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Species-specifically in the thermal gelation profile among Alaska Pollok, white croaker, and rabbit myosins are examined. Alaska Pollock is widely used as materials for production of surimi and is related to thermal gel products including kamaboko whereas myosins from live stock animal and fish have different physicochemical properties including stability and temperature.

This is a report of the detection of 13-ethoxy-8 α,13-epoxy-14,15,16-trinorlabdane ( 1) and 12-ethoxy-8 α,12-epoxy-13,14,15,16-tetranorlabdane ( 2), hitherto unidentified and considered as degradation products of ambrein, among 31 constituents found by analysis of ambergris tincture. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural actomyosin (NAM) of P. tayenus exhibited higher turbidity and storage modulus (G') upon heating, compared to that of P. macracanthus, suggesting the higher protein aggregation and rigidity. At temperature above 35 °C, P. tayenus NAM had higher surface hydrophobicity and disulfide bond formation than P. macracanthus NAM. The α-helix content of NAM from both fish species decreased as the temperature increased, indicating changes in structural conformation during heating. NAM gel from P. tayenus rendered more three-dimensional network than that from P. macracanthus. These results indicated that P. tayenus NAM possessed superior gelling characteristic to P. macracanthus NAM due to the higher aggregation of protein caused by both hydrophobic interaction and disulfide bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY:As a means of effective utilization of fish water-soluble proteins (FWSP), which are mostly discarded into the waste water of seafood processing plants, the development and characterization of edible films from FWSP of blue marlin meat were investigated. The film-forming solutions were prepared from 3% FWSP solutions at pH 10 with 1.5% glycerol as a plasticizer, followed by heating at 70°C for 15 min. Edible films were successfully prepared by drying the film-forming solutions at 25°C for 20 h. It was revealed that FWSP had to be denatured somehow to unfold the protein structure, and the interaction of FWSP molecules, particularly through disulfide linkages, was attributed to the formation of films. Transparent edible films thus formed had better flexibility and lower water vapor permeability compared with most of the other protein films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: To investigate risk factors of late acute remnant pancreatitis after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD), we propose the use of a suturing pitch calculated based on the diameter of the main pancreatic duct and the number of sutures used in the pancreatic duct-to-mucosa anastomosis. This study aimed to determine whether the suturing pitch can predict late acute pancreatitis following PD., Patients and Methods: This study included 142 patients who underwent elective PD. The suturing pitch was defined as the distance between the ligations of the duct-to-mucosa anastomosis of the pancreatojejunostomy. It was calculated using the formula: main pancreatic duct size × π ÷ suturing number. Late acute pancreatitis was defined as acute pancreatitis occurring more than 30 days after PD. We retrospectively evaluated clinical parameters, including the suturing pitch, to identify predictors of late acute remnant pancreatitis., Results: Late acute remnant pancreatitis occurred in seven patients, and the 5-year and 10-year cumulative incidence rates were 8.5% and 12.7%, respectively. A narrow suturing pitch was significantly associated with male sex (p=0.037), younger age (p=0.003), soft pancreas (p<0.001), narrow pancreatic duct stent size (p<0.001), narrow main pancreatic duct size (p<0.001), and the occurrence of late acute remnant pancreatis (p=0.006). In multivariate analysis, the narrow suturing pitch was a significant and independent risk factor of late acute remnant pancreatitis (p=0.041), but not of postoperative pancreatic fistula (p=0.106)., Conclusion: To prevent late acute remnant pancreatitis, the pancreatic duct-to-mucosa anastomosis should not be sutured too tightly., (Copyright © 2025 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Background: This study aimed to identify postoperative recurrence and prognostic factors, including osteosarcopenia for borderline resectable (BR) and unresectable locally advanced (UR-LA) pancreatic cancer and to examine the impact of postoperative pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT)., Methods: We retrospectively examined 32 resected patients with BR and UR-LA pancreatic cancer. We investigated independent factors in the disease-free survival and overall survival. The relation of osteosarcopenia with the clinicopathological factors was investigated. Additionally, the association of the administration of a standard dose