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This article discusses a technique called Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) that is used to treat esophageal achalasia. The authors developed a method using two submucosal injection solutions to reliably create a submucosal tunnel into the lesser curvature of the stomach during the procedure. They conducted a study comparing this technique to the conventional method and found that the success rate of submucosal tunneling was significantly higher in the group using the two injection solutions. There were no drug-related adverse events, and the incidence of post-POEM gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was similar between the two groups. The authors conclude that POEM using two submucosal injections is more effective and safe than the conventional method. [Extracted from the article]

Genetic reversion is the phenomenon of spontaneous gene correction by which gene function is partially or completely rescued. However, it is unknown whether this mechanism always correctly repairs mutations, or is prone to error. We investigated a family of three boys with intellectual disability, and among them we identified two different mutations in KDM5C, located at Xp11.22, using whole-exome sequencing. Two affected boys have c. 633delG and the other has c. 631delC. We also confirmed de novo germline (c. 631delC) and low-prevalence somatic (c. 633delG) mutations in their mother. The two mutations are present on the same maternal haplotype, suggesting that a postzygotic somatic mutation or a reversion error occurred at an early embryonic stage in the mother, leading to switched KDM5C mutations in the affected siblings. This event is extremely unlikely to arise spontaneously (with an estimated probability of 0.39-7.5 × 10−28), thus a possible reversion error is proposed here to explain this event. This study provides evidence for reversion error as a novel mechanism for the generation of somatic mutations in human diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC), more than 8000 patients have been successfully treated by carbon ion beams since 1994. The successful results of treatments have led us to construct a new treatment facility equipped with a 3-D pencil beam scanning irradiation system. For the implementation of this irradiation technique, we developed a fast scanning magnet and its power supply, which are required to have field ramp rate of more than 250 T/s. The scanning magnets set at the entrance of the irradiation system are two dipole magnets to scan the beam in both horizontal and vertical directions and used to form the irradiation field to be tumor shape. Before the installation, performance test including both static and dynamic field measurement was carried out. Severe delay of the field and temperature rise were not observed as expected. Measured field ramp rate reached up to 300 T/s. After the installation, we verified the accuracy and stability of the scanned ion beam through the commissioning with the beam. As a successful result of the commissioning, treatment using the new scanning system was started in 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Trimetaphosphate (TMP) effects on demineralized bovine enamel were studied after 15 days of pH cycling. Treatments included 30 wt% (weight percent) dilutions of 0, 500, 1,500 or 3,000 [mu]g F/g aqueous NaF solutions with or without 3% TMP. Treated specimens were assessed by transverse microradiography. With the exception of the 3,000 [mu]g F/g case, 3% TMP addition provided significant additional overall remineralization compared with F alone. Mineral content profiles differed significantly between corresponding F and F + TMP groups. Fluoride alone resulted in more remineralization in the original demineralized zone, whereas F + TMP caused less demineralization in the underlying, originally sound enamel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton inelastic scattering on the neutron-rich nucleus 32Mg has been experimentally studied at Elab = 46.5 MeV/nucleon in inverse kinematics. The energies of excited states in 32Mg were obtained by measuring de-excitation γ rays. Several new states were identified by γ-γ coincidence analysis. Their spins and parities were restricted and the deformation parameters βp,p′ were extracted from the measured angular distribution of the proton inelastic scattering. The present analysis favors 4+ for the spin and parity of the 2321-keV state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coulomb excitation of the exotic neutron-rich nucleus 26Ne on a 208Pb target was measured at 58 A.MeV in order to search for low-lying E1 strength above the neutron emission threshold. The radioactive beam was produced by fragmentation of a 95 A.MeVAr beam delivered by the RIKEN Accelerator Research Facility. The set-up included a NaI(Tl) gamma-ray array, a charged fragment hodoscope and a neutron wall. Using the invariant mass method in the 25Ne+n channel, we observe by multipole decomposition a sizable amount of E1 strength between 6 and 10 MeV excitation energy. For the first time, the decay pattern of low-lying strength in a neutron-rich nucleus is measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One