Hydrogen-enhanced creep deformation of SUY-1 pure iron

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Electrophoretic Condition for Separation of Myosin Heavy-chain Isoforms

An electrophoretic separation of a previously undetected myosin heavy-chain (HC) isoform in rodent skeletal muscles, designated as HCIID, could be achieved for the first time by the use of polyacrylamide (PAA) gradient gel of Bar & Pette ((1988) FEBS Lett. 235,153-155). However, when used as a conventional method in our laboratory, their gel system seems not to result in reproducible electrophoretograms. This study was undertaken to examine electrophoretic conditions necessary to identify myosin heavy-chain (HC) isoforms, HCI, HCIIA, HCIIB and HCIID, with special reference to HCIIA and HCIID. In an attempt to explore the effect of the pH in the separating gel on electrophoretogram the gels adjusted to pH8.6 were shown to provide the best and most reproducible results. In the case that PAA gradient gels were adopted on the basis of the original method of Bar & Pette, HCIIA and HCIID isoforms were best distinguished by the gels with 4-11%.0 As characterized by its effect on the mobility of HC isoforms, concentrations of glycerol as well as of PPA were found to be a critical factor. In a series of experiments where PAA gradient gels were used, any gels other than those with 25-30 0lycerol gradient did not have a capacity to separate definitely fast type HC isoforms. Other combinations between concentrations of PAA and glycerol were also examined including homogeneous concentrations. In contrast to the report by Bar & Pette, PAA gradient gels were not essential in distinguishing HCIIA from HCIID. Enhanced electrophoretic mobilities existing between HC isoforms were displayed on homogeneous PAA gels rather than on gradient gels

Predictive Factors for Tracheal Intubation in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 Treated Using a High-flow Nasal Cannula

Background : In Japan, patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)＊ requiring a high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) are often initially treated in non-specialized facilities and transferred to an intensive care unit if tracheal intubation is required. We aimed to investigate the factors associated with severe respiratory failure requiring tracheal intubation at an early stage in patients with COVID-19 treated using HFNCs. Methods : This retrospective cohort study compared the clinical features of consecutively enrolled patients with polymerase chain reaction-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection admitted to two centers in Japan between early February 2020 and late June 2021. Results : A total of 35 patients with COVID-19 treated using HFNCs were included. Treatment success and failure occurred in 25 and 10 patients, respectively. The oxygen saturation (ROX) index (ratio of oxygen saturation [SpO2] to fraction of inspired oxygen [FiO2] and the respiratory rate) 12 h post-HFNC insertion was a useful predictor of HFNC failure (success group, 8.0 ; failure group, 6.5 : P＝0.0005). Moreover, the time from symptom onset to respiratory failure was significantly shorter in the failure group than in the success group (3.0 and 5.0 days, P＝0.004). Conclusions The ROX index and time from symptom onset to respiratory failure were useful predictors of HFNC failure.Article信州医学雑誌 71(6) : 403-409, (2023)journal articl

A combined micromechanics/materials science approach to understanding high temperature hydrogen attack

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Single-pole nature of Lambda (1405) and structure of K-pp

We have studied the structure of K- pp by solving this system in a variational treatment, starting from ansatz that Lambda(1405) is a K-p quasi-bound state, Lambda* with mass 1405 MeV/c2. The structure of K-pp reveals a molecular feature, namely, the K- in an "atomic center", Lambda*, plays a key role in producing strong covalent bonding with the other proton. Deeply bound Kbar nuclear systems are formed by this "super-strong" nuclear force due to migrating real bosons, Kbar, a la Heitler-London-Heisenberg, which overcompensates the stiff nuclear incompressibility. Theoretical background of the Lambda (1405) ansatz is discussed in connection with the double-pole picture of Lambda (1405) based on chiral SU(3) dynamics. Detailed analysis reveals single-pole nature of the observable Lambda (1405). There are two kinds of Sigma pi invariant masses experimentally observable, the usual T22 invariant mass and the conversion T21 invariant mass. It is of vital importance to determine whether the Lambda* mass is 1405 MeV or 1420 MeV. The T21 invariant mass from K- absorption at rest in deuteron can provide decisive information about this Lambda* mass problem.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, Proc. Hyp-

HLA-A*0201-restricted CTL epitope of a novel osteosarcoma antigen, papillomavirus binding factor