of pancrelipase, the amount of lipase required for patients with pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, for ≥6 months postoperatively with improvement of sarcopenia, osteopenia, and osteosarcopenia and completion rate of adjuvant chemotherapy was investigated., Results: Multivariate analyses identified osteosarcopenia ( P = 0.049) and lymph node metastasis ( P = 0.01) as independent recurrence predictors, and osteosarcopenia ( P = 0.002), maximum tumor diameter ≥40 mm ( P = 0.006), and no adjuvant therapy ( P = 0.01) as independent prognostic predictors. In the osteosarcopenia group, serum CA19-9 levels were higher ( P = 0.03). The administration of a standard dose of pancrelipase for ≥6 months postoperatively was none in the osteosarcopenia group (0% vs 42.9%, P = 0.01), while significantly improved postoperative sarcopenia (33% vs 0%, P = 0.004), increased number of cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy (n = 6 vs n = 3, P = 0.03), and the completion rate of adjuvant chemotherapy in excluding cases interrupted because of recurrence (86% vs 25%, P = 0.007)., Conclusions: Osteosarcopenia was an independent recurrent and prognostic factor in patients after pancreatectomy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Appropriate postoperative PERT may contribute to a better prognosis by improving sarcopenia and increasing the completion rate of adjuvant chemotherapy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background and Aim: Chronic constipation negatively impacts work productivity and patients' quality of life. This retrospective study assessed the correlation between symptoms of chronic constipation and work/activity impairment with and without the use of laxative treatment., Methods: This cross-sectional, observational, web-based survey was conducted using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment-Chronic Constipation Questionnaire and included Japanese patients with chronic constipation receiving prescribed medication. Outcomes of interest included total work productivity and activity impairment and their correlation with constipation symptoms., Results: Among the 2351 analyzed patients (mean [SD] age, 51.7 [13.8] years), 80.7% were females, 63.3% had a disease duration of ≥10 years, and 1424 were working. The averages of total activity impairment, total work productivity impairment, presenteeism, and absenteeism were 39.2%, 33.9%, 31.2%, and 5.0%, respectively. The annual work productivity loss per patient was estimated to be 1.343 million Japanese Yen. Symptoms that had a statistically significant positive correlation with total work impairment ( P  < 0.05) were abdominal discomfort/nausea, abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, and unpredictable defecation timing. Total activity impairment was significantly ( P  < 0.05) affected by abdominal discomfort/nausea, abdominal bloating, abdominal pain, incomplete defecation, unpredictable defecation timing, loss of defecation desire, and straining. Work productivity and daily activity had improved in 71.2% and 72.6% of patients, respectively, after they received treatment., Conclusion: Symptoms of constipation, particularly abdominal symptoms and unpredictable defecation timing, can have a negative impact on work productivity and daily activity. Treatment focused on these symptoms may reduce the socio-economic burden of chronic constipation in Japan., (© 2024 The Author(s). JGH Open published by Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

The four previously reported health-promoting dipeptides, valine-tyrosine, lysine-tryptophan, methionine-phenylalanine, and arginine-isoleucine, found in the fish muscle hydrolyzates, were mainly located in the myosin subfragment-1 heavy chain, whereas the health-promoting tripeptide, alanine-lysine-lysine, was found in the fibrous rod consisting of the myosin subfragment-2 and light meromyosin with a regular coiled-coil structure of α-helix, irrespective of the fish species. Furthermore, the localization of these peptides either in the random coil, β-sheet, or α-helix was also examined in the three-dimensional image, showing no specific tendency. Surprisingly, the same trend was observed even for the mammalian rabbit fast muscle myosin heavy chain. Since a trade-off between myofibrillar ATPase and structural stability has been reported for fish living at low environmental temperatures, it is speculated that fish muscle proteins, when ingested, are easily digested by various proteases in the human digestive tract and provide various health-promoting peptides also in vivo. While fish actin contained only two dipeptides, methionine-phenylalanine and valine-tyrosine, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, one of the major components of fish muscle water-soluble protein, contained all of the four dipeptides and one tripeptide mentioned above., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) has a poor prognosis even after curative-intent hepatic resection due to a high recurrence rate. The aim of this study was to investigate preoperative risk factors for early recurrence after surgery for ICC, which may help to identify patients who need preoperative chemotherapy., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 51 patients who had undergone primary surgery for ICC. We investigated the association of preoperative clinical variables with recurrence within 1 year after resection for ICC. We then created a high-risk ICC score using the identified preoperative factors and investigated the association of the score with disease-free and overall survival., Results: Recurrence within 1 year after surgery for ICC was significantly associated with poor overall survival ( P < .01). In the multivariate analysis, preoperative tumor size > 5 cm ( P = .03) and elevated C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) ( P = .04) were significantly associated with recurrence within 1 year after surgery. A high-risk ICC score of 2 was associated with poor disease-free survival ( P < .01) and overall survival ( P = .02) compared with a score of 0 or 1., Conclusions: Our high-risk ICC score, combining preoperative tumor size and CAR, can be an indicator of early recurrence and poor survival in patients after hepatic resection for ICC. Our findings may provide better preoperative risk stratification of patients with ICC, and the high-risk ICC patients may benefit from preoperative therapy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Type V collagen is considered to be a crucial minor collagen in fish skin with unique physiological functions. In this research, the cDNAs of three procollagens (Tacol5a1, Tacol5a2, and Tacol5a3) in type V collagen were cloned from the skin of shortbill spearfish ( Tetrapturus angustirostris ). The open reading frames (ORFs) of Tacol5a1, Tacol5a2, and Tacol5a3 contained 5991, 4485, and 5607 bps, respectively, encoding 1997, 1495, and 1869 amino acid residues. Each of the deduced amino acid sequences of procollagens contained a signal peptide and a fibrillar collagen C-terminal domain (COLFI). A conserved thrombospondin-like N-terminal domain (TSPN) was found at the N-terminus of Tacol5a1 and 5a3 procollagens, whereas a von Willebrand factor (VWC) was found at the N-terminus of Tacol5a2 procollagen. Tacol5a1, Tacol5a2, and Tacol5a3 had their theoretical isoelectric points of 5.06, 6.75, and 5.76, respectively, and predicted molecular weights of 198,435.60, 145,058.48, and 189,171.18, respectively. The phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that Tacol5a1 of shortbill spearfish clustered with that of yellow perch ( Perca flavescens ) instead of broadbill swordfish ( Xiphias gladius ). In addition, type V collagen was extracted from the shortbill spearfish skin. The in silico method demonstrated that shortbill spearfish type V collagen has a high potential for angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition activity (79.50%), dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibition (74.91%) activity, and antithrombotic activity (46.83%). The structural clarification and possible functional investigation in this study provide the foundation for the applications of exogenous type V collagen derived from fish sources.

Background: The present investigation aimed to examine the movement patterns and cardiometabolic demand during jogging football (JF), which is a new concept of recreational football that allows walking and jogging with limiting running behavior., Methods: Twenty-three collegiate soccer players played soccer for 10 minutes while following three different rules: 1) the players moved by walking only (walking football [WF]); 2) the players moved by walking or jogging (JF); and 3) the players moved freely, i.e., a combination of walking, jogging, and running (usual football [UF]). A graded exercise test (GXT) was performed to determine individual relationships between heart rate (HR) and moving speeds., Results: The HR, metabolic equivalents (METs), and velocity differed significantly in the three conditions and significantly increased in the order of WF, JF, and UF (P<0.001). The speed was significantly higher in the recreational football compared to that in the GXT, but METs were significantly higher in all forms of recreational footballs than in the GXT (P<0.05). Based on the results of JF, the duration of the movement at the speed of <5 km/h was significantly shorter than that of WF, and that at speed of >10km/h, it was significantly shorter than that of UF (P<0.05)., Conclusions: The present investigation revealed the characteristics of the activity profiles of JF in comparison to WF and UF. JF is a recreational sport with an exercise intensity that falls between WF and UF, owing to the shorter durations of walking and running.

