Staging the tumor and staging the host: A two centre, two country comparison of systemic inflammatory responses of patients undergoing resection of primary operable colorectal cancer

Background: How systemic inflammation-based prognostic scores such as the modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR) differ across populations of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. The present study examined the mGPS and NLR in patients from United Kingdom (UK) and Japan. Methods: Patients undergoing resection of TNM I-III CRC in two centres in the UK and Japan were included. Differences in clinicopathological characteristics and mGPS (0-CRP≤10 mg/L, 1-CRP>10 mg/L, 2-CRP>10 mg/L, albumin<35 g/L) and NLR (≤5/>5) were examined. Results: Patients from UK (n = 581) were more likely to be female, high ASA and BMI, present as an emergency (all P < 0.01) and have higher T stage compared to those from Japan (n = 559). After controlling for differences in tumor and host characteristics, patients from Japan were less likely to be systemically inflamed (OR: mGPS: 0.37, 95%CI 0.27–0.50, P < 0.001; NLR: 0.53, 95%CI 0.35–0.79, P = 0.002). Conclusion: Systemic inflammatory responses differ between populations with colorectal cancer. Given their prognostic value, reporting of systemic inflammation-based scores should be incorporated into future studies reporting patient outcomes. Summary: Although the systemic inflammatory response is recognised as a prognostic factor in patients with colorectal cancer, it is not clear how these may differ between distinct geographical populations. The present study examines differences in the prevalence of elevated systemic inflammatory responses (modified Glasgow Prognostic Score and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio) between two populations undergoing resection of colorectal cancer in the United Kingdom and Japan

First-principles study on the intermediate compounds of LiBH4_4

We report the results of the first-principles calculation on the intermediate compounds of LiBH$_4$. The stability of LiB$_3$H$_8$ and Li$_2$B$_n$H$_n (n=5-12)$ has been examined with the ultrasoft pseudopotential method based on the density functional theory. Theoretical prediction has suggested that monoclinic Li$_2$B$_{12}$H$_{12}$ is the most stable among the candidate materials. We propose the following hydriding/dehydriding process of LiBH$_4$ via this intermediate compound : LiBH$_4 \leftrightarrow {1/12}$Li$_{2}$B$_{12}$H$_{12} + {5/6}$ LiH $+ {13/12}$H$_2 \leftrightarrow$LiH $+$ B $+ {3/2}$H$_2$. The hydrogen content and enthalpy of the first reaction are estimated to be 10 mass% and 56 kJ/mol H$_2$, respectively, and those of the second reaction are 4 mass% and 125 kJ/mol H$_2$. They are in good agreement with experimental results of the thermal desorption spectra of LiBH$_4$. Our calculation has predicted that the bending modes for the $\Gamma$-phonon frequencies of monoclinic Li$_2$B$_{12}$H$_{12}$ are lower than that of LiBH$_4$, while stretching modes are higher. These results are very useful for the experimental search and identification of possible intermediate compounds.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR

Molecular analysis of holocarboxylase synthetase deficiency: a missense mutation and a single base deletion are predominant in Japanese patients

AbstractHolocarboxylase synthetase (HCS) deficiency is an inherited disease of biotin metabolism characterized by a unique pattern of organic aciduria, metabolic acidosis, and skin lesions. By analysis of five patients in four unrelated families, two mutations were identified: a transition from T to C which causes an amino-acid substitution of proline for leucine at position 237 (L237P) and a single deletion of guanine (delG 1067) followed by premature termination. One patient was homozygous for the L237P mutation, three patients in two families were compound heterozygotes of the missense and deletion alleles, and the other patient was heterozygous for the L237P mutation. Inheritance was successfully demonstrated in all of the patients' families by a modified PCR followed by restriction enzyme digestion. The two mutations accounted for seven of eight mutant alleles, while neither mutation was detected in 108 normal healthy Japanese children (216 alleles). Transient expression in cultured fibroblasts from a patient showed that the L237P mutation was responsible for decreased HCS activity. These results suggest that the L237P and delG1067 mutations are frequent disease-causing mutations in Japanese patients with HCS deficiency. This PCR-based technique may therefore be useful for detecting mutations among Japanese patients

Extraction of copper from complex carbonaceous sulfide ore by direct high-pressure leaching

