Clinical effects of stereotactic radiation surgery in patients with metastatic melanoma

We examined the effectiveness of stereotactic radiation surgery (SRS) in 14 patients with brain metastasis in our hospital. The age of the patients ranged 45-85 years old (mean, 65). Brain metastasis was detected by neurological symptoms in seven patients and by regular imaging examination in the remaining patients. The number of metastatic lesions in the brain before SRS ranged 1-11 (median, 2). The treatment number of SRS was 1-4 times (median, 2). Six of 14 patients had neurological symptoms before SRS. Overall survival (OS) after SRS was 1.721.2 months (median, 8.2). The progression-free survival (PFS) after SRS was 0.9-10.5 months (median, 2.2). The result of univariate analysis showed that the application of two or more courses of SRS was significantly related to OS (P = 0.005). Single metastatic lesion (P = 0.051) and no extracranial lesion (P = 0.055) showed a slight tendency to be related to disease-free survival (DFS). Neither lactate dehydrogenase nor neurological symptoms were significantly related to OS or DFS. Although OS and DFS after SRS were not very long, the treatment of brain metastases has the potential to prevent neurological events. Repeating SRS may be accepted as a local therapy in the multimodal approach including new molecular targeting drugs for metastatic melanoma.ArticleJOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY. 40(8):626-628 (2013)journal articl

Milliarcsecond-Scale Structure in the Gamma-Ray Loud Quasar PKS 1622-297

We have made a high-resolution VLBI observation of the gamma-ray loud quasar PKS 1622-297 with the HALCA spacecraft and ground radio telescopes at 5 GHz in 1998 February, almost three years after the source exhibited a spectacular GeV gamma-ray flare. The source shows an elongated structure toward the west on the parsec scale. The visibility data are well modeled by three distinct components; a bright core and two weaker jet components. Comparison with previous observations confirms that the jet components have an apparent superluminal motion up to 12.1 h^{-1}c, with the inner jet components having lower superluminal speeds. We apply the inverse Compton catastrophe model and derive a Doppler factor, \delta, of 2.45, which is somewhat lower than that of other gamma-ray loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs), suggesting the source was in a more quiescent phase at the epoch of our observation. As an alternative probe of the sub-parsec scale structure, we also present the results from multi-epoch ATCA total flux monitoring, which indicate the presence of persistent intraday variability consistent with refractive interstellar scintillation. We examine the gamma-ray emission mechanism in the light of these observations.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, to appear in PASJ, Vol.58, No.

広島大学考古学研究室所蔵の西アジア青銅柄鉄剣をめぐって

いわゆる「鉄芯」入り青銅剣（バイメタル青銅剣）とされてきた広島大学考古学研究室所蔵資料についての再調査を行う。バイメタル青銅剣は、紀元前800～1200ごろ年にカスピ海南部の山岳地帯において出現する金属器で、鉄利用の初期の様相を明らかにするうえで重要である。西アジア北部地域における鉄製利器の祖型として、鉄製棒状部品を内蔵する青銅剣（「鉄芯」入り青銅剣）の存在が指摘され、編年・機能研究が行われてきた。しかし、当該資料はおそらく現代において改変された青銅柄鉄剣であったことが判明した。他機関所蔵品の知見も加味すると、研究対象の多くに同様の可能性があり、「鉄芯入り」青銅剣を前提に導かれたこれまでの知見や議論は根本的な見直しを迫られることになる。紀元前2000年紀の終わりにカスピ海周辺に出現する「鉄芯入り」青銅剣が実は青銅柄鉄剣であったわけであり、それ以前に鉄製利器の導入期といった、より原初的な初期鉄器の実態がある可能性が高くなる。今回の再調査はそうした研究の脆弱性を露呈し、西アジアにおける初期鉄器時代の議論を転換する結果となった

Bifidobacteria upregulate expression of toll-like receptor negative regulators counteracting enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli mediated inflammation in bovine intestinal epitheliocytes

