Carcinosarcoma is a clonal tumor developed through sarcomatoid changes in a carcinoma via the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Here, we present an extremely rare case of pulmonary ...carcinosarcoma characterized by components suggesting pluripotency, namely neuroendocrine, myogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation, based on immunohistochemical analysis. A 42‐year‐old Japanese man was admitted to our hospital. Analysis of tumor tissue after right upper lobe lobectomy revealed a transition between carcinomatous and sarcomatous components. Immunohistochemical analysis suggested immortality owing to complete loss of p53 and diffuse expression of p16 in both the carcinomatous and sarcomatous components. There were also scattered cell groups expressing aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member A1, SOX2, CD133, and c‐kit, suggesting the possible presence of cancer stem cells. Our findings in this case suggested that the EMT may play a key role in mediating the immortality of tumor cells in carcinosarcoma and facilitating the pluripotency of cancer stem cells.
Solvent-free chemical manufacturing is one of the awaited technologies for addressing an emergent issue of environmental pollution. Here, we report solvent-free autocatalytic supramolecular ...polymerization (SF-ASP), which provides an inhibition-free template-assisted catalytic organic transformation that takes great advantage of the fact that the product (template) undergoes a termination-free nucleation-elongation assembly (living supramolecular polymerization) under solvent-free conditions. SF-ASP allows for reductive cyclotetramerization of hydrogen-bonding phthalonitriles into the corresponding phthalocyanines in exceptionally high yields (>80%). SF-ASP requires the growing polymer to form hexagonally packed crystalline fibres, which possibly preorganize the phthalonitriles at their cross-sectional edges for their efficient transformation. With metal oleates, SF-ASP produces single-crystalline fibres of metallophthalocyanines again in exceptionally high yields, which grow in both directions without terminal coupling until the phthalonitrile precursors are completely consumed. By taking advantage of this living nature of polymerization, multistep SF-ASP without/with metal oleates allows for the precision synthesis of multi-block supramolecular copolymers.
This study investigated the effect of bergamot essential oil (BEO) or linalool, a major volatile component of BEO, on the nociceptive response to formalin. Plantar subcutaneous injection of BEO or ...linalool into the ipsilateral hindpaw reduced both the first and late phases of the formalininduced licking and biting responses in mice. Plantar subcutaneous injection of BEO or linalool into the contralateral hindpaw did not yield an antinociceptive effect, suggesting that the antinociceptive effect of BEO or linalool in the formalin test occurred peripherally. Intraperitoneal and plantar subcutaneous injection pretreatment with naloxone hydrochloride, an opioid receptor antagonist, significantly attenuated both BEO- and linalool-induced antinociception. Pretreatment with naloxone methiodide, a peripherally acting opioid receptor antagonists, also significantly antagonized the antinociceptive effects of BEO and linalool. Our results provide evidence for the involvement of peripheral opioids in antinociception induced by BEO and linalool. These results suggest that activation of peripheral opioid receptors may play an important role in reducing formalin-induced nociception.
The substorm onset process was studied on the basis of the vertical evolution of auroral acceleration regions derived from auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) spectra and Pi pulsations on the ground. ...The field‐aligned auroral acceleration at substorm onset demonstrated two distinct phases. Low‐altitude acceleration (h~3000–5000 km), which accompanied auroral initial brightening, prebreakup Pi2, and direct current of ultralow frequency (DC‐ULF) pulsation were first activated and played an important role (precondition) in the subsequent substorm expansion phase onset. Prebreakup Pi2 is suggestive of the ballooning mode wave generation, and negative decrease in DC‐ULF suggests increasing field‐aligned current (FAC). We called this stage the substorm initial phase. A few minutes after this initial phase onset, high‐altitude acceleration, which accompanied auroral breakup and poleward expansion with breakup Pi1 and Pi2 pulsations, suddenly broke out in an altitude range from 8000 to 16,000 km. Thus, substorm expansion onset originated in the magnetosphere‐ionosphere (M‐I) coupling region, i.e., substorm ignition in the M‐I coupling region. Statistical investigations revealed that about 65% of earthward flow bursts observed in the plasma sheet were accompanied by enhanced low‐altitude AKR, suggesting that flow braking of bursts causes FAC and resulting low‐altitude field‐aligned acceleration in the M‐I coupling region. On the basis of these observations, we propose a substorm onset scenario in which FAC that originated from the braking of plasma flow bursts first enhances low‐altitude acceleration (substorm initial phase onset) and then the increasing FAC induces current‐driven instability in the M‐I coupling region, which leads to high‐altitude acceleration and resulting substorm expansion phase onset.
