Intratumoral tertiary lymphoid organ is a favourable prognosticator in patients with pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: Host immunity has critical roles in tumour surveillance. Tertiary lymphoid organs (TLOs) are induced in various inflamed tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological and pathobiological characteristics of tumour microenvironment in pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDC) with TLOs. METHODS: We examined 534 PDCs to investigate the clinicopathological impact of TLOs and their association with tumour-infiltrating immune cells, the cytokine milieu, and tissue characteristics. RESULTS: There were two different localisations of PDC-associated TLOs, intratumoral and peritumoral. A better outcome was observed in patients with intratumoral TLOs, and this was independent of other survival factors. The PDC tissues with intratumoral TLOs showed significantly higher infiltration of T and B cells and lower infiltration of immunosuppressive cells, as well as significantly higher expression of Th1- and Th17-related genes. Tertiary lymphoid organs developed with an association with arterioles, venules, and nerves. These structures were reduced in an association with cancer invasion in PDC tissues, except for those with intratumoral TLOs. The PDC tissues with intratumoral TLOs had capillaries consisting of mature endothelial cells covered by pericytes. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the presence of intratumoral TLOs represents a microenvironment that has an active immune reaction, and shows a relatively intact vascular network retained.

Measurement of the τ-lepton lifetime at Belle.

The lifetime of the τ lepton is measured using the process e+ e- → τ+ τ- , where both τ leptons decay to 3πν(τ). The result for the mean lifetime, based on 711 fb(-1) of data collected with the Belle detector at the ϒ(4S) resonance and 60 MeV below, is τ=(290.17±0.53(stat)±0.33(syst))×10(-15) s. The first measurement of the lifetime difference between τ+ and τ- is performed. The upper limit on the relative lifetime difference between positive and negative τ leptons is |Δτ|/τ<7.0×10(-3) at 90% C.L.

A community cluster of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus exhibiting cross-resistance to oseltamivir and peramivir in Japan, November to December 2013.

Six influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses were detected in Sapporo, Japan, between November and December 2013. All six viruses possessed an H275Y substitution in the neuraminidase protein, which confers cross-resistance to oseltamivir and peramivir. No epidemiological link among the six cases could be identified; none of them had received neuraminidase inhibitors before specimen collection. The haemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes of the six viruses were closely related to one another, suggesting clonal spread of a single resistant virus.

Precision measurement of charged pion and kaon differential cross sections in e+ e- annihilation at sqrt[s]=10.52 GeV.

Measurements of inclusive differential cross sections for charged pion and kaon production in e+ e- annihilation have been carried out at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s]=10.52 GeV. The measurements were performed with the Belle detector at the KEKB e+ e- collider using a data sample containing 113×10(6) e+ e- → qq events, where q={u,d,s,c}. We present charge-integrated differential cross sections dσ(h±)/dz for h±={π±,K±} as a function of the relative hadron energy z=2E(h)/sqrt[s] from 0.2 to 0.98. The combined statistical and systematic uncertainties for π± (K±) are 4% (4%) at z∼0.6 and 15% (24%) at z∼0.9. The cross sections are the first measurements of the z dependence of pion and kaon production for z>0.7 as well as the first precision cross section measurements at a center-of-mass energy far below the Z0 resonance used by the experiments at LEP and SLC.

Search for an H-dibaryon with a mass near 2mΛ in Υ(1S) and Υ(2S) decays.

We report the results of a high-statistics search for H dibaryon production in inclusive Υ(1S) and Υ(2S) decays. No indication of an H dibaryon with a mass near the M(H)=2m(Λ) threshold is seen in either the H→Λpπ(-) or ΛΛ decay channels and 90% confidence level branching-fraction upper limits are set that are between one and two orders of magnitude below the measured branching fractions for inclusive Υ(1S) and Υ(2S) decays to antideuterons. Since Υ(1S,2S) decays produce flavor-SU(3)-symmetric final states, these results put stringent constraints on H dibaryon properties. The results are based on analyses of 102 million Υ(1S) and 158 million Υ(2S) events collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB e(+)e(-) collider.

