Perspectives of the Year 1945 and Turning Points in the History of Science

Special Topic 1: The A-bomb and Medical HistoryRecent studies illustrate the plurality of historical contexts around the emergence of the atomic bomb in 1945 and illuminate the subsequent power politics among different historical interpretations. There are historical issues whose impact holds so much gravity that the issue's historiography entails divergent implications. The context in which the atomic bomb was created could lead to problematic historiographies. In this essay I examine multiple and parallel scientific contexts regarding the search for atomic existence and investigations into related experiences and practices before and after 1945. Those scientific contexts present different rhythms and multiple directions. A historiography with plural viewpoints should be designed to trace the history of those interacting scientific activities

Saccharomyces cerevisiae 由来 D-アミノ酸アセチルトランスフェラーゼの精製と性質

Some properties of D-amino scid acetyltransferase purified from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were investigated. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate fractionation, column chromatographies on DEAE-Toyopearl 650M, Sephacryl S-200, QAE-Toyopearl 550C and affinity chromatography with D-glutamate as a ligand. The molecular weight was estimated to be about 53,000 by gel filtration. Relative molecular mass studies indicated that the enzyme was a monomer structure. The purified enzyme had an optimum pH of 8.4 and an optimum temperature of 40C. The Km values of the purified enzyme determined with tryptophan and acetyl-CoA were 4.5 * 10 -3M, respectively. The 20 residues of N-terminal amino acid sequence were analyzed

Successful treatment of unresectable advanced rectal cancer with liver metastases by hemostasis re-irradiation of the rectal cancer and palliative low-dose whole-liver radiation therapy: a case report.

A 72-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with fatigue. Colonoscopy revealed a 50 × 50 mm rectal tumor with bleeding. Based on close inspection, he was diagnosed with unresectable advanced rectal cancer with multiple liver metastases. Chemotherapy was administered as 10 cycles of bevacizumab + mFOLFOX6 and 7 cycles of bevacizumab + FOLFIRI. Nine months later, he presented with hematochezia and progression of anemia. It was difficult to stop the bleeding via endoscopy. He underwent radiation therapy (39 Gy in 13 fractions), and hemostasis was confirmed. Then, further chemotherapy was performed with 3 cycles of bevacizumab + FOLFIRI and 2 cycles of TAS102. However 14 months after the initial visit, he presented with right hypochondralgia and abdominal fullness due to the progression of multiple liver metastases. Palliative low-dose whole-liver radiation therapy (WLRT) (30 Gy in 10 fractions) was performed. He developed Grade 2 nausea, but his right hypochondralgia reduced, liver dysfunction improved, and he successfully completed radiotherapy. At approximately the same time his anemia progressed, and colonoscopy revealed recurrent bleeding from the tumor. Re-irradiation (15 Gy in 5 fractions) of the rectal tumor was carried out and a blood transfusion was performed for the bleeding. He was discharged after confirmation the anemia had not progressed. Few reports have been published on the use of both palliative re-irradiation to stop bleeding from rectal cancer and palliative low-dose WLRT. Based on our experience with this case, we believe that palliative radiotherapy can be useful in treating patients with a poor prognosis

PLAG1 enhances the stemness profiles of acinar cells in normal human salivary glands in a cell type-specific manner

Objectives: Details of the histogenesis of salivary gland tumors are largely unknown. The oncogenic role of PLAG1 in the salivary gland has been demonstrated in vivo. Herein, we demonstrate the roles of PLAG1 in the acinar and ductal cells of normal human salivary glands in an attempt to clarify the early events that occur during the histogenesis of salivary gland tumors. Methods: Normal salivary gland cells with acinar- (NS-SV-AC) and ductal- (NS-SV-DC) phenotypes were transfected with PLAG1 plasmid DNA. Subsequently, the PLAG1 overexpressed and mock cells were examined by cell proliferation, transwell migration, and salisphere formation assays. The expression levels of salivary and pluripotent stem cell markers and differentiation markers were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence. Alterations in transcriptional expressions were investigated via cap analysis of gene expression with gene-enrichment and functional annotation analysis. Results: PLAG1 promoted cell proliferation and transwell migration in the acinar and ductal cells, and markedly enhanced the stemness profiles and luminal cell-like profiles in acinar cells; the stemness profiles were partially increased in the ductal cells. Conclusion: PLAG1 enhanced the stemness profiles in the acinar cells of normal human salivary glands in a cell type-specific manner. Thus, it may be involved in salivary gland tumorigenesis by increasing the stemness character of the normal salivary gland cells