The Outcome of the Treatments of Chest Trauma Patients

Ninety-nine patients with chest trauma were clinically evaluated in terms of their prognoses. In accordance with advances in thoracic surgery, the survival rates were remarkably improved. However, six deaths were encountered in this series. The causes of deaths were attributable to associated injuries extend to two or three regions including the head and the abdomen so that precise detection and proper treatments should be made as quickly as possible. In conclusion, the prognoses of serious chest trauma patients are influenced by the presence and the degree of concomitant injuries as well as proper urgent managements

Clinical Aspect of Peripheral Cholangiocarcinoma: A Study of 7 Hepatectomy Cases

To clarify the features and problems presented by a peripheral cholangiocarcinoma (CCC), seven patients with hepatectomy from the First Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University School of Medicine (6 patients), and from Department of Surgery, National Ureshino Hospital (one patient) were reviewed. Men predominate with ratio of 5:2, and an average age was 65.4 years. Tumor location was left lateral segment in 4 patients, right lobe, middle lobe and posterior segment in one, respectively. Three patients were associated with hepatolithiasis. Underlying liver disease was found in 4 patients (57%); cirrhosis in 3 patients, and chronic hepatitis in one. Initial symptoms were abdominal pain, fever and palpable abdominal mass. In imaging modalities available, the detection rates of tumor were 100% in CT and 67% in US and angiography, respectively. Combination of MRI and CT clearly showed tumor characteristics. The serum CEA was slightly elevated in 5 patients (83%), but serum CA19-9 rose strikingly in 3 patients. Most tumors showed an infiltrating growth along intrahepatic bile duct, with a portal vein thrombus and/or satellite tumors frequently. In 3 patients, early recurrence with intrahepatic metastasis occured within the first 6 months. The patient of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma containing a squamous or signet ring cell carinoma showed an extremely poor prognosis. This study suggests that early detection of small CCC and an extended resection are the most important factors for the survival of patient

Repurposing bromocriptine for Aβ metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease (REBRAnD) study : randomised placebo-controlled double-blind comparative trial and open-label extension trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of bromocriptine in Alzheimer’s disease with presenilin 1 (PSEN1) mutations

Introduction Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common causes of dementia. Pathogenic variants in the presenilin 1 (PSEN1) gene are the most frequent cause of early-onset AD. Medications for patients with AD bearing PSEN1 mutation (PSEN1-AD) are limited to symptomatic therapies and no established radical treatments are available. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based drug repurposing identified bromocriptine as a therapeutic candidate for PSEN1-AD. In this study, we used an enrichment strategy with iPSCs to select the study population, and we will investigate the safety and efficacy of an orally administered dose of bromocriptine in patients with PSEN1-AD. Methods and analysis This is a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. AD patients with PSEN1 mutations and a Mini Mental State Examination-Japanese score of ≤25 will be randomly assigned, at a 2:1 ratio, to the trial drug or placebo group (≥4 patients in TW-012R and ≥2 patients in placebo). This clinical trial consists of a screening period, double-blind phase (9 months) and extension phase (3 months). The double-blind phase for evaluating the efficacy and safety is composed of the low-dose maintenance period (10 mg/day), high-dose maintenance period (22.5 mg/day) and tapering period of the trial drug. Additionally, there is an open-labelled active drug extension period for evaluating long-term safety. Primary outcomes are safety and efficacy in cognitive and psychological function. Also, exploratory investigations for the efficacy of bromocriptine by neurological scores and biomarkers will be conducted. Ethics and dissemination The proposed trial is conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki, and was approved by the Institutional Review Board (K070). The study results are expected to be disseminated at international or national conferences and published in international journals following the peer-review process

Clinical Analysis of Perforated Intestinal Behcet Disease

Clinical pattern of perforated intestinal Behcet disease was analyzed in the five patients who underwent surgery in terms of preoperative symptoms, the condition of perforation, the extent of resection and recurrence. In the experienced patients, recurrences were included in four of the five patients in spite of treatment. Perforation was based on deep multiple ulcers, characteristic of the punchedout type. It is emphasized that intestinal Behcet disease is more likely to occur as a catastrophic event of perforation which requires an urgent operation, and more extensive resection is mandatory for prevention of recurrence

Esophageal Carcinomas with Synchronous and Metachronous Primary Malignant Carcinomas in Other Organs

Seventeen patients with 10 synchronous and 7 metachronous double cancers with carcinomas of the esophagus were surgically treated in the First Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University School of Medicine. All patients were men with an average of age 68.5. The incidence of double cancers with carcinoma of the esophagus accounted for 12.7% in a total of 134 of this series. The three triple cancers were included. Of the three, one was synchronous triple cancers in the esophagus, the stomach and the colon. The outcome was not necessarily satisfactory. Two had recurrence 3 and 5 months after surgery, but one is still alive for 33 months, free from carcinoma

Dielectric and Sorption Responses of Hydrogen-Bonding Network of Amorphous C-60(OH)(12) and C-60(OH)(36)

Hydrophilic fullerene derivatives of C-60(OH)(12) (1) and C-60(OH)(36) (2) bearing different numbers of -OH groups formed amorphous solids of 1.x(H2O) (x = 5-10) and 2.x(H2O) (x = 15-22), respectively, according to the humidity. The thermally activated dynamic molecular motion of polar H2O was confirmed in the DSC and dielectric spectra. Three-dimensional O-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen-bonding networks in amorphous 1 and 2 produced extrinsic adsorption-desorption pores with a hydrophilic environment posed by -OH groups, where N-2, CO2, H-2, and CH4 gases vapors and polar H2O, MeOH, and EtOH molecules reversibly adsorbed into the networks. The molecular motion of polar H2O was directly observed in dielectric enhancement and protonic conductivity in three-dimensional O-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen-bonding networks. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface areas of amorphous 1 and 2 were 315 and 351 m(2) g(-1), respectively, from the CO2 sorption isotherms. Reversible vapor sorption behaviors with structural changes of amorphous 1 and 2 were also confirmed for the polar H2O, MeOH, and EtOH

Photoinduced Reduction of Nitroarenes Using a Transition-Metal-Loaded Silicon Semiconductor under Visible Light Irradiation

We investigated transition-metal-loaded silicon nanoparticles for the photocatalytic reduction of nitroarene derivatives in the presence of formic acid under visible light irradiation. Formic acid assumes the role of both a hydrogen source and a sacrificial reagent for the introduction of electrons into the generated holes of semiconductors. As such, in the presence of formic acid, photocatalytic reactions smoothly proceed under mild conditions without gaseous hydrogen. In particular, palladium-loaded silicon (Pd/Si) was the most suitable catalyst for the conversion of nitrobenzene to aniline, compared to Pt/Si, Ru/Si, and Pd/C

Analysis and modeling of ants’ behavior from single to multi-body

In order to shed light on the collective behavior of social insects, we analyzed the behavior of ants from single to multi-body. In an experimental set-up, ants are placed in hemisphere without a nest and food. Trajectory of ants is recorded. From this bottom-up approach, we found that collective behavior of ants as follows: 1. Activity of single ant increases and decreases periodically. 2. Spontaneous meeting process is observed between two ants and meeting spot of two ants is localized in hemisphere. 3. Result on division of labor is obtained between two ants