Morphology of the femoral neck in Japanese persons: Analysis using CT data

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to analyze proximal femoral morphology in Japanese persons using computed tomography (CT) data.Materials and methods: Data from 19 normal hips (N group) and 19 dysplastic hips (DH group) in women who underwent total hip arthroplasty were randomly selected from a CT database. The femur 3D model created by computer software was imported to a computer-aided design software package to analyze the medullary morphology. Center edge angle (CE angle), Sharp angle, femoral head diameter (FHD), and the offset were measured. The femoral neck isthmus space (FNIS), which is the narrowest part of the femoral neck, at neck-shaft angles of 125°, 130°, and 135°, was also measured.Results: In the N group, CE angle was 36.2°, Sharp angle was 39.8°, FHD was 42.6 mm, and offset was 39.5 mm. In the DH group, CE angle was 24.7°, Sharp angle was 46.1°, FHD was 45.2 mm, and offset was 33.6 mm. Each parameter was significantly different between the groups. FNIS was 21.8 mm, 22.1 mm, and 22.1 mm, respectively, in the N group and 21.7 mm, 21.6 mm, and 21.5 mm, respectively, in the DH group.Discussion: This is the first report to clarify the medullary morphology of the proximal femur in Japanese women. Results show that there is sufficient space for currently available implant to fit in. This study also elucidated the morphologic characteristics of dysplastic hip, which will be useful information in developing hip prostheses and fixation devices suitable for Asian patients

Treatment Strategy for Recurrent and Refractory Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: Efficacy of High-Dose Chemotherapy with Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

According to population statistics in Japan, approximately 3,800 women die of ovarian ­cancer annually, and approximately 6,000 are affected by this disease. Ovarian cancer is ­referred to as a “silent tumor”, since patients have few subjective symptoms and by the time symptoms are observed, the cancer has progressed to Stage III or IV in about half of the patients. The basic treatment for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer is to remove as much of the tumor as possible, and subsequently to perform anticancer therapy using drugs such as cisplatin, carboplatin and paclitaxel, all of which have been shown to be effective for epi­thelial ovarian cancer. However, the 5-year survival rate in advanced ovarian cancer patients is still only about 20%, and a treatment that leads to long-term survival has yet to be developed. Here, we review the available treatments for ovarian cancer, and present the results of high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) performed in our hospital for recurrent and refractory ­ovarian cancer

Reduced endogenous secretory RAGE in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid is associated with poor prognosis in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Background The endogenous secretory receptor for advanced glycation end products (esRAGE) is a soluble isoform produced by alternative splicing of the RAGE gene. The isoform has anti-inflammatory properties due to its inhibition of the RAGE/ligand interaction and is reduced in the lung tissue of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This study aimed to investigate the association of esRAGE serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) levels with progression of IPF. Methods This study included 79 IPF patients and 90 healthy controls. IPF and control serum esRAGE levels were compared, and the correlation between serum and BALF esRAGE levels was analyzed in 57 IPF patient samples. We also investigated the relationship of esRAGE serum and BALF levels with prognoses and lung function parameters in patients with IPF. Results Serum esRAGE levels in IPF patients were significantly lower than those in healthy controls (162.0 +/- 102.4 ng/ml and 200.7 +/- 107.3 ng/ml,p = 0.009), although the baseline characteristics of age and smoking history were not matched. Serum levels of esRAGE were correlated with BALF esRAGE levels (r(s) = 0.317). The BALF esRAGE levels were also correlated with diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (r(s) = 0.406). A Kaplan-Meier curve analysis and univariate/multivariate Cox hazard proportion analysis revealed that lower levels of esRAGE in blood and BALF were significantly associated with poorer prognoses in patients with IPF. Conclusions Decreased esRAGE levels in BALF and blood were associated with poor prognoses in patients with IPF. These results suggest that esRAGE could be related to the pathophysiology of IPF and serum esRAGE could be a potential prognostic marker of IPF.Peer reviewe

Prevalence of and risk factors for postoperative complications after lower third molar extraction : A multicenter prospective observational study in Japan

Lower third molar extraction is the most common surgical treatment among routine dental and oral surgical procedures. while the surgical procedures for lower third molar extraction are well established, the difficulty of tooth extraction and the frequency of postoperative complications differ depending on the patient’s background. To establish a management protocol for the lower third molars, the prevalence of and risk factors for postoperative complications after lower third molar extraction were investigated in a large number of Japanese patients in a multicenter prospective study. During 6 consecutive months in 2020, 1826 lower third molar extractions were performed at the 20 participating institutions. The medical records of the patients were reviewed, and relevant data were extracted. The prevalence of and risk factors for postoperative complications were analyzed. The prevalence of postoperative complications after lower third molar extraction was 10.0%. Multivariate analysis indicated that age (≤32 vs >32, odds ratio [OR]: 1.428, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.040–1.962, P < .05), the radiographic anatomical relationship between the tooth roots and mandibular canal (overlapping of the roots and canal vs no close anatomical relationship between the roots and the superior border of the canal, OR: 2.078, 95% CI: 1.333–3.238, P < .01; overlapping of the roots and canal vs roots impinging on the superior border of the canal, OR: 1.599, 95% CI: 1.050–2.435, P < .05), and impaction depth according to the Pell and Gregory classification (position C vs position A, OR: 3.7622, 95% CI: 2.079–6.310, P < .001; position C vs position B, OR: 2.574, 95% CI: 1.574–4.210, P < .001) are significant independent risk factors for postoperative complications after lower third molar extraction. These results suggested that higher age and a deeply impacted tooth might be significant independent risk factors for postoperative complications after lower third molar extraction

