Abdominal wall and thigh abscess resulting from the penetration of ascending colon cancer.

An unusual case is described in which an abdominal wall and thigh abscess was an initial symptom of ascending colon cancer. A 76-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for investigation of fever and abdominal and thigh swelling. Computed tomography revealed a right abdominal wall, retroperitoneal, psoas and thigh abscess formation suspected to be caused by colon perforation. Due to the patient's poor general condition, local drainage of the abscess was performed on the following day of hospitalization. Histological examination of necrotic tissues removed form the retroperitoneal cavity demonstrated adenocarcinoma of the colon. The patient subsequently underwent right hemicolectomy with lymph nodal dissection after 19 days of the drainage procedure and was transferred to another hospital on the 49th day following the second surgery.</p

Place, Community, and Identity : The Preservation Movement of San Franciscoʼs Japantown

カリフォルニア州サンフランシスコ市のジャパンタウンは20 世紀初頭に日本人移民の集住地域として誕生した。現在の日系人人口は郊外など各地に分散しているが、日系アメリカ人の多くにとってジャパンタウンはエスニシティの象徴として今なお重要とされている。本論文は近年の人文地理学の空間理論を援用し、1990 年代末から活発化したジャパンタウンの保護運動が日系アメリカ人のアイデンティティ形成に果たす役割を考察した。2006 年、一日本企業の撤退に伴いジャパンタウンのショッピング・モールやホテル等が一度に売却されることになった。これに危機感を募らせた日系コミュニティの指導者たちはサンフランシスコ市行政委員の支援を受けてロビー活動を展開し、ジャパンタウンを「Special Use District (SUD)」という土地利用が制限される特別地区に指定することに成功した。SUD制度は「場所」の境界線を定め、場所のアイデンティティを「日本・日系アメリカ文化」に限定した。本論文は場所の永続性と開放性という対照的な観点から、SUD制度の利点と問題点を指摘した。場所を永続的なものとみなした場合、SUDにより場所の境界とアイデンティティを再定義することはジャパンタウンの求心力低下に直面しているコミュニティ指導者たちにとって喫緊の問題であり、SUDの熱心なロビー活動は当然の行動だったといえる。SUDはジャパンタウンの経済的・文化的な発展を促すばかりでなく、多文化都市サンフランシスコの観光産業にも利益をもたらす可能性がある。しかし、場所を開放的なものとみなした場合、SUDはジャパンタウンに居住する非日系人グループらを周縁化し、「我々」と「他者」の境界を益々強固にするという危険性も孕むといえるであろう。論文Article

Place, Community, and Identity : The Preservation Movement of San Franciscoʼs Japantown

カリフォルニア州サンフランシスコ市のジャパンタウンは20 世紀初頭に日本人移民の集住地域として誕生した。現在の日系人人口は郊外など各地に分散しているが、日系アメリカ人の多くにとってジャパンタウンはエスニシティの象徴として今なお重要とされている。本論文は近年の人文地理学の空間理論を援用し、1990 年代末から活発化したジャパンタウンの保護運動が日系アメリカ人のアイデンティティ形成に果たす役割を考察した。2006 年、一日本企業の撤退に伴いジャパンタウンのショッピング・モールやホテル等が一度に売却されることになった。これに危機感を募らせた日系コミュニティの指導者たちはサンフランシスコ市行政委員の支援を受けてロビー活動を展開し、ジャパンタウンを「Special Use District (SUD)」という土地利用が制限される特別地区に指定することに成功した。SUD制度は「場所」の境界線を定め、場所のアイデンティティを「日本・日系アメリカ文化」に限定した。本論文は場所の永続性と開放性という対照的な観点から、SUD制度の利点と問題点を指摘した。場所を永続的なものとみなした場合、SUDにより場所の境界とアイデンティティを再定義することはジャパンタウンの求心力低下に直面しているコミュニティ指導者たちにとって喫緊の問題であり、SUDの熱心なロビー活動は当然の行動だったといえる。SUDはジャパンタウンの経済的・文化的な発展を促すばかりでなく、多文化都市サンフランシスコの観光産業にも利益をもたらす可能性がある。しかし、場所を開放的なものとみなした場合、SUDはジャパンタウンに居住する非日系人グループらを周縁化し、「我々」と「他者」の境界を益々強固にするという危険性も孕むといえるであろう。論文Article

Rapid Detection of Mutations in the 23S rRNA Gene of Helicobacter pylori That Confers Resistance to Clarithromycin Treatment to the Bacterium

We developed a new method capable of detecting point mutations in the 23S rRNA gene of Helicobacter pylori using a LightCycler. Our method can detect a mutation in this gene in less than 1 h and can process many samples at once, thereby contributing to the selection of patients suitable for clarithromycin-based therapy

A Prospective Observational Study on Effect of Short-Term Periodic Steroid Premedication on Bone Metabolism in Gastrointestinal Cancer (ESPRESSO-01)

