EGFR Mutation is a Prognostic Factor in Lung Cancer Patients with Pleural Dissemination Detected During or After Surgery

Background. Primary lung tumors are sometimes resected when either pleural dissemination (PD) or malignant pleural effusion (MPE) exists. This study clarified the prognostic factors for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with either PD and MPE, or both, detected during or after surgery. Patients and Methods. We examined patients with NSCLC from a multicenter database who had either PD, MPE, or both, detected during or after surgery between 2005 and 2015. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using the Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for potential confounding factors. Results. Among 9463 registered patients, PD, MPE, or both, were found in 114 patients with NSCLC during or after surgery. Primary tumor resection and exploratory thoracotomy were performed in 65 and 49 patients, respectively. In univariate analysis, adenocarcinoma, clinically undetected lymph node metastasis (c-N0 or unknown), EGFR mutation, and combination of chemotherapy or tyrosine kinase inhibitors after surgery were better prognostic factors for overall survival (OS), whereas in the multivariate analysis, adenocarcinoma, clinically undetected lymph node metastasis, and EGFR mutation were favorable independent prognostic factors in OS. Additionally, limited to patients with EGFR mutation, patients with primary lung tumor resection showed a significantly better 5-year OS than those with exploratory thoracotomy (86.4 vs. 44.8%; p Conclusion. Our findings show that surgical resection of primary tumors could improve the prognosis of patients with PD, MPE, or both, detected during or after surgery when the tumors harbor an EGFR mutation

The utility and limitations of an ultrasonic miniprobe in the staging of gastric cancer

To determine the utility and limitations of an ultrasonic miniprobe (UMP) in the staging of gastric cancer, we evaluated 46 patients who underwent endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) using an UMP and who were histologically determined to have gastric cancers. In every case, UMP findings were compared with histopathological findings after treatment. The total accuracy of UMP relative to the depth of tumor invasion was71.7% (33/46 cases). Accuracy with respect to T1-m tumor diagnosis was 75.7% (22/29cases), and for T1-sm, 76.9% (10/13 cases), but accuracy for T2 tumor diagnosis was low, due to ultrasound attenuation. When the analysis was carried out based on the size of tumor, the accuracy for UMP was 50.0% (9/18cases) for all tumors over 20mm and 85.7%(24/28 cases) for all tumors smaller than 20mm. We conclude that UMP is suitable for investigation of tumor extension when the lesion is superficial and / or small gastric cancers which do not cause ultrasonic attenuation, but not when the tumor is large or located in certain sites, although conventional EUS is useful in some of these cases

Surgical outcome of ipsilateral anatomical resection for lung cancer after pulmonary lobectomy

OBJECTIVES: Ipsilateral reoperation after pulmonary lobectomy is often challenging because of adhesions from the previous operation. We retrospectively examined the surgical outcome and prognosis of ipsilateral anatomical resection for lung cancer after pulmonary lobectomy using a multicentre database. METHODS: We evaluated the perioperative outcomes and overall survival of 51 patients who underwent pulmonary lobectomy followed by ipsilateral anatomical resection for lung cancer between January 2012 and December 2018. In addition, patients with stage I non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were compared with 3411 patients with stage I lung cancer who underwent pulmonary resection without a prior ipsilateral lobectomy. RESULTS: Ipsilateral anatomical resections included 10 completion pneumonectomies, 19 pulmonary lobectomies and 22 pulmonary segmentectomies. Operative time was 312.2 ± 134.5 min, and intraoperative bleeding was 522.2 ± 797.5 ml. Intraoperative and postoperative complications occurred in 9 and 15 patients, respectively. However, the 5-year overall survival rate after anatomical resection followed by ipsilateral lobectomy was 83.5%. Furthermore, in patients with c-stage I NSCLC, anatomical resection followed by ipsilateral lobectomy was not associated with worse survival than anatomical resection without prior ipsilateral lobectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Anatomical resection following ipsilateral lobectomy is associated with a high frequency of intraoperative and postoperative complications. However, the 5-year overall survival in patients with c-stage I NSCLC who underwent ipsilateral anatomical resection after pulmonary lobectomy is comparable to that in patients who underwent anatomical resection without prior pulmonary lobectomy

Reassociation of annelid giant hemoglobin from the polychaete Perinereis aibuhitensis

Annelid extracellular hemoglobin (Hb) is a supramolecule with molecular mass of ～3,500kDa. The giant Hb consists of 12 subassemblies (globin dodecamers, D) and 18 homodimeric linkers (L) of non-globin chain. The globin dodecamer and linker were isolated from the polychaete Perinereis aibuhittensis Hb separately. Subsequently, these two components were mixed in the presence of 1M urea at a neutral pH to reform a whole molecule of Hb. At first L was refined by reverse phase chromatography in organic solvent. On the other hand, Perinereis Hb was incubated in 4M urea solution at 4°C for 5 min, and applied to two amphoteric ion-exchange resin column to remove L stick to the resin, and to isolate only D. The eluate was condensed and subjected to gel filtration. As a result, an ingredient of molecule mass ～210 kDa, that is D, was provided in high yield. When D and L were mixed in the molar ratio of approximately 1:1 in 50mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) in the presence of 1 M urea at room temperature, most of the proteins met to natural Hb size again within about 20 hours. Furthermore, similar experiments were performed in 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.2) containing 1 M urea in the presence of 1 mM CaCl2 or 1mM EDTA. It was observed that the reassociation was affected substantially by the presence of Ca2+. In conclusion, the homodimeric linkers have the key role to form the gigantic Hb

Strain-induced creation and switching of anion vacancy layers in perovskite oxynitrides

Using strain to control oxynitride properties. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2020-12-01.原子空孔の配列を制御する新手法の発見. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2020-12-02.Perovskite oxides can host various anion-vacancy orders, which greatly change their properties, but the order pattern is still difficult to manipulate. Separately, lattice strain between thin film oxides and a substrate induces improved functions and novel states of matter, while little attention has been paid to changes in chemical composition. Here we combine these two aspects to achieve strain-induced creation and switching of anion-vacancy patterns in perovskite films. Epitaxial SrVO3 films are topochemically converted to anion-deficient oxynitrides by ammonia treatment, where the direction or periodicity of defect planes is altered depending on the substrate employed, unlike the known change in crystal orientation. First-principles calculations verified its biaxial strain effect. Like oxide heterostructures, the oxynitride has a superlattice of insulating and metallic blocks. Given the abundance of perovskite families, this study provides new opportunities to design superlattices by chemically modifying simple perovskite oxides with tunable anion-vacancy patterns through epitaxial lattice strain

Considering the practical rationality of experimental operation in developing countries: Reality and challenges under a rigid community forestry system in Cambodia

Influential stakeholders have highlighted many constraints inherent in conventional scientific forest management plans for community forestry (CF) and presented simpler alternatives. Nevertheless, some developing countries continue to use rigid, complex and high-cost plans and regulations. This article considers two issues: (1) why heavily-regulated or rigid CF systems were originally introduced and why they continue to be used in developing countries despite critiques and counterproposals; and (2) under what circumstances will such CF systems face an impasse, and what can be done to resolve the situation. Using Cambodia as a case study, we examine the development of a rigid CF system, review negative factors influencing the upland forested area, clarify the unfavorable situations arising from these factors and discuss likely problems associated with the CF management system. International organizations played a key role in the introduction and maintenance of rigid, complex and high-cost CF systems in Cambodia. Conflicts and crises arise when the administration prosecutes local farmers for illegal cultivation or deprives communities of CF management rights because of the expansion of commercial crop cultivation and the lack of adequate community management in response to unprecedented changes. A likely practical solution to the probable impasse is the development and funding of a functional network of CF management committees, rather than the adoption of an entirely new, alternative system

Influence of Silica Source on Zeolite Synthesis in the Presence of 1-Butanol <Note>

