A Survey Study of University Students’ Awareness on Social Contribution and Regional Cooperation

Recently, competition among universities has a whole new face, and emphasis is given toward interdependence and interactive evolution between universities and regions. From this social perspective, universities should contribute to regional development by serving the regional society using results of intellectual work, and it is necessary for universities to accomplish social contribution and regional cooperation strategically. One of the most important parts in strategic planning is that students participate in activities for social contribution and regional cooperation. This paper presents a survey of the university students’ awareness on social contribution and regional cooperation using several statistical methods and attempts to find factors which affect activities for social contribution and regional cooperation using logistic regression analysis

Suppression of exercise-induced neutrophilia and lymphopenia in athletes by cystine/theanine intake: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intense exercise induces increased blood neutrophil counts and decreased lymphocyte counts, and leads to inflammation and immunosuppression. It was previously reported that cystine and theanine (CT) supplementation by long-distance runners before a training camp suppressed the changes of these blood parameters observed in un-supplemented control subjects after the camp. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of CT supplementation on the inflammatory response and immune state before and after intense endurance exercise in long-distance runners at a training camp.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sixteen long-distance runners were allocated to one of two groups given CT supplements (700 mg cystine + 280 mg theanine daily) or placebo (8 in each group) for 7 days prior to and during a 9-day training camp. Daily run training averaged 19.9 km/day prior to the camp and 28.6 km/day during the camp. On the initial and final days of the camp, blood samples were collected before and after 15 km morning interval running workouts (1000 m × 15 times) and analyzed for neutrophil and lymphocyte counts and myoglobin.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The relative change in exercise-induced blood neutrophil count (% of pre-exercise values) was significantly lower in the CT group than in the placebo group (163.3 ± 43.2% <it>vs. </it>200.4 ± 19.6%, p = 0.044) on the initial day of camp, but not on the last day. The decline in lymphocyte count (% of pre-exercise values) was significantly less in the CT group than in the placebo group (60.2 ± 19.2% <it>vs. </it>36.2 ± 12.0%, p = 0.010) on the initial day of camp, but not on the last day. In blood myoglobin, there was a trend toward lower % of pre-exercise values in the CT group (p < 0.09) on both measurement days.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CT supplementation significantly attenuated the increase in neutrophil count and the reduction in lymphocyte count induced by intense endurance exercise. These results suggest that CT supplementation may suppress the exercise-induced fluctuation of the blood immunocompetent cells and may help to reduce the alteration of the immune state.</p

Post-ERCP pancreatogastric fistula associated with an intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas – a case report and literature review

BACKGROUND: Fistula formation has been reported in intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) with or without invasion of the adjacent organs. The presence or absence of invasion is mostly determined by postoperative histological examination rather than by preoperative work-up. CASE PRESENTATION: A 72 year-old Japanese woman showed remarkable dilatation of the main pancreatic duct (MPD) in the distal region of the pancreas. Subsequent ERCP also showed MPD dilatation, after which the patient suffered moderate pancreatitis. A subsequent gastroscopy revealed a small ulceration that had not been observed in a gastroscopy performed 3 months prior. Mucinous discharge from the ulceration suggested it might be the orifice of a fistula connected to the MPD. En bloc resection including the distal region of the pancreas, spleen, stomach and part of the transverse colon was performed under the pre- and intraoperative diagnosis of an invasive malignant IPMN. However, histopathology revealed the lesion to be of "borderline malignancy" without apparent invasion of the stomach. Light microscopy showed inflammatory cellular infiltrates (mainly neutrophils) around the pancreatogastric fistula, but there was no evidence of neoplastic epithelia lining the fistulous tract. CONCLUSION: This case highlights that a pancreatogastric fistula can develop after acute inflammation of the pancreas in the absence of cancer invasion. Further information regarding IPMN-associated fistulae is necessary to clarify the pathogenesis, diagnosis, appropriate surgical intervention and prognosis for this disorder

