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Background: Several methods are used for reconstruction in colon cancer surgery, including hand-sewn or stapled anastomosis. However, few reports have compared short-term outcomes among reconstruction methods. This study compared short-term outcomes between delta-shaped anastomosis (Delta) and functional end-to-end anastomosis (FEEA). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 1314 consecutive patients who underwent colorectal surgery with FEEA or Delta reconstruction between January 2016 and December 2023. Patients were divided into two groups according to reconstruction by FEEA (F group; n = 1242) or Delta (D group; n = 72). Propensity score matching was applied to minimize the possibility of selection bias and to balance covariates that could affect postoperative complications. Short-term outcomes were compared between groups. Results: Postoperative complications occurred in 215 patients (17.3%) in F group and 8 patients (11.1%) in D group. Before matching, transverse colon cancer was more frequent (p = 0.002), clinical N-positive status was less frequent (44.1% versus 16.7%, p < 0.001), distant metastasis was less frequent (11.7% versus 1.4%, p = 0.003), and laparoscopic approach was more frequent (87.8% versus 100%, p < 0.001) in D group. After matching, no differences in any clinical factor were evident between groups. Blood loss was significantly lower (28 mL versus 10 mL, p = 0.002) in D group, but operation time and postoperative complication rates were similar between groups. Conclusions: Delta and FEEA were both considered safe as reconstruction methods. Further studies are needed to clarify appropriate case selection for Delta and FEEA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Iva Valley area has one of the highest densities of landslides in Nigeria, and impacts the residents, local economy, and the environment. Slopes in the area sit on unconsolidated, cross-bedded, friable sandstone units with interbeds of claystone. Past research efforts had proposed theories explaining the mechanism of failure based on the limited-liquefaction behavior of the slope materials. But as landslide prevention works on the slopes began to fail, it became apparent that those theories were inadequate solutions to the devastating effect of mass wasting processes. This paper presents the results of landslide susceptibility assessment based on the new evidence of complete-liquefaction behavior observed in the samples when back-pressure is employed to accomplish full saturation. Loose, saturated specimens failed after attaining maximum strength at shear displacements less than 1 mm. The failure was marked by rapid reduction in shear strength and accompanied by a steady increase in pore water pressure until the ratio of pore pressure and normal stress approached unity indicating complete liquefaction. This behavior simulated the response of the slope soils to varying stress and drainage conditions in the field, and seems an adequate mechanism for the incessant failure of slopes and prevention works. Because the geology of a vast area of the South-East Nigeria is similar, the results obtained at the study area are also applicable in other areas within the region for sustainable preventive and mitigating measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether cerebral perfusion from bypassed arteries can be demonstrated on regional perfusion imaging (RPI) using arterial spin labeling. We then compared cerebral perfusion on RPI and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in moyamoya patients who underwent extracranial-intracranial bypass surgery.Materials and Methods: We performed RPI using a 3-T magnetic resonance scanner and DSA studies in 11 moyamoya patients treated by bypass surgery. For RPI we placed a selective labeling slab on the bypassed external carotid artery. Two neuroradiologists determined the extent and location of the cerebral perfusion from bypass arteries in the middle cerebral artery territories on RPI and DSA. Kappa analysis was used to assess the interobserver agreement with respect to the extent and location of the cerebral perfusion and to evaluate the intermodality agreement between RPI and DSA.Results: Interobserver agreement for the extent of cerebral perfusion on RPI was very good (kappa=0.89), with excellent location (kappa=1.00). Intermodality agreement for the extent of perfusion was very good (kappa=0.89), with good location (kappa=0.74).Conclusion: RPI is useful for evaluating cerebral perfusion from bypass arteries in moyamoya patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:To assess the status of dietary folate intake, serum and red blood cell (RBC) folate, and related nutritional biomarkers in healthy Japanese women in early pregnancy.Design:A cross-sectional, observational study.Subjects:Pregnant women in the first trimester, at 7–15 weeks gestation (n=70), who were not consuming any folate supplements or folate fortified foods.Methods:Three-day dietary records were obtained from each subject to assess dietary folate intake. Blood samples were collected for measurement of biomarkers. Biomarkers and nutrient intake were analyzed in two groups defined by their serum folate concentrations: the low folate group (serum folate <9 ng/ml) and the high folate group (serum folate 9 ng/ml).Result:Mean serum and RBC folate concentrations in all subjects were 10.3 and 519 ng/ml, respectively. These levels were remarkably higher than the reported values from many other countries despite our subjects receiving no folic acids supplements. However, mean folate intake by our subjects from natural foods was 289 μg/day, which is thought to be low according to the Japanese dietary recommendation specified for pregnant women. The intake of spinach and fruits was significantly greater in the high folate group than in the low folate group.Conclusion:Folate intake was thought to be adequate to maintain a desirable level of serum folate concentration in Japanese pregnant women in the first trimester, although the intake of folate from natural food was not high enough to meet the recommended daily intake.Sponsorship:This study was funded by a Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare, Health and Labour Research Grant, for Research on Children and Families.