Synthesis of high-silica zeolites in the presence of 1-butanol(n-BuOH) was conducted under various conditions to explore the role of silica source, aging time, and n-BuOH. It was found that the solubility of the silica source in the aqueous phase was a critical factor for the formation of zeolite precursor when KOH was employed as an alkali source. MFI(ZSM-5) type zeolites were obtained when fumed silica with small BET specific surface area was employed, whereas TON(Theta-1) type zeolites were formed when fumed silica with large BET specific surface area was employed. It was also found that the addition of n-BuOH suppressed the formation of cristobalite. This is probably due to the reduction of the Si concentration in the aqueous phase of the synthesis gel. FT-IR and 13C CP MAS NMR measurements of as-made zeolites suggested that n-BuOH molecules were occluded in the zeolitic pores of TON and MFI type zeolites at the initial stage of crystallization

Synthesis of 1, 4-Dioxan-2-one from 1, 3-Dioxolane and Carbon Monoxide over Cation-exchange Resin Catalyst

陽イオン交換樹脂であるフッ素化スルホン酸樹脂を触媒に用いて環状エーテルである1,3-ジオキソランの一酸化炭素によるカルボニル化の可能性について検討した。目的化合物の性質上, オリゴマー化するため生成物の解重合が必要になるものの, 反応温度120°C, 一酸化炭素初圧25MPa, 反応時間4hの条件下で1,4-ジオキサン-2-オンを最大収率40%で合成できることが明らかになった。The possibility of the synthesis of 1, 4-dioxan-2-one (p-dioxanon) by carbonylation of 1, 3-dioxolane (cyclic ether) over Nafion® NR-50 cation-exchange resin catalyst was investigated. 1, 4-Dioxan-2-one, one of the cyclic esterethers used as a monomer of polyester, was obtained by depolymerization of polyester oligomers. The maximum yield (40%) of 1, 4-dioxan-2-one was achieved under reaction conditions of 25MPa initial PCO, 120°C reaction temperature and 4h reaction time

Severe de novo Hepatitis B Recovered from Late-Onset Liver Insufficiency with Prolonged Ascites and Hypoalbuminemia due to Hepatitis B Virus Genotype Bj with Precore Mutation

De novo hepatitis B is associated with a high risk of hepatic failure often resulting in fatal fulminant hepatitis even when nucleotide analogues are administered. A 77-year-old female developed de novo hepatitis B after R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone) treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) isolated from the patient was of genotype Bj, with a precore mutation (G1896A) exhibiting an extremely high viral load at the onset of hepatitis. She showed markedly high levels of transaminase with mild jaundice on admission and rapid decrease of prothrombin activity after admission. Although acute liver failure was averted by the administration of entecavir and corticosteroid pulse therapy, liver volume decreased to 860 ml, and marked hypoalbuminemia accompanying massive ascites occurred 2 months after the onset of hepatitis and persisted for 3 months with high levels of HBV DNA and mild abnormal alanine aminotransferase levels. Frequent infusions of albumin solution, nutrition support, and alleviation therapy showed limited effect. However, overall improvement along with HBV DNA reduction was observed after increasing the dose of entecavir and completion of prednisolone that was administered with a minimum dose for adrenal insufficiency. An immediate and sufficient suppression of virus replication with potent antiviral therapy is critical, particularly in patients infected with HBV precore mutation (G1896A) and/or Bj genotype, which may have a high viral replication and direct hepatocellular damage

A New Pretreatment Technique for Environmental Tritium Analysis with Microwave Heating Method

The conventional method for FWT and OBT analysis is a liquid scintillation counting method after freeze-drying and combustion of the sample. However, pretreatment for FWT and OBT analysis are complicated and time consuming processes over weeks. Thus, we propose the application of microwave heating technique to save time and effort of the pretreatment of plant samples for FWT analysis. To understand the behavior of the combustion and drying of organic samples, we conducted TG/DTA analysis of pine needle samples. It is found that the sample has to be heated up to 100 - 110 ℃ for complete drying under N2 gas flow condition. Then, we tried the water recovery from fresh pine needle samples by the multi-mode microwave heating system. As a results, it was provided to good recovery yield achieved more than 97% under these experimental conditions. This result shows more preferable for the pretreatment of organic samples by microwave irradiation method than the conventional method