Comparisons of Brightness Temperatures of Landsat-7/ETM+ and Terra/MODIS around Hotien Oasis in the Taklimakan Desert

The brightness temperature (BT) of Taklimakan Desert retrieved from the data of Landsat-7/ETM+ band 6 and Terra/MODIS band 31 and 32 indicates the following features: (1) good linear relationship between the BT of ETM+ and that of MODIS, (2) the observation time adjusted BT of ETM+ is almost equal to that of MODIS, (3) the BT of Terra/MODIS band 31 is slightly higher than that of band 32 over a reservoir while opposite feature is recognized over desert area, (4) the statistical analysis of 225 sample data of ETM+ in one pixel of MODIS for different landcovers indicates that the standard deviation and range of BT of ETM+ corresponding to one pixel of MODIS are 0.45∘C, 2.25∘C for a flat area of desert, while respective values of the oasis farmland and shading side of rocky hill amount to 2.88∘C, 14.04∘C, and 2.80∘C, 16.04∘C

Arginase II expressed in cancer-associated fibroblasts indicates tissue hypoxia and predicts poor outcome in patients with pancreatic cancer.

An adequate level of arginine in the tissue microenvironment is essential for T cell activity and survival. Arginine levels are regulated by the arginine-catabolizing enzyme, arginase (ARG). It has been reported that arginase II (ARG2), one of two ARGs, is aberrantly expressed in prostate cancer cells, which convert arginine into ornithine, resulting in a lack of arginine that weakens tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and renders them dysfunctional. However, immune suppression mediated by ARG2-expressing cancer cells in lung cancer has not been observed. Here we studied the expression of ARG2 in pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDC) tissue clinicopathologically by examining over 200 cases of PDC. In contrast to prostate cancer, ARG2 expression was rarely demonstrated in PDC cells by immunohistochemistry, and instead ARG2 was characteristically expressed in α-smooth muscle actin-positive cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), especially those located within and around necrotic areas in PDC. The presence of ARG2-expressing CAFs was closely correlated with shorter overall survival (OS; P  = 0.003) and disease-free survival (DFS; P  = 0.0006). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the presence of ARG2-expressing CAFs in PDC tissue was an independent predictor of poorer OS (hazard ratio [HR]  = 1.582, P  = 0.007) and DFS (HR  = 1.715, P  = 0.001) in PDC patients. In addition to the characteristic distribution of ARG2-expressing CAFs, such CAFs co-expressed carbonic anhydrase IX, SLC2A1, or HIF-1α, markers of hypoxia, in PDC tissue. Furthermore, in vitro experiments revealed that cultured fibroblasts extracted from PDC tissue expressed the ARG2 transcript after exposure to hypoxia, which had arginase activity. These results indicate that cancer cell-mediated immune suppression through ARG2 expression is not a general event and that the presence of ARG2-expressing CAFs is an indicator of poor prognosis, as well as hypoxia, in PDC tissue

ARG2 was expressed mostly in CAFs under hypoxic conditions.

<p>Histology of PDC tissue in low- (upper columns) and high-power view (lower columns). HE staining and immunohistochemistry for ARG2, CAIX, and SLC2A1 in serial tissue sections. Necrotic areas are surrounded by star marks in the upper HE photo and the rectangle (light blue) corresponds to the area of the lower column. Double immunostaining (the right-most columns) reveals that most of the granular ARG2 staining (brown) is present in spindle-shaped cells stained for CAIX (purple). Inset is a very high-power view.</p

Kaplan-Meier survival curves.

<p>(A, C) Kaplan-Meier survival curve showing a comparison of overall survival between the presence (grades 1 and 2) and absence (grade 0) of ARG2 expression in stromal cells (<i>P</i>  = 0.003) in A and that among expression grades (grades 0 to 2) of ARG2 in stromal cells (grade 0 vs. grade 1, log-rank test, <i>P</i>  = 2.08; grade 0 vs. grade 2, <i>P</i><0.0001; grade 1 vs. grade 2, <i>P</i>  = 0.0009) in C. (B, D) Kaplan-Meier survival curve showing a comparison of disease-free survival between the presence (grades 1 and 2) and absence (grade 0) of ARG2 expression in stromal cells (<i>P</i>  = 0.0006) in B and that among expression grades (grades 0 to 2) of ARG2 in stromal cells (grade 0 vs. grade 1, <i>P</i>  = 0.069; grade 0 vs. grade 2, <i>P</i><0.0001; grade 1 vs. grade 2, <i>P</i>  = 0.013) in D. Black circle and white circle represent censoring and failure, respectively.</p

Correlation of expression of ARG2 in stromal cells with clinicopathological characteristics.

<p>W/D, well differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma and papillary carcinoma; M/D, moderately differentiated.</p><p>tubular adenocarcinoma; P/D, poorly differentaited adenocarcinoma.</p>*<p>Classified according to the classification of pancreatic carcinoma of Japan Pancreas Society.</p>**<p>Comparisons of qualitative variables are performed using the χ² test and otherwise Fisher’s exact test.</p>***<p>Total number of patients are 211 and otherwise 214.</p

Univariate and multivariate analyses of prognostic factors associated with disease-free survival in patients with ductal carcinoma of the pancreas.

<p>W/D, well differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma and papillary carcinoma; M/D, moderately differentiated.</p><p>tubular adenocarcinoma; P/D, poorly differentaited adenocarcinoma.</p>*<p>Classified according to the classification of pancreatic carcinoma of Japan Pancreas Society.</p

Outpatient rehabilitation for an older couple in a repopulated village 10 years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster: An embedded case study

BackgroundLittle information is available on the role of community-based rehabilitation after a nuclear disaster. Here, we report the case of an older couple living in an area repopulated after the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 who received outpatient rehabilitation.Case presentationAn 84-year-old woman underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) after she fell and sustained a trochanteric fracture while caring for her husband with Alzheimer's disease. The 85-year-old husband experienced worsening behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) following his wife's hospitalization. The couple received rehabilitation at an outpatient facility in a nearby village using a shuttle service. The woman's postoperative anxiety was relieved and her physical function improved. Moreover, the husband's BPSD symptoms decreased.ConclusionA wife and husband showed improvement in physical function after THA and alleviation of BPSD, respectively, following rehabilitation. In post-disaster, resource-scarce areas, older adults may benefit from utilizing the outpatient rehabilitation services available in the surrounding area