Three-Dimensional Analysis of Human Laryngeal and Tracheobronchial Cartilages during the Late Embryonic and Early Fetal Period

Laryngeal and tracheobronchial cartilages are present as unique U-shaped forms around the respiratory tract and contribute to the formation of rigid structures required for the airway. Certain discrepancies still exist concerning cartilage formation in humans. To visualize the accurate timeline of cartilage formation, tracheobronchial and laryngeal cartilages were 3D reconstructed based on serial tissue sections during the embryonic period (Carnegie stage [CS] 18-23) and early fetal period (crown rump length [CRL] = 35-45 mm). The developmental phases of the cartilage were estimated by histological studies, which were performed on the reconstructed tissue sections. The hyoid greater horns were recognizable at CS18 (phase 2). Fusion of 2 chondrification centers in the mid-sagittal region was observed at CS19 in the hyoid bone, at CS20 in the cricoid cartilage, and in the specimen with CRL 39 mm in the thyroid cartilage. Phase 3 differentiation was observed at the median part of the hyoid body at CS19, which was the earliest among all other laryngeal and tracheobronchial cartilages. Most of the laryngeal cartilages were in phase 3 differentiation at CS22 and in phase 4 differentiation at CS23. The U-shaped tracheobronchial cartilages with phase 2 differentiation covered the entire extrapulmonary region at CS20. Phase 3 differentiation started on the median section and propagates laterally at CS21. The tracheobronchial cartilages may form simultaneously during the embryonic period at CS22-23 and early fetal periods, similar to adults in number and distribution. The spatial propagation of the tracheal cartilage differentiation provided in the present study indicates that cartilage differentiation may have propagated differently on phase 2 and phase 3. This study demonstrates a comprehensible timeline of cartilage formation. Such detailed information of the timeline of cartilage formation would be useful to improve our understanding of the development and pathophysiology of congenital airway anomalies

Effects of Switching from Treatment with Amlodipine and Atorvastatin Using Two Pills to an Equal Dose of Single-Pill Therapy in Japanese Outpatients

This study examined whether switching from amlodipine and atorvastatin treatment using two pills to an equal dose of single-pill therapy is useful in Japanese outpatients. We retrospectively reviewed data obtained from 94 outpatients for whom treatment with two pills, namely amlodipine and atorvastatin, was switched to an equal dose of single-pill therapy in 11 hospitals. The criterion for enrollment in this study was that patients had switched their medication without changing other anti-hypertensive or anti-cholesterol drugs. Neither systolic nor diastolic blood pressure changed significantly after switching to an equal dose of single-pill therapy, whereas low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels significantly decreased after the medication was switched from 94±24 mg/dl to 89±17 mg/dl (p=0.015). A switch from medication with two separate pills of amlodipine and atorvastatin to an equal dose of single-pill therapy resulted in an overall decrease in LDL cholesterol. The results indicated that the switch to single-pill therapy might be a useful treatment

Implementation of a new specific program for training curators at Hiroshima University

博物館法施行規則の改正に伴い，2012年4月から学芸員資格取得のために修得すべき科目が大幅に変更となった。学芸員資格取得の歴史においてはきわめて大きな変更である。本学では，これに対応するため，各学部の学芸員資格取得特定プログラムを統合し，全学の学生を対象とする新課程に移行した。本稿では，本学が新たに採用した4学期制（ターム制）を含め，今回の変更が受講や資格取得にどのような影響を及ぼしたのか，統計データの分析を通じて考察した。新課程移行の前後で，プログラム登録者数，資格取得者数は大幅に減少し，取得率も大きく低下した。こうした現象は特定の学部，分野の変化に基づくものではなく，旧課程においてプログラム登録の主体となってきた全ての学部に共通する。分析を通じて，大幅な必要単位数の増加，全学を対象としたプログラムへの変更，2学期制から4学期制（ターム制）への変更など，複数の要因が関連して，各学部における専門の修得と学芸員資格取得を両立させることが困難な状況が生じていることが推定された。As a result of the revision of Museum Law Enforcement Rules, the subjects that must be completed to acquire the curator qualification have changed significantly since April 2012, which constitutes a major change in the history of this qualification. To cope with this change, we integrated the curator qualification specific programs of each faculty into a new course for students of all universities. In this paper, through statistical data analysis, we examined the impact of this change on attendance trends, including the term system newly adopted by Hiroshima University. Before and after the transition to the new course, the number of program registrants and qualifications greatly decreased, and the acquisition rate has also declined significantly. These phenomena were not based on changes in specific faculties or fields, but are common to all faculties subject to program registration during the old course. Through this analysis, we presumed that several factors, such as the great increase in the required number of credits, the change to the program for the whole school, and the change from a two-semester system to the four-semester system, were all interrelated to each other, which make it difficult to achieve both specialized and curator qualifications.本稿は，2018年6月22日に香川大学で開催された第13回日本博物科学会で口頭発表した藤野次史・青木孝夫・清水則雄・菅村 亨・本多博之・山口富美夫・山崎博史・吉田将之「広島大学における新課程実施後の学芸員資格取得状況について」を元に，新たなデータを加えて考察したものである

