Treatment strategy for successful hepatic resection of icteric liver.

Background: The treatment strategy for jaundiced patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HC) is not well established. In this study, we evaluate the feasibility of our perioperative protocol for jaundiced patients with HC.

Methods: Twenty patients with HC who underwent hepatic resection at our institute were enrolled, and patients were divided into icteric(n=6) and normal(n=14) group.

Frequent downregulation of LRRC26 by epigenetic alterations is involved in the malignant progression of triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), defined as breast cancer lacking estrogen- and progesterone‑receptor expression and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) amplification, is a heterogeneous disease. RNA-sequencing analysis of 15 TNBC specimens and The Cancer Genome Atlas-TNBC dataset analysis identified the frequent downregulation of leucine-rich repeat-containing 26 (LRRC26), which negatively regulates nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling, in TNBC tissues. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and bisulfite pyrosequencing analyses revealed that LRRC26 was frequently silenced in TNBC tissues and cell lines as a result of promoter methylation.

Ki-67 and Survivin as Predictive Factors for Rectal Cancer Treated with Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy.

Aim: To evaluate the usefulness of Ki-67 index and survivin as predictive prognostic factors for rectal cancer treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy.

Patients And Methods: The Ki-67 index and survivin expression were examined in patients with stage II/III rectal cancer (n=46) by immunohistochemistry. Patients were divided into a high-group and a low-group for the Ki-67 index, and positive and negative groups for survivin expression.

Influence of orthodontic appliance-derived artifacts on 3-T MRI movies.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to study configurations of speech organs in the resting state. However, MRI is sensitive to metals, and numerous types of metallic appliances, most of which have a large magnetic susceptibility, are used in orthodontic treatment and may cause severe artifacts on MRI. We have developed techniques for obtaining MRI movies of the oral region, to evaluate articulatory changes, especially movement of the tongue, palate, and teeth, pre- and post-orthodontic/orthognathic treatment.

A nationwide survey of intravenous antimicrobial use in intensive care units in Japan.

Although most patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) receive antibiotics, little is known about patterns of antibiotic use in ICUs in Japan. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pattern of antibiotic use in ICUs. A nationwide one-day cross-sectional surveillance of antibiotic use in the ICU was conducted three times between January 2011 and December 2011.

Intra-follicular kisspeptin levels are related to oocyte maturation and gonadal hormones in patients who are undergoing assisted reproductive technology.

Purpose: To assess the kisspeptin concentrations in follicular fluid and their relationship with clinical outcomes during assisted reproductive technology.

Methods: Thirty-nine patients who were aged 24-40 years and underwent oocyte retrieval for in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection participated in this study In 65 follicular fluid samples that had been obtained from 30 patients and their blood samples, the kisspeptin levels were measured in order to investigate the correlations with their gonadal hormone levels. Venous blood samples were collected from 14 patients to investigate their plasma kisspeptin levels across different phases of assisted reproductive technology.

Expression of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant suppresses tumor necrosis factor alpha expression and thereby prevents the follicles from undergoing atresia and apoptosis.

Aim: Cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC/gro) is a CXC family chemokine, similar to interleukin-8 in rats, and is one of the factors that regulates ovulation. However, the mechanism that regulates atresia of the ovaries postovulation is not clearly defined.

Methods: Whether antibody-blocking of CINC/gro can alter the number of ovulated oocytes and modulate neutrophil infiltration was investigated.

Autofluorescence for the diagnosis of visceral pleural invasion in non-small-cell lung cancer.

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of autofluorescence as a mode of diagnosis for visceral pleural invasion of non-small-cell lung cancer compared with white-light by means of clinical questions to several thoracic surgeons.

Methods: Eight independent thoracic surgeons evaluated visceral pleural invasion in 25 cases of non-small-cell lung cancer attached to the visceral pleura on lung windows of preoperative computed tomography images. At the first study meeting to evaluate the accuracy of visceral pleural invasion diagnosis using conventional white-light images, the surgeons diagnosed visceral pleural invasion based on information in preoperative computed tomography images, histological types and videos recorded with white-light mode using a thoracoscope.

Brachial artery diameter as a marker for cardiovascular risk assessment: FMD-J study.

Background And Aims: Baseline brachial artery (BBA) diameter has been reported to be a potential confounding factor of flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships between BBA diameter and cardiovascular risk factors and compare the diagnostic accuracy of BBA diameter in subjects without cardiovascular risk factors and patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) with that of FMD.

Methods: We measured BBA diameter and FMD in 5695 male subjects.

Longitudinal association among endothelial function, arterial stiffness and subclinical organ damage in hypertension.

Objectives: To examine the longitudinal mutual association between endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness, and also to determine which of the two variables was more closely associated with the progression of subclinical organ damage.

Methods: The brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), estimated glomerular filtration rate, microalbuminuria and flow-mediated vasodilatation of the brachial artery (FMD) were measured three times at 1.5-year intervals in 674 Japanese patients receiving antihypertensive treatment.

Protective effect of dehydroandrographolide on obstructive cholestasis in bile duct-ligated mice.

Background: Dehydroandrographolide (DA) is the main contributor to the therapeutic properties of the medicinal plant Andrographis paniculata (AP). However, it is unknown whether DA has a hepatoprotective effect on obstructive cholestasis in mice and humans.

Methods: We administered DA to mice for 5 days prior to bile duct ligation (BDL) and for the 7 days.

