Sphenoparietal sinus and superficial middle cerebral vein thrombosis: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis is rare and might be overlooked by healthcare providers. It often occurs in the transverse sinuses, superior sagittal sinus, and the vein of Trolard. Sphenoparietal sinus (SPS) and/or superficial middle cerebral vein (SMCV) thrombosis is rare and only 12 cases reported in the literature. CASE DESCRIPTION: We report a 47-year-old woman with iron deficiency anemia associated with myoma uteri who developed left SPS and SMCV thrombosis. She presented with sudden unconsciousness, right hemiplegia, and aphasia. Brain computed tomography showed subcortical hemorrhages in the left frontal and temporal lobes. Magnetic resonance imaging did not reveal the cause of the bleeding. Although antihypertensive treatment with nicardipine was initiated, she deteriorated into coma the next day and underwent emergency decompressive craniectomy. Thrombosis of the SMCV was identified during surgery. Re-examination of preoperative T2 star-weighted imaging revealed thrombosis of the SPS and SMCV. CONCLUSION: All but one of the reviewed cases had the thrombosis develop on the left side, which may be attributed to anatomical and brain functional laterality. When an edematous change or cortical hemorrhage of unknown cause is encountered within the perisylvian region, especially on the left side, the possibility of SPS and SMCV thrombosis should be considered.

Gene Polymorphism of Tacrolimus-Metabolizing Enzymes Associated With Impaired Absorption of Tacrolimus Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Case Report.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the mechanisms by which orally administered tacrolimus was not absorbed in a patient following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. CLINICAL COURSE: A 17-year-old girl with acute myeloid leukemia underwent HLA-haploidentical peripheral blood stem cell transplantation following fludarabine, busulfan, and total-body irradiation. Graft-vs-host disease prophylaxis was post-transplant cyclophosphamide, followed by intravenous tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil. When tacrolimus was switched to oral administration, its blood level declined rapidly, resulting in development of acute graft-vs-host disease, which was ameliorated by switching back to intravenous administration. METHODS/RESULTS: To elucidate if impaired tacrolimus absorption could be related to genetic polymorphism of tacrolimus-metabolizing enzymes, we analyzed gene polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 3A4, cytochrome P450 3A5, and multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1). The patient had wild-type cytochrome P450 3A4 (*1/*1) and variant-type cytochrome P450 3A5 (*3/*3), while MDR1 genes (2677A/G, 3435C/C) were wild-type. CONCLUSION: Wild-type MDR1 gene product P-glycoprotein expressed in the intestine reduces drug absorption from the gastrointestinal tract and may have contributed to low blood levels of tacrolimus in this patient when tacrolimus was orally administered.

Impacts of a high-discharge submarine sewage outfall on water quality in the coastal zone of Salvador (Bahia, Brazil).

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic signatures of suspended particulate organic matter and seawater biological oxygen demand (BOD) were measured along a coastal transect during summer 2015 to investigate pollution impacts of a high-discharge submarine sewage outfall close to Salvador, Brazil. Impacts of untreated sewage discharge were evident at the outfall site by depleted δ(13)Corg and δ(15)N signatures and 4-fold increased BOD rates. Pollution effects of a sewage plume were detectable for more than 6km downstream from the outfall site, as seasonal wind- and tide-driven shelf hydrodynamics facilitated its advective transport into near-shore waters. There, sewage pollution was detectable at recreational beaches by depleted stable isotope signatures and elevated BOD rates at high tides, suggesting high bacterial activity and increased infection risk by human pathogens. These findings indicate the urgent necessity for appropriate wastewater treatment in Salvador to achieve acceptable standards for released effluents and coastal zone water quality.

Role of injection pressure, flow and sclerosant viscosity in causing cutaneous ulceration during sclerotherapy.