Pulmonary intravascular large B-cell lymphoma successfully treated with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin and prednisolone immunochemotherapy: Report of a patient surviving for over 1 year

A 73-year-old man with a history of lethargy, fever and dyspnea was admitted to Tottori University Hospital. A computed tomography (CT) scan revealed splenomegaly and diffusely spreading ground‑glass opacities (GGOs) in both lungs. A video‑assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)‑guided lung biopsy revealed intravascular proliferation of large atypical lymphoid cells in the arteries, veins and alveolar walls. The patient was diagnosed with intravascular large B‑cell lymphoma (IVLBCL); he received 6 cycles of rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone (R‑CHOP) immunochemotherapy and has remained in complete remission for >1 year. Although IVLBCL is a rare disease, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary diffuse lesions that present with GGOs on CT scans

Double Smiley Face Rod Method

We report a case of double-level lumbar spondylolysis at L4 and L5 that was successfully treated with the double “smiley face” rod method. A healthy 29-year-old man who presented with a 6-year history of chronic low back pain was referred to us for surgical treatment. Plain radiographs and computed tomography of the lumbar spine revealed bilateral pars defects at L4 and L5 without slip or scoliosis. The patient underwent direct repair of the pars defects using the double smiley face rod method at L4 and L5. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications, and the patient had improved clinically by 1 year after surgery. The low back pain was completely disappeared and visual analog scale was 0. He restarted tennis again as the recreational level. While several techniques for direct repair of lumbar spondylolysis have been described, this is the first report of the double smiley face rod method being used to repair the consecutive double-level lumbar spondylolysis

セイショウネン ノ ボウリョク ヨボウ ガッコウ ニ オイテ ジッシ スル ユニバーサル ヨボウ プログラム ノ カイハツ

本論文の目的は,わが国の小学児童用に開発された暴力予防プログラムを紹介することである。論文ではまず,米国におけるこれまでの暴力予防プログラムを概説し,その際だった特徴を指摘した。そして,米国のプログラムをそのまま日本に適用することは,両国間の多くの相違要因のため困難をきわめるとの結論から,日本独自のプログラムである「自律性向上プログラム」を開発した。このプログラムは,小学児童を対象に,暴力の原因を取り除く,ユニバーサル・プログラムである。プログラムの大目標は,暴力予防をめざして,児童の自律性とセルフ・エスティームを向上させることである。この大目標のもとに,いくつかの構成目標が設定され,それぞれ,暴力予防にかかわる認知的,情動的,そして行動的要因を改善することをめざす。プログラムの方法は,ロール・プレイング,自己コントロール,リラクセーションなど多様な技法からなり,それらは,個人,小グループ,クラス全体に適用される。このプログラムの方法や目標は,攻撃性などの暴力をもたらす性格の発達ならびに攻撃的な児童の情報処理にかかわる実証的な科学データにもとづき,また,種々の心理学的理論や技法が利用される。The purpose of this paper is to give an outline of a new violence prevention program developed for elementary-school children in Japan. This paper begins by giving a summary of previous violence prevention programs in the USA, indicating a number of their outstanding characteristics. After concluding that it is difficult to apply US programs to fit Japan because of many different factors, we finally developed our original program, "the Autonomy-Enhancement Program." The Autonomy-Enhancement Program is a universal program for dealing with the causes of violence in elementary-school children. The principal purpose is to enhance autonomy and self-esteem in children with the explicit aim of violence prevention. Under the principal purpose, this program has a few constituent purposes that attempt to improve cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components regarding violence prevention. The methods consist of various techniques such as role playing, self-control, relaxation, and so on, which are implemented individually, in small groups, and in the whole class. The methods and purposes of this program are largely based on empirical scientific data concerning the development of violence-prone personality such as aggressiveness and the information processing of aggressive children, along with various psychological theories and techniques.国立情報学研究所『研究紀要公開支援事業』により電子化

