Optimal Intravascular Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients With Multivessel Disease

BACKGROUND: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was only rarely used in landmark trials comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with multivessel disease. OBJECTIVES: The authors aimed to evaluate clinical outcomes after optimal IVUS-guided PCI in patients undergoing multivessel PCI. METHODS: The OPTIVUS (OPTimal IntraVascular UltraSound)-Complex PCI study multivessel cohort was a prospective multicenter single-arm study enrolling 1, 021 patients undergoing multivessel PCI, including left anterior descending coronary artery using IVUS, aiming to meet the prespecified criteria (OPTIVUS criteria: minimum stent area > distal reference lumen area [stent length ≥28mm], and minimum stent area >0.8 × average reference lumen area [stent length <28mm]) for optimal stent expansion. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) (death/myocardial infarction/stroke/any coronary revascularization). The predefined performance goals were derived from the CREDO-Kyoto (Coronary REvascularization Demonstrating Outcome study in Kyoto) PCI/CABG registry cohort-2 fulfilling the inclusion criteria in this study. RESULTS: In this study, 40.1% of the patients met OPTIVUS criteria in all stented lesions. The cumulative 1-year incidence of the primary endpoint was 10.3% (95% CI: 8.4%-12.2%), which was significantly lower than the predefined PCI performance goal of 27.5% (P < 0.001), and which was numerically lower than the predefined CABG performance goal of 13.8%. The cumulative 1-year incidence of the primary endpoint was not significantly different regardless of meeting or not meeting OPTIVUS criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Contemporary PCI practice conducted in the OPTIVUS-Complex PCI study multivessel cohort was associated with a significantly lower MACCE rate than the predefined PCI performance goal, and with a numerically lower MACCE rate than the predefined CABG performance goal at 1 year

Structure of Musashi1 in a complex with target RNA: the role of aromatic stacking interactions

Mammalian Musashi1 (Msi1) is an RNA-binding protein that regulates the translation of target mRNAs, and participates in the maintenance of cell ‘stemness’ and tumorigenesis. Msi1 reportedly binds to the 3′-untranslated region of mRNA of Numb, which encodes Notch inhibitor, and impedes initiation of its translation by competing with eIF4G for PABP binding, resulting in triggering of Notch signaling. Here, the mechanism by which Msi1 recognizes the target RNA sequence using its Ribonucleoprotein (RNP)-type RNA-binding domains (RBDs), RBD1 and RBD2 has been revealed on identification of the minimal binding RNA for each RBD and determination of the three-dimensional structure of the RBD1:RNA complex. Unique interactions were found for the recognition of the target sequence by Msi1 RBD1: adenine is sandwiched by two phenylalanines and guanine is stacked on the tryptophan in the loop between β1 and α1. The minimal recognition sequences that we have defined for Msi1 RBD1 and RBD2 have actually been found in many Msi1 target mRNAs reported to date. The present study provides molecular clues for understanding the biology involving Musashi family proteins

Citizenship Education in an Age of Measurement (1) : How did the Japanese Educational Researchers Discuss about Educational End(s), Evaluation, and Ability?

In order to clarify the Japanese context of evaluation in citizenship education, we will focus on the thoughts of four educational researchers at the post WW2 Japan: Shuichi Katsuta, Toshio Nakauchi, Kaoru Ueda, and Minoru Murai. Section 1 will argue the potentiality and limitation of educational theory of ability, achievement, and assessment in Katsuta’s and Nakauchi’s thought. Their arguments aimed at a criticism against meritocracy, and at this point their argument would be a meaningful suggestion even for our age. There is, however, the limitation of their theory and we will refer to a criticism against their argument after 1980s. Section 2 will refer to Kaoru Ueda’s thought on evaluation. For Ueda, evaluation in education is a start point of teaching. He puts importance on the individual. Ueda says that if you cannot conceive the differences [Zure], students’ changes appeared after teaching, you are not apt at teaching students any more. However, it needs very highquality teachers, and it would be a weak point of his thought. Section 3 will introduce Minoru Murai’s theory on evaluation in education. What is an educational problem for Murai? It is goodness. For Murai education is making individuals better. Therefore we should or need to ask what education is for. By this approach, educational bad condition would be reconstructed and get better. At this point, Murai’s thought resembles Biesta’s arguments.【2014年度若手研究者育成プロジェクト（Young Scholars Training Program）Joint International Symposium with Stockholm University “Education in the Era of Globalization”】プロジェクト採択者ワーキングペーパー（高度化センターHP に掲載のものを再掲

Citizenship Education in an Age of Measurement (2) : Toward a New Paradigm of Evaluation in Citizenship Education