We previously established a bovine intestinal epithelial cell line (BIE cells) and showed that BIE cells are useful in vitro model system for the study of interactions between pathogenic and beneficial microorganisms and bovine intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). In the present study we aimed to select potential immunomodulatory bifidobacteria that may be used to beneficially modulate the inflammatory response in bovine IECs. We also aimed to gain insight in the molecular mechanisms involved in the anti-inflammatory effect of bifidobacteria by evaluating the role of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 and TLR negative regulators in the regulation of proinflamatory cytokines production and MAPK, NF-κB and PI3K pathways activation in BIE cells. Five bifidobacteria strains were evaluated in this study and according to their capacity to modulate inflammatory response of BIE cells. Despite the unique effect of each strain, four common points were found when comparing the effect of the high and moderate anti-inflammatory strains: 1) Upregulation of TLR negative regulators and the intensity of that upregulation was related to the different immunomodulatory capacity of each bifidobacteria strain. 2) The balance between MAPK activation and MKP-1 upregulation affected the an- ti-inflammatory effect of bifidobacteria in BIE cells. 3) The inhibition of PI3K pathway was related to the an- ti-inflammatory effect of bifidobacteria. 4) The immunoregulatory effect of bifidobacteria in BIE cells is partially de- pendent on TLR2. This study shows that BIE cells can be used for the selection of immunoregulatory bifidobacteria and for studying the mechanisms involved in the protective activity of immunobiotics against TLR4-induced inflammatory damage. In addition, we have demonstrated that the anti-inflammatory effect of bifidobacteria was achieved by a com- plex interaction of multiple TLRs negative regulators as well as the inhibition/activation of multiple signaling pathways.Fil: Murata, Kozue. Tohoku University. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Food and Feed Immunology Group; Japón;Fil: Villena, Julio Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos (i); Argentina; Tohoku University. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Food and Feed Immunology Group; Japón;Fil: Tomosada, Yohsuke. Tohoku University. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Food and Feed Immunology Group; Japón;Fil: Risa, Hara. Tohoku University. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Food and Feed Immunology Group; Japón;Fil: Chiba, Eriko. Tohoku University. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Food and Feed Immunology Group; Japón;Fil: Shimazu, Tomoyuki. Tohoku University. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Genetics; Japón;Fil: Aso, Hisashi. Tohoku University. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Cell Biology Laboratory; Japón;Fil: Suda, Yoshihito. Miyagi University. Department of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Science; Japón;Fil: Iwabuchi, Noriyuki. Morinaga Milk Industry Co. Ltd. Food Science and Technology Institute; Japón;Fil: Xiao, Jin-zhong. Morinaga Milk Industry Co. Ltd. Food Science and Technology Institute; Japón;Fil: Saito, Tadao. Tohoku University. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Food and Feed Immunology Group; Japón;Fil: Kitazawa, Haruki. Tohoku University. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Food and Feed Immunology Group; Japón

Platelets Strongly Induce Hepatocyte Proliferation with IGF-1 and HGF In Vitro

Background. It is well known that platelets have athrombotic effect. However, platelets play an importantrole not only in hemostasis but also in woundhealing and tissue regeneration. Platelets have beenreported to accumulate in the liver and promote liverregeneration after an extended hepatectomy, but themechanism is unclear. The present study was designedto clarify the mechanism by which plateletshave a direct proliferative effect on hepatocytes invitro.Materials and methods. Hepatocytes obtained frommale BALB/c mice by collagenase digestion and immortalizedhepatocytes (TLR2) were used. To elucidatethe mechanism of the proliferative effect of platelets,DNA synthesis of hepatocytes was measuredunder various conditions and the related cellular signalswere analyzed. Chromatographic analysis wasalso performed to clarify which elements of plateletshave mitogenic activity.Results. DNA synthesis significantly increased in thehepatocytes cultured with platelets (P < 0.001). However,when the platelets and hepatocytes were separated,the platelets did not have a proliferative effect.Whole disrupted platelets, the supernatant fraction,and fresh isolated platelets had a similar proliferativeeffect, while the membrane fraction did not. After theaddition of platelets, both Akt and extracellularsignal-regulated kinases ERK1/2 were activated, butextracellular signal-regulated kinase STAT3 was not activated. Some mitogenic fractions were obtainedfrom the platelet extracts by gel exclusion chromatography;the fractions were rich in hepatocyte growthfactor and IGF-1.Conclusions. Direct contact between platelets andhepatocytes was necessary for the proliferative effect.The direct contact initiated signal transduction involvedin growth factor activation. Hepatocyte growthfactor, vascular endothelial growth factor, and insulin-like growth factor-1, rather than platelet-derivedgrowth factor, mainly contributed to hepatocyteproliferation

Advanced application of bovine intestinal epithelial cell line for evaluating regulatory effect of lactobacilli against heat-killed enterotoxigenicEscherichia coli-mediated inflammation