way to reduce dental fluorosis is by reducing the fluoride (F) concentration in dentifrice, but low-F dentifrice should be as effective as a standard dentifrice. This study evaluated in vitro whether the supplementation with sodium trimetaphosphate (TMP) of a dentifrice with low F content (500 μg/g) would provide a similar effect to that of a standard dentifrice. Bovine enamel blocks were submitted to a pH cycling regime incorporating daily exposures to a slurry of dentifrice: a low-F dentifrice with or without 0.1–3.0% TMP; an F-free, phosphate-free dentifrice (negative control), or a dentifrice with 1,100 μg/g F (positive control). The addition of TMP to dentifrice with or without F was associated with higher surface hardness and decreased loss of integrated subsurface hardness after pH cycling. The combination of 1% TMP and 500 μg F/g had a greater effect than the positive control dentifrice. It is concluded that the addition of TMP to the 500-μg F/g dentifrice allowed a similar or larger effect as compared with a standard dentifrice in this in vitro model. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The clinical significance of lateral pelvic lymphatic spread in rectal cancer remains unknown. The present study aimed to assess the accuracy of preoperative computed tomography (CT) for prediction of lateral node involvement in patients with low rectal cancer and to determine the prognostic significance of extended lateral node dissection. Methods: A total of 109 patients with primary low rectal cancer were enrolled in this prospective cohort study. The preoperative CT findings were compared with the histopathological results and with follow-up data. Results: CT diagnosed lateral lymph node status with high accuracy (sensitivity 95 per cent, specificity 94 per cent), in marked contrast to mesorectal node status. Of 68 patients who had R0 resection without lateral node dissection, only two developed pelvic wall recurrence during median follow-up of 4. 1 years. Metastatic nodes in the lateral pelvic region were significantly larger than those in the mesorectum (P < 0.001). Conclusion: CT accurately predicted lateral lymph node status in low rectal cancer, allowing preoperative identification of patients who might benefit from extended lateral node dissection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proton shell structure in neutron-rich fluorine 23F was investigated using the in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy technique via the proton transfer reaction onto the unstable nucleus 22O, in addition to α inelastic scattering on 23F, and the neutron-knockout reaction from 24F. The level and γ-decay scheme in 23F was deduced from de-excitation γ-ray-particle coincidence events. We found that a single-particle state at 4.061MeV has a large contribution from the d shell by the analysis of population strengths and the angular distribution for the state. We reported here the present experiment and the preliminary results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that describes the use of the Reduction Sleeve introducer to place Seprafilm, an anti-adhesion barrier film, on the target site easily and precisely during the laparoscopic surgery of the abdomen and pelvis. Topics discussed include the results of the study, the effectiveness of Seprafilm to reduce the occurrence of intra-abdominal adhesions and the other methods for handling and applying the film.

An ECR ion source of Gunma University Heavy Ion Medical Center, so-called KeiGM [M. Muramatsu, A. Kitagawa, Y. Sakamoto, S. Sato, Y. Sato, H. Ogawa, S. Yamada, H. Ogawa, Y. Yoshida, and A. G. Drentje, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 76, 113304 (2005)], has been operated for cancer therapy and physical/biological experiment since 2010. KeiGM produces typically 230 µA of 10 keV/u C4+ ions from CH4 gases. The vacuum pressure is kept between 1.2 x 10-4 and 1.7 x 10-4 Pa so as to suppress the pulse-to-pulse current fluctuation within ±10%. The extraction electrode is cleaned every 6-8 months in order to remove deposited carbon, which increases the leak current and discharge. In order to investigate the possibility of long-term operation without such maintenances, oxygen aging for the cleaning of the extraction electrode has been tested in the test bench. The same-designed ion sources at National Institute of Radiological Sciences and SAGA Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Tosu (SAGA-HIMAT) are also operated with stable C4+ current, which are suitable for the continuous operation for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure of the neutron-rich Ge isotopes at and around N = 50 has been investigated via intermediate-energy Coulomb excitation using secondary beams of 78-82Ge incident on a Pb target. The B( E2) values for the low-lying 2+ states have been extracted and compared with the data for neighboring isotopes around N = 50. In addition, a new method of intermediate-energy two-step Coulomb excitation has been proposed as a spectroscopic tool to study the 4+ states in neutron-rich even-even nuclei. The first application of the method and its results are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]