Irregular modified A-Hypergeometric systems

A modified A-hypergeometric system is a system of differential equations for the function f(t w · x) where f(y) is a solution of an A-hypergeometric system in n variables and w is an n dimensional integer vector, which is called the weight vector. We study the irregularity of modified systems by adapting to this case the notion of umbrella introduced by M. Schulze and U. Walther. Especially, we study slopes and Gevrey series solutions. We develop some applications of this study. Under some conditions we give Laplace integral representations of divergent series solutions of the modified system and we show that certain Gevrey series solutions of the original A-hypergeometric system along coordinate varieties are Gevrey asymptotic expansions of holomorphic solutions of the A-hypergeometric system.Ministerio de Ciencia e InnovaciónFondo Europeo de Desarrollo RegionalJunta de AndalucíaMax Planck Institute für MathematikJapan Society for the Promotion of Scienc

Chemoprevention of colorectal cancer : experimental and clinical aspects

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Therefore, an appropriate prevention strategy should be urgently established. Chemoprevention involves the use of oral agents to suppress the development of cancer. Recent progress in the molecular analysis of colorectal cancer has revealed many candidate molecules for chemoprevention. Many new agents targeting these molecules have also been developed. These agents are largely classified into three categories : 1) Signal transduction modulators including epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor inhibitors, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibodies, and inhibitors of oncogene products. 2) Epigenetic modulators including peroxisome proliferative activated receptor (PPAR)-γ agonists, estrogen receptor (ER)-β , and histone deacetylase inhibitors. 3) Anti-inflammatory modulators including cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, EP 1-4, and NF-kB. Of these agents, some actually proceeded to human clinical trials, and have been shown to be active chemopreventive agents

Improved Path Planning of the Blade for an Automatic Spinach Harvester

ArticleIFAC-PapersOnLine. 53(2): 15816-15823. (2020)journal articl

Sorafenib as a secondary treatment

Background and Aim: Currently, there is no molecular‐targeted agent that has demonstrated evidence of efficacy in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (u‐HCC) who have developed resistance to treatment with lenvatinib (LEN). In this real‐world study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect and safety of sorafenib (SOR) in patients with u‐HCC after progression on treatment with LEN. Methods (Patients) and Results: A total of 13 patients with u‐HCC (12 males and 1 female), who were treated with SOR after progression on LEN, were enrolled in this retrospective study. Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated via contrast‐enhanced computerized tomography at 8 weeks after the initiation of SOR therapy according to modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (mRECIST) and RECIST. According to mRECIST, the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 15.3% (2/13) and 69.2% (9/13), respectively. According to RECIST, the ORR and DCR were 0% (0/13) and 69.2% (9/13), respectively. The median progression‐free survival was 4.1 months. The median albumin‐bilirubin scores did not deteriorate significantly at 4, 6, and 8 weeks after initiation of SOR, compared with the scores at the baseline. The most frequent grade 1 or 2 adverse events (AEs) were palmar–plantar erythrodysesthesia, fatigue, diarrhea, and hypertension. There was no incidence of grade 3 AEs. Conclusion: Treatment with SOR may be effective for u‐HCC after failure on LEN and may not worsen the liver reserve

Proton Beam Therapy and Continuous Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy for Polymorphous Low-Grade Adenocarcinoma in the Hard Palate

Polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma is a rare malignant tumor that mainly occurs in salivary glands, particularly in the hard palate. To date, surgery has been the most commonly used treatment method with the aim of achieving negative margins of resection. Here, we report a case of a 51-year-old woman who presented with a painless growing mass in her oral cavity with Rouviere’s lymph node metastasis. Laboratory data showed severe anemia because of bleeding from the tumor. We inserted two catheters into the bilateral external carotid arteries via the superficial temporal arteries, and began continuous intra-arterial infusion with cisplatin and a cisplatin-neutralizing agent. The bleeding stopped after the first infusion, and we continued with weekly arterial cisplatin infusion and proton beam therapy (70.4 GyE in 32 fractions). A decrease in tumor volume has been maintained for 2 years, with no evidence of new metastasis

Influence of light alcohol consumption on lifestyle-related diseases : a predictor of fatty liver with liver enzyme elevation in Japanese females with metabolic syndrome

