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The patient was a 75-year-old man who developed polyopia and exophthalmos. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed a mass in the left upper lobe. A CT-guided biopsy suggested lung adenocarcinoma. He was treated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by left upper lobectomy. He was diagnosed with stage IIB pleomorphic carcinoma postoperatively. Preoperative head magnetic resonance imaging revealed exophthalmos and bilateral swelling of the extraocular muscles. The thyroid function of the patient was within the normal range, and he tested negative for autoantibodies. As his symptoms and swelling of the extraocular muscles improved postoperatively, he was diagnosed with paraneoplastic syndrome.

The two-dimensional molecular assembly was accomplished of bacteriochlorophyll

A 68-year-old man visited a physician with a chief complaint of difficulty breathing. Right pleural effusion was noted, and he was referred to our department for a close examination and treatment. Thoracoscopy was performed under local anesthesia, and pleural dissemination of lung adenocarcinoma was noted, so a chest drain was placed. Since poor right lung inflation persisted and whole right lung torsion was observed on computed tomography, thoracoscopy-assisted thoracotomic reduction of lung torsion was performed. In this patient, the right middle lobe and anterior chest wall were adhered, suggesting that whole right lung torsion occurred when atelectasis was formed due to pleural effusion.

BACKGROUND Falls during transfer to and from a wheelchair are associated with numerous problems. Factors responsible for difficulty in transferring include horizontal/vertical gaps between surfaces; obstacles, such as armrests; and complicated brake/footrests configurations before transferring. Moreover, controlling a wheelchair sufficiently close to the transfer surface within the confined home space is difficult. OBJECTIVE We described the design of the novel Lateral Transfer Assist Robot (LTAR) for solving problems during transfer. Furthermore, the effectiveness and usability of the robot were preliminary examined in healthy adults. METHOD The transfer problems and basic designs were organized. The effectiveness of the prototype was measured by three-dimensional motion analysis and questionnaire. RESULTS The prototype LTAR was developed. With just a push on a button, the footplate lowers to the floor and the seat and armrest lowers to the height of the seating surface to fill the gap between the surfaces. Using these features, users can transfer by simply shifting their buttocks sideways. Additionally, LTAR has omnidirectional wheels that help move it within a narrow space. The LTAR was confirmed to reduce the physical and subjective burden, except for maneuverability. CONCLUSION The LTAR was found to be effective for home use and reducing burden of transfer.

Currently, gastric cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. Oncolytic virotherapy using herpes simplex virus (HSV) has emerged as a novel therapeutic strategy against cancer. Telomerase is activated in >90of malignant tumors, including gastric cancer, and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is one of the major components of telomerase enzyme. Therefore, in oncolytic HSV, placing the essential genes under the regulation of the hTERT promoter may enhance its antitumor efficacy. The present study examined the antitumor effect of fourth-generation oncolytic HSVs, which contain the ICP6 gene under the regulation of the hTERT promoter (T-hTERT). To examine the association between hTERT expression and prognosis in patients with gastric cancer, immunohistochemical analysis of resected tumor specimens was performed. The enhanced efficacy of T-hTERT was determined in human gastric cancer cell lines in vitro and in human gastric adenocarcinoma specimens in vivo. In in vitro experiments, enhanced cytotoxicity of T-hTERT was observed in MKN1, MKN28 and MKN45 cells compared with that of a third-generation oncolytic HSV, T-null. In particular, the cytotoxicity of T-hTERT was markedly enhanced in MKN45 cells. Furthermore, in vivo experiments demonstrated that 36.7 and 54.9% of cells were found to be lysed 48 h after infection with T-null or T-hTERT viruses at 0.01 pfu/cell, respectively. The T-hTERT-treated group exhibited considerably lower cell viability than the control [phosphate-buffered saline (-)] group. Therefore, employing oncolytic HSVs that contain the ICP6 gene under the regulation of the hTERT promoter may be an effective therapeutic strategy for gastric cancer. To the best of our knowledge, the present study was the first to describe the effect of an oncolytic HSV with ICP6 expression regulated by the hTERT promoter on gastric cancer cells.

