Swelling of acetylated wood in organic liquids

To investigate the affinity of acetylated wood for organic liquids, Yezo spruce wood specimens were acetylated with acetic anhydride, and their swelling in various liquids were compared to those of untreated specimens. The acetylated wood was rapidly and remarkably swollen in aprotic organic liquids such as benzene and toluene in which the untreated wood was swollen only slightly and/or very slowly. On the other hand, the swelling of wood in water, ethylene glycol and alcohols remained unchanged or decreased by the acetylation. Consequently the maximum volume of wood swollen in organic liquids was always larger than that in water. The effect of acetylation on the maximum swollen volume of wood was greater in liquids having smaller solubility parameters. The easier penetration of aprotic organic liquids into the acetylated wood was considered to be due to the scission of hydrogen bonds among the amorphous wood constituents by the substitution of hydroxyl groups with hydrophobic acetyl groups.Comment: to be published in J Wood Science (Japanese wood research society

High Efficacy of Preoperative Low-Dose Radiotherapy with Sanazole (AK-2123) for Extraskeletal Ewing's Sarcoma: A Case Report

Extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma is a rare soft tissue tumor that is morphologically indistinguishable from Ewing's sarcoma of bone. We report a case of extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma with several systemic problems. A 69-year-old man presented with a 5-month history of a rapidly enlarging mass in the right thigh. Because preoperative radiotherapy with sanazole (AK-2123) contributed the tumor mass reduction down to 40% in size, the tumor was successfully resected with clear surgical margins and repaired with a musculocutaneous flap. The high efficacy of pre-operative low-dose radiotherapy with sanazole was histologically confirmed that the resected tumor specimen involved no viable tumor cells and showed 100% necrosis. Based on clinical outcomes in this case, the combined modality of pre-operative low-dose radiotherapy with hypoxic cell radiosensitizer and adequate surgical resection might provide for the useful clinical application of extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma treatment

Development and Validation of Cutoff Value for Reduced Muscle Mass for GLIM Criteria in Patients with Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary–Pancreatic Cancers

The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria recommends using race- and sex-adjusted cutoff values for reduced muscle mass (RMM), but the only cutoff values available for Asians are the skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) established by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS). This retrospective study aimed to develop and validate cutoff values for the fat-free mass index (FFMI) and arm circumference (AC) of Asians, and to investigate the association between GLIM malnutrition and prognosis. A total of 660 patients with primary gastrointestinal (GI) and hepatobiliary–pancreatic (HBP) cancers who underwent their first resection surgery were recruited and randomly divided into development and validation groups. The FFMI and AC cutoff values were calculated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for the AWGS SMI as the gold standard. The cutoff values for each RMM were used to diagnose malnutrition on the basis of GLIM criteria, and the survival rates were compared. The optimal FFMI cutoff values for RMM were 17 kg/m2 for men and 15 kg/m2 for women, and for AC were 27 cm for men and 25 cm for women. In the validation group, the accuracy of the FFMI and AC cutoff values to discriminate RMM were 85.2% and 68.8%, respectively. Using any of the three measures of RMM, overall survival rates were significantly lower in the GLIM malnutrition group. In conclusion, the cutoff values for the FFMI and AC in this study could discriminate RMM, and GLIM malnutrition using these cutoff values was associated with decreased survival

Malnutrition by European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism criteria predicts prognosis in patients with gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary–pancreatic cancer

Background & Aims: The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) proposed the ESPEN diagnostic criteria (EDC) for malnutrition in 2015. There is no report on the association between the EDC and prognosis in patients with gastrointestinal (GI) and hepatobiliary–pancreatic (HBP) cancer. This study aimed to (1) determine the prevalence of EDC malnutrition, (2) investigate the validity of the EDC as a nutritional and prognostic indicator, and (3) examine which components of the EDC are most related to long-term prognosis in patients with GI and HBP cancers. Methods: A total of 634 patients with primary GI and HBP cancers who underwent their first resection surgery between July 2014 and March 2018 were retrospectively recruited. According to the EDC, patients were divided into malnourished and non-malnourished groups. Clinical parameters and survival between these two groups were compared. The prognostic effects of the EDC and the EDC components were analyzed using Cox proportional hazard models. Results: The prevalence of EDC malnutrition was 22%. Anthropometric data and biochemical data were associated with EDC malnutrition. The 5-year survival rate was lower in the malnourished group (72%) than in the non-malnourished group (73%; P = 0.007). The multivariate analysis demonstrated that the malnourished group was an independent risk factor for mortality (hazard ratio = 1.70 in the malnourished group; 95% confidence interval 1.08–2.63; P = 0.024). Among EDC components, body mass index (BMI) of <18.5 kg/m2 was an independent poor prognostic factor. Conclusions: EDC malnutrition is associated with poor postoperative long-term prognosis. Among the EDC components, BMI of <18.5 kg/m2 is most associated with prognosis in patients with preoperative GI and HBP cancers