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To develop peptide-based immunotherapy for osteosarcoma, we previously identified papillomavirus binding factor (PBF) as a CTL-defined osteosarcoma antigen in the context of HLA-B55. However, clinical application of PBF-based immunotherapy requires identification of naturally presented CTL epitopes in osteosarcoma cells in the context of more common HLA molecules such as HLA-A2.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ten peptides with the HLA-A*0201 binding motif were synthesized from the amino acid sequence of PBF according to the BIMAS score and screened with an HLA class I stabilization assay. The frequency of CTLs recognizing the selected PBF-derived peptide was determined in peripheral blood of five HLA-A*0201⁺patients with osteosarcoma using limiting dilution (LD)/mixed lymphocyte peptide culture (MLPC) followed by tetramer-based frequency analysis. Attempts were made to establish PBF-specific CTL clones from the tetramer-positive CTL pool by a combination of limiting dilution and single-cell sorting. The cytotoxicity of CTLs was assessed by ⁵¹Cr release assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Peptide PBF A2.2 showed the highest affinity to HLA-A*0201. CD8+ T cells reacting with the PBF A2.2 peptide were detected in three of five patients at frequencies from 2 × 10^-7to 5 × 10^-6. A tetramer-positive PBF A2.2-specific CTL line, 5A9, specifically lysed allogeneic osteosarcoma cell lines that expressed both PBF and either HLA-A*0201 or HLA-A*0206, autologous tumor cells, and T2 pulsed with PBF A2.2. Five of 12 tetramer-positive CTL clones also lysed allogeneic osteosarcoma cell lines expressing both PBF and either HLA-A*0201 or HLA-A*0206 and T2 pulsed with PBF A2.2.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings indicate that PBF A2.2 serves as a CTL epitope on osteosarcoma cells in the context of HLA-A*0201, and potentially, HLA-A*0206. This extends the availability of PBF-derived therapeutic peptide vaccines for patients with osteosarcoma.</p

Carcinosarcoma of the Sigmoid Colon: Report of a Case

Our case was a 65-year-old male, with the chief complaints of diarrhea and abdominal distention. Three years earlier, the patient had undergone transcatheter arterial embolization and radiofrequency treatment based on a diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma due to hepatitis B by another doctor. In October 2007, the patient developed diarrhea and increased abdominal distention. In December, CT examination conducted by the previous doctor revealed a 20-cm tumor within the pelvis. The patient was diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer based on barium enema examination using gastrografin, and was introduced to our hospital for treatment. He was diagnosed with low-differentiated carcinoma by biopsy of the colon during endoscopy and underwent sigmoidectomy based on a diagnosis of sigmoid colon cancer. The tumor had infiltrated the bladder, and a tumorectomy was conducted through partially combined resection. The tumor was a huge lesion occupying the inside of the lumen, and histopathological findings revealed that the tumor, the main part of which lay beneath the mucous membrane, had a transitional image composed of both spindle-shaped atypical cells and sarcomatoid shape. The result of immunostaining was CK7(+), CK20(-), AFP(-), and the patient was diagnosed as having carcinosarcoma of the colon. Carcinosarcoma of the colon is a malignant tumor with poor prognosis, and the mean survival period in past reports was approximately 6 months. The patient was treated with FOLFIRI+Bevacizumab therapy according to chemotherapy for colon cancer, but he was refractory to the therapy

Subsequent chemotherapy with paclitaxel plus cetuximab-based chemotherapy following immune checkpoint inhibitor in recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are essential in treating recurrent/metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (R/M SCCHN). However, the overall response rate (ORR) is limited to 10-20%, and subsequent chemotherapy is critical to maximizing the subjects’ prognosis.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 59 patients with R/M SCCHN treated with paclitaxel+cetuximab (PE)-based chemotherapy (PCE, paclitaxel+carboplatin+cetuximab; or PTX+Cmab, paclitaxel+cetuximab) following disease progression after either pembrolizumab or nivolumab monotherapy.ResultsOf 59 patients, 15 were treated with pembrolizumab, with an ORR of 13.3%, and the remaining 44 with nivolumab, with an ORR of 11.4%. All patients in the pembrolizumab cohort had platinum-sensitive disease. Following ICI treatment, 19 patients were treated with PCE and the remaining 40 with PTX+Cmab. PE-based chemotherapy induced favorable and prompt tumor shrinkage even in cases where ICI was not effective, with a median change in the summed dimensions of target lesions of -43.4%, resulting in an ORR of 62.7%. Median time to response was 1.8 months. The patients in the pembrolizumab cohort appeared to have a numerically higher response rate than those receiving nivolumab (80.0% vs. 56.8%). For the 59 patients, progression-free survival and overall survival, calculated from the initiation of PE-based chemotherapy, were 4.6 months and 17.1 months, respectively. Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 40.7%, and no treatment-related death was observed.ConclusionPE-based chemotherapy following ICI is encouraging for its robust antitumor efficacy in R/M SCCHN

