Space for Change

Walnut Avenue is a public benefit organization that provides a variety of services to address the disparities seen in programs that address domestic violence in a way that encourages long term change within victims and survivors and the person who causes harm. Space for Change is a new program based on transformative justice and offers an alternative option for participating in a process with the goal of interrupting cycles of violence and preventing future harm. When searching for programs that address domestic violence in a way that does not include separating from the person who is causing harm, there are limited options. Without adequate options of evidence, informed programs for the person who has caused harm, victims and survivors may not seek services and stay trapped within the cycle of domestic violence. Space for Change addresses this disparity seen within domestic violence programs and aims to reduce the consequences connected to the rates of domestic violence which include homelessness, mental health consequences, and death

Acute Effects of Whole-Body Proton Irradiation on the Immune System of the C57BL/6 Mouse

The acute effects of proton whole-body irradiation (WBI) on leukocytes, lymphocytes, and hematological parameters in the spleen and blood of C57BI/6 mice were examined and compared to the effects of photon (gamma) WBI derived from a 60cobalt (60Co) source. Adult, female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to a single dose (3 Gy, 0.4 Gy/min dose rate) of either proton WBI at the Bragg peak, proton WBI at the entry plateau, or Co WBI, and sacrifice intervals were at 1,4, 7, and 10 days post- WBI. Flow cytometry analysis of the spleen and peripheral blood showed depression in cell counts for all time points when compared to the non-irradiated control group. B (CD19+) and T-cytotoxic/suppressor (CD3+CD8+) lymphocytes were the most radiosensitive, while natural killer (NK1.1+) cells were the most radioresistant. Splenic T cells showed reduced responsiveness to mitogen stimulation for the first four days post- WBI, while splenic B cell responsiveness was reduced at all time periods. Analysis of hematological parameters showed depression of red blood cells, hemoglobin concentration, and hematocrit levels after 4 days post-WBI; platelet counts were low at days 4 and 10. Comparison of the proton and 60Co-irradiated groups showed few statistically significant differences among the radiation groups at any time point. These data indicate, for the very first time, that cells of the immune system are affected similarly by 3 Gy proton (Bragg peak and entry plateau) and gamma WBI. These findings could have a significant impact on future studies designed to maximize normal tissue protection during and after proton radiation exposure. Key words: Leukocytes, lymphocyte subsets, radiation, protons, whole-bod

Synthesis and stability of 1,1-dialkyl-1H-azulenium cations

ArticleTETRAHEDRON. 62(34): 8177-8183 (2006)journal articl

Extracellular vesicles shed from gastric cancer mediate protumor macrophage differentiation

Background Peritoneal dissemination often develops in gastric cancer. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are present in the peritoneal cavity of gastric cancer patients with peritoneal dissemination, facilitating tumor progression. However, the mechanism by which macrophages differentiate into tumor-associated macrophages in the peritoneal cavity is not well understood. In this study, the interplay between gastric cancer-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) and macrophages was investigated. Methods The association between macrophages and EVs in peritoneal ascitic fluid of gastric cancer patients, or from gastric cancer cell lines was examined, and their roles in differentiation of macrophages and potentiation of the malignancy of gastric cancer were further explored. Results Immunofluorescent assays of the ascitic fluid showed that M2 macrophages were predominant along with the cancer cells in the peritoneal cavity. EVs purified from gastric cancer cells, as well as malignant ascitic fluid, differentiated peripheral blood mononuclear cell-derived macrophages into the M2-like phenotype, which was demonstrated by their morphology and expression of CD163/206. The macrophages differentiated by gastric cancer-derived EVs promoted the migration ability of gastric cancer cells, and the EVs carried STAT3 protein. Conclusion EVs derived from gastric cancer play a role by affecting macrophage phenotypes, suggesting that this may be a part of the underlying mechanism that forms the intraperitoneal cancer microenvironment

Targeting neutrophil extracellular traps with thrombomodulin prevents pancreatic cancer metastasis

