Comparison of Conventional 2D CC (Cranio-Caudal) + MLO (Medio-Lateral Oblique) Bi-Directional Photography and 2D-MLO + DBT-MLO (Digital Breast Tomosynthesis) in Mammography Examination

Introduction: Mammography (MMG) is an excellent examination for breast cancer detection and is widely used in both screening and clinical practice. However, the breast thickness and background the concentration of the mammary gland is large among individuals, and the mammary gland and cancer may overlap and it may not be possible to point out a lesion. In recent years, digital breast tomosynthesis (hereinafter referred to as DBT) has been introduced to solve these problems, and its usefulness has been reported in clinical practice. Therefore, in anticipation of a higher cancer detection rate etc., we compared the conventional 2D CC + MLO 2-way MMG examination with 2DMLO + DBTMLO 2-way MMG examination.Materials and Methods: The combination of 2D CC + MLO and 2DMLO + DBTMLO was read for 95 cases of breast cancer taking 2D CC and MLO and DBT MLO from May 2016 to October 2017. It was judged that the category 3 or more required detailed examination, cancer detection, and cancer detection rates were compared. Subjects were 28 to 87 years of age (median: 55 years), breast composition: high concentration 15.8% (15 cases), heterogeneous high concentration 47.4% (45 cases), mammary gland 28.4% (27 cases), Fatty was 8.4% (8 cases).Results: The cancer detection rate was 87% for the 2D CC + MLO combination and 94% for the 2DMLO + DBTMLO combination in 95 cases of breast cancer. The interpretation time was 95 minutes for the 2D CC + MLO combination and 110 minutes for the 2DMLO + DBTMLO combination.The breast cancer detected only by the combination of 2D CC + MLO was scattered in 1 case and was classified as Category 3 by FAD. Breast cancer detected only by the combination of 2DMLO + DBTMLO: 8 cases with uneven distribution of breast composition, 3 cases with scattered mammary gland, 3 cases with 5 cases with disordered construction, Category 4 with 3 cases with FAD was.Conclusion: Both 2D CC + MLO combination and 2DMLO + DBTMLO combination are considered useful for screening MMG examination. In particular, we would like to consider the introduction to medical examinations for the addition of MMG in DBT, but the issue of the amount of image information, the problem of exposure to radiation, the direction of imaging, the establishment of interpretation methods etc. are future issues

iPSC screening for drug repurposing identifies anti‐RNA virus agents modulating host cell susceptibility

RNAウイルスの感染を阻害する既存薬の同定 --複数の異なるRNAウイルスに対して宿主細胞の感受性を下げることにより感染を抑制する薬剤--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-04-07.iPS cells in drug screenings for COVID-19. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-04-07.Human pathogenic RNA viruses are threats to public health because they are prone to escaping the human immune system through mutations of genomic RNA, thereby causing local outbreaks and global pandemics of emerging or re‐emerging viral diseases. While specific therapeutics and vaccines are being developed, a broad‐spectrum therapeutic agent for RNA viruses would be beneficial for targeting newly emerging and mutated RNA viruses. In this study, we conducted a screen of repurposed drugs using Sendai virus (an RNA virus of the family Paramyxoviridae), with human‐induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to explore existing drugs that may present anti‐RNA viral activity. Selected hit compounds were evaluated for their efficacy against two important human pathogens: Ebola virus (EBOV) using Huh7 cells and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) using Vero E6 cells. Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), including raloxifene, exhibited antiviral activities against EBOV and SARS‐CoV‐2. Pioglitazone, a PPARγ agonist, also exhibited antiviral activities against SARS‐CoV‐2, and both raloxifene and pioglitazone presented a synergistic antiviral effect. Finally, we demonstrated that SERMs blocked entry steps of SARS‐CoV‐2 into host cells. These findings suggest that the identified FDA‐approved drugs can modulate host cell susceptibility against RNA viruses

Japanese VLBI Network observations of radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies

We performed phase-reference very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations on five radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) at 8.4 GHz with the Japanese VLBI Network (JVN). Each of the five targets (RXS J08066+7248, RXS J16290+4007, RXS J16333+4718, RXS J16446+2619, and B3 1702+457) in milli-Jansky levels were detected and unresolved in milli-arcsecond resolutions, i.e., with brightness temperatures higher than 10^7 K. The nonthermal processes of active galactic nuclei (AGN) activity, rather than starbursts, are predominantly responsible for the radio emissions from these NLS1s. Out of the nine known radio-loud NLS1s, including the ones chosen for this study, we found that the four most radio-loud objects exclusively have inverted spectra. This suggests a possibility that these NLS1s are radio-loud due to Doppler beaming, which can apparently enhance both the radio power and the spectral frequency.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

