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Objective: We aimed to develop a predictive model for occult cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with tongue cancer using radiomics and machine learning from pretreatment contrast-enhanced computed tomography., Study Design: This study included 161 patients with tongue cancer who received local treatment. Computed tomography images were transferred to a radiomics platform. The volume of interest was the total neck node level, including levels Ia, Ib, II, III, and IVa at the ipsilateral side, and each neck node level. The dimensionality of the radiomics features was reduced using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression analysis. We compared 5 classifiers with or without the synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE)., Results: For the analysis at the total neck node level, random forest with SMOTE was the best model, with an accuracy of 0.85 and an area under the curve score of 0.92. For the analysis at each neck node level, a support vector machine with SMOTE was the best model, with an accuracy of 0.96 and an area under the curve score of 0.98., Conclusions: Predictive models using radiomics and machine learning have potential as clinical decision support tools in the management of patients with tongue cancer for prediction of occult cervical lymph node metastasis., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Human noggin (NOG) gene mutation causes multiple bony disorders showing up as stapes ankylosis with broad thumbs and toes (SABTT), proximal symphalangism (SYM1), multiple synostoses syndrome 1 (SYNS1), tarsal-carpal coalition syndrome (TCC) and brachydactyly type B2 (BDB2). These phenotypes are defined as NOG-related syndromes with the same mutation. Some of these syndromes feature stapes ankylosis as one of the several bony symptoms. Here, we report a Japanese family with conductive hearing loss due to congenital stapes ankylosis. This family showed multiple features and was diagnosed with SABTT. We performed analysis of the NOG in the family by direct sequence analysis, and found a novel NOG mutation: c.682 T> G (p.C228G). Our results and a review of previous cases with NOG protein conformation suggest that this mutated NOG protein lead to a change in antagonist activity in BMPs and/or a haploinsufficiency that likely impaired finger 2 structure., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Rearrangements in chromosome 19 are rare. Among the 35 patients with partial 19q trisomy described, only six have a breakpoint defined by array. The 19q duplication results in a variable phenotype, including dysmorphisms, intellectual disability and seizure. In a female patient, although G-banding at 550 band-resolution was normal, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) technique and genomic array showed a 10.6 Mb terminal duplication of chromosome 19q13. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) revealed that the duplicated region was attached to the short arm of chromosome 21 and silver staining showed four small acrocentrics with nucleolar organization region (NOR) activity, suggesting that the breakpoint in chromosome 21 was at p13. This is the first de novo translocation between 19q13.33 and 21p13 described in liveborn. The chromosome 19 is known to be rich in coding and non-coding regions, and chromosomal rearrangements involving this chromosome are very harmful. Furthermore, the 19q13.33→qter region is dense in pseudogenes and microRNAs, which are potent regulators of gene expression. The trisomic level of this region may contribute to deregulation of global gene expression, and consequently, may lead to abnormal development on the carriers of these rearrangements.

Background: Because of the anatomical complexity and the high output of the human nose, it has been unclear whether nasal nitric oxide (NO) serves as a reliable marker of allergic rhinitis (AR). We examined whether nasal NO levels in the inferior turbinate (IT) surface and the middle meatus (MM) differ in symptomatic AR patients., Methods: We measured fractional exhaled NO (FeNO) and nasal NO in normal subjects (n = 50) and AR patients with mild symptoms (n = 16) or moderate or severe symptoms (n = 27). Nasal NO measurements were obtained using an electrochemical analyzer connected to a catheter and an air-suction pump (flow rate 50mL/sec)., Results: Compared to the normal subjects, the AR patients showed significantly higher nasal FeNO and nasal NO levels in the IT area. No significant difference in the MM area was observed among the three groups. The MM area showed higher NO levels than the IT area in all three groups. The ratio of nasal NO levels of the MM area to the IT area (MM/IT ratio) was significantly lower in the AR groups. The moderate/severe AR patients showed significantly higher nasal NO in the IT area (104.4 vs. 66.2ppb) and lower MM/IT ratios than those in the mild AR patients. The analysis of nasal brushing cells revealed significantly higher eosinophil cationic protein and nitrotyrosine levels in the AR groups., Conclusions: Nasal NO assessment in the IT area directly reflects persistent eosinophilic inflammation and may be a valid marker to estimate the severity of AR.