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2007) 61, 83–90. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602497; published online 2 August 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of the standing posture of humans involves at least two distinct modes of operation to restore the body balance in the sagittal plane: the ankle strategy and the hip strategy. The objective of the study was to estimate the contribution of vestibular, visual and somatosensory feedbacks to these distinct strategies. The body dynamics was described as the motion of two linked rigid segments that represented the legs and the rest of the body. The posture controller received the inclination angles of the two body segments as inputs and regulated the moments around the ankle and hip joints. The controller had four feedback paths that were characterised by transfer functions connecting the two inputs and the two outputs. To evoke the distinct strategies, the floor conditions were varied by narrowing the support surface under the feet. A continuous pseudo-random external disturbing force was applied to the waist and the thigh independently. The inclination angles of the body segments and the ground reaction force were measured, and the transfer functions of the controller were estimated with the maximum-likelihood system identification procedure. Six healthy male adult subjects participated in the experiment. When the hip strategy became evident under the narrow support surface conditions, the transfer function relating the leg inclination angle and the ankle joint moment decreased its DC gain (16%), whereas the other three transfer functions increased the gains (20-140%) (ANOVA, p < 0.05). Based on a criterion for simplicity in the modification of the posture controller, these changes suggest a new hypothesis that, when posture control becomes difficult, the central nervous system selectively activates the somatosensory feedback paths from the hip joint angle to the moments around the ankle and hip joints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Runx2 (runt-related transcription factor 2) deficient mice lacked the mandibular condylar cartilage and the mandibular bone. The anlage of the condylar process consisted of mesenchymal condensation, which expressed Type I collagen mRNA and alkaline phosphatase activity, but not Type II collagen and aggrecan mRNAs. Therefore, the differentiation of the mandibular condylar cartilage stopped at the preosteoblast (skeletoblast) stage. The lateral pterygoid muscle was attached to this anlage, and relatively abundant mesenchymal condensations were also formed at the muscle-attaching sites, e.g. the anlage of the mandibular body, the angular and coronoid processes. Three-dimensional reconstruction models showed that each mesenchymal condensation was connected to one another, and roughly outlined the shape of the mandible. Meckel’s cartilage in the Runx2-deficient mice had two ectopic cartilaginous processes to which the digastric and myohyoid muscles were attached. These findings indicate that Runx2 is essential for the formation of the mandibular condylar cartilage, as well as for normal development of Meckel’s cartilage and that muscle tissues influence mandible morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an analysis of 114 F2 individuals from a cross between clubroot-resistant and susceptible lines of Brassica rapa L., 'G004' and 'Hakusai Chukanbohon Nou 7' (A9709), respectively, we identified two loci, Crr1 and Crr2, for clubroot (caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin) resistance. Each locus segregated independently among the F2 population, indicating that the loci reside on a different region of chromosomes or on different chromosomes. Genetic analysis showed that each locus had little effect on clubroot resistance by itself, indicating that these two loci are complementary for clubroot resistance. The resistance to clubroot was much stronger when both loci were homozygous for resistant alleles than when they were heterozygous. These results indicate that clubroot resistance in B. rapa is under oligogenic control and at least two loci are necessary for resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To clarify the composition of low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (LMW-GSs) in a soft wheat cultivar, we cloned and characterized LMW-GS genes from a cDNA library and genomic DNA in Norin 61. Based on alignment of the conserved N- and C- terminal domains of the deduced amino-acid sequences, these genes are classified into 12 groups. One of these groups (group 5), the corresponding gene of which has not been reported previously, contains two additional hydrophobic amino-acid clusters interrupting the N-terminal repetitive domain. Other groups (groups 11 and 12), which were not identified in other cultivars as a protein product, showed all eight cysteines in the C-terminal conserved domain. With specific primer sets for these groups it was revealed that Glu-D3 and Glu-A3 encoded the former and the latter, respectively. Both groups of genes were expressed in immature seeds. The presence of these groups of LMW-GSs may affect the dough strength of soft wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

