Liesegang Texture Found in Pyrophyllite Ore Deposits, Shobara district, Southwest Japan: Photograph collection

Liesegang textures are commonly occurred in pyrophyllite ore deposits in Shobara district, Southewest Japan. Color photographs of mode of occurrence, handspecimens and characteristic microtextures are presented. At the Sankin-motoyama outcrop, Liesegang texture is developed more than 500m long along the strike direction of the host rhyolitic rocks. The Liesegang texture is developed in the pyrophyllite rich zone and the texture is characterized by alternate of light and deep color bands. The light color is white to grey and the deep color is rather various such as brown, purple and grey. Two types of bands are recognizable, one is parallel and the other is perpendicular to the bedding plane of host rhyollitic rocks, respectively. The former is found in the marginal part whereas the latter mainly in the central part. Cylindrical Liesegang ring whose size is in the range from 10 to 50 cm is also common. The shape of the central core is various such as sphere, ellipsoid and cube. The band width of the Liesegang texture is various from few millimeters to several tens centimeters. Under the microscope, double or triple hematite rings are commonly observed in the deep color part and towards the light color part, shape of the rings becomes more and more irregular. The boundary of light and deep color bands is clearly recognized under the microscope by sudden development of opaque minerals in the deep color part and the boundary is irregular compared with straight appearance observed in the out crop. Detailed description of the texture will be appeared elsewhere

Micro-textures of Hematite in the Liesegang Rocks, Found in Pyrophyllite Deposits, Shobara District, Southwest Japan.

Characteristic micro-textures of hematite found commonly in the Liesegang rocks collected from pyrophyllite ore deposits, Shobara district, southwest Japan were investigated. Detailed observations of the Liesegang rocks under the high magnification reflection microscope with oil immersion lens reveal that almost all of opaque grains are composed of needle-shaped very fine crystals with less than few microns in width and 5-10 microns in length. Moreover, doughnut-like texture, which is characteristic in the Liesegang rock (Yamashita et al., 1996), is mainly composed of the needle-shaped fine crystals. In many cases, the rings are composed of radiated aggregates of the needle-shaped hematite crystals. The size of the most predominant rings is less than 10µm in diameter, and double, triple and multi rings are also common. The optical properties of these opaque crystals under the reflection microscope are almost similar to those of ordinary hematite, i.e., weak but noticeable bireflectance and distinct anisotropism (e.g., Uytenbogaardt, 1971). X-ray powder diffraction data indicate that most of the opaque minerals are hematite with small amount of goethite. However, under the reflection microscope, distinguishment of the two minerals is not possible

Spherulitic Textures Found in Pyrophyllite Ore Deposits, Shobara District, Southwest Japan: Photograph Collection

Spherulitic textures are commonly found in pyrophyllite ore deposits in Shobara district, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Color photographs of the mode of occurrence, hand specimens and characteristic micro-textures are presented. The spherulitic textures occur mainly in the upper most horizon of the ore deposits, i.e., in pyrophyllite zone and weakly altered host rhyolitic rocks. The size of the spherulites is from few millimeters to several centimeters in diameter and the spherulites with several millimeters diameter is the most predominant. Color of the spherulites is also variable such as grey, dark blue, dark purple and greenish color. Under the microscope, the textures can be divided into two types, one is "radiation" and the other is "aggregation" types, respectively. The aggregation type is further subdivided into a) with fine grain rim and b) with coarse grain rim. The constituent minerals of the spherulite are feldspar, quartz, pyrophyllite, sericite, diaspore, hematite and goethite

