The permeability characteristics of highly concentrated O/W emulsions were clarified on the basis of the kinetic data of the centrifugal flotation experiments with the aid of an analytical centrifuge ...which could monitor timed near-infrared (NIR) transmission profiles of the samples in the centrifugal field, and then the permeability data of the soft particles of oil droplets were compared with those of the rigid particles of silicon dioxide in centrifugal sedimentation. The dependence of centrifugal flotation velocity of concentrated emulsion on the emulsion concentration was not able to be described by the conventional Richardson–Zaki equation. By considering an analogy between the flotation of oil droplets in a solvent and the permeation of a solvent through the granular bed of oil droplets, the specific flow resistance of the oil droplets was determined as a function of the porosity from the data of centrifugal flotation velocity measured for a variety of initial porosity of O/W emulsion. Moreover, the dependence of the effective specific surface of the oil droplets on the porosity of O/W emulsion was derived using the Happel's cell model, which accurately describes the flow properties in the concentrated colloidal dispersions. As a consequence, it was shown that the effective specific surface of the oil droplets markedly decreased with decreasing porosity of emulsion in the range of the relatively high concentration. By contrast, it is significant to note that the effective specific surface remained almost constant in the case of centrifugal sedimentation of particulate suspension of silicon dioxide. These results provide important new insight into the mechanisms involved in the solid–liquid separation of the deformable particles.
Germline mutation of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes is a cause of Lynch syndrome. Methylation of MutL homolog 1 (
) and MutS homolog 2 (
) has been detected in peripheral blood cells of patients ...with colorectal cancer. This methylation is referred to as epimutation. Methylation of these genes has not been studied in an unselected series of endometrial cancer cases. Therefore, we examined methylation of
,
, and
promoter regions of peripheral blood cells in 206 patients with endometrial cancer using a methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP). Germline mutation of MMR genes, microsatellite instability (MSI), and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were also analyzed in each case with epimutation.
epimutation was detected in a single patient out of a total of 206 (0.49%)-1 out of 58 (1.72%) with an onset age of less than 50 years. The patient with
epimutation showed high level MSI (MSI-H), loss of
expression and had developed endometrial cancer at 46 years old, complicated with colorectal cancer. No case had epimutation of
or
. The
epimutation detected in a patient with endometrial cancer may be a cause of endometrial carcinogenesis. This result indicates that it is important to check epimutation in patients with endometrial cancer without a germline mutation of MMR genes.
Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) is rarely reported as a complication of severe burn. This study clarified the risk of burned patients with and without ACS, especially regarding the resuscitation ...fluid volume. Extensively burned patients admitted to our burn unit from January 2003, through to June 2004, were examined. Vital signs, blood gas analysis, bladder pressure to estimate intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), peak inspiratory pressure (PIP), resuscitation fluid volume, and urine output (UO) were analyzed. Intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) was defined as an IAP of more than 30
cm of H
2O. Eight of 48 patients suffering from a more than 30% total burn surface area developed ACS in 18.3
±
4.9
h. In these patients, IAP (49
±
12
cm
H
2O), PIP (50
±
16
cm
H
2O), heart rate (115
±
8/min), and PaCO
2 (54.6
±
10.1
mmHg) were higher than normal, and their resuscitation volume was 0.40
±
0.11
L/kg. Also, a significant correlation between the IBP, PIP and resuscitation volume was observed. Most patients with severe burns required more than 300
mL/kg of resuscitation fluid for the first 24
h after injury that led to ACS and had higher HR, IBP, PIP and PaCO
2 despite arterial pressure showing no significant difference.