We extend and improve the known results about the boundedness of the bilinear pseudo-differential operators with symbols in the bilinear H\"ormander class $BS^{m}_{0,0}(\mathbb{R}^n)$. We consider wider classes of symbols and improve estimates for the corresponding operators. A key idea is to consider the operators in Wiener amalgam spaces., Comment: 35 pages, 2 figures. Some statements are added. Some typos are fixed

We consider bilinear pseudo-differential operators with symbols in the bilinear H\"ormander class, $BS_{\rho, \rho}^m$, $m \in \mathbb{R}$, $0 \leq \rho < 1$. The aim of this paper is to discuss low regularity conditions for symbols to assure the boundedness from $L^2 \times L^2$ to $h^1$ and from $L^2 \times bmo$ to $L^2$., Comment: 40 pages

In this paper, we study the boundedness of pseudodifferential operators with symbols in the Hormander class $$S^0_{\rho ,\rho }$$ on $$\alpha $$ -modulation spaces $$M_{p,q}^{s,\alpha }$$ , and consider the relation between $$\alpha $$ and $$\rho $$ . In particular, we show that pseudodifferential operators with symbols in $$S^0_{\alpha ,\alpha }$$ are bounded on all $$\alpha $$ -modulation spaces $$M^{s,\alpha }_{p,q}$$ , for arbitrary $$s\in \mathbb {R}$$ and for the whole range of exponents $$0 < p,q \le \infty $$ .

Currently, gastric cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. Oncolytic virotherapy using herpes simplex virus (HSV) has emerged as a novel therapeutic strategy against cancer. Telomerase is activated in >90of malignant tumors, including gastric cancer, and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is one of the major components of telomerase enzyme. Therefore, in oncolytic HSV, placing the essential genes under the regulation of the hTERT promoter may enhance its antitumor efficacy. The present study examined the antitumor effect of fourth-generation oncolytic HSVs, which contain the ICP6 gene under the regulation of the hTERT promoter (T-hTERT). To examine the association between hTERT expression and prognosis in patients with gastric cancer, immunohistochemical analysis of resected tumor specimens was performed. The enhanced efficacy of T-hTERT was determined in human gastric cancer cell lines in vitro and in human gastric adenocarcinoma specimens in vivo. In in vitro experiments, enhanced cytotoxicity of T-hTERT was observed in MKN1, MKN28 and MKN45 cells compared with that of a third-generation oncolytic HSV, T-null. In particular, the cytotoxicity of T-hTERT was markedly enhanced in MKN45 cells. Furthermore, in vivo experiments demonstrated that 36.7 and 54.9% of cells were found to be lysed 48 h after infection with T-null or T-hTERT viruses at 0.01 pfu/cell, respectively. The T-hTERT-treated group exhibited considerably lower cell viability than the control [phosphate-buffered saline (−)] group. Therefore, employing oncolytic HSVs that contain the ICP6 gene under the regulation of the hTERT promoter may be an effective therapeutic strategy for gastric cancer. To the best of our knowledge, the present study was the first to describe the effect of an oncolytic HSV with ICP6 expression regulated by the hTERT promoter on gastric cancer cells.