歯の状態がｱﾝｹｰﾄ調査および色変わりﾁｭｰｲﾝｸﾞｶﾞﾑを用いた高齢者の咀嚼能力に及ぼす影響

高齢者の栄養障害の要因の一つに口腔状態や摂食の問題があり､食物摂取に直接影響するのは咀嚼能力の低下である｡咀嚼能力を簡便にかつ客観的に測定するために､咀嚼の進行に伴い色が変わるﾁｭｰｲﾝｶﾞﾑが開発されたが､この色変わりﾁｭｰｲﾝｶﾞﾑ(ｶﾞﾑ)を用いて高齢者の咀嚼能力を測定した報告は未だ少ない｡本研究では高齢者の咀嚼能力の実情を知るため､ｱﾝｹｰﾄ調査とｶﾞﾑを用いた咀嚼能力の測定を行い､食品の咀嚼の難易と咀嚼能力との関連性について検討を行うこととした｡対象者は､活動力の高い在宅の高齢者65名とした｡ｱﾝｹｰﾄは年齢､歯の状態､かみ合わせ評価度､また19食品について摂食可能かを尋ね､普通に食べられる食品の割合を示す咀嚼機能ｽｺｱを集計した｡咀嚼後のｶﾞﾑの色は､色彩色差計にて咀嚼能力の程度を示す a* 値を測定した｡活動力の高い在宅者では､｢義歯群｣が53.8%を占めており､｢欠損歯あり｣はいなかった｡｢義歯群｣間では､かみ合わせ評価度､咀嚼機能ｽｺｱおよび a* 値はいずれも個人差が大きく､顕著な差は認められなかった｡咀嚼の難易の程度が高い食品ほど､かみにくいため義歯依存性はより高くなっており､食べられないと答えた食品の数は､義歯の装着部位が多くなると増える傾向にあった｡As one of the factors of nutritional disorders among the elderly, they have problems in their oral cavity conditions or eating. It is a decreased mastication ability that directly influences on their food intake. Although a chewing gum which changes its color according to the progression of mastication has been developed to briefly and objectively measure the mastication ability, still a few studies has been reported to measure the mastication ability of the elderly using this color-changeable chewing gum. In this study, we planed to measure the mastication ability of the elderly by using a questionnaire survey and the gum to know the actual condition of their mastication ability and then to conduct a study on the relationship between the difficulty of food mastication and the mastication ability. Regarding study subjects, we incorporated 65 elderly subjects who consisted of highly active home inhabitants. In the questionnaire survey, we inquired about their age, teeth conditions, assessment score levels of teeth occlusion,and eating availabilities for 19 kinds of foods and we then aggregated mastication function scores which showed the ratio of the foods that they could ordinarily eat. Regarding the color of the chewing gum after mastication, we measured values of a* which showed the degree of the mastication ability with a color difference meter. Among the highly active home inhabitants,“a group of subjects with some dentures”accounted for 53.8% and a“group of subjects with some lost teeth”in a“group of subjects with only natural teeth”was not present. In the mean while, among the“other groups of subjects with some dentures”, no significant difference was noted, because each the assessment score levels of teeth occlusion, the mastication function scores and values of a* had great differences between individuals. When the number of wearing areas of dentures increases, the numbers of foods for which the study subjects answered that they could not eat tended to increase, because a food with a higher difficulty of food mastication required higher degree of dependence on dentures due to more difficult mastication

