Intraperitoneal administration of nanoparticles containing tocopheryl succinate prevents peritoneal dissemination

Intraperitoneal administration of anticancer nanoparticles is a rational strategy for preventing peritoneal dissemination of colon cancer due to the prolonged retention of nanoparticles in the abdominal cavity. However, instability of nanoparticles in body fluids causes inefficient retention, reducing its anticancer effects. We have previously developed anticancer nanoparticles containing tocopheryl succinate, which showed high in vivo stability and multifunctional anticancer effects. In the present study, we have demonstrated that peritoneal dissemination derived from colon cancer was prevented by intraperitoneal administration of tocopheryl succinate nanoparticles. The biodistribution of tocopheryl succinate nanoparticles was evaluated using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy and imaging analysis in mice administered quantum dot encapsulated tocopheryl succinate nanoparticles. Intraperitoneal administration of tocopheryl succinate nanoparticles showed longer retention in the abdominal cavity than by its intravenous (i.v.) administration. Moreover, due to effective biodistribution, tumor growth was prevented by intraperitoneal administration of tocopheryl succinate nanoparticles. Furthermore, the anticancer effect was attributed to the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation and improvement of the intraperitoneal microenvironment, such as decrease in the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor A, interleukin 10, and M2-like phenotype of tumor-associated macrophages. Collectively, intraperitoneal administration of tocopheryl succinate nanoparticles is expected to have multifaceted antitumor effects against colon cancer with peritoneal dissemination

石炭の地下ガス化（UCG）システム開発に関する基礎実験

For Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), it is necessary to evaluate the combustion area in the coal seam precisely. We are planning to use acoustic emission/microseismicity (AE/MS) monitoring for estimation of the underground combustion area. Analyzing the AE/MS waveforms from underground rocks, fracture extension around the combustion reactor can be grasped. For this objective, laboratory experiments are conducted for the UCG model. During burning coal block molded cylindrically by mortar, temperatures inside coal and AE activity were monitored. From the experimental results, it was found that many AE events were generated during combustion of coal, and the AE activity was close related to the change of temperature inside coal block. These AE generations seems to be caused by the crack initiation and extension around coal combustion area in the influence of thermal stress. Therefore, AE/MS monitoring is expected to be a useful tool to evaluate the UCG combustion reactor.特集 : 「資源、新エネルギー、環境、防災研究国際セミナー

Confinement and chiral condensates in 2-d QED with massive N-flavor fermions

We evaluate Polyakov loops and string tension in two-dimensional QED with both massless and massive $N$-flavor fermions at zero and finite temperature. External charges, or external electric fields, induce phases in fermion masses and shift the value of the vacuum angle parameter $\theta$, which in turn alters the chiral condensate. In particular, in the presence of two sources of opposite charges, $q$ and $-q$, the shift in $\theta$ is $2\pi(q/e)$ independent of $N$. The string tension has a cusp singularity at $\theta=\pm\pi$ for $N\ge 2$ and is proportional to $m^{2N/(N+1)}$ at $T=0$.Comment: 14 pages. LaTex + 2 postscript figures, uses epsf.st

A high harmonic gyrotron with an axis-encircling electron beam and a permanent magnet

A gyrotron with an axis-encircling electron beam is capable of high-frequency operation, because the high-beam efficiency is kept even at high harmonics of the electron cyclotron frequency. We have designed and constructed such a gyrotron with a permanent magnet. The gyrotron has already operated successfully at the third, fourth, and fifth harmonics. The frequencies are 89.3, 112.7, and 138 GHz, respectively, and the corresponding cavity modes are TE/sub 311/, TE/sub 411/, and TE/sub 511/. The permanent magnet system is quite novel and consists of many magnet elements made of NbFeB and additional coils for controlling the field intensities in the cavity and electron gun regions. The magnetic field in the cavity region can be varied from 0.97 to 1.18 T. At the magnetic field intensities, the output powers at the third and the fourth harmonics are 1.7 and 0.5 kW, respectively. The gyrotron is pulsed, the pulse length is 1 ms and the repetition frequency is 1 Hz. The beam energy is 40 kV and the beam current is 1.2-1.3 A. Beam efficiencies and emission patterns have also been measured. In this paper, the experimental results of the gyrotron are described and compared with computer simulations

