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A 77-year-old Japanese woman underwent bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement (AVR) and the Maze procedure for severe aortic valve disease and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF), and one year after the AVR, she also underwent a permanent pacemaker implantation for sick sinus syndrome. At two postoperative years, a large mural mass happened to be detected in her left atrium on routine trans-thoracic echocardiography. The cardiac rhythm records produced by the implanted pacemaker demonstrated the recurrence of AF. As anticoagulant therapy was not effective at reducing the size of the mass, surgery was performed and organized thrombus was detected on the ablation line made at the Maze procedure. < Learning objective: The formation of large mural thrombi in the left atrium after the Maze procedure is rare in patients without mitral valve disease. The thrombus was considered to have been caused by several complex factors, including atrial wall damage brought by the Maze procedure and the recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF). It is important to be aware that the recurrence of AF after the Maze procedure can carry a risk of unexpected mural thrombus formation in the left atrium.> [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fermentation profiles of four different yeasts reportedly defective in sucrose utilization indicate that all strains tested removed particular sugar via selective conversion to ethanol in a saccharide mixture. At the temperature of pressed sugarcane juice, Saccharomyces dairenensis and Saccharomyces transvaalensis performed better in ethanol production rate and yield, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The preparation of titania (TiO2), germania (GeO2) and binary TiO2–GeO2 oxide with different Ti/Ge ratio gels based on sol–gel method with surfactant-assisted mechanism and their application for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) were reported. The samples were calcined and characterized by nitrogen adsorption porosimetry, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and morphology was investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The XRD results suggested that germanium substituted for titanium in the TiO2 lattice because of the gradual shift of 101 diffraction peak of anatase type of TiO2. The higher surface area from binary oxides samples was due to the added oxide acting as a crystal growth inhibiter. For the application for DSCs, the electrodes fabricated from binary oxides sample gave significant higher J sc when compared to cell that fabricated by sample TiO2 electrode. The consequence effects of added germanium were analyzed and discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Phthalocyanine derivatives have attracted attention in the photodynamic therapy of cancer. The preparation of cationic amphiphilic zinc phthalocyanine derivatives is described. Novel amphiphilic non-peripheral substituted zinc phthalocyanine derivative is performed by quaternation. Amphiphilic zinc bis(1,4-didecylbenzo)-bis(3,4-pyrido)porphyrazine will be a useful photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy of cancer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To investigate long-term changes in lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) who underwent low-dose-rate brachytherapy with iodine-125 (LDR-BT).Patients and Methods: In this retrospective study, 313 patients with localized PCa underwent LDR-BT at Gifu University hospital between August 2004 and December 2013. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), and quality of life due to urinary symptoms (IPSS-QOL) were measured before LDR-BT; at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months after LDR-BT; and annually thereafter. Study endpoints were chronological changes in IPSS, OABSS, and IPSS-QOL compared to pretreatment values. A multivariable nonlinear regression model with robust sandwich estimator evaluated association between outcomes and time with adjustment for covariates.Results: All scores worsened immediately after LDR-BT compared to preoperative scores. However, symptoms improved with time and returned to baseline in 18-36 months. After a 5-year follow-up after LDR-BT, OABSS significantly worsened in almost all patients compared to baseline although there were gradual improvements in less than 5 years after LDR-BT.Conclusions: Our results may be of clinical importance in selecting treatment modalities for patients with localized PCa and long-term survival after definitive therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Docetaxel is used as the first-line chemotherapy for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), but docetaxel resistance occurs in part owing to induction of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) encoded by multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1) gene. A recently developed taxane—cabazitaxel—has poor affinity for P-gp and is thereby effective in docetaxel-resistant CRPC. It has been recently demonstrated that exosomes in the body fluids could serve as a diagnostic marker because they contain proteins and RNAs specific to the cells from which they are derived. In this study, we aimed to investigate if P-gp in blood exosomes could be a marker to diagnose docetaxel resistance and select a taxoid for patients with CRPC. Methods and materials Exosomes were isolated by differential centrifugation from docetaxel-resistant prostate cancer (PC-3) cells (PC-3R) and their parental PC-3 cells and from the serum of patients. Silencing of P-gp was performed by small interfering RNA transfection. Protein expression was examined by Western blot analysis. Viability of cells treated with docetaxel or cabazitaxel was determined by water soluble tetrazolium salt (WST) assay. Results The level of P-gp was higher in exosomes as well as cell lysates from PC-3R cells than in those from PC-3 cells. Cabazitaxel effectively killed PC-3R cells, and MDR1 knockdown improved the sensitivity of PC-3R cells to docetaxel but not to cabazitaxel. The P-gp level in blood exosomes was relatively higher in clinically docetaxel-resistant patients than in therapy-naïve patients. Conclusions Our results suggest that detection of P-gp in blood exosomes, which is involved in resistance to docetaxel but not to cabazitaxel, could be useful to diagnose docetaxel resistance and select an appropriate taxoid for patients with CRPC—docetaxel or cabazitaxel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nonionic macroporous resin, Amberlite ® XAD-8, or its substitute, Supelite™ DAX-8, is used when isolating or quantifying aquatic humic substances (AHS). However, the effect of salinity on the adsorption behavior of AHS onto the resin is yet to be confirmed, rendering the possibility of salinity-induced changes in the values of quantified amounts or characteristics of AHS obtained from a salty system. To verify the results of quantification