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Background Previous studies have suggested that postoperative non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use may increase the risk of anastomotic leakage after colorectal surgery. However, the association between NSAIDs and anastomotic leakage after oesophagectomy is unclear. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the effect of early postoperative NSAID use on anastomotic leakage after oesophagectomy. Methods The Data of patients who underwent oesophagectomy for cancer between July 2010 and March 2019 were extracted from a Japanese nationwide inpatient database. Stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), propensity score matching, and instrumental variable analyses were performed to investigate the association between NSAID use in the early postoperative period (defined as the day of and the day after surgery) and short-term outcomes, adjusting for potential confounders. The primary outcome was anastomotic leakage. The secondary outcomes were acute kidney injury, gastrointestinal bleeding, and mortality. Results Among 39 418 eligible patients, early postoperative NSAIDs were used by 16 211 individuals (41 per cent). Anastomotic leakage occurred in 5729 patients (15 per cent). In stabilized IPTW analyses, NSAIDs were not associated with anastomotic leakage (odds ratio 1.04, 95 per cent c.i. 0.97 to 1.10). The proportions of acute kidney injury and gastrointestinal bleeding, as well as 30-day mortality and in-hospital mortality, did not differ according to NSAID use. Propensity score matching and instrumental variable analyses demonstrated similar results. Conclusion Early postoperative NSAID use was not associated with anastomotic leakage or other complications in patients who underwent oesophagectomy.

Vanillin is one of the platform chemicals in industry, which is used not only as a traditional fragrance but also as a raw material for medicines and polymer materials. Industrial vanillin production by alkaline aerobic oxidation of lignin is carried out with degradation of lignosulfonate at temperatures around 170°C under pressurized air in the presence of Cu2+ as a catalyst. However, this method has problems such as low vanillin yields and by production of sulfur-containing wastewater, and various studies have been conducted to solve them. Research on the mechanism of the vanillin formation reaction by aerobic oxidation of lignin and the search for a method to control this reaction has also been conducted. In this chapter, we review relevant studies from the above perspective, mainly those conducted by the authors’ research group.

Studies have shown that epidural analgesia (EDA) is associated with a decreased risk of pneumonia and anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy, and several guidelines strongly recommend EDA use after esophagectomy. However, the benefit of EDA use in minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) remains unclear.The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the short-term outcomes between patients with and without EDA undergoing MIE for esophageal cancer.Data of patients who underwent oncologic MIE (April 2014-March 2019) were extracted from a Japanese nationwide inpatient database. Stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), propensity score matching, and instrumental variable analyses were performed to investigate the associations between EDA use and short-term outcomes, adjusting for potential confounders.Among 12,688 eligible patients, EDA was used in 9954 (78.5%) patients. In-hospital mortality, respiratory complications, and anastomotic leakage occurred in 230 (1.8%), 2139 (16.9%), and 1557 (12.3%) patients, respectively. In stabilized IPTW, EDA use was significantly associated with decreased in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR] 0.46 [95% confidence interval 0.34-0.61]), respiratory complications (OR 0.74 [0.66-0.84]), and anastomotic leakage (OR 0.77 [0.67-0.88]). EDA use was also associated with decreased prolonged mechanical ventilation, unplanned intubation, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use, acetaminophen use, postoperative length of stay, and total hospitalization costs and increased vasopressor use. One-to-three propensity score matching and instrumental variable analyses demonstrated equivalent results.EDA use in oncologic MIE was associated with low in-hospital mortality as well as decreased respiratory complications, and anastomotic leakage, suggesting the potential advantage of EDA use in MIE.

We have proposed plausible reaction pathways involved in the chemical conversion of softwood lignin to vanillin through alkaline aerobic oxidation.