Water adsorption on carbon - A review.

Water adsorption on carbonaceous materials has been studied increasingly in the recent years, not only because of its impact on many industrial processes, but also motivated by a desire to understand, at a fundamental level, the distinctive character of directional interactions between water molecules, and between water molecules and other polar groups, such as the functional groups (FGs) at the surfaces of graphene layers. This paper presents an extensive review of recent experimental and theoretical work on water adsorption on various carbonaceous materials, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of how water adsorption in carbonaceous materials relates to the concentration of FGs, their topology (arrangement of the groups) and the structure of the confined space in porous carbons. Arising from this review we are able to propose mechanisms for water adsorption in carbonaceous materials as the adsorbate density increases.

Usefulness of the Transoral Anvil Delivery System for Esophagojejunostomy After Laparoscopic Total Gastrectomy: A Single-institution Comparative Study of Transoral Anvil Delivery System and the Overlap Method.

Purpose: Many reconstruction techniques have been reported after laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG), but it is not clear which anastomosis technique is most useful, and no standard methods have been established. This study examined whether LTG using the transoral anvil delivery system (TOADS) is a feasible and safe procedure for gastric cancer.

Materials And Methods: A series of 47 patients underwent the overlap method and 36 underwent the hemi-double-stapling technique with TOADS.

Efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban in extreme elderly patients with atrial fibrillation: Analysis of the Shikoku Rivaroxaban Registry Trial (SRRT).

Background: The Shikoku Rivaroxaban Registry Trial (SRRT) is a retrospective survey of the use of rivaroxaban for stroke prevention in elderly patients in Shikoku, Japan.

Methods: The SRRT enrolled 1339 patients from 8 hospitals. Patients were divided into two groups according to their age, the extreme elderly group (453 patients aged ≧80 years) and the control group (886 patients aged <80 years).

Erratum to: Impact of intra-abdominal absorbable sutures on surgical site infection in gastrointestinal and hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery: results of a multicenter, randomized, prospective, phase II clinical trial.

In the original publication, the article category was published as "Review Article". The correct category should read as "Original Article".

Characteristics of medical students who would like to be a generalist physician and contribute to remote area medicine.

We administered a questionnaire to 5 grade medical students to examine the effect of community-based clinical practice on their attitudes to remote area medicine and their course after the graduation. Data from 192 students were obtained. The intensity of students' attitudes was estimated by using visual analogue scale.

Paradoxical development of polymyositis-like autoimmunity through augmented expression of autoimmune regulator (AIRE).

Autoimmunity is prevented by the function of the autoimmune regulator [AIRE (Aire in mice)], which promotes the expression of a wide variety of tissue-restricted antigens (TRAs) from medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) and from a subset of peripheral antigen-presenting cells (APCs). We examined the effect of additive expression of human AIRE (huAIRE) in a model of autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice. Unexpectedly, we observed that mice expressing augmented AIRE/Aire developed muscle-specific autoimmunity associated with incomplete maturation of mTECs together with impaired expression of Aire-dependent TRAs.

A case of metastatic follicular thyroid carcinoma complicated with Graves' disease after total thyroidectomy.

Thyroid cancer and Graves' disease may present simultaneously in one patient. The incidence of the development of hyperthyroidism from metastatic differentiated thyroid carcinoma is rare. We herein report a case of metastatic follicular carcinoma complicated with Graves' disease after total thyroidectomy.

Advantages of Unstable Manual Wheelchair.

In this study, many test runs were conducted using experimental manual wheelchair on various floor surface conditions. In the result, operability of manual wheelchair would be improved by shifting the position of drive wheels forward.

Evaluation of the Edrophonium Challenge Test for Cervical Dystonia.

Objective To examine whether or not an edrophonium challenge test is useful for diagnosing cervical dystonia. Patients We evaluated 10 patients with cervical dystonia and 10 with hemifacial spasms (disease controls). We administered edrophonium and saline in this double-blinded study.

Remarkable Shrinkage of a Growth Hormone (GH)-secreting Macroadenoma Induced by Somatostatin Analogue Administration: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Acromegaly is caused by excessive growth hormone secretion, usually from pituitary adenomas. Somoatostatin analogues are widely used as primary or adjunctive therapy in the management of acromegaly. In this report, we present a case with remarkable shrinkage of a tumor after relatively short-term octreotide long-acting release (LAR) administration.

Endothelial Function Is Impaired in Patients Receiving Antihypertensive Drug Treatment Regardless of Blood Pressure Level: FMD-J Study (Flow-Mediated Dilation Japan).

Hypertension is associated with endothelial dysfunction. Blood pressure significantly correlates with endothelial function in antihypertensive drug-naive subjects. The purpose of this study was to determine whether treatment status affects the relationship between blood pressure and endothelial function.

Hydrophilic-treated plastic plates for wide-range analysis of Giemsa-stained red blood cells and automated Plasmodium infection rate counting.

Background: Malaria is a red blood cell (RBC) infection caused by Plasmodium parasites. To determine RBC infection rate, which is essential for malaria study and diagnosis, microscopic evaluation of Giemsa-stained thin blood smears on glass slides ('Giemsa microscopy') has been performed as the accepted gold standard for over 100 years. However, only a small area of the blood smear provides a monolayer of RBCs suitable for determination of infection rate, which is one of the major reasons for the low parasite detection rate by Giemsa microscopy.