TWO PITUITARY ADENOMAS IN MEN 1

The clinical and genetic features of a 43-year-old male patient with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 were reported. He developed hyperparathyroidism, a GHRH-producing pancreatic tumor, and acromegaly between 1980 and 1983. Because his pituitary gland increased in size even after resecting the GHRH-producing pancreatic tumor, transsphenoidal hypophysectomy was performed six years later. The pituitary contained two histologically-different adenomas composed of somatotroph cells and null cells. Genetic analyses revealed loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 11 in common in the pituitary adenomas, the pancreatic endocrine tumors, and a parathyroid hyperplasia. On the other hand, mutations of ras, p53, Gsα, and Gi2α genes were not found in these tumors. The loss of the tumor suppressor gene on chromosome 11q12-13 was involved in the formation of two pituitary adenomas, two pancreatic endocrine functioning tumors, and a parathyroid hyperplasia in this patient, but the tumorigenic factors in the specific endocrine organs remain to be studied

Measuring empathy for human and robot hand pain using electroencephalography

This study provides the first physiological evidence of humans € ability to empathize with robot pain and highlights the difference in empathy for humans and robots. We performed electroencephalography in 15 healthy adults who observed either human- or robot-hand pictures in painful or non-painful situations such as a finger cut by a knife. We found that the descending phase of the P3 component was larger for the painful stimuli than the non-painful stimuli, regardless of whether the hand belonged to a human or robot. In contrast, the ascending phase of the P3 component at the frontal-central electrodes was increased by painful human stimuli but not painful robot stimuli, though the interaction of ANOVA was not significant, but marginal. These results suggest that we empathize with humanoid robots in late top-down processing similarly to human others. However, the beginning of the top-down process of empathy is weaker for robots than for humans

アフリカ風土病型カポシ肉腫 ―9例における病理組織学的検討ならびにフローサイトメトリー法による核DNA量解析―

カポシ肉腫(Kaposi\u27s sarcoma，K S)は一般には，欧米古典型，アフリカ風土病型，AIDS関連型，その他の免疫不全型の4型に大別され，さらにアフリカ風土病型KSは，発生部位により皮膚型とリンパ節型に分けられている。それぞれの型において若干の病態的な差異が認められているが，その組織発生を含め本態は未だ不明のことが多い。最近ではフローサイトメトリー(FCM)法による核DNA量解析が腫瘍，あるいは腫瘍様病変の悪性度評価に，広く用いられている。今回9例のアフリカ風土病型KSにおいて，病理組織学的検討，ならびにホルマリン固定，パラフィン包埋プロックを用いたFCM法による，核DNA量解析を行った。組織学的には次の3型に分けられた。すなわち肉芽組織類似型(1例)，血管腫あるいは血管肉腫類似型(4例)と紡錘形細胞型(4例)である。これら3型においては，細胞密度や細胞異型に程度の差はあるものの，紡錘形細胞の増殖という点からは，基本的な差は見られなかった。核分裂像も目立たなかった。FCM法による核DNA量では，全例がdiploidを示しており， aneuploid例は見られなかった。これらの結果より，アフリカ風土病型KSは悪性腫瘍というより，むしろless aggressiveな病変であると思われた。Flow cytometric DNA analysis using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues were performed on nine cases of African endemic-type Kaposi\u27s sarcoma (KS). Histologically, these cases were classified into the following three types; granulation tissue like (one case), angioma/angiosarcoma-like (four cases) and spindle cell (four cases). Although these three types showed a variety of cellularity and cellular atypism, there were no fundamental differences in the view point of proliferation of spindle cell. Mitotic figures were not prominent. All cases were exclusively diploid and lacked an aneuploid population by flow cytometric measurement of DNA content. These results suggest that African endemic-type KS is a less aggressive disease rather than a malignant neoplasm