The Expression of Murine Double Minute 2 (MDM2) on Helicobacter pylori-Infected Intestinal Metaplasia and Gastric Cancer

The overexpression of murine double minute 2 (MDM2) is found in several human tumors, and increased expression of MDM2 inactivates the apoptotic and cell cycle arrest function of p53. Interleukin-16 (IL-16) is a pleiotrophic cytokine and the properties of IL-16 suggest that it involve in the pathophysiological process of chronic inflammatory diseases. In this study, we investigated the expression of MDM2 in intestinal metaplasia and gastric cancer as well as the effect of H. pylori infection and IL-16 on epithelial cell proliferation and MDM2 expression in gastric cells in vitro. The expression of MDM2 on gastric biopsies was studied immunohistochemistry. AGS cells were incubated with a combination of IL-16 and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Gastric epithelial cell proliferation was studied by BrdU uptake and the expressions of MDM2 were studied by ELISA. There was no significant difference on the expression of MDM2 between with and without H. pylori infected chronic gastritis. In H. pylori infected gastric mucosa; the MDM2 expression was higher on intestinal metaplasia and gastric cancer than chronic gastritis. IL-16 administration was increased MDM2 expression and cell proliferation on AGS cells, which was decreased by H. pylori infection. In conclusion, the expression of MDM2 in long-term H. pylori infected gastric mucosa may indicate a risk for carcinogenesis. IL-16 secretion in H. pylori infected mucosa is one of the factors for gastric cancer. The expression of MDM2 on mucosa can be a mediator for gastric cancer

E-selectin as a prognostic factor of patients hospitalized due to acute inflammatory respiratory diseases

When examining patients with acute inflammatory respiratory diseases, it is difficult to distinguish between infectious pneumonia and interstitial pneumonia and predict patient prognosis at the beginning of treatment. In this study, we assessed whether endothelial selectin (E-selectin) predicts the outcome of patients with acute inflammatory respiratory diseases. We measured E-selectin serum levels in 101 patients who were admitted to our respiratory care unit between January 2013 and December 2013 because of acute inflammatory respiratory diseases that were eventually diagnosed as interstitial pneumonia (n = 38) and lower respiratory tract infection (n = 63). Seven of these patients (n = 101) died. The pneumonia severity score was significantly higher and the oxygen saturation of arterial blood measured by pulse oximeter (SpO2)/fraction of inspiratory oxygen (FiO2) was significantly lower in the deceased patients than in the surviving patients. There were significantly fewer peripheral lymphocytes and significantly higher E-selectin serum levels in the deceased patients than in the surviving patients. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, the E-selectin serum levels and SpO2/FiO2 ratio were independent predictive factors of prognosis. The risk of death during acute respiratory disease was determined using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.871 as calculated from the ES, and the cutoff value was 6453.04 pg/ml, with a sensitivity of 1.00 and a specificity of 0.72 (p = 0.0027). E-selectin may be a useful biomarker for predicting the prognosis of patients with acute inflammatory respiratory diseases

MafB silencing in macrophages does not influence the initiation and growth of lung cancer induced by urethane

An increased number of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) that exhibit the M2 macrophage phenotype is related to poorer prognosis in cancer patients. MafB is a transcription factor regulating the differentiation of macrophages. However, involvement of MafB for the development of TAMs is unknown. This study was designed to investigate the role of MafB in a murine urethane-induced lung cancer model. Urethane was injected intraperitoneally into wild-type and dominant-negative MafB transgenic mice. Twenty-four weeks later, mice were sacrificed and their lungs removed for pathological analysis. The numbers and mean areas of lung cancer were evaluated. In addition, the numbers of Mac-3-positive macrophages were evaluated in each tumor. The numbers and mean areas of lung cancer induced by urethane administration were not significantly different between wild-type and dominant-negative MafB transgenic mice. The numbers of TAMs in lung cancer tissue were not significantly different between the two groups. MafB silencing using dominant-negative MafB did not influence the initiation and growth of lung cancer in mice exposed to urethane. These data suggest that MafB may not be related to the development of TAMs

<資料>知的障害特別支援学校に通学する児童・生徒の移動ニーズの分析 : 移動指導プログラムの検討のための予備的調査として

知的障害児の移動指導プログラムを検討するための調査として、A知的障害特別支援学校に在籍する児童生徒の移動に関するニーズに関する質問紙調査をした。その結果、「小学部から高等部段階まで放課後に自宅外で過ごすことが多いこと」、「保護者が高等部段階まで子どもの生活の広がりや交通機関の利用の拡大に合わせて指導を担う一方で、保護者は指導を受けられるサービスについては知らないということ」、「混雑した場所における移動スキルやトラブルへの対応力等の大都市圏中心市に特徴的な課題が日常的に生じていること」、「スピードを出している自転車や歩行者への注意力などの歩道におけるニーズが高いこと」、「困った時の対応力のニーズが高いこと」等が明らかになった。95％以上の保護者が子どもが移動指導を受ける機会を望んでいた。This study conducted a questionnaire survey regarding the transportation-related needs of students who are attending the A Special Needs School for Intellectually Disabled Children. The study was conducted in order to examine Travel Training/Transportation Education Programs for intellectually disabled children. As a result it was found, among other things, that "children from the elementary school level to the high school level tend to spend their after-school hours outside their homes," that "while, until high school, parents are responsible for training their children to deal with expansions in their living areas and means of transportation, many parents are unaware of the availability of training services," that "challenges unique to urban centers, such as the lack of traveling skills in crowded areas and not knowing how to respond to trouble, are being encountered on a daily basis," that "there is a high demand for training on how to pay attention to speeding bicycles and pedestrians on the sidewalk," and that "there is a high demand for training on how to respond to troublesome situations." 95 percent of parents said they desired opportunities for their children to receive Travel Training/Transportation Education