Gastric Carcinoid with Hypergastrinemia: Report of Three Cases

We report 3 cases of gastric carcinoids with hypergastrinemia. Case 1: A 60-year-old man had a 2 cm carcinoid of the stomach and underwent partial resection. Involvement of the muscularis propria and lymph nodes metastasis were observed microscopically. Follow-up gastroscopy revealed another carcinoid lesion and total gastrectomy was performed. Case 2: A 67-year-old woman with multiple carcinoids of the entire stomach underwent antrectomy. No growth of residual tumors has been detected so far. Case 3: A 61-year-old man had a tumor near the esophagogastric junction and underwent total gastrectomy. Carcinoid component was diffusely intermingled with adenocarcinoma in the tumor and invaded into the subserosa. In all 3 cases, the serum gastrin level was high and atrophic gastritis was microscopically observed. Carcinoid tumor in Case 3 was different from those in Cases 1 and 2 and interestingly, gastric carcinoid with hypergastrinemia showed various types of appearance

High Dose-rate Intracavitary Brachytherapy for Cervical Carcinomas with Lower Vaginal Infiltration

PurposeThis report presents the clinical applications of an automated treatment-planning program of high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy (HDR-ICBT) for advanced uterine cervical cancer infiltrating the parametrium and the lower vagina.\nMethods and MaterialsWe adopted HDR-ICBT under optimized dose distribution for 22 cervical cancer patients with tumor infiltration of the lower half of the vagina. All patients had squamous cell carcinoma with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics clinical stages IIB–IVA. After whole pelvic external beam irradiation with a median dose of 30.6 Gy, a conventional ICBT was applied as pear-shaped isodose curve. Then 3–4 more sessions per week of this new method of ICBT were performed. With a simple determination of the treatment volume, the cervix-parametrium, and the lower vagina were covered automatically and simultaneously by this program, that was designated as utero-vaginal brachytherapy. The mean follow-up period was 87.4 months (range, 51.8–147.9 months).\nResultsIsodose curve for this program was galaxy-shaped. Five-year local-progression-free survival and overall survival rates were 90.7% and 81.8%, respectively. Among those patients with late complications higher than Grade 2 Radiation Therapy Oncology Group/European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer morbidity score, only one (4.5%) developed severe proctitis.\nConclusionsBecause of the favorable treatment outcomes, this treatment-planning program with a simplified target-volume based dosimetry was proposed for cervical cancer with lower vaginal infiltration

Impact of Diradical Spin State (Singlet vs Triplet) and Structure (Puckered vs Planar) on the Photodenitrogenation Stereoselectivity of 2,3-Diazabicyclo[2.2.1]heptanes

Versatile transformations of azo compounds are utilized not only in synthetic organic chemistry but also in materials science. In this study, a hitherto unknown stereoselectivity was observed by low-temperature in situ NMR spectroscopy for the photochemical denitrogenation of a cyclic azoalkane (2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.1]­heptane) derivative. Direct (singlet) photodenitrogenation at 188 K afforded two products, the configurationally retained ring-closed compound (ret-<b>CP</b>) and the inverted compound (inv-<b>CP</b>), in a ratio of 82/18 (±3) (ret-<b>CP</b>/inv-<b>CP</b>), with an overall yield of >95%. Triplet-sensitized denitrogenation at 199 K using benzophenone (³BP*) or xanthone (³Xan*) selectively produced inv-<b>CP</b>, with a ret-<b>CP</b>/inv-<b>CP</b> ratio of 7/93 (±3). Thermal isomerization of inv-<b>CP</b> into ret-<b>CP</b> was observed by low-temperature NMR spectroscopy. Transient absorption spectroscopy revealed that two distinct singlet diradicals are involved in the formation of <b>CP</b> during direct photodenitrogenation, that is, puckered puc-¹<b>DR</b> and planar pl-¹<b>DR</b> diradicals. The former produces ret-<b>CP</b>, whereas the latter affords inv-<b>CP</b>. Kinetic analysis using the integrated profiles method was used to determine the molecular absorption coefficient of pl-¹<b>DR</b> (ε₅₆₀ = 4900 ± 250 M^–1 cm^–1) for the first time. The involvement of the puckered singlet diradical resolves the mechanistic puzzle of stereoselective denitrogenation of diazabicycloheptane-type azoalkanes