ポジション別にみた大学ラグビー選手の身体組成、形態、筋機能、栄養素摂取量の特徴

Rugby players play different roles according to their playing positions. Playing position is a key factor for players to increase or maintain their physical capacity. This study investigates body composition, anthropometric characteristics, muscular function and dietary intake of varsity rugby players, and examines the differences due to the playing position. The subjects were sixteen male varsity rugby players; seven forward players (FW) and nine back players (BK) aged 18.3±0.6 yrs. The results showed no significant differences of body composition, subcutaneous fat thickness and girth of circumference between FW and BK. Significant differences (p<0.05) were found between FW and BK for isokinetic leg strength (extension: FW=3.1±0.3Nm/kg, BK=3.5±0.4Nm/kg, flexion: FW=1.8±0.2Nm/kg, BK=2.0±0.1Nm/kg) and grip strength (FW=542±66Nm, BK=448±74Nm). But there were no significant differences between FW and BK for back strength, leg extension power, and maximal anaerobic power. Furthermore, dietary intakes were not significantly different. A lot of previous studies with senior players reported clear differences for body composition, anthropometric characteristics and muscular function due to playing positions. In this study, however, the subjects did not show the similar results as senior players. These differences are considered to come from in-maturity of the subjects for their playing positions. The most adapted physical characteristics of rugby player due to playing positions probably appear in/after university life with hard training and enough dietary intakes

Familial pancreatic cancer with PALB2 and NBN pathogenic variants: a case report

Background Family history is one of the risk factors for pancreatic cancer. It is suggested that patients with pancreatic cancer who have a familial history harbor germline pathogenic variants of BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 (BRCA1/2), PALB2, or ATM. Recently, some germline variants of familial pancreatic cancers (FPCs), including PALB2, have been detected. Several countries, including Japan, perform screening workups and genetic analysis for pancreatic cancers. We have been carrying out active surveillance for FPC through epidemiological surveys, imaging analyses, and genetic analysis. Case presentation Here, we present the case of a female patient harboring pathogenic variants of PALB2 and NBN, with a family history of multiple pancreatic cancer in her younger brother, her aunt, and her father. Moreover, her father harbored a PALB2 pathogenic variant and her daughter harbored the same NBN pathogenic variant. Given the PALB2 and NBN variants, we designed surveillance strategies for the pancreas, breast, and ovary. Conclusions Further studies are required to develop strategies for managing FPCs to facilitate prompt diagnosis before their progression

Changes on the Physiological Lactonase Activity of Serum Paraoxonase 1 by a Diet Intervention for Weight Loss in Healthy Overweight and Obese Women

Low caloric diet (LCD) is used for weight loss. Paraoxonase 1 (PON-1) is associated with the antioxidant functions of high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Among limited data on the relationships between obesity and PON-1, there has been no study on the effects of a stand-alone LCD on the physiological lactonase activity of PON-1. We investigated the prospective effects of LCD intervention (2 months) for weight loss on serum PON-1 activities (lactonase, arylesterase [mono-esterase] and tri-esterase) and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), and their association with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in overweight and non-morbidly obese but otherwise healthy women (n = 30; mean age, 50.3 years; mean body mass index [BMI], 28.5 kg/m2). In addition to the data such as BMI, blood pressure, blood glucose and lipids, PON-1 activities were examined between pre- and post-intervention. The intervention reduced all metabolic outcomes, and PON-1 lactonase activity (determined with 5-[thiobutyl]butyrolactone) significantly decreased by 6.1%, paralleled by arylesterase (by 7.3%) and tri-esterase (by 7.8%). In multiple regression analysis, the percent change of PON-1 lactonase was significantly, positively and independently correlated to that of LDL-C (β = 0.51), HDL-C (β = 0.40), and BMI (β = 0.37). Our results showed that the solo diet treatment on weight loss might reduce serum PON-1 lactonase activity with reduced HDL-C and LDL-C. The relationship between the lactonase and LDL-C may be adaptive, plausibly hypothesizing less need for PON-1 activity as an antioxidant property to protect lipoproteins. Further research is needed to confirm this prediction

Construction of Escherichia coli K-12 in-frame, single-gene knockout mutants: the Keio collection

