Label-Free Determination of the Number of Biomolecules Attached to Cells by Measurement of the Cell's Electrophoretic Mobility in a Microchannel

We developed a label-free method for a determination of the number of biomolecules attached to individual cells by measuring the electrophoretic mobility of the cells in a microchannel. The surface of a biological cell, which is dispersed in aqueous solution, is normally electrically charged and the charge quantity at the cell's surface is slightly changed once antibody molecules are attached to the cell, based on which we detect the attachment of antibody molecules to the surface of individual red blood cells by electrophoretic mobility measurement. We also analyzed the number of antibody molecules attached to the cell's surface using a flow cytometer. We found that there is a clear correlation between the number of antibody molecules attached to the individual cells and the electophoretic mobility of the cells. The present technique may well be utilized not only in the field of cell biology but also in the medical and pharmaceutical industries

Evaluation of Blood Supply with Indocyanine Green Fluorescence in Resection for Concurrent Gastric and Pancreatic Cancer: A Case Report

We present a rare case of concurrent resection of pancreatic and gastric cancer in which indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence was used to evaluate the remnant stomach. An 80-year-old man was referred with a tumor in the distal pancreas. Computed tomography showed a 25-mm mass in the pancreatic tail; endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration revealed adenocarcinoma. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and subsequent upper gastrointestinal series revealed advanced gastric cancer in the mid-stomach. Concurrent resection of the pancreatic and gastric tumors was performed. After distal pancreatectomy and distal gastrectomy, ICG evaluation of the stomach showed fluorescence extending only 3 cm distal from the cardia. To avoid ischemic change at the remnant stomach, total gastrectomy was performed. Since remnant gastric necrosis and anastomotic leak following ischemia can lead to fatal outcomes, the use of ICG to evaluate blood supply at anastomotic sites can help determine the extent of safe resection in such cases

Entretien avec Jean-Claude Lebensztejn

Jean-Claude Lebensztejn au Japon On aurait tort de croire pouvoir localiser Jean-Claude Lebensztejn en quelque lieu terrestre que ce soit, au Japon ou ailleurs, peu importe. Ce Doctor Angelicus déjoue, déplace les frontières en tout genre, tout en interrogeant avec une vigilance extrêmement aiguë les échos et les répercussions que les distances produisent, et qui prêtent, nécessairement, pour le pire ou le meilleur, au malentendu. Textuellement parlant au moins, notre pays ne semble pas occup..

Preparation of partial-thickness burn wounds in rodents using a new experimental burning device

Objective: The manual application of hot water or hot metal to an animal's skin surface is often used to prepare burn wound models. However, manual burn creation is subject to human variability.We developed a new device that can control the temperature, time, and pressure of contact to produce precise and reproducible animal burn wounds and investigated the conditions required to prepare various burn wounds using our new device. Methods: We prepared burnwounds on F344 rats using 3 contact times 2, 4, and 10 seconds using a stamp heated to 80C. We observed the wound-healing process macroscopically and histologically and evaluated the burn depth using a laser speckle contrast-imaging device, which evaluated the blood flow of the wound. Results: The changes in the burned area over time, tissue perfusion of the burn wounds, histological evaluation of the burn depth by hematoxylin-eosin and azocarmine and aniline blue staining, and the epithelialization rate (the ratio of the epithelialized area to the wound length) were evaluated on histological sections. Results indicated that the burn wounds prepared with contact times of 2, 4, and 10 seconds corresponded to superficial dermal burns, deep dermal burns, and full-thickness burns, respectively. Conclusions: We demonstrated that partial-and full-thickness burn wounds can be precisely and reproducibly created with our new automated burning device

How Is the Counselor Involved When System Support Is Effective? : How to Make a Team that Functions as One System

　人が生物学的な存在であると同時に社会的な存在であることを考えると，カウンセラーが個人を支援しようとする場合，個別の支援の他に、その個人を取り巻く様々な援助資源をうまく機能させて，チームで支援することも不可欠となる。では，効果的なチーム支援を行うために，カウンセラーはどのように関わればよいのだろうか。本稿では，カウンセラーがチーム支援を引き出した成功例として３つの実践を取り上げた。具体的には高等学校内での転入職員の支援，大学の学生相談での長期欠席者の支援，児童養護施設での児童の支援と，クライエントの援助資源が異なる３つである。しかし，そこでのカウンセラーのかかわり方には，ある共通点が見いだせた。本稿では，その共通点を箕口（2016）の「コミュニティ・アプローチを実践する心理援助の専門家の要件」に沿って考察した。最後に「協働」「どのようにサービスを提供するのか」という観点から考察した

Melanin pigments in the melanocytic nevus regress spontaneously after inactivation by high hydrostatic pressure

We report a novel treatment for giant congenital melanocytic nevi (GCMN) that involves the reuse of resected nevus tissue after high hydrostatic pressurization (HHP). However, the remaining melanin pigments in the inactivated nevus tissue pose a problem; therefore, we performed a long-term observation of the color change of inactivated nevus tissue after HHP. Pressurized nevus specimens (200 MPa group, n = 9) and non-pressurized nevus tissues (control group, n = 9) were subcutaneously implanted into nude mice (BALB/c-nu) and then harvested 3, 6, and 12 months later. Color changes of the nevus specimens were evaluated. In the 200 MPa group, the specimen color gradually regressed and turned white, and brightness values were significantly higher in the 200 MPa group than in the control group after 6 months. This indicated that melanin pigments in the pressurized nevus tissue had spontaneously degraded and regressed. Therefore, it is not necessary to remove melanin pigments in HHP-treated nevus tissue