Treatment of giant congenital melanocytic nevi with cultured epithelial autografts: Clinical and histopathological analysis

[Introduction] Curettage and dermabrasion are effective in the treatment of giant congenital melanocytic nevi (GCMN); however, local infection and hypertrophic scar formation are major issues. Thus, we applied cultured epithelial autografts (CEA) on skin defects after curettage or abrasion of GCMN and assessed the postoperative outcomes. [Methods] Seven nevi lesions of five patients (aged 3 months to 24 years) were treated with CEA after curettage or abrasion with a dermatome or a surgical bar, respectively. We assessed the postoperative outcomes, including CEA take ratio, erosion and/or ulcer formation in the acute phase, hospitalization days, Vancouver scar scale, and color improvement one year after the operation. In addition, a histological evaluation of a skin biopsy was performed over one year after the operation. [Results] The CEAs took well on the wound, and the wound surface was mostly epithelized by postoperative day 7 in all cases. While hypertrophic scar formation and slight pigmentation were observed in some lesions, the color was improved in all of the treated lesions. Histopathological examination revealed that the regenerated epidermis had stratified keratinocytes with rete ridges, and the dermal layer without nevus cells regenerated above the remaining dermis layer. [Conclusions] In this study, we found that early epithelialization and regeneration of the dermal layer was achieved after the application of CEA, suggesting that CEA could be an effective option after curettage or abrasion of GCMN

Statistischer Uberblick uber die innerhalb der letzten neun Jahre in der dermato-urologischen Universitats-Klinik zu Okayama beobachteten urologischen Falle

Es sind, kurz gefasst, 4911 verschiedene urologische Falle, im Laufe der letzten Jahre zur Beobachtung kamen, statistisch bearbeitet worden. Darunter befinden sich 4291 Fa1le, also 87.4%, mannlichen und 620, d .h 12.6%, weiblichen Geschlechts. Diese samtlichen Fallen sind in sieben Kategorien und ferner je nach den befallenen Organen wieder in verschiedene Unterabteilungen zusammengestellt worden. Hier sei nochmals betont, dass bei kombinierter Krankheit nur die Haupterkrankung angefdhrt wurde. </p

QCD in the nuclear medium and effects due to Cherenkov gluons

The equations of in-medium gluodynamics are proposed. Their classical lowest order solution is explicitly shown for a color charge moving with constant speed. For nuclear permittivity larger than 1 it describes emission of Cherenkov gluons resembling results of classical electrodynamics. The values of the real and imaginary parts of the nuclear permittivity are obtained from the fits to experimental data on the double-humped structure around the away-side jet obtained at RHIC. The dispersion of the nuclear permittivity is predicted by comparing the RHIC, SPS and cosmic ray data. This is important for LHC experiments. Cherenkov gluons may be responsible for the asymmetry of dilepton mass spectra near rho-meson, observed in the SPS experiment with excess in the low-mass wing of the resonance. This feature is predicted to be common for all resonances. The "color rainbow" quantum effect might appear according to higher order terms of in-medium QCD if the nuclear permittivity depends on color.Comment: 29 p., 4 figs; for "Phys. Atom. Nucl." volume dedicated to 80th birthday of L.B. Okun; minor corrections on pp. 11 and 13 in v

Maintenance of glucose-sensitive insulin secretion of cryopreserved human islets with University of Wisconsin solution and ascorbic acid-2 glucoside

Normal human islet cells are an ideal source for pancreas-targeted cell therapies, but the availability of human donor pancreata for islet isolation is severely limited. To effectively utilize such scarce donor organs for cell therapies, it is crucial to develop an excellent isolation, effective cryopreservation, and efficient gene transfer techniques for the transportation of isolated cells. In the present study, we investigate the effect of University of Wisconsin (UW) solution and ascorbic acid-2 glucoside (AA2G) on the cryopreservation of human islets. We also evaluate the gene transfer efficiency of a lentiviral vector expressing the E. coli LacZ gene, Lt-NLS/LacZ, in human islets. Human islets were isolated with a standard digestion method at the University of Alberta. Isolated islets were transported to Japan for 40 h and then subjected to cryopreservation experiments. The following preservation solutions were tested: UW solution with 100 mug/mL of AA2G, UW solution, 100% fetal bovine serum (FBS), and CMRL supplemented with 10% FBS. Following three months of cryopreservation, the islets were thawed and analyzed for viability, glucose-sensitive insulin secretion, proinsulin gene expression profile, and in vivo engraftment. The islets were also subjected to monolayer formation with 804G-cell-line-derived extracellular matrix (ECM), followed by Lt-NLS/LacZ transduction. The viability, morphology, glucose-sensitive insulin secretion, proinsulin gene expression, and monolayer formation efficiency of the thawed cryopreserved islets are significantly better maintained by the use of UW solution. When AA2G (100 mug/mL) is combined with UW, such parameters are further improved. The adequate engraftment of UW + AA2G-cryopreserved human islets is achieved in the liver of nude mice. Efficient Lt-NLS/LacZ transduction is identified in monolayered islets cryopreserved with UW solution with AA2G. The present work demonstrates that the combination of UW solution with AA2G (100 mug/mL) would be a useful cryopreservation means for human islets. Human islets monolayer-cultured with 804G-derived ECM are efficiently transduced with a lentiviral vector Lt-NLS/LacZ

Dynamical Gauge Symmetry Breaking in SU(3)L⊗U(1)XSU(3)_L\otimes U(1)_X Extension of the Standard Model

We study the $SU(3)_L\otimes U(1)_X$ extension of the Standard model with a strong U(1) coupling. We argue that current experiments limit this coupling to be relatively large. The model is dynamically broken to the Standard $SU(2)_L \otimes U(1)$ model at the scale of a few TeV with all the extra gauge bosons and the exotic quarks acquiring masses much larger than the scale of electroweak symmetry breaking. Furthermore we find that the model leads to large dynamical mass of the top quark and hence also breaks the electroweak gauge symmetry. It therefore leads to large dynamical effects within the Standard model and can partially replace the Higgs interactions.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, no figures; revised version predicting realistic mass spectru

Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications

Spintronics, or spin electronics, involves the study of active control and manipulation of spin degrees of freedom in solid-state systems. This article reviews the current status of this subject, including both recent advances and well-established results. The primary focus is on the basic physical principles underlying the generation of carrier spin polarization, spin dynamics, and spin-polarized transport in semiconductors and metals. Spin transport differs from charge transport in that spin is a nonconserved quantity in solids due to spin-orbit and hyperfine coupling. The authors discuss in detail spin decoherence mechanisms in metals and semiconductors. Various theories of spin injection and spin-polarized transport are applied to hybrid structures relevant to spin-based devices and fundamental studies of materials properties. Experimental work is reviewed with the emphasis on projected applications, in which external electric and magnetic fields and illumination by light will be used to control spin and charge dynamics to create new functionalities not feasible or ineffective with conventional electronics.Comment: invited review, 36 figures, 900+ references; minor stylistic changes from the published versio