Lymph Node Dissection in Curative Gastrectomy for Advanced Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Surgical resection with lymph node dissection is the only potentially curative therapy for gastric cancer. However, the appropriate extent of lymph node dissection accompanied by gastrectomy for cancer remains controversial. In East Asian countries, especially in Japan and Korea, D2 lymph node dissection has been regularly performed as a standard procedure. In Western countries, surgeons perform gastrectomy with D1 dissection only because D2 is associated with high mortality and morbidity compared to those associated with D1 alone but does not improve the 5-year survival rate. However, more recent studies have demonstrated that western surgeons can be trained to perform D2 lymphadenectomies on western patients with a lower morbidity and mortality. When extensive D2 lymph node dissection is preformed safely, there may be some benefit to D2 dissection even in western countries. In this paper, we present an update on the current literature regarding the extent of lymphadenectomy for advanced gastric cancer

Changes in saccadic eye movement and smooth pursuit gain in patients with acquired comitant esotropia after strabismus surgery

This study investigates the change in horizontal saccadic eye movement and smooth pursuit in patients with acquired comitant esotropia (ACE), before and after strabismus surgery. The horizontal saccades and pursuit in 11 patients with ACE were recorded using a video eye-tracker under binocular viewing before and after strabismus surgery. Participants were instructed to fixate on the new target as rapidly as possible when it randomly appeared at either 18.3° rightward or 18.3° leftward. For smooth pursuit, participants were asked to track, as accurately as possible, a step-ramp target moving at ±6.1°/s. The asymmetry of adduction-abduction and the binocular coordination in gains of saccade and pursuit were compared between the pre- and post-surgical data. The asymmetry of adduction-abduction saccade gain in each eye after surgery tended to be smaller than that before surgery. The binocular coordination of saccade showed significant improvement after surgery in only the non-dominant eye direction. Adduction-abduction asymmetry in the smooth pursuit gain in each eye after surgery tended to be smaller than before surgery. After surgery, the binocular coordination of pursuit was improved significantly in both directions. In patients with ACE, binocular coordination of saccade and smooth pursuit was poor. Binocular coordination of saccade and pursuit seems to be improved due to the improvement in ocular deviation angle and binocular visual function after surgery

Model for the Architecture of Claudin-Based Paracellular Ion Channels through Tight Junctions

AbstractClaudins are main cell–cell adhesion molecules of tight junctions (TJs) between cells in epithelial sheets that form tight barriers that separate the apical from the basolateral space but also contain paracellular channels that regulate the flow of ions and solutes in between these intercellular spaces. Recently, the first crystal structure of a claudin was determined, that of claudin-15, which indicated the parts of the large extracellular domains that likely form the pore-lining surfaces of the paracellular channels. However, the crystal structure did not show how claudin molecules are arranged in the cell membrane to form the backbone of TJ strands and to mediate interactions between adjacent cells, information that is essential to understand how the paracellular channels in TJs function. Here, we propose that TJ strands consist of claudin protomers that assemble into antiparallel double rows. This model is based on cysteine crosslinking experiments that show claudin-15 to dimerize face to face through interactions between the edges of the extracellular β-sheets. Strands observed by freeze-fracture electron microscopy of TJs also show that their width is consistent with the dimensions of a claudin dimer. Furthermore, we propose that extracellular variable regions are responsible for head-to-head interactions of TJ strands in adjoining cells, thus resulting in the formation of paracellular channels. Our model of the TJ architecture provides a basis to discuss structural mechanisms underlying the selective ion permeability and barrier properties of TJs

Quantitative activation-induced manganese-enhanced MRI reveals severity of Parkinson’s disease in mice

We demonstrate that activation-induced manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging with quantitative determination of the longitudinal relaxation time (qAIM-MRI) reveals the severity of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in mice. We first show that manganese ion-accumulation depends on neuronal activity. A highly active region was then observed by qAIM-MRI in the caudate-putamen in PD-model mice that was significantly correlated to the severity of PD, suggesting its involvement in the expression of PD symptoms

Design and performance of a F/#-conversion microlens for Prime Focus Spectrograph at Subaru Telescope

The PFS is a multi-object spectrograph fed by 2394 fibers at the prime focus of Subaru telescope. Since the F/# at the prime focus is too fast for the spectrograph, we designed a small concave-plano negative lens to be attached to the tip of each fiber that converts the telescope beam (F/2.2) to F/2.8. We optimized the lens to maximize the number of rays that can be confined inside F/2.8 while maintaining a 1.28 magnification. The microlenses are manufactured by glass molding, and an ultra-broadband AR coating (<1.5% for lambda=0.38-1.26 um) will be applied to the front surface.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, SPIE201