Massive portal vein tumor thrombus from colorectal cancer without any metastatic nodules in the liver parenchyma

Metastatic lesions in the liver derived from colorectal cancer rarely invade the portal vein macroscopically. Portal vein tumor thrombus is commonly associated with hepatocellular carcinoma. Colorectal liver metastases are usually accompanied by microscopic tumor invasion into the intrahepatic portal vein, and the incidence of macroscopic tumor thrombus in the trunk of the portal vein is rare. Here, we provide unique appearance of metastatic colorectal cancer. To the best of our knowledge, macroscopically, the right portal vein filled with the tumor thrombus without any tumor in liver parenchyma has been quite rare

Comprehensive Network Analysis of Anther-Expressed Genes in Rice by the Combination of 33 Laser Microdissection and 143 Spatiotemporal Microarrays

Co-expression networks systematically constructed from large-scale transcriptome data reflect the interactions and functions of genes with similar expression patterns and are a powerful tool for the comprehensive understanding of biological events and mining of novel genes. In Arabidopsis (a model dicot plant), high-resolution co-expression networks have been constructed from very large microarray datasets and these are publicly available as online information resources. However, the available transcriptome data of rice (a model monocot plant) have been limited so far, making it difficult for rice researchers to achieve reliable co-expression analysis. In this study, we performed co-expression network analysis by using combined 44 K agilent microarray datasets of rice, which consisted of 33 laser microdissection (LM)-microarray datasets of anthers, and 143 spatiotemporal transcriptome datasets deposited in RicexPro. The entire data of the rice co-expression network, which was generated from the 176 microarray datasets by the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) method with the mutual rank (MR)-based cut-off, contained 24,258 genes and 60,441 genes pairs. Using these datasets, we constructed high-resolution co-expression subnetworks of two specific biological events in the anther, “meiosis” and “pollen wall synthesis”. The meiosis network contained many known or putative meiotic genes, including genes related to meiosis initiation and recombination. In the pollen wall synthesis network, several candidate genes involved in the sporopollenin biosynthesis pathway were efficiently identified. Hence, these two subnetworks are important demonstrations of the efficiency of co-expression network analysis in rice. Our co-expression analysis included the separated transcriptomes of pollen and tapetum cells in the anther, which are able to provide precise information on transcriptional regulation during male gametophyte development in rice. The co-expression network data presented here is a useful resource for rice researchers to elucidate important and complex biological events

Mesodiverticular bandによる絞扼性イレウスの一例

症例は14歳,男児.開腹歴を含め,既往歴に特記すべきものなし.下痢,腹痛を主訴に来院し,抗生剤投与で一時軽快したが,その後腹部膨満感出現し,緊急入院となった.入院時血液検査所見で炎症反応の異常高値とCT検査上絞拒性イレウスの所見を認めたため緊急開腹手術を施行した.術中所見は回腸から約60cm口側にメッケル憩室を認め,そこに付着したmesodiverticular bandにより回腸が内ヘルニアを形成していた.小腸は広範囲に壊死しており,小腸部分切除を行った.mesodiverticular bandによるイレウスは稀で,術前診断は困難であるため手術歴のないイレウスの原因として考慮すべきであると考えられた.The patient was a 14-year-old boy who was admitted to our hospital because of abdominal pain and diarrhea. Blood tests showed strong inflammation, and plain CT showed the presence of air and fluid in the ileum. In physical findings, pan-peritonitis was suspected with muscle guarding, and so on emergency operation was performed. During the operation, we found that the ileum was compressed by a herniation of the mesodiverticular band and Meckel\u27s diverticulum. The a long segment of the ileum was necrotic, so these portions were resected and an end to side anastomosis was made. In a pathological study, neither gastric mucosa nor pancreatic tissue were observed, but microvessels were seen. Diagnosis is difficult before operation, so we should consider the mesodiverticular band when we see young ileus cases

Correction: Hiroshi Sugano et al. Nafamostat Mesilate Enhances the Radiosensitivity and Reduces the Radiation-Induced Invasive Ability of Colorectal Cancer Cells. Cancers 2018, 10, 386

The authors would like to make a correction to their published paper [...

Resin Cement–Zirconia Bond Strengthening by Exposure to Low-Temperature Atmospheric Pressure Multi-Gas Plasma

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gas species used for low-temperature atmospheric pressure plasma surface treatment, using various gas species and different treatment times, on zirconia surface state and the bond strength between zirconia and dental resin cement. Three groups of zirconia specimens with different surface treatments were prepared as follows: untreated group, alumina sandblasting treatment group, and plasma treatment group. Nitrogen (N2), carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), argon (Ar), and air were employed for plasma irradiation. The bond strength between each zirconia specimen and resin cement was compared using a tension test. The effect of the gas species for plasma irradiation on the zirconia surface was investigated using a contact angle meter, an optical interferometer, an X-ray diffractometer, and X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy. Plasma irradiation increased the wettability and decreased the carbon contamination on the zirconia surface, whereas it did not affect the surface topography and crystalline phase. The bond strength varied depending on the gas species and irradiation time. Plasma treatment with N2 gas significantly increased bond strength compared to the untreated group and showed a high bond strength equivalent to that of the sandblasting treatment group. The removal of carbon contamination from the zirconia surface and an increase in the percentage of Zr-O2 on the zirconia surface by plasma irradiation might increase bond strength

Nafamostat Mesilate Enhances the Radiosensitivity and Reduces the Radiation-Induced Invasive Ability of Colorectal Cancer Cells

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery is the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced low rectal cancer. However, several studies have reported that ionizing radiation (IR) activates nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) that causes radioresistance and induces matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2/-9, which promote tumor migration and invasion. Nafamostat mesilate (FUT175), a synthetic serine protease inhibitor, enhances the chemosensitivity to cytotoxic agents in digestive system cancer cells by inhibiting NF-κB activation. Therefore, we evaluated the combined effect of IR and FUT175 on cell proliferation, migration and invasion of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. IR-induced upregulation of intranuclear NF-κB, FUT175 counteracted this effect. Moreover, the combination treatment suppressed cell viability and induced apoptosis. Similar effects were also observed in xenograft tumors. In addition, FUT175 prevented the migration and invasion of cancer cells caused by IR by downregulating the enzymatic activity of MMP-2/-9. In conclusion, FUT175 enhances the anti-tumor effect of radiotherapy through downregulation of NF-κB and reduces IR-induced tumor invasiveness by directly inhibiting MMP-2/-9 in CRC cells. Therefore, the use of FUT175 during radiotherapy might improve the efficacy of radiotherapy in patients with CRC