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Ganglion cysts are common cystic lesions filled with a jelly-like substance and originate from a joint capsule or tendon sheath through a stalk. Ganglion cysts mostly occur in the hand region, for which surgical excision usually results in good outcomes. In contrast, toe ganglions are relatively rare, and surgical treatment is associated with a high recurrence rate because of unidentifiable ganglion stalks, requiring large skin incisions. We have treated toe ganglion cysts using endoscopy in the ganglion cyst by injecting methylene blue into the tendon sheath that connects to the ganglion stalk. The result has been favorable, without recurrence. The advantages of our technique include the following: (1) Endoscopy using a color aid can show the location of a ganglion stalk, and removing the stalk can prevent recurrence. (2) Endoscopic stalk-only resection is minimally invasive, allowing early mobilization and reducing surgical-site complications. The purpose of this Technical Note is to describe our endoscopic stalk resection technique with color-aided visualization, and we have included a video presentation.

Myofibroma is a benign neoplasm of superficial soft tissues showing perivascular myoid differentiation [1]. Although the previous term for the disease was infantile myofibromatosis [2], recently the terms myofibroma and myofibromatosis have become common for solitary and multiple lesions, respectively, because these lesions occur in both children and adults [3]. Myofibromas of the finger are rare, and that from a digital artery has never been reported. It is usually seen in the hand and neck region or in the lower extremity [1,4]. We diagnosedmyofibroma of a digital artery as an arterial tumour preoperatively using Doppler sonography (duplex scanning/Doppler ultrasound). Doppler sonography is useful to diagnose arterial tumours, because it can reveal pulsation. On the other hand, enhanced CT or MRI cannot identify whether it comes from an artery, a vein, or peripheral vessel. We here report myofibroma of a digital artery for which preoperative Doppler sonography was helpful.

Lung cancer is one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related death worldwide. However, molecular markers for lung cancer have not been well established. To identify novel genes related to lung cancer development, we surveyed publicly available DNA microarray data on lung cancer tissues. We identified lipase member H (LIPH, also known as mPA-PLA1) as one of the significantly upregulated genes in lung adenocarcinoma. LIPH was expressed in several adenocarcinoma cell lines when they were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), western blotting, and sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Immunohistochemical analysis detected LIPH expression in most of the adenocarcinomas and bronchioloalveolar carcinomas tissue sections obtained from lung cancer patients. LIPH expression was also observed less frequently in the squamous lung cancer tissue samples. Furthermore, LIPH protein was upregulated in the serum of early- and late-phase lung cancer patients when they were analyzed by ELISA. Interestingly, high serum level of LIPH was correlated with better survival in early phase lung cancer patients after surgery. Thus, LIPH may be a novel molecular biomarker for lung cancer, especially for adenocarcinoma and bronchioloalveolar carcinoma.

Vertebral artery dissecting aneurysm (VADA) is a relatively rare cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Bilateral VADAs are even rare, and management strategies for this type of VADAs are still controversial. Here, we report 3 cases of bilateral VADAs with SAH. All 3 patients were treated conservatively under strict sedation and blood pressure control during the acute stage. During the course, rebleeding was not observed in any case. One patient underwent trapping of the ruptured VADA on day 28, because this lesion was considered to have a high tendency to rebleed, even in the chronic stage. In the other 2 patients, after conservative treatment, the VADAs spontaneously resolved on the both sides. As for the therapeutic strategy for bilateral VADAs presenting with SAH, at the acute stage, considering the difficulty of bypass surgery, we recommend conservative treatment with sedation and strict control of blood pressure. At the chronic stage, however, when the VADA is still large and growing in size, surgical treatment such as proximal occlusion or trapping of the affected VA with or without distal revascularization should be considered to avoid rebleeding.

The oxidation of methane with hydrogen peroxide was carried out by using various Keggin-type heteropolyacids and V-containing complexes in trifluoroacetic acid anhydride. Among the catalysts tested, H4PV1Mo11O40 as a catalyst precursor catalyzed the selective oxidation into oxygenates most efficiently and showed high efficiency for the utilization of hydrogen peroxide. In addition, the reaction conditions were optimized.

The title reaction was most efficiently catalyzed by H4PVMo11O40 catalyst precursor in (CF3CO)2O solvent at 353 K. A conversion to the oxygenates such as methylformate and formic acid of 33.0% was achieved.

The title reaction was catalyzed by a water-soluble potassium salt of di-iron-substituted silicotungstate, γ-SiW10{Fe(OH2)}2O6−38, mono- and tri-iron-substituted silicotungstates being much less active and nonselective for the oxidation.