Macroscopic findings for breast VAB specimens

Purpose : Ultrasound-guided breast tissue biopsy is an essential technique for diagnosing breast disease, but sample errors reduce its accuracy. This study investigated whether the histopathological results can be inferred from the macroscopic findings for Ultrasound-guided breast Vacuum Assisted Biopsy (VAB) specimens. Methods: Biopsy specimens from 101 patients who underwent mammary gland VAB were photographed with a smartphone, and the relationships between the macroscopic findings and the pathological results were examined. Results : A significant difference was observed with regard to the presence / absence of turbidity: malignancy was detected in 33 / 37 (89%) specimens with turbidity and in 2 / 47 (4%) cases without turbidity (p < 0.001). A significant difference was also observed regarding the surface properties : malignancy was detected in 14 / 70 (19%) smooth specimens and in 24 / 29 (83%) rough specimens (p < 0.001). Also, malignancy was detected in 11 / 13 (85%) specimens with white spots, and the difference was significant (p < 0.001). In addition, the characteristics of intraductal papilloma, fibroadenoma, and mastopathy could be confirmed by macroscopic findings. Conclusions : When needle–biopsy of a lesion that is targeted for resection yields macroscopic findings that match the predicted histopathological findings, it can be thought that the biopsy had been properly performed. This means that false–negatives due to poor specimens can be prevented

Alteration of a recombinant protein N-glycan structure in silkworms by partial suppression of N-acetylglucosaminidase gene expression

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Biotechnology Letters. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10529-017-2361-y.autho

Pair distribution function analysis of nanostructural deformation of calcium silicate hydrate under compressive stress

ケイ酸カルシウム水和物（C-S-H）は大きな関心が寄せられているが、外部負荷下の詳細な原子レベルでの構造および固有の変形に関しての不明な点が多い。本研究は、その場X線散乱に基づく原子対相関関数（PDF）解析法により、ケイ酸三カルシウム（C3S）ペースト中にあるC-S-Hの負荷応力に対するナノ構造変形過程を評価した。圧縮荷重下におけるC3Sペーストのひずみを、ひずみゲージ、ブラッグピークのシフト、PDFの3つの手法によって得られるひずみから評価した。PDF解析により、結晶相が20Åを超える範囲で支配的であるのに対し、C-H-S相は大部分が0～20Åの範囲に寄与していることが明らかになった。C-H-Sにおける短距離の原子レベルのひずみは (1) 塑性変形の領域（0～10MPa）と、(2) 線形弾性変形の領域（>10MPa）の2つが存在する。一方で20Åを超える長距離での変形はCa(OH)2での変形と類似している。10MPa以下では、短距離のひずみは層間もしくはゲル細孔に存在する水の移動によって生じたC-S-Hの高密度化に起因している。移動した水がC-H-Sに戻るとき、ひずみが回復している可能性がある

Analysis of atomistic structural deformation characteristics of calcium silicate hydrate in 53-year-old tricalcium silicate paste using atomic pair distribution function

ケイ酸カルシウムハイドレート（C-S-H）の構造と変形特性は、セメント化学における主な興味の対象であるが、完全には研究がなされていない。本研究では、53年前の完全水和ケイ酸三カルシウム（C3S）に対して、外部荷重下でC-S-Hの原子レベルでの構造変形を調べるため原子二体分布関数関数（PDF）解析を実施した。 C-S-Hの機械的特性に及ぼす老化の影響を解明するために、以前に実施した131日前のC3Sペーストに関するPDF解析結果との比較も行った。53年前のC3Sペーストは、131前のものよりも全体的な弾性率が高く、圧縮応力に対する耐性が優れていました。さらに、53年前のC3Sペーストのマクロなひずみは、マクロスケールでのマイクロクラックなどの機械的変形によって引き起こされたと考えられる。結果は、初期および後期におけるC-S-Hの原子レベルおよびメソスケールでの機械的挙動について実験的な証拠を提供する

Determination of a Chloroplast Degron in the Regulatory Domain of Chlorophyllide a Oxygenase*

Chlorophyll b is one of the major photosynthetic pigments of plants. The regulation of chlorophyll b biosynthesis is important for plants in order to acclimate to changing environmental conditions. In the chloroplast, chlorophyll b is synthesized from chlorophyll a by chlorophyllide a oxygenase (CAO), a Rieske-type monooxygenase. The activity of this enzyme is regulated at the level of protein stability via a feedback mechanism through chlorophyll b. The Clp protease and the N-terminal domain (designated the A domain) of CAO are essential for the regulatory mechanism. In this study, we aimed to identify the specific amino acid residue or the sequence within the A domain that is essential for this regulation. To accomplish this goal, we randomly introduced base substitutions into the A domain and searched for potentially important residues by analyzing 1,000 transformants of Arabidopsis thaliana. However, none of the single amino acid substitutions significantly stabilized CAO. Therefore, we generated serial deletions in the A domain and expressed these deletions in the background of CAO-deficient Arabidopsis mutant. We found that the amino acid sequence 97QDLLTIMILH106 is essential for the regulation of the protein stability. We furthermore determined that this sequence induces the destabilization of green fluorescent protein. These results suggest that this sequence serves as a degradation signal that is recognized by proteases functioning in the chloroplast

Evaluation of hemodynamic imaging findings of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma: comparison between dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging using radial volumetric imaging breath-hold examination with k-space-weighted image contrast reconstruction and dynamic computed tomography during hepatic arteriography

To compare the visualization of hemodynamic imaging findings of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) using radial volumetric imaging breath-hold examination with k-space-weighted image contrast reconstruction (r-VIBE-KWIC) versus dynamic computed tomography during hepatic arteriography (dyn-CTHA). We retrospectively reviewed the databases of preoperative DCE-MRI using r-VIBE-KWIC, dyn-CTHA, and postoperative pathology of resected specimens. Fourteen patients with 14 hypervascular HCCs underwent both DCE-MRI and dyn-CTHA. The imaging findings of the tumor and adjacent liver parenchyma were assessed on both modalities by two readers. The tumor enhancement time was also compared between the two modalities. On DCE-MRI/dyn-CTHA, early staining, peritumoral low-intensity or low-density bands, corona enhancement, and washout of HCC were observed in 14/14 (100%), 10/12 (83%), 11/14 (78%), and 4/14 (29%) patients, respectively. Pathologically, four HCCs with low-density bands on dyn-CTHA had no fibrous capsules. The median tumor enhancement time on DCE-MRI and dyn-CTHA was 24 (9-24) and 23 (8-35) s, respectively. The correlation coefficient between the two groups was 0.762 (P < 0.002). DCE-MRI using r-VIBE-KWIC has diagnostic potential comparable with that of dyn-CTHA in the hemodynamic evaluation of hypervascular HCC except for the washout phenomenon.ArticleJAPANESE JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY.36(4):295-302(2018)journal articl