The objective of the study is to evaluate the viscosity of popular sclerosants and their flow hydrodynamics through a syringe/needle to further discuss Miyake's old, venous-capillary reflux theory, using additional objective data. The following sclerosing agents were tested in the study: 75% dextrose (D75%); 50% dextrose (D50%); 5% ethanolamine oleate (Etha5%); 0.5% laureth-9 (Aet0.5%) and 0.1% sodium tetradecyl sulphate (STS0.1%). Using 5 mL syringes and 27G needles, the resulting pressures and flows for each sclerosant agent were measured. To do this, a three-way stopcock was connected between the syringe and the needle so that an arm of the stopcock could be used to measure injection pressures with a digital monitor in 1 mmHg increments. Two trials were performed: in trial 1, the syringe was attached to a Samtronic 680 infusion pump and in trial 2, the solutions were injected manually. The observed sclerosant viscosities were as follows: D75%: 0.28 Poise; D50%: 0.12 Poise; Etha5%: 0.10 Poise; Aet0.5%: 0.07 Poise; and STS0.1%: 0.04 Poise. In trial 1 (constant flow), it was observed that D75%, which had the highest viscosity of the sclerosants tested, had the highest pressure readings. In trial 2 (constant pressure), the flow obtained with the D75% solution was lower than the flow of the other solutions. In conclusion, based on the rabbit study theory, vessel size and sclerosant viscosity and strength, not extravasation, play a role in causing ulceration from injection sclerotherapy. As a result, they all affect the potential of venous-capillary reflux being caused by sclerotherapy injection and, thus, the risk of postsclerotherapeutic cutaneous ulceration.

GATA-1 and GATA-2 binding to 3' enhancer of WT1 gene is essential for its transcription in acute leukemia and solid tumor cell lines.

Although oncogenic functions and the clinical significance of Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) have been extensively studied in acute leukemia, the regulatory mechanism of its transcription still remains to be determined. We found a significant correlation among the amounts of WT1, GATA-1 and GATA-2 mRNAs from leukemia and solid tumor cell lines. Overexpression and small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection experiments of GATA-1 and GATA-2 showed that these GATA transcription factors could induce WT1 expression. Promoter analysis showed that the 5' promoter did not explain the different WT1 mRNA levels between cell lines. The 3' enhancer, especially the distal sites out of six putative GATA binding sites located within the region, but not the intron 3 enhancer, were essential for the WT1 mRNA level. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) showed both GATA-1 and GATA-2 bound to these GATA sites. Besides acute leukemia cell lines, solid tumor cell lines including, TYK-nu-cPr also showed a high level of WT1 mRNA. We showed that GATA-2 expression is a determinant of WT1 mRNA expression in both TYK-nu-cPr cells and HL60 cells without GATA-1 expression. Taken together, these results suggest that GATA-1 and/or GATA-2 binding to a GATA site of the 3' enhancer of WT1 played an important role in WT1 gene expression.

Conceptual schematic for capture of biomethane released from hydroelectric power facilities.

Though dam-related biomethane was identified in the 1960s, its capture has not been sufficiently discussed. Captured biomethane could be burned to produce energy, and the burning of biomethane turns the carbon in it into CO(2) that is far less potent as a greenhouse gas; this paper therefore aims to technically discuss the capture/use of dam-related biomethane. A great amount of bubbles would be formed by the rapid drop in water pressure (i.e. cavitation) after turbine passage, so it is proposed to capture methane-bearing bubbles by means of a flow tube for adjusting residence time and hydrophilic screens for trapping these bubbles. The results from the performed calculation show that biomethane can be trapped in a yield of 60%.

Ewing's sarcoma fusion protein, EWS/Fli-1 and Fli-1 protein induce PLD2 but not PLD1 gene expression by binding to an ETS domain of 5' promoter.