Treatment options for patients with resectable thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) and synchronous head and neck cancer (HNC) are unclear. Little has been reported about the effects of chemotherapy on early HNC. The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment outcomes of resectable thoracic ESCC with synchronous early HNC. We retrospectively reviewed 37 patients undergoing esophagectomy for thoracic ESCC with synchronous early HNC from January 2008 to December 2018. Among 37 patients who had synchronous early HNC, 27 patients received preoperative therapy for ESCC before HNC treatment, and 16 of 27 patients achieved a complete response for HNC by preoperative chemotherapy. Fifteen of 16 patients did not receive additional treatment, and regional recurrence of HNC was not observed. In one other case, an oral excision was performed, but no cancer cell remnants were found pathologically. No significant difference in overall survival and disease-free survival was observed between 15 patients with follow-up and 22 patients with surgery or radiation. Our results indicate that early HNC with comorbid ESCC could be followed up without additional treatment if preoperative chemotherapy is successful.

To examine the association of BMI with mortality and related outcomes after oncologic esophagectomy.Previous studies showed that high BMI was a risk factor for anastomotic leakage and low BMI was a risk factor for respiratory complications after esophagectomy. However, the association between BMI and in-hospital mortality after oncologic esophagectomy remains unclear.Data for patients who underwent esophagectomy for esophageal cancer between July 2010 and March 2019 were extracted from a Japanese nationwide inpatient database. Multivariate regression analyses and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to investigate the associations between BMI and short-term outcomes, adjusting for potential confounders.Among 39,406 eligible patients, in-hospital mortality, major complications, and multiple complications (≥2 major complications) occurred in 1069 (2.7%), 14,824 (37.6%), and 3621 (9.2%), respectively. Compared with normal weight (18.5-22.9 kg/m2), severe underweight (16.0 kg/m2), mild/moderate underweight (16.0-18.4 kg/m2), and obese (≥27.5 kg/m2) were significantly associated with higher in-hospital mortality [odds ratio 2.20 (95% confidence interval 1.65-2.94), 1.25 (1.01-1.49), and 1.48 (1.05-2.09), respectively]. BMI showed U-shaped dose-response associations with mortality, major complications, and multiple complications. BMI also showed a reverse J-shaped association with failure to rescue (death after major complications).Both high BMI and low BMI were associated with mortality, major complications, and multiple complications after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Patients with low BMI were more likely to die once a major complication occurred. The present results can assist with risk stratification in patients undergoing oncologic esophagectomy.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and head and neck (H&N) cancer coincide in high frequency and early detection of synchronous cancer is inevitable for these patients. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of routine endoscopic screening for synchronous esophageal cancer in patients with H&N cancer. From April 2020 to March 2022, 35 patients with newly-diagnosed H&N cancer had routine screening endoscopy for synchronous esophageal cancer. All patients with H&N cancer were referred to our department prior to the treatment for H&N cancer. The locations of H&N cancers were oral/oropharyngeal/hypopharyngeal/laryngeal/other H&N cancer; 9/6/9/9/2 respectively. Image-enhanced endoscopy using BLI (blue laser imaging) was performed in all patients. Lugol staining was used in 20 patients and multiple Lugol voiding lesions were detected in 9 patients. Among all patients, abnormal endoscopic findings in esophagus were detected in 15 patients (43%), and biopsy was performed in 11 patients (31%). Biopsy revealed SCC in 5 patients and atypical epithelium in 2 patients. Esophageal lesions were all found in early stage within indication of endoscopic treatment. 3 patients underwent endoscopic treatment after treatment of H&N cancer. Routine endoscopic screening for patients with H&N cancer is effective in early detection of synchronous esophageal cancer with minimally invasive treatment for esophageal neoplasm. The treatment of chemotherapy for H&N cancer may be effective for esophageal lesions, therefore, careful surveillance is required during the treatment of H&N cancer. Routine endoscopy should be continued further for these patients for screening of metachronous cancer.

