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Eighty-two year old woman developed motor aphasia. A brain MRI revealed an (1) extramedullary tumor adhering to the dura mater which enhanced almost uniformly and (2) an intramedullary tumor in the left frontal lobe. She underwent surgery in which we removed both tumors. Pathological examination revealed that (1) was meningothelial meningioma, WHO grade 1, without malignant findings. (2) had a high cell density, many mitosis (about 15 in 10 high-power fields), and a high MIB-1 index, leading to atypical meningioma, WHO grade 2. In addition, osteosarcoma component was found in part of (2), MIB-1 was further elevated, and the same site was diagnosed as anaplastic meningioma, equivalent to WHO garde 3. As a result of genetic analysis,tumor (1) had hemi-deletion and tumor (2) had homozygous deletion of the CDKN2A/2B gene. A case of anaplastic meningioma with osteosarcoma tissue has not been reported in the past as far as we could find, and it seems to be an extremely rare case. In this case, it is presumed that the other allele was deleted in the CDKN2A/2B hemi-deficient cells with benign morphology, and the homozygous deletion cells transformed into malignant transformation.

Background Many patients with primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) relapse despite complete response (CR) after initial therapy. Relapsed PCNSL (rPCNSL) has a poor prognosis, and no adequate standard of treatment has been established. Autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT)-assisted high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) for rPCNSL is a promising treatment option, as is thiotepa (TT), which has been used in malignant lymphoma as a treatment option for PCNSL. In March 2020, TT was approved in Japan as a pre-treatment for ASCT in malignant lymphoma. TBC, TT with busulfan and cyclophosphamide, and BCNU+TT are used in Europe and the US, but treatment-related mortality (TRM) has been reported in about 10% of patients. The regimen approved in Japan is Buslufan-TT(BuTT) therapy in combination with busulfan, which differs from TBC in dosage, and there is little information on efficacy and safety for rPCNSL. In our hospital, we have introduced BuTT therapy for rPCNSL in patients under 65 years of age. In this report, we describe our experience with this treatment. Subjects: Five patients with rPCNSL since May 2021, age Methods After obtaining CR with (R)MPV therapy after relapse, peripheral blood stem cells were harvested after administration of G-CSF and plerixafor, pretreated with BuTT therapy (Bu: 3.2 mg/kg, Day-8, -7, -6, -5: TT: 5 mg/kg, Day-4, -3) and transplanted on Day 0. Results Adverse events of Grade 3 or higher were abdominal pain in 2 cases, diarrhea in 1 case, pharyngitis in 2 cases, sepsis in 1 case, and pleuritis in 1 case, but all recovered, and no TRM was observed. All five patients are currently alive without recurrence. Conclusion HDC/ASCT is expected to be a curative treatment for rPCNSL. Future issues include the establishment of an upper age limit for the indication.

There is growing interest in liquid biopsy, the less-invasive detection of circulating tumor DNA(ctDNA)or circulating tumor cells(CTCs)from cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)and/or serum of patients, for the diagnosis of brain tumors. We share our experience of detecting hot spot point mutations using droplet digital PCR(ddPCR)in ctDNA obtained from the CSF of patients with brain tumors. The detection of mutations such as

BACKGROUND Brainstem tumours account for 10–15% of brain tumors in childhood. Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) accounts for 60–80% of them and are diagnosed based on clinical findings and radiologic features. All the rest of tumours excluding DIPG are very rare, heterogeneous group of tumours including low-grade glioma and malignant embryonal tumors. It is often difficult to diagnose and decide treatment strategy for their rarity. METHODS To present our experience with atypical brainstem tumours, a retrospective chart review was conducted to identify eligible cases treated over a ten-year period. All tumors involving brainstem, felt not to be DIPGs for absence of clinical/neuroimaging features were included. Demographic information, pathological findings, neuroimaging characteristics, surgical and nonsurgical management plans, and survival data were collected for analysis. RESULTS Between April 2007 and March 2017, 16 patients (14 initial and 2 recurrent) aged from 3 to 20 years were identified. 14 of them were symptomatic and 4 of them were asymptomatic at reference. Of 10 symptomatic cases, 10 were biopsied and pathological diagnosis was low-grade glioma in 8, glioblastoma in 2 cases. They had treatment depending on the pathological diagnosis. Of 4 asymptomatic cases, one with small focal tumour, with no findings suggesting malignant tumour with 11C-methioninePET or MRS, progressed to show typical clinical and image findings of DIPG in a year. For other three, they remain asymptomatic without progression with no treatment for 25months, 60months, and 65 months respectively. Malignant transformation was observed in one with biopsy-conformed oligoastrocytoma with no K27M-H3 mutations treated with chemotherapy and another with pilocytic astrocytoma treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS Though molecular findings such as K27M-H3 mutations can predict clinical outcome in some cases, it still remains difficult to diagnose and find treatment strategy of atypical brainstem tumours. The need and usefulness of nationwide registry study is warranted.

