Selective Probing of Potassium Ion in Solution by Intramolecular Excimer Fluorescence of Dibenzo-Crown Ethers

Observation of an excimer fluorescence in solution is proposed for detecting the encapsulation of potassium ion as opposed to other alkali ions by dibenzo-crown ethers. The scheme has been validated by ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) spectroscopy of dibenzo-21-crown-7 and dibenzo-24-crown-8 complexes with potassium ion, K+·DB21C7 and K+·DB24C8, performed under cold (~10 K) conditions in the gas phase and by quantum chemical calculations of the geometry and electronic structures of the complexes. Calculations suggest formation of a closely spaced excimer structure of benzene rings only for the K+·DB24C8. Interaction of the rings may lead to lifetime broadening in UV absorption, which is experimentally observed in the gas phase, indeed, only for this cold complex. Consistently, intramolecular excimer fluorescence of DB24C8 in solution is observed only for K+·DB24C8. The excimer fluorescence is not observed with other alkali metal ions. The detection of such intramolecular excimer fluorescence therefore can, potentially, serve as a simple, background-fee, selective probe of potassium ion in solution.This work was partly supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP17H0302200 (MA) and JP16H04098 (YI)

CORRELATION BETWEEN THROWING MOTION AND MAXIMUM ELBOW VARUS TORQUE IN FEMALE PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PITCHERS

The purpose of this study was to identify the correlation between throwing motion and maximum elbow varus torque (MEV) in female professional baseball pitchers. Twelve pitchers without pre-existing pain were recruited. Ball velocity and pitching motion were measured. Ball velocity and, kinematic and kinetic data from each joint during the pitch were extracted to evaluate the correlation with MEV. There was no correlation between the fastest ball velocity and MEV. Sixteen kinematic and kinetic parameters were found to have significant correlations with MEV. Particularly, as trunk rotation angle to the non-throwing direction before lead foot contact (FC) increased, the MEV decreased. Rotating the trunk in the non-throwing direction before FC and immediately in the throwing direction after FC could be a key component of the throwing motion

Gastric cancer with autoimmune gastritis

Background: Autoimmune gastritis is known to be associated with neoplastic lesions but the relationship between autoimmunity and tumorigenesis have not been sufficiently clarified. The aim of this study is to assess the clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer cases associated with autoimmune gastritis. Methods: A total of 24 patients diagnosed as early gastric cancer with autoimmune gastritis were registered. Chart reviews with the data including age, gender, state of Helicobacter pylori infection, comorbidity, and concomitant gastric diseases were conducted. As for the characteristics of gastric cancer, location, size, morphological type, histopathology, invasion depth, and the presence of metachronous or simultaneous lesion were assessed. These data from autoimmune gastritis group were compared with those from 301 patients of early gastric cancer as a control group. Results: The gastric cancer associated with autoimmune gastritis was located in the upper, middle, and lower parts in 28.1%, 53.1%, and 18.8%, respectively. The morphological types are as follows: 0-I, 9.4%; 0-IIa, 28.1%; 0-IIb, 15.6%; 0-IIc, 46.9%; and 0-III, 0.0%. The mean tumor size was 21.8 mm. While 90.6% were confined to the mucosa, 9.4% showed submucosal invasion. The histological classifications are as follows: tub1, 50.0%; tub2, 15.6%; pap, 21.9%; sig, 9.4%; and por, 3.1%. More numbers of female, protruded types, larger tumor size, papillary tumor, and that in the upper location were observed in autoimmune gastritis group compared to control group. Conclusion: Early gastric cancer associated with autoimmune gastritis demonstrated different characteristics from those without autoimmune gastritis including variety of tumor morphologies and histological types with female dominancy

Cancer genome profiling for GI cancers

In Japan, cancer genome profiling (CGP) for cancer patients without standard treatment has been covered by public insurance since June 2019. This study analyzed data of 122 patients with gastrointestinal tumors who underwent CGP to clarify cancer genome medicine’s current status and possible problems at the Tokushima University Hospital. The major types of cancer included pancreatic (n = 30), colorectal (n = 25), biliary tract (n = 15), gastric (n = 11), and hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 8). CGP tests included F1CDx in 70 patients (57%), F1LCDx in 36 (30%), TSO500 in 14 (11%), and NCC Oncopanel in 2 (2%). Actionable gene alterations were identified in 72 patients (59%), but only 5 patients (4%) were treated for pancreatic (n = 1), colorectal (n = 3), and small bowel cancers (n = 1). The main reasons for not receiving genotype-matched therapy included the lack of appropriate drugs or clinical trials that matched the actionable gene alterations (n = 40) and the inability to participate in clinical trials (n = 10). There is still not a sufficient number of patients receiving genotype-matched treatment for gastrointestinal cancers. To promote cancer genome medicine in regional areas, attempts to improve access to genotype-matched therapies are required, as well as to promote the development of new molecular-targeted drugs and clinical trials for these drugs

Comparison of the role of alcohol consumption and qualitative abdominal fat on NAFLD and MAFLD in males and females