Background Although heavy drinking is known to lead to liver injury, some recent studies have reported that light alcohol consumption (LAC) may play a protective role against fatty liver in the general population, and may even play a protective role against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in males with metabolic syndrome (MS). However, the association between LAC and fatty liver with liver enzyme elevation in females with MS is unclear. Methods Participants of this study were 20,853 females who underwent a regular health check-up between April 2008 and March 2012 at our hospital. Enrolled subjects were 1141 females with MS, who underwent all necessary tests and drank less than 20 g/day of alcohol. We investigated the presence of fatty liver with liver enzyme elevation, defined in this study as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels ≧31 IU/I, and the association between LAC and fatty liver with ALT elevation. Results There was no significant difference in the prevalence of fatty liver and ALT between light drinkers and non-drinkers. The prevalence of individuals receiving a treatment for dyslipidemia and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) was significantly lower in light drinkers than in non-drinkers. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), triglyceride (TG), uric acid (UA), IGT, and visceral fat type MS (V-type MS) were significant predictors of the prevalence of fatty liver with ALT elevation in logistic regression analysis. The odds ratio [OR] (95 % confidence interval [CI], p value) for fatty liver with ALT elevation were as follows: BMI, 2.181 (1.445–3.293, p <0.001); WC, 1.853 (1.280–2.684, p <0.01); DBP, 1.604 (1.120–2.298, p <0.05); TG, 2.202 (1.562–3.105, p <0.001); UA, 2.959 (1.537–5.698, p <0.01); IGT, 1.692 (1.143–2.506, p <0.01); and V-type MS, 3.708 (2.529–5.437, p <0.001). Conclusions There was no significant difference in the prevalence of fatty liver with ALT elevation in females with MS between light drinkers and non-drinkers, suggesting that other factors such as BMI, WC, V-type MS, and lifestyle-related disease may be more important than LAC for the prevalence of fatty liver with ALT elevation

Metastatic Primary Splenic Angiosarcoma

A primary splenic angiosarcoma is a rare type of soft tissue sarcoma and is associated with an extremely poor prognosis. In this study, we describe the case of a patient who was diagnosed with metastatic primary splenic angiosarcoma and survived for about 2 years. A 62-year-old female was referred to us for the treatment of splenic angiosarcoma with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and multiple liver and bone metastases. Paclitaxel therapy resulted in recovery from DIC and enabled her to continue sequential treatment through to sixth-line chemotherapy. We reviewed all splenic angiosarcoma case reports which were described as stage IV to date and compared with our case. From these data, we found that the median overall survival was 105 days, and the prognosis of splenic angiosarcoma of stage IV was worse than conventional case series. Splenectomy was performed in more patients than chemotherapy as a treatment. Moreover, various chemotherapeutic regimens were used. These data suggest that administering chemotherapy including paclitaxel to patients with splenic angiosarcoma might improve their prognosis

lenvatinib in nonviral hepatocarcinoma

Aim: To investigate the therapeutic effect of lenvatinib (LEN) in liver disease etiology, especially nonviral hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods and Results: Sixty-seven patients with unresectable advanced HCC (u-HCC) treated with LEN and consisting of 26 hepatitis C virus (HCV), 19 hepatitis B virus (HBV), 11 alcohol, and 11 nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cases were retrospectively recruited. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine predictive factors for survival. The objective response rate in the nonviral (alcohol and NASH) group was higher than that in the viral group (59.1% [13/22] vs. 46.7% [21/45]). Progression-free survival was significantly longer in the nonviral group than in the viral group (13.7 vs. 6.6 months; hazard ratio [HR] 0.324; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.174–0.602; P < 0.01). Similarly, median overall survival (OS) was significantly longer in the nonviral group than in the viral group (not evaluable vs. 15.9 months; HR = 0.277; 95% CI = 0.116–0.662; P < 0.01). Multivariate analysis revealed that portal vein invasion (HR = 5.327, P = 0.0025), treatment line (HR = 0.455, P = 0.023), and etiology (HR = 0.180, P = 0.00055) were significant independent factors associated with OS in u-HCC patients treated with LEN. Conclusion: Our results suggest that LEN is more effective against nonviral u-HCC than against viral u-HCC

Influence of Alcohol Consumption on the Development of Erosive Esophagitis in Both Sexes : A Longitudinal Study

The influence of changes in alcohol consumption on erosive esophagitis (EE) development in both sexes is unclear. This observational study investigated sex differences in the influence of alcohol consumption on EE development, and included 2582 patients without EE at baseline from 13,448 patients who underwent >2 health check-ups over >1 year. The rates of non-drinkers who started drinking, and drinkers who abstained from drinking, who increased, and who decreased their weekly alcohol consumption were 7.2%, 9.7%, 14.7%, and 24.1% and 7.3%, 17.8%, 12.8%, and 39.0% in men and women, respectively. In the final cohort, 211/1405 (15.0%) men and 79/1177 (6.7%) women newly developed EE. The odds ratio (OR) for drinking in EE development was 1.252 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.907–1.726) among men and 1.078 (95% CI, 0.666–1.747) among women. Among men aged <50 years, the OR for drinking ≥70 g/week in EE development was 2.825 (95% CI, 1.427–5.592), whereas among women, the OR for drinking ≥140 g/week in EE development was 3.248 (95% CI, 1.646–6.410). Among participants aged <50 years, the OR for daily drinking in EE development was 2.692 (95% CI, 1.298–5.586) among men and 4.030 (95% CI, 1.404–11.57) among women. The influence of alcohol consumption on EE development differed between the sexes. We recommend no alcohol consumption for individuals aged <50 years to avoid EE development. Daily drinkers should be assessed for EE development