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Through this paper, a sampling methodology and a novel full automatic system adopting the continuous pressurization method which is capable of determining the Soil Water Characteristics Curve (SWCC) for both remoulded and undisturbed samples in a very short time were developed. The proposed system was validated by comparing the SWCCs of standard testing soils obtained using the developed system to the SWCCs obtained using a conventional method. Remoulded and undisturbed natural soil samples were tested, where the degree of disturbance influence on the obtained SWCC was discussed. In addition, the undisturbed samples containing moulds material influence on the obtained SWCC was investigated. It was found that remoulded samples do not properly represent the in-situ conditions with significant error that should be carefully considered when conducting analysis and proposing countermeasures against unsaturated soils related Geo-disasters. In addition, the material which the containing mould is made from has minor influence on the obtained SWCC which can be neglected. Finally, it can be concluded that the developed undisturbed soil water characteristics curve obtaining system is direct, rapid, reliable and simple. In addition, the proposed undisturbed sampling and testing methodology can be used to accurately evaluate the spatial variations of the SWCC regardless the heterogeneity of the soil profile.

A correction to the article "British Journal of Cancer," Volume 101, pages 598-604, published in 2009 issue is presented.

Hercep Test (DAKO) is an immunohistological screening kit to select cases of advanced breast cancer with indication for treatment with a humanized mouse monoclonal antibody to human epidermal growth factor receptor-2, trasthzumab (Herceptin). We report a case of an 84-year-old female with invasive ductal carcinoma of the right breast, whose neoplastic cells showed a unique staining pattern in Hercep Test. The cells showed an intracytoplasmic fine granular staining pattern, instead of the membranous pattern of typical breast cancer cells. This unique staining pattern suggested some special features of the neoplastic cells. This case was finally diagnosed as invasive ductal carcinoma with focal neuroendocrine differentiation by subsequent imunohistochemical and electron microscopic examinations. The neoplastic cells showed positive reactivity for grimelius stain, chromogranin A, synaptophysin, and neuronspecific enolase, as well as electron-dense neurosecretory granules (up to 150 nm in diameter). This unique staining pattern of the neoplastic cells with Hercep Test is a useful clue to detect breast cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation, which is likely to be missed in routine examination. Clinical and pathologic findings including immunohistochemical and ultrastructural findings of this case are reported, together with a brief review of the literature.

Background: Anastomotic stricture is common after esophagogastrostomy. Recent advances in nonsurgical treatment include the silicon bougie and balloon dilatation. However, simple dilatation alone with a silicon bougie or endoscopic balloon dilator was repeated a mean of 4.7+/-5.4 times to control anastomotic stricture because of its temporary effect., Methods: For 11 patients, endoscopic injection of dexamethasone (8 mg) around the anastomosis was done immediately after balloon dilatation (40 psi for 5 minutes)., Results: This method significantly reduced the number of the dilatations to 1.1+/-0.3 (P < 0.05). Ten of the 11 patients did not need any further treatment. There were no side effects or complications of dexamethasone injection., Conclusion: A combination of endoscopic balloon dilatation and dexamethasone injection provided an easy and safe method for preventing the recurrence of anastomotic stricture.

Helicobacter pylori infection is often associated with gastrointestinal diseases, such as chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer. After total gastrectomy, positive to negative seroconversion of the H. pylori IgG antibody assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was found in 10/15 patients (67%) an average of 8.5 months after surgery. Therefore, the IgG antibody persists for a long time after total removal of the stomach in about 30% of patients. Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is a major component of the local immunity of the stomach mucosa and has a short half-life. Therefore, tissue H. pylori IgA antibodies in biopsy specimens from patients with various gastric diseases were assayed by ELISA and compared with the bacterial culture, serum IgG antibody (ELISA), and [13C]urea breath test results from 144, 170, and 123 endoscopic examinations, respectively. Positivity and negativity of tissue H. pylori IgA coincided with the culture results in 67% of the examinations, and positive IgA antibody but negative culture results were found in 23%. The coincidence of tissue IgA and serum IgG antibodies against H. pylori was 64% and that of negative tissue IgA but positive serum IgG antibody results was 36%. Positivity and negativity of tissue H. pylori IgA antibody coincided with the [13C]urea breath test results in 72%. One month after completion of treatment of peptic ulcer patients for H. pylori infection with lansoprazole and benexate HCl betadex plus amoxicillin, 6/9 (67%) patients showed positive to negative conversion of the tissue IgA antibody, in contrast to no IgG antibody seroconversion. In conclusion, the tissue H. pylori IgA antibody assay is useful for detection of local immunity against H. pylori in the stomach and during follow-up after treatment.

Chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) is closely correlated with gastric cancer and is predominant in Japan. Epidemiologically, food habits are the primary factor in both CAG and gastric cancer. Two potential serum markers for CAG have recently been investigated, i.e., the concentration of serum pepsinogen (PG) and the presence of serum antibodies against Helicobacter pylori. Serum PG I and II and the PG I:PG II ratio have been reported to be useful as indicators of recurrent peptic ulcer and for screening of patients at risk from gastric cancer. In this study, we examined PG I and II in serum from 483 patients by RIA (DAINABOT), and endoscopic examination performed in the same patients before serological assay revealed CAG in 68, peptic ulcer in 91, and gastric cancer in 48. Analysis of the mean values according to patients age showed that CAG patients in their forties to eighties had low (< 40 ng/ml) levels of PG I, peptic ulcer patients in their teens to eighties had high (> or = 70 ng/ml) levels, except for those in their seventies, and gastric cancer patients in their twenties to sixties had low (< 3.0) PG I:PG II ratios, except for those in their sixties. Thus serum PG assay has potential utility for detection of CAG, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer.

A case of esophageal leiomyosarcoma, for which CT scan, endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and angiography were employed for preoperative diagnosis is reported. CT scan identified an exophytic mass which had no rim-enhancement in the lower end of the esophagus. EUS revealed a homogeneous mass originating from the muscularis propria. Angiography showed a mildly hypervascular tumor. Histologically, the resected specimen was a leiomyosarcoma. These results suggest that the evaluation by EUS combined with CT scan and angiography is useful in differentiating smooth muscle tumors from other submucosal tumors.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in plasma is useful for the detection of recurrent colonic or gastric cancer and the monitoring of plasma in patients with recurrent cancer displaying therapeutic effect. We report a sharp decline of CEA in a patient with recurrent gastric cancer by 6 months oral administration of UFT. The patient was an 81-year-old male who had undergone gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer. Eight months post-operatively, the plasma CEA began to rise logarithmically, and recurrent tumor in the remnant stomach and liver metastasis were detected by fibergastroscope (FGS) and abdominal CT. After administration of UFT at a dose of 300 mg per day, CEA abruptly declined logarithmically and normalized in 6 months. Presently marked reduction of recurrent foci and metastases were found by FGS and abdominal CT. Therefore sequential changes in plasma CEA in this patient can be considered to reflect the effect of therapy for recurrent gastric cancer by UFT.