We consider the multilinear pseudo-differential operators with symbols in a generalized $S_{0,0}$-type class and prove the boundedness of the operators from $(L^2,\ell^{q_1}) \times \dots \times (L^2,\ell^{q_N})$ to $(L^2,\ell^{r})$, where $(L^2, \ell^{q})$ denotes the $L^2$-based amalgam space. This extends the previous result by the same authors, which treated the bilinear pseudo-differential operators and gave the $L^2 \times L^2 $ to $(L^2, \ell^{1})$ boundedness., 33 pages

We extend the known result that the bilinear pseudo-differential operators with symbols in the bilinear H��rmander class $BS^{-n/2}_{0,0}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ are bounded from $L^2 \times L^2$ to $h^1$. We show that those operators are also bounded from $L^2 \times L^2$ to $L^r $ for every $1< r \le 2$. Moreover we give similar results for symbol classes wider than $BS^{-n/2}_{0,0}(\mathbb{R}^n)$. We also give results for symbols of limited smoothness., 31 pages, no figures

Oncolytic virotherapy is an encouraging treatment using herpes simplex virus (HSV) for gastric cancer patients. To treat gastric cancer, we generated and evaluated the efficacy of an attractive type of oncolytic HSV expressing the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3). We constructed a third-generation type of oncolytic HSV (T-SOCS3) arming with SOCS3 by a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) system. We examined the viral replicative intensification and oncolysis of T-SOCS3 for human gastric cancer cell lines ex vivo. T-SOCS3 enhanced its replication and potentiated its cell-killing effect for MKN1 human gastric cancer cell lines, which are resistant to a non-armed third-generation type of oncolytic HSV (T-01) ex vivo. T-SOCS3 also induced the destruction within human gastric cancer specimens. Armed oncolytic HSVs expressing SOCS3 may be an efficacious therapeutic agent for gastric cancer treatment.

The purpose of this study was to clarify whether the novel lateral transfer assist robot facilitates easier transfers compared with a wheelchair in post-stroke hemiparesis patients.This cross-sectional study enrolled 20 post-stroke hemiparesis patients, and the task difficulty of transfers was compared between a wheelchair and lateral transfer assist robot. All participants were asked to transfer from either wheelchair or lateral transfer assist robot to a platform table and back. The primary outcome was the transfer score of the Functional Independence Measure. The secondary outcome was the time required for transfer.The transfer score of the Functional Independence Measure was significantly higher with lateral transfer assist robot than with wheelchair (Transfer with a lateral transfer assist robot is easier than with wheelchair and facilitates independence in post-stroke hemiparesis patients.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONTransfer skill influences the functional independence and quality of life of a wheelchair userA novel structural mobility device-the lateral transfer assist robot (LTAR)-can facilitate transfersThe LTAR could improve the degree of independence for transfers than the wheelchair, without any time loss, in post-stroke hemiparesis patientsThe LTAR could potentially reduce the risk for falls in various medical and care facilities.

We aimed to clarify the characteristics of heme oxygenase (HO)-1 expressing cells in the synovium from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA), and to investigate the co-expression of HO-1 and IgG-Fc/HLA-DR complex.The characteristics of HO-1 expressing cells in the synovium were investigated by using immunohistochemistry. The co-expression of HO-1 and IgG-Fc/HLA-DR complex was examined by anThe number of HO-1A portion of HO-1

We consider the Cauchy problem for the generalized Zakharov–Kuznetsov equation ∂ t u + ∂ x 1 Δ u = ∂ x 1 ( u m + 1 ) on three and higher dimensions. We mainly study the local well-posedness and the small data global well-posedness in the modulation space M 2 , 1 0 ( R n ) for m ≥ 4 and n ≥ 3 . We also investigate the quartic case, i.e., m = 3 .

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) neoplasm (BPDCN) is a relatively rare hematological malignancy with significantly complex clinicopathological features that are still unclear. This study aimed to analyze the clinicopathological data of BPDCN and evaluate immunohistochemical detection of minimal bone marrow (BM) involvement. In this study, we examined skin and BM lesions from 6 patients with BPDCN. Neoplastic cells tested positive for CD303 (polyclonal, 100%; monoclonal, 40%) in the skin lesions and for CD303 (polyclonal, 100%; monoclonal, 67%) in the BM clots. Although immunostaining of CD4, CD56, CD123, CD303, and TCLl detected minimal BM involvement in 3 patients, morphological identification was challenging in the BM clots stained with hematoxylin–eosin. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the significance of observing BM smears to detect neoplastic cells and that immunohistochemical examination, including CD303 antibodies, is useful to detect minimal BM involvement. This study is the first to report the expression of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and its receptor in BPDCN cells. Therefore, the TSLP/TSLP receptor axis may be associated with the proliferation of BPDCN, and consequently, the survival of patients.

