Sufism, Mysticism, Structuralism: A Dialogue

Naturally, contributions from places other than this one will be encouraged, indeed, sought. There could be no other way to promote a more wide understanding of Religion in Australia, than this. Religious Traditions journal in other words, though meant in part to be the product of a need felt among Australian "religionists", must, by dint of that very fact, take its place besides other international Journals in the field

Intermolecular interaction in the benzene-benzyl alcohol hetero-dimer ion

第16回化学反応討論会, 2000年6月1日-3日, サタケ講堂(東広島

Proteomic Analysis of Saliva from Patients with Oral Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease

AbstractChronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is an immune-mediated disorder and is the major long-term complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The oral mucosa, including the salivary glands, is affected in the majority of patients with cGVHD; however, at present there is only a limited understanding of disease pathobiology. In this study, we performed a quantitative proteomic analysis of saliva pooled from patients with and without oral cGVHD—cGVHD(+) and cGVHD(−), respectively—using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification labeling, followed by tandem mass spectrometry. Among 249 salivary proteins identified by tandem mass spectrometry, 82 exhibited altered expression in the oral cGVHD(+) group compared with the cGVHD(−) group. Many of the identified proteins function in innate or acquired immunity, or are associated with tissue maintenance functions, such as proteolysis or the cytoskeleton. Using ELISA immunoassays, we further confirmed that 2 of these proteins, IL-1 receptor antagonist and cystatin B, showed decreased expression in patients with active oral cGVHD (P < .003). Receiver operating curve characteristic analysis revealed that these 2 markers were able to distinguish oral cGVHD with a sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 60%, and showed slightly better discrimination in newly diagnosed patients evaluated within 12 months of allo-HSCT (sensitivity, 92%; specificity 73%). In addition to identifying novel potential salivary cGVHD biomarkers, our study demonstrates that there is coordinated regulation of protein families involved in inflammation, antimicrobial defense, and tissue protection in oral cGVHD that also may reflect changes in salivary gland function and damage to the oral mucosa

The ionospheric precursor to the 2011 march 11 earthquake as based on the Japan-pacific subionospheric VLF/LF network observation

By using the network observation of subionospheric VLF/LF signals in Japan and in Russia, we have found a significant ionospheric perturbation prior to the recent 2011 March 11 Japan earthquake (EQ) in the off-sea of the Tohoku area, which was an exceptionally huge plate-type EQ. A remarkable anomaly (with decrease in the nighttime amplitude and also with enhancement in dispersion) has been detected on March 5 and 6 on the propagation path from the NLK transmitter (Seattle, USA) to Chofu (together with Kochi and Kasugai), and also we have observed the corresponding VLF anomaly during a prolonged period of March 1–6, with minima in the nighttime amplitude on March 3 and 4 on the path from JJI transmitter (Miyazaki, Kyushu) to Kamchatka, Russia.Используя наблюдения распространения СДВ/ДВ-радиоволн над Тихим океаном на японской и российской сети станций, удалось обнаружить значительное возмущение ионосферы, предшествовавшее последнему мощному землетрясению в Японии 11.03.2011 г. Эпицентр землетрясения находился в море, в области Тохоку, а само событие относится к исключительно мощным землетрясениям, связанным с перемещением тектонических плит. Явно выраженная аномалия (уменьшение ночной амплитуды сигнала при увеличении ее дисперсии) была обнаружена 5 и 6 марта на трассе распространения от передатчика NLK (Сиэтл, США) к наблюдателю в Чофу, Япония (аналогичные явления – на трассах распространения в Кочи и Кацугаи). Аналогичная длительная аномалия в СДВ-распространении регистрировалась с 1 по 6 марта с минимальной ночной амплитудой 3 и 4 марта на трассе от передатчика JJI (Миязаки, Кюсю) до Камчатки, Россия.Використовуючи спостереження поширення СДВ/ДВ-радіохвиль над Тихим океаном на японській і російській мережі станцій, вдалося виявити значне збурення іоносфери, що сталося перед останнім потужним землетрусом у Японії 11.03.2011 р. Епіцентр землетрусу знаходився в морі, в області Тохоку, а сама подія відноситься до виключно потужних землетрусів, пов’язаних з переміщенням тектонічних плит. Явно виражена аномалія (зменшення нічної амплітуди сигналу при збільшенні її дисперсії) було виявлено 5 та 6 березня на трасі від передавача NLK (Сіетл, США) до спостерігача в Чофу, Японія (аналогічні явища – на трасах поширення до Кочі й Кацугаї). Аналогічну тривалу аномалію в СДВ-поширенні реєстрували з 1 по 6 березня з мінімальною нічною амплітудою 3 і 4 березня на трасі від передавача JJI (Міязакі, Кюсю) до Камчатки, Росія

