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Background: We studied the clinicopathological characteristics and prognoses of localized stage thyroid diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Patients and methods: This study included 32 patients with stage I/IIE thyroid DLBCL. Their median age was 66 years, the male/female ratio was 10/22. Results: As to the cellular immunophenotype, CD20 was positive in 31/32, CD5 in 0/32, CD10 in 4/32, CD23 in 1/32, BCL2 in 14/30, and BCL6 in 24/32. Twelve cases showed abnormal karyotypes: two cases with t(8;14)(q24;q32), four cases with 3q27, two cases with 17p11, and four cases with other abnormal karyotypes. As for treatment, eight cases were treated with chemotherapy alone and 24 cases were treated with chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. Complete response was achieved in 94%. The 5-year progression-free survival was 84% and the 5-year overall survival was 90% with a median follow-up period of 62 months. The germinal center B-cell (GCB) type had a significantly better prognosis than the non-GCB type. Conclusion: Localized stage thyroid DLBCL is a disease with a relatively good prognosis. It is, however, a heterogeneous disease with regard to histological type and pathological state. Localized stage thyroid DLBCL has a good prognosis and it is that there are more GCB-type DLBCL lymphomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two patients who received supracricoid laryngectomy with cricohyoidoepiglottopexy to treat laryngeal cancers, underwent intra-operative electromyography analysis. After the lesion was removed and the electrodes were inserted into the remaining intrinsic laryngeal muscles, the depth of anaesthesia was carefully reduced. Gentle tactile stimulations were applied to the pharynx to trigger the reflex movement of the remaining arytenoids. Recordings were made when reflex movement was achieved.Case one: Electromyography (EMG) of the remaining arytenoid demonstrated clear phase differences indicating reciprocal activities between the adductor group (lateral cricoarytenoid muscle, interarytenoid muscle) and the abductor muscle (posterior cricoarytenoid muscle). Case two: EMG of the remaining arytenoid demonstrated reciprocal activities between the interarytenoid muscle and the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle. Activity of the lateral cricoarytenoid muscle was not evident because the muscle was excised during removal of the paraglottic space. Mobility of the arytenoid was attributed to interaction between the interarytenoid muscle and posterior cricoarytenoid muscle. Reciprocal interaction between the interarytenoid muscle and posterior cricoarytenoid muscle alone is also capable of maintaining post-operative laryngeal functions after supracricoid laryngectomy with cricohyoidoepiglottopexy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Central nervous system (CNS) relapse is an uncommon but challenging complication in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Survival after CNS relapse is extremely poor. Identification of high-risk populations is therefore critical in determining patients who might be candidates for a prophylactic approach. Patients and methods: A total of 608 patients (median age, 67 years; range 22-92) with MCL newly diagnosed between 1994 and 2012 were evaluated. Pretreatment characteristics and treatment regimens were evaluated for their association with CNS relapse by competing risk regression analysis. Results: None of the patients received intrathecal prophylaxis. Overall, 33 patients (5.4%) experienced CNS relapse during a median follow-up of 42.7 months. Median time from diagnosis to CNS relapse was 20.3 months (range: 2.2-141.3 months). Three-year cumulative incidence of CNS relapse was 5.6% [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 3.7% to 8.0%]. Univariate analysis revealed several risk factors including blastoid variant, leukemic presentation, high-risk MCL International Prognostic Index and high Ki-67 (proliferation marker). Multivariate analyses revealed that Ki-67 ≥ 30 was the only significant risk factor for CNS relapse (hazard ratio: 6.0, 95% CI 1.9-19.4, P = 0.003). Two-year cumulative incidence of CNS relapse in patients with Ki-67 ≥ 30 was 25.4% (95% CI 13.5-39.1), while that in the patients with Ki-67 < 30 was 1.6% (95% CI 0.4-4.2). None of the treatment modalities, including rituximab, high-dose cytarabine, high-dose methotrexate or consolidative autologous stem-cell transplant, were associated with a lower incidence of CNS relapse. Survival after CNS relapse was poor, with median survival time of 8.3 months. There was no significant difference in the survival by the site of CNS involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We carried out immunohistochemistry to examine the expression of nm23-H1 in Hodgkin and Reed–Sternberg cells in patients with classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma (CHL). Patients and methods: We evaluated 128 patients with CHL [87 patients with nodular sclerosis (NS) and 41 patients with mixed cellularity (MC)] for CD15, CD20, Ki-67, EBER, TIA-1, and nm23-H1 by immunohistochemistry. Results: CD15 was expressed in 79%, CD20 in 11%, Ki-67 in 93%, EBER in 34%, TIA-1 in 11%, and nm23-H1 in 60% of the CHL patients. NS patients showed a significantly higher rate of nm23-H1 expression than MC patients (P Conclusions: Our results indicate that nm23-H1 expression is a prognostic factor for CHL and that it is as important as serum nm23-H1, both of which are useful for planning the treatment strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary.  