Immune cell infiltration as an indicator of the immune microenvironment of pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: The host immune reaction is represented by immune/inflammatory cell infiltrates. Here we systematically analysed tumour-infiltrating immune/inflammatory cells in pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDC) and evaluated their clinicopathological impact. METHODS: Using immunohistochemistry, we examined tumour-infiltrating CD68(+) pan-macrophages, HLA-DR(+)CD68(+) M1 macrophages (M1), CD163(+) or CD204(+) M2 macrophages (M2), CD66b(+) neutrophils (Neu), CD4(+) T cells (CD4(+)T), CD8(+) T cells (CD8(+)T), and FOXP3(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cells (Treg) in 212 cases of PDC, and conducted correlation and survival analyses using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Higher levels of tumour-infiltrating pan-macrophages, M2, Neu, or the ratio of Tregs to CD4(+)T (%Treg) were significantly associated with shorter survival, whereas higher levels of tumour-infiltrating CD4(+)T, CD8(+)T, or the ratio of M1 to pan-macrophages (%M1) were significantly associated with longer survival. Survival analysis of pairs of these variables revealed that some of the resulting patient groups had exclusively longer survival. We then connected the apparently related factors, and two significant variables emerged: tumour-infiltrating CD4(+)T(high)/CD8(+)T(high)/%Treg(low) and tumour-infiltrating %M1(high)/M2(low). Multivariate survival analysis revealed that these variables were significantly correlated with longer survival and had a higher hazard ratio. CONCLUSION: Tumour-infiltrating CD4(+)T(high)/CD8(+)T(high)/%Treg(low) and %M1(high)/M2(low) are independent prognosticators useful for evaluating the immune microenvironment of PDC.

Evidence for CP violation in the decay D+ → K(S)(0)π+.

We observe evidence for CP violation in the decay D+ → K(S)(0)π+ using a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 977 fb(-1) collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB e+ e- asymmetric-energy collider. The CP asymmetry in the decay is measured to be (-0.363±0.094±0.067)%, which is 3.2 standard deviations away from zero, and is consistent with the expected CP violation due to the neutral kaon in the final state.

Observation of new resonant structures in γγ → ωϕ, ϕϕ, and ωω.

The processes γγ → ωϕ, ϕϕ, and ωω are measured using an 870 fb(-1) data sample collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+ e- collider. Production of vector meson pairs is clearly observed and their cross sections are measured for masses that range from threshold to 4.0 GeV. In addition to signals from well established spin-zero and spin-two charmonium states, there are resonant structures below charmonium threshold, which have not been previously observed. We report a spin-parity analysis for the new structures and determine the products of the η(c), χ(c0), and χ(c2) two-photon decay widths and branching fractions to ωϕ, ϕϕ, and ωω.

Precise measurement of the CP violation parameter sin2φ1 in B0→(cc¯)K0 decays.

We present a precise measurement of the CP violation parameter sin2φ1 and the direct CP violation parameter A(f) using the final data sample of 772×10(6) BB[over ¯] pairs collected at the Υ(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e(+)e(-) collider. One neutral B meson is reconstructed in a J/ψK(S)(0), ψ(2S)K(S)(0), χ(c1)K(S)(0), or J/ψK(L)(0) CP eigenstate and its flavor is identified from the decay products of the accompanying B meson. From the distribution of proper-time intervals between the two B decays, we obtain the following CP violation parameters: sin2φ1=0.667±0.023(stat)±0.012(syst) and A(f)=0.006±0.016(stat)±0.012(syst).

Measurement of the CP-violation parameter sin2φ1 with a new tagging method at the Υ(5S) resonance.

We report a measurement of the CP-violation parameter sin2φ1 at the Υ(5S) resonance using a new tagging method, called "B-π tagging." In Υ(5S) decays containing a neutral B meson, a charged B, and a charged pion, the neutral B is reconstructed in the J/ψK(S)(0) CP-eigenstate decay channel. The initial flavor of the neutral B meson at the moment of the Υ(5S) decay is opposite to that of the charged B and may thus be inferred from the charge of the pion without reconstructing the charged B. From the asymmetry between B-π(+) and B-π(-) tagged J/ψK(S)(0) yields, we determine sin2φ1=0.57±0.58(stat)±0.06(syst). The results are based on 121 fb(-1) of data recorded by the Belle detector at the KEKB e(+)e(-) collider.