The increase of impurities and complexity of copper ores are among the recent challenges in the mining industry. Complex carbonaceous sulfide ores are extremely difficult to treat due to their mineralogical complexity and impurities of organic carbon and carbonates. This study focuses on the development of a hydrometallurgical process for efficient copper extraction from complex carbonaceous sulfide ore which contains chalcopyrite, carbonates (dolomite and calcite), and carbonaceous gangue minerals. Characterization of the ore sample and leach residues was conducted using XRD and EPMA analysis, while ICP-OES was used for the determination of total dissolved metals in solution. High-pressure leaching of complex carbonaceous sulfide ore in oxygenated sulfuric acid solution was performed and the influence of leaching parameters such as sulfuric acid concentration, temperature, total pressure, and pulp density was studied. The extraction of copper increased with increasing temperature, sulfuric acid concentration, and total pressure. On the other hand, an increase in pulp density resulted in a decline in copper extraction due to an increased slurry viscosity and resistance in the diffusive mass transfer of reactants. Selective dissolution of copper from iron can be achieved by controlling free acidity in the pregnant leach solution (PLS). Under these leaching conditions: 100 g/L, 1 M H2SO4, 160 ◦C, 1.0 MPa total pressure, the highest copper and iron extractions achieved were 97.55% and 95.37%, respectively. Precipitation of copper from the PLS by NaSH sulfidization was investigated and more than 99.9% of copper was recovered at a Cu: NaSH molar ratio of 1:1.8

大腸癌患者における術前血清インターロイキン6 が全身性炎症反応に与える影響についての検討

背景：全身性炎症反応は担癌患者における免疫応答を反映し，予後と関連することが報告されている．目的：血清インターロイキン6（IL-6）と臨床背景因子，とりわけ全身炎症性反応との関連について大腸癌患者を対象として検討すること．方法：大腸癌患者20 人の術前IL-6 濃度を測定し，L 群（低IL-6 群，11 人；IL-6＜10 pg/ml）とH 群（高IL-6 群，9 人；IL-6 ≥ 10 pg/ml）の2 群に分けて臨床背景因子との関連について検討した．結果：血清C-reactive protein（CRP）値＞1.0 mg/dl（P＝0.038），血沈；9±7 versus 31±24（mm/ hr , P＝0.031）が2 群間で有意差を認めたが，血小板数・血清アルブミン値・Glasgow Prognostic Score・好中球リンパ比に2 群間で有意差は認めなかった．2 群間の生存曲線による解析は，H 群はL 群に比べて予後不良の傾向を認めたが，統計学的な有意差は認められなかった．結論：高IL-6 血症は大腸癌術前患者における高CRP 値，血沈の亢進といった全身性炎症反応と相関し，予後との関連を示唆するものであった．Purpose：To investigate the relationship between preoperative serum interleukin-6（IL-6）level and clinical characteristics, including systemic inflammatory response（SIR）related characteristics, in colorectal cancer（CRC）patients undergoing surgery. Patients and methods：Twenty CRC patients who had undergone curative surgery were divided into two groups as follows：Group A（n＝9）；patients with low serum IL-6 level（＜10 pg/ml）and Group B（n＝11）；patients with high serum IL-6 level（≥ 10 pg/ml）. Chi squared test and Mann-Whitney test were performed to compare the clinical characteristics of two groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log rank test were used to compare the two groups in relation to overall survival. Results：Among a lot of clinical characteristics, there were significant differences between the two groups in serum C-reactive protein（CRP）level（0.2±0.1 versus 2.9 ±4.9 mg/dl, mean± SD, P＝0.016）and erythrocyte sedimentation rate（ESR）（9±7 versus 31±24 mm/hr, mean ± SD, P＝0.031）. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in overall survival. Conclusion：There is a close relationship between preoperative serum IL-6 level and SIR related clinical characteristics such as serum CRP level and ESR in CRC patients

やや長周期地震動による小型免震装置の挙動

A small base isolation system installed inside building is constructed for small structure. In order toinvestigate dynamic characteristics of this system by long period ground motion, excitation experiment andevaluation by numerical analysis is done. It is possible to reduce the response to 1/5, if input wave do not include afrequency component which is same as natural frequency of this system. Comparing response wave forms betweenexcitation experiment and numerical analysis modeling by single degree of freedom system, it is good agreement,although the peak amplitude between them indicates 10 % difference