R1cis) remains controversial.

Methods: Patients who underwent resection for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma between 2002 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed.

Concomitant Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy and Pyelolithotomy for Small Renal Cell Carcinoma and Partial Staghorn Calculus in the Same Kidney: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Management of a small renal mass and a renal stone in the same kidney presents several dilemmas. Simultaneous robot-assisted partial nephrectomy and pyelolithotomy via the same surgical access site is a reasonable approach in a patient with both entities. An 80-year-old woman was diagnosed with a 2.

[A Case of Gangrenous Cholecystitis Complicated by Ascending Colon Cancer, Successfully Treated with Two-Stage Surgery].

An 80-year-old woman with epigastric pain and weight loss presented to our hospital with cancer of the ascending colon and cholelithiasis. Initially hospitalized for a suspected gallstone attack, she later developed gangrenous cholecystitis. She underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which revealed abscess formation and necrosis extending into the gallbladder duct.

[Invasive Ductal Carcinoma with Total Infarction and Necrosis-Case Report and Literature Review].

A 71-year-old woman visited our hospital with pain and itching in her left breast which had commenced the day before admission. On palpation, we detected a 2.0 cm nodule, indicative of an elastic and hard tumor located centrally in the left breast.