Abnormally high signals from receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) are associated with carcinogenesis, and impaired deactivation of RTKs may also be a mechanism in cancer. Hepatocyte growth ...factor-regulated tyrosine kinase substrate (Hrs) is one of the master regulators that sort activated receptors toward lysosomes and shut down their signals. Hrs contains a ubiquitin-interacting motif and is involved in the endosomal sorting of monoubiquitinated membrane proteins, such as growth factor receptor and E-cadherin. Here, we investigated the role of Hrs in determining the malignancy of cancer cells and discovered that the targeted disruption of Hrs by small interfering RNA effectively attenuated the proliferation, anchorage-independent growth, tumorigenesis, and metastatic potential of HeLa cells in vitro and in vivo. The restoration of Hrs expression increased cell proliferation and anchorage-independent growth in a mouse embryonic fibroblast line established from a Hrs knockout mouse. Further analysis revealed that Hrs depletion was associated with the up-regulation of E-cadherin and reduced beta-catenin signaling. The aberrant accumulation of E-cadherin most likely resulted from impaired E-cadherin degradation in lysosomes. These results suggest that Hrs may play a critical role in determining the malignancy of cancer cells by regulating the degradation of E-cadherin.
We previously proposeda power assist robot and conductedexperiments for cervical cord injury(CCI) patients. This paper proposed a new type of robot orthosis by making of their residual function ...around their shoulder in order to operate the wheelchair. A lock/unlock mechanism on the elbow joint is effectively used to transmit the residual function around the shoulder to the hand. We confirmedthat three patients with CCI could use their residual functionaround their shoulderand operate a wheelchair effectively in outdoor environment like high resistance roads and roads with a slope by measuring velocity of the wheelchair and electromyography of his shoulder muscle.
We aimed to determine whether
tau deposits and monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) detection using
F-THK5351 positron emission tomography (PET) can assist in the differential distribution in patients with ...corticobasal syndrome (CBS), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and whether
F-THK5351 retention of lesion sites in CBS and PSP can correlate with clinical parameters.
F-THK5351 PET was performed in 35 participants, including 7, 9, and 10 patients with CBS, PSP, and AD, respectively, and 9 age-matched normal controls. In CBS and PSP, cognitive and motor functions were assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised, and Frontal Assessment Battery, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Motor Score, and PSP Rating Scale.
F-THK5351 retention was observed in sites susceptible to disease-related pathologies in CBS, PSP, and AD.
F-THK5351 uptake in the precentral gyrus clearly differentiated patients with CBS from those with PSP and AD. Furthermore,
F-THK5351 uptake in the inferior temporal gyrus clearly differentiated patients with AD from those with CBS and PSP. Regional
F-THK5351 retention was associated with the cognitive function in CBS and PSP.
Measurement of the tau deposits and MAO-B density in the brain using
F-THK5351 may be helpful for the differential diagnosis of tauopathies and for understanding disease stages.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs of approximately 22 base pairs that regulate the expression of genes by targeting messenger RNA with complementarity with the miRNA base sequence. ...Regulation of gene expression by miRNAs is crucial in cellular development and differentiation, and recent studies suggest a relationship between human diseases and the breakdown of gene silencing mechanisms induced by miRNA abnormalities. In particular, abnormal miRNA expression has been detected in various types of cancer and the target genes have been identified. These results indicate that miRNAs act in a manner equivalent to oncogenes or tumor suppressors. miRNAs may also serve as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. In this review, we introduce the latest findings on miRNAs in human endometrial cancer, a common malignancy, and discuss the potential of miRNAs as biomarkers and targets for molecular therapy.
Fluorescence imaging using indocyanine green (ICG) has recently been applied to laparoscopic surgery to identify cancerous tissues, lymph nodes, and vascular anatomy. Here we report the application ...of ICG‐fluorescence imaging to visualize the boundary between the liver and subserosal tissues of the gallbladder during laparoscopic full‐thickness cholecystectomy. A patient with a potentially malignant gallbladder lesion was administered 2.5‐mg intravenous ICG just before laparoscopic full‐thickness cholecystectomy. Intraoperative fluorescence imaging enabled the real‐time delineation of both extrahepatic bile duct anatomy and hepatic parenchyma throughout the procedure, which resulted in complete removal of subserosal tissues between liver and gallbladder. Safe and feasible ICG‐fluorescence imaging can be widely applied to laparoscopic hepatobiliary surgery by utilizing a biliary excretion property of ICG.
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