Productions agricoles et mesures contre les famines aux époques de Muromachi et d’Edo

L’article propose une analyse des politiques mises en œuvre au Japon pour lutter contre les famines entre le milieu du XIVe siècle et la fin du XIXe siècle. Il apparaît que le pays a, à ces époques, pratiqué une production agricole uniformisée sur l’ensemble de son territoire, avec les divers problèmes liés à l’inadaptation des cultures aux différentes conditions climatiques de l’archipel. À partir d’ouvrages édités à l’attention des masses populaires, de listes de productions et de traités agricoles des périodes Muromachi et Edo, nous montrons que la réalité de la lutte contre les famines ne résidait pas tant dans les mesures prises sur le plan agricole que dans le domaine de la conservation des aliments.This article proposes an analysis of the policies that were put into place in Japan to combat famines between the middle of the 14th Century and the end of the 19th Century. During these times, Japan practiced agricultural production practices suited to its territory, with various problems arising due to the misapplication of these practices in other regions of the archipelago with different climatic conditions. From works published for a popular readership, which include lists of products and agricultural treaties of the periods Muromachi and Edo, we can see that the reality of the struggle against the famines did not reside so much in the measures taken than in the conservation of food

Pacemaker implantation via femoral vein and successful arrhythmia management in an elderly patient with Fontan circulation: a case report

Background The frequency of arrhythmias increases after the Fontan operation over time; atrial tachycardia (AT) and sinus node dysfunction (SND) are frequently observed. Case summary Our patient was 63-year-old woman who underwent a lateral tunnel Fontan operation for double outlet right ventricle at age 36. She experienced paroxysmal AT for 1 year, and antiarrhythmic medication was not feasible due to symptomatic SND. Computed tomography revealed a 45 mm-sized thrombus in the high right atrium (RA). The patient had three coexisting conditions: paroxysmal AT, symptomatic SND, and the right atrial thrombus, for which total cavopulmonary connection conversion and epicardial pacemaker implantation (PMI) would have been effective; however, given her age and comorbidities, surgical treatment was considered high risk. Catheter ablation was avoided because of the right atrial thrombus. Finally, a transvenous pacemaker was implanted via the right femoral vein to avoid the right atrial thrombus and severe venous tortuosity from the left subclavian vein to the RA. After PMI, the patient was prescribed amiodarone and bisoprolol for AT suppression. Atrial tachycardia occurred once in the third month after discharge. We increased the dose of amiodarone, and she has been tachycardia-free. Discussion Transvenous PMI must be considered in cases where open thoracic surgery or catheter ablation cannot be performed. This is the first report of transvenous PMI via the right femoral vein and successful AT and SND management in an elderly Fontan patient

Ablation for idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia in a patient with double outlet right ventricle who underwent Fontan operation: a case report

Background The incidence of ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients following Fontan operation is reported as 3.5%. Furthermore, in patients with repaired double outlet right ventricle (DORV), scar-related VT and outflow tract VT have been reported; however, Purkinje-related VT has not previously been reported. In this report, we present the case of idiopathic left VT (ILVT) in a patient with DORV who underwent Fontan operation. Case summary A 31-year-old man was diagnosed as having DORV with complete atrioventricular defect at birth. When he was 17 years old, he underwent surgical repair, including extracardiac Fontan operation and common atrioventricular valve replacement. Five years later, VT was detected. Since some medications were ineffective in suppressing VT, he was referred to our hospital for definitive treatment. Ventricular tachycardia was induced by atrial and ventricular programmed electrical stimulations. The mechanism of the VT was determined to be re-entry. The earliest activation site was located at the mid-inferior septum of the hypoplastic left ventricle, in which Purkinje potentials were observed before the local ventricular electrogram. Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) was performed at this site to eliminate VT. Discussion Most VTs originate from surgical scars in patients with congenital heart disease. Catheter ablation was feasible in scar-related VT. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of ILVT treated successfully with RFCA in a DORV patient who had undergone Fontan operation