Surgery is the only curative treatment option for pancreatic cancer, but patients often develop postoperative recurrence. Surgical invasiveness might be involved in the mechanism of recurrence. The associations among inflammation caused by surgery, neutrophils, and cancer metastasis were investigated. At first, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) were examined in clinical specimens, and NETs were observed around metastatic tumors. To explore how NETs were induced, neutrophils were cultured with pancreatic cancer or in cancer-conditioned medium. Neutrophils formed NETs when they were cultured with pancreatic cancer or even its conditioned medium. The effects of NETs on cancer cells were further investigated in vitro and in vivo. NETs induced the epithelial to mesenchymal transition in cancer cells and thereby promoted their migration and invasion. HMGB1 derived from NETs appeared to potentiate the malignancy of cancer cells. In a mouse model of liver metastasis with inflammation, NETs participated in the metastatic process by enhancing extravasation. Interestingly, thrombomodulin degraded HMGB1 and consequently inhibited the induction of NETs, thereby preventing pancreatic cancer metastasis to the liver. In conclusion, NETs interact reciprocally with pancreatic cancer cells, which play a pivotal role in inflammation-associated metastasis. Targeting NETs with thrombomodulin can be a novel strategy to improve the surgical outcome of pancreatic cancer patients

Kinetics of phase separation and coarsening in dilute surfactant pentaethylene glycol monododecyl ether solutions

We investigated the phase separation phenomena in dilute surfactant pentaethylene glycol monodedecyl ether (C12E5) solutions focusing on the growth law of separated domains. The solutions confined between two glass plates were found to exhibit the phase inversion, characteristic of the viscoelastic phase separation; the majority phase (water-rich phase) nucleated as droplets and the minority phase (micelle-rich phase) formed a network temporarily, then they collapsed into an usual sea-island pattern where minority phase formed islands. We found from the real-space microscopic imaging that the dynamic scaling hypothesis did not hold throughout the coarsening process. The power law growth of the domains with the exponent close to 1/3 was observed even though the coarsening was induced mainly by hydrodynamic flow, which was explained by Darcy's law of laminar flow

名古屋市の徒歩帰宅体験訓練及びその事後調査

On the assumption of the Tokai Earthquake, the Nagoya City Fire Bureau held "experience training of walking home", in which participants walk from a point in Nagoya where traffic is closed to an adjacent municipality where the railway operates as usual. The purpose of the this study was to examine the necessary supports for walking home in times of emergency, using an anonymous questionnaire administered after the training. The subjects were 100 persons including 22 junior high school students, 54 senior high school students, 19 university students and 5 adults (21 men and 79 women). Although more than half of subjects were able to walk the 6km distance without fatigue, the junior high school students tended to feel more fatigue than the other groups. The subjects indicated the neccessity for food, drinks, maps and rest room breaks during the training ; a similar tendency was also found in requests to the Nagoya City government. In addition, they desired information service, route guidance, and streetlamps to move safely. These results suggest that gas stations and convenience stores should undertake roles as shelter and cooperation bases for people walking home in an emergency

Prognostic Impact of Genetic Polymorphism in Mineralocorticoid Receptor and Comorbidity With Hypertension in Androgen-Deprivation Therapy

Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) signaling which is closely associated with hypertension plays important roles in resistance to antiandrogen therapy in prostate cancer. However, its impact on the prognosis in androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) has not been elucidated. Then, we investigated the impact of genetic variation in MR and comorbidity with hypertension on the prognosis in ADT. This study included 182 Japanese patients with prostate cancer treated with ADT, whose comorbidity status with hypertension were available. The associations of MR polymorphism (rs5522) and comorbidity with hypertension with clinicopathological parameters as well as progression-free survival and overall survival were examined. Clinicopathological characteristics were comparable between genetic variation in MR. However, homozygous variant in MR was associated with shorter time to castration resistance (P = 0.014) and any-cause death (P = 0.024). In patients' background, presence of comorbidity with hypertension showed the trend with lower PSA level at diagnosis and lower biopsy Gleason score, as well as significant association with less incidence of N1. Comorbidity with hypertension was associated with longer time to castration resistance (P = 0.043) and any-cause death (P = 0.046), which was diminished on multivariate analysis including age, PSA level at diagnosis, biopsy Gleason score, clinical stage, and the modality of hormonal therapy. Genetic variation in MR (rs5522) and comorbidity with hypertension were significantly and potentially associated with prognosis when treated with ADT, respectively. This suggests that the individual intensity of MR signaling may be associated with resistance to ADT and a promising biomarker in ADT