Background: There has been an increasing interest in monitoring the fractional concentrations of exhaled NO (FeNO) levels in allergic rhinitis (AR) patients. In the present study, we examined whether the nasal FeNO measurement might reflect the degree of local allergic inflammation as well as subjective symptoms., Methods: The FeNO measurement was performed using a handheld electrochemical analyzer (NObreath®) with a nose adaptor. In the cross-sectional study, 56 patients with perennial AR patients, 18 AR patients with bronchial asthma (BA), 12 patients with vasomotor rhinitis, and 30 normal subjects were enrolled. For the follow-up study, 12 seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) patients against Japanese cedar and 10 perennial AR patients who underwent laser surgery were examined., Results: The AR patients and vasomotor rhinitis patients showed significantly higher oral FeNO levels as compared with the normal subjects. The nasal FeNO levels were significantly higher in the perennial AR patients with or without BA than in the normal subjects and vasomotor rhinitis patients. There were positive correlations between the nasal symptom scores and FeNO levels. The SAR patients showed a significant decrease in the nasal FeNO level after the pollen dispersion season. In addition, the therapeutic effects of laser surgery in the AR patients accompanied a significant reduction in the nasal FeNO levels one month after treatment., Conclusions: The nasal FeNO measurement by NObreath® is easy to perform and suitable for monitoring AR patients in various treatment modalities. Furthermore, it may have potential usefulness as a tool to improve daily clinical care.

We proposed a strain mapping technique by Nano Beam electron Diffraction (NBD) combined with an energy filter (EF) and a scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) function. The STEM function improves the accuracy of a position where a diffraction pattern is acquired. The EF excludes inelastic scattering and enables novel numerical processing for the appropriate measurement of distances between diffraction disks. Using this technique, strain distributions were measured for two different types of p-MOSFETs, i.e., source/drain regions of each MOSFET is composed of different types of silicide, and the difference of their strain distributions in the channel region was confirmed. The proposed method was able to clarify that the strain distributions are quite different depending on the silicide materials even if the exterior of the MOSFETs was almost identical., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The overall pathological view of paranasal sinus inflammation in the Japanese population has profoundly changed in recent years. Eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (ECRS) is a clinical entity of intractable chronic sinus inflammation accompanied by numerous infiltrations of activated eosinophils in the paranasal sinus mucosa and/or nasal polyps. Several pathologic processes are considered to act in concert to promote the accumulation of eosinophils in ECRS. They include infiltration of progenitor cells, increase in local IL-3, IL-5, IL-13, GM-CSF and eotaxin production, and upregulation of adhesion molecules. The role of nasal allergen sensitization and innate immunity responses in the sinus mucosa has also been proposed in the development of ECRS. Various pathogens including TLRs ligands may trigger an abnormal immune response at the mucosal surface. The objectives of ECRS management should focus directly on inhibition of local eosinophil infiltration. Surgical procedures include widely opening the bony wall septum of every affected sinus and mechanical removal of diseased mucosal lesion. The use of local and/or systemic steroids, leukotriene receptor antagonists, and Th2 cytokine antagonists is recommended. Local administration of steroids is a potent treatment strategy for preventing relapse of nasal polyposis and is considered to be the first-line treatment for ECRS patients.

