Effect of Hot-Air Room Treatment on Peripheral Leucocytes in Guinea Pigs 1. Effect of Single 30 Min. Hot-Air Room Treatment on Leucocytes Count

Effect of hot-air room treatment on peripheral leucocytes was examined in guinea pigs by observing the numerical changes after the treatment. The results were as follows. 1. Number of totalleucocytes was decreased immediately after hot-air room treatment with a room temperature of 43℃, humidity of 75-87% and rapidly increased from 30 to 120 min after the treatment. Numerical changes of neutrophils showed a same tendency as that of total leucocytes. 2. Lymphocyte count was not changed or slightly decreased after the hot-air room treatment. 3. Number of basophils was decreased 30 min after the treatment and then increased, differing from that of eosinophils which showed a decreased tendency 120 min after the treatment. 4. Numbers of monocytes and Kurloff cells were slightly increased after the treatment

Automated synthesis of radiopharmaceuticals for PET: an apparatus for [1-11C]labelled aldoses

This paper describes an instrumentation system for positron emission tomography (PET). A variety of [1-11C]labelled aldoses, such as [1-11C]-D-glucose, and galactose by a modification of the Kiliani-Fischer method have been produced. The instrumentation is fully automatic and consists of a synthesis system and control system. The synthesis system has the following functions: supplying reagents; performing reactions; purifying 11C labelled aldose; and preparing an injectable solution of 11C labelled aldose. These operations are performed by the control system in a remote control room. In a preliminary, hot experiment an injectable solution of [1-11C]-D-glucose was obtained. In addition, the operator is exposed to minimal radiation. The radioactivity of [1-11C]-Dglucose was 47 MBq, and the preparation time was 49 min

Determination of etoposide serum concentrations in small pediatric samples by an improved method of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Several specific assays have been developed for the measurement of etoposide in biological fluids. As large samples are required for high sensitivity, these systems are not appropriate for a pediatric practice. In the present study, however, an improved method for the determination of serum levels of the anticancer drug etoposide was developed, using high-performance liquid chromatography with fixed-wavelength ultraviolet detection. Etoposide was extracted from serum using dichloromethane. The efficiency of extraction from serum was 85.7 +/- 7.7% for etoposide and 81.1 +/- 8.4% for diphenylhydantoin, the internal standard. The serum concentrations of etoposide were measured in 0.2-ml serum samples. The lower limit of detection was 50 ng/ml. Each measurement was completed within 5 min. The linear quantitation range for etoposide was 0.05-50 microg/ml. This assay presents an alternative method for routine measurement of serum levels of etoposide in the pediatric oncology setting.</p

Loss of maternal annexin A5 increases the likelihood of placental platelet thrombosis and foetal loss

Antiphospholipid syndrome is associated with an increased risk of thrombosis and pregnancy loss. Annexin A5 (Anxa5) is a candidate autoantigen. It is not known, however, whether endogenous Anxa5 prevents foetal loss during normal pregnancy. We found significant reductions in litter size and foetal weight in Anxa5-null mice (Anxa5-KO). These changes occurred even when only the mother was Anxa5-KO. A small amount of placental fibrin deposition was observed in the decidual tissues, but did not noticeably differ between wild-type and Anxa5-KO mice. However, immunoreactivity for integrin beta 3/CD61, a platelet marker, was demonstrated within thrombi in the arterial canals only in Anxa5-KO mothers. Subcutaneous administration of the anticoagulant heparin to pregnant Anxa5-KO mice significantly reduced pregnancy loss, suggesting that maternal Anxa5 is crucial for maintaining intact placental circulation. Hence, the presence of maternal Anxa5 minimises the risk of thrombosis in the placental circulation and reduces the risk of foetal loss

Variable Gain Type PID Control Using PSO for Ultrasonic Motor

Ultrasonic motor exhibits non-linearity that relates the input (Phase difference) and output (Velocity). It also causes serious characteristic changes during operation. PID control has been widely used as the design scheme for USM. However, it is difficult for the conventional PID control to compensate such characteristic changes of the plant and non-linearity. To overcome this problem, we propose a variable gain type PID control in which PID gains are optimized using a particle swarm optimization (PSO)

Adaptive Navigation Control for Swarms of Autonomous Mobile Robots

This paper was devoted to developing a new and general coordinated adaptive navigation scheme for large-scale mobile robot swarms adapting to geographically constrained environments. Our distributed solution approach was built on the following assumptions: anonymity, disagreement on common coordinate systems, no pre-selected leader, and no direct communication. The proposed adaptive navigation was largely composed of four functions, commonly relying on dynamic neighbor selection and local interaction. When each robot found itself what situation it was in, individual appropriate ranges for neighbor selection were defined within its limited sensing boundary and the robots properly selected their neighbors in the limited range. Through local interactions with the neighbors, each robot could maintain a uniform distance to its neighbors, and adapt their direction of heading and geometric shape. More specifically, under the proposed adaptive navigation, a group of robots could be trapped in a dead-end passage,but they merge with an adjacent group to emergently escape from the dead-end passage. Furthermore, we verified the effectiveness of the proposed strategy using our in-housesimulator. The simulation results clearly demonstrated that the proposed algorithm is a simple yet robust approach to autonomous navigation of robot swarms in highlyclutteredenvironments. Since our algorithm is local and completely scalable to any size, it is easily implementable on a wide variety of resource-constrained mobile robots andplatforms. Our adaptive navigation control for mobile robot swarms is expected to be used in many applications ranging from examination and assessment of hazardous environments to domestic applications