Cl Anion-Dependent Mg-ATPase

We studied, in the rat brain, the synaptosomal and microsomal membrane fractions of Cl− ion-activated, Mg2+-dependent ATPase, satisfying the necessary kinetic peculiarities of transport ATPases, by a novel method of kinetic analysis of the multisite enzyme systems: (1) the [Mg-ATP] complex constitutes the substrate of the enzymic reaction; (2) the V = f(Cl−) dependence-reflecting curve is bell-shaped; (3) substrate dependence, V = f(S), curves at a constant concentration of free ligands (Mgf, ATPf, Cl−); (4) as known from the literature, in the process of reaction a phosphorylated intermediate is formed (Gerencser, Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol 31:303–337, 1996). We report on the Cl-ATPase molecular mechanism and its place in the “P-type ATPase” classification

Activation of RHOA–VAV1 signaling in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma

Somatic G17V RHOA mutations were found in 50–70% of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL). The mutant RHOA lacks GTP binding capacity, suggesting defects in the classical RHOA signaling. Here, we discovered the novel function of the G17V RHOA: VAV1 was identified as a G17V RHOA-specific binding partner via high-throughput screening. We found that binding of G17V RHOA to VAV1 augmented its adaptor function through phosphorylation of 174Tyr, resulting in acceleration of T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling. Enrichment of cytokine and chemokine-related pathways was also evident by the expression of G17V RHOA. We further identified VAV1 mutations and a new translocation, VAV1–STAP2, in seven of the 85 RHOA mutation-negative samples (8.2%), whereas none of the 41 RHOA mutation-positive samples exhibited VAV1 mutations. Augmentation of 174Tyr phosphorylation was also demonstrated in VAV1–STAP2. Dasatinib, a multikinase inhibitor, efficiently blocked the accelerated VAV1 phosphorylation and the associating TCR signaling by both G17V RHOA and VAV1–STAP2 expression. Phospho-VAV1 staining was demonstrated in the clinical specimens harboring G17V RHOA and VAV1 mutations at a higher frequency than those without. Our findings indicate that the G17V RHOA–VAV1 axis may provide a new therapeutic target in AITL

AUGMENT : a phase III study of lenalidomide plus rituximab versus placebo plus rituximab in relapsed or refractory indolent lymphoma