: The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for calcium (Ca) of Japanese adults is proposed to be 600 mg/day, which is lower than those of other countries. In this report we estimated the Ca requirement and the RDA for Ca in elderly Japanese utilizing a Ca balance method. Subjects were 10 men aged 65–72 years and 10 women aged 62–77 years. Following a 14 day adaptation period, each participant was subjected to a low Ca diet (Ca 250 mg as a meal) for 6 days. After an interval of 2 weeks or more, another 14 day adaptation period was set and then a high Ca diet (Ca 250 mg as a meal and 600 mg as CaCO3) was served to the subjects for 6 days. Ca balance was calculated at each dose of Ca intake. Ca requirement was estimated by the intersection of the average Ca intake–retention diagram. Daily Ca requirement was 702 mg in the men and 788 mg in the women. The Ca requirement values were multiplied by 1.2 to obtain the RDA for Ca. As a result, RDA for Ca was 842 mg/day for men and 946 mg/day for women. When these values were normalized with the body weight, the RDA for Ca of Japanese and Caucasian women was similar (18.1 and 18.5 mg/kg body weight per day, respectively). Our results suggest the difference in Ca balance between the genders and among populations may be ascribed at least partly to differences in body size. In addition, body weight should be considered when comparing the RDAs among different populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. A prospective randomized study was designed to determine whether flutamide (FLU) administered before treatment with a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist (LH-RHa) prevented prostate-specific antigen (PSA) flare in prostate cancer patients. Methods. Prostate cancer patients were randomized into two groups and received either FLU ( n = 11) or no pretreatment ( n = 13) for 2 weeks before the initial injection of LH-RHa. LH-RHa (every 4 weeks) and FLU (every day) were administered throughout the period of this study. Blood samples, for the determination of PSA, testosterone (T), and luteinizing hormone levels, were collected before FLU administration, and before and 2, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 84 days after the first administration of LH-RHa. Results. Treatment with FLU prior to LH-RHa induced an early decline in PSA level. The mean PSA level showed no significant secondary rise after LH-RHa administration in those patients with FLU pretreatment. Patients in both groups showed T flare after the first LH-RHa administration. However, the number of patients with PSA flare was significantly lower in patients with prior FLU administration than in those with LH-RHa alone. Conclusion. These results clearly demonstrate that, in patients with prostatic cancer, the administration of FLU for 2 weeks prior to the first LH-RHa administration is effective in preventing PSA flare, as well as in inducing an early decline in PSA levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NCR promoter (PNCR) from soybean chlorotic mottle virus (SoyCMV) was used to express the selectable marker, neomycin phosphotransferase ( nptII) gene, in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of both monocot (rice) and dicot (tobacco) plants. A multi-cloning site for insertion of a gene of interest into the binary vector pTN is located proximal to the right border region of T-DNA. When chimeric genes under the control of other strong promoters were located in a head-to-head orientation to the PNCR-nptII gene, kanamycin-resistant tobacco shoots were generated more efficiently than when using the original pTN vectors. This suggests that the enhancer-like sequences in the promoters adjacent to PNCR may promote expression of the PNCR-nptII gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nitrite ion content and activity of nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase were examined in scutellum-derived calluses of rice varieties using a modified R2 medium (medium A) and a medium derived from the modified R2 medium (medium B). In medium A, marked differences were observed in callus growth between the varieties. The calluses of the poor-growth varieties accumulated significantly more nitrite ions during the culture period than did the good-growth varieties. Callus growth rate was negatively correlated with the nitrite ion content, indicating that the calluses of the poor-growth varieties were injured by toxic nitrite ions, which lead to browning and inhibited growth. The calluses of the poor-growth varieties had significantly lower levels of nitrite reductase activity than good-growth varieties. On the other hand, no between-group differences were observed in the nitrate reductase activity. These results indicate that the higher nitrite ion levels observed in the poor-growth varieties resulted from a lower ability to reduce nitrite and that nitrite reductase activity is one of the physiological factors that correlates with differences between varieties in rice cell cultures. In medium B, the calluses of