The jejunum offers numerous advantages for reconstruction compared with other methods, despite transplantation; however, total necrosis occasionally occurs in a jejunal flap caused by vascular thrombosis and loss of axial blood supply. Survival of a free jejunal flap after interruption of the vascular pedicle is rare. We report the survival of a free jejunal flap, despite venous occlusion, at 5 weeks after the procedure. This may indicate that venous neovascularization of a free jejunal flap is complete within 5 weeks after the operation., (Copyright (c) 2010 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Mutations induced by classical whole-cell mutagenesis using N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) were determined for all genes of pathways from glucose to L-lysine in an industrial L-lysine producer of Corynebacterium glutamicum. A total of 50 mutations with a genome-wide distribution were identified and characterized for mutational types and mutagenic specificities. Those mutations were all point mutations with single-base substitutions and no deletions, frame shifts, and insertions were found. Among six possible types of base substitutions, the mutations consisted of only two types: 47 G.C-->A.T transitions and three A.T-->G.C transitions with no transversion. The findings indicate a limited repertoire of amino acid substitutions by classical NTG mutagenesis and thus raise a new possibility of further improving industrial strains by optimizing key mutations through PCR-mediated site-directed mutagenesis.

Aim: Following distal gastrectomy, carcinogenesis has been suggested to result from gastroduodenal reflux. In this study, surgical cases of gastric cancer arising after distal gastrectomy were analyzed clinico-pathologically and the possible link to reflux examined., Patients: Thirty-two patients (24 males, 8 females; mean age, 68.7 years; age range, 33-84 years) with gastric cancer arising in the remnant stomach after gastrectomy (also known as gastric stump cancer) were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups on the basis of the initial diagnosis (benign or malignant) prompting surgery, and distal gastrectomy reconstruction method (Billroth I or II)., Results: The interval between distal gastrectomy and detection of cancer in the remnant stomach of patients treated initially for a benign gastric condition vs. malignancy was 360+/-33.04 and 63+/-19.16 months (median+/-SE), respectively (p<0.0001). However, the benign and malignant groups did not differ significantly in the clinicopathological analysis of their stump cancers. All 10 patients in whom gastric cancer was diagnosed within five years of initial surgery had initially been surgically treated for malignancy. The interval between surgery and detection of gastric cancer in the Billroth I and Billroth II groups was 84+/-26.67 and 276+/-44.26 months (median+/-SE), respectively (p<0.01). In the remnant stomach, cancer tended to occur near the site of gastrojejunostomy in the Billroth II group (p=0.05). Helicobacter pylori infection was only detected histologically in four patients who had undergone Billroth I reconstructions after distal gastrectomy for malignancy., Conclusion: After distal gastrectomy, careful periodic endoscopic examination for microcarcinoma is required in patients, particularly in those who undergo surgery for malignancy, to maximize detection of gastric cancer.

We report a girl with tetraploid/diploid mosaicism who presents failure to thrive and multiple minor anomalies. The clinical features of the proband are compared with the 13 previously reported cases with similar karyotype.

Background: The aim of the present study was to use immunohistochemical methods to clarify the clinical implication of heat shock protein (HSP) 70 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and to investigate the function of HSP70 as a chaperone for p53., Methods: Seventy-one patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were admitted in the present study. Expression of HSP70 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and correlated with TNM classification, vessel invasion, p53 expression, and clinical outcome after operation., Results: Overexpression of HSP70 was related to sex (p < 0.05), tumor configuration (p < 0.05), lymph node metastasis (p < 0.01), and lymphatic vessel invasion (p < 0.05). Expression of p53 and HSP70 were not correlated with each other (p = 0.824). Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with HSP70 expression exhibited a significantly better prognosis compared with HSP70-negative esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in univariate analysis (p < 0.05), but no significance was found in multivariate analysis., Conclusions: We suggest that HSP70 expression might be of use to assess the progression, lymph node metastasis, and lymphatic vessel invasion of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Inasmuch as both lymph node metastasis and HSP70 expression are prognostic variables in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, examination of HSP70 expression may be of use to assess clinical outcome after operation.