Primary small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the duodenum – a case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND: Small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma in the duodenum is an extremely rare neoplasm with poor prognosis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old man presented with sudden onset gastrointestinal bleeding and fainting attacks. Duodenoscopy and hypotonic duodenography revealed a 3 × 3 cm protruding tumor with ulcerations situated opposite the ampulla of Vater in the second part of the duodenum. Local excision of the tumor was performed, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with 5-fluoro uracil and leucovorin. Examination of the tumor by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy indicated it to be neuroendocrine in nature, expressing synaptophysin and AE1/AE3, and containing dense core granules. The patient showed no sign of recurrence and has been disease-free for more than 48 months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Most cases of small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma in the duodenum show rapid progression of the disease, and even radical surgery with or without chemotherapy do not prevent death. We report a rare subtype of small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. This subtype appears to have a much better prognosis, and may be amenable to local excision, if the lesion is away from the ampulla of Vater

Re-Evaluation of the PBAN Receptor Molecule: Characterization of PBANR Variants Expressed in the Pheromone Glands of Moths

Sex pheromone production in most moths is initiated following pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide receptor (PBANR) activation. PBANR was initially cloned from pheromone glands (PGs) of Helicoverpa zea and Bombyx mori. The B. mori PBANR is characterized by a relatively long C-terminus that is essential for ligand-induced internalization, whereas the H. zea PBANR has a shorter C-terminus that lacks features present in the B. mori PBANR critical for internalization. Multiple PBANRs have been reported to be concurrently expressed in the larval CNS of Heliothis virescens. In the current study, we sought to examine the prevalence of multiple PBANRs in the PGs of three moths and to ascertain their potential functional relevance. Multiple PBANR variants (As, A, B, and C) were cloned from the PGs of all species examined with PBANR-C the most highly expressed. Alternative splicing of the C-terminal coding sequence of the PBAN gene gives rise to the variants, which are distinguishable only by the length and composition of their respective C-terminal tails. Transient expression of fluorescent PBANR chimeras in insect cells revealed that PBANR-B and PBANR-C localized exclusively to the cell surface while PBANR-As and PBANR-A exhibited varying degrees of cytosolic localization. Similarly, only the PBANR-B and PBANR-C variants underwent ligand-induced internalization. Taken together, our results suggest that PBANR-C is the principal receptor molecule involved in PBAN signaling regardless of moth species. The high GC content of the C-terminal coding sequence in the B and C variants, which makes amplification using conventional polymerases difficult, likely accounts for previous “preferential” amplification of PBANR-A like receptors from other species

Establishment of Sf9 Transformants Constitutively Expressing PBAN Receptor Variants: Application to Functional Evaluation

To facilitate further evaluation of pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide receptor (PBANR) functionality and regulation, we generated cultured insect cell lines constitutively expressing green fluorescent protein chimeras of the recently identified Bombyx mori PBANR (BommoPBANR) and Pseudaletia separata PBANR (PsesePBANR) variants. Fluorescent chimeras included the BommoPBANR-A, -B, and -C variants and the PsesePBANR-B and -C variants. Cell lines expressing non-chimeric BommoPBANR-B and -C variants were also generated. Functional evaluation of these transformed cell lines using confocal laser microscopy revealed that a Rhodamine Red-labeled PBAN derivative (RR-C10PBANR2K) specifically co-localized with all of the respective PBANR variants at the plasma membrane. Near complete internalization of the fluorescent RR-C10PBANR2K ligand 30 min after binding was observed in all cell lines except those expressing the BommoPBANR-A variant, in which the ligand/receptor complex remained at the plasma membrane. Fluorescent Ca2+ imaging further showed that the BommoPBANR-A cell line exhibited drastically different Ca2+ mobilization kinetics at a number of RR-C10PBANR2K concentrations including 10 μM. These observations demonstrate a clear functional difference between the BommoPBANR-A variant and the BommoPBANR-B and -C variants in terms of receptor regulation and activation of downstream effector molecules. We also found that, contrary to previous reports, ligand-induced internalization of BommoPBANR-B and BommoPBANR-C in cell lines stably expressing these variants occurred in the absence of extracellular Ca2+

Application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) to regenerative dentistry and identification of molecular markers for MSC

We characterized human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) by identification of molecular markers and used these markers in clinical studies for treatment of periodontal disease: Auto-transplantation of MSC into periodontal defects enhanced regeneration of cementum, periodontal ligament and alveolar bone. Stem cell therapy could be a new frontier in dentistry