the poor-growth varieties grew as well as the good-growth varieties, but also had significantly lower levels of nitrite reductase. Nitrate reductase activity was repressed in the calluses of both varieties in medium B compared to culture in medium A. The results suggest that repressed nitrate reductase activity causes the calluses of poor-growth varieties to accumulate only trace amounts of nitrite ions despite lower nitrite reductase activity and as a result, callus growth improved in medium B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small fatigue crack growth in 7075-T651 aluminum is periodically monitored with an ultrasonic Rayleigh wave technique. The wideband reflection signals are digitized and stored in the computer memory to permit the signal processing in the frequency domain. With the help of the constructed three-dimensional (3-D) reflection coefficient, the reflection amplitude spectra yield the measurements of the crack depth, if larger than 0.062 mm, and the crack closure stress. Acoustically obtained da/dN-Δ K relations describe the anomalous growth behavior of small surface crack, extending from the late small crack regime to the large crack regime passing through the minimum growth rate. The split spectrum processing proves to be useful in removing the grain noises to illuminate the target echoes, which is necessary to detect the nucleation and characterize the cracks smaller than 0.1 mm in depth. Discussions on the computer-controlled, automated, in situ monitoring system are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the ultrasonic velocity change caused by the accumulative creep damage in polycrystalline pure copper after high-temperature tensile loading. The propagation velocities of bulk waves, longitudinal and shear waves polarized parallel and perpendicular to the stress direction, showed a strong sensitivity to intergranular creep controlled by grain-boundary cavitation and subsequent microcracking. The velocities decreased slowly with creep time up to approximately 60 pct of the lifetime, when the steady creep shifted to the tertiary creep. Beyond this point, they decreased at ever increasing rates until eventual failure. The total velocity changes amounted to several percent of the original velocities. The creep damage also caused velocity anisotropy in the shear waves. Evolution in the anisotropy revealed that formation of cavity arrays, cavity coalescence, and microcracking, which occurred preferentially on boundaries lying normal to the stress axis, were restricted to the last 20 pct of the lifetime. Metallography and measurements of porosity support the ultrasonic observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ultrasonic technique for evaluating the formability of cold-rolled steel sheets is developed. The technique is based on the generalized dispersion relation, which correlates the velocity anisotropy of ultrasonic plate modes guided in the sheet plane to the texture defined by orientation distribution coefficients. Electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMAT's), constructed of permanent magnets and meander-line coils, allow the accurate and easy measurement of transit times of the S (fundamental symmetric) mode. The planar average of the transit times shows a close correlation with both the planar average of plastic strain ratios ( r value), obtained through tensile tests and the pole intensities, measured with the X-ray diffraction method. These favorable comparisons with the destructive tests indicate a good possibility of texture monitoring with the noncontacting EMAT's. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A procedure for direct gene transfer into isolated microspores of rapeseed ( Brassica napus L.) and the production of fertile transgenic plants is presented. By modifying the microspore culture method and adopting the firefly luciferase (Luc) gene as a non-destructive marker, we could obtain stably transformed androgenetic embryos from bombarded microspores. Luc-positive embryos were easily isolated from the large non-transformed population using a high-sensitivity bioluminescent image analyzer. PCR and Southern blot analyses confirmed that the introduced transgene was integrated stably into the genome of the selected embryos. Diploidized plants obtained from the haploid embryos were self-pollinated, and all of the offspring tested were Luc-positive, indicating rapid fixation of the transgene which is characteristic of doubled haploids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acoustoelastic stress analysis is based on the fact that an initially isotropic material becomes anisotropic under stress. The birefringent effect for polarized ultrasonic shear waves in the stressed material will then be similar to the photoelastic effect in which a light wave and a transparent model specimen are used. In this paper, the velocity differences of acoustical, perpendicularly polarized waves are measured directly by a 'sing-around' method using a 5-MHz shear-type transducer. The residual-stress distribution in a mild-steel circular plate with a concentrically patch-welded joint is measured by this method. The acoustoelastic coefficient is obtained separately by uniaxial testing of the base material. The results show that the acoustical stress measurement, carried out nondestructively, agrees well with those obtained by conventional destructive methods as well as with theoretical predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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