PURPOSE Patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma typically respond well to first-line immunochemotherapy. At relapse, single-agent rituximab is commonly administered. Data suggest the immunomodulatory agent lenalidomide could increase the activity of rituximab. METHODS A phase III, multicenter, randomized trial of lenalidomide plus rituximab versus placebo plus rituximab was conducted in patients with relapsed and/or refractory follicular or marginal zone lymphoma. Patients received lenalidomide or placebo for 12 cycles plus rituximab once per week for 4 weeks in cycle 1 and day 1 of cycles 2 through 5. The primary end point was progression-free survival per independent radiology review. RESULTS A total of 358 patients were randomly assigned to lenalidomide plus rituximab (n = 178) or placebo plus rituximab (n = 180). Infections (63% v 49%), neutropenia (58% v 23%), and cutaneous reactions (32% v 12%) were more common with lenalidomide plus rituximab. Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia (50% v 13%) and leukopenia (7% v 2%) were higher with lenalidomide plus rituximab; no other grade 3 or 4 adverse event differed by 5% or more between groups. Progression-free survival was significantly improved for lenalidomide plus rituximab versus placebo plus rituximab, with a hazard ratio of 0.46 (95% CI, 0.34 to 0.62; P < .001) and median duration of 39.4 months (95% CI, 22.9 months to not reached) versus 14.1 months (95% CI, 11.4 to 16.7 months), respectively. CONCLUSION Lenalidomide improved efficacy of rituximab in patients with recurrent indolent lymphoma, with an acceptable safety profile

Clinical outcome and risk factors for recurrence in borderline ovarian tumours

We investigated the long-term prognosis of borderline ovarian tumours and determined risk factors for recurrence. One hundred and twenty-one borderline ovarian tumours treated between 1994 and 2003 at the participating institutions in the Tohoku Gynecologic Cancer Unit were retrospectively investigated for clinical stage, histopathological subtype, surgical technique, postoperative chemotherapy, the presence or absence of recurrence, and prognosis. The median follow-up period was 57 months (1–126 months). One hundred and nine cases (90.6%) were at clinical stage I. The histopathological subtypes consisted of 91 cases of mucinous tumour (75.2%), 27 cases of serous tumour (22.3%), and three cases of endometrioid tumour. Conservative surgery was used in 53 cases (43.8%), radical surgery in 68 cases (56.2%), a staging laparotomy in 43 cases (35.5%), and postoperative adjuvant therapy in 30 cases (24.8%). Recurrence was found in eight cases, but no tumour-related deaths were reported. Although no significant difference in disease-free survival rate was seen between different clinical stages, the difference in disease-free survival rate between serous and nonserous (mucinous and endometrioid) types was significant (P<0.05). The 10-year disease-free survival rate was 89.1% for the radical surgery group and 57.4% for the conservative surgery group – this difference was significant (P<0.05). In the conservative surgery group, cystectomy and serous tumour were independent risk factors for recurrence. Although recurrence was observed, the long-term prognosis of borderline ovarian tumour was favourable, without tumour-related deaths. Considering the favourable prognosis, conservative surgery can be chosen as far as the patient has a nonserous tumour and receive adnexectomy. However, in cases of serous type and/or receiving cystectomy special care should be given as relative risk rates of recurrence elevate by 2–4-folds

Bile Acid-Induced Virulence Gene Expression of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Reveals a Novel Therapeutic Potential for Bile Acid Sequestrants

Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterial pathogen, causes human gastroenteritis. A type III secretion system (T3SS2) encoded in pathogenicity island (Vp-PAI) is the main contributor to enterotoxicity and expression of Vp-PAI encoded genes is regulated by two transcriptional regulators, VtrA and VtrB. However, a host-derived inducer for the Vp-PAI genes has not been identified. Here, we demonstrate that bile induces production of T3SS2-related proteins under osmotic conditions equivalent to those in the intestinal lumen. We also show that bile induces vtrA-mediated vtrB transcription. Transcriptome analysis of bile-responsive genes revealed that bile strongly induces expression of Vp-PAI genes in a vtrA-dependent manner. The inducing activity of bile was diminished by treatment with bile acid sequestrant cholestyramine. Finally, we demonstrate an in vivo protective effect of cholestyramine on enterotoxicity and show that similar protection is observed in infection with a different type of V. parahaemolyticus or with non-O1/non-O139 V. cholerae strains of vibrios carrying the same kind of T3SS. In summary, these results provide an insight into how bacteria, through the ingenious action of Vp-PAI genes, can take advantage of an otherwise hostile host environment. The results also reveal a new therapeutic potential for widely used bile acid sequestrants in enteric bacterial infections