Novel Cyclic Dipeptide Dehydrogenase and Assay Method for Activity

The cell-free extract prepared from cells of an albonoursin-producing actinomycete Streptomyces sp. KO2388 was found to catalyze the dehydrogenation of cyclo (L-Phe-L-Leu) (CFL) to albonoursin. This is the first report for the dehydrogenation at the α,β-positions of amino acid residues. The simple method for determining the dehydrogenation activity was devised by measuring the increase in UV absorption of the reaction mixture at 317nm, λmax(ε25,400) of albonoursin, where CFL had no absorption. Phenazine methosulfate was the most active cofactor for the dehydrogenation among several hydrogen acceptors.アルボノルシン生産菌、Streptomyces sp. KO2388株の無細胞抽出液が、cyclo(L-Phe-L-Leu)からアルボノルシンへの脱水素反応を触媒することを明らかにした。アミノ酸残基のα,β-位での脱水素反応を酵素レベルで明らかにしたのはこの報告が初めてである。本反応の簡便な測定法として、基質cyclo(L-Phe-L-Leu)には認められない。アルボノルシンの特異的な317nmにおける紫外吸収の増加を測定する方法を考案した。本方法を用いて数種の水素受容体を試験したところ、フェナジンメトサルフェートが最も有効であると判った

全身麻酔下歯科治療

We report about general anesthesia for disabled patients with special needs or young children during dental treatment in Tokushima University Hospital. We have administered ambulatory anesthesia or general anesthesia with short-term hospitalization for the patients. In this report, we showed anesthesia as a behavior management technique and the system for the patients who schedule ambulatory anesthesia in our hospital. We indicated the present situation of dental treatment under general anesthesia and supposed the prospects of dental care for the patients with special needs

Propensity score–weighted analysis of chemotherapy after PD-1 inhibitors versus chemotherapy alone in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (WJOG10217L)

BackgroundStudies have suggested that chemotherapy after immune checkpoint inhibitors may confer an improved response for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, potential selection bias in such studies has not been addressed. We therefore applied propensity score analysis to investigate the efficacy of chemotherapy after PD-1 inhibitor treatment (CAP) compared with chemotherapy alone.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective observational cohort study for patients treated at 47 institutions across Japan between April 1, 2014 and July 31, 2017. Eligible patients had advanced or recurrent NSCLC who have undergone chemotherapy. Patients subsequently treated with chemotherapy (docetaxel with or without ramucirumab, S-1 or pemetrexed) either after PD-1 inhibitor therapy (CAP cohort) or alone (control cohort) were included. The primary end point was objective response rate (ORR). Inverse probability weighting (IPW) was applied to adjust for potential confounding factors.ResultsA total of 1439 patients (243 and 1196 in the CAP and control cohorts, respectively) was available for unadjusted analysis. Several baseline characteristics—including age, histology, EGFR or ALK genetic alterations, and brain metastasis—differed significantly between the two cohorts. After adjustment for patient characteristics with the IPW method, ORR was 18.9% for the CAP cohort and 11.0% for the control cohort (ORR ratio 1.71; 95% CI 1.19 to 2.46; p=0.004). IPW-adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves showed that median progression-free survival (PFS) for the CAP and control cohorts was 2.8 and 2.7 months (IPW-adjusted HR 0.95; 95% CI 0.80 to 1.12; p=0.55), and median overall survival (OS) was 9.2 and 10.4 months (IPW-adjusted HR 1.05; 95% CI 0.86 to 1.28; p=0.63), respectively.ConclusionsAfter accounting for selection bias by propensity score analysis, CAP showed a significantly higher ORR compared with chemotherapy alone, with the primary end point of ORR being achieved. However, these results did not translate into a PFS or OS advantage, suggesting that prior administration of PD-1 inhibitors may result in a synergistic antitumor effect with subsequent chemotherapy, but that such an effect is transient. CAP therefore does not appear to achieve durable tumor control or confer a lasting survival benefit