Gene expression profiling of hepatitis B- and hepatitis C-related hepatocellular carcinoma using graphical Gaussian modeling

13301乙第2051号博士（医学）金沢大学博士論文本文Full 以下に掲載：Genomics 101(4) pp.238-248 2013. ELESEVIER. 共著者：Teruyuki Ueda, Masao Honda, Katsuhisa Horimoto, Sachiyo Aburatani, Shigeru Saito, Taro Yamashita, Yoshio Sakai, Mikiko Nakamura, Hajime Takatori, Hajime Sunagozaka, Shuichi Kanek

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy-related inflammation presenting with steroid-responsive higher brain dysfunction: case report and review of the literature

A 56-year-old man noticed discomfort in his left lower limb, followed by convulsion and numbness in the same area. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed white matter lesions in the right parietal lobe accompanied by leptomeningeal or leptomeningeal and cortical post-contrast enhancement along the parietal sulci. The patient also exhibited higher brain dysfunction corresponding with the lesions on MRI. Histological pathology disclosed β-amyloid in the blood vessels and perivascular inflammation, which highlights the diagnosis of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA)-related inflammation. Pulse steroid therapy was so effective that clinical and radiological findings immediately improved

Study on laser assisted milling of ferrous based consolidated material

金沢大学理工研究域機械工学系This study deals with the laser beam assisted milling to improve the machinability of a consolidated structure formed by layered manufacturing processes. The laser beam used is a continuous CO2 laser with a maximum output power of 100 W. The metal powder for layered manufacturing is a ferrous-based mixture. To investigate the influence of laser conditions on the machinability, specific cutting force, tool wear and tool temperature of the flank face are measured. The results showed that the specific cutting force of the consolidated structure was decreased by the effect of energy input on the structure surface. The progress of wear on the flank face assisted by the laser beam was 20% slower due to the softening of the consolidated structure and the melting of the powder which remained on the structure surface. The dimensional accuracy and surface finishing of the consolidated structure were influenced by the rise of the tool temperature on the flank face. © KSME & Springer 2010

Intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct in liver cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma

A case of intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct (IPNB) arising in a patient with hepatitis B-related liver cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is reported. A 76-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with recurrent HCC. Laboratory data showed that levels of carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 were elevated. He died of progressive hepatic failure. At autopsy, in addition to HCCs, an intraductal papillary proliferation of malignant cholan-giocytes with fibrovascular cores was found in the dilated large bile ducts in the left lobe, and this papillary carcinoma was associated with an invasive mucinous carcinoma (invasive IPNB). Interestingly, extensive intraductal spread of the cholangiocarcinoma was found from the reactive bile ductular level to the interlobular bile ducts and septal bile ducts and to the large bile ducts in the left lobe. Neural cell adhesion molecule, a hepatic progenitor cell marker, was detected in IPNB cells. It seems possible in this case that hepatic progenitor cells located in reactive bile ductules in liver cirrhosis may have been responsible for the development of the cholangiocarcinoma and HCC, and that the former could have spread in the intrahepatic bile ducts and eventually formed grossly visible IPNB. © 2011 Baishideng. All rights reserved

Evidence for Spin–Orbit Alignment in the TRAPPIST-1 System

In an effort to measure the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect for the TRAPPIST-1 system, we performed high-resolution spectroscopy during transits of planets e, f, and b. The spectra were obtained with the InfraRed Doppler spectrograph on the Subaru 8.2 m telescope, and were supplemented with simultaneous photometry obtained with a 1 m telescope of the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope. By analyzing the anomalous radial velocities, we found the projected stellar obliquity to be λ = 1 ± 28° under the assumption that the three planets have coplanar orbits, although we caution that the radial-velocity data show correlated noise of unknown origin. We also sought evidence for the expected deformations of the stellar absorption lines, and thereby detected the "Doppler shadow" of planet b with a false-alarm probability of 1.7%. The joint analysis of the observed residual cross-correlation map including the three transits gave λ = 19_(-15)^(+13)°. These results indicate that the the TRAPPIST-1 star is not strongly misaligned with the common orbital plane of the planets, although further observations are encouraged to verify this conclusion

Salivary Effects of Facial Vibrotactile Stimulation in Patients with Sjogren’s Syndrome and Poor Salivation

