Prospective randomized efficacy of ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy compared with ultrasound-guided liquid sclerotherapy in the treatment of symptomatic venous malformations

ObjectiveTo compare the clinical outcome between ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy (UGFS) and ultrasound-guided liquid form sclerotherapy (UGLS) in patients with venous malformations (VM).MethodsEighty-nine patients with symptomatic VM were treated with ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy. There were 22 males and 67 females with mean age of 14.5 years. The sclerosing agents used were 1% polidocanol (POL) or 10% ethanolamine oleate (EO). POL was injected predominantly into smaller, superficial lesions, whereas EO was used for large, deeper lesions. Foam sclerosing solution was provided using Tessari’s method. Patients were randomized to receive either UGFS or UGLS. Post-sclerotherapy surveillance was done at 6 months after last session using duplex ultrasound. Findings obtained by duplex scanning were divided into four groups: (1) disappeared group: the venous space was occluded and was totally shrunk; (2) partially recanalized group: the venous space was partially recanalized and was partially shrunk; (3) totally recanalized group: the venous space was totally recanalized and returned at the same size; and (4) worsened group: the venous space was totally recanalized and became worse.ResultsForty-nine patients were treated with UGFS and the remaining 40 were treated with UGLS. There were no significant differences in age and men:women ratio. There was no significant difference in the anatomic distribution of VMs between the two groups. The amount of POL was significantly smaller in patients who were treated with UGFS (P = .022). Similarly, there was a significant reduction in the use of EO in patients treated with UGFS (P = .005). The proportion of VM with total disappearance and partial recanalization was significantly higher in patients treated with UGFS (P = .002). No major complications related to sclerotherapy were encountered in both groups.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that UGFS could have greater promise compared with UGLS in the treatment of VMs

Carboplatin-Paclitaxel Chemoradiotherapy With 66 Gy For Elderly Patients With Locally Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Background/ Aim: The common radiation dose administered with chemoradiotherapy for stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is 60 Gy. We aimed to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of carboplatin-paclitaxel chemoradiotherapy with 66 Gy for elderly NSCLC patients. Patients and Methods: Forty-five patients with stage III NSCLC were enrolled from 2011 to 2014 at our hospital. They were divided into three groups according to their status and underwent different treatments. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and local control (LC) were determined. Toxicity was evaluated with NCI-CTCAE ver. 4.0; intergroup differences were analysed statistically. Results: The group receiving carboplatin-paclitaxel chemotherapy with 66 Gy showed the longest median OS (40.4 months), PFS (17.9 months), and LC (44.3 months). Toxicity was acceptable in all groups. Conclusion: For elderly patients with stage III NSCLC, carboplatin-paclitaxel chemoradiotherapy with 66 Gy is suggested to be feasible and effective

The bHLH/Per-Arnt-Sim transcription factor SIM2 regulates muscle transcript myomesin2 via a novel, non-canonical E-box sequence

Despite a growing number of descriptive studies that show Single-minded 2 (Sim2) is not only essential for murine survival, but also upregulated in colon, prostate and pancreatic tumours, there is a lack of direct target genes identified for this basic helix–loop–helix/PAS transcription factor. We have performed a set of microarray experiments aimed at identifying genes that are differentially regulated by SIM2, and successfully verified that the Myomesin2 (Myom2) gene is SIM2-responsive. Although SIM2 has been reported to be a transcription repressor, we find that SIM2 induces transcription of Myom2 and activates the Myom2 promoter sequence when co-expressed with the heterodimeric partner protein, ARNT1, in human embryonic kidney cells. Truncation and mutation of the Myom2 promoter sequence, combined with chromatin immunoprecipitation studies in cells, has lead to the delineation of a non-canonical E-box sequence 5′-AACGTG-3′ that is bound by SIM2/ARNT1 heterodimers. Interestingly, in immortalized human myoblasts knock down of Sim2 results in increased levels of Myom2 RNA, suggesting that SIM2 is acting as a repressor in these cells and so its activity is likely to be highly context dependent. This is the first report of a direct SIM2/ARNT1 target gene with accompanying analysis of a functional response element

Orientational control of CeO2 films on sapphire substrates grown by magnetron sputtering

酸化セリウム(CeOx)に担持させた白金（Pt）触媒は、その界面欠陥構造に起因して酸素還元活性の向上が期待されている。本研究では、結晶面方位の異なるCeO2膜モデル試料の作製を目的に、成膜中の基板温度等によるCeO2膜のエピタキシャル成長への影響について調べた。実験では、サファイア基板（C、R面）に成膜速度、成膜中の基板温度（150～500℃）、成膜後の大気中熱処理温度（400～1000℃）をパラメータにCeO2膜を形成し、結晶構造等をX線回折法、ラザフォード後方散乱／チャネリング法により評価した。その結果、C、R面のサファイア基板に対してCeO2膜の面方位を（100)、(100)／(111)混在、(111)と選択的に制御できる形成条件を明らかにした。特に低い蒸着速度（0.14 nm/min）と基板温度(150℃)、さらに熱処理温度（1000℃）でC面のサファイア基板に成膜した場合、熱的に安定なCeO2(111)よりもCeO2（100)が優先して成長するなど新たな知見が得られた

Formation of Fe Nanoparticles by Ion Implantation Technique for Catalytic Graphitization of a Phenolic Resin

Ion implantation technique was employed to introduce iron nanoparticles (Fe NPs) into a carbon precursor polymer with the aim for formation of graphitic nanostructure through catalytic graphitization by the introduced Fe NPs. A phenolic resin was implanted by 100 keV Fe+ ions with ion fluence of 1E14-1E16 ions/cm^2 at ambient temperature under vacuum, and subsequently heat-treated at 800°C in nitrogen gas atmosphere. It was found that the particle size of Fe NPs could be controlled in the range of 5-30 nm by the Fe+ ion fluence. Additionally, it was found that nano-sized turbostratic graphite structure with mean interlayer distance of 0.3531 nm, which is consisted of shell-like carbon layers and intricately distorted carbon layers, was formed around the Fe NPs. The ion implantation technique is one of the advantageous ways to introduce size-controlled fine metal NPs which are effective for the formation of graphitic nanostructure from a carbon precursor polymer