The concentrations of free amino acids in plasma change coordinately and their profiles show distinctive features in various physiological conditions; however, their behavior can not always be explained by the conventional flow-based metabolic pathway network. In this study, we have revealed the interrelatedness of the plasma amino acids and inferred their network structure with threshold-test analysis and multilevel-digraph analysis methods using the plasma samples of rats which are fed diet deficient in single essential amino acid. In the inferred network, we could draw some interesting interrelations between plasma amino acids as follows: 1) Lysine is located at the top control level and has effects on almost all of the other plasma amino acids. 2) Threonine plays a role in a hub in the network, which has direct links to the most number of other amino acids. 3) Threonine and methionine are interrelated to each other and form a loop structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Treatment of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) with proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) improves symptoms of asthma in some patients. However, the effects of a PPI on ventilatory function are still controversial. In this study, we measured ventilatory function in asthma patients treated with a PPI in order to identify those in whom a therapeutic effect on asthma can be expected from the acid suppression. Methods: From a cohort of 114 consecutive patients with bronchial asthma, 53 patients agreed to participate in the study and were treated with rabeprazole 20 mg daily for 8 weeks during an asymptomatic, stable period with no exacerbations of their asthma. Of the 53 patients, 22 were diagnosed as GER on the basis of the QUEST questionnaire and endoscopic examination. The patients were monitored for improvement in ventilatory function. Results: Four patients dropped out because of adverse drug reactions. All the patients with GER noted an improvement in reflux symptoms with PPI treatment. An improvement of more than 20% in peak expiratory flow (PEF) was observed in 8 of 21 GER patients but in none of the non-GER patients. Factors predictive of improvement in PEF with rabeprazole therapy were the QUEST score (odds ratio: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.06-2.04, P = 0.022) and steroid-dependency of asthma (odds ratio: 0.01, 95% CI: 0.001-0.31, P = 0.008). Conclusions: Treatment with rabeprazole is expected to ameliorate asthma in non-steroid-dependent patients who have symptomatic GER defined by the QUEST score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving enhanced coupling of solar radiation over the full range of the silicon absorption spectrum up to the bandgap is essential for increased efficiency of solar cells, especially thin film versions. While many designs for enhancing trapping of radiation have been explored, detailed measurements of light scattering inside silicon cells is still lacking. Here, we demonstrate experimentally and computationally that plasmonic-assisted localized and traveling modes can efficiently couple red and infrared radiation into ultrathin amorphous silicon (a-Si) layers. Utilizing patterned periodic arrays of aluminum nanostructures on thin a-Si, we perform specular and diffuse reflectivity and transmission measurements over a broad spectrum. Based on these results, we are able to separate parasitic absorption in aluminum plasmonic arrays from enhanced light absorption in the 200 nm thick amorphous silicon layer, as compared to a blank silicon layer. We discover a very efficient near-infrared a-Si absorption mechanism that occurs at the transition from the radiative to evanescent diffractive coupling, analogous to earlier surface-enhanced infrared studies. These results represent a direct demonstration of enhanced radiation coupling into silicon due to large angle scattering and show a path forward to improved ultrathin solar cell efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of low-n magnetohydrodynamic instabilities on plasma performance have been assessed in the regime where an achieved beta value is limited by instabilities. The unstable regime of an ideal interchange mode is characterized by enhanced magnetic hill and reduced magnetic shear. Experiments have clarified that (i) low-n modes are significantly destabilized in the ideal-unstable configurations and lead to degradation of central beta by at most 60%, and (ii) the degree of their damages strongly depends on the mode rotation velocity. The occurrence of the minor collapse is independent of an existence of an error field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]