Purpose The aim of this study was to clarify internal hernia (IH) characteristics after laparoscopic gastrectomy. Materials and methods This was a retrospective study of 1943 consecutive gastric cancer patients who underwent surgery at our institute between 2004 and 2015. Since 2013, our technique includes antecolic Roux-en-Y (RY) with closure of all mesenteric defects during laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG) as standard. Results Postoperative IH was only detected in patients who underwent total gastrectomy with RY reconstruction. Furthermore, the incidence of IH was significantly higher after LTG than after open total gastrectomy (4.9% vs. 1.0%; P=0.005). IH after LTG occurred in 8.0% of patients before standardization with closure of the mesenteric defects, but no IH was observed after standardization (P=0.047). Conclusions Closure of all mesenteric defects is recommended for gastric cancer patients who undergo LTG with antecolic RY. Registration number: UMIN000009163/000025029 (www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/).

Background Several studies have reported that the triangulating stapling method decreases the incidence of anastomotic stricture after esophagectomy, but no randomized, controlled trial has confirmed the efficacy of the triangulating stapling method for cervical esophagogastrostomy. We compared triangulating stapling and circular stapling for cervical esophagogastric anastomosis regarding the decrease in anastomotic stricture after esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal cancer. Methods Between August 2010 and April 2014, 100 patients enrolled in this randomized, controlled trial at the Wakayama Medical University Hospital were allocated randomly to either the circular stapling group (n = 49) or the triangulating stapling group (n = 51). The primary end point was the incidence of anastomotic stricture within 12 months postoperatively. This randomized, controlled trial was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trial Registry (UMIN000004848). Results There were no differences between the circular stapling and triangulating stapling groups in terms of clinical data. The amount of time required for esophagogastric anastomosis was slightly greater for the triangulating stapling group (22 minutes) than for the circular stapling group (18 minutes) (P = .028). Anastomotic stricture occurred in 8 patients (17%) in the circular stapling group and 9 patients (19%) in the triangulating stapling group (P = .935). The rate of anastomotic leakage was 11% for the circular stapling group and 2% for the triangulating stapling group (P = .073). Conclusion The triangulating stapling method for cervical anastomosis for thoracic esophageal cancer does not decrease the incidence of anastomotic stricture compared with the circular stapling method within 12 postoperative months but may affect the rate of anastomotic leakage.

Welded structures experiencing a small number of large plastic strain reversals during a strong earthquake, can lead to ductile or fatigue fracture. Experimental study on a series of welded T-joints under cyclic large plastic strain loading is carried out to clarify their failure mechanisms in the ultra low cycle fatigue range commonly with a crack initiation life of several dozens of cycles. Effects of post-weld treatment, notch size, notch location and loading protocol on the failure process of the joints are studied. The experimental results indicate that the fracture is a transition mode of ductile and fatigue fracture. It is also found that the post-weld treatment can greatly improve the crack initiation lives of the joints, and the Charpy impact energy has a great effect on the cracking propagation rate. Formulae to evaluate the crack initiation lives of the tested specimens respectively in terms of ductility ratio and equivalent plastic strain are also proposed, and the effect of small strain amplitudes on the damage accumulation is explained based on the test results under various loading protocols.

In this paper, we first discuss equivalent norms for α-modulation spaces which are composed from decomposition with non-compact (frequency) support. Then, we determine sharp inclusion relations between α-modulation spaces and L p -Sobolev spaces, and between α-modulation spaces and local Hardy spaces.

