Purification through Zeno-like Measurements

A series of frequent measurements on a quantum system (Zeno-like measurements) is shown to result in the ``purification'' of another quantum system in interaction with the former. Even though the measurements are performed on the former system, their effect drives the latter into a pure state, irrespectively of its initial (mixed) state, provided certain conditions are satisfied.Comment: REVTeX4, 4 pages, 1 figure; to be published in Phys. Rev. Lett. (2003

Xanthogranulomatous inflammation of the perimetrium with infiltration into the uterine myometrium in a postmenopausal woman: a case report

BACKGROUND: Xanthogranulomatous inflammation is an uncommon form of chronic inflammation that is destructive to the normal tissue of affected organs. Although xanthogranulomatous endometritis and xanthogranulomatous salpingitis of the female genital tract has been described previously, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of xanthogranulomatous inflammation with infiltration into the uterine myometrium from the perimetrium without endometritis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 68-year-old Japanese woman with intermittent lower abdominal pain and low-grade fever who was initially treated with antibiotics underwent hysterectomy due to abscess formation in the posterior wall of the myometrium and perimetrium (the outer serosal layer of the uterus). Histopathological findings revealed that the abscess was caused by xanthogranulomatous inflammation with the granulation tissue and chronic inflammatory cells that consisted of focal and sheets of foam cells. The inflammation destroyed the perimetrial elastic lamina, and the myometrium was deeply infiltrated by the xanthoma cells. Neither endometritis nor salpingitis was coexistent with the xanthogranulomatous inflammation. CONCLUSION: The patient was diagnosed as xanthogranulomatous inflammation, most likely arising from the perimetrium. Our findings suggest that the perimetrium, as well as the endometrium and adnexae, is one of the origins of xanthogranulomatous inflammation in female genital tract

Quantitative Assessment of Gait Bradykinesia in Parkinson’s Disease Using a Portable Gait Rhythmogram

To quantify gait bradykinesia during daily activity in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), we measured movement-induced accelerations over more than 24h in 50 patients with PD and 17 age-matched normal controls, using a new device, the portable gait rhythmogram. Acceleration values induced by various movements, averaged each 10 min, exhibited a gamma distribution. The mean value of the distribution curve was used as an index of the "amount of overall movement per 24h". Characteristic changes were observed in both the gait cycle and gait acceleration. During hypokinesia, the gait cycle became either faster or slower. A number of patients with marked akinesia/bradykinesia showed a reduced and narrow range of gait acceleration, i.e., a range of floor reaction forces. The results suggest that assessment of the combination of changes in gait cycle and gait acceleration can quantitatively define the severity of gait bradykinesia

No Significant Differences Were Observed in the Amounts of DNA Strand Breaks Produced by Copper between Male and Female Liver Cells of Long-Evans Cinnamon（LEC) Strain Rats

肝炎を自然発症するLECラットの肝細胞に蓄積する銅による酸化損傷と考えられるDNA単鎖切断の量をコメット法で検出した。LECラットの肝臓では4週齢でコントロールとして用いたWKAHの30倍の銅が蓄積していた。4週齢から15週齢では雄、雌ともに週齢に依存して肝臓の銅の蓄積量は増加したが、WKAHラットでは週齢による増加は認められなかった。LECラットの肝臓でのDNA単鎖切断の量は10週齢から15週齢まで週齢に依存して急激に増加した。肝炎発症は雌が雄に比べて頻度が高いことが報告されているが、肝細胞における雌のDNA単鎖切断の量は雄に比べて大きな違いは認められなかった

Hepatic iron Accumulation Is Not Directly Associated with Induction of DNA Strand Breaks in the Liver Cells of Long-Evans Cinnamon（LEC) Rats