Background. A multicenter prospective observational study evaluated the effect of gastrointestinal cancer chemotherapy with short‐term periodic steroid premedication on bone metabolism. Patients and Methods. Seventy‐four patients undergoing chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer were studied. The primary endpoints were changes in bone mineral densities (BMDs) and metabolic bone turnover 16 weeks after initiation of chemotherapy. BMDs, measured by dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry, and serum cross‐linked N‐telopeptides of type I collagen (sNTX), and bone alkaline phosphatase (sBAP) were assessed for evaluation of bone resorption and formation, respectively. Results. In 74.3% (55/74) of the patients, BMDs were significantly reduced at 16 weeks relative to baseline. The percent changes of BMD were -1.89% (95% confidence interval [CI], -2.67% to -1.11%: p < .0001) in the lumbar spine, -2.24% (95% CI, -3.59% to -0.89%: p = .002) in the total hip, and -2.05% (95% CI, -3.11% to -0.99%: p < .0001) in the femoral neck. Although there was no significant difference in sNTX levels during 16 weeks (p = .136), there was a significant increase in sBAP levels (p = .010). Decreased BMD was significantly linked to number of chemotherapy cycles (p = .02). There were no significant correlations between changes in BMDs and the primary site of malignancy, chemotherapy regimens, total cumulative steroid dose, steroid dose intensity, and additive steroid usage. Conclusion. Gastrointestinal cancer chemotherapy with periodic glucocorticoid premedication was associated with reduced BMD and increased sBAP levels, which were linked to number of chemotherapy cycles but independent of primary site, chemotherapy regimen, duration, and additive steroid usage

Efficacy and safety of daclatasvir and asunaprevir combination therapy in chronic hemodialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C

Background: HCV infection in chronic hemodialysis patients is high, has a poor prognosis and high risk of renal graft failure, and requires nosocomial infection control measures. However, options of anti-HCV therapy in such patients are limited and unsatisfactory. In this study, we report effectiveness and safety of HCV-NS5A-inhibitor daclatasvir (DCV) and protease-inhibitor asunaprevir (ASV) combination therapy for hemodialysis patients with HCV infection. Methods: This study was registered at the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry as UMIN000016355. Thirty-four dialysis patients were treated with DCV/ASV combination therapy between January 2015 and November 2015. Of those, 21 patients who were followed more than 12 weeks after treatment ended were included. We evaluated the 12-week sustained virologic response (SVR12) and adverse events during treatment. Results: Of the 21 patients, four had compensated liver cirrhosis and three had resistance-associated variant of NS5A (NS5A RAVs)-Y93H at baseline. Overall, total of 95.5 % (20/21) of the patients achieved SVR12. Of note, all patients with cirrhosis or NS5A RAVs achieved SVR12. One relapser patient at 4 weeks post-treatment had NS3 D168E RAVs at baseline. A total of 20 patients (95.5 %) completed the 24-week therapy. One patient discontinued treatment at week 12 due to ALT elevations and achieved SVR12. Conclusions: DAV and ASV combination therapy for chronic hemodialysis patients with HCV infection was highly effective and well tolerated, even in elderly patients and patients with liver cirrhosis and NS5A-RAVs

Data from: Incidence of cancer-associated thromboembolism in Japanese gastric and colorectal cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a single-institutional retrospective cohort analysis (Sapporo CAT study)

Objective: Few data regarding the incidence of cancer-associated thromboembolism (TE) are available for Asian populations. We investigated the incidence of TE (TEi) and its risk factors among gastric and colorectal cancer (GCC) patients who received chemotherapy in a daily practice setting. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Setting: A single institutional study that used data from Sapporo City General Hospital, Japan, on patients treated between January 2008 and May 2015. Participants: Five hundred Japanese GCC patients who started chemotherapy from January 2008 to May 2015. Primary and secondary outcome measures: TE was diagnosed by reviewing all the reports of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) performed during the follow-up period. All types of thrombosis detected by CT or additional imaging tests, such as venous TE, arterial TE, and cerebral infarction, were defined as TE. Medical records of all identified patients were reviewed and potential risk factors for TE including clinicopathological backgrounds were collected. We defined the following patients as ‘active cancer’; patients with unresectable advanced GCC, cancer recurrence during or after completing adjuvant (Adj) chemotherapy, and/or presence of other malignant tumours. Results: Of the 500 patients, 70 patients (14.0%) developed TE during the follow-up period. TEi was 9.2% and 17.3% in gastric and colorectal cancer patients, 18.1% and 3.5% in active and non-active cancer patients, and 24.0% and 12.9% in multiple and single primary, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 2.371; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.328 to 4.233), active cancer (OR 7.593; 95% CI 2.950 to 19.543), and multiple primary (OR 2.527; 95% CI 1.189 to 5.370) were independently associated with TEi. Conclusion: TEi was 14.0% among Japanese GCC patients received chemotherapy, and was significantly higher among patients with colorectal cancer, active cancer, and multiple primary than among those with gastric cancer, non-active cancer, and single primary, respectively