Expression of pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor gene in neoplastic tissues

AbstractExpression of the human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) gene was examined in 24 cases of neoplastic tissues by Northern blot analyses. In three cases of lung adenocarcinoma and one case of sigmoid colon polyp, we detected transcripts which hybridized to the human PSTI cDNA probe. cDNA libraries were constructed using mRNAs of the two PSTI-positive tumor tissues. Two PSTI cDNA clones were obtained from each sample. Sequencing analyses showed that they were completely identical with that of pancreatic PSTI cDNA which had been reported [(1985) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 132, 605–612]. Southern blot analyses showed that the elevated expression of PSTI in neoplastic tissues was accompanied by neither PSTI gene amplification nor rearrangements

Intestinal adhesion due to previous uterine surgery as a risk factor for delayed diagnosis of uterine rupture: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Uterine rupture is a life-threatening condition both to mothers and fetuses. Its early diagnosis and treatment may save their lives. Previous myomectomy is a high risk factor for uterine rupture. Intestinal adhesion due to previous myomectomy may also prevent early diagnosis of uterine rupture.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 38-year-old primiparous non-laboring Japanese woman with a history of myomectomy was admitted in her 34^thweek due to lower abdominal pain. Although the pain was slight and her vital signs were stable, computed tomography revealed massive fluid collection in her abdominal cavity, which led us to perform a laparotomy. Uterine rupture had occurred at the site of the previous myomectomy; however, the small intestine was adhered tightly to the rupture, thus masking it. The baby was delivered through a low uterine segment transverse incision. The ruptured uterine wall was reconstructed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Intestinal adhesion due to a prior myomectomy occluded a uterine rupture, possibly masking its symptoms and signs, which may have prevented early diagnosis.</p

Detection of epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in exhaled breath condensate using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction

The detection of certain oncogenic driver mutations, including those of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), is essential for determining treatment strategies for advanced non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The current study assessed the feasibility of testing exhaled breath condensate (EBC) for EGFR mutations by droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). Samples were collected from 12 patients with NSCLC harboring EGFR mutations that were admitted to Okayama University Hospital between June 1, 2014 and December 31, 2017. A total of 21 EBC samples were collected using the RTube™ method and EGFR mutations (L858R, exon 19 deletions or T790M) were assessed through ddPCR analysis (EBC‑ddPCR). A total of 3 healthy volunteer samples were also tested to determine a threshold value for each mutation. Various patient characteristics were determined, including sex (3 males and 9 females), age (range 54‑81 years; median, 66 years), smoking history (10 had never smoked; 2 were former smokers), histology (12 patients exhibited adenocarcinoma), clinical stage (9 patients were stage IV; 3 exhibited post‑operative recurrence) and EGFR mutation type (4 had L858R; 8 had exon 19 deletions; 8 had T790M). EBC‑ddPCR demonstrated positive droplets in 8 of the 12 patients. The sensitivity and specificity of each mutation was as follows: 27.3 and 80.0% for EGFR L858R, 30.0 and 90.9% for EGFR Ex19del, and 22.2 and 100% for EGFR T790M. EBC‑ddPCR analysis of EGFR mutations exhibited modest sensitivity and acceptable specificity. EBC‑ddPCR is a minimally invasive and replicable procedure and may be a complementary method for EGFR testing in patients where blood or tissue sampling proves difficult

ジツウンテン ジョウキョウ ヲ モギシタ オンド ジョウケン ニ オケル アツニク XLPE ゼツエン ケーブル ノ クウカン デンカ ソクテイ

This paper reports the space charge measurement results under actual operation temperature condition for a 23-mm-thick AC XLPE cable. A pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) method which is newly proposed to measure the space charge characteristics of thick insulation samples accurately was applied. The AC XLPE cable was employed to observe the space charge accumulation clearly. The changes in space charge and electric field distributions corresponding to the changes in temperature and voltage were observed. As a result, we found that the space charge distribution under the heat cycle condition shows complex behavior as the temperature distribution changing. We concluded that it is important to measure space charge characteristics under heat cycle conditions in addition to the conventional space charge measurement under constant temperature conditions to understand the space charge characteristics of the full-size XLPE cable

Ultrasensitive human prion detection in cerebrospinal fluid by real-time quaking-induced conversion.

The development of technologies for the in vitro amplification of abnormal conformations of prion protein (PrP(Sc)) has generated the potential for sensitive detection of prions. Here we developed a new PrP(Sc) amplification assay, called real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QUIC), which allows the detection of ≥1 fg of PrP(Sc) in diluted Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) brain homogenate. Moreover, we assessed the technique first in a series of Japanese subjects and then in a blind study of 30 cerebrospinal fluid specimens from Australia, which achieved greater than 80% sensitivity and 100% specificity. These findings indicate the promising enhanced diagnostic capacity of RT-QUIC in the antemortem evaluation of suspected CJD

Impact of Heterometallic Cooperativity of Iron and Copper Active Sites on Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction Kinetics

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a key reaction in polymer electrolyte fuel cells and metal–air batteries. In these electrochemical systems, platinum group metals (PGMs) have been widely used as ORR electrocatalysts. Because of material cost and scarcity of platinum group metals, non-PGM electrocatalysts are considered to be an ideal alternative for mass production with low material cost. Many non-PGM electrocatalysts have been intensively studied such as pyrolyzed Fe-, N-doped carbon (Fe–N–C) catalysts. However, many non-PGM electrocatalysts including Fe–N–C still suffer from product selectivity due to the production of H2O2 as the byproduct. In this work, we synthesized an ORR electrocatalyst of Cu-, Fe-, and N-doped carbon nanotubes, (Cu,Fe)–N–CNT. This heterobimetallic catalyst showed the selective 4e– reduction of O2 to H2O with ca. 99%. Kinetic analysis of the electrocatalytic ORR and hydrogen peroxide reduction reaction (HPRR) in acidic media revealed that (Cu,Fe)–N–CNT showed two orders of magnitude higher rate constants for the direct 4e– reduction of O2 to H2O than those for the 2e– reduction of O2 to H2O2, whereas a monometallic Fe–N–CNT showed the same order of magnitude, indicating that the heterometallic cooperativity had a drastic impact on the ORR kinetics. Our findings would open up possibilities to develop non-PGM ORR electrocatalysts with heterobimetallic active sites for the selective ORR