Using simple controls to manipulate complex objects : application to the Drum-Boy interactive percussion system

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1993.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-93).by Fumiaki Matsumoto.M.S

SALL4 - KHDRBS3 network enhances stemness by modulating CD44 splicing in basal-like breast cancer

Understanding the mechanism by which cancer cells enhance stemness facilitates cancer therapies. Here, we revealed that a stem cell transcription factor, SALL4, functions to enhance stemness in basal‐like breast cancer cells. We used shRNA‐mediated knockdown and gene overexpression systems to analyze gene functions. To evaluate stemness, we performed a sphere formation assay. In SALL4 knockdown cells, the sphere formation ability was reduced, indicating that SALL4 enhances stemness. CD44 is a membrane protein and is known as a stemness factor in cancer. CD44 splicing variants are involved in cancer stemness. We discovered that SALL4 modulates CD44 alternative splicing through the upregulation of KHDRBS3, a splicing factor for CD44. We cloned the KHDRBS3‐regulated CD44 splicing isoform (CD44v), which lacks exons 8 and 9. CD44v overexpression prevented a reduction in the sphere formation ability by KHDRBS3 knockdown, indicating that CD44v is positively involved in cancer stemness. In addition, CD44v enhanced anoikis resistance under the control of the SALL4 ‐ KHDRBS3 network. Basal‐like breast cancer is an aggressive subtype among breast cancers, and there is no effective therapy so far. Our findings provide molecular targets for basal‐like breast cancer therapy. In the future, this study may contribute to the establishment of drugs targeting cancer stemness

Removal of Anhydrite and Mg-Silicate Scales from Production Wells Using Chemical Agents at the Mori Geothermal Field in Hokkaido, Japan: An Application of Chemical Well Stimulation

ABSTRACT Well stimulation, which enhances permeability, is an important technique in the creation of Engineered Geothermal Systems (EGS). In addition to physical stimulation such as hydrofracturing, chemical stimulation has been used at several EGS fields. In addition to conventional mineral acids, chelating agents and alkaline solutions have been studied and employed to dissolve calcium and silica minerals without significant casing corrosion. We tested the notion that this chemical stimulation technique was applicable to the removal of anhydrite and Mg-silicate deposits as a replacement for costly mechanical workovers. We conducted two scale removal operations using chelating and alkaline agents at the Mori geothermal field. Two distinct scale minerals, anhydrite and Mg-silicate, were observed in two different production wells. The latter scale consists of crystalline and amorphous structures. We confirmed that the chelating and alkaline solutions not only dissolved anhydrite and Mg-silicate scales but caused them to spall into particles and powders in the laboratory prior to the stimulation on site. The spalled scale fragments can be readily ejected from the wellbore during production. We injected a chelating agent and alkaline solutions into the wells in July and November, 2008. Combined with successive production, the majority of scale was removed and the treated wells showed improved productivity

キャリア ケイセイ シエン キョウイク プログラム ノ カイハツ ト キョウイク コウカ ノ ヒョウカ : チーム イリョウ タイケン ガクシュウ ノ ジッセンテキ ケンキュウ オ トオシテ

我々は歯学部学生のキャリア形成支援のための教育プログラム「チーム医療体験学習」を開発し， 歯学部の2，3，4年次の学生を対象として実施した。本プログラムは，グループワークによる事前学 習とチーム医療の現場体験を2つの柱とし，学生の歯科医療職としてのキャリア意識を強化することを 目的とした。プログラム終了時のアンケートから，学生には歯科専門職としての将来の姿勢や目指す方 向性が具体化すると同時に幅広い知識を身につけたいといった学習に対する動機付が強化されるなど 明らかな教育成果が認められた。プログラム実施前後のアンケートの分析結果から， 「チーム医療体験 学習」が歯学部学生のキャリア形成支援教育の手法として有効なプログラムである可能性が示唆された。We prepared career advancement program “Experience learning in medical team treatment" towards the second，third and fouth year students of dental school. This program consits of prior learning concerned with 'Team treatment and Dental profession' and experience learning in medical team treatment at Tokushima University Hospital. The purpose of this program was to rouse career conciousness as a dental profession. This program provided students with career image which they want to be in the future. Besides，they were motivated to study more widely to approach their own image. In this paper，we evaluated the effects of the program“The experience learning in medical team treatment" on career advancement of dental school students. As a result，it is suggested that this program might be fruitful as career advancement on dental students