This article proposes a network design model to minimize the worst-case network congestion against multiple link failures, where open shortest path first link weights are determined at the beginning of network operation. In the proposed model, which is called the preventive start-time optimization model against multiple link failures (PSO-M), the number of multiple link failure patterns to support is restricted by introducing a probabilistic constraint called probabilistic guarantee . If the total probability of non-connected failure patterns does not exceed a specified probability, PSO-M provides a feasible solution of link weights. Otherwise, no feasible solution can be obtained. We introduce an extended model of PSO-M, called PSO-M with link reinforcement (PSO-MLR), where links are reinforced under a budget constraint. Link reinforcement in PSO-MLR has two purposes: maintaining network connectivity and reducing the worst-case congestion ratio. Numerical results show that PSO-M offers lower worst-case congestion ratios than the start-time optimization model, where link weights are obtained against the non-failure pattern assuming that multiple link failures are possible. The superiority of PSO-M strengthens as the average node degree of the network increases. Given a fixed budget, PSO-MLR allows the worst-case congestion ratio to be varied within a specific range. PSO-MLR can support a part of non-connected failure patterns to determine link weights, and so is a valuable enhancement of PSO-M.

With the advent of a new program for postgraduate medical students in 2004, the number of applicants choosing surgical careers in Japan has been declining. We conducted this study to evaluate the impact of preclinical clerkship and how it affects students' attitudes toward a surgical career.The subjects of our study were fifth-year medical students who participated in a clinical clerkship in general surgery in our department between April 2021 and March 2022. We conducted pre- and post-preclinical clerkship surveys to assess the perceived image of surgeons and the impact of clerkship on surgical career interest.Among 132 medical students (77 men and 55 women) who rotated through preclinical clerkship in our department, 125 participated in the survey and 66% expressed interest in a surgical career. In the post-clerkship survey, an increased interest in a surgical career was expressed by 79% of the students; notably, including those who initially expressed interest. Approximately 77% of students were satisfied with the practical skill training they received.Engaging medical students early in surgical experience through a preclinical clerkship for general surgery appears to promote their interest in a surgical career.

Diabetes is known to be associated with anastomotic leakage (AL) after esophagectomy. However, it is unknown whether well-controlled diabetes is also associated with AL.We conducted a two-center retrospective cohort database study of patients who underwent oncological esophagectomy (2011-2019). Patients were divided into four groups: normoglycemia, pre-diabetes, well-controlled diabetes (hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c] 7.0%), and poorly controlled diabetes (HbA1c ≥ 7.0%). The occurrence of AL and length of stay were compared between groups using multivariable analyses. The relationship between categorical HbA1c levels and AL was also investigated in patients stratified by diabetes medication before admission.Among 1901 patients, 1114 (58.6%) had normoglycemia, 480 (25.2%) had pre-diabetes, 180 (9.5%) had well-controlled diabetes, and 127 (6.7%) had poorly controlled diabetes. AL occurred in 279 (14.7%) patients. Compared with normoglycemia, AL was significantly associated with both well-controlled diabetes (odds ratio 1.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.22-2.74) and poorly controlled diabetes (odds ratio 1.95, 95% CI 1.23-3.09), but not with pre-diabetes. Preoperative HbA1c levels showed a J-shaped association with AL in patients without diabetes medication, but no association in patients with diabetes medication. Compared with normoglycemia, only poorly controlled diabetes was significantly associated with longer hospital stay after surgery, especially in patients with operative morbidity (unstandardized coefficient 14.9 days, 95% CI 5.6-24.1).Diabetes was associated with AL after esophagectomy even in well-controlled patients, but pre-diabetes was not associated with AL. Operative morbidity, including AL, in poorly controlled diabetes resulted in prolonged hospital stays compared with normoglycemia.

Bovine pneumonia is a disease that causes significant economic losses in livestock industries and is vital for animal welfare. The whole-genome sequence of Pasteurella multocida strain Pm1, isolated from a calf suffering from pneumonia in Japan, is reported here.

