A model for analysis of the spectral reflectance of mineral mixtures

We proposed a model to determine the spectral reflectance of mineral mixtures as a function of relative abundance of mineral components on the basis of both diffuse spectral reflectance and diffuse spectral transmittance of the components. In order to test the model, we measured spectral reflectances of sized olivine and pyroxene samples separated from Nuevo Mercurio ordinary chondrite and examined variations of spectral reflictances of the olivine-pyroxene mixtures as a function of relative mineral abundance. Spectral reflectances calculated for olivine-pyroxene mixtures based on our model agree well with measured spectra of the mixtures

Cerebrovascular response to CO2 during moderate-intensity exercise measured by performing transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography

Previous studies demonstrated that cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes during dynamic exercise and a physiological basis for this observation may be explained by the tight control of CBF by arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO?). This study examined whether the steady state of the middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCAVmean) and PaCO?could be observed during constant work rate cycling exercise and to investigate the cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) to CO?. Seven young volunteers performed a 10-min exercise session with constant workload using a cycle ergometer, with intensities corresponding to the level below the lactate threshold. Respiratory gas analysis and MCAVmean were measured simultaneously using the transcranial Doppler (TCD) method. PaCO?was estimated (ePaCO?) using the end-tidal pressure of CO?(PETCO?) and the tidal volume (VT). On-transient phase II of VO?and the corresponding responses of MCAVmean and ePaCO? were investigated simultaneously with the monoexponential model. Since the responses in ΔMCAVmean or ePaCO?had the overshoot phase within 3min in some cases, analysis for the fitted curves of the monoexponential model was performed during the first 5 min as well as during the total 10 min. CVR to CO?during the dynamic cyclic exercise was 5.33 % mmHg-1 and 4.78 % mmHg?1 in the 5-min and the 10-min analysis, respectively. In the 5-min and the 10-min analysis, CVR to CO?significantly correlated with the exercise intensity during the 10-min bout (r2 = 0.89 and 0.75, respectively). During the on-transient phase of dynamic exercise, CBF would be influenced by PaCO?and other factors such as the neuronal activation and cardiac output would also be involved in changing CBF

Cervicomediastinal Lipoma

A 67-year-old female was hospitalized with complaints of cough and shortness of breath. A chest roentgenogram showed a right upper mediatinal mass. Computed tomography demonstrated a well circumscribed large mass, with a fat density, extending from the azygos arch to the thyroid cartilage. The mass displaced the superior vena cava anteriorly and trachea laterally to the left. It was hourglass shaped, 250g in weight and could be easily removed completely along with the thoracic portion from the cervix. The histologic findings were consistent with lipoma. Its CT diagnosis was discussed

Human cord blood-MNC transplantation improves PH

Objectives : To investigate the effects of human umbilical cord blood-derived mononuclear cell (hUCB-MNC) transplantation on pulmonary hypertension (PH) induced by monocrotaline (MCT) in immunodeficient mice and their distribution. Methods :MCT was administered to BALB/c Slc-nu/nu mice, and PH was induced in mice 4 weeks later. Fresh hUCB-MNCs harvested from a human donor after her delivery were injected intravenously into those PH mice. The medial thickness of pulmonary arterioles, ratio of right ventricular to septum plus left ventricular weight (RV/S+LV), and ratio of acceleration time to ejection time of pulmonary blood flow waveform (AT/ET) were determined 4 weeks after hUCB-MNC transplantation. To reveal the incorporation into the lung, CMTMR-labeled hUCB-MNCs were observed in the lung by fluorescent microscopy. DiR-labeled hUCB-MNCs were detected in the lung and other organs by bioluminescence images. Results : Medial thickness, RV/S+ LV and AT/ET were significantly improved 4 weeks after hUCB-MNC transplantation compared with those in mice without hUCB-MNC transplantation. CMTMR-positive hUCB-MNCs were observed in the lung 3 hours after transplantation. Bioluminescence signals were detected more strongly in the lung than in other organs for 24 hours after transplantation. Conclusions : The results indicate that hUCB-MNCs are incorporated into the lung early after hUCB-MNC transplantation and improve MCT-induced PH

Molecular diagnosis of an infant with TSC2/PKD1 contiguous gene syndrome

A 1-month-old Japanese infant with cardiac rhabdomyoma was diagnosed with TSC2/PKD1 contiguous gene syndrome by targeted panel sequencing with subsequent quantitative polymerase chain reaction that revealed gross monoallelic deletion, including parts of two genes: exons 19–42 of TSC2 and exons 2–46 of PKD1. Early molecular diagnosis can help to detect bilateral renal cyst formation and multidisciplinary follow-up of this multisystem disease

Iliac access conduit facilitates endovascular aortic aneurysm repair and ipsilateral iliofemoral bypass

It may be difficult to access a route to deliver a stent-graft for abdominal aortic aneurysm in high-risk patients with bilateral iliofemoral occlusive disease. These two patients underwent both endovascular aortic aneurysm repair by a modified iliac access conduit technique and sequential ipsilateral iliofemoral artery bypass using the conduit, which provided excellent results. The iliac access conduit facilitates endovascular aortic aneurysm repair and ipsilateral iliofemoral bypass of high-risk patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm and bilateral iliofemoral occlusive disease

Delayed-onset severe heparin-induced thrombocytopenia after total arch replacement under cardiopulmonary bypass

