Marsupialization of mandibular cystic lesions, clinical observations of 23 cases

1. Marsupialization was performed on 23 cases of cystic lesions of the jaw at the Department of Oral Surgery, Okayama University Hospital in the recent five years. 2. These patients were divided into 4 groups according to their age; namely, group A of those under IS years old, group B of those between 15 and 30 years old, group C of those between 31 and 60 years old, and group D of those over 61 years old, and the results of postoperative findings were compared with those of preoperative ones. 3. In group A of the four groups the most favorable results were obtained after marsupialization and reduction of the tumor was remarkable, even in a case of ameloblastoma, as compared with groups B, C and D. 4. Cure of lesions took somewhat a longer period of time in group B than in group A, but all the cystic lesions were reduced favorably after operation. 5. The reduction in cysts in groups C and D was markedly slower when compared with that in groups A and B, but the marsupialization surgery seems to be desirable in some cases.</p

Targeted gene integration using the combination of a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein and phiC31 integrase.

PhiC31 integrase-based vectors can integrate therapeutic genes selectively into attP or pseudo-attP sites in genomes, but considerable numbers of pseudo-attP sites in human genomes exist inside endogenous gene-coding regions. To avoid endogenous gene disruptions, we aimed to enhance the integration site-specificity of the phiC31 integrase-based vector using a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein containing Gal4 and LexA DNA-binding motifs. The dual DNA-binding protein was designed to tether the UAS-containing donor vector to the target sequence, the LexA operator, and restrict integration to sites close to the LexA operator. To analyze the site-specificity in chromosomal integration, a human cell line having LexA operators on the genome was established, and the cell line was transfected with donor vectors expressing the DNA-binding protein and the phiC31 integrase expression vector (helper vector). Quantitative PCR indicated that integration around the LexA operator was 26-fold higher with the UAS-containing donor vector than with the control. Sequence analysis confirmed that the integration occurred around the LexA operator. The dual DNA-binding protein-based targeted integration strategy developed herein would allow safer and more reliable genetic manipulations for various applications, including gene and cell therapies

Support for the Radical Right in Japan : Converging to the European Politics?

Although no radical right party actually won a seat in Japanese national and local assemblies until 2012, radical right parties and movements have had a noteworthy place in postwar Japan. Moreover, new radical right movements have been growing in the last decade. While Japan’s old radical right is authoritarian, anti-communist, and nationalist, the new radical right is uniquely characterized by its xenophobia. Keeping the rise of the new radical right in mind, Japan seems to be opening a Pandora’s box of radical right politics—much the same as European countries. In this paper, we will examine the characteristics of Japan’s radical right, comparing the different support bases of the old and new radical right politicians. Analyzing survey data from research we conducted in 2007, we found that nationalism was their most strongly correlated characteristic, while xenophobia had no significant role in steering the politics of the old radical right. That xenophobia is such a prominent feature of Japan’s new radical right suggests that this political preference is aligning with its West European counterparts

piggyBac Transposon-mediated Long-term Gene Expression in Mice

Transposons are promising systems for somatic gene integration because they can not only integrate exogenous genes efficiently, but also be delivered to a variety of organs using a range of transfection methods. piggyBac (PB) transposon has a high transposability in mammalian cells in vitro, and has been used for genetic and preclinical studies. However, the transposability of PB in mammalian somatic cells in vivo has not been demonstrated yet. Here, we demonstrated PB-mediated sustained gene expression in adult mice. We constructed PB-based plasmid DNA (pDNA) containing reporter [firefly and Gaussia luciferase (Gluc)] genes. Mice were transfected by injection of these pDNAs using a hydrodynamics-based procedure, and the conditions for high-level sustained gene expression were examined. Consequently, gene expressions were sustained over 2 months. Our results suggest that PB is useful for organ-selective somatic integration and sustained gene expression in mammals, and will contribute to basic genetic studies and gene therapies