This study examines how the continuous administration of various hormones using an osmotic pump, a long-term sustained hormone release system, influences the induction of sexual maturation in females of the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), salmon pituitary extract (SPE), and gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa) were tested, and the consequent egg quality was evaluated. The implantation of osmotic pumps loaded with SPE induced vitellogenesis and increased the gonadosomatic index (GSI) at 39–110 days. In comparison, pumps loaded with hCG inconsistently induced early vitellogenesis, while those loaded with GnRHa did not exhibit any stimulatory effect. Fewer eels attained full maturity when using the osmotic pump system compared with SPE-injected female eels. However, after the final treatment, the number of eels that ovulated and the time required for ovulation were similar for both the osmotic pump and injection groups. Moreover, more eggs were spawned in the SPE-loaded osmotic pump group than in the SPE-injected group. Egg quality was similar for both experimental groups. Therefore, the implantation of an osmotic pump loaded with SPE represents a reliable method for inducing vitellogenesis and obtaining ovulated eggs from sexually immature Japanese eels.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of continuous administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), salmon pituitary extract (SPE), and gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa) via an osmotic pump with a long-term sustained hormone-release system on the induction of sexual maturation in male Japanese eels ( Anguilla japonica ). Implantation of a single HCG-loaded osmotic pump induced spermatogenesis and increased the gonadosomatic index (GSI) values at 35–42 days postimplantation; GSI values were higher (10.7 ± 1.0) than those of the fish implanted with a cholesterol pellet containing HCG (2.4 ± 0.6). Implantation of an SPE-loaded osmotic pump also stimulated spermatogenesis, although the GSI values were lower than those of the fish implanted with the HCG-loaded osmotic pump. Implantation of a single osmotic pump loaded with various doses of GnRHa (0.94, 1.86, or 3.75 µg/day) did not stimulate spermatogenesis. The GSI values and milt weight of the HCG-administered eels significantly increased at a dosage of 5 IU/day in a dose-dependent manner up to 50 IU/day. Sperm motility was not significantly different among the eels treated with different doses of HCG. Therefore, implantation of a single osmotic pump loaded with HCG (50 IU/day) is a reliable method for inducing spermatogenesis and spermiation in sexually immature Japanese eels.

Black rockfish Sebastes schlegeli is considered a promising species for stock enhancement because of its high growth rate and limited area of movement. This study evaluated the stocking effectiveness of black rockfish released in Yamada Bay, off the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan, using three indices estimated from survey data collected on all business days at the Yamada Fish Market over a period of 11 years. Eight annual cohorts of hatchery-raised, marked juveniles were released into the bay from 1989–1991 and 1993–1997. During the market census, all landed black rockfish were investigated for TL and presence or absence of marks. The census indicated that 51,512 fish out of 447,400 hatchery-released juveniles were landed commercially and recorded at the market. Of the returned fish, 1-year-old fish accounted for 61.2%, 2-year-old fish for 30.3%, and ≧3 year-old fish for 8.6%. Return rates of each year class ranged from 9.3% to 15.4% showing stable and rather high values. However, the economic return rate (landed sales values / hatchery costs) ranged between 0.68 and 1.25; 5 of the 8 year classes showed rates of less than 1, where hatchery costs exceeded their associated benefit. To make stocking of black rockfish feasible, raising the market price of this species through fishery management, decreasing hatchery production costs, and developing effective release strategies such as optimum release size are needed.

