Little was known about work situation and work-related difficulties, including housework after stomach cancer diagnosis. We aimed to compare employment status and work-related difficulties between ...stomach cancer survivors and the general population. We enrolled 408 stomach cancer survivors from two hospitals 28 months after diagnosis and 994 representative volunteers from the general population from 15 geographic districts. Working was defined as being employed (including self-employed) and nonworking as being retired or a homemaker. Nonworking was significantly higher among stomach cancer survivors (46.6%) than in the general population (36.5%). Compared with the general population, the survivors had more fatigue in performing both housework (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=2.08; 95% confidence interval (95% CI)=1.01-4.29) and gainful work (aOR=4.02; 2.55-6.33). More cancer survivors had reduced working hours (aOR=1.42; 95% CI=4.60-28.35) and reduced work-related ability (aOR=6.11; 95% CI=3.64-10.27) than did the general population. The association of nonworking with older age and being female was significantly more positive for survivors than for the general population. Among survivors, poorer Eastern Cooperation Oncology Group Performance Status and receiving total gastrectomy were positively associated with nonworking. Stomach cancer survivors experienced more difficulties in both housework and gainful employment than did the general population. Our findings on stomach cancer survivors' work-related difficulties and the predictors of nonworking will help physicians guide patients towards more realistic postsurgical employment plans.
We present four biface assemblages from an archaeologically poorly known region of the Old World: Middle Pleistocene Korea. The handaxes are derived from a series of Middle Pleistocene localities in ...the Imjin/Hantan River Basins (IHRB) in Korea. The best known of these localities is Chongokni, although a number of equally important sites in the IHRB have been discovered and excavated over the course of the past two decades (e.g., Kumpari, Chuwoli, and Kawoli). Reanalysis of the age of the Chongokni deposits suggests a hominin occupation between 350–300
ka. Comparative study of the IHRB handaxes with the well-known bifacial implements from Olorgesailie (Kenya) and Hunsgi-Baichbal (India) indicates that the often-noted “thick” trait of the East Asian handaxes differs at a statistical level across the various regions of the Old World. The finds from the IHRB sites, and the Chinese sites of Bose and Dingcun that contain handaxes-like implement, question the validity of the Movius Line
sensu stricto. However, why East Asian Middle Pleistocene hominins did not consistently produce more refined bifaces across broader regional and/or temporal facies, remains open to question. Thus, the absence of similar sites in wider areas of Early and Middle Pleistocene East Asia suggests that the Movius Line
sensu lato is still supportable and warrants additional detailed cross comparative studies of the stone toolkits east and west of the line.
Abstract Aims According to the recent Japanese Gastric Cancer Association's gastric cancer treatment guidelines, bursectomy is recommended for tumors penetrating the serosa of the posterior gastric ...wall. However, there is still little data to show whether bursectomy improves patient survival. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of bursectomy for subserosa or serosa-positive gastric cancer in terms of overall survival. Method From April 2001 to December 2006, 470 patients underwent curative resection for macroscopically subserosa or serosa-positive gastric cancer. These patients were grouped according to whether bursectomy was performed or not (bursectomy+/bursectomy−). Clinicopathological characteristics and incidence of complications were compared between the groups. The overall survival rates were analyzed using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results There was no significant difference in morbidity and mortality between the bursectomy+ and bursectomy− groups. In the multivariable analysis for overall survival, bursectomy was not a significant independent factor ( p = 0.978). In the subgroup analysis for clinical and pathological stage III and IV, and tumors penetrating the serosa of the posterior gastric wall, bursectomy did not have significant effect on overall survival as well ( p = 0.582, 0.453, and 0.532, respectively). In the propensity score-matched patients, bursectomy still showed no significant effect on overall survival ( p = 0.804). Conclusions Bursectomy is unlikely to improve overall survival in patients with macroscopically subserosa or serosa-positive gastric cancer.
Insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) is highly expressed during hepatocarcinogenesis (P. Schirmacher et al., Cancer Res., 52: 2549-2556, 1992; B. C. Park et al., J. Hepatol., 22: 286-294, 1995). ...However, the mechanism of its enhanced expression is largely unknown. In this study, we show that IGF-II mRNA levels are increased within six h of exposing human hepatoma cell cultures to hypoxia, suggesting that hypoxia may be a strong stimulus for the induction of IGF-II expression in the process of hepatocarcinogenesis. This finding and the fact that hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a typical hypervascular tumor (M. Mise et al., Hepatology, 23: 455-464, 1996) imply that IGF-II may play an important role in the development of neovascularization of HCC. Here we demonstrate that IGF-II substantially increases vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA and protein levels in a time-dependent manner in human hepatoma cells. The induction of VEGF by IGF-II was additively increased by hypoxia. Moreover, the direct angiogenic activity of IGF-II was observed in the quantitative chick chorioallantoic membrane assay (M. Nguyen et al., Microvasc. Res., 47: 31-40, 1994). These data suggest that IGF-II may be a hypoxia-inducible angiogenic factor in HCC.
Two feeding trials were carried out to determine the optimum feeding rates in juvenile olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, at the optimum rearing temperature. Fish averaging 5.0 ± 0.11 g ...(mean ± SD) in experiment 1 and 20.2 ± 0.54 g (mean ± SD) in experiment 2 were fed a commercial diet at the feeding rates of 0%, 3.0%, 4.0%, 4.25%, 4.5% and 4.75% body weight (BW) day−1 and satiation (5.52% BW day−1) in experiment 1 and 0%, 1.0%, 2.0%, 3.0% and 3.5% BW day−1 and satiation (4.12% BW day−1) in experiment 2 at 20 ± 1 °C. Both feeding trials lasted for 2 weeks. Results from experiment 1 indicated that weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR) of fish fed to satiation were significantly higher than those of fish fed at other feeding rates while feed efficiency (FE) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) of fish fed at 4.25% BW day−1 were significantly higher than those of fish fed to satiation and fish fed at 3.0% BW day−1 (P < 0.05). In experiment 2 WG, SGR and PER leveled out after the feeding rate of 3.5% BW day−1 whereas FE reached a plateau at 3.0% BW day−1. anova of FE indicated that the optimum feeding rates in 5.0 and 20 g juvenile olive flounder could be 4.25% and 3.0% BW day−1, respectively. Broken line analysis of WG suggested the optimum feeding rates of 5.17% and 3.47% BW day−1 in 5.0 and 20 g fish, respectively. Therefore, these results indicated that the optimum feeding rates could be >4.25 but <5.17% BW day−1 for 5.0 g, and it could be >3.0 but <3.47% BW day−1 for 20 g size of juvenile olive flounder at the optimum rearing temperature.
To investigate the association between parity and the risk of incident dementia in women.
We pooled baseline and follow-up data for community-dwelling women aged 60 or older from six ...population-based, prospective cohort studies from four European and two Asian countries. We investigated the association between parity and incident dementia using Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for age, educational level, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and cohort, with additional analysis by dementia subtype (Alzheimer dementia (AD) and non-Alzheimer dementia (NAD)).
Of 9756 women dementia-free at baseline, 7010 completed one or more follow-up assessments. The mean follow-up duration was 5.4 ± 3.1 years and dementia developed in 550 participants. The number of parities was associated with the risk of incident dementia (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02-1.13). Grand multiparity (five or more parities) increased the risk of dementia by 30% compared to 1-4 parities (HR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.02-1.67). The risk of NAD increased by 12% for every parity (HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.02-1.23) and by 60% for grand multiparity (HR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.00-2.55), but the risk of AD was not significantly associated with parity.
Grand multiparity is a significant risk factor for dementia in women. This may have particularly important implications for women in low and middle-income countries where the fertility rate and prevalence of grand multiparity are high.
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a widely explored therapeutic target in solid tumors. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of trastuzumab-pkrb, a biosimilar of trastuzumab, in ...combination with paclitaxel, in HER2-positive recurrent or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC).