Large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of lung with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation and co-expression of adenocarcinoma markers: a case report and review of the literature

PURPOSE: A high rate of response to treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) has been observed in certain patients (women, of East Asian ethnicity, with non-smoking history and adenocarcinoma histology) with mutations in exons 18 to 21 of the tyrosine kinase domain of EGFR. Some cases of high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung harboring mutations have been sporadically reported. METHODS: We describe the case of a 78-year-old woman with large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung, with mutation in exon 21 L858R and co-expression of adenocarcinoma markers. RESULTS: A mass (3.0 cm in diameter) was identified in the inferior lobe of the left lung, accompanied by metastases into ipsilateral mediastinal lymph nodes and elevations of serum pro-gastrin-releasing peptide and carcinoembryonic antigen. Initial transbronchial brushing cytology suggested high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma favoring small-cell carcinoma in poorly smeared and degenerated preparations, and revealed exon 21 L858R mutation. Re-enlargement of the cancer and bone metastases was observed after chemotherapy, and further testing suggested large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma with immunoreactivity to markers of primary lung adenocarcinoma and L858R mutation. High-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma with mutations in the tyrosine kinase domain of EGFR may be associated with adenocarcinoma, as reviewed from the literature and may also apply to our case. CONCLUSIONS: EGFR-TKI could provide better quality of life and survival in patients with advanced or relapsed high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma with EGFR gene mutations. Further studies in this respect are warranted

Hepatic encephalopathy due to extrahepatic portosystemic shunt

Clinicians should recognize extrahepatic portosystemic shunt as a cause of refractory or intermittent hepatic encephalopathy. Treatment strategies should be individualized according to patients' anatomic and hemodynamic status

Decrease in intracellular Zn²⁺ level by propranolol : A model experiment using rat thymocytes

Propranolol is a representative β-blocker used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Because the use of propranolol expands for some clinical purposes that are not related to its β-blocking action, it is necessary to further examine cellular actions of propranolol. We revealed that propranolol decreased the intracellular Zn2+ level in rat thymocytes by the use of cytometric technique with FluoZin-3, a fluorescent indicator of intracellular Zn2+. Propranolol decreased the influx of extracellular Zn2+. However, the agent decreased the intracellular Zn2+ level even in the presence of DTPA, a chelator of extracellular Zn2+. Thus, the decrease in intracellular Zn2+ level by propranolol was not due to the decrease in Zn2+ influx by propranolol. Propranolol increased the cellular content of nonprotein thiol that was estimated by the use of 5-chloromethylfluorescein fluorescence, an indicator for non-proteinous thiol. Since non-proteinous thiols can make a complex with Zn2+, propranolol may increase the cellular content of nonprotein thiol, resulting in the decrease in intracellular Zn2+ level. Since the concentrations of propranolol to affect both intracellular Zn2+ level and cellular content of nonprotein thiol are higher than those reported under clinical conditions, it is difficult to emphasize clinical implications from present results

頸椎症性脊髄症における椎間関節変性の有病率と臨床的影響：CT新分類での検討

Objective: To evaluate cervical facet joint degeneration using a newly developed classification, investigate its prevalence and relationship with cervical degenerative spondylolisthesis, and clarify its clinical significance in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM). Methods: This study included 145 consecutive patients with DCM who underwent surgical treatment. Clinical variables and radiological findings were analyzed. A new 6-grade computed tomography (CT) classification for cervical facet joint degeneration was adapted, and its prevalence was evaluated by categorizing the joints into those at responsible and those at nonresponsible spinal segmental levels. We evaluated the association between rapidly progressive myelopathy and the presence of significant facet joint degeneration or spondylolisthesis at the responsible segmental level. Results: Finally, 140 patients with a mean age of 64.1±12.8 years were analyzed. The prevalence of grade 1, 2, 3, 4, 5A, and 5B classification in all facet joints was 72.0%, 9.5%, 10.9%, 4.3%, 2.9%, and 0.4%, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the distribution of CT grades between the joints at the responsible and nonresponsible segmental levels (p<0.001), with a high prevalence of grade 4 or 5B degeneration at the responsible segmental level, reflecting articular irregularity. There was also a statistically significant relationship between rapidly progressive myelopathy and grade 4 or 5B degeneration at the responsible segmental level (p<0.001), but not between rapidly progressive myelopathy and spondylolisthesis (p=0.255). Conclusion: This novel CT classification for facet joints deserves additional evaluation in patients with DCM. Abnormal findings on the articular surfaces might be related to the progression of myelopathy.博士（医学）・甲第870号・令和5年3月15