Function of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum and expression of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase in right congestive heart failure rats

右心不全に伴って,速筋および遅筋の筋小胞体Ca2+取り込み能が減少するという仮説を検証した.右心不全は,モノクロタリン(30 ㎎/㎏)を投与することにより引き起こし,投与後4週で,長指伸筋およびヒラメ筋を両後肢から採取した.筋の疲労耐性は,連続的な強縮刺激を行うことにより測定した.長指伸筋では刺激開始1分後,ヒラメ筋では4分後の張力を測定し,初期値に対するそれらの割合を疲労の指標とした.長指伸筋およびヒラメ筋の疲労耐性は,右心不全群で有意に低下した.筋小胞体Ca2+取り込み速度は,Indo-Ⅰを付加したホモジネートで測定した.その結果,Ca2+取り込み速度は,長指伸筋で25.4%(p<0.01),ヒラメ筋で30.4%(p<0.05)低下した.このCa2+取り込み速度の低下は,筋小胞体Ca2+-ATPaseタンパク量の低下と一致した.筋小胞体Ca2+取り込み能の低下は,筋張力の低下を引き起こし,このCa2+ handlingの低下は,少なくとも右心不全による運動耐容能の低下の一因であろう.In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that right congestive heart failure (CHF) would impair sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ uptake in skeletal fast- and slow-twitch muscles. To induce CHF, the rats were injected with monocrotalin (30 ㎎/㎏). After 4 weeks of injection, extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and soleus (SOL) muscles were sampled from both hind limbs. Muscle fatigue resistance was measured in vitro as the relative decline in force production of tetanic contraction induced by electrical stimulation over 1 and 4 min in EDL and SOL, respectively. Evaluation of fatigue characteristics showed that CHF significantly reduced fatigue resistance in both muscles under study.SR Ca2+uptake rate wasmeasured in vitro with Indo-I on muscle homogenates. As hypothesized, Ca2+uptake rate was decreasedby 25.4%(P < 0.01) and 30.4%(P < 0.05) in EDL and SOL, respectively. This decline in Ca22+uptake ratewas accompanied by an immunochemically determined decrease in SR Ca2+-ATPase protein. Taking intoaccount previous findings that the depressed SR Ca2+uptake leads to the reduce in muscle forceproduction, these results suggest that impaired SR Ca2+handling capacity in skeletal muscle may accountat least partly for deteriorations in exercise tolerance resulting from right CHF

Diabetes mellitus itself increases cardio- cerebrovascular risk and renal complications in primary aldosteronism

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism following peer review. The version of record Aya Saiki, Michio Otsuki, Daisuke Tamada, Tetsuhiro Kitamura, Iichiro Shimomura, Isao Kurihara, Takamasa Ichijo, Yoshiyu Takeda, Takuyuki Katabami, Mika Tsuiki, Norio Wada, Toshihiko Yanase, Yoshihiro Ogawa, Junji Kawashima, Masakatsu Sone, Nobuya Inagaki, Takanobu Yoshimoto, Ryuji Okamoto, Katsutoshi Takahashi, Hiroki Kobayashi, Kouichi Tamura, Kohei Kamemura, Koichi Yamamoto, Shoichiro Izawa, Miki Kakutani, Masanobu Yamada, Akiyo Tanabe, Mitsuhide Naruse, Diabetes Mellitus Itself Increases Cardio-Cerebrovascular Risk and Renal Complications in Primary Aldosteronism, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 105, Issue 7, July 2020, Pages e2531–e2537 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgaa177