Concept of Virtual Incision for Minimally Invasive Surgery

Minimally invasive surgery has been introduced to various surgical fields for its benefits such as smaller scars and less pain as compared to open surgery. Highly skilled surgical techniques are required for surgeons to conduct minimally invasive surgery with fewer ports, whereas minimally invasive surgery has a number of advantages for patients. Single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS), in which surgical instruments and a laparoscope are inserted through a single port, has better cosmetic results than conventional multi-incision surgery; moreover, the scar is invisible when the port is opened in navel. However, instrument collisions and visual defects often occur due to the limited space of the single opening. We propose a new surgical approach entitled “virtual incision” that enables surgeons to increase the number of openings virtually. Using our approach, we have developed two types of master-slave surgical robot systems for SILS—remote-operated and local-operated systems—which have operability close to that of multiple-incision surgery. Through evaluation of these systems, we demonstrated that the visual field and operability during virtual incision surgery are similar to those of conventional multi-incision surgery. Our surgical approach can be applied to not only single-incision surgery but also multi-incision surgery, and is very likely to improve operability

Dynamic Stability of a Rectangular Plate Subjected to In-plane Dynamic Shearing Force

Dynamic instability of a rectangular plate subjected to in-plane sinusoidally time-varying shearing force is analyzed. The small deflection theory of the thin plate is used. The problem is solved by using a Galerkin method and the harmonic balance method. After presenting the problem in the form of divided matrix equations, numerical results are presented first for natural frequencies of the loaded plate and second for dynamic unstable regions of the rectangular plate with various boundary conditions

人工糖脂質による新しい生理活性物質の開発

金沢大薬学部〔目的〕糖脂肪酸エステルの化学合成を行ない、得られた人工糖脂質を各種の生物活性検定に付し、新しいタイプの医薬や農薬の開発を意図する。〔成果〕1)糖脂質の調製:中性単糖,アミノ糖,二糖,アスコルビン酸,多糖などの糖質を原料として、O-acyl,N-acyl,O-alkyl,N-alkyl誘導体を数多く合成し、物理化学的諸性状を調べた。2)抗腫瘍性・免疫調節作用:a.細胞培養法により、L-5178Yなどの癌細胞に対する傷害作用を検定し、glucose3-laurateをはじめ、多数の試料に活性を認めた。b.一部の試料では、in vivoの抗腫瘍効果も観察された。c.trehalose esterと内毒素の併用療法により、モルモット肝癌(line10)が顕著に退縮し、完全治癒例が70%以上に達することを見い出した。本効果は、全身性免疫機構の関与に基くものと推定される。d.sucrose esterなどが、E.coliに対し、感染防御作用を示すことを確認した。3)植物成長調節作用:アベナ伸長試験法を用い、この種の化合物の中に植物成長を促進もしくは抑制するものがあることを見い出した。3-decyl-amino-および3-laurylamino-3-deoxy-D-alloseの強い促進効果は特に興味深い。4)植物病原菌に対する抗菌作用:Penicillium属に対するTBZの抗菌性がsucrose esterの添加により、著しく強化されることをカンキツ類について証明した。〔結論〕人工糖脂質の研究を今後さらに推進することにより、生体応答調節物質(BRM)や人蓄無害の農薬が開発できるとの見通しを得た。Using neutral monosaccharides,amino sugars, disaccharides, ascorbic acid,etc as the starting materials, a variety of O-acyl,N-acyl,O-alkyl, or N-alkyl derivatives were synthesized chemically and their physico-chemical properties were examined.With some of these artificial glycolipids, the following biological activities were revealed.1. Antitumor and Immunoregulatory effects: a. In the cell culture method, D-glucose 3-laurate and some other compounds showed cytotoxicity against a certain tumor cells (e.g. L-5178Y). b.Trehalose 6,6\u27-diesters(in particular, octanoate and decanoate),when administered in combination with endotoxin,exerted a remarkable antitumor effect against line-10 hepatoma in strain-2 guinea pigs; the mechanism of the tumor regression appears to involve systemic immunity. c. Sucrose mono-stearate and related esters tended to exhibit protective effect against E.coli infection in mice.2. Plant growth regulatory effect: As demonstrated by the Avena coleopltile straight growth test, 3-alkyamino-3-deoxy-D-allose and -D-glucose promoted the plant growth significantly; some samples tested resulted in growth inhibition.3. Antifungal effect against plant pathogens: It was found on Citrus fruits that the antifungal effect of thiabendazole(TBZ) agaiost Penicillium spp. could be enhanced synergistically by adding sucrose monoesters(especially, laurate and palmitate). As a conclusion, the results of our investigation suggest that this class of compounds could become promising candidates for new medicines and pesticides.研究課題/領域番号:60570984, 研究期間(年度):1985 – 1986出典：研究課題「人工糖脂質による新しい生理活性物質の開発」課題番号60570984（KAKEN：科学研究費助成事業データベース（国立情報学研究所）） （https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja/report/KAKENHI-PROJECT-60570984/605709841986kenkyu_seika_hokoku_gaiyo/）を加工して作

Phylogenetic position of a whale-fall lancelet (Cephalochordata) inferred from whole mitochondrial genome sequences

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The lancelet <it>Asymmetron inferum </it>(subphylum Cephalochordata) was recently discovered on the ocean floor off the southwest coast of Japan at a depth of 229 m, in an anaerobic and sulfide-rich environment caused by decomposing bodies of the sperm whale <it>Physeter macrocephalus</it>. This deep sulfide-rich habitat of <it>A. inferum </it>is unique among the lancelets. The distinguishing adaptation of this species to such an extraordinary habitat can be considered in a phylogenetic framework. As the first step of reconstruction of the evolutionary processes in this species, we investigated its phylogenetic position based on 11 whole mitochondrial genome sequences including the newly determined ones of the whale-fall lancelet <it>A. inferum </it>and two coral-reef congeners.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our phylogenetic analyses showed that extant lancelets are clustered into two major clades, the <it>Asymmetron </it>clade and the <it>Epigonichthys </it>+ <it>Branchiostoma </it>clade. <it>A. inferum </it>was in the former and placed in the sister group to <it>A. lucayanum </it>complex. The divergence time between <it>A. inferum </it>and <it>A. lucayanum </it>complex was estimated to be 115 Mya using the penalized likelihood (PL) method or 97 Mya using the nonparametric rate smoothing (NPRS) method (the middle Cretaceous). These are far older than the first appearance of large whales (the middle Eocene, 40 Mya). We also discovered that <it>A. inferum </it>mitogenome (mitochondrial genome) has been subjected to large-scale gene rearrangements, one feature of rearrangements being unique among the lancelets and two features shared with <it>A. lucayanum </it>complex.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study supports the monophyly of genus <it>Asymmetron </it>assumed on the basis of the morphological characters. Furthermore, the features of the <it>A. inferum </it>mitogenome expand our knowledge of variation within cephalochordate mitogenomes, adding a new case of transposition and inversion of the <it>trnQ </it>gene. Our divergence time estimation suggests that <it>A. inferum </it>remained a member of the Mesozoic and the early Cenozoic large vertebrate-fall communities before shifting to become a whale-fall specialist.</p

Gain-of-function oncogenic mutations in TP53 enhance defined factor-mediated cellular reprogramming

Cancer is a disorder with various genetic and epigenetic alterations. Genetic alterations such as mutations, i.e., substitutions, amplifications, and deletions of nucleotide sequences, are largely irreversible, whereas epigenetic alterations can be modified by pharmacological agents that target components of the epigenetic machinery. Recent studies have showed that introduction of defined factors such as those encoded by c-MYC, SOX2, OCT3/4, and KLF4 in normal somatic cells results in their dedifferentiation into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. In addition, we have reported that these iPS factors induce the development of induced multipotent cancer (iPC) cells from gastrointestinal cancer cells by reducing tumor aggressiveness. The efficiency of iPS reprogramming increased when p53 was inhibited. The study of cancer cells suggests that the p53 pathways might be involved in the aggressive phenotypes of iPC cells in a long-term culture. However, the roles of gain-of-function oncogenic mutations in TP53, which is a key tumor suppressor gene, remain to be elucidated. We investigated reprogramming efficiency of iPS generation in human diploid fibroblasts that were co-transfected with TP53 mutants and defined factors. The results suggest that mutations in those TP53 regions that are involved in DNA contact might play a critical role in the efficiency of iPS generation. Taken together, our studies suggest 2 roles of TP53 mutations in reprogramming: (1) the structural mutations might contribute to, or collaborate with, other mutations to regulate the maintenance of genomic stability; (2) the DNA-contact mutations could affect the downstream target genes, which may be distinct from those involved in wild-type p53 function. These molecular manipulations of tumorigenicity and enhancement of cellular reprogramming efficiency by the p53 pathway will open an attractive and useful avenue for future medicine

Eccentric Figure-Eight Coils for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Previously we proposed an eccentric figure-eight coil that can cause threshold stimulation in the brain at lower driving currents. In this study, we performed numerical simulations and magnetic stimulations to healthy subjects for evaluating the advantages of the eccentric coil. The simulations were performed using a simplified spherical brain model and a realistic human brain model. We found that the eccentric coil required a driving current intensity of approximately 18% less than that required by the concentric coil to cause comparable eddy current densities within the brain. The eddy current localization of the eccentric coil was slightly higher than that of the concentric coil. A prototype eccentric coil was designed and fabricated. Instead of winding a wire around a bobbin, we cut eccentric-spiral slits on the insulator cases, and a wire was woven through the slits. The coils were used to deliver magnetic stimulation to healthy subjects; among our results, we found that the current slew rate corresponding to motor threshold values for the concentric and eccentric coils were 86 and 78 A/µs, respectively. The results indicate that the eccentric coil consistently requires a lower driving current to reach the motor threshold than the concentric coil. Future development of compact magnetic stimulators will enable the treatment of some intractable neurological diseases at home. Bioelectromagnetics. 35:55–65, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.ArticleBIOELECTROMAGNETICS. 36(1):55-65 (2015)journal articl

Tsukuba 32-m VLBI Station

The Tsukuba 32-m VLBI station is operated by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. This report summarizes activities of the Tsukuba 32-m VLBI station in 2012. More than 200 sessions were observed with the Tsukuba 32-m and other GSI antennas in accordance with the IVS Master Schedule of 2012. We have started installing the observing facilities that will be fully compliant with VLBI2010 for the first time in Japan