The left renal vein lymph node (LRVLN) may be the extended locoregional node in esophagogastric junction cancer; however, only open-surgical methods of dissection have been reported. We therefore developed a novel minimally invasive laparoscopic method for LRVLN dissection. Following esophagectomy, the stomach was mobilized and LRVLN dissection was started by taping the pancreatic body using two silicone drains. The transverse mesocolon was then retracted through the superior duodenal fossa to expose the horizontal duodenum and permit LRVLN dissection. We carried out the procedure successfully in 17 patients with advanced esophagogastric cancer. The median total and laparoscopic operative times were 415 and 161 min, respectively. Postoperative esophagectomy-related complications occurred in six patients. The median estimated blood loss was 120 ml and hospital stay was 15 days. This minimally invasive laparoscopic LRVLN dissection method was safe and effective, and may support faster recovery and earlier postoperative adjuvant therapy in patients with esophagogastric junction cancer.

SUMMARY The Elongator complex, which is conserved in eukaryotes, has multiple roles in diverse organisms. In Arabidopsis thaliana, Elongator is shown to be involved in development, hormone action and environmental responses. However, except for Arabidopsis, our knowledge of its function is poor in plants. In this study, we initially carried out a genetic analysis to characterize a rice mutant with narrow and curled leaves, termed curled later1 (cur1). The cur1 mutant displayed a heteroblastic change, whereby the mutant leaf phenotype appeared specifically at a later adult phase of vegetative development. The shoot apical meristem (SAM) was small and the leaf initiation rate was low, suggesting that the activity of the SAM seemed to be partially reduced in cur1. We then revealed that CUR1 encodes a yeast ELP1‐like protein, the largest subunit of Elongator. Furthermore, disruption of OsELP3 encoding the catalytic subunit of Elongator resulted in phenotypes similar to those of cur1, including the timing of the appearance of mutant phenotypes. Thus, Elongator activity seems to be specifically required for leaf development at the late vegetative phase. Transcriptome analysis showed that genes involved in protein quality control were highly upregulated in the cur1 shoot apex at the later vegetative phase, suggesting the restoration of impaired proteins probably produced by partial defects in translational control due to the loss of function of Elongator. The differences in the mutant phenotype and gene expression profile between CUR1 and its Arabidopsis ortholog suggest that Elongator has evolved to play a unique role in rice development., Significance Statement We revealed that genes encoding the subunit of Elongator complex play an important role in the differentiation of bulliform and sclerenchyma cells in leaf development and in the maintenance of the shoot apical meristem. The mutant leaf phenotypes appeared specifically at the late adult phase of the vegetative development, suggesting a unique role of the Elongator complex in rice.

Despite advances in minimally invasive surgery, postoperative pneumonia after esophagectomy remains a frequent complication. Sarcopenia, defined as low muscle strength and quantity, has been associated with adverse surgical outcomes in numerous cancers. The recent definition and diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia have emphasized muscle strength rather than muscle quantity as the primary indicator of sarcopenia, although most studies have focused only on muscle quantity. This study aimed to determine the association of muscle strength and quantity with postoperative pneumonia after thoracoscopic–laparoscopic esophagectomy (TLE). This retrospective, single-center, observational study investigated 161 men undergoing TLE for esophageal cancer between May 2017 and October 2019. Handgrip strength (HGS) and skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) were used respectively as proxy for muscle strength and quantity. The SMI was assessed using preoperative computed tomography at the L3 vertebral level. Predictors of postoperative pneumonia were determined using multivariate analysis. The study subjects had TLE performed for squamous cell carcinoma (n = 131), adenocarcinoma (n = 24), and other cancers (n = 6). Postoperative pneumonia developed in 28 patients (17.4%). In the multivariate analysis, HGS was significantly associated with postoperative pneumonia (odds ratio [OR], 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08–1.35; p = 0.001]. No association was found between SMI and postoperative pneumonia (p = 0.964). Comparison of the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for postoperative pneumonia prediction showed that the value for HGS was significantly higher than for SMI (0.79 vs 0.65, respectively; p = 0.012). Low HGS was a significant predictor of postoperative pneumonia after TLE for esophageal cancer.

