Symposium: The Future of Law and Development, Part III

I would like to take up Anna Gelpern’s invitation to define the study of Law and Development broadly and to reject the presumption that the inquiry will focus narrowly on the law-related projects of bilateral aid agencies and international organizations. I am interested in the relationship between law on the one hand and, on the other hand, development (however defined), and it is not clear to me that externally directed “Law and Development” projects are always central to understanding that relationship. (Isn’t that a reasonable inference to draw from all of the studies that question the impact of those projects?) Don’t get me wrong, I think it is often crucially important to take foreign actors into account when trying to understand where the “law” part of the equation comes from, as well as what factors besides law might be influencing development. But I am skeptical of the notion that foreign actors are always central to the story, especially in some of the larger developing countries; do we really understand the legal systems of Brazil, India, and China best by focusing on the components influenced by the World Bank and the IMF? As far as the future of Law and Development is concerned, I believe that it will and should involve becoming even more of a social science. I also believe, however, that the contributions to this Symposium have identified many of the pitfalls that lie in that direction. To begin with, there are obviously methodological questions about what empirical methods are best suited to uncovering the kinds of causal relationships between law and social outcomes we are looking for and theoretical questions about what legal and social variables ought to be measured. But I think that there are even more profound questions to be asked about the entire enterprise, especially if the purpose is to give policymakers insights into “what works.

Symposium: The Future of Law and Development, Part III

I would like to take up Anna Gelpern’s invitation to define the study of Law and Development broadly and to reject the presumption that the inquiry will focus narrowly on the law-related projects of bilateral aid agencies and international organizations. I am interested in the relationship between law on the one hand and, on the other hand, development (however defined), and it is not clear to me that externally directed “Law and Development” projects are always central to understanding that relationship. (Isn’t that a reasonable inference to draw from all of the studies that question the impact of those projects?) Don’t get me wrong, I think it is often crucially important to take foreign actors into account when trying to understand where the “law” part of the equation comes from, as well as what factors besides law might be influencing development. But I am skeptical of the notion that foreign actors are always central to the story, especially in some of the larger developing countries; do we really understand the legal systems of Brazil, India, and China best by focusing on the components influenced by the World Bank and the IMF? As far as the future of Law and Development is concerned, I believe that it will and should involve becoming even more of a social science. I also believe, however, that the contributions to this Symposium have identified many of the pitfalls that lie in that direction. To begin with, there are obviously methodological questions about what empirical methods are best suited to uncovering the kinds of causal relationships between law and social outcomes we are looking for and theoretical questions about what legal and social variables ought to be measured. But I think that there are even more profound questions to be asked about the entire enterprise, especially if the purpose is to give policymakers insights into “what works.

Cell type-dependent gene regulation by Staufen2 in conjunction with Upf1

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Staufen2 (Stau2), a double-stranded RNA-binding protein, is a component of neuronal RNA granules, which are dendritic mRNA transport machines. Although Stau2 is thought to be involved in the dendritic targeting of several mRNAs in neurons, the mechanism whereby Stau2 regulates these mRNAs is unknown. To elucidate the functions of Stau2, we screened for novel binding partners by affinity purification of GST-tagged Stau2 from 293F cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three RNA helicases, RNA helicase A, Upf1 and Mov10, were identified in Stau2-containing complexes. We focused our studies on Upf1, a key player in nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. Stau2 was found to bind directly to Upf1 in an RNA-independent manner <it>in vitro</it>. Tethering Stau2 to the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of a reporter gene had little effect on its expression in HeLa cells. In contrast, when the same tethering assay was performed in 293F cells, we observed an increase in reporter protein levels. This upregulation of protein expression by Stau2 turned out to be dependent on Upf1. Moreover, we found that in 293F cells, Stau2 upregulates the reporter mRNA level in an Upf1-independent manner.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results indicate that the recruitment of Stau2 alone or in combination with Upf1 differentially affects the fate of mRNAs. Moreover, the results suggest that Stau2-mediated fate determination could be executed in a cell type-specific manner.</p

Amphiregulin and Epiregulin mRNA expression in primary colorectal cancer and corresponding liver metastases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Amphiregulin (AREG) and Epiregulin (EREG), ligands of EGFR, are reported to be predictive biomarkers of colorectal cancer patients treated with Cetuximab, an anti-EGFR antibody. The purpose of this study is to determine the correlation of AREG and EREG expression between primary colorectal cancer and corresponding liver metastases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One hundred twenty colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases (100 with synchronous metastases, 20 with metachronous) were evaluated. No patients had ever received anti-EGFR antibody agents. AREG and EREG mRNA expression from both the primary tumor and liver metastases were measured using real-time RT-PCR. KRAS codon 12, 13 mutation status was analyzed by direct sequencing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Modest, but significant, correlations were observed between primary tumor and corresponding liver metastases in both AREG mRNA expression (Rs = 0.54, p < 0.0001) and EREG mRNA expression (Rs = 0.58, p < 0.0001). AREG and EREG mRNA expression was strongly correlated in both the primary tumor (Rs = 0.81, p < 0.0001) and the liver metastases (Rs = 0.87, p < 0.0001). No significant survival difference was observed between low and high AREG or EREG patients when all 120 patients were analyzed. However, when divided by KRAS status, KRAS wild-type patients with low EREG mRNA levels in the primary site showed significantly better overall survival rates than those with high levels (p = 0.018). In multivariate analysis, low EREG expression was significantly associated with better overall survival (p = 0.006).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>AREG and EREG expression showed a modest correlation between primary tumor and liver metastases. As EREG mRNA expression was associated with decreased survival, it is appeared to be a useful prognostic marker in KRAS wild-type patients who never received anti-EGFR therapy.</p

Distal radius fracture after proximal row carpectomy

AbstractIntroductionWe encountered a patient with distal radius fracture (DRF) after proximal row carpectomy (PRC). The mechanism of the DRF after PRC is discussed in this report.Presentation of caseThe patient was a 73-year-old female who had undergone PRC due to Kienböck disease before. The wrist range of motion was: 45° on dorsiflexion and 20° on flexion. DRF has occurred at 3 years after PRC. The fracture type was extra-articular fracture. Osteosynthesis was performed using a volar locking plate. No postoperative complication developed, the Mayo score was excellent at 6 months after surgery, and the daily living activity level recovered to that before injury.DiscussionSince the wrist range of motion decreased and the lunate fitted into the joint surface after PRC, making the forearm join with the hand like a single structure, pressure may have been loaded on the weak distal end of the radius from the dorsal side, causing volar displacement and fracture.ConclusionThe pressure distribution and range of motion of the radiocarpal joint after PRC are different from those of a normal joint, and the mechanism of fracture also changes due to PRC

Emergency Cesarean Section in a Pregnant Woman with Aspirin Intolerance

We report a 38 year-old parturient with aspirin-intolerance who underwent 2nd emergency cesarean section.　She underwent a skin test because of multi-drug allergy, and the results suggested that spinal anesthesia could be acceptable.　She underwent spinal anesthesia and both she and the baby were well.　There was no adverse event during the cesarean section.　We considered that it is quite important to recognize the potential complications and to focus on the risk factors preoperatively to prevent anaphylaxis.本論文の要旨は，第40回日本集中治療医学会学術集会（2013年，松本）にて発表した