<Reports on the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the Tsukuba English Linguistic Society> A Semantic Approach to Verbal Prefixation : With Special Reference to Prefix Over

In this joint reaearch, we are concerned with the words which have the form of "over- + V". The prefix has two senses: one is spatial/temporal sense, and the other is an "excessive" sense. Specifically, we focus on the later case. The excessive over- is notable for some grammatical phenomena. ..

<Reports on the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Tsukuba English Linguistic Society>On the Structure of Present Subjunctive Complements in Present-Day English

In this joint research, we examine the structure of the complement clause which takes the form of present subjunctive. For illustration, consider the following example: (1) I demand that she tell him the truth. ..

R-mini CHP in ≥80-year-old Patients with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma: A Multicenter, Open-label, Single-arm Phase II Trial Protocol

In very-elderly diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients, treatment intensities must be lowered due to the risks of comorbidities and organ function deterioration, and treatment outcomes are worse compared to younger patients. Very-elderly patients are often excluded from DLBCL clinical trials, and optimal treatments and dosages are not established. In this clinical trial, we examined the efficacy and safety of 6 courses of R-mini CHP therapy (cf., CHOP [cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone]) in which vincristine is omitted to avoid the peripheral neuropathy that reduces elderly patients’ quality of life, as remission induction therapy in DLBCL patients aged≥80 years

マウス胸腺における脂肪化および脂肪細胞分化

The mouse thymus locates on a position close to the pericardial cavity and consists of two lobes. The lobes surrouded by a capsule are subdivided into many lobules by connective tissue trabeculae. Each lobule consists of lymphocytes-accumulated regions, cortex and medulla. In the previous study, since only lymphocytes in many kinds of thymus-constructing cell expressed the long type leptin receptor (OBRL), it was suggested that thymocytes were regulated with leptin produced by adipocytes differenciated and proliferated through thymic age involution. Then it is naturally interested in studying when lipogenesis and adipogenesis begin in the thymus either in embryogenesis or in postnatal growth. We extracted and measured the quantity of total lipid of the thymus and found that that began to increase at the period of 5 to 8 week-old after birth. The quantity of DNA of the thymus was little changed for this period. Then we directly observed histologically HE-stained sections under light microscope. The small number of adipocytes was observed at surrouding connective tissue, but never found in trabeculae of thymus of neonatal. In 5 week-old thymus adipocytes were first observed in small groups in the trabeculae. Secondly, we detected FGF10,PPARγ and leptin mENA expressions by the RTPCR method as the indication of adipogenesis in the thymus from embryo just before birth to 6 month-old. Both FGF10 and PPARγmRNA were detected in all specimens. The expression of PPARγ is slightly less than that of FGF10 in the embryonic thymus, but with incresing age it incresed and apparently more than that of FGF10 in the 6 moth-old thymus. These results suggest that adipogenesis in the thymus begins just before birth at the latest and that lipogenesis in the thymus does at 5 week-old after birth

Sleep fragmentation and working memory in healthy adults

Introduction: Sleep is essential for performing cognitive function in humans. We have hypothesized that sleep fragmentation compared to sleep efficiency may have a negative impact on the working memory. Material and Methods: Twenty-eight healthy adults (18 males and 10 females; mean age 27.8±15.5 years) were enrolled in this study. We measured the total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency, %stage wakefulness (W), %stage rapid eye movement (REM), %stage N1, %stage N2, %stage N3, wake after sleep onset (WASO), and arousal index using polysomnography. Working memory, executive function, and sustained attention of three domains of cognitive function were evaluated with the number of back task (N-back task), Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST), and continuous performance test-identical pairs (CPT-IP), respectively. Results: The percentage of correct answers on the 2-back task was significantly correlated with %stage REM, %stage N1, and %stage N2 (%stage REM: r=0.505, p=0.006; %stage N1: r=-0.637, p<0.001; %stage N2: r=0.670, p<0.001), and multiple regression analysis including the stepwise forward selection method revealed that %stage N2 was the most significant factor (%stage N2: β=0.670, p<0.001). The percentage of correct answers on the 2-back task was also significantly correlated with TST, sleep efficiency, WASO, and arousal index (TST: r=0.492, p=0.008; sleep efficiency: r=0.622, p<0.001; WASO: r=-0.721, p<0.001; arousal index: r=-0.656, p<0.001), and WASO was the significant factor (β=-2.086, p=0.007). The WCST category achievement and CPT-IP d-prime score were correlated with none of the sleep variables. Conclusion: Increased WASO and a decrease in %stage N2 were associated with worse working memory