This paper proposes a backup network design scheme that can determine backup link capacity in practical time. The proposed scheme suppresses the required backup link capacity while providing a guaranteed level of recovery against multiple independent link failures. The conventional scheme is based on robust optimization and suffers from the problem of overestimating the backup link capacity. The proposed scheme addresses the overestimation problem by computing the probabilistic distribution function of required backup link capacity in polynomial time. We formulate the backup network design problem with the proposed scheme as a mixed integer linear programming problem to minimize the total required backup link capacity. We prove that the decision version of backup network design problem is NP-complete. Given that network size will continue to increase, we introduce a heuristic approach of simulated annealing to solve the same problem. Numerical results show that the proposed scheme requires less total backup link capacity than the conventional scheme based on robust optimization.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is typically used for the early detection of mycoplasma in bovine milk; it requires 3 days to obtain results because of the necessary enrichment process. A more rapid, simple, and accurate detection method is required to directly detect the Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) gene in milk. In this study, we assess the utility of combining the following two methods to achieve this goal: the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), which is more sensitive than PCR, and the procedure for ultra rapid extraction (PURE), which adsorbs and filters components that inhibit DNA amplification/detection. LAMP was examined using DNA extracts obtained by four methods. This showed that PURE had the highest sensitivity and specificity and that the combination of PURE and LAMP was able to detect M. bovis in milk. We then showed that the detection limit of M. bovis was 102 colony-forming units per milliliter of milk using the PURE-LAMP. Finally, the respective sensitivities of the PURE-LAMP and PCR were 57% and 86% for bulk tank milk, 89% and 74% for mature milk, 85% and 92% for colostrum/transitional milk, and 97% and 95% for mastitis milk. The specificity was 100% for all milk samples in both LAMP and PCR. We conclude that PCR was suitable for detecting mycoplasma in bulk tank milk and that the PURE-LAMP could detect mycoplasma within 2 hr and was also effective for mature and mastitis milk.

Vasa is an ATP-dependent RNA helicase of the DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box family and a representative component of the germ plasm. In this study, we cloned the full-length vasa homolog in the bivalve Atrina pectinata (psvasa), and performed phylogenetic analysis, mRNA expression analysis for tissue-specific distributions, and immunostaining analysis to reveal its histological localization. The sequence of psvasa was 3587 bp in length and contained a 5' untranslated region of 150 bp, an open reading frame of 2214 bp, and a 3' untranslated region of 1223 bp. The deduced amino acid sequence of psvasa was 737 amino acids long and contained evolutionarily conserved sequences reported in other animals. The mRNA expression analysis showed the highest expression levels in the gonads. Expression was especially high in the ovaries, followed by the testes. The immunostaining analysis showed Vasa-positive cells in the developing gonads, suggesting the presence of putative germ stem cells contributing to the supply of germ cells. Furthermore, characteristic Vasa signals were observed in the basophilic nuclei of the oocytes, suggesting that psvasa plays an important role in the progression of meiosis in oocytes.

Social signal processing is a methodology that is used to infer human inner states, including attitudes, sentiments and impressions, from verbal and nonverbal multimodal information. The difficulty in training a social signal recognition model is that the ground-truth (target) labels given by multiple coders often disagree because the annotation of social signals such as sentiments is a subjective and ambiguous task. We introduce weakly supervised learning (WSL) algorithms to such an inaccurate supervision setting in which the target label is not necessarily accurate. The novel challenge in this paper is to explore an effective WSL strategy for recognizing social signals. The strategy is verified through two multimodal datasets including audio, visual, and linguistic data collected in a human-agent dialogue setting. First, we clarify that the proposed WSL strategy for deep neural networks (DNNs), called tri-teaching works well in almost all classification tasks. Second, we demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating WSL and multitask learning (MTL), which exploits several label types in the datasets. Third, we show that our proposed approach achieves less accuracy degradation than an existing training algorithm for a DNN (curriculum learning) in a cross-corpus setting, with a maximum improvement of 7.2%.