Plants emit volatile compounds when they are subjected to herbivorous, pathogenic, or artificial damages. Both the damaged plant and the neighboring intact plants induce resistance when they receive these volatiles, a phenomenon known as plant-plant communication. However, field observations of this phenomenon are limited. To understand the nature of plant-plant communication, we collected information about intra- and inter-plant signaling via volatiles in Camellia japonica and C. rusticana under natural conditions. We exposed intact branches of damaged plant (intra-plant) or neighboring plant (inter-plant) to artificially damaged plant volatiles (ADPVs). Leaf damage reduced in ADPVs-exposed branches in the neighboring plants compared to branches that were exposed to volatiles from intact leaves, thus, indicating that inter-plant signaling occur by the emission of volatiles from damaged leaves. We also conducted an air-transfer experiment wherein the headspace air of the damaged branch was transferred to the headspace of intact branches. Leaf damage reduced on the ADPVs-transferred branch compared to the control branch. The effect of volatiles on damage reduction lasted for three months. Our results indicate that ADPVs in Camellia species contain cues that induce resistance in neighboring plants. Our findings improve understanding of plant defense strategies that may be used in horticulture and agriculture., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: The prognostic impact of occult vertebral fracture (OVF) in patients with malignancies is a new cutting edge in cancer research. This study was performed to analyze the prognostic impact of OVF after surgery for pancreatic cancer., Methods: This study involved 200 patients who underwent surgical treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. OVF was diagnosed by quantitative measurement using preoperative sagittal computed tomography image reconstruction from the 11th thoracic vertebra to the 5th lumbar vertebra., Results: OVF was diagnosed in 65 (32.5 %) patients. The multivariate analyses showed that male sex (p = 0.01), osteopenia (p < 0.01), OVF (p < 0.01), a carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level of ≥400 U/mL (p < 0.01), advanced stage of cancer (p < 0.01), and non-adjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.02) were independent risk factors for overall survival. An age of ≥74 years (p < 0.01) and obstructive jaundice (p = 0.03) were independent risk factors for OVF. Furthermore, the combination of OVF and osteopenia further worsened disease-free survival and overall survival compared with osteopenia or OVF alone (p < 0.01; respectively)., Conclusion: Evaluation of preoperative OVF might be a useful prognostic indicator for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma., (Copyright © 2024 IAP and EPC. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to triage COVID-19 patients in ICUs emerged globally. Triage guidelines were established in many countries; however, the actual triage decision-making processes and decisions themselves made by frontline medical providers may not have exactly reflected those guidelines. Despite the need to understand decisions and processes in practice regarding patient ICU admission and mechanical ventilator usage to identify areas of improvement for medical care provision, such research is limited. This qualitative study was conducted to identify the decision-making processes regarding COVID-19 patient ICU admissions and mechanical ventilator allocation by frontline medical providers and issues associated with those processes in an ICU during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with ICU physicians and nurses working at an urban tertiary referral hospital in Japan between February and April 2022. Patient characteristics that influenced triage decisions made by physicians and the interaction between physicians, nurses, and senior management staff upon making such decisions are discussed in this article. An implicated issue was the lack of legal support for Japanese physicians to practice withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments even during emergencies. Another issue was the impact of non-clinical forces-likely specific to health emergencies-on physicians' decisions regarding mechanical ventilator allocation, where such forces imposed a significant mental burden on the medical providers. We consider public policy and legal implications for future pandemics., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Purpose: Anamorelin, a selective ghrelin receptor agonist, has been approved for pancreatic cancer treatment in Japan. We aimed to investigate whether systemic inflammation, represented by the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR), and C-reactive protein (CRP)-albumin ratio (CAR), could predict the effect of anamorelin in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer., Methods: This study included 31 patients who had received anamorelin for advanced pancreatic cancer between 2021 and 2023. Patients' NLR, PLR, LMR, and CAR were evaluated before anamorelin administration. The patients were classified as responders and non-responders based on whether they gained body weight after 3 months of anamorelin administration. We investigated the association between systemic inflammation and anamorelin efficacy using a univariate analysis., Results: Twelve (39%) patients were non-responders. A high serum CRP level (p = 0.007) and high CAR (p = 0.013) was associated with non-response to anamorelin. According to the receiver operating characteristics analysis, the CAR cutoff value was 0.06, and CAR ≥ 0.06 was a risk factor (odds ratio, 5.6 [95% confidence interval 1.2-27.1], p = 0.032) for non-response to anamorelin., Conclusion: CAR can be a predictor of non-response to anamorelin in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, suggesting the importance of a comprehensive assessment of the inflammatory status., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: High rectal sensory thresholds (RSTs) are associated with chronic constipation (CC), especially in older patients. Bile acids (BAs) affect the RSTs of healthy individuals. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of the BA transporter inhibitor elobixibat in patients with CC aged ≥60 years., Design: We prospectively compared the RSTs of 17 patients with CC aged ≥60 years with those of 9 healthy individuals of the same age range. We next performed a prospective, randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 17 patients with CC who administered elobixibat or placebo daily for 1 week. Using barostat methodology, their first constant sensation volume (FCSV), defaecatory desire volume (DDV), and maximum tolerable volume (MTV) thresholds; their rectal compliance; and their faecal BA concentrations were measured before and after treatment., Results: There were no significant differences in the RSTs of healthy individuals and patients with CC, but all of these tended to be higher in the latter group. Elobixibat increased the desire to defaecate, significantly reduced the threshold for FCSV (p=0.0018), and tended to reduce the threshold for DDV (p=0.0899) versus placebo. However, there were no differences in the MTV or rectal compliance of the two groups. The total faecal BA concentration increased, and particularly that of secondary BAs in the elobixibat group. Elobixibat was most efficacious in participants with a longer duration of CC and a history of treatment for CC., Conclusion: Elobixibat reduces the RSTs of patients with CC aged ≥60 years, which may be important for its therapeutic effects., Trial Registration Number: jRCTs061200030., Competing Interests: Competing interests: NM received honoraria from EA Pharma Co., Ltd. and Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Aim: The impact of occult vertebral fracture (OVF) on oncological outcomes after surgery has not been investigated, although its significance in orthopedics has been much debated recently. We evaluated the prognostic significance of OVF on the long-term outcomes of patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) after hepatectomy., Methods: We included 140 patients with CRLM who underwent hepatectomy. OVF was identified using quantitative measurement and preoperative sagittal computed tomography image reconstruction from the 11th thoracic vertebra to the 5th lumber vertebra., Results: OVF was identified in 48 (34%) of the patients. In multivariate analysis, lymph node metastases ( p < 0.01), multiple tumors ( p = 0.02), extrahepatic lesions ( p < 0.01), OVF ( p < 0.01), intraoperative bleeding ( p = 0.04), and curability 1 or 2 ( p < 0.01) were independent and significant predictors of disease-free survival and extrahepatic lesions ( p < 0.01), osteosarcopenia ( p = 0.02), and OVF ( p < 0.01) were independent and significant predictors of overall survival. A higher age, adjuvant chemotherapy for a primary lesion before metachronous liver metastases, osteopenia, and hypoalbuminemia were independent risk factors for OVF., Conclusions: The evaluation of preoperative OVF is a useful prognostic factor for risk stratification and clinical decision-making for patients with CRLM.

Background: Chronic constipation is a common condition affecting people of all ages; therefore, the socioeconomic burden of chronic constipation is nonnegligible. Elobixibat (ELO), an ileal bail acid transport inhibitor, was launched in Japan in 2018. However, evidence of its use in diverse populations is limited., Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the prescription of ELO, risk factors associated with ELO discontinuation, and the continuation of stimulants or saline laxatives during ELO treatment in a real-world setting using an extensive electronic medical records database that primarily includes data from acute-care hospitals., Methods: Data of patients prescribed for ELO from April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2022, were extracted from the database. The discontinuation of ELO and stimulant or saline laxatives during ELO treatment was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The Cox proportional hazards model evaluated risk factors associated with laxative discontinuation., Results: In total, 11,062 patients were evaluated. The rate of ELO discontinuation within 360 days of initiation was 78.7%. Hospitalized at the ELO initiation, stage 5 chronic kidney disease, and diagnosis of constipation by departments of obstetrics and gynecology or by departments of malignant neoplasm were identified as risk factors for discontinuation. Diagnosis of constipation, diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, and previous laxative treatment was associated with a lower risk of ELO discontinuation. The prescription rate of stimulants and saline laxatives markedly decreased after ELO initiation; furthermore, nearly half of patients who were continuously prescribed ELO discontinued these laxatives within 360 days., Conclusions: The discontinuation of ELO was associated with various factors and using ELO may be beneficial in the withdrawal of concurrent stimulants and saline laxatives. These findings may help effectively manage chronic