Normal chemotactic activity of granulocytes obtained by filtration leucapheresis

The chemotactic activity of granulocytes obtained by the Terumo Filtration Leucapheresis System (F.L.) was examined by the method of Boyden's chamber. The number of cells migrating through the Millipore filter was expressed as the chemotactic activity. The mean values were 117 for the F.L. and 122 in a control, in which cells were collected from the same donor blood using dextran sedimentation. The results suggested that the in vitro chemotactic function of granulocytes obtained by F.L. was within normal limits.</p

Vitamin D Affects Neuronal Peptides in Neurodegenerative Disease: Differences of V-D2 and V-D3 for Affinity to Amyloid-β and Scrapie Prion Protein In Vitro

The misfolding of neuronal peptides such as Aβ40/42 in Alzheimer’s disease and cellular prion protein in scrapie induce abnormal aggregation of the peptides in the brain. The seeding of peptides’ oligomers from monomers is the initial step to form molten-globule states before abnormal aggregation. Therefore, compounds targeting the step are useful to clarify the mechanisms underlying aggregation of the proteins and Vitamin D derivatives, which can interact with both Aβ40 and cellular prion protein; however they show different effects in the oligomerization step of the proteins. We discuss the different effects of Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3 in the interaction with these peptides in brain

The relationship of cellular immunity to prognosis in acute leukemia

Forty-five patients with acute leukemia were compared on cellular immunity measures versus prognosis. The patients were treated according a multicombination therapy protocol. The purified protein derivative (PPD) test and dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) test on admission indicated low positive percentages. In acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) patients, the 50% survival durations were 11 months in the PPD positive group and 6 months in the PPD negative group. In acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) patients, the 50% survival durations were 21 months in the PPD positive group and 13 months in the PPD negative group. Peripheral lymphocyte blastogenesis by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation was examined at various clinical stages. The stimulation indices were generally low, and no correlation was found between the PHA test and clinical stages. These cellular immunity measures appeared to reflect one aspect of the clinical condition in acute leukemia patients, and further studies are needed for predicting prognosis.</p

A crowdsourcing approach to collecting photo-based insect and plant observation records

Scientific field observation by members of the public is known as citizen science and has become popular all across the world. Citizen science is advantageous for collecting large amounts of scientific data and can be seen as a crowdsourcing approach to data collection. Information and communications technology is enhancing the availability of citizen science. Mobile devices, such as mobile phones, that have a digital camera with a global positioning system (GPS) are necessities for contemporary life and can be utilised as powerful observation tools in citizen science. A web-based system has been developed as a data collection tool for citizen science. Participants submit an e-mail with a photo taken by their mobile phones. The photos contain location information, which can be easily and automatically embedded if the mobile phone is equipped with GPS. Collaboration has been undertaken with regional event managers, such as museum curators and held citizen science events in each region and for various target taxonomic groups. All photos were stored in the data server and the organisms were taxonomically identified by citizen scientists, regional managers and the authors. In total, 154 species and 843 data records were collected in this project conducted from 2011 to 2016

Central fibroma of the jaw bone: a case report.

Central fibromas developing from within the jaw bone are comparatively rare in contrast to fibromatoid lesions in other parts of the oral region. We report a 13-year-old girl with a central fibroma which developed in the jaw bone.</p

Enzyme systems involved in glucosinolate metabolism in Companilactobacillus farciminis KB1089

Cruciferous vegetables are rich sources of glucosinolates (GSLs). GSLs are degraded into isothiocyanates, which are potent anticarcinogens, by human gut bacteria. However, the mechanisms and enzymes involved in gut bacteria-mediated GSL metabolism are currently unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the enzymes involved in GSL metabolism in lactic acid bacteria, a type of gut bacteria. Companilactobacillus farciminis KB1089 was selected as a lactic acid bacteria strain model that metabolizes sinigrin, which is a GSL, into allylisothiocyanate. The sinigrin-metabolizing activity of this strain is induced under glucose-absent and sinigrin-present conditions. A quantitative comparative proteomic analysis was conducted and a total of 20 proteins that were specifically expressed in the induced cells were identified. Three candidate proteins, β-glucoside-specific IIB, IIC, IIA phosphotransferase system (PTS) components (CfPttS), 6-phospho-β-glucosidase (CfPbgS) and a hypothetical protein (CfNukS), were suspected to be involved in sinigrin-metabolism and were thus investigated further. We hypothesize a pathway for sinigrin degradation, wherein sinigrin is taken up and phosphorylated by CfPttS, and subsequently, the phosphorylated entity is degraded by CfPbgS. As expression of both pttS and pbgS genes clearly gave Escherichia coli host strain sinigrin converting activity, these genes were suggested to be responsible for sinigrin degradation. Furthermore, heterologous expression analysis using Lactococcus lactis suggested that CfPttS was important for sinigrin degradation and CfPbgS degraded phosphorylated sinigrin

Lenvatinib for Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer

Background: Lenvatinib has been approved by regulatory agencies in Japan, the United States, and the European Union for treatment of radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RR-DTC). Thyroid cancer, however, is a clinically diverse disease that includes anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC), the subtype associated with the highest lethality. Effective therapy for ATC is an unmet need. Patients and methods: This phase 2, single-arm, open-label study in patients with thyroid cancer, including ATC, RR-DTC, and medullary thyroid cancer was conducted from 3 September 2012 to 9 July 2015. Patients received lenvatinib 24 mg daily until disease progression or development of unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was safety, and the secondary endpoint was efficacy, as assessed by progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and objective response rate. Results: At data cutoff, 17 patients with ATC were enrolled. All experienced >= 1 treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE). The most frequent TEAEs were decreased appetite (82%), hypertension (82%), fatigue (59%), nausea (59%), and proteinuria (59%). Of note, only one patient required lenvatinib withdrawal because of a TEAE, and this TEAE was considered unrelated to lenvatinib. The median PFS was 7.4 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.7-12.9], the median OS was 10.6 months (95% CI: 3.8-19.8), and the objective response rate was 24%. Conclusion: In this study, lenvatinib demonstrated manageable toxicities with dose adjustments and clinical activity in patients with ATC. This clinical activity of lenvatinib warrants further investigation in ATC