First observation of B(s)(0) → J/ψη and B(s)(0) → J/ψη'.

We report first observations of B(s)(0) → J/ψη and B(s)(0) → J/ψη'. The results are obtained from 121.4 fb(-1) of data collected at the Υ(5S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB e+ e- collider. We obtain the branching fractions B(B(s)(0) → J/ψη)=[5.10±0.50(stat)±0.25(syst)(-0.79)(+1.14)(N(B(s)(*) B(s)(*))]×10(-4), and B(B(s)(0) → J/ψη')=[3.71±0.61(stat)±0.18(syst)(-0.57)(+0.83)(N(B(s)(*) B(s)(*))]×10(-4). The ratio of the two branching fractions is measured to be (B(B(s) → J/ψη'))/(B(B(s) → J/ψη))=0.73±0.14(stat)±0.02(syst).

Search for CP violation in D± meson decays to ϕπ±.

We search for CP violation in Cabibbo-suppressed charged D meson decays by measuring the difference between the CP-violating asymmetries for the Cabibbo-suppressed decays D(±)→K(+)K(-)π(±) and the Cabibbo-favored decays D(s)(±)→K(+)K(-)π(±) in the K(+)K(-) mass region of the ϕ resonance. Using 955 fb(-1) of data collected with the Belle detector, we obtain A(CP)(D+→ϕπ+)=(+0.51±0.28±0.05)%. The measurement improves the sensitivity of previous searches by more than a factor of 5. We find no evidence for direct CP violation.

Effect of age on bowel management in traumatic central cord syndrome.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective multicenter study. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the characteristics of bowel dysfunction in elderly people with traumatic central cord syndrome (TCCS). SETTING: A total of 28 Rosai hospitals in Japan. METHODS: The Rosai Hospital registry included 3006 persons with spinal cord injury during 1997-2007. The study subjects were 186 patients with TCCS (160 men, 26 women; mean age, 61.7±11.6 years, ±s.d.). Patients were divided according to age into the young group (<50 years, n=30), the middle-age group (50-69 years, n=112) and the elderly group (≥70 years, n=44). We assessed the differences in bowel management techniques (spontaneous, rectal medications and manual emptying) and activity of daily living (ADL) with respect to bowel care at discharge among the three groups. RESULTS: Continent spontaneous defecation was the most common bowel management method (50%, 93/186). The percentage of elderly subjects on continent spontaneous defecation (36.4%) was significantly less than that of the young group (66.7%; P<0.05). Furthermore, the percentage of elderly patients who required no bowel care (18.2%) was significantly less than those of the young (53.3%) and middle-age groups (41.1%; P<0.01). However, few differences in bowel care-related ADL were recognized among the three groups in patients who required manual emptying. CONCLUSION: The results identified significantly fewer patients aged ≥70 years with 'continent spontaneous defecation' or 'independent for bowel care' compared with younger patients. The results also highlighted the clinical importance of bowel dysfunction associated with TCCS especially in elderly people.

Effect of linoleic acid albumin in a dilution solution and long-term equilibration for freezing of bovine spermatozoa with poor freezability.

Despite normal eucrasia, mating desire and semen quality, sire bulls sometimes have spermatozoa with poor freezing tolerance. This study assessed effects of the addition of linoleic acid albumin (LAA) and long-term (LT) equilibrium to frozen semen on their sperm freezing tolerance. Immediately after collection using an artificial vagina and a breeding mount, semen was diluted with yolk citrate buffer; then, it was cooled slowly to 4°C during more than 5 h. Equilibrium treatment at 4°C was applied using the same extender supplemented with glycerol. Semen of bull A, with low sperm freezing tolerance, was treated with 1 mg/ml of LAA added to the first extender. The equilibrium treatment at 4°C was prolonged to 30 h. Significantly higher motility rates were obtained for the LT + LAA-treated sperm before and after freezing-thawing. However, for semen of bulls B and C with normal sperm freezing tolerance, the LT + LAA treatment barely exhibited a small effect on the motility rate. Almost no difference was found among bulls A, B and C in the motility rates of LT + LAA-treated sperm after freezing-thawing. No difference of fertility was apparent on LT + LAA-treated frozen sperm in comparison with normal sperm in embryonic collection and in vitro fertilization. It was not an aberration of fertility in vivo or in vitro. In addition, the conception rate of artificial insemination did not have a difference, and a normal calf was obtained. Results show that addition of LAA to an extender for frozen bovine spermatozoa and 30 h of low-temperature equilibrium might improve the motility of freezing-thawing spermatozoa with poor freezability. Sperm exhibited normal fertilization capability and ontogenic capability.