CCL2 as a potential therapeutic target for clear cell renal cell carcinoma

We previously reported that the pVHL-atypical PKC-JunB pathway contributed to promotion of cell invasiveness and angiogenesis in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), and we detected chemokine (C-C motif) ligand-2 (CCL2) as one of downstream effectors of JunB. CCL2 plays a critical role in tumorigenesis in other types of cancer, but its role in ccRCC remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the roles and therapeutic potential of CCL2 in ccRCC. Immunohistochemical analysis of CCL2 expression for ccRCC specimens showed that upregulation of CCL2 expression correlated with clinical stage, overall survival, and macrophage infiltration. For functional analysis of CCL2 in ccRCC cells, we generated subclones of WT8 cells that overexpressed CCL2 and subclones 786-O cells in which CCL2 expression was knocked down. Although CCL2 expression did not affect cell proliferation in vitro, CCL2 overexpression enhanced and CCL2 knockdown suppressed tumor growth, angiogenesis, and macrophage infiltration in vivo. We then depleted macrophages from tumor xenografts by administration of clodronate liposomes to confirm the role of macrophages in ccRCC. Depletion of macrophages suppressed tumor growth and angiogenesis. To examine the effect of inhibiting CCL2 activity in ccRCC, we administered CCL2 neutralizing antibody to primary RCC xenografts established from patient surgical specimens. Inhibition of CCL2 activity resulted in significant suppression of tumor growth, angiogenesis, and macrophage infiltration. These results suggest that CCL2 is involved in angiogenesis and macrophage infiltration in ccRCC, and that CCL2 could be a potential therapeutic target for ccRCC

Association between Hardness (Difficulty of Chewing) of the Habitual Diet and Premenstrual Symptoms in Young Japanese Women

Recent evidence suggests that voluntary rhythmic movements such as chewing may increase blood serotonin and subsequently brain serotonin, which in turn acts to alleviate premenstrual symptoms. In this observational cross-sectional study, we tested the hypothesis that hardness (difficulty of chewing) of the habitual diet (i.e. dietary hardness) is associated with decreased premenstrual symptoms. Subjects were 640 female Japanese dietetic students aged 18–22 years. Dietary hardness was assessed as an estimate of masticatory muscle activity for the habitual diet (i.e. the difficulty of chewing the food). The consumption of a total of 107 foods was estimated by means of a self-administered, comprehensive diet history questionnaire, and masticatory muscle activity during the ingestion of these foods was estimated according to published equations. Menstrual cycle symptoms were assessed using the retrospective version of the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire, from which total score and subscale scores (i.e. pain, concentration, behavioral change, autonomic reactions, water retention, and negative affect) in the premenstrual phase were calculated and expressed as percentages relative to those in the intermenstrual phase. Dietary hardness was not associated with total score in the premenstrual phase (P for trend = 0.48). Further, no association was seen for any subscale score in the premenstrual phase (P for trend = 0.18–0.91). In conclusion, this preliminary study failed to substantiate a hypothesized inverse relationship between hardness of the habitual diet and premenstrual symptoms. Considering the plausibility of the putative mechanism, however, further investigation using more relevant measures of chewing and premenstrual symptoms is warranted