Surgical Treatment for Skeletal Metastases From Soft Tissue Sarcomas: Experience With 23 Lesions in 20 Patients

Purpose. This paper reports the procedures and the clinical results of a series of surgical treatments for skeletal metastases from soft tissue sarcomas

Oxidative Stress Management in Chronic Liver Diseases and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Chronic viral hepatitis B and C and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been widely acknowledged to be the leading causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. As anti-viral treatment progresses, the impact of NAFLD is increasing. NAFLD can coexist with chronic viral hepatitis and exacerbate its progression. Oxidative stress has been recognized as a chronic liver disease progression-related and cancer-initiating stress response. However, there are still many unresolved issues concerning oxidative stress, such as the correlation between the natural history of the disease and promising treatment protocols. Recent findings indicate that oxidative stress is also an anti-cancer response that is necessary to kill cancer cells. Oxidative stress might therefore be a cancer-initiating response that should be down regulated in the pre-cancerous stage in patients with risk factors for cancer, while it is an anti-cancer cell response that should not be down regulated in the post-cancerous stage, especially in patients using anti-cancer agents. Antioxidant nutrients should be administered carefully according to the patients' disease status. In this review, we will highlight these paradoxical effects of oxidative stress in chronic liver diseases, pre- and post-carcinogenesis

Association Between SLFN11 and Antitumor Activity of Trabectedin

Background/Aim: Trabectedin is a DNA-damaging agent and has been approved for the treatment of patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma. Schlafen 11 (SLFN11) was identified as a dominant determinant of the response to DNA-damaging agents. The aim of the study was to clarify the association between SLFN11 expression and the antitumor activity of trabectedin. Materials and Methods: The antitumor activity of trabectedin was evaluated under different expression levels of SLFN11 regulated by RNA interference and CRISPR-Cas9 systems, and the combined antitumor activity of ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein kinase (ATR) inhibitor and trabectedin in sarcoma cell lines using in vitro a cell viability assay and in vivo xenograft models. Results: SLFN11-knockdown cell lines had a lower sensitivity to trabectedin, compared to parental cells. ATR inhibitor enhanced the antitumor activity of trabectedin in SLFN11-knockdown cells and in a SLFN11-knockout xenograft model. Conclusion: SLFN11 expression might be a key factor in the antitumor activity of trabectedin

The Kuroshio Region off Southwest Japan ASUKA 1993-95 Inverted Echo Sounder Data Report

In order to study the time-varying volume and heat transports of the Kuroshio off southwest Japan, a large number of scientists from Japan and a small number from the U.S.A. formed a group called ASUKA. This group carried out a coordinated investigation which was concentrated in time on the years 1993-95, and in space on a 1,000 km segment of a TOPEX/POSEIDON suborbital track running south-southeast from western Shikoku. This report describes the techniques used to process data collected by ten inverted echo sounders (IES) on this 1,000 km line off Japan, as part of the ASUKA study. The University of Rhode Island (URI) was responsible for all the IES\u27s except IES5 and IES8 which were from the Hydrographic Department of the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency (MSA/HD). The URI IES\u27s were deployed from the Training Vessel Keiten-maru in October 1993 and recovered from the same vessel in November 1995. The MSA/HD IES\u27s were deployed from the Survey Vessel Shoyo in July 1993. IES8 was recovered by Shoyo in May 1994, but unfortunately IES5 was not recovered

Verification of Generalizability in Software Log Anomaly Detection Models

With recent rapid technological advances, the automatic analysis of software logs has received particular attention. Currently, there is much research on the use of Deep Learning in the field of software log anomaly detection, and they have reported high accuracy of more than 0.9 in the f1-score. On the other hand, there are reports that it has not been used in the field of software development. We conducted a generalized evaluation against representative models for log anomaly detection to elucidate the cause of this problem. Five models were used in the subject: four representative models (two supervised and two unsupervised) and our proposed Neocortical Algorithm (supervised). We used the commonly used Blue Gene/L supercomputer log(BGL) dataset. The learning curves and cross-validation showed a tendency toward overfitting in all models. In addition, a survey of the frequency of log patterns confirmed the need for a more diverse dataset, as many of the patterns are a series of specific logs

Effects of enzymatically modified isoquercitrin in supplementary protein powder on athlete body composition: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial

BackgroundEnzymatically modified isoquercitrin (EMIQ), a water-soluble quercetin, has been shown to intensify muscle hypertrophy in mice. We investigated the effect of EMIQ in supplementary protein powder on athlete body composition.MethodsForty Japanese males who played American football (age: 19.8 ± 1.4 years; body height: 174.1 ± 6.0 cm; body mass: 75.5 ± 10.7 kg) were assigned to a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of parallel group. Participants received either EMIQ in whey protein (EW, n = 19) or contrast whey protein (W, n = 20) 6 days per week over 4 months. Body composition was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Markers of oxidative stress, derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and biological antioxidant potential (BAP), were assessed using a free radical analytical system. Data were analyzed using a univariate and repeated measures general model statistics.ResultsAfter 4 months, changes in lower limb fat-free mass and muscle mass were significantly greater in the EW group than in the W group (mean change ±95% CI; W: 324.1 ± 284.3, EW: 950.3 ± 473.2, p = 0.031, W: 255.7 ± 288.6, EW: 930.9 ± 471.5, p = 0.021, respectively). Moreover, the EW group exhibited a significantly higher BAP/d-ROMs ratio, antioxidation index, than the W group after 4 months (mean change ± SD; W: 8.8 ± 1.1, EW: 10.3 ± 2.8; p = 0.028). No significant differences in body mass, lean body mass, fat mass, or lower limb fat mass were observed between the groups.ConclusionIngestion of EMIQ in supplementary protein powder for 4 months exerts antioxidant effects and increases muscle mass among American football players

Decreased Serum Antioxidant Marker is Predictive of Early Recurrence in the Same Segment after Radical Ablation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a promising method for controlling tumors, although it does not entirely eliminate recurrence. Oxidative stress is associated with the progression of hepatocarcinogenesis, while also acting as an anticancer response. The objective of the present study was to investigate the factors influencing post-RFA outcomes. We recruited 235 newly diagnosed HCC patients who received RFA for single tumors. The patients with recurrence were sub-grouped into early and segmental recurrence groups. The characteristics of the sub-grouped patients were evaluated, including by measuring oxidative stress marker reactive oxygen metabolites and antioxidant marker OXY-adsorbent tests. The factors associated with poor survival were a high Child-Pugh score and early recurrence within 2 years in the same segment. The patients who experienced recurrence within 2 years in the same segment showed a larger tumor diameter than did others. According to a multivariate analysis, the OXY values were also significantly low in these patients. In conclusion, maintaining the antioxidant reservoir function with a high OXY value might be necessary to prevent early recurrence within the RFA-treated segment