A successful bridge to recovery with Impella 5.0 and subsequent hybrid cardiac resynchronization therapy in systemic right ventricle failure: a case report

Background　Impella 5.0 is currently used as a temporary mechanical circulatory support device in cardiogenic shock (CS). However, Impella 5.0 implantation for the systemic right ventricle (sRV) has not been well documented. Case summary　A 50-year-old man with atrial switch for dextro-transposition of the great arteries was transferred to our hospital for the treatment of embolic acute myocardial infarction of the left main trunk lesion with CS. To stabilize haemodynamics, we implanted Impella 5.0 via the left subclavian artery in the sRV. After optimal medical therapy initiation and gradual weaning of Impella 5.0, Impella 5.0 was successfully explanted. An electrocardiogram was obtained, which showed complete right branch block with a QRS duration of 172 ms. Acute invasive haemodynamic evaluation of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) pacing showed that dP/dt increased from 497 to 605 mmHg/s (21.7% improvement), and hybrid cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRTD) with a sRV epicardial lead was subsequently implanted. The patient was discharged without inotropic support. Discussion　Coronary artery embolism is a rare but serious complication of dextro-transposition of the great arteries after atrial switch operations. Impella 5.0 implantation is a feasible bridge strategy for refractory CS due to sRV failure. Although CRT implantation in patients with sRV is controversial, an acute invasive haemodynamic evaluation can help assess its potential benefits

Anti-invasive activity of α-tocopherol against hepatoma cells in culture via protein kinase C inhibition

Effects of α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocopherols on the proliferation and invasion of AH109A hepatoma cells and their modes of action were investigated. Four tocopherols inhibited the invasion as well as the proliferation of AH109A cells. Their inhibitory effects were more prominent on the invasion than on the proliferation. At 1 µM, α-tocopherol showed most potent anti-invasive activity without any influence on the proliferation. We have previously demonstrated that reactive oxygen species increase the invasion of AH109A cells. α-Tocopherol suppressed the reactive oxygen species-induced invasion but failed to suppress the reactive oxygen species-induced rises in intracellular peroxide level. GF 109203X, a protein kinase C inhibitor, decreased the invasive activity of AH109A cells. In contrast, phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate, a protein kinase C activator, increased the invasive capacity of AH109A cells. α-Tocopherol suppressed the phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced increase in the invasion, and canceled the phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced rises in protein kinase C activity and phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase. These results suggest that tocopherols, especially α-tocopherol, possess inhibitory effect more strongly on the invasion of AH109A cells than on the proliferation. They also suggest that the anti-invasive activity of α-tocopherol is raised through suppression of PKC/ERK signaling

NFYA promotes the anti-tumor effects of gluconeogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma through the regulation of PCK1 expression

Reprogramming of glucose metabolism occurs in many human tumor types, and one of these, gluconeogenesis, is known to exhibit anti-tumor effects in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The transcription factor NFYA regulates gluconeogenesis in the normal liver tissue, but the function of the NFYA-gluconeogenesis axis in cancer and the functional differences of NFYA splicing variants in the regulation of gluconeogenesis is still unclear. Here, we demonstrate that NFYAv2, the short-form variant, upregulates the transcription of a gluconeogenic enzyme PCK1. We further reveal that its regulation induces high ROS levels and energy crisis in HCC and promotes cell death. These indicate that the NFYAv2-gluconeogenesis axis has enhanced anti-tumor effects in HCC, suggesting that the axis may be a potential therapeutic target for HCC. Furthermore, Nfyav1-deficient mice, spontaneously overexpressing Nfyav2, had no increasing gluconeogenesis in the liver. Taken together, our results reveal NFYAv2-gluconeogenesis axis has anti-tumor effects and the potential for NFYAv2 to be a safer therapeutic target for HCC