It was reported that short interfering RNA (siRNA) of EWS/Fli-1 downregulated phospholipase D (PLD)2 in Ewing's sarcoma (EWS) cell line, suggesting that PLD2 is the target of aberrant transcription factor, EWS/Fli-1. Here, we further investigated the regulation of PLD2 gene expression by EWS/Fli-1 and Fli-1 in another EWS cell line, and also in EWS/Fli-1- or Fli-1-transfected cell line. EWS/Fli-1- or Fli-1-overexpressed cells showed higher PLD2 but not PLD1 protein expression and enhanced cell proliferation as compared to mock transfectant. The treatment of these cells with 1-butanol or siRNA of PLD2 inhibited cell growth, suggesting the pivotal role of PLD in cell growth promotion. PLD2 but not PLD1 mRNA level was also increased in EWS/Fli-1 or Fli-1-transfectants. After determining the transcription initiation points, we cloned the 5' promoter of both PLD1 and PLD2 and analysed promoter activities. Results showed that EWS/Fli-1 and Fli-1 increase PLD2 gene expression by binding to an erythroblast transformation-specific domain (-126 to -120 bp from the transcription initiation site) of PLD2 promoter, which is the minimal and most powerful region. Electrophoresis mobility shift assay using truncated proteins showed that both DNA-binding domain and trans-activating domain were necessary for the enhanced gene expression of PLD2.

Mapping and characterization of FLC homologs and QTL analysis of flowering time in Brassica oleracea.

The FLC gene product is an inhibitor of flowering in Arabidopsis. FLC homologs in Brassica species are thought to control vernalization. We cloned four FLC homologs (BoFLCs) from Brassica oleracea. Three of these, BoFLC1, BoFLC3 and BoFLC5, have been previously characterized. The fourth novel sequence displayed 98% sequence homology to the previously identified gene BoFLC4, but also showed 91% homology to BrFLC2 from Brassica rapa. Phylogenetic analysis showed that this clone belongs to the FLC2 clade. Therefore, we designated this gene BoFLC2. Based on the segregation of RFLP, SRAP, CAPS, SSR and AFLP loci, a detailed linkage map of B. oleracea was constructed in the F(2) progeny obtained from a cross of B. oleracea cv. Green Comet (broccoli; non-vernalization type) and B. oleracea cv. Reiho (cabbage; vernalization type), which covered 540 cM, 9 major linkage groups. Six quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling flowering time were detected. BoFLC1, BoFLC3 and BoFLC5 were not linked to the QTLs controlling flowering time. However, the largest QTL effect was located in the region where BoFLC2 was mapped. Genotyping of F(2 )plants at the BoFLC2 locus showed that most of the early flowering plants were homozygotes of BoFLC-GC, whereas most of the late- and non-flowering plants were homozygotes of BoFLC-Rei. The BoFLC2 homologs present in plants of the non-vernalization type were non-functional, due to a frameshift in exon 4. Moreover, duplications and deletions of BoFLC2 were detected in broccoli and a rapid cycling line, respectively. These results suggest that BoFLC2 contributes to the control of flowering time in B. oleracea.

[Diaphragmatic hernia by blunt trauma].

Two cases of diaphragmatic hernia by blunt trauma were experienced. One patient was a 21-year-old man who had been injured in a car collision 4 days before was transferred to our division from another hospital. Another patient was a 66-year-old man who was admitted in an emergency after a fall from a height. Both patients were suspected from chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) to have traumatic rupture of left diaphragm, and were successfully performed repair of the diaphragm by thoracic approach. Since the diagnosis of ruptured diaphragm is frequently missed in the acute phase, a careful scrutiny of the chest X-ray is required. Laparotomy is the operative approach of choice in the case with the associated abdominal injuries. On the other hand, thoracotomy is selected for the patients accompanied with the lung injury or in the latent phase. Although diaphragmatic rupture can be managed by the appropriate treatment, the associated injuries or complications are responsible for the high mortality.

Primary extramedullary plasmacytoma of the small intestine. A case report and review of the literature.

A case of primary extramedullary plasmacytoma of the small intestine in a 73-year-old Japanese woman was reported. The patient underwent local resection of the tumor, and showed no signs of local recurrence or dissemination of the disease after 28 months follow-up. The tumor cells had relatively large nuclei with distinct nucleoli and wide and slightly basophilic cytoplasm with a high N/C ratio which showed the morphology of atypical plasma cells. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that the tumor cells contained IgG gamma-type immunoglobulin in their cytoplasm but they did not contain IgA, IgM, IgD, and kappa-light chains. The tumor cells were also positive for CD79a and CD138 and negative for LCA, CD20 and CD45RO. These findings clearly indicated this case to be plasmacytoma.

[Mediastinal seminoma difficult to differentiate from thymoma through preoperative biopsy; report of a case].

A case of a 36-year-old male patient with mediastinal seminoma is presented. He consulted a physician with a complaint of back pain and an abnormal shadow was detected on chest X-ray. Chest computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a pulmonary nodule and an anteriormediastinal mass. Preoperative percutaneous needle biopsy suggested that the tumor was similar to thymoma. Complete surgical excision of the mediastinal mass was performed. Immunohistochemical studies showed positive staining of the tumor cells with placental alkaline phosphatase. The final diagnosis was seminoma. Additional postoperative chemotherapy (cisplatin + etoposide) was done. He is alive and well 34 months after the operation.

Nuclear BAG-1 expression reflects malignant potential in colorectal carcinomas.

BAG-1 is a recently identified Bcl-2-interacting anti-apoptotic protein. The aim of our study was to investigate the immunohistochemical staining pattern of BAG-1 protein in patients with colorectal cancer and examine associations of BAG-1 expression with various clinicopathological factors and patient survival. Tumour samples were collected from 86 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. There was significant variation in the immunohistochemical staining patterns for BAG-1, including absent staining and staining of either the cytoplasm, nucleus or both. Twenty-one colorectal carcinomas (24.4%) exhibited a nuclear staining pattern whilst 56 (65.1%) exhibited cytoplasmic staining. The percentage of cases exhibiting nuclear BAG-1 positivity was significantly higher in distant metastasis-positive cases (55.6%) than in distant metastasis-negative cases (20.8%; P=0.036). Overall survival was significantly shorter for patients with tumours exhibiting BAG-1 positive nuclei than those with absent nuclear BAG-1-staining (P=0.011). In addition, the multivariate cox proportional hazard models indicated that nuclear BAG-1 expression was the only independent prognostic variable for mortality (P=0.013). These studies demonstrate that nuclear BAG-1 expression is a useful predictive factor for distant metastasis and a poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.

Immunohistochemical and clinicopathologic analysis of response to neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Recently, neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with radiation (NAT) has been used in the active treatment of progressive esophageal cancer (T4). However, many patients are resistant to supplemental therapy, and it is necessary to to be aware that side-effects may occur. Accordingly, to minimize adverse reactions and cost, it is important to determine the indications for NAT. We investigated 34 patients with T4 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and examined the relation between the effects of NAT and immunohistochemical or additional clinicopathologic factors. There was no relation between clinicopathologic factors and immunohistochemical findings (p53 or hsp27 expression), and no clinicopathologic factors showed a relation to a supplemental therapeutic effect. In addition, there was no correlation between p53 staining and therapeutic effects (P=0.734). In contrast, there was a correlation (P=0.0058) between hsp27 staining and therapeutic effect. In conclusion, the usefulness of hsp27 immunostaining in predicting the therapeutic effect of NAT was confirmed in T4 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Analysis of early (pT1) gastric cancer with submucosal invasion: surgical management and possibility to schedule less invasive surgery.