Key Points
Substorm onset process is studied based on the sudden acceleration
Substorm consists of two sequential onsets
We propose relationship between the substorm initiation and auroral acceleration
Paclitaxel is widely used in cancer chemotherapy for the treatment of solid tumors, but it frequently causes peripheral neuropathy. Milnacipran, a serotonin/noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor and ...fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, have shown efficacy against several chronic pain syndromes. In this study, we investigated the attenuation of paclitaxel-induced mechanical allodynia in mice by milnacipran and fluvoxamine. Paclitaxel was administered once per day (2 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.)) for 5 days to mice. Mechanical allodynia was evaluated by measuring the withdrawal response to stimulation with a von Frey filament. In paclitaxel-treated mice, mechanical allodynia was observed on days 3-15 of paclitaxel administration. A single administration of milnacipran (20 mg/kg, i.p.) or fluvoxamine (40 mg/kg, i.p.) had no effect on paclitaxel- induced mechanical allodynia. However, repeated administration of milnacipran (10, 20 mg/kg, once per day, i.p.) for 5 days significantly reduced paclitaxel-induced mechanical allodynia. In contrast, repeated fluvoxamine administration (40 mg/kg, once per day, i.p.) for 5 days resulted in a weak attenuation of paclitaxel-induced mechanical allodynia. These results suggest that chronic paclitaxel administration induces mechanical allodynia, and that repeated milnacipran administration may be an effective therapeutic approach for the treatment of neuropathic pain caused by paclitaxel treatment for cancer.
Two patients with isolated thalamic agraphia are described. Both showed kanji (Japanese morphograms) agraphia due to impaired character recall, grapheme deformity and micrographia (progressive ...reduction in character size during writing) after a lesion that involved the ventral lateral and ventroposterolateral nuclei. Single photon emission computed tomography with a
99m
Tc-ethylcysteinate dimer revealed hypoperfusion in the left precentral gyrus (Brodmann Area 6) and anterior supramarginal gyrus in both. Six months later, the extent of blood flow reduction decreased in the supramarginal gyrus in both patients and the precentral gyrus in patient 1. By this time, the writing impairment improved to nearly the normal range. Our study suggests that kanji agraphia (corresponding to lexical agraphia in Western countries) with poor grapheme formation and micrographia arises from a lesion in the ventral lateral and ventroposterolateral nuclei in the left thalamus. The accompaniment of poor grapheme formation and micrographia may reflect disruption of the cortico-subcortical motor circuit involving the putamen, thalamus, premotor cortex and sensorimotor cortex. It is also suggested that multiple cortical sites can be a target for secondary dysfunction that yields agraphia in a thalamic lesion, and that the recovery of reduced cortical blood flow does not always proceed in parallel with that of agraphia.
Background
A considerable number of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) develop cardioembolic stroke (CE) despite low CHADS2 score. We examined the possibility that use of the atrial ...electromechanical interval (AEMI) improves prediction of CE in patients with paroxysmal AF (PAF), particularly those with low CHADS2 score.
Methods
We consecutively enrolled 108 patients with nonvalvular PAF and 52 healthy subjects as controls. The PAF patients were divided into 2 groups depending on presence (n = 36) or absence (n = 72) of the history of CE. Left atrial (LA) volume index (LAVI), peak myocardial velocity during late diastole (a'), and AEMI as time from onset of P‐wave to onset of lateral a' were measured.
Results
Patients with PAF had significantly larger LAVI, longer AEMI, and lower lateral a' than those in controls. Area under the curves for LAVI, lateral a', and AEMI for identifying patients with PAF were 0.70, 0.69, and 0.88, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that age, use of antiarrhythmic drugs, and AEMI, but not LAVI or a', were independently associated with history of CE in patients with PAF. PAF patients were categorized into low risk by CHADS2 score (i.e. CHADS2 score = 0 or 1, n = 60), those with prolonged AEMI (>82 msec) had significantly higher rates of CE than those with ≤82 msec (48% vs. 15%, P < 0.05).
Conclusion
As compared with echocardiographic parameters of LA size and LA function, AEMI appears to be more useful for identifying PAF patients. AEMI may enable to detect high risk PAF patients, especially those categorized into low risk by CHADS2 score.
In order to facilitate interdisciplinary design and appraisal of agricultural policies, a comprehensive database covering both geophysical and socioeconomic information related to agricultural ...production has been constructed for all 3,773 agricultural communities in Japan's Chiba Prefecture. The database covers four categories of information layers: (a) current and historic data on agricultural production (the "dependents"); (b) data on geophysical factors affecting agricultural production (the "unchangeables"); (c) data on man-made infrastructures affecting agricultural production (the "long-term changeables"); and (d) data on other socioeconomic factors affecting agricultural production (the "short-term changeables"). Three applications using the database are also introduced.
We have studied the response of large‐scale ionospheric convection to substorm expansion onsets on the basis of two weak substorms of 1 May 2001, during which a large part of the dawn cell of the ...two‐cell ionospheric convection pattern was monitored by the SuperDARN radars. Ionospheric convection began to enhance first in a localized region of the equatorward part of the dawn cell ∼2 minutes before the expansion onsets of both substorms and then enhanced in the entire dawn cell successively. The enhanced convection persisted throughout their expansion phase, possibly even near the footprint of a plasma sheet region without fast flows observed by Geotail. These observations suggest that ionospheric convection begins to enhance just before substorm expansion onset and then enhances in the entire cell, possibly regardless of the presence of fast earthward flows in the corresponding plasma sheet region of the magnetotail. The global enhancement of ionospheric convection is consistent with that of magnetotail convection, which also begins just before onset.
Two cases of idiopathic scoliosis with Chiari malformation and syringomyelia were treated surgically. Though foramen magnum decompressions were operated first, syringomyelia was observed over one ...year after operations. It is most important to prevent neural complications during operations for idiopathic scoliosis with Chiari malformation and syringomyelia. Traction X-P Cobb angle is useful for reduction of scoliosis measured at preoperation, and multimodal monitoring system for prevention of neural complications during operations.
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