The clinical difference between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) between the two sexes is unclear. This study aimed to determine the influences of alcohol consumption and qualitative abdominal fat between male and female patients with NAFLD and MAFLD. This cross-sectional study examined 11,766 participants who underwent health check-ups comparing lifestyle habits, biochemical features, and noninvasive liver fibrosis scores, between non-MAFLD and MAFLD groups. Furthermore, differences in alcohol consumption and qualitative abdominal fat were examined between male and female patients with NAFLD and MAFLD. The prevalence of metabolic dysregulation, ratio of visceral fat area to subcutaneous fat area, and noninvasive liver fibrosis scores were significantly higher in male patients with MAFLD than in those with NAFLD (p  70 g/week, several noninvasive liver fibrosis scores were significantly higher in the MAFLD group than in the NAFLD group (all p < 0.05). The influences of alcohol consumption and qualitative abdominal fat on NAFLD and MAFLD were different between sexes. The development of liver fibrosis should be considered in male patients with MAFLD who exceed mild drinking

肝細胞癌においてmiR125b-5pはAtaxin1による上皮間葉転換を介してソラフェニブ耐性を示す

The mechanism of resistance to sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. We analyzed miRNA expression profiles in sorafenib-resistant HCC cell lines (PLC/PRF5-R1/R2) and parental cell lines (PLC/PRF5) to identify the miRNAs responsible for resistance. Drug sensitivity, migration/invasion capabilities, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) properties were analyzed by biochemical methods. The clinical relevance of the target genes to survival in HCC patients were assessed using a public database. Four miRNAs were significantly upregulated in PLC/PRF5-R1/-R2 compared with PLC/PRF5. Among them, miR-125b-5p mimic-transfected PLC/PRF5 cells (PLC/PRF5-miR125b) and showed a significantly higher IC50 for sorafenib compared with controls, while the other miRNA mimics did not. PLC/PRF5-miR125b showed lower E-cadherin and higher Snail and vimentin expression—findings similar to those for PLC/PRF5-R2—which suggests the induction of EMT in those cells. PLC/PRF5-miR125b exhibited significantly higher migration and invasion capabilities and induced sorafenib resistance in an in vivo mouse model. Bioinformatic analysis revealed ataxin-1 as a target gene of miR-125b-5p. PLC/PRF5 cells transfected with ataxin-1 siRNA showed a significantly higher IC50, higher migration/invasion capability, higher cancer stem cell population, and an EMT phenotype. Median overall survival in the low-ataxin-1 patient group was significantly shorter than in the high-ataxin-1 group. In conclusion, miR-125b-5p suppressed ataxin-1 and consequently induced Snail-mediated EMT and stemness, leading to a poor prognosis in HCC patients.The mechanism of resistance to multikinase inhibitors in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. We analyzed miRNA expression profiles in sorafenib-resistant HCC cell lines (PLC/PRF5-R1/R2) and parental cell lines (PLC/PRF5) to identify the responsible miRNAs and target genes involved in the mechanism of resistance. Four miRNAs were significantly upregulated. Among them, we found that miR-125-5p induced sorafenib resistance in HCC cells and in a mouse model. We also revealed that miR-125-5p suppressed ataxin-1 as a target gene and consequently induced Snail-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stemness. Moreover, we demonstrated that ataxin-1 expression has an impact on the prognosis of patients with HCCs. In the future, by comparing the expression status of miR-125b-5p/ataxin-1 and the effect of sorafenib in the clinical setting, it is expected that miR-125b-5p will be established as an effective drug selection marker for treatment selection in patients with HCC

Nonlinear Tracking Control of Rigid Spacecraft under Disturbance using PID-type H-infinity Adaptive State Feedback

Future space programs will require an agile relative position and attitude control technology for spacecraft. Rendezvous and docking, capture of inoperative spacecraft and formation flight in orbit are the typical scenarios. One of the key technologies is designing the tracking controllers that can control the six degrees-of-freedom (d.o.f.) of spacecraft under the influence of physical parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. To achieve agility, the controller design must be formulated as nonlinear control problems where translational and rotational motions are dynamically coupled with each other. This paper proposes a tracking controller, proportional-integral-derivative (PID)-type H-infinity adaptive state feedback controller, that can attenuate disturbances. The proposed controller has positive definite gain matrices whose conditions to be satisfied are given by linear matrix inequalities. The properties of the proposed controller were evaluated through numerical studies and compared with those of existing controllers.ArticleTRANSACTIONS OF THE JAPAN SOCIETY FOR AERONAUTICAL AND SPACE SCIENCES. 58(5):289-297 (2015)journal articl

Nonlinear Tracking Control of Rigid Spacecraft under Disturbance using PID-type <i>H</i>_&infin; Adaptive State Feedback

Future space programs will require an agile relative position and attitude control technology for spacecraft. Rendezvous and docking, capture of inoperative spacecraft and formation flight in orbit are the typical scenarios. One of the key technologies is designing the tracking controllers that can control the six degrees-of-freedom (d.o.f.) of spacecraft under the influence of physical parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. To achieve agility, the controller design must be formulated as nonlinear control problems where translational and rotational motions are dynamically coupled with each other. This paper proposes a tracking controller, proportional-integral-derivative (PID)-type H-infinity adaptive state feedback controller, that can attenuate disturbances. The proposed controller has positive definite gain matrices whose conditions to be satisfied are given by linear matrix inequalities. The properties of the proposed controller were evaluated through numerical studies and compared with those of existing controllers.ArticleTRANSACTIONS OF THE JAPAN SOCIETY FOR AERONAUTICAL AND SPACE SCIENCES. 58(5):289-297 (2015)journal articl