Late-onset spastic ataxia phenotype in a patient with a homozygous DDHD2 mutation

Autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxias and autosomal recessive hereditary spastic paraplegias (ARHSPs) are clinically and genetically heterogeneous neurological disorders. Herein we describe Japanese siblings with a midlife-onset, slowly progressive type of cerebellar ataxia and spastic paraplegia, without intellectual disability. Using whole exome sequencing, we identified a homozygous missense mutation in DDHD2, whose mutations were recently identified as the cause of early-onset ARHSP with intellectual disability. Brain MRI of the patient showed a thin corpus callosum. Cerebral proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed an abnormal lipid peak in the basal ganglia, which has been reported as the hallmark of DDHD2-related ARHSP (SPG 54). The mutation caused a marked reduction of phospholipase A(1) activity, supporting that this mutation is the cause of SPG54. Our cases indicate that the possibility of SPG54 should also be considered when patients show a combination of adult-onset spastic ataxia and a thin corpus callosum. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy may be helpful in the differential diagnosis of patients with spastic ataxia phenotype.ArticleSCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 4:7132 (2014)journal articl

A de novo dominant-negative variant is associated with OTULIN-related autoinflammatory syndrome

稀少遺伝性自己炎症性疾患: OTULIN関連自己炎症症候群の新たな病態を解明～既報の疾患に新たな視点を追加し、未診断患者の診断や炎症・細胞死研究の進展に期待～. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2024-04-25.OTULIN-related autoinflammatory syndrome (ORAS), a severe autoinflammatory disease, is caused by biallelic pathogenic variants of OTULIN, a linear ubiquitin-specific deubiquitinating enzyme. Loss of OTULIN attenuates linear ubiquitination by inhibiting the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex (LUBAC). Here, we report a patient who harbors two rare heterozygous variants of OTULIN (p.P152L and p.R306Q). We demonstrated accumulation of linear ubiquitin chains upon TNF stimulation and augmented TNF-induced cell death in mesenchymal stem cells differentiated from patient-derived iPS cells, which confirms that the patient has ORAS. However, although the de novo p.R306Q variant exhibits attenuated deubiquitination activity without reducing the amount of OTULIN, the deubiquitination activity of the p.P152L variant inherited from the mother was equivalent to that of the wild-type. Patient-derived MSCs in which the p.P152L variant was replaced with wild-type also exhibited augmented TNF-induced cell death and accumulation of linear chains. The finding that ORAS can be caused by a dominant-negative p.R306Q variant of OTULIN furthers our understanding of disease pathogenesis

ノウソッチュウ カンジャ ノ コウクウナイ ショケン ト シカ カイニュウ ノ ユウヨウセイ ニツイテ

We analyzed the need for dental intervention in patients with acute cerebral vascular disorders. In this study, we enrolled 43 individuals in SCU (male: 28, female: 15) in need of oral health management. The mean age of the patients was 68.0 ± 14.9. They had been diagnosed as cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, or transient ischemic attack. Thirteen subjects were affected with pneumonia and could not handle self-care management. Furthermore, 10 subjects had poor oral hygiene. There were clearly more pneumonia patients in the intubation group compared to the non-intubation group. In addition, 18 cases (41.9%) needed dental treatment, and 5 cases received dental treatment. Patients with acute stroke had poor oral hygiene with disturbance of consciousness and paralysis, suggesting a possible cause of pneumonia in these patients. Half of patients required dental intervention, indicating that oral management may be necessary for stroke patients to prevent the occurrence of pneumonia