The purpose of this paper (the second part of this research) is to describe the resent conditions of citizenship education and to show a new paradigm of evaluation in citizenship education. Section 1 will show you a new conception of citizenship education by Gert J. J. Biesta. He calls it “subjectification.” However, Biesta has not talk about the evaluation of it. That is why we inquiry of new paradigm of evaluation, and we would refer to Biesta’s intellectual resources: Jacque Rancière and John Dewey. In section 2, we will describe citizens as the spectators of schooling from Jacque Rancière’s theory: one of the important members for the assessment of schooling. They are not the consumers of schooling: they not only pay taxes for supporting their schools but also should participate in the assessment of schooling. At section 3, we will focus on John Dewey. Dewey’s thought on democracy is very fruitful for constructing a new paradigm of evaluation. Democracy is a way of associated living for Dewey. Democracy consists of association and communication. For Dewey, the democratic society always has fallibility: people have a chance to retry something. Therefore, in the democratic education, if children made a mistake it would not mean an evil thing to be eliminated. Rather it is a chance to reconstruct one’s ideas and to retry something. The evaluation in citizenship education should not be made up with “predetermined correctness.” If we admired Biesta’s conception of citizenship education, we should also admire some mistakes and the chances to retry.【2014年度若手研究者育成プロジェクト（Young Scholars Training Program）Joint International Symposium with Stockholm University “Education in the Era of Globalization”】プロジェクト採択者ワーキングペーパー（高度化センターHP に掲載のものを再掲

Citizenship Education in an Age of Measurement (1) : How did the Japanese Educational Researchers Discuss about Educational End(s), Evaluation, and Ability?

In order to clarify the Japanese context of evaluation in citizenship education, we will focus on the thoughts of four educational researchers at the post WW2 Japan: Shuichi Katsuta, Toshio Nakauchi, Kaoru Ueda, and Minoru Murai. Section 1 will argue the potentiality and limitation of educational theory of ability, achievement, and assessment in Katsuta’s and Nakauchi’s thought. Their arguments aimed at a criticism against meritocracy, and at this point their argument would be a meaningful suggestion even for our age. There is, however, the limitation of their theory and we will refer to a criticism against their argument after 1980s. Section 2 will refer to Kaoru Ueda’s thought on evaluation. For Ueda, evaluation in education is a start point of teaching. He puts importance on the individual. Ueda says that if you cannot conceive the differences [Zure], students’ changes appeared after teaching, you are not apt at teaching students any more. However, it needs very highquality teachers, and it would be a weak point of his thought. Section 3 will introduce Minoru Murai’s theory on evaluation in education. What is an educational problem for Murai? It is goodness. For Murai education is making individuals better. Therefore we should or need to ask what education is for. By this approach, educational bad condition would be reconstructed and get better. At this point, Murai’s thought resembles Biesta’s arguments.【2014年度若手研究者育成プロジェクト（Young Scholars Training Program）Joint International Symposium with Stockholm University “Education in the Era of Globalization”】プロジェクト採択者ワーキングペーパー（高度化センターHP に掲載のものを再掲

Decreased carbonyl reductase 1 expression promotes tumor growth via epithelial mesenchymal transition in uterine cervical squamous cell carcinomas

Abstract Purpose Carbonyl reductase 1 (CBR1) is involved in cancer progression. Recently, the authors reported that the loss of CBR1 expression is associated with a poor prognosis in uterine cervical cancer. Here, we investigated whether the decreased CBR1 expression promotes cancer progression by inducing the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). Methods Antisense constructs of CBR1 complementary DNA (antisense clones) and the empty vectors (control clones) were transfected into human uterine cervical squamous cell carcinoma cell lines (SKG II and SiHa) and the proliferation and EMT marker expression of these clones were analyzed in vitro. In an in vivo study, 107 cells of the antisense and control clones were subcutaneously injected into nude mice and the tumorigenesis was observed for 8 weeks. Results With the decreased CBR1 expression, the proliferation of the antisense clones increased, accompanied by a decrease in epithelial markers (E‐cadherin and cytokeratin) and an increase in mesenchymal markers (fibronectin, alpha‐smooth muscle actin, and N‐cadherin), which suggests EMT induction. In the in vivo study, the tumor volume in the antisense group was significantly larger than that in the control group. Conclusion Decreased CBR1 expression promotes tumor growth by inducing EMT in uterine cervical squamous cell carcinomas

N-cadherin-based adhesion enhances Aβ release and decreases Aβ42/40ratio

Prostate transcriptome dat

Comparison of the OPTIVUS-Complex PCI Multivessel Cohort With the Historical CREDO-Kyoto Registry Cohort-3

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data on the effect of optimal intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with standard PCI or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with multivessel disease.Methods and Results: The OPTIVUS-Complex PCI study multivessel cohort was a prospective multicenter single-arm study enrolling 1, 021 patients undergoing multivessel PCI including the left anterior descending coronary artery using IVUS aiming to meet the prespecified criteria for optimal stent expansion. We conducted propensity score matching analyses between the OPTIVUS group and historical PCI or CABG control groups from the CREDO-Kyoto registry cohort-3 (1, 565 and 899 patients) fulfilling the inclusion criteria for this study. The primary endpoint was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or any coronary revascularization. In the propensity score-matched cohort (OPTIVUS vs. historical PCI control: 926 patients in each group; OPTIVUS vs. historical CABG control: 436 patients in each group), the cumulative 1-year incidence of the primary endpoint was significantly lower in the OPTIVUS group than in the historical PCI control group (10.4% vs. 23.3%; log-rank P<0.001) or the historical CABG control group (11.8% vs. 16.5%; log-rank P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: IVUS-guided PCI targeting the OPTIVUS criteria combined with contemporary clinical practice was associated with superior clinical outcomes at 1 year compared with not only the historical PCI control, but also the historical CABG control