肝炎を自然発症するLECラットにおいてDNA単鎖切断に及ぼす銅の蓄積の影響を調べた。LECラットの肝臓において銅と鉄は4週齢から15週齢に蓄積した。低鉄食で飼育したラットでは鉄の蓄積は認められなかったが、銅の蓄積は普通食のラットと同様量認められた。肝細胞のDNA単鎖切断の量はcomet法を用いて検出した。テールが認められた細胞の頻度とテールの長さの平均値を求めたところ、低鉄食を与えたLECラットの肝細胞と普通食を与えたLECラットの間にほとんど違いは認められなかった。これらの結果からLECラットの肝細胞におけるDNA損傷の誘発には鉄の蓄積は関与していないことが示唆された

No Significant Differences Were Observed in the Amounts of DNA Strand Breaks Produced by Copper between Male and Female Liver Cells of Long-Evans Cinnamon（LEC) Strain Rats

肝炎を自然発症するLECラットの肝細胞に蓄積する銅による酸化損傷と考えられるDNA単鎖切断の量をコメット法で検出した。LECラットの肝臓では4週齢でコントロールとして用いたWKAHの30倍の銅が蓄積していた。4週齢から15週齢では雄、雌ともに週齢に依存して肝臓の銅の蓄積量は増加したが、WKAHラットでは週齢による増加は認められなかった。LECラットの肝臓でのDNA単鎖切断の量は10週齢から15週齢まで週齢に依存して急激に増加した。肝炎発症は雌が雄に比べて頻度が高いことが報告されているが、肝細胞における雌のDNA単鎖切断の量は雄に比べて大きな違いは認められなかった

Tumor B7-H3 (CD276) Expression and Survival in Pancreatic Cancer

B7-H3 (CD276), a member of the family of immune modulators, orchestrates antitumor immunity. To date, only small-sized studies have examined the association of B7-H3 expression with survival in pancreatic cancer, yielding inconclusive results. We evaluated tumor B7-H3 expression in 150 consecutive patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma using immunohistochemistry. B7-H3 expression was positive (≥10% tumor cells) in 99 of 150 (66%) cases of pancreatic cancer. We classified the tumors into four groups depending on B7-H3 expression (negative, low, intermediate, and high) and found that higher B7-H3 expression was independently associated with lower disease-free survival (DFS; for high vs. negative B7-H3 expression: multivariable hazard ratio (HR) = 3.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.48–6.15; Ptrend = 0.0026). Furthermore, the association of B7-H3 expression with survival differed according to the pathological stage (p-stage) (Pinteraction = 0.048, between p-stages I–II and III–IV). The association of B7-H3 positivity with lower DFS was stronger in tumors with p-stage I–II (multivariable HR = 3.10, 95% CI = 1.75–5.69; P < 0.0001) than in those with p-stage III–IV (multivariable HR = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.67–2.28; P = 0.55). We demonstrated that tumor high B7-H3 expression is independently associated with poor survival in patients with pancreatic cancer and that this association is stronger in tumors with p-stage I–II than in those with p-stage III–IV. B7-H3 expression may be a useful prognostic biomarker for identifying aggressive early-stage pancreatic cancer

Hepatic iron Accumulation Is Not Directly Associated with Induction of DNA Strand Breaks in the Liver Cells of Long-Evans Cinnamon（LEC) Rats

肝炎を自然発症するLECラットにおいてDNA単鎖切断に及ぼす銅の蓄積の影響を調べた。LECラットの肝臓において銅と鉄は4週齢から15週齢に蓄積した。低鉄食で飼育したラットでは鉄の蓄積は認められなかったが、銅の蓄積は普通食のラットと同様量認められた。肝細胞のDNA単鎖切断の量はcomet法を用いて検出した。テールが認められた細胞の頻度とテールの長さの平均値を求めたところ、低鉄食を与えたLECラットの肝細胞と普通食を与えたLECラットの間にほとんど違いは認められなかった。これらの結果からLECラットの肝細胞におけるDNA損傷の誘発には鉄の蓄積は関与していないことが示唆された