Omental Pedicle Graft to Protect Compromised Double-Stapled Anastomosis in Anterior Resection for Rectal Cancer

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of omental pedicle graft (OPG) wrapping to limit leakage from compromised double-stapled anastomoses after anterior resection for rectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1994 and 1997, a prospective study was conducted on 80 consecutive patients who had undergone double-stapled anastomoses after anterior resection for rectal cancer. Decisions to perform OPG were made intraoperatively because of compromised doublestapled anastomoses. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients (26%) received OPG to protect anastomosis, the remainder of patients had no OPG. Ten of the 21 patients underwent OPG for stapler-related operative complications, 5 for rectal carcinoma with stenosis, 3 for obstructive colitis or diverticulitis in the sigmoid colon, and 6 for very low anterior resection with coloanal anastomosis after total mesorectal excision. Three of 21 patients had more than one indication for OPG. The two types of patients were comparable with respect to patient characteristics and operative procedures, although tumor diameter in the OPG patients was significantly larger than in the non-OPG patients. Anastomotic leakage was noted in 1 non-OPG patient (2%) but in none of the OPG patient. There were no statistically significant differences between the two types of patients with regard to postoperative course and anastomotic or other postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: We conclude that OPG wrapping provides an effective protection for a compromised anastomosis of anterior resection in selected patients with rectal cance

An Investigation of Early Death Following the Operation for Lung Cancer

In our clinic 212 patients with primary lung cancer had undergone lung resection during 12 years from April 1977 to March 1989. The authors reviewed 41 patients who died within a year after operation. Twenty-eight deaths were from cnacer ; 13 from other causes. We inquired, from the view-point of operative indication and postoperative measurement, what points should be payed attention to in order that the operation performed may indeed benefit the treatment for lung cancer. Conclusions are that the following measures are essential to take precaution against the early death after operation : (1) strict preoperative assessment of the stage of cancer ; (2) avoiding reduction surgery-absolutely non-curative resection ; (3) keeping the blood volume transfused during and after operation as minimum as possible ; (4) preventing atelectasis immediately after operation ; (5) and preventing postoperative aspiration and alimentary tract bleeding

Seven Epithemia taxa (Bacillariophyta) from Lake Akan (Japan) and their salinity tolerances

The ecologies (salinity tolerance) of many diatoms are largely unknown, despite their potential to contribute to more detailed paleoenvironmental reconstructions. This study therefore aimed to investigate the relationship between diatom species and salinity. We cultured seven cosmopolitan benthic diatom species obtained from Lake Akan, a freshwater inland lake in Japan: Epithemia adnata, E. frickei, E. gibba, E. operculata, E. sorex, E. sp. and E. turgida. Each species was cultured at eleven salinities between 0‰ and 50‰. Epithemia adnata, E. frickei and E. sorex had the highest growth rate at a salinity of 3‰, with no further increase observed above 25‰. However, E. gibba had the highest growth rate at a salinity of 5‰, with no increase at salinities ≥ 30‰. These results suggest that E. adnata, E. frickei, E. gibba, and E. sorex grow in freshwater to brackish-water environments. Epithemia operculata and E. sp. proliferated at all salinities, indicating that they can adapt to hypersaline environments. However, E. turgida did not survive in salinities >10‰, making it the species with the narrowest salinity tolerance range. These results provide new knowledge that improves the understanding of the ecology of these species in modern environments and offer insights into paleoenvironmental reconstructions through diatom analysis

Nitzschia taikiensis sp. nov. (Bacillariophyta) – a new brackish diatom from the Toberi River marsh in the eastern Hokkaido, Japan

Nitzschia taikiensis sp. nov. is a brackish diatom species found in the Toberi River marsh, eastern Hokkaido, Japan. This species has characteristics similar to Nitzschia subamphioxoides Hustedt, which was originally described by Hustedt in 1959. In the present study, we conducted a comparative morphological analysis of N. taikiensis and N. subamphioxoides. The obtained results showed that they are different species. Sampling sites of N. taikiensis were located in salt marsh environments with very low salinity (1-5‰), acidic pH (5.2-5.9) and high mud content (95.0-97.5%). Identification of this species was relatively easy based on LM and SEM image analysis of its frustule features, such as the external form and stria density. This species has not been previously reported in Japan, which could be attributed to the reduction or loss of Japanese freshwater and salt marsh environments in the coastal areas, resulting from urban and industrial development

Salinity responses of benthic diatoms inhabiting tidal flats

<p>We performed culture experiments using intertidal benthic diatoms collected from a river mouth tidal flat (Fujimae Tidal Flats, Nagoya, Japan) to study their responses to salinity. The six species examined were <i>Navicula</i> aff. <i>erifuga, Karayevia amoena</i>, <i>Tryblionella apiculata</i>, <i>Planothidium delicatulum</i>, <i>Melosira moniliformis</i> var. <i>octogona,</i> and <i>Entomoneis japonica.</i> Clones were grown at ten salinity levels from 0 to 50 psu. Three species were unable to grow at low salinities (0 and 0.1 psu), but all were able to grow, though at a reduced rate, in hypersaline conditions (50 psu). All species had wider tolerance ranges than the salinity range of their original habitat (4–16 psu). Two species, <i>T. apiculata</i> and <i>K. amoena</i>, were essentially euryhaline, while the other four showed various constraints on their salinity response. Two species, <i>P. delicatulum</i> and <i>M. moniliformis</i> var. <i>octogona</i>, showed optimal growth outside the range of the salinities normally occurring in the environment from which they were isolated.</p

Electron Microscope Studies on the Structural Complex of Transverse Tubules and Sarcoplasmic Reticulum in Scorpionfish Swimbladder Muscles

To clarify the distribution of transverse tubule-sarcoplasmic reticulum (T-SR) com-plexes in the swimbladder muscle (SBM) of the scorpionfish (Sebastiscus marmoratus ), elec-tron microscope observations were performed. In the anterior part of the SBM, Z-type triads were exclusively observed, in contrast to the regular distribution of AI- and Z-type triads with pentads and heptads in the posterior part of the SBM reported in our previous paper. Various body muscles of scorpionfish contained only Z-type triads. Furthermore, SBM and body wall muscles (BWM) in other sound-producing fishes each contained only one type of triadic con-tacts. In the posterior fibers of scorpionfish SBM, feet on the junctional SR membrane formed a square lattice with three or more vertical lines and numerous horizontal rows. Isolation and identification of ryanodine receptor (RyR) revealed that αRyR and βRyR coexist in the SBM and BWM of scorpionfish. Anti-αRyR and βRyR antibodies were produced in rabbits, and im-munoelectron microscopy with these antibodies demonstrated that both αRyR and βRyR form parallel lines respectively on the same junctional membrane as AI- and Z-type triads. The re-sults are discussed in connection with the anatomical features and function of the swimbladder.Full-Length Pape