An extremely rare case with delayed-onset heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is described. A 46-year-old man underwent arch replacement for aortic dissection under cardiopulmonary bypass and initial exposure of unfractionated heparin. In post operative 7 days, persistent atrial fibrillation was occurred, so a continuous infusion of heparin (10000 IU/day) and Vitamine K antagonist (Warfarin) taking was started for preventing thrombosis. By 32 days after the operation, his platelet count had fallen (3×103 /μL) and oral hematoma and ecchymoma of bilateral lower legs were occurred. The value of HIT antibodies and the IgG antibody was 2.485 and 1.586 on 32-postoperative day, respectively. Heparin was immediately discontinued, and argatroban administrated. Platelet exceeded above 100×103/μL on 12 days of the therapy. To our knowledge, few cases of delayed-onset severe HIT associated with CPB surgery have been reported in Japan

A comparison of nephrotoxicity between patients with a solitary-functioning kidney and those with bilateral-functioning kidneys in cisplatin-based chemotherapy for advanced urothelial carcinoma: a Japanese retrospective multi-institutional study

BackgroundTo compare the prevalence of nephrotoxicity between patients with a solitary-functioning kidney versus those with bilateral-functioning kidneys during the administration of cisplatin-based chemotherapy for advanced urothelial carcinoma.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 244 advanced urothelial carcinoma patients treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy between 2004 and 2010 at 17 institutes in Japan. The 24 h creatinine clearance, Cockcroft–Gault formula, and estimated glomerular filtration rate equation (eGFR), were compared before all chemotherapies. The urinary tract function status was determined based on the data of nephroureterectomy, hydronephrosis, and relief of upper urinary tract obstruction. A total of 244 patients were divided into four groups according to their urinary tract functioning status and eGFR results, including bilateral-functioning kidneys with pretreatment eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2 group (n = 83, 34.0%); a solitary-functioning kidney with pretreatment eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2 group (n = 36, 14.8%); bilateral-functioning kidneys with pretreatment eGFR  10% and 30% from baseline in the post-third-course of chemotherapy was significantly higher in patients with bilateral-functioning kidneys than in those with a solitary-functioning kidney, among patients with pretreatment eGFR  20% from baseline were significantly higher in patients with bilateral-functioning kidneys than those with a solitary-functioning kidney among patients with pretreatment eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 (p = 0.034), whereas no significant difference was observed among patients with pretreatment eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2.ConclusionsThe results suggest that cisplatin-based chemotherapy may have more nephrotoxicity in patients with bilateral-functioning kidneys than in those with a solitary-functioning kidney

Serum Antibody Against NY-ESO-1 and XAGE1 Antigens Potentially Predicts Clinical Responses to Anti–Programmed Cell Death-1 Therapy in NSCLC

Introduction: Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors effectively treat NSCLC and prolong survival. Robust biomarkers for predicting clinical benefits of good response and long survival with anti-PD-1 therapy have yet to be identified; therefore, predictive biomarkers are needed to select patients with benefits. Methods: We conducted a prospective study to explore whether serum antibody against NY-ESO-1 and/or XAGE1 cancer-testis antigens predicted primarily good clinical response and secondarily long survival with anti-PD-1 therapy for NSCLC. The serum antibody was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and tumor immune microenvironment and mutation burden were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and next-generation sequencing. Results: In the discovery cohort (n = 13), six antibody-positive NSCLC cases responded to anti-PD-1 therapy (two complete and four partial responses), whereas seven antibody-negative NSCLC cases did not. Antibody positivity was associated with good response and survival, regardless of tumor programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression, mutation burden, and CD8+ T-cell infiltration. In the validation cohort (n = 75), 17 antibody-positive NSCLC cases responded well to anti-PD-1 therapy as compared with 58 negative NSCLC cases (objective response rate 65% versus 19%, p = 0.0006) and showed significantly prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival. Antibody titers highly correlated with tumor reduction rates. In the multivariate analysis, response biomarkers were tumor programmed death ligand 1 expression and antibody positivity, and only antibody positivity was a significantly better predictive biomarker of progression-free survival (hazard ratio = 0.4, p = 0.01) and overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.2, p = 0.004). Conclusions: Our results suggest that NY-ESO-1 and/or XAGE1 serum antibodies are useful biomarkers for predicting clinical benefits in anti-PD-1 therapy for NSCLC and probably for other cancers

Plasma Thrombopoietin Levels are Unlikely to Account for the Platelet-sparing Effect of Paclitaxel in Lung Cancer Patients

Purpose: The present study was designed to determine whether the combination of carboplatin (CBDCA) with paclitaxel (PTX) spared CBDCA-induced thrombocytopenia by increased plasma thrombopoietin (TPO) levels. Methods: Patients with non-small-cell and small-cell lung cancer were consecutively assigned to CBDCA with PTX regimen (CBDCA/PTX) and CBDCA with irinotecan (CPT-11) regimen (CBDCA/CPT-11), respectively. Results: Ten patients were entered into either CBDCA/PTX (n=5) or CBDCA/CPT-11 (n=5). CBDCA/PTX showed a lesser reduction of platelet counts than CBDCA/CPT-11 (p<0.05), although more severe neutropenia was observed in CBDCA/PTX (p<0.01). The plasma TPO levels were inversely correlated with circulating platelet counts in CBDCA/PTX and CBDCA/CPT-11. However, the increased rate of plasma TPO levels in CBDCA/PTX was not significantly different from that in CBDCA/CPT-11. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the increased plasma TPO levels in CBDCA/PTX result secondarily from thrombocytopenia, and that circulating TPO is probably not involved in the platelet-sparing effect of PTX