Real-time evaluation of blood perfusion is important when selecting the site of anastomosis during thoracic esophagectomy. This study investigated a novel imaging technology that assesses tissue oxygen saturation (StO2) in the gastric conduit and examined its efficacy.Fifty-one patients undergoing thoracic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer who underwent intraoperative StO2 endoscopic imaging to assess the gastric conduit for the optimal site of anastomosis were examined. Efficacy of oxygen saturation imaging and patient outcomes were analyzed.All 51 patients underwent esophagectomy without intraoperative problems. Mean StO2 in the gastric tube was highest at the pre-pylorus area and then gradually decreased proceeding toward the tip. StO2 was well preserved in areas supplied by the right gastroepiploic artery but low in other areas. Anastomotic sites were selected based on StO2 imaging and tension considerations; most were located within 3 cm of the end of the right gastroepiploic artery. Three patients developed postoperative anastomotic leakage (5.8%). Mean StO2 at the point of anastomosis was significantly lower in the patients who experienced leakage than in those who did not (P = 0.04).Intraoperative endoscopic StO2 imaging is useful in esophageal cancer patients undergoing thoracic esophagectomy to determine the optimal site for anastomosis to minimize the risk of anastomotic leakage.

Treatment options for patients with resectable thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) and synchronous head and neck cancer (HNC) are unclear. Little has been reported about the effects of chemotherapy on early HNC. The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment outcomes of resectable thoracic ESCC with synchronous early HNC.We retrospectively reviewed 37 patients undergoing esophagectomy for thoracic ESCC with synchronous early HNC from January 2008 to December 2018.Among 37 patients who had synchronous early HNC, 27 patients received preoperative therapy for ESCC before HNC treatment, and 16 of 27 patients achieved a complete response for HNC by preoperative chemotherapy. Fifteen of 16 patients did not receive additional treatment, and regional recurrence of HNC was not observed. In one other case, an oral excision was performed, but no cancer cell remnants were found pathologically. No significant difference in overall survival and disease-free survival was observed between 15 patients with follow-up and 22 patients with surgery or radiation.Our results indicate that early HNC with comorbid ESCC could be followed up without additional treatment if preoperative chemotherapy is successful.

Plant development depends on the activity of pluripotent stem cells in meristems, such as the shoot apical meristem and the flower meristem. In Arabidopsis thaliana, WUSCHEL (WUS) is essential for stem cell homeostasis in meristems and integument differentiation in ovule development. In rice (Oryza sativa), the WUS ortholog TILLERS ABSENT 1 (TAB1) promotes stem cell fate in axillary meristem development, but its function is unrelated to shoot apical meristem maintenance in vegetative development. In this study, we examined the role of TAB1 in flower development. The ovule, which originates directly from the flower meristem, failed to differentiate in tab1 mutants, suggesting that TAB1 is required for ovule formation. Expression of a stem cell marker was completely absent in the flower meristem at the ovule initiation stage, indicating that TAB1 is essential for stem cell maintenance in the ‘final’ flower meristem. The ovule defect in tab1 was partially rescued by floral organ number 2 mutation, which causes overproliferation of stem cells. Collectively, it is likely that TAB1 promotes ovule formation by maintaining stem cells at a later stage of flower development.

Mycoplasma arthritis that caused by Mycoplasma bovis exhibit severe lameness. This disease is difficult to cure with antibiotics, but the detailed pathological mechanisms have not been fully clarified. In this study, we examined the effects of intra-articular inoculation with M. bovis on immunological responses in calf joints. We inoculated three calves each with M. bovis or phosphate buffer saline (control) into the right stifle joint and dissected them at 15 days postinoculation. Mycoplasma bovis-inoculated calves exhibited swelling of the stifle joint, increases in synovial fluid, fibrin deposition, and cartilage thinning. Intracellular M. bovis was detected in synovial tissues analyzed by immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy. Messenger RNA expressions of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12p40, and IL-17A in synovial fluid cells and synovial tissues from M. bovis-inoculated calves were significantly higher than those from control calves. Protein levels of these cytokines in synovial fluid from M. bovis-inoculated calves were markedly higher than those from control calves. Our study clarified that inoculation with M. bovis into the stifle joint induced the production of inflammatory cytokines by synovial fluid cells and synovial tissues, causing a severe inflammatory response in joints. Additionally, M. bovis could invade cells in synovial tissues, which may have aided it in evading antibiotics and host immune surveillance.