高齢者の年代､歯の状態および居住形態が咀嚼能力に及ぼす影響

高齢者の年代､歯の状態および居住形態が咀嚼能力にいかなる影響を及ぼすのかを明らかにすることを目的として研究を行った｡咀嚼能力は､ｱﾝｹｰﾄ調査によるかみ合わせ評価度および咀嚼機能ｽｺｱと､色変わりﾁｭｰｲﾝｶﾞﾑを用いた a* 値から検討した｡その結果､年代が増すと咀嚼機能ｽｺｱおよび a* 値はともに低下した｡義歯の装着部分が増すと､また欠損歯を有すると咀嚼機能ｽｺｱおよび a* 値はいずれも低値を示した｡活動力の高い在宅の高齢者の咀嚼機能ｽｺｱおよび a* 値に比し､施設入所および通所の高齢者のそれらの値はともに低かった｡このことから､加齢､義歯数の増加､欠損歯を有することや日頃やわらかいものを食べることの多い食習慣はいずれも咀嚼能力の低下の要因となることが示唆された｡An investigation was made with the elderly to clarify what kinds of influence do teeth status and living style have on the chewing ability. The chewing ability was estimated based on the scores of teeth occlusion and chewing function evaluated through a questionnaire survey, and a* value determined using color-changeable chewing gum. Results of the present survey demonstrated that the scores of chewing function and a* value were both decreased with aging. When an area wearing a denture is increased or a missing teeth is present, the scores of both chewing function and a* value were lowered. The scores of chewing function and a* value were higher for the in-home elderly whose daily activity is high than the elderly living in care service facility or usually visiting it. These findings suggest that aging, an increase of the number of denture / the presence of missing teeth and eating habits to take soft foods might cause a lowering of chewing ability for the elderly

高齢者施設入所者および通所者における歯の状態からみた咀嚼能力

ｹｱﾊｳｽ入所者､ﾃﾞｲｻｰﾋﾞｽ通所者および介護老人福祉施設入所者を対象に､主観的な咀嚼評価としてかみ合わせ評価度および咀嚼機能ｽｺｱをｱﾝｹｰﾄ調査により､客観的な咀嚼能力の評価を色変わりﾁｭｰｲﾝｸﾞｶﾞﾑにより測定し､高齢者の咀嚼能力の実情について検討を行った｡(1)ｱﾝｹｰﾄ調査では､｢義歯群｣間に有意差を認めなかった｡また｢自歯群｣の｢自歯欠損あり｣の評価は個人差が顕著であった｡それに比し､｢自歯群｣の｢自歯欠損なし｣の評価が最も高く個人差は小さかった｡(2)咀嚼能力 a* 値の平均値について､｢義歯群｣では､｢一部｣と｢上下全部｣との間に有意差を認め(p<0.05)､｢上下全部｣の a* 値が低かった｡また｢自歯群｣の｢自歯欠損なし｣の a* 値に比し､｢義歯群｣の｢上全部と一部｣および｢上下全部｣の a* 値はともに有意に低く(p<0.05および p<0.01)､義歯の装着部分が多いと a* 値は低下した｡一方｢自歯群｣では､｢自歯欠損あり｣の a* 値は｢自歯欠損なし｣の a* 値に比し有意に低く(p<0.05)､欠損歯を有すると a* 値は低下した｡A questionnaire survey on food mastication ability and measurement of its mastication ability using color-changeable chewing gum were made with elderly people to clarify actual status of elderly\u27s mastication ability. Elderly persons living in nursing care homes, those receiving day care service as an outpatient and those living in long term care welfare facilities for the elderly were used as the subjects. The results were as follows. (1)There was no significant difference in the degree of dental occlusion among denture-wearing groups. In the own-teeth groups, there were marked individual differences in dental occlusion among persons having some defected teeth. Whereas the degree of dental occlusion was highest in the own-teeth group with no defected own teeth and their individual differences were smallest in the group. (2)In the denture-wearing group, the mean value of mastication ability(a*)was significantly different(p<0.05)between person group whose upper and lower jaws were partly occupied with dentures and that whose jaws were all occupied with dentures, and the value was lower in the latter group than the former. When compared with persons having no defected teeth in the own-teeth group, either of value a* for persons whose upper and lower jaws were all occupied by dentures and that for persons whose upper jaw and a part of lower one were occupied with dentures was significantly lower(p<0.05 and p<0.01). This indicated that the value a* was decreased as an increase in denture-occupied area. On the other hand, the value a* was significantly lower(p<0.05)in persons having some defected teeth than those with no defected ones in the own-teeth group, indicating that the value a* was decreased by the presence of defected teeth

Successful treatment of a chronic-phase T-315I-mutated chronic myelogenous leukemia patient with a combination of imatinib and interferon-alfa