and isolation of AHS using the resin in different salinity systems, the effect of salinity on such quantitative analyses of AHS has been examined. It has been concluded that the salinity effect is in general trivial and will not hinder comparison of results regardless of sample solution salinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phthalocyanine analogue containing non-peripheral, long alkyl-substituted benzenoid rings and pyridine rings, zinc bis(1,4-didecylbenzo)-bis(2,3-pyrido)porphyrazine was synthesized. The synthesized product is an interesting compound because quaternization of the pyridine nitrogen is expected to impart cationic amphiphilic character. Zinc bis(1,4-didecylbenzo)-bis(2,3-pyrido)porphyrazine was reacted with dimethyl sulfate and monochloroacetic acid to produce the quaternized products and with diethyl sulfate to produce the sulfo-substituted product; all such compounds displayed amphiphilic character. Identical peaks in cyclic voltammograms were obtained for the products before and after quaternization. Zinc bis(1,4-didecylbenzo)-bis(2,3-pyrido)porphyrazine had no changes in its reduction or oxidation properties compared to phthalocyanine analogues. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Subphthalocyanine and its derivatives which possessed substituents such as thiobutyl and thiophenyl were synthesized. These compounds were measured using spectroscopic measurements and cyclic voltammetry. Sensitization properties of synthetic subphthalocyanine (SubPC) in 2,4,6-Tris(trichloromethyl)-1,3,5-triazine as radical generation reaction in a poly(methyl methacrylate) film have been investigated by laser flash photolysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study aimed to evaluate predictive factors for graft loss in patients who received kidney transplantation (KT) from living kidney donors (LKDs) at a single institute in Japan. Our study focused on patients with end-stage renal disease who underwent KT from LKDs and were followed up for at least 1 year after surgery. The primary end point was graft survival (GS). GS after KT was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. GS according to subgroup classification was analyzed using the log-rank test. A multivariate analysis was performed using a Cox proportional hazard model. The median follow-up period was 105.5 months after KT. The 5- and 10-year GS rates were 97.8% and 96.0% in KT recipients (KTRs) without posttransplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) and 89.9% and 63.2% in those with PTDM, respectively. The rate of graft loss was significantly higher in KTRs with PTDM than in those without PTDM (P <. 001). Of the KTRs whose diabetes mellitus (DM) was cured after KT, those who underwent dialysis because of diabetic nephropathy had no graft loss. In the multivariate analysis, the serum creatinine level at 1 month after KT, PTDM, and human leukocyte antigen mismatches were significantly associated with graft loss after KT. In this study, the rate of graft loss in KTRs with PTDM was significantly higher than that of KTRs without PTDM. However, among KTRs whose DM was cured after KT, those who underwent dialysis because of diabetic nephropathy had no graft loss. • The rate of graft loss in kidney transplantation recipients (KTRs) with posttransplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) was significantly higher than in those without PTDM. • Of the KTRs whose diabetes mellitus (DM) was cured after kidney transplantation (KT), those who underwent dialysis because of diabetic nephropathy had no graft loss. • The control of DM before KT may play an important role in high-risk recipients of KT who develop PTDM after KT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Human papillomavirus (HPV) was detected in 41% of patients with penile cancer. • HPV16 was detected most frequently in penile cancer. • In situ hybridization revealed an HPV-DNA punctate signal in the HPV-positive cases. • P16-INK4a expression was significantly stronger in high-risk HPV-positive cases. • mcm-7 and Ki-67 expression had no correlation with HPV status in penile cancer. Abstract Objective To examine the association between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and penile cancer among Japanese patients. Methods Thirty-four patients with penile cancer were enrolled in this study. DNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded tumor tissue samples, and HPV-DNA tests and genotyping were performed. For all of the samples, in situ hybridization (ISH) was performed to locate HPV-DNA in tumor tissue. Furthermore, expression levels of p16-INK4a, mini-chromosome maintenance protein 7 (mcm-7), HPV-L1, and Ki-67 were analyzed using immunohistochemical methods. Results HPV and high-risk (HR)-HPV were detected in 14 (41.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 24.6–57.7%) and 12 (35.2%; 95% CI 19.2–51.4%) cases, respectively. HPV16 was the most frequently detected HPV type. Among the HR-HPV-positive cases, a punctate HR-HPV-DNA signal pattern was detected by ISH in tumor cell nuclei. P16-INK4a was expressed in 66.7% (95% CI 42.8–90.1%) of HR-HPV-positive cases and was significantly more frequent and stronger in HR-HPV-positive cases than in HPV-negative cases. There was no significant difference in the occurrence or distribution of mcm-7 or Ki-67 expression between HPV-positive and HPV-negative cases. HPV-L1 expression was not observed in any of the cases examined. Conclusions HPV infection may have had an etiological role in 41% of the examined cases of penile cancer in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquatic humic substances (AHS) have been intensively studied because they have a number of significant biogeochemical functions in water chemistry. In order to evaluate such functions, which are regulated by their quantity and quality, a quantitative understanding of AHS is necessary. This study shows the seasonal and vertical changes in the AHS concentration in Lake Biwa, the largest monomictic lake in Japan, over 4 years. The concentration of dissolved organic matter carbon (DOM-C) and AHS carbon (AHS-C) ranged from 0.85–1.6 mg C/l and 0.32–0.71 mg C/l, respectively. The percentages of AHS-C in the DOM-C ranged from 32% to 65%. At all depths, the DOM-C decreased and the AHS-C slightly increased or remained at nearly the same level, suggesting that the quality of the water may have changed mainly due to changes in the composition of the organic matter. Although the AHS-C to DOM-C ratio fluctuated and had no seasonal tendency, the average AHS-C ratio increased during the 4 year monitoring period. Because AHS can influence the entire food web starting with phytoplankton, unraveling the mechanism by which they accumulate remains an important goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Occurrence of infection following prostate biopsy procedures in Japan: Japanese Research Group for Urinary Tract Infection (JRGU): A multi-center retrospective study," published in an issue of the journal is presented.