Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colorectal Cancer: Epidemiology, Etiology, Surveillance, and Management.

Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, have an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). Although advancements in endoscopic imaging techniques, integrated surveillance programs, and improved medical therapies have contributed to a decreased incidence of CRC in patients with IBD, the rate of CRC remains higher in patients with IBD than in individuals without chronic colitis. Patients with IBD-related CRCs exhibit a poorer prognosis than those with sporadic CRCs, owing to their aggressive histological characteristics and lower curative resection rate. In this review, we present an updated overview of the epidemiology, etiology, risk factors, surveillance strategies, treatment recommendations, and prognosis of IBD-related CRCs.

Assessment of bacterial communities of black soybean grown in fields.

Since the domestication of soybean (Glycine max) about 4,500 years ago, thousands of local cultivars have been developed around the world. In Japan, black soybeans grown in the mountainous region of central Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures, called the Tamba region, are well known for large seeds and palatability. The yields of black soybean in the Tamba region of Kyoto have decreased during the past few decades, and the involvement of rhizosphere microbes in the yield decline has been suggested. We analyzed bacterial communities of the soybean rhizosphere on 7 farms managed under different strategies. Non-metric multidimensional scaling showed shifts of bacterial communities from bulk to rhizosphere soil and the difference among the farms. The relative abundance of the Proteobacteria and Firmicutes was higher in rhizosphere soil than in bulk soil, whereas that of the Acidobacteria was higher in bulk soil. To clarify the possible relationship between bacterial communities and soybean growth, we used ConfeitoGUIplus software (version 1.2.0), based on the Confeito algorithm, which is designed to detect highly interconnected modules in a correlation network by using a unique inter-modular index with network density. One module was extracted from the rhizosphere soil community and two from bulk soil communities, suggesting the involvement of these bacteria in soybean growth.

Performance assessment of the risk index category for surgical site infection after colorectal surgery.

BACKGROUND: The traditional National Healthcare Safety Network (previously National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance) risk index is used to predict the risk of surgical site infection across many operative procedures. However, this index may be too simple to predict risk in the various procedures performed in colorectal surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the risk index by analyzing the impact of the risk index factors on surgical site infection after abdominal colorectal surgery. METHODS: Using our surgical site infection surveillance database, we analyzed retrospectively 538 consecutive patients who underwent abdominal colorectal surgery between 2005 and 2010. Correlations between surgical site infection and the following risk index factors were analyzed: length of operation, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, wound classification, and use of laparoscopy. The 75th percentile for length of operation was determined separately for open and laparoscopic surgery in the study model. RESULTS: Univariate analyses showed that surgical site infection was more strongly associated with a >75th percentile length of operation in the study model (odds ratio [OR], 2.07) than in the traditional risk index model (OR, 1.64). Multivariable analysis found that surgical site infection was independently associated with a >75th percentile length of operation in the study model (OR, 2.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.66-4.55), American Society of Anesthesiologists score ≥3 (OR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.10-4.34), wound classification ≥III (OR, 5.29; 95% CI, 2.62-10.69), and open surgery (OR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.07-5.17). Performance of the risk index category was improved in the study model compared with the traditional model. CONCLUSIONS: The risk index category is sufficiently useful for predicting the risk of surgical site infection after abdominal colorectal surgery. However, the 75th percentile length of operation should be set separately for open and laparoscopic surgery.

Monte Carlo simulation of classical spin models with chaotic billiards.

It has recently been shown that the computing abilities of Boltzmann machines, or Ising spin-glass models, can be implemented by chaotic billiard dynamics without any use of random numbers. In this paper, we further numerically investigate the capabilities of the chaotic billiard dynamics as a deterministic alternative to random Monte Carlo methods by applying it to classical spin models in statistical physics. First, we verify that the billiard dynamics can yield samples that converge to the true distribution of the Ising model on a small lattice, and we show that it appears to have the same convergence rate as random Monte Carlo sampling. Second, we apply the billiard dynamics to finite-size scaling analysis of the critical behavior of the Ising model and show that the phase-transition point and the critical exponents are correctly obtained. Third, we extend the billiard dynamics to spins that take more than two states and show that it can be applied successfully to the Potts model. We also discuss the possibility of extensions to continuous-valued models such as the XY model.

Evaluating roles of nodes in optimal allocation of vaccines with economic considerations.

Since the allocation of vaccines is often constrained by limited resources, designing an economical vaccination strategy is a fundamental goal of the epidemiological modelling. In this study, with the objective of reducing costs, we determine the optimal allocation of vaccines for a general class of infectious diseases that spread mainly via contact. We use an optimization routine to identify the roles of nodes with distinct degrees as depending on the cost of treatment to that of vaccination (relative cost of treatment). The optimal allocation drives vaccination priority to medium-degree nodes at a low relative cost of treatment or to high-degree nodes at a high relative cost of treatment. According to the presented results, we may adjust the vaccination priority in the face of an endemic situation.

Intraoperative thermal imaging in esophageal replacement: its use in the assessment of gastric tube viability.

We examined the use of intraoperative thermal imaging to assess the gastric vascularization and gastric tube viability during esophagectomy. The surface temperatures of the intact stomach, devascularized stomach, and gastric tube were measured in 13 patients from the proximal end to the pylorus longitudinally along the greater curvature or along the entire gastric tube during esophagectomy. Thermal images clearly demonstrated a surface temperature decline in the proximal region of the gastric tube. The mean decline rate in the surface temperature in the proximal region of the gastric tube in comparison to the intact stomach was 17.7% (P < 0.001). One patient who developed gastric tube necrosis exhibited a prominent drop in the surface temperature in the proximal region of 20.6% in comparison to that in the distal region, compared to that of 12.5% in other patients. Intraoperative thermal imaging is a noninvasive and reliable technique for the assessment of the gastric tube viability.