Background: Portal vein (PV) stenosis or obstruction is sometimes observed in patients who were performed pancreatobiliary surgery. These conditions such as pancreatic fistulas (PF) and intra-abdominal infections after pancreatobiliary surgery still represent significant clinical issues. In addition, insufficient attention is paid to the fact that severe stenosis of the PV can result in life-threatening complications. Material and Methods: At our institution, lymph node dissection within the hepatoduodenal ligament was performed for biliary or pancreatic neoplasms in 68 patients between October 2005 and April 2017. The diameter of the PV was measured on computed tomography scans obtained before and after the operation. PV stenosis was defined as a >50% reduction in the diameter of the PV. The degree of PF (Pancreatic Fistula) was defined by the International Study Group of Pancreatic Fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy. Furthermore, the Clavien-Dindo (CD) classification was used to assess the complications that occurred in cases in which pancreatojejunostomy was not performed. The relationship between the degree of PV stenosis and the occurrence of postoperative complications was analyzed. Results: The overall frequency of PF was 56.3% (18 patients). Grade B or C PF occurred in 5 patients (15.6%). In the present small series, a correlation was detected between the degree of PV stenosis and the occurrence of postoperative complications after pancreatobiliary surgery (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Clinicians should keep in mind that the PV can narrow in cases in which grade B or C PF or intra-abdominal abscesses occur after pancreatobiliary surgery.

Objectives This study aims to examine the characteristics of muscle activity change of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle in healthy adults while they walked on a split-belt treadmill with one fixed ankle. Patients and methods This randomized controlled trial was conducted between November 2017 and July 2018. Fourteen healthy male individuals (mean age 31.4 years; range, 23 to 50 years) were divided into two groups: right ankle joint fixed by ankle-foot orthosis (fixation group) and no orthosis (control group). Both groups were asked to walk on a treadmill with the same belt speed. After familiarizing with walking on both belts at 5.0 km/h, they walked for 6 min with the right belt slower (2.5 km/h) and the left faster (5.0 km/h). For analysis, the 6 min were divided equally among three time periods. The TA muscle activity was calculated at first and last time periods. We compared muscle activities in time periods (early and late phase) and in groups (fixation and control) using two-way mixed analysis of variance. Results The TA muscle activity decreased in the late phase regardless of ankle joint fixation, and also decreased in the fixation group regardless of the time periods. There was an interaction between these factors. Conclusion These data show that changes in the TA muscle activity were smaller in the fixation group, suggesting that the ankle joint fixation reduces the adaptation.

Membrane transport proteins undergo critical conformational changes during substrate uptake and release, as the substrate-binding site is believed to switch its accessibility from one side of the membrane to the other. Thus, at least two substrate-binding intermediates should appear during the process, that is, after uptake and before the release of the substrate. However, this view has not been verified for most transporters because of the difficulty in detecting short-lived intermediates. Here, we report real-time identification of these intermediates for the light-driven outward current-generating Na+-pump rhodopsin. We triggered the transport cycle of Na+-pump rhodopsin using a short laser pulse, and subsequent formation and decay of various intermediates was detected by time-resolved measurements of absorption changes. We used this method to analyze transport reactions and elucidated the sequential formation of the Na+-binding intermediates O1 and O2. Both intermediates exhibited red-shifted absorption spectra and generated transient equilibria with short-wavelength intermediates. The equilibria commonly shifted toward O1 and O2 with increasing Na+ concentration, indicating that Na+ is bound to these intermediates. However, these equilibria were formed independently; O1 reached equilibrium with preceding intermediates, indicating Na+ uptake on the cytoplasmic side. In contrast, O2 reached equilibrium with subsequent intermediates, indicating Na+ release on the extracellular side. Thus, there is an irreversible switch in "accessibility" during the O1 to O2 transition, which could represent one of the key processes governing unidirectional Na+ transport.