We have systematically made a set of precisely defined, single-gene deletions of all nonessential genes in Escherichia coli K-12. Open-reading frame coding regions were replaced with a kanamycin cassette flanked by FLP recognition target sites by using a one-step method for inactivation of chromosomal genes and primers designed to create in-frame deletions upon excision of the resistance cassette. Of 4288 genes targeted, mutants were obtained for 3985. To alleviate problems encountered in high-throughput studies, two independent mutants were saved for every deleted gene. These mutants—the ‘Keio collection'—provide a new resource not only for systematic analyses of unknown gene functions and gene regulatory networks but also for genome-wide testing of mutational effects in a common strain background, E. coli K-12 BW25113. We were unable to disrupt 303 genes, including 37 of unknown function, which are candidates for essential genes. Distribution is being handled via GenoBase (http://ecoli.aist-nara.ac.jp/)

Protocol for a multicentre, prospective observational study of elective neck dissection for clinically node-negative oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (END-TC study)

Introduction: In early-stage oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC), elective neck dissection (END) is recommended when occult lymph node metastasis is suspected; however, there is no unanimous consensus on the risks and benefits of END in such cases. The management of clinically node-negative (cN0) OTSCC remains controversial. This study, therefore, aimed to evaluate the efficacy of END and its impact on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with cN0 OTSCC. Methods and analysis: This is a prospective, multicentre, nonrandomised observational study. The choice of whether to perform END at the same time as resection of the primary tumour is based on institutional policy and patient preference. The primary endpoint of this study is 3-year overall survival. The secondary endpoint are 3-year disease-specific survival, 3-year relapse-free survival and the impact on patient QoL. Propensity score-matching analysis will be performed to reduce selection bias. Ethics and dissemination: This study was approved by the Clinical Research Review Board of the Nagasaki University. The protocol of this study was registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry. The datasets generated during the current study will be available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. The results will be disseminated internationally, through scientific and professional conferences and in peer-reviewed medical journals

Survey of understanding and awareness of fertility preservation in pediatric patients: Is conversation about fertility preservation unpleasant for pediatric patients?

ObjectiveTo verify understanding and awareness of fertility preservation (FP) in pediatric patients undergoing FP treatments.MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted before and after explanation of fertility issues and FP treatments for patients 6–17 years old who visited or were hospitalized for the purpose of ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) or oocyte cryopreservation (OC), or sperm cryopreservation between October 2018 and April 2022. This study was approved by the institutional review board at St. Marianna University School of Medicine (No. 4123, UMIN000046125).ResultParticipants in the study comprised 36 children (34 girls, 2 boys). Overall mean age was 13.3 ± 3.0 years. The underlying diseases were diverse, with leukemia in 14 patients (38.9%), brain tumor in 4 patients (11.1%). The questionnaire survey before the explanation showed that 19 patients (52.8%) wanted to have children in the future, but 15 (41.7%) were unsure of future wishes to raise children. And most children expressed some degree of understanding of the treatment being planned for the underlying disease (34, 94.4%). Similarly, most children understood that the treatment would affect their fertility (33, 91.7%). When asked if they would like to hear a story about how to become a mother or father after FP which including information of FP, half answered “Don’t mind” (18, 50.0%). After being provided with information about FP treatment, all participants answered that they understood the adverse effects on fertility of treatments for the underlying disease. Regarding FP treatment, 32 children (88.9%) expressed understanding for FP and 26 (72.2%) wished to receive FP. “Fear” and “Pain” and “Costs” were frequently cited as concerns about FP. Following explanations, 33 children (91.7%) answered “Happy I heard the story” and no children answered, “Wish I hadn’t heard the story”. Finally, 28 of the 34 girls (82.4%) underwent OTC and one girl underwent OC.DiscussionThe fact that all patients responded positively to the explanations of FP treatment is very informative. This is considered largely attributable to the patients themselves being involved in the decision-making process for FP.ConclusionsExplanations of FP for children appear valid if age-appropriate explanations are provided