Ferrocenylnaphthalene Diimide-Based Electrochemical Detection of Aberrant Methylation in hTERT Gene

Since aberrant methylation at CpG sites is linked to the silencing of tumor suppressor genes, DNA methylation analysis is important for cancer diagnosis. We developed ferrocenylnaphthalene diimide (FND), which has two ferrocenyl moieties at the substituent termini, as an electrochemical indicator for hybridized DNA duplexes. In this study, we attempted to detect aberrant methylation of human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (hTERT), an efficient cancer marker, using FND-based hybridization coupled with electrochemical detection via a multi-electrode chip

A Visitors' Report : Vocational Training Courses at Special Needs Schools, Social Enterprises, and a Vocational Training Center in South Korea

韓国の特殊教育は,1994年を境に日本の特別支援教育と大きく変わった。更にIMF 危機によって,特別支援教育だけでなく,様々な制度上の変化が加速された。本稿では,訪問した特別支援学校専攻科の様子と社会的企業について報告した。特別支援学校では,企業と連携した職業指導,施設設備の寄贈等,企業からの支援・企業との連携体制が構築されていた。更に社会的企業は,社会福祉と資本主義の共生とでも言うべき支援体制であり,更に市民の協力があった。これからの日本の特別支援学校の新しい在り方,障害者福祉を考える上で,重要な示唆を受けた

Assessment of the Quality of Newly Formed Bone around Titanium Alloy Implants by Using X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in bones quality between newly formed bone and cortical bone formed around titanium alloy implants by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. As a result of narrow scan measurement at 4 weeks, the newly formed bone of C1s, P2p, O1s, and Ca2p were observed at a different peak range and strength compared with a cortical bone. At 8 weeks, the peak range and strength of newly formed bone were similar to those of cortical bone at C1s, P2p, and Ca2p, but not O1s. The results from this analysis indicate that the peaks and quantities of each element of newly formed bone were similar to those of cortical bone at 8 weeks, suggestive of a strong physicochemical resemblance