GaN-based FETs for microwave high-power applications

The present status of GaN-based FETs has been described with a focus on microwave high-power performance. Our latest developments of the devices are presented, and the device and amplifier performance is reported. This includes the demonstration of a 230-W CW output power at 2 GHz, a 156-W pulsed output power at 4 GHz, and a 5.8-W CW output power at 30 GHz. The results confirmed excellent potential of the GaN-based FETs especially for high-voltage, high-power applications at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies

Photochemical fabrication of molecular devices

We present a novel way to fabricate electronic devices from a molecular charge transfer salt Ag(DM)2 by simple illumination, which realizes a junction-structure in the single molecular crystal. The electrical conductivity of the selected parts of samples can be controlled by illimination time and power. The electrical behavior gradually turned semiconducting from metallic one by illumination. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray absorption fine structure indicated that illumination should transfer some electrons from the conducting DM columns to the Ag ions. The X-ray powder diffraction pattern indicated that original crystal lattice was maintained after the illumination. These observations imply that the illumination practically effected doping (or rather dedoping) on the material

Photochemical Method of Device Fabrication Starting from Molecular Crystals

The conductivity of a silver salt of N,N'-dicyanoquinonediimine irreversibly varied in approximate proportion to an illumination of a wide range of wavelengths. Depending on the illumination conditions, four different states (β, γ, δ, and ε) were obtained with different structures. The β structure is in particular important, where the formal charge of the N,N'-dicyanoquinonediimine molecules continuously decreased to -0.4--0.35 with retaining the crystal structure, when we kept the temperature <155°C during the illumination. The non-illuminated area of the sample retained its original electrical property with a well-defined interface, which enabled a fabrication of a junction-structure in the single crystal

Simple estimation of induced electric fields in nervous system tissues for human exposure to non-uniform electric fields at power frequency

Most results regarding induced current in the human body related to electric field dosimetry have been calculated under uniform field conditions. We have found in previous work that a contact current is a more suitable way to evaluate induced electric fields, even in the case of exposure to non-uniform fields. If the relationship between induced currents and external non-uniform fields can be understood, induced electric fields in nervous system tissues may be able to be estimated from measurements of ambient non-uniform fields. In the present paper, we numerically calculated the induced electric fields and currents in a human model by considering non-uniform fields based on distortion by a cubic conductor under an unperturbed electric field of 1 kV m-1 at 60 Hz. We investigated the relationship between a non-uniform external electric field with no human present and the induced current through the neck, and the relationship between the current through the neck and the induced electric fields in nervous system tissues such as the brain, heart, and spinal cord. The results showed that the current through the neck can be formulated by means of an external electric field at the central position of the human head, and the distance between the conductor and the human model. As expected, there is a strong correlation between the current through the neck and the induced electric fields in the nervous system tissues. The combination of these relationships indicates that induced electric fields in these tissues can be estimated solely by measurements of the external field at a point and the distance from the conductor.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Erastin, a ferroptosis-inducing agent, sensitized cancer cells to X-ray irradiation via glutathione starvation in vitro and in vivo

High concentrations of antioxidants in cancer cells are huge obstacle in cancer radiotherapy. Erastin was first discovered as an inducer of iron-dependent cell death called ferroptosis accompanied by antioxidant depletion caused by cystine glutamate antiporter inhibition. Therefore, treatment with erastin is expected to potentially enhance cellular radiosensitivity. In this study, we investigated the influence of treatment with erastin on the radiation efficiency against cancers. The clonogenic ability, glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) expression, and glutathione concentration were evaluated using HeLa and NCI-H1975 adenocarcinoma cell lines treated with erastin and/or X-ray irradiation. For in vivo studies, NCI-H1975 cells were transplanted in the left shoulder of nude mice, and then radiosensitizing effect of erastin and glutathione concentration in the cancer were evaluated. Treatment with erastin induced ferroptosis and decreased the concentration of glutathione and GPX4 protein expression levels in the two tumor cell lines. Moreover, erastin enhanced X-ray irradiation-induced cell death in both human tumor cell lines. Furthermore, erastin treatment of a tumor-transplanted mouse model similarly demonstrated the radiosensitizing effect and decrease in intratumoral glutathione concentration in the in vitro study. In conclusion, our study demonstrated the radiosensitizing effect of erastin on two adenocarcinoma cell lines and the tumor xenograft model accompanied by glutathione depletion, indicating that ferroptosis inducers that reduce glutathione concentration could be applied as a novel cancer therapy in combination with radiotherapy