Tumor-to-Tumor Metastasis to Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma: A First Report

Tumor-to-tumor metastasis is a rare phenomenon. From our review of the international literature, around 150 cases have been reported since it was first documented by Campbel in 1868. Renal clear cell carcinoma is well known to be the most common recipient of tumor-to-tumor metastasis in all tumors. However, renal chromophobe cell carcinoma has not been reported to be a recipient. Here, we report a first case of colorectal carcinoma metastatic to chromophobe renal cell carcinoma

Diverse Physiological Functions of FAB1 and Phosphatidylinositol 3,5-Bisphosphate in Plants

Biological membranes are predominantly composed of structural glycerophospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylinositol. Of the membrane glycerophospholipids, phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) and its phosphorylated derivatives (phosphoinositides) constitute a minor fraction yet exert a wide variety of regulatory functions in eukaryotic cells. Phosphoinositides include PtdIns, three PtdIns monophosphates, three PtdIns bisphosphates, and one PtdIns triphosphate, in which the hydroxy groups of the inositol head group of PtdIns are phosphorylated by specific lipid kinases. Of all the phosphoinositides in eukaryotic cells, phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(3,5)P2] constitutes the smallest fraction, yet it is a crucial lipid in animal and yeast membrane trafficking systems. Here, we review the recent findings on the physiological functions of PtdIns(3,5)P2 and its enzyme—formation of aploid and binucleate cells (FAB1)—along with the regulatory proteins of FAB1 and the downstream effector proteins of PtdIns(3,5)P2 in Arabidopsis

Effect of Obstructive Jaundice and Nitric Oxide on the Profiles of Intestinal Bacterial Flora in Wild and iNOS−/− Mice

We previously reported that the plasma level of endotoxin and colonic expression of IgA in the mouse increased with obstructive jaundice induced by bile duct ligation (BDL). To elucidate the mechanism of the BDL-induced increase, we analyzed the effect of BDL on intestinal flora in wild type and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-deficient mice (iNOS−/−) using the terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (T-RFLP) and 16S rDNA clone libraries. The amounts of bacterial DNA detected in fecal samples from both animal groups pretreated with antibiotics were extremely low as compared with untreated groups. We found that the profiles of enteric bacteria changed markedly after BDL. The bacterial composition is significantly different between not only wild type and iNOS−/− mice but also those before and after BDL, respectively. Among enteric bacteria examined, Lactobacillus murinus was found to increase markedly after BDL in rectum of both animal groups. However, Escherichia coli markedly increased after BDL in the iNOS−/− mice. These findings suggest that profiles of enteric flora change markedly in animals during obstructive jaundice by some mechanism that is affected by bile constituents and iNOS-derived NO

Temperature based segmentation for spectral data of laser-induced plasmas for quantitative compositional analysis of brass alloys submerged in water

This study describes a method to quantify the composition of brass alloys submerged in water using laser-induced plasmas. Principal component regression (PCR) analysis and partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis are applied to spectral measurements of plasmas generated using a long-ns duration pulse. The non-linear effects of excitation temperature fluctuations on the signals are treated as systematic errors in the analysis. The effect of these errors on the analytical performance is evaluated by applying PCR and PLS with a temperature segmented database. The results of the analysis are compared to conventional methods that do not consider the excitation temperature and it is demonstrated that the proposed database segmentation improves accuracy, with root-mean square errors of prediction (RMSEP) of 2.7% and 2.8% for Cu and Zn in the PCR model and 2.9% and 1.8% for Cu and Zn in the PLS model, respectively. The results indicate that systematic effects contribute to fluctuation of underwater plasmas, where appropriate database segmentation can improve the performance of the PCR and PLS methods

Okayama University Survey of the current situation of community-based medical facilities supported by part-time work by physicians

　We investigated the situation of how physicians at Okayama University support local medical institutions by serving as a part-time worker, and analyzed the difference between the five medical districts of Okayama prefecture and other prefectures. Many physicians (actual number of physicians, full-time equivalent number of physicians) served in the southeastern region of the Okayama prefecture (339, 82.2). On the other hand, fewer physicians (42, 11.4) served in Takahashi・Niimi in the northwestern region of Okayama. Many physicians also served in Hiroshima prefecture (193, 48.8), Hyogo prefecture (109, 26.7), and the four prefectures of Shikoku Island (81, 23.6). 　It has been clarified that many physicians at Okayama University are working on a part-time basis to support local and community medical institutions in the wide area of Okayama prefecture, Hiroshima prefecture, Hyogo prefecture and the four prefectures of Shikoku Island

The Meanings of Classes and Courses in the Civil Society : Quantitative Analysis on Social Education and Local Self-Governments

In contemporary political circumstances, civil society is expected to play more important role. That\u27s why we need to give much thought to the role of local governments on social education. The purpose of this paper is to examine the significance of ""classes and courses"" provided for social educational facilities and administrative agencies. First, I focused on volunteers as a major actor of the civil society and analyzed the relationship between motivations of citizens to participate in volunteer activities and ""classes and courses"". Secondly, I noticed regional varieties of the conditions for the local governments to provide ""classes and courses"" and speculated about ""Local Optimum"" from the aspect of administration of social education