Background We assessed the morphological differences in the knee joint related to knee rotation angle in patients with hip dysplasia. These results may explain the anatomy of the knee in patients with hip dysplasia and aid in planning knee surgery. Methods We enrolled 73 women (146 legs, 35.6 ± 9.0 years) with bilateral hip dysplasia and 45 healthy women (90 legs, 49.0 ± 18.9 years) without lumbago, knee symptoms, or osteoarthritic findings of the knee or spine on plain radiographs. We examined the parameters affecting knee rotation angle, such as the condylar twist angle and femoral condyle measurements with a three-dimensional bone model using the correlation coefficients of each parameter. Results The condylar twist angle and the length of the posterior part of the lateral femoral condyle were statistically positively correlated with knee rotation angle in both the normal (condylar twist angle: r = 0.286, p = 0.007, posterolateral: r = 0.429, p

Stem cell homeostasis is maintained by the WUSCHEL-CLAVATA (WUS-CLV) negative feedback loop in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). In rice (Oryza sativa), FLORAL ORGAN NUMBER2 (FON2) functions in the negative regulation of stem cell proliferation, similar to Arabidopsis CLV3. In this study, through genetic enhancer analysis, we found that loss of function of ABERRANT SPIKELET AND PANICLE1 (ASP1), encoding an Arabidopsis TOPLESS (TPL)-like transcriptional corepressor, enhances the fon2 flower phenotype, which displayed an increase in floral organ number. In the fon2 asp1 double mutant, the inflorescence was severely affected, resulting in bifurcation of the main axis (rachis), a phenotype that has not previously been reported. The stem cells showed marked overproliferation in fon2 asp1, resulting in extreme enlargement and splitting of the inflorescence meristem. These results suggest that ASP1 and FON2 synergistically regulate stem cell maintenance in rice. Unexpectedly, genetic analysis indicated that TILLERS ABSENT1, the rice ortholog of WUS, is not involved in promoting stem cell proliferation in this meristem. Transcriptome analysis suggested that ASP1 and FON signaling negatively regulate a set of genes with similar functions, and they act on these genes in concert. Taken together, our results suggest that TPL-like corepressor activity plays a crucial role in meristem maintenance, and that stem cell proliferation is properly maintained via the cooperation of ASP1 and FON2.

In thoracic esophagectomy, chylothorax is usually the result of unrecognized surgical injury to the main or branches of thoracic duct. Postoperative chylothorax is mostly an uncommon complication of esophagectomy and occurs only in 0.6% to 4.0% of esophagectomy (1-6). In thoracic esophagectomy, complications of chylothorax resulted in hypoproteinemia, lipid loss, and respiratory failure due to atelectasis (7-9).

The ABC model in flower development represents a milestone of plant developmental studies and is essentially conserved across a wide range of angiosperm species. Despite this overall conservation, individual genes in the ABC model are not necessarily conserved and sometimes play a species-specific role, depending on the plant. We previously reported that carpels are specified by the YABBY gene DROOPING LEAF (DL) in rice (Oryza sativa), which bears flowers that are distinct from those of eudicots. In contrast, another group reported that carpels are specified by two class C genes, OsMADS3 and OsMADS58. Here, we have addressed this controversial issue by phenotypic characterization of floral homeotic gene mutants. Analysis of a complete loss-of-function mutant of OsMADS3 and OsMADS58 revealed that carpel-like organs expressing DL were formed in the absence of the two class C genes. Furthermore, no known flower organs including carpels were specified in a double mutant of DL and SUPERWOMAN1 (a class B gene), which expresses only class C genes in whorls 3 and 4. These results suggest that, in contrast to Arabidopsis, class C genes are not a key regulator for carpel specification in rice. Instead, they seem to be involved in the elaboration of carpel morphology rather than its specification. Our phenotypic analysis also revealed that, similar to its Arabidopsis ortholog CRABS CLAW, DL plays an important function in regulating flower meristem determinacy in addition to carpel specification.