constipation., Competing Interests: EA Pharma Co, Ltd and Mochida Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd, funded this study. EA Pharma Co, Ltd has a license for elobixibat in Japan. Hisanori Masaki and Sonoko Ishizaki are full-time employees of EA Pharma Co, Ltd. Koji Shimamoto and Shoichiro Inokuchi are full-time employees of Real World Data Co, Ltd. The authors have indicated that they have no other conflicts of interest regarding the content of this article., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Plants exposed to volatiles emitted from artificially damaged conspecific or heterospecific plants exhibit increased resistance to herbivorous insects. Here, we examined whether volatiles from artificially damaged weeds affect maize growth and reproduction. Seven days after germination, maize seedlings were exposed to volatiles emitted by artificially damaged mugwort ( Artemisia indica var. maximowiczii ) or tall goldenrod ( Solidago altissima ) plants either separately, or as a mixture of the two, for seven days. Unexposed seedlings were used as controls. Treated and control seedlings were cultivated in an experimental field without any insecticides applied. Plants exposed to either of the three volatile treatments sustained significantly less damage than controls. Additionally, seedlings exposed to either goldenrod or mixed volatiles produced more leaves and tillers than control plants. Furthermore, a significant increase in the number of ears was observed in plants exposed to the volatile mixture. In all treated plants, ear sugar content was significantly higher than that in the controls. Further, we cultivated seedlings that were either exposed to the volatile mixture or unexposed, under the conventional farming method using pesticides. Similar significant differences were observed for sugar content, number of tillers, leaves, damaged leaves, and ears. Laboratory experiments were conducted to further evaluate the mechanisms involved in the improved performance of volatile-treated plants. A significant reduction in the growth of common armyworm ( Mythimna separata ) larvae was observed when maize plants were exposed to the volatile mixture. This treatment did not affect the amount of jasmonic acid in the seedlings, whereas salicylic acid content increased upon exposure. The characteristic differences in chemical composition of mugwort and goldenrod volatiles were confirmed and, in turn, the volatile mixture differed significantly from the volatiles of either species., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Sakurai, Ishizaki, Izumi, Yoshida, Shiojiri and Takabayashi.)

Background: In living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT), portal Y-graft interposition using the recipient's portal vein (PV) bifurcation has been used for right lobe grafts with double PV orifices. We herein report the use of thrombectomized autologous portal Y-graft interposition for a recipient with preoperative portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in a right lobe LDLT with double PV orifices., Case Presentation: The recipient was a 54-year-old male with end-stage liver disease due to alcoholic liver cirrhosis. There was PV thrombus in the recipient's PV. The living liver donor was his 53-year-old spouse, and a right lobe graft was planned for the transplantation. Since the donor's liver had a type III PV anomaly, autologous portal Y-graft interposition after thrombectomy was planned for PV reconstruction in the LDLT. The portal Y-graft was resected from the recipient and a thrombus extending from the main PV to the right PV branch was removed on the back table. The portal Y-graft was anastomosed to the anterior and posterior portal branches of the right lobe graft. Followed by venous reconstruction, the Y-graft was anastomosed to the recipient's main PV. The operation time was 545 min and the intraoperative blood loss was 1355 ml. The recipient was discharged on postoperative day 13 without any complications. The recipient remains well with the patency of the portal Y-graft one year after the liver transplantation., Conclusion: We herein report the successful use of autologous portal Y-graft interposition after thrombectomy on the back table for a recipient with PVT in a right lobe LDLT., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Aim: The C-reactive protein (CRP)-albumin-lymphocyte (CALLY) index is a novel inflammation-based biomarker. We aimed to investigate whether the CALLY can predict the prognosis in patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) after hepatic resection., Methods: We included 183 patients with CRLM who underwent hepatectomy. The CALLY index was defined as (albumin × lymphocytes)/(CRP × 10 4 ). We investigated the association of the CALLY index with overall survival by univariate and multivariate analyses., Results: In total, 101 (55%) patients had a low CALLY index (<4). In the univariate analysis, overall survival was significantly worse in patients with lymph node metastases (p = 0.02), extrahepatic lesions (p < 0.01), and a low CALLY index (p < 0.01). In the multivariate analysis, independent and significant predictors of overall survival were lymph node metastases (p = 0.04), extrahepatic lesions (p = 0.03), and a low CALLY index (p = 0.03). Patients with a low CALLY index had significantly more postoperative complications than those with a high CALLY index (29% vs. 11%, p < 0.01)., Conclusion: The CALLY index may be an independent and significant indicator of outcomes in patients who underwent liver resection for CRLM., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)