Background: Previously, a bovine intestinal epithelial cell line (BIE cells) was successfully established. This work hypothesized that BIE cells are useful in vitro model system for the study of interactions of microbial- or pathogenassociated molecular patterns (MAMPs or PAMPs) with bovine intestinal epithelial cells and for the selection of immunoregulatory lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Results: All toll-like receptor (TLR) genes were expressed in BIE cells, being TLR4 one of the most strongly expressed. We demonstrated that heat-stable PAMPs of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) significantly enhanced the production of IL-6, IL-8, IL-1! and MCP-1 in BIE cells by activating both NF-"B and MAPK pathways. We evaluated the capacity of several lactobacilli strains to modulate heat-stable ETEC PAMPs-mediated inflammatory response in BIE cells. Among these strains evaluated, Lactobacillus casei OLL2768 attenuated heat-stable ETEC PAMPs-induced pro-inflammatory response by inhibiting NF-"B and p38 signaling pathways in BIE cells. Moreover, L. casei OLL2768 negatively regulated TLR4 signaling in BIE cells by up-regulating Toll interacting protein (Tollip) and B-cell lymphoma 3-encoded protein (Bcl-3). Conclusions: BIE cells are suitable for the selection of immunoregulatory LAB and for studying the mechanisms involved in the protective activity of immunobiotics against pathogen-induced inflammatory damage. In addition, we showed that L. casei OLL2768 functionally modulate the bovine intestinal epithelium by attenuating heat-stable ETEC PAMPs-induced inflammation. Therefore L. casei OLL2768 is a good candidate for in vivo studying the protective effect of LAB against intestinal inflammatory damage induced by ETEC infection or heat-stable ETEC PAMPs challenge in the bovine host.Fil: Takanashi, Naoya. Food and Feed Immunology Group. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan;Fil: Tomosada, Yohsuke. Food and Feed Immunology Group. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan;Fil: Villena, Julio Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Tucuman. Centro de Referencia Para Lactobacilos (i); Food and Feed Immunology Group. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan;Fil: Murata, Kozue. Food and Feed Immunology Group. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan;Fil: Takahashi, Takuya. Food and Feed Immunology Group. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan;Fil: Chiba, Eriko. Food and Feed Immunology Group. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan;Fil: Tohno, Masanori. Food and Feed Immunology Group. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan; National Agriculture and Food Research Organization. National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science; Japan.;Fil: Tomoyuki Shimazu. Food and Feed Immunology Group. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan; Laboratory of Animal Breading and Genetics. Graduate School of Agricultural Science; Japan.;Fil: Aso, Hisashi. Cell Biology Laboratory, Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan.;Fil: Suda, Yoshihito. Department of Food, Agriculture and Environment. Miyagi University; Japan.;Fil: Ikegami, Shuji. Division of Research and Development. Food Science Institut. Meiji Dairies CoOdawara; Japan;Fil: Itoh, Hiroyuki. Division of Research and Development. Food Science Institut. Meiji Dairies CoOdawara; Japan;Fil: Kawai, Yasushi. Food and Feed Immunology Group. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan;Fil: Tadao Saito. Food and Feed Immunology Group. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan;Fil: Alvarez, Gladis Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos (i); Argentina;Fil: Kitazawa, Haruki. Food and Feed Immunology Group. Laboratory of Animal Products Chemistry. Graduate School of Agricultural Science. Tohoku University; Japan

Effects of mosapride on motility of the small intestine and caecum in normal horses after jejunocaecostomy

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prokinetic effects of mosapride with non-invasive assessment of myoelectrical activity in the small intestine and caecum of healthy horses after jejunocaecostomy. Six horses underwent celiotomy and jejunocaecostomy, and were treated with mosapride (treated group) at 1.5 mg/kg per osos once daily for 5 days after surgery. The other six horses did not receive treatment and were used as controls (non-treated group). The electrointestinography (EIG) maximum amplitude was used to measure intestinal motility. Motility significantly decreased following surgery. In the treated group, the EIG maximum amplitude of the small intestine was significantly higher than in the controls from day 6~31 after treatment. These findings clearly indicate that mosapride could overcome the decline of intestinal motility after jejunocaecostomy in normal horses

VSOP Data Archive System

Abstract We present the new VSOP data archive system installed on the Data ARchive and Transmission System (DARTS) at ISAS. The current test archive for VSOP visibility data started in June 2002, and about 50 datasets are available now (http://www.darts.isas.ac.jp)

シコク トウブ トクシマケン カミヤマチョウ シュウヘン ノ チチブ ホクタイチュウ ニ サンスル リョクショクガンルイ

Small greenstone bodies of the Northern Chichibu belt in the Kamiyama-cho area, Tokushima Prefecture, Eastern Shikoku are composed of alkaline basalts, olivine cumulte and gabbro. Their high Nb/Zr (0.16～0.26) bulk ratio and MORB-normalized trace element pattern resemble HIMU and non-HIMU basalts of French Polynesia.国立情報学研究所『研究紀要公開支援事業』により電子化