Protective effects of fermented rice vinegar sediment (Kurozu moromimatsu) in a diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocellular carcinoma animal model

Kurozu moromimatsu is the sediment of Kurozu, a jar-fermented Japanese black vinegar produced from unpolished rice. Here, we examined the protective effects of Kurozu moromimatsu in a diethylnitrosamine-induced model of hepatocellular carcinoma. Thirty-two F344 rats were divided into two groups; the control group received basal CE-2 diet, and the Kurozu moromimatsu group received CE-2 diet containing Kurozu moromimatsu. At 16 weeks after initial intraperitoneal administration of diethylnitrosamine (150 mg/kg/week), serum was collected from half the rats. These rats were sacrificed and the liver was resected for histological examination of hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections and assay of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and matrix metalloproteinase-9 levels in tumor tissues. Glutathione S-transferase placental form-positive foci were evaluated by immunostaining for glutathione S-transferase placental form. The remaining rats were maintained for evaluation of survival. There were no significant differences of serum transaminases, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and also no marked hepatic histological differences, between the two groups. However, the size of hepatocellular carcinomas was greatly decreased and the levels of activated matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 were significantly reduced in the Kurozu moromimatsu group. Further, survival was significantly prolonged in the Kurozu moromimatsu group compared with the control. These results indicate that Kurozu moromimatsu inhibited the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma

デンキ コウガク デバイス エノ オウヨウ オ メザシタ ボトム アップ ニヨル ナノ スケール ザイリョウ ノ チョウセイ

Rod-coil amphiphilic diblock copolymers consisting of oligo(2,5-di-n-octyloxy-1,4-phenylenevinylene) (OPV) as a rod and a hydrophobic block, and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) as a coil and a hydrophilic block were synthesized by a convergent method. The aggregation behavior of the block copolymers in a selective solvent (THF / H2O) was probed by utilizing the absorption and the emission of the OPV block. With increasing H2O content, the absorption maximum was blue-shifted, the emission from the molecularly dissolved OPV decreased, and that from the aggregated OPV increased. The transmission electron microscopy observation revealed that the block copolymers with the PEO weight fractions of 41 and 62 wt% formed cylindrical aggregate with a diameter of 6-8 nm and a length of several hundreds nanometer, while, the block copolymer with 79 wt% of PEO fraction formed distorted spherical aggregates with an average diameter of 13 nm

FLOW-INDUCED VIBRATION SUPPRESSION OF JET PUMP IN BOILING WATER REACTOR BY SLIP JOINT EXTENSION

ABSTRACT Jet pumps are key components to feed cooling water into reactor core in boiling water reactor

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a multicenter study of 17 hospitals.

A study of 1,254 laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed at 17 hospitals affiliated with the Liver, Gallbladder, and Pancreas Research Group of the First Department of Surgery at Okayama University was undertaken to assess the current status and safety of this procedure. The data for 336 patients, comprising the initial 20 laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed at each institution, were compared with the data from the remaining 918 patients. Comparison of the two groups revealed the following: 1. the rates of intraoperative conversion to open cholecystectomy were 11.3% and 5.1% (P &#60; 0.05), 2. the complication rates were 5.7% and 3.4%, and 3. the rates of bile duct injury were 2.4% and 1.1%, respectively. Compared with the first group, the bile duct injuries resulting from a lack of experience decreased in the second group, however, the incidence of these injuries occurring during avulsion of the gallbladder in difficult cases increased. These results suggest that the experience acquired during the initial 20 laparoscopic cholecystectomies led to a reduction in the rate of intraoperative conversion to open cholecystectomy, but it did not reduce the rate of complications, and that the risk of bile duct injury was always present.</p

Genomic organization and promoter function of the mouse uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) gene1The nucleotide sequences reported in this paper will appear in the DDBJ, and GenBank/EMBL Data Bank with accession number AB012159.1

AbstractWe cloned and characterized the mouse uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) gene and its promoter region. The gene spans approximately 6.3 kb and contains eight exons and seven introns. Two short exons are located in the 5′ untranslated region, and each of the remaining exons encodes one of the transmembrane domains. 3′-RACE analysis showed that a polyadenylation signal 257 bp downstream from the stop codon was functional. Primer extension analysis indicated a single transcriptional start site 369 bp upstream from the translational start site. The promoter region lacks both TATA and CAAT boxes but is GC-rich. A construct containing 1250 bp of the promoter region showed significant activity in all 6 cell lines examined, and the region between −160 and −678 bp exhibited strong positive regulatory activity. These features of the UCP2 gene are different from those of the UCP1 gene and may contribute to its ubiquitous expression

The simultaneous determination of silicic, boric and carbonic acids in natural water via ion-exclusion chromatography with a charged aerosol detector

The simple and simultaneous determination of silicic, boric and carbonic acids was made using ion-exclusion chromatography (IEC) and a Corona™ charged aerosol detector (C-CAD). Silicic and boric acids were separated by the column packed with a weakly acidic cation-exchange resin in H+-form and ultra-pure water eluent, and the detector responses were improved by the addition of acetonitrile to eluent. Under the optimized conditions, the simultaneous determination of weak inorganic acids, except for carbonic acid, was successfully performed. When the conversion column packed with a strong acidic cation-exchange resin in Na+- or K+-form was inserted between the separation column and the detector, weak inorganic acids including carbonic acid could be detected by the C-CAD. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.5–10 mg·L−1 as Si for silicic acid (r2 = 0.996), 10–100 mg·L−1 as B for boric acid (r2 = 0.998) and 1.3–21 mg·L−1 as C for carbonic acid (r2 = 0.993). The detection limits based on three times the standard deviation were 0.03 mg·L−1 as Si for silicic acid, 0.40 mg·L−1 as B for boric acid and 0.08 mg·L−1 as C for carbonic acid. This method was applicable to river, hot spring and drinking water