Search for CP violation in τ±â†’K(S)0π±ντ decays at Belle.

We report on a search for CP violation in τ(±)→K(S)(0)π(±)ν(τ) decays using a data sample of 699 fb(-1) collected by the Belle experiment at the KEKB electron-positron asymmetric-energy collider. The CP asymmetry is measured in four bins of the invariant mass of the K(S)(0)π(±) system and found to be compatible with zero with a precision of O(10(-3)) in each mass bin. Limits for the CP violation parameter Im(η(S)) are given at the 90% confidence level. These limits are |Im(η(S))| < 0.026 or better, depending on the parametrization used to describe the hadronic form factors, and improve upon previous limits by 1 order of magnitude.

Evidence for the suppressed decay B(-)→DK(-), D→K(+)π(-).

The suppressed decay chain B(-)→DK(-), D→K(+)π(-), where D indicates a D(¯)(0) or D(0) state, provides important information on the CP-violating angle ϕ(3). We measure the ratio R(DK) of the decay rates to the favored mode B(-)→DK(-), D→K(-)π(+) to be R(DK)=[1.63(-0.41)(+0.44)(stat)(-0.13)(+0.07)(syst)]×10(-2), which indicates the first evidence of the signal with a significance of 4.1σ. We also measure the asymmetry A(DK) between the charge-conjugate decays to be A(DK)=-0.39(-0.28)(+0.26)(stat)(-0.03)(+0.04)(syst). The results are based on the full 772×10(6) BB(¯) pair data sample collected at the Υ(4S) resonance with the Belle detector.

Search for CP violation in the decays D(0)→K(S)(0)P(0).

We have searched for CP violation in the decays D(0)→K(S)(0)P(0) where P(0) denotes a neutral pseudoscalar meson that is either a π(0), η, or η' using KEKB asymmetric-energy e(+)e(-) collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 791 fb(-1) collected with the Belle detector. No evidence of significant CP violation is observed. We report the most precise CP asymmetry measurement in the decay D(0)→K(S)(0)π(0) to date: A(CP)(D(0)→K(S)(0)π(0))=(-0.28±0.19±0.10)%. We also report the first measurements of CP asymmetries in the decays D(0)→K(S)(0)η and D(0)→K(S)(0)η': A(CP)(D(0)→K(S)(0)η)=(+0.54±0.51±0.16)% and A(CP)(D(0)→K(S)(0)η')=(+0.98±0.67±0.14)%, respectively.

Observation of B(s)°â†’J/ψf0(980) and evidence for B(s)°â†’J/ψf0(1370).

We report the observation of B(s)°â†’J/ψf0(980) and evidence for B(s)°â†’J/ψf0(1370), which are CP eigenstate decay modes. These results are obtained from 121.4 fb⁻¹ of data collected at the Υ(5S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB e(+)e⁻ collider. We measure the branching fractions B(B(s)°â†’J/ψf0(980); f0(980)→π(+)π⁻)=(1.16(-0.19)(+0.31)(stat)(-0.17)(+0.15)(syst)(-0.18)(+0.26)(N(B(s)((*))B(s)((*)))))×10⁻4 with a significance of 8.4σ, and B(B(s)°â†’J/ψf0(1370); f0(1370)→π(+)π⁻)=(0.34(-0.14)(+0.11)(stat)(-0.02)(+0.03)(syst)(-0.05)(+0.08)(N(B(s)((*))B(s)((*)))))×10⁻4 with a significance of 4.2σ. The last error listed is due to uncertainty in the number of produced B(s)((*))B(s)((*)) pairs.