We examined the effect of vibrotactile apparatus in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome and others with reduced salivation in comparison to normal subjects. The most effective salivation in normal subjects was produced by 89 Hz vibrotactile stimulation with 9.8 μm amplitude on the parotid or submandibular glands vibrotactile stimuli. First, we examined by measuring the weight of dental cotton rolls positioned at the opening of the secretory duct for total salivation 3 min during resting, and then after 5-min intervals, the weights were measured every 3 min of vibrotactile stimulation on salivary glands. Furthermore, we measured facial temperature around vibrators after 2 min of vibration. We investigated 10 poor salivation patients with Sjögren’s syndrome (8 patients) defined by examinations (contrast study or scintigraphic test) and others (2 patients). About 50% of patients with poor salivation gained recognition for good results, although they had periods of short-term (3 months) and long-term effects (6–7 years) during recuperation. Furthermore, facial skin temperatures on both sides of parotid glands were decreased in Sjogren’s syndrome after vibration, although their temperatures were increased following recovery. Although the mechanism is not clear, we think that vibrotactile stimulation gives activation to salivary glands under the rising facial temperature

Planet(esimal)s Around Stars with TESS (PAST) III: A Search for Triplet He I in the Atmospheres of Two 200 Myr-old Planets

We report a search for excess absorption in the 1083.2 nm line of ortho (triplet) helium during transits of TOI-1807b and TOI-2076b, 1.25 and 2.5R$_{\rm Earth}$ planets on 0.55- and 10.4-day orbits around nearby $\sim$200~Myr-old K dwarf stars. We limit the equivalent width of any transit-associated absorption to $<$4 and $<$8 mA, respectively. We limit the escape of solar-composition atmospheres from TOI-1807b and TOI-2076b to $\lesssim$1 and $\lesssim$0.1M$_{\rm Earth}$ Gyr$^{-1}$, respectively, depending on wind temperature. The absence of a H/He signature for TOI-1807b is consistent with a measurement of mass indicating a rocky body and the prediction by a hydrodynamic model that any H-dominated atmosphere would be unstable and already have been lost. Differential spectra obtained during the transit of TOI-2076b contain a He I-like feature, but this closely resembles the stellar line and extends beyond the transit interval. Until additional transits are observed, we suspect this to be the result of variation in the stellar He I line produced by rotation of active regions and/or flaring on the young, active host star. Non-detection of escape could mean that TOI-2076b is more massive than expected, the star is less EUV-luminous, the models overestimate escape, or the planet has a H/He-poor atmosphere that is primarily molecules such as H$_2$O. Photochemical models of planetary winds predict a semi-major axis at which triplet He I observations are most sensitive to mass loss: TOI-2076b orbits near this optimum. Future surveys could use a distance criterion to increase the yield of detections.Comment: Accepted to MNRA

Enhancement of tumor-associated antigen-specific T cell responses by radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is one of the treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is known to enhance host immune response. However, the epitopes to which enhanced immune responses occur, the impact on patient prognosis, and the functions and phenotype of T cells induced are still unclear. To address these issues, we analyzed immune responses before and after RFA in 69 HCC patients using 11 tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-derived peptides that we identified to be appropriate to analyze HCC-specific immune responses. The immune responses were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay and tetramer assays using peripheral blood mononuclear cells. An increase in the number of TAA-specific T cells detected by interferon-γ ELISPOT assays occurred in 62.3% of patients after RFA. The antigens and their epitope to which enhanced T cell responses occur were diverse, and some of them were newly induced. The number of TAA-specific T cells after RFA was associated with the prevention of HCC recurrence, and it was clarified to be predictive of HCC recurrence after RFA by univariate and multivariate analyses. The number of TAA-specific T cells after RFA was inversely correlated with the frequency of CD14+HLA-DR-/low myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). The modification of T cell phenotype was observed after RFA. The number of TAA-specific T cells at 24 weeks after RFA was decreased. Conclusion: Although RFA can enhance various TAA-specific T cell responses and the T cells induced contribute to the HCC recurrence-free survival of patients, besides immunosuppression by MDSCs, the memory phenotype and lifetime of TAA-specific T cells are not sufficient to prevent HCC recurrence completely. Additional treatments by vaccine or immunomodulatory drugs might be useful to improve the immunological effect of RFA. © 2012 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases