3Dバーチャルフィッティングソフトがパターンメーキング教育に与える影響

　3Dバーチャルフィッティングソフトは，コンピュータの画面上でボディに衣服を着用させる着装シミュレーションソフトで，縫製によるサンプルメーキング以前の段階で着装時のシルエットやディティールを確認することができる。　武庫川女子大学生活環境学部生活環境学科アパレルコースでは，平成30年度後期からアパレルCADを使用するパターンメーキングの授業で3Dバーチャルフィッティングソフトを使用した教育を開始した。本稿では，3Dバーチャルフィッティングソフトの導入によるアパレルCADの教育効果を検証した結果を報告する

３Ｄバーチャルフィッティングソフトを用いたパターンメーキング教育の可能性

3Dバーチャルフィッティングソフトは，コンピュータの画面上でボディに衣服を着用させ，そのシルエットやディティールをシミュレーションし，着用状態をチェックすることのできるアパレルCADソフトである。本稿では，武庫川女子大学短期大学部生活造形学科アパレルコースで開講している「アパレルCAD実習」において受講生が同一のデザイン画から作図したパターン形状を比較するとともに，パターンからデジタルトワルを作成し，デザイン画のスタイルの再現性を検証した結果を報告する

Cytoplasmic expression of CD133 is an important risk factor for overall survival in hepatocellular carcinoma

CD133 antigen has been used to identify cancer stem cells in several solid tumor types, including hepato-cellular carcinomas (HCCs). The aim of this study was to investigate whether the expression and subcellular localization of CD133 correlated with the clinicopathological factors, recurrence, and survival in HCC patients. Tissue specimens from 136 HCC patients who underwent curative primary hepatectomy between 2000 and 2005 were collected and immunohistochemically analyzed for CD133 expression. Positive immunohistochemical results and subcellular localization of CD133 were determined, and the correlation between CD133 expression and clinicopathological factors of HCC patients were evaluated. CD133-positive tumor cells were observed in 30 (22.1%) cases. Cytoplasmic and membranous expressions were observed in 22 (16.2%) and 20 (14.7%) of the CD133-positive cases, respectively. Positive cytoplasmic expression of CD133 was found to be associated with the overall survival of HCC patients, especially in stage III and IVA HCC patients (p=0.0092). Univariate analysis revealed that pre-operative serum albumin, α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, tumor size, portal venous invasion, and cytoplasmic CD133 expression were important risk factors in HCC. Multivariate analysis revealed that among the factors related to tumor aggressiveness, cytoplasmic expression of CD133 showed the most significant association with overall survival, although the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.0681). Cytoplasmic expression of CD133 was a significant risk factor for the overall survival of HCC patients. Patients with stage III and IVA HCC showing positive cytoplasmic expression of CD133 are more likely to have a worse prognosis

Fabrication and Biodegradability of Starch Cell-Plastics as Recyclable Resources

Recently, cell-plastics, which are composed of unicellular green algal cells and biodegradable compounds as ingredients and fillers, have been suggested as carbon-recyclable materials instead of petroleum-based plastics. In this study, cell-plastics, fabricated with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as an ingredient and a mixture of two types of starches (raw and oxidized starches) as a filler, were successfully stabilized as independent structures despite the quantity of algal cells being nine times more than that of starch. All starch cell-plastics were water repellent, possibly due to their bumpy surface structures. The starch cell-plastic, composed of 50% cells and 50% starch (1.5:1 of oxidized starch versus raw starch), showed 327 ± 52 MPa as Young’s modulus and 6.45 ± 1.20 MPa as tensile strength, indicating the possibility to be a suitable replacement for petroleum-based plastics. Additionally, all starch cell-plastics showed water-repellency and maintained those structures dipped in phosphate-buffered saline buffer as a water environment for 24 h, meaning that all starch cell-plastics had evaluable water resistance. On the other hand, by adding α-amylase, all starch cell-plastics were collapsed and lost the weight efficiently, indicated their biodegradability. This is the first paper to describe starch cell-plastics from their fabrication to biodegradation

Pikachurin Protein Required for Increase of Cone Electroretinogram B-Wave during Light Adaptation.

In normal eyes, the amplitude of the b-wave of the photopic ERGs increases during light adaptation, but the mechanism causing this increase has not been fully determined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the contribution of receptoral and post-receptoral components of the retina to this phenomenon. To accomplish this, we examined the ERGs during light adaptation in Pikachurin null-mutant (Pika -/-) mice, which have a misalignment of the bipolar cell dendritic tips to the photoreceptor ribbon synapses. After dark-adaptation, photopic ERGs were recorded from Pika -/- and wild type (WT) mice during the first 9 minutes of light adaptation. In some of the mice, post-receptoral components were blocked pharmacologically. The photopic b-waves of WT mice increased by 50% during the 9 min of light adaptation as previously reported. On the other hand, the b-waves of the Pika -/- mice decreased by 20% during the same time period. After blocking post-receptoral components, the b-waves were abolished from the WT mice, and the ERGs resembled those of the Pika -/- mice. The extracted post-receptoral component increased during light adaptation in the WT mice, but decreased for the first 3 minutes to a plateau in Pika -/- mice. We conclude that the normal synaptic connection between photoreceptor and retinal ON bipolar cells, which is controlled by pikachurin, is required for the ERGs to increase during light-adaptation. The contributions of post-receptoral components are essential for the photopic b-wave increase during the light adaptation