DISCOVERY OF PREVENTIVE DRUGS FOR CDDP-INDUCED AKI

Cisplatin is effective against many types of carcinoma. However, a high rate of renal damage is a clinical problem. Thus, there is a need to establish a method to prevent it. Although various compounds have been reported to be effective against cisplatin-induced renal injury, there are no examples of their clinical application. Therefore, we attempted to search for prophylactic agents with a high potential for clinical application. We used Cascade Eye to identify genes that are altered during cisplatin-induced renal injury, Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures (LINCS) to identify drugs that inhibit changes in gene expression, and a large database of spontaneous adverse drug reaction reports to identify drugs that could prevent cisplatin-induced kidney injury in clinical practice. In total, 10 candidate drugs were identified. Using the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), we identified drugs that reduce cisplatin-induced kidney injury. Fenofibrate was selected as a candidate drug to prevent cisplatin-induced kidney injury based on the FAERS analysis. A model was used to evaluate the efficacy of fenofibrate against cisplatin-induced renal injury. Studies using HK2 cells and mouse models showed that fenofibrate significantly inhibited cisplatin-induced renal injury but did not inhibit the antitumor effect of cisplatin. Fenofibrate is a candidate prophylactic drug with high clinical applicability for cisplatin-induced renal injury. Analysis of data from multiple big databases will improve the search for novel prophylactic drugs with high clinical applicability. For the practical application of these findings, evaluation in prospective controlled trials is necessary

マウス胸腺の抗体遺伝子転写細胞の分化

Immunoglobulin(Ig) heavy chain gene-transcribing cell diffrentiation was investigated in the thymus of BALB/c mice by the Realtime PCR for membrane-bound form IgM(IgM_m). The ratio of IgM_m to total IgM(IgM_t) was approximately 1 from fetus period to 14 days after the birth, and IgM transcriptions were almost processed to membrane-bound form. Then IgM_m transcriptions decreased and secretory form IgM(IgM_s), the difference between IgM_t and IgM_m, started being detected. It was concluded that thymus Ig gene-transcribing cells underwent the similar differential processes in which B cells developed from immature type having IgM_m to mature type secreting IgM_s, in secondary lymphoid tissues

Improved long-term performance of pulsatile extracorporeal left ventricular assist device

SummaryBackground and purposeThe majority of heart transplant (HTx) candidates require left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support for more than 2 years before transplantation in Japan. However, the only currently available device is the extracorporeal pulsatile LVAD. The long-term management of extracorporeal LVAD support has improved remarkably over the years. To determine which post-operative management factors are related to the long-term survival of patients on such LVAD, we retrospectively compared the incidence of complications and their management strategies between the initial and recent eras of LVAD use, classified by the year of LVAD surgery.MethodsSixty-nine consecutive patients supported by extracorporeal pulsatile LVAD as a bridge to HTx between 1994 and 2007 were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were assigned according to the time of LVAD surgery to either group A (n=30; between 1994 and 2000) or group B (n=39; between 2001 and 2007).ResultsPatients in group B survived significantly longer on LVAD support than those in group A (674.6 vs. 369.3 days; p<0.001). The 1- and 2-year survival rates were significantly higher in group B than that in group A (82% vs. 48%, p<0.0001; 68% vs. 23%, p<0.0001, respectively). The proportion of deaths due to cerebrovascular accidents was lower (17% vs. 50%, p<0.001) in group B compared with group A. The incidences of systemic infection were similar in both groups, but the proportions of patients alive and achieving transplant surgery after systemic infection were higher in group B than those in group A (55% vs. 14%, p<0.01; 14% vs. 36%, p<0.05, respectively).ConclusionsThe long-term survival of patients even on “first-generation” extracorporeal LVAD has improved significantly in the recent era. Careful management of cerebrovascular accidents and systemic infection will play important roles in the long-term LVAD management

Successful Treatment of Protein-Losing Gastroenteropathy with Steroid Pulse and Immunosuppressive Therapies in a Patient with Sjögren Syndrome

We report the case of a 59-year-old female who developed facial edema together with hypoproteinemia. On the basis of 99mTc-human serum albumin scintigraphy and a1-antitrypsin clearance, she was diagnosed with protein-losing gastroenteropathy. Furthermore, she was diagnosed with Sjögren syndrome on the basis of eye and oral dryness, positive result with anti-SSA antibody, and salivary gland biopsy. Her symptoms improved with the use of immunosuppressive agents following steroid pulse therapy. Therefore, steroid pulse therapy and immunosuppressive agents should be considered as possible effective treatment strategies for protein-losing gastroenteropathy associated with autoimmune diseases

抗体遺伝子転写細胞の分化過程の解析 : 速度論による解析

Differential processes of immunoglobulin (Ig) gene-transcribing cells were investigated in the thymus of BALB/c male mice from neonatal to 40 weeks old. Both membrane-bound type IgM (IgM_m) and total IgM (IgM_t) transcriptions were detected by realtime PCR and the IgM_m/IgM_t ratios were determined. The ratio was approximately 1 to 1 week after the birth, and then decreased gradually following to age increase. Kinetics was applied in order to analyze the result with supposing that the transcription quantity was proportional to the cell number, that immature cells transcribing membrane-bound type IgM_m continued to be supplied from stem cells in vivo, and that the concentration of total cells transcribing IgM_t was unchanged in the thymus with age. Immature IgM_m cells were thought to differentiate either to ones transcribing secretory type IgM (IgM_s) or to other class 1g-transcribing by recombining heavy-chain genes. Theoretical values were in fair agreement with experimental values of log IgM_m/IgM_t on the first order concurrent reaction process and the rate constants for each process were determined