BACKGROUND: Early gastric cancer (EGC) is one of the popular targets of less invasive surgery. The aim of the present study is to clarify the possibility of scheduling a less invasive surgery for EGC cases with submucosal (SM) invasion. METHODS: Eighty cases of EGC with SM invasion were analyzed clinicopathologically and immunohistochemically. Correlations between factors that reflect cancer progression and data from endoscopic examination were investigated. RESULTS: Thirteen cases (16.3%) showed lymph node metastasis and the numbers of metastasis-positive lymph nodes ranged from 1 to 18. Two cases showed lymph node metastasis not only in the perigastric area, but also along the left gastric artery and the common hepatic artery. Only the tumor size showed a significant correlation with lymph node metastasis (P = .014) using the data from preoperative endoscopic examination. With respect to p53 overexpression, there was no significant correlation with pathologic factors in EGC with SM invasion. The simple protuberance types that were <2 cm in diameter had no lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: It seems difficult to predict the progression of EGC with SM invasion from the data currently obtained by preoperative endoscopic examination. It was suggested that less invasive surgery could be scheduled only for simple protuberance type cases that were <2 cm in diameter. Radical gastrectomy and D2 lymph node dissection is required, in open surgery or laparoscopic surgery, for any other type of EGC with SM invasion.

Environmental management of sulfur trioxide emission: impact of SO3 on human health.

The major contributors to global acidification are sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides emitted mostly by the burning of fossil fuels. From the scientific point of view, it is necessary to make a clear distinction between sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide when referring to sulfur oxides. These two air pollutants have different properties. This paper reports the following aspects: the strong effect of sulfur trioxide on local human health (a case study of asthma in Yokkaichi), the problem of corrosion caused by sulfur trioxide, the difference in analytical methods for determining sulfur dioxide concentrations and sulfur trioxide concentrations, and the difference in removal methods for sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide. An important initiative at the third European conference of environment ministers was that the issue of human health related to local air pollution should be given priority over that of global pollution. The declines in the emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides have mainly been effective in reducing acidification due to long-range transport. The reduction in sulfur trioxide may be more effective in improving local human health mentioned in the initiative.

Analysis of the survival period in resectable stage IV gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Patients with stage IV gastric cancer usually have a poor prognosis, but some patients with resectable cancer survive for more than 5 years. We aimed to study the correlation of protein expression and survival in resectable stage IV gastric cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Tissue samples of 42 patients with resectable stage IV gastric cancer were stained immunohistochemically for the mutant p53 protein and heat shock protein-27 (hsp27). The correlation between protein expression and clinicopathological factors was investigated. Furthermore, prognostic value of each factor was analyzed. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that pN factors (Japanese classification, P = .028; International Union Against Cancer classification, P = .024), blood vessel invasion (P = .043), hsp27 overexpression (P = .019), and the index of p53 and hsp27 overexpression (P = .0026) had a prognostic influence. Only Lauren classification, however, revealed the prognostic influence in multivariate analysis (P = .046). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that immunostaining of tumor specimens for p53 and hsp27 and clinicopathological analysis may help predict the survival of patients with resectable stage IV gastric cancer.

Immunohistochemical study of leukocyte infiltration and expression of hsp70 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

It is reported that macrophages and CD4+ or CD8+ cytotoxic T cells have an important role in the suppression of cancer progression. The aim of this study was to clarify these immune responses in patients with esophageal cancer. We enrolled 28 patients with pT2 esophageal cancer that had been resected without preoperative adjuvant therapy. The correlations between the numbers of infiltrating CD4+, CD8+ and CD68+ cells, the expression of heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) and a variety of clinicopathologic factors were analyzed. The numbers of CD8+ T cells and CD68+ macrophages showed a significant positive correlation with tumor diameter (p = 0.01, p = 0.037) and the expression of hsp70 (p = 0.01, p = 0.02) and a negative correlation with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0079, p < 0.0001). The expression of hsp70 exhibited a negative correlation with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.023). CD8+ T cells and CD68+ macrophages might have a suppressive function against esophageal cancer progression. Our results suggested that hsp70 might play an important role in the presentation of tumor specific antigens.