We enrolled 27 patients; they were administered a loading dose of 8 mg/kg trastuzumab-pkrb on day 1, followed by 6 mg/kg and 175 mg/m2 paclitaxel on day 1 every 3 weeks, intravenously. All patients received six cycles of the combination treatment and continued to receive trastuzumab-pkrb maintenance until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or for up to 2 years. HER2 positivity (based on immunohistochemistry analysis) was determined according to the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology /College of American Pathologists HER2 testing guidelines. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR); the secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and safety.
Twenty-six patients were evaluated via primary endpoint analysis. The ORR was 48.1% (1 complete and 12 partial responses) and the duration of response was 6.9 months 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.4-9.3 months. With a median follow-up of 10.5 months, the median PFS and OS were 8.4 months (95% CI 6.2-8.8 months) and 13.5 months (95% CI 9.8 months-not reached), respectively. The most common treatment-related adverse event (TRAE) of any grade was peripheral neuropathy (88.9%). The most common grade 3/4 TRAEs were neutropenia (25.9%), thrombocytopenia (7.4%), and anemia (7.4%).
Trastuzumab-pkrb plus paclitaxel demonstrates promising efficacy with manageable toxicity profiles in patients with HER2-positive recurrent or metastatic UC.
•HER2 is a widely explored therapeutic target in solid tumors.•Efficacy and safety of trastuzumab-pkrb + paclitaxel in HER2-positive recurrent or metastatic UC were tested.•The ORR was 48.1% and the duration of response was 6.9 months.•The common TRAEs were peripheral neuropathy, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia.•Trastuzumab-pkrb + paclitaxel demonstrates promising efficacy with manageable toxicity profiles.
Previous evidence has indicated that the neuronal toxicity of amyloid β (βA) protein is mediated through oxygen free radicals and can be attenuated by antioxidants and free radical scavengers. Recent ...studies have shown that green tea polyphenols reduced free radical-induced lipid peroxidation. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) would prevent or reduce the death of cultured hippocampal neuronal cells exposed to βA because EGCG has a potent antioxidant property as a green tea polyphenol. Following exposure of the hippocampal neuronal cells to βA for 48 hours, a marked hippocampal neuronal injuries and increases in malondialdehyde (MDA) level and caspase activity were observed. Co-treatment of cells with EGCG to βA exposure elevated the cell survival and decreased the levels of MDA and caspase activity. Proapoptotic (p53 and Bax), Bcl-XL and cyclooxygenase (COX) proteins have been implicated in βA-induced neuronal death. However, in this study the protective effects of EGCG seem to be independent of the regulation of p53, Bax, Bcl-XL and COX proteins. Taken together, the results suggest that EGCG has protective effects against βA-induced neuronal apoptosis through scavenging reactive oxygen species, which may be beneficial for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease.
To determine the incidence, morphological characteristics and relevance of paratracheal air cysts (PTACs) with pulmonary emphysema, as seen on thoracic multidetector CT (MDCT).
The CT images of 854 ...consecutive patients who underwent thoracic MDCT during a period of 2 months at our institution were reviewed. 538 of the patients were male and 316 were female. The incidence, size and shape of the PTACs and their relation to pulmonary emphysema were retrospectively analysed.
Among the 854 patients, 69 (8.1%) had PTACs. 37 (6.9%) of the 538 male patients and 32 (10.1%) of the 316 female patients had PTACs. The highest prevalence of PTACs (25 patients, 11.2%) was found in those who were in the sixth decade of life. 48 (69.6%) PTACs measured 3-10 mm at the longest diameter and 33 (47.8%) were elongated on the coronal section images. 12 (17.4%) patients with PTACs had underlying gross morphological emphysema. The relationship between the presence of PTACs and the presence of emphysema and the relationship between the presence of PTACs and the severity of emphysema were not statistically significant. The size of PTACs showed an inverse relation to the severity of emphysema.
The incidence of PTACs was estimated to be much higher than that of previous studies. There was a slight female predilection for PTACs, most commonly found in the sixth decade of life; PTACs mostly measured 3-10 mm and were elongated in shape. The relation of PTACs to gross morphological emphysema was low.
PTACs are not correlated with the presence of emphysema on MDCT.
PDF