In order to infiltrate the molten aluminum alloy to the reinforcement preform by low pressure in casting process and acquire the high performance composites with high density, the effect of the ultrasonic vibration on the infiltration was investigated by model experiments using clear solution and glass or aluminum borate preform, which is correspond to a molten matrix and reinforcement, respectively. Ultrasonic vibration improves the wettability of liquid polyester resin on glass plate, dramatically. The final infiltration height and infiltration speed of liquid polyester resin in glass capillary were improved by the ultrasonic vibration. Furthermore, the infiltration speed of water to aluminum borate preform accelerated by ultrasonic vibration. This effect was more remarkable, when the infiltration height is lower or infiltration time is shorter. In actual, the molten aluminum alloy infiltrate to SiC preform using ultrasonic vibration easily and acquire the high dense composites without pores.

The configurational sequence of styrene units and the arrangement of styrene and 1,2-butadiene units in styrene-butadiene copolymers were characterized by 1H- and 13C-NMR analysis of the ozonolysis products which were separated by a combination of GPC and HPLC. The ozonolysis products from diad and triad styrene sequences flanked by 1,4-butadiene units showed two and three peaks in HPLC, respectively, reflecting the diad and triad tacticity. The probability of racemic addition was found to be 0.56 and 0.58 for radical and anionic SBR, respectively. The ozonolysis products from styrene-1,2 sequences were separated into three fractions by HPLC. The first and second fractions were assigned to a 1,4-1,2 styrene-1,4 (VS) structure differed only in cotacticity. The third fraction was considered to be a mixture of the meso and racemic forms of the l,4-styrene-l,2-l,4 (SV) sequence. The GPC fraction corresponding to a sequence consisting of two styrenes and one 1,2 units was separated into four peaks by HPLC. Both large peaks contained SSV + VSS structures, where one peak consisted of meso configurations with respect to the two styrene units, and the second peak contained racemic styrene alignments. The two small peaks were SVS with the separation due to cotacticity. Based on the intensity of HPLC peaks, it was deduced that the addition of a 1,2 unit after the styrene terminal predominated the addition of a styrene unit after the 1,2 terminal.

The sequence distribution of styrene units in cured SBR was analyzed by high-resolution GPC measurement on the ozonolysis products obtained by ozonization of finely powdered samples suspended in methylene chloride followed by reductive degradation with lithium aluminum hydride. The conversion of the ozonolysis products, which were soluble in the organic layer, approximated that of an uncured sample when 100% of the calculated amount of the ozone required to react with the double bonds in the butadiene units was used. The conversion decreased slightly as the amount of ozone was increased to 220%. The fraction of monad, diad, and triad styrene sequences which were flanked by 1,4-butadiene units, and styrene long sequences—observed at the GPC exclusion limit of 3×103—leveled off at about 100 to 150% of the required ozone. In the GPC fraction corresponding to long styrene sequences, the residual butadiene units, as measured by 1H-NMR, decreased from 77 to 47% as the ozone increased from 3.7 to 80% of the required amount. Ozonization was believed to proceed rapidly on the surface of the swollen rubber particles in the initial stage, and then it progressed gradually into the inner part upon introducing excess ozone. Cured SBR samples, with and without carbon filler, showed sequence distributions of the styrene units which were similar to the uncured sample when 130% of ozone was used.

Due to the girder curvature, automatic welding robots cannot be applied to welding of horizontal stiffeners to the girder web in the fabrication of curved steel box girder bridges, which increases the manufacturing costs. Therefore, elimination or reduction of the number of horizontal stiffeners without increasing the web thickness is desirable. In the present study, ultimate load carrying capacity test has been carried out and the failure process was verified in order to evaluate the mechanical effects of horizontal stiffeners on the ultimate load carrying capacity. From the experimental results, it was found that, even in case the horizontal stiffeners are eliminated, the ultimate load carrying capacity decrease is much smaller than the decrease of the bending buckling strength of the web panel specified in the general design code. Furthermore, it was concluded that the compression flange of box girders restrains bending buckling of the web panel.