Identification of Clinicopathological and Molecular Prognostic Factors in Patients of Gastric Cancer by Multivariate Analyses

胃癌において臨床病理学的因子及び分子生物学的因子を用い, 予後予測因子, 特に腹膜及び肝再発予測因子について多変量解析により検討した。当科で切除された原発胃癌切除症例165例について分子生物学的因子として, c-erb-B2,c-met, K-sam, proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA), Platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor(PDECGF), Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), E-カドヘリン, β-カテニン, Matrix metalloproteinase 2(MMP-2), Matrix metalloproteinase 9(MMP-9)の発現について免疫組織学的染色を施行した。これらの因子の中で単変量解析によりc-met, K-sam, PCNA, PDECGFが予後予測因子となり得ることが認められた。さらにロジステックモデルによる多変量解析により, 腹膜再発に関してはリンパ節転移, 間質型, K-samおよびc-metの両者陽性群, 肝再発に関しては, 深達度, MMP-9が有意な独立した再発予測因子であった。Coxの比例ハザードモデルを用いた多変量解析による予後予測因子の検討ではリンパ節転移, 深達度, 間質, K-sam及びc-met両者陽性群が独立した因子であった。従って, 本研究により胃癌の予後予測因子に関して, 臨床病理学的因子に分子生物学的因子を加えて検討することがより有用であることが示された。In the present study, in order to elucidate the important predictive factors for the prognosis, liver metastasis and peritoneal metastasis in gastric carcinomas, immunohistochemical analyses were performed on 165 surgically resected cancer specimens of the stomach. We investigated the correlation between clinicopathological factors and the expression of 10 molecular markers including c-erb-B2,c-met, K-sam, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF), Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), E-cadherin, β-catenin, Matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9). Lymph node metastasis, scirrhous type and coexpression of K-sam and c-met were prominent independent predictive factors for peritoneal metastasis, and the depth of invasion and expression of MMP-9,for liver metastasis, respectively. Moreover, Cox's multivariate proportional hazards analyses revealed that the depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, scirrhous type and coexpression of K-sam and c-met were independent prognostic indicators for patients with gastric carcinoma. From these results, it is concluded that analyses with both clinicopathological factors and molecular markers will be more useful for the prediction of the prognosis of gastric cancer patients

Molecular analysis of cyclic α-maltosyl-(1→6)-maltose binding protein in the bacterial metabolic pathway

Cyclic α-maltosyl-(1→6)-maltose (CMM) is a cyclic glucotetrasaccharide with alternating α-1,4 and α-1,6 linkages. Here, we report functional and structural analyses on CMM-binding protein (CMMBP), which is a substrate-binding protein (SBP) of an ABC importer system of the bacteria Arthrobacter globiformis. Isothermal titration calorimetry analysis revealed that CMMBP specifically bound to CMM with a Kd value of 9.6 nM. The crystal structure of CMMBP was determined at a resolution of 1.47 Å, and a panose molecule was bound in a cleft between two domains. To delineate its structural features, the crystal structure of CMMBP was compared with other SBPs specific for carbohydrates, such as cyclic α-nigerosyl-(1→6)-nigerose and cyclodextrins. These results indicate that A. globiformis has a unique metabolic pathway specialized for CMM

Preparation of Lead-Free Machinable Brass dispersed MnS by Hot Extrusion of Machined Chips

The most popular recycle process of brass machined chips wastes is remelting process. However, this process is much energy consumption. On the other hand, lead has been added conventionally in order to improve the machinability of metallic materials. The development of lead-free alloy has become an important issue since lead is harmful to the human body. In this study, MnS was applied to a substitutional material of lead to improve machinability and a direct consolidation process from machined chips of 60/40 brass has been developed. Mixture of machined chips of 60/40 brass and the MnS powder of 0.1-1.0 mass% were consolidated by hot extrusion. Extrusion was conducted at 773 K and an extrusion ratio of 11.1. After the tensile test of the extruded specimen, the tensile strength of the extruded specimen with MnS and that without MnS showed a nearly equivalent value. And tensile strength of the extruded specimen with MnS particles of 106 µm in diameter was slightly higher than that of 45 µm in diameter. Elongation of the extruded specimen decreased with an increase of the MnS additive amount. The cutting resistance test and the chip observation indicated that an increase of MnS additive improved machinability

Development, Characteristics and Durability of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell

The DSSC 120 x 120 mm square sub-module with high conversion efficiency, excellent high temperature durability was fabricated using the new ruthenium-complex dye J2 which was developed by us, most appropriate Ti02 nano-particles, suited electrolyte containing iodine, the improved sealant, protective material of collecting grids. By assembling many sub-modules, large size of modules and also see-through type DSSC modules were developed. By the study of characteristics of DSSC on the incident angle of light and temperature, the advantage of DSSC has been discussed comparing with other Si solar cells

Disorganization of Semantic Brain Networks in Schizophrenia Revealed by fMRI

OBJECTIVES: Schizophrenia is a mental illness that presents with thought disorders including delusions and disorganized speech. Thought disorders have been regarded as a consequence of the loosening of associations between semantic concepts since the term "schizophrenia" was first coined by Bleuler. However, a mechanistic account of this cardinal disturbance in terms of functional dysconnection has been lacking. To evaluate how aberrant semantic connections are expressed through brain activity, we characterized large-scale network structures of concept representations using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). STUDY DESIGN: We quantified various concept representations in patients' brains from fMRI activity evoked by movie scenes using encoding modeling. We then constructed semantic brain networks by evaluating the similarity of these semantic representations and conducted graph theory-based network analyses. STUDY RESULTS: Neurotypical networks had small-world properties similar to those of natural languages, suggesting small-worldness as a universal property in semantic knowledge networks. Conversely, small-worldness was significantly reduced in networks of schizophrenia patients and was correlated with psychological measures of delusions. Patients' semantic networks were partitioned into more distinct categories and had more random within-category structures than those of controls. CONCLUSIONS: The differences in conceptual representations manifest altered semantic clustering and associative intrusions that underlie thought disorders. This is the first study to provide pathophysiological evidence for the loosening of associations as reflected in randomization of semantic networks in schizophrenia. Our method provides a promising approach for understanding the neural basis of altered or creative inner experiences of individuals with mental illness or exceptional abilities, respectively