Responsive glyco-poly(2-oxazoline)s: synthesis, cloud point tuning, and lectin binding

A new sugar-substituted 2-oxazoline monomer was prepared using the copper-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. Its copolymerization with 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline as well as 2-(dec-9-enyl)-2-oxazoline, yielding well-defined copolymers with the possibility to tune the properties by thiol-ene "click" reactions, is described. Extensive solubility studies on the corresponding glycocopolymers demonstrated that the lower critical solution temperature behavior and pH-responsiveness of these copolymers can be adjusted in water and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) depending on the choice of the thiol. By conjugation of 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-1-thio-beta-D-glucopyranose and subsequent deprotection of the sugar moieties, the hydrophilicity of the copolymer could be increased significantly, allowing a cloud-point tuning in the physiological range. Furthermore, the binding capability of the glycosylated copoly(2-oxazoline) to concanavalin A was investigated

Effects of elcatonin on matrix calcification of Meckel\u27s cartilage in vitro

ウナギ由来のエルカトニン(ELC)は優れた薬理学的効能から実験的ないし臨床試験的改善薬として骨粗鬆症患者に投与され良好な成績が得られている。本実験では,胎生17日マウスメッケル軟骨に対するELCの効果を細胞培養と器官培養を用いて解析した。細胞培養と器官培養のためのメッケル軟骨は以下の4種類の培養液で最長4週間まで培養した。培養液として,培養液1;イーグル培地(α-MEM),培養液2;α-MEM+β-グリセロリン酸(β-Gly),培養液3;α-MEM+ELCと培養液4;α-MEM+β-Gly+ELCを用いた。試料はアルカリフォスファターゼ(ALPase)とbromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)の取り込みを含む組織学,組織化学的方法によって解析した。ELCを含む培養液は,より効果的に石灰化を誘導することがホン・コッサ染色によって示された。BrdUの取り込みによる細胞増殖率は,培養液1と3との間では有意差が認められなかった。ALPase活性は,基質の石灰化に先駆けて促進されることが細胞培養と器官培養での組織化学と蛍光免疫染色によって確認された。ELCはβ-Glyとほぼ同等量のALPaseを発現し,さらにELCとβ-Glyを含む培養液4では相乗的にALPase活性と石灰化を誘導した。本研究の結果から,ELCはメッケル軟骨細胞のALPase活性を促進し,その後の石灰化の誘導因子として作用する可能性が示唆された。The effects of elcatonin (ELC) on Meckel\u27s cartilage obtained from 17-day embryonic mice were investigated using cell and organ cultures. Specimens for cell and organ cultures were cultured for 4 weeks in different media as follows: Control medium, alpha-modified Eagle\u27s medium (α-MEM); β-Gly medium, α-MEM plus β-glycerophosphate (β-Gly); ELC medium,α-MEM plus ELC; and β-Gly & ELC medium,α-MEM plus β-Gly plus ELC. Specimens were analyzed by histological and histochemical methods, including immunohistochemistry for alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation. Von Kossa staining revealed that the ELC medium inducedeffective calcification similar to β-Gly medium, while BrdU incorporation showed that there was no significant difference in the rates of cell proliferation between Control medium and ELC medium. Histochemical and immunofluorescence staining indicated that ALPase was activated prior to matrix calcification in cell and organ cultures. β-Gly & ELC medium induced synergistically the highest level of matrix calcification and ALPase activity. The present results suggest the possibility that ELC accelerates activity of ALPase in Meckel\u27s chondrocytes and subsequently induces matrix calcification

Identification and Characterization of NF-Y Transcription Factor Families in the Monocot Model Plant Brachypodium distachyon

BACKGROUND: Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) is a heterotrimeric transcription factor composed of NF-YA, NF-YB and NF-YC proteins. Using the dicot plant model system Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), NF-Y were previously shown to control a variety of agronomically important traits, including drought tolerance, flowering time, and seed development. The aim of the current research was to identify and characterize NF-Y families in the emerging monocot model plant Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium) with the long term goal of assisting in the translation of known dicot NF-Y functions to the grasses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We identified, annotated, and further characterized 7 NF-YA, 17 NF-YB, and 12 NF-YC proteins in Brachypodium (BdNF-Y). By examining phylogenetic relationships, orthology predictions, and tissue-specific expression patterns for all 36 BdNF-Y, we proposed numerous examples of likely functional conservation between dicots and monocots. To test one of these orthology predictions, we demonstrated that a BdNF-YB with predicted orthology to Arabidopsis floral-promoting NF-Y proteins can rescue a late flowering Arabidopsis mutant. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The Brachypodium genome encodes a similar complement of NF-Y to other sequenced angiosperms. Information regarding NF-Y phylogenetic relationships, predicted orthologies, and expression patterns can facilitate their study in the grasses. The current data serves as an entry point for translating many NF-Y functions from dicots to the genetically tractable monocot model system Brachypodium. In turn, studies of NF-Y function in Brachypodium promise to be more readily translatable to the agriculturally important grasses