A large number of welded steel moment-resisting framed (SMRF) structures failed due to brittle fracture induced by ductile fracture at beam-to-column connections during 1994 Northridge earthquake and 1995 Kobe (Hyogoken-Nanbu) earthquake. Extensive research efforts have been devoted to clarifying the mechanism of the observed failures and corresponding countermeasures to ensure more ductile design of welded SMRF structures, while limited research on the failure analysis of the ductile cracking was conducted due to lack of computational capacity and proper theoretical models. As the first step to solve this complicated problem, this paper aims to establish a straightforward procedure to simulate ductile cracking of welded joints under monotonic tension. There are two difficulties in achieving the aim of this study, including measurement of true stress-true strain data and ductile fracture parameters of different subzones in a welded joint, such as weld deposit, heat affected zone and the boundary between the two. Butt joints are employed in this study for their simple configuration. Both experimental and numerical studies on two types of butt joints are conducted. The validity of the proposed procedure is proved by comparison between the experimental and numerical results.

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy (IgAN) is characterized by high serum IgA levels and IgA deposition in the renal mesangium. Previous studies suggest that elevated serum IgA partly originates from the tonsils. Here, we investigated the mechanisms of IgA production in the tonsils of patients with IgAN. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the number and relative percentage of IgA-bearing cells were significantly increased in the tonsils of IgAN patients. Compared with non-IgAN patients, enhanced IgA class switching and overexpression of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), TSLP receptor (TSLPR), activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), B cell-activating factor of the tumor necrosis factor family (BAFF), and a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) were detected in follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) of tonsillar germinal centers from IgAN patients. Importantly, TSLP correlated with IgA production in isolated FDC-associated clusters. Serum TSLP levels were increased and correlated with IgA overexpression in the tonsils and serum of IgAN patients. These data indicated that TSLP overexpression in tonsillar FDCs may promote IgA class switching in IgAN patients through the cooperative roles of AID, TGF-β1, BAFF, and APRIL. Therefore, interactions between TSLP in FDCs and IgA production in tonsils may be an important mechanism contributing to the pathogenesis of IgAN.

We consider the Cauchy problem for the generalized Zakharov–Kuznetzov equation \(\partial _t u + \partial _x \Delta u = \partial _x ( u^{m+1} )\) on two or three space dimensions. We mainly study the two dimensional case and give the local well-posedness and the small data global well-posedness in the modulation space \(M_{2,1}(\mathbb {R}^2)\) for \(m \ge 4\). Moreover, for the quartic case (namely, \(m = 3\)), the local well-posedness in \( M_{2,1}^{1/4}(\mathbb {R}^2)\) is given. The well-posedness on three dimensions is also considered.

Postoperative chylothorax is a rare, but serious complication after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Because the surgical treatment for chylothorax, which involves the ligation of the thoracic ducts, is not necessarily a reliable treatment, it is important to have alternative options for the conservative treatment of chylothorax. We treated three patients with chylothorax after esophagectomy using a conservative treatment with administration of octreotide and etilefrine. Octreotide acts on lymph ductal endothelial cells with somatostatin receptors and reduces leakage of lymph fluids by contracting the smooth muscle of the lymph duct. Etilefrine contracts the smooth muscle, which decreases chyle flow output by reducing the diameter of the main lymph ducts. All three patients recovered fully without surgical treatment. We consider the combination of octreotide and etilefrine to be a safe and effective treatment for chylothorax after esophagectomy.