The T315I BCR-ABL mutation in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients is responsible for up to 20% of all clinically observed resistance. This mutation confers resistance not only to imatinib, but also to second-generation BCR-ABL tyrosine kinases, such as nilotinib and dasatinib. A number of strategies have been implemented to overcome this resistance, but allogeneic stem cell transplantation remains the only established therapeutic option for a cure. A 61-year-old male was diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic-phase CML in 2002. He was initially treated with imatinib and complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) was achieved 12 months later. However, after 18 months, a loss of CCyR was observed and a molecular study at 24 months revealed a T315I mutation of the BCR-ABL gene. At 30 months, imatinib/interferon-alfa (IFNα) combination therapy was initiated in an effort to overcome the resistance. Thirty months later, he re-achieved CCyR, and the T315I BCR-ABL mutation disappeared at 51 months. To our knowledge, this is the first case report showing the effectiveness of imatinib/IFNα combination therapy for CML patients bearing the T315I BCR-ABL mutation

Molecular analysis of the BCR-ABL1 kinase domain in chronic-phase chronic myelogenous leukemia treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors in practice: Study by the Nagasaki CML Study Group

An appropriate trigger for BCR-ABL1 mutation analysis has not yet been established in unselected cohorts of chronic-phase chronic myelogenous leukemia patients. We examined 92 patients after 12 months of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. Univariate analysis revealed that significant factors associated with not attaining a major molecular response (MMR) were the presence of the minor BCR-ABL1 fusion gene, a low daily dose of TKI, and the emergence of BCR-ABL1 kinase domain mutations conferring resistance to imatinib. Factors associated with the loss of sustained MMR were a low daily dose of TKI and the emergence of alternatively spliced BCR-ABL1 mRNA with a 35-nucleotide insertion. Taken together, our results suggest that the search for BCR-ABL1 mutations should be initiated if patients have not achieved MMR following 12 months of TKI treatment

The Constrained Maximal Expression Level Owing to Haploidy Shapes Gene Content on the Mammalian X Chromosome.

X chromosomes are unusual in many regards, not least of which is their nonrandom gene content. The causes of this bias are commonly discussed in the context of sexual antagonism and the avoidance of activity in the male germline. Here, we examine the notion that, at least in some taxa, functionally biased gene content may more profoundly be shaped by limits imposed on gene expression owing to haploid expression of the X chromosome. Notably, if the X, as in primates, is transcribed at rates comparable to the ancestral rate (per promoter) prior to the X chromosome formation, then the X is not a tolerable environment for genes with very high maximal net levels of expression, owing to transcriptional traffic jams. We test this hypothesis using The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) and data from the Functional Annotation of the Mammalian Genome (FANTOM5) project. As predicted, the maximal expression of human X-linked genes is much lower than that of genes on autosomes: on average, maximal expression is three times lower on the X chromosome than on autosomes. Similarly, autosome-to-X retroposition events are associated with lower maximal expression of retrogenes on the X than seen for X-to-autosome retrogenes on autosomes. Also as expected, X-linked genes have a lesser degree of increase in gene expression than autosomal ones (compared to the human/Chimpanzee common ancestor) if highly expressed, but not if lowly expressed. The traffic jam model also explains the known lower breadth of expression for genes on the X (and the Z of birds), as genes with broad expression are, on average, those with high maximal expression. As then further predicted, highly expressed tissue-specific genes are also rare on the X and broadly expressed genes on the X tend to be lowly expressed, both indicating that the trend is shaped by the maximal expression level not the breadth of expression per se. Importantly, a limit to the maximal expression level explains biased tissue of expression profiles of X-linked genes. Tissues whose tissue-specific genes are very highly expressed (e.g., secretory tissues, tissues abundant in structural proteins) are also tissues in which gene expression is relatively rare on the X chromosome. These trends cannot be fully accounted for in terms of alternative models of biased expression. In conclusion, the notion that it is hard for genes on the Therian X to be highly expressed, owing to transcriptional traffic jams, provides a simple yet robustly supported rationale of many peculiar features of X's gene content, gene expression, and evolution

Music Reading Curricula in American Elementary Music Textbooks of the 1940s : Comparison with the 1920s

This paper aims to provide an insight to music reading curricula of the 1940s and 1920s. These curricula were selected from textbooks of Silver Burdett Co., Ginn and Co., and American Book Co. In the 1920s music reading was taught chiefly through Singing and Exercises, and correct singing and correct pitch memorizing were emphasized. However it was found that in the 1940s, music reading was taught through a program of five activities viz. Singing, Listening, Motion to Music, Playing an instrument, and Creative activity. The elements of the music were also illustrated concretely. In addition, all curricula of the 1940s provided reading readiness programs in which consecutive experiences of ear and eye were emphasized. The influence of experientialism was a strong factor in the development of the five activity and reading readiness programs