β-(1,3)-Glucan derived from induces inflammatory cytokines from macrophages and lamina propria mononuclear cells derived from patients with Crohn's disease

Background/AimsRecent research has highlighted the importance of interactions between commensal fungi and intestinal inflammation. However, there are few studies investigating whether commensal fungi contribute to inflammation in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). The aim of this study is to investigate reveal interactions between commensal fungi and host immune cells in CD.MethodsCD14-positive monocytes were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy human volunteers and then differentiated in the presence of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) (referred to as M-macrophages, M-Mϕs) or M-CSF and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) (referred to as M-gamma macrophages, Mγ-Mϕs). Cytokine production by these in vitro differentiated macrophages in response to β-(1,3)-glucan was analyzed by flow cytometry. Expression of Dectin-1 was examined using flow cytometry, western blotting, and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Cytokine production by in vitro differentiated macrophages in response to β-(1,3)-glucan was measured in the presence of an anti-Dectin-1 receptor antagonist, anti-Syr, or an anti-Fas-1 antibody. Cytokine production by lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMCs) derived from CD patients in response to β-(1,3)-glucan was also analyzed.ResultsMγ-Mϕs produced a large amount of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 in response to β-(1,3)-glucan. Dectin-1 expression was significantly higher in Mγ-Mϕs than in M-Mϕs. The increase in TNF-α production by Mγ-Mϕs stimulated with glucan was reversed by blocking Dectin-1, Syr or Fas-1. LPMCs derived from CD patients stimulated with β-(1,3)-glucan produced significantly higher amount of TNF-α than LPMCs derived from UC patients.ConclusionsThese results suggest that commensal fungal microbiota may contribute to the pathogenesis of CD by inducing macrophages-derived pro-inflammatory cytokines

Role of Ca2+ transients at the node of the mouse embryo in breaking of left-right symmetry

Immotile cilia sense extracellular signals such as fluid flow, but whether Ca2+ plays a role in flow sensing has been unclear. Here, we examined the role of ciliary Ca2+ in the flow sensing that initiates the breaking of left-right (L-R) symmetry in the mouse embryo. Intraciliary and cytoplasmic Ca2+ transients were detected in the crown cells at the node. These Ca2+ transients showed L-R asymmetry, which was lost in the absence of fluid flow or the PKD2 channel. Further characterization allowed classification of the Ca2+ transients into two types: cilium-derived, L-R-asymmetric transients (type 1) and cilium-independent transients without an L-R bias (type 2). Type 1 intraciliary transients occurred preferentially at the left posterior region of the node, where L-R symmetry breaking takes place. Suppression of intraciliary Ca2+ transients delayed L-R symmetry breaking. Our results implicate cilium-derived Ca2+ transients in crown cells in initiation of L-R symmetry breaking in the mouse embryo

Results of Dose Audit of Radiation Therapy Facilities in East-Asian Countries

Dose audit was conducted to radiation therapy facilities in East-Asian Countries. This activity was done through the framework of the Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA). A radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter was used as the detector. The dose of reference condition was measured for 20 beams of 7 facilities from 4 countries, China, Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam. The deviation between the calculated and measured dose was analyzed and the standard deviation was 1.9% (k=1). One beam exceeded the tolerance level, which is over 5%. The difference was finally fixed through the contact with local staff. This event shows the importance of external audits in radiation therapy.The 5th Korea - Japan Joint Meeting on Medical Physics（第９６回日本医学物理学会学術大会