In order to develop a durable highly hydrophobic surface, a biomimetic design was developed by combining an organic monolithic resin, TiO2 photocatalyst, and polytetrafluoroethylene particles. An accelerated weathering resistance examination revealed that the highly hydrophobic surface maintained a water contact angle exceeding 140° for 6 years. Moreover, high antiwear performance was confirmed by a rubbing test. Since the organic monolithic resin had co-continual structures with interconnected pores, new surface with a microstructure appeared continually by removal of the damaged surface. On the other hand, decomposition of organic compounds by TiO2 photocatalyst enabled self-etching of the damaged top layer of the organic monolithic resin. The flowing water due to rainfall or physical scraping contributed to the removal of the damaged surface. However, the film thickness after surface restoration was approximately constant. In addition, dynamic hydrophobicity could be improved when interconnected pores of the organic monolithic resins were impregnated with perfluorocarbon liquid. Thus, we have addressed essential issues and proposed a new method for designing hydrophobic surfaces with high durability.

Composite pheochromocytoma (cPC) is extremely rare, arising in the adrenal medulla as a mixture of PC and other tumors of neural origin. We herein report on a case of adrenal incidentaloma post-operatively diagnosed as cPC with ganglioneuroblastoma (GNBL). The PC component had 7 points on the PASS, a Ki-67 index of 5.1%, a focal absence of sustentacular cells, and no genetic aberrations in succinate dehydrogenase subunit B. The GNBL component exhibited no N-myc amplification. Tumor cells of both components were stained positively for extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 and ankyrin repeat domain 1. The aberrant activation of growth signaling may play a role in the marginal malignancy of cPC.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the localization of collagen modifying enzymes (CMEs) on fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs) and follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) in non-neoplastic lymphoid tissues and various malignant lymphomas. The expression of prolyl 4-hydroxylase 1 (P4H1), lysyl hydroxylase 3 (LH3), and protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) was frequently observed on FRCs and FDCs in the germinal center (GC), except for the mantle zone. The expression of CMEs was lower in most lymphomas than in their respective postulated normal counterparts. The ratio of transglutaminase II+ FRCs/CD35+ FDCs was also lower in follicular lymphomas (FL) than in other lymphomas. The mRNAs of some CMEs (P4H1, prolyl 4-hydroxylase 3, LH3, and heat shock protein 47) were confirmed in almost all lymphomas. These results indicate that lymphoma cell proliferation suppresses/decreases the number of CMEs expressing FRCs and FDCs in most lymphomas.

Transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) is a member of the transient receptor potential superfamily of Ca2+ channels. The aim of the present study was to clarify TRPM8 expression in reactive lymphoid tissues and mature B-cell neoplasms. Reactive and neoplastic lymphoid tissues were used to evaluate TRPM8 expression by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). TRPM8+ cells were frequently detected in the follicular light zone and marginal zone of reactive lymphoid tissues. Double immunostaining revealed that TRPM8+ cells co-expressed cluster of differentiation (CD) 38, CD79a, CD138, interferon regulatory factor 4/melanoma associated antigen (mutated) 1, B cell CLL/lymphoma 6 and transmembrane activator and CAML interactor. TRPM8+ neoplastic cells were frequently detected in plasma cell myeloma. The positive band of TRPM8 mRNA was confirmed by RT-PCR in cases of myeloma. The present study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to demonstrate the expression of TRPM8 in reactive lymphoid tissues and mature B-cell neoplasms, revealing that TRPM8 is frequently expressed in pre-plasmablasts, plasmablasts, plasma cells and mature B-cell lymphomas that are likely to differentiate into plasma cells.

Patients with positive peritoneal cytology (CY1) or peritoneal dissemination (P1) have significantly poor prognosis. We performed pre-therapeutic staging laparoscopy (SL) to diagnose peritoneal metastasis for patients with advanced gastric cancer. When peritoneal metastasis disappears by chemotherapy for patients with CY1 or P1, we have intention to perform conversion surgery (CS). This study aims to clarify the clinical significance of CS for such patients. We retrospectively analyzed clinical outcomes of 115 patients with advanced gastric cancer (large type 3, type 4, serosa-invasion) who underwent SL between 2005 and 2014. Disappearance of peritoneal metastasis was confirmed by second-look SL. CY0P0, CY1P0, and P1 were found in 56, 26, and 33 patients, respectively. In patients with CY1P0, 12 patients (66.7%) underwent CS (R0) as peritoneal cytology turned negative. All cases received S-1-based regimens, with median five treatment courses. The survival of patients with CS was significantly longer than those without CS (median survival time (MST); 41 vs. 11 months, respectively, P

