Oceanographic Data of the 22nd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition from November 1980 to April 1981

This report presents the data of the oceanographic observations on the icebreaker Fuji and the tidal observation at Syowa Station, which were carried out in the summer mission of the 22nd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition in 1980-1981

The Correlation of the NA Measurements by Counting 28Si Atoms

open12sìpartially_openembargoed_20160715Mana, G.; Massa, E.; Sasso, C. P.; Stock, M.; Fujii, K.; Kuramoto, N.; Mizushima, S.; Narukawa, T.; Borys, M.; Busch, I.; Nicolaus, A.; Pramann, A.Mana, Giovanni; Massa, Enrico; Sasso, CARLO PAOLO; Stock, M.; Fujii, K.; Kuramoto, N.; Mizushima, S.; Narukawa, T.; Borys, M.; Busch, I.; Nicolaus, A.; Pramann, A

Preliminary report of the oceanographic observation in the 22nd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (1980-1981)

This report presents the preliminary results of the oceanographic observations, which were carried out in the 22nd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition in 1980-1981. The oceanographic sections across the Antarctic Sea are given for the two legs, southbound and northbound. For the southbound leg, the observation results for the surface layer are shown. For the northbound leg, the results of serial observation are presented along with the analysis of the geostrophic volume transports. The results of continuous measurements at two fixed stations near Syowa Station are also given in this report

Complete remission of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma following transient chemoembolization and portal vein ligation

Abstract Background Macroscopic diffuse-type hepatocellular carcinoma with concomitant major portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) and peritoneal dissemination indicates poor prognosis. Additionally, triple-positive tumor marker status is a predictor of poor outcome even after hepatectomy. Sorafenib is recommended in such patients, but it has limited therapeutic effectiveness. Case presentation A 54-year-old man was diagnosed with a liver abscess that was treated by puncture and drainage at a regional hospital. However, the diagnosis was subsequently changed to hepatocellular carcinoma with macroscopic portal vein tumor thrombus, based on the results obtained for the triple-positive tumor markers (alpha-fetoprotein, 45,928 ng/ml; protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II, 125,350 mAU/ml; and alpha-fetoprotein-L3, 38.3%). As the patient’s liver functional reserve was not adequate for curative resection, chemoembolization was performed with a hepatic arterial infusion of cisplatin (50 mg) and 5-FU (1000 mg), followed by mild embolization with cisplatin (50 mg) suspended in lipiodol (5 ml) and starch microspheres (300 mg) containing mitomycin C (4 mg). As the thrombus had progressed to the bifurcation of the right and left portal veins, the right vein was surgically ligated. Three peritoneal nodules could be identified and were removed. Three additional rounds of hepatic arterial chemotherapy/chemoembolization were performed after the initial surgery. At the 2-year evaluation, all tumor markers were observed to have normalized and diagnostic imaging showed complete remission. Conclusions Complete remission of hepatocellular carcinoma with macroscopic portal vein tumor thrombus and peritoneal dissemination was obtained with a treatment regimen that involved four rounds of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy and transient chemoembolization, portal vein ligation, and the removal of peritoneal dissemination. This regimen can be recommended for patients with advanced hemiliver lesions who cannot undergo curative resection

The Number of Positive Tumor Marker Status Is Beneficial for the Selection of Therapeutic Modalities in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract Hepatic resection (HR) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are popular local therapies for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Alpha-fetoprotein, Lens culinaris agglutininreactive fraction of alpha-fetoprotein, and des-c-carboxy prothrombin are well-known and useful tumor markers for HCC. The positive number status of these tumor markers has recently been demonstrated as beneficial for predicting outcome for HCC patients treated with local therapy. Although the normal ranges reported have differed by institution, the positivity of tumor markers is consistent and can easily be assessed. Kumamoto and Wakayama's group clearly demonstrated the following: 1) Regardless of the degree of tumor stage, a triple-positive tumor marker profile can predict poor outcome in HCC patients undergoing HR; 2) For RFA alone, HCC patients with double-and triple-positive status, having less than three lesions and lesions #3 cm in diameter show comparably insufficient outcomes; 3) For HCC patients with lesions #5 cm in Child-Pugh grade A, HR is preferred over RFA; 4) Microvascular invasion rates increased even in the double-positive patients, while poorly differentiated HCC was frequently observed only in the triple-positive patients; and 5) RFA with chemoembolization, anatomical liver resection, and postoperative adjuvant chemoembolization or hepatic arterial chemotherapy might improve the outcome for patients with highly malignant HCC with multiple positive tumor markers. However, the impacts of these therapies still need to be evaluated in prospective comparative studies. Citation of this article: Beppu T, Nakagawa S, Nitta H, Okabe H, Kaida T, Imai K, et al. The number of positive tumor marker status is beneficial for the selection of therapeutic modalities in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Additional file 1: Table S1. of Hepatic sclerosed hemangioma with special attention to diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging

Characteristics of patients with ICC or CRLM. (DOCX 142 kb

Additional file 1: Table S1. of Hepatic sclerosed hemangioma with special attention to diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging

Characteristics of patients with ICC or CRLM. (DOCX 142 kb

Anti-centromere antibody exhibits specific distribution levels among anti-nuclear antibodies and may characterize a distinct subset in rheumatoid arthritis

Anti-centromere antibody (ACA) is one of the classical anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) staining patterns. However, characteristics of ACA in comparison with the other ANA patterns and clinical features of ACA-positive subjects have not been elucidated. Here, we examined all ANA patterns by indirect immunofluorescence for 859 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Together with the ANA data of 9,575 healthy volunteers, we compared distributions of the ANA levels. ACA was the only ANA that demonstrated a definite bimodal distribution of levels. ACA showed significantly higher levels than the other ANA staining patterns in both RA and healthy population (p < 0.0001). ACA-positivity was associated with old age and was observed more in females. We further recruited another cohort of 3,353 RA patients and confirmed the findings. ACA was also associated with Raynaud’s phenomenon (p = 6.8 × 10−11) in RA. As a conclusion, ACA displays a specific ANA staining pattern with a bimodal distribution, and ACA-positive RA may constitute a distinct subset with specific clinical features