We discuss when the nonlinear operation $f\mapsto F(f)$ maps the modulation space $M^{p,q}_s(\mathbb{R}^n)$ ($1 \leq p,q \leq \infty$) to the same space again. It is known that $M^{p,q}_s(\mathbb{R}^n)$ is a multiplication algebra when $s > n-n/q$, hence it is true for this space if $F$ is entire. We claim that it is still true for non-analytic $F$ when $q\geq4/3$., 18 pages

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is characterized by a qualitative abnormality of IgA in the circulation and IgA deposition in the renal mesangium. Recent research has indicated that pathogenic IgA may originate from affected tonsils. Follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein (FDC-SP), a small novel secretory protein that may regulate the induction of B-cell responses, has been suggested to control IgA production. Given this background, this study investigated the expression of FDC-SP and its correlation with IgA production in the tonsils of IgAN patients. Immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were used to compare the expression of FDC-SP in the tonsils of IgAN patients with tonsillitis and of non-IgAN patients with chronic tonsillitis. The location of FDC-SP in tonsillar tissue was confirmed by double immunofluorescence. We found that FDC-SP expression significantly decreased and was correlated negatively with enhanced IgA production in the tonsils of IgAN patients. FDC-SP secreted by follicular dendritic cells may act on germinal center B cells and participate in the modulation of IgA generation in the tonsils. Our study demonstrated that FDC-SP may be involved in IgA production in the tonsils of IgAN patients, making this protein an attractive candidate immunomodulator, and highlighting a promising strategy for therapeutic intervention in IgAN.

This study demonstrated that the common immunological mechanism, which involves aberration of immunoglobulin and T-cell distribution in histologically distinctive tonsils, may be associated with the pathogenesis of tonsillar focal infection.Tonsillar focal infection comprises a group of relatively common diseases combined with chronic tonsillar infection, is associated with unusual immune responses in tonsils, and may cause lesions in another distant target organ. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of inflammatory T cells and T-cell regulatory elements, such as programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and Fork head box protein 3 (Foxp3), immunoglobulin production, and histological characteristics in tonsils from patients with tonsillar focal infection.Immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to compare the expression of CD8(+) T cells, immunoglobulins, and cytokines associated with immunoglobulin production in the tonsils of patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN), palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and chronic tonsillitis.The overexpression of CD8(+) T cells combined with decreased expression of Foxp3 and PD-1 and the aberration of immunoglobulin production, which may be due to the elevated expression of activation-induced deaminase (AID), B-cell-activating factor of the TNF family (BAFF), supporting isotype switching, and B-cell survival in the histologically distinctive tonsils.

Tests and finite element (FE) analyses of smooth flat bar, U-notch and V-notch specimens are presented to demonstrate the application and validation of proposed three-stage and two-parameter ductile fracture model for evaluating the ductile crack initiation, propagation and final failure in steel welded joints under monotonic loading. Modeling concepts and procedures for characterizing the material parameters of ductile fracture model using smooth flat bar and U-notch tests are described. Accuracy of the model is validated through a series of tensile tests of U-notch, V-notch and welded smooth flat bar specimens. Three types of materials used in welded structures including base metal, weld metal and HAZ are investigated. Furthermore, the effect of notch position on ductile fracture behavior of HAZ specimens and the effect of mesh size on ductile fracture behavior of U-notch and V-notch specimens are studied. Detailed finite element analyses that employ the ductile fracture model are shown to predict ductile fracture behavior with good accuracy across the specimen geometries and material types in terms of ductile crack initiation point, ultimate load point and load–displacement curve.