Long-term survivors with pN2 non-small cell lung cancer after a complete resection with a systematic mediastinal node dissection

OBJECTIVE: To determine the distribution and significance of microcalcifications in histologic sections of the prostate. DESIGN: Retrospective review of all histologic slides of completely embedded prostates from surgical specimens. MATERIALS: Randomly selected material included 266 radical prostatectomy and 10 cystoprostatectomy prostates without prostate cancer. Nonrandomly selected specimens included 26 radical prostatectomy specimens with a Gleason pattern 5 component, 24 cases with collagenous micronodules, and 8 cases previously noted to have microcalcifications within foci of prostate cancer. RESULTS: Four patterns of microcalcifications were noted in association with prostate cancer: (1) dystrophic calcification in the comedo-type necrosis of Gleason pattern 5, (2) intraluminal calcification in cribriform-type Gleason pattern 3 prostate cancer, (3) intraluminal calcification in small acinar adenocarcinoma, and (4) stromal calcification within collagenous micronodules associated with prostate cancer. Microcalcifications were noted in 32% of prostates without cancer; 1.9% of randomly selected prostates demonstrated microcalcifications associated with prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Microcalcifications are less common in association with prostate cancer than with benign prostatic ducts and acini. However, intraluminal microcalcifications associated with an atypical small glandular proliferation should not be taken as unequivocal evidence of a benign process.     

Involvement of superoxide and nitric oxide on airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness induced by diesel exhaust particles in mice

We previously demonstrated that chronic intratracheal instillation of diesel exhaust particles (DEP) induces airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in the mouse, and that these effects were partially reversed by the administration of superoxide dismutase (SOD). In the present study, we have investigated the involvement of superoxide in DEP-induced airway response by analyzing the localization and activity of two enzymes: (1) a superoxide producer, NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase (P-450 reductase), and (2) a superoxide scavenger, SOD, in the lungs of the exposed mice and controls. P-450 reductase was detected mainly in ciliated cells and clara cells: its activity was increased by the repeated intratracheal instillation of DEP. While CuZn-SOD and Mn-SOD were also present in the airway epithelium, their activity was significantly decreased following DEP instillation. Exposure to DEP doubled the level of nitric oxide (NO) in the exhaled air. DEP exposure also increased the level of constitutive NO synthase (cNOS) in the airway epithelium and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in the macrophages. Pretreatment with N-G-monomethyl L-arginine, a nonspecific inhibitor of NO synthase, significantly reduced the airway hyperresponsiveness induced by DEP. These results indicate that superoxide and NO may each contribute to the airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness induced by the repeated intratracheal instillation of DEP in mice.     

A newly designed parallel connecting tube makes feasible high speed blood transfusion with a transfusion pump

Use of a transfusion pump (BP 101, Terumo, Tokyo) makes it feasible to obtain a stable and almost constant ejection volume at a flow rate of 99 ml.min-1, with no untoward effects of the intravenously placed needle and the microfilter located in the circuit. An air sensor ensures that the pump will cease operation immediately and automatically if an air bubble occurrs in the circuit. When a blood bag is conventionally connected to a connecting tube, at the maximum flow rate, one must set up a new blood bag within a few minutes, and in emergency situations with a shortage of hands, this would be unduly troublesome. When 5-7 blood bags (400 ml) is connected to 5-7 parallel connecting tubes, the pump will continuously eject blood approximately to 2000 ml at 99 ml.min-1, without replacing the blood bags.     

Determination of free malonaldehyde formed in liver microsomes upon CCl4 oxidation

Free malonaldehyde formed in the microsomes prepared from livers of monkey, rat, rabbit, mouse, cow, pig, dog, sheep and horse upon CCl4 oxidation was derivatized by reaction with N-methylhydrazine to form 1-methylpyrazole which was subsequently analyzed by capillary gas chromatography. Among the livers from animals tested, the monkey and rat livers produced the most malonaldehyde upon CCl4 treatment. Horse liver showed the greatest resistance to CCl4 oxidation. The gas chromatography method used in the present study exhibited an accurate and specific measurement of free malonaldehyde that might provide an understanding of the biochemical process of in vitro lipid peroxidation.     

New Ink Jet Recording for Generating a Plurality of Ink Jet Streams

A new solid-state scanning ink jet recording technique, called slit jet recording, is proposed. This technique uses a recording head with one slitlike ink-issuing opening having a number of recording electrodes arrayed along a horizontal scanning direction. The ink is emitted from the ink-issuing opening due to the electrical potential difference between a driven recording electrode and a counterelectrode located behind the recording paper. The ink strikes the paper and forms a recording dot. Many recording electrodes can be driven simultaneously by video signals which enhance the total copy recording speed over that for conventional techniques using a single nozzle. The head of this ink jet recording apparatus is remarkably simple in construction and can be fabricated without difficulty. Improvements in reliability and maintainability can also be expected, as the simple structure of the ink-issuing opening reduces clogging and facilitates easy cleaning as compared with other equipment having a large number of nozzles. The recording principle and characteristics and ink-issuing characteristics are described, and the results of a trial recording are presented. The results show that an ISO A4 size (210 mm x 297 mm) full-color copy can be recorded in about 30 s at an 8-dot/ mm rate.     

Expression and induction by IL-6 of the normal and variant genes for human plasminogen

A disposable suturing instrument is used in our surgical method for sacrospinous vault suspension to facilitate suture placement and retrieval. The pararectal space is dissected and the suturing device is placed just medial to the lateral third of the sacrospinous ligament-coccygeus muscle complex. Depression of the device's firing button advances a standard needle in a controlled circular path through the sacrospinous ligament-coccygeus muscle complex. The needle is retrieved with a straight-needle holder at a consistent location, 3 mm from the shaft of the instrument. A second suture is placed 0.5-1 cm medial to the first suture. If the holding strength for either suture is considered inadequate, the device is reloaded with the same suture and subsequent bites are taken. The procedure is completed using standard methods. In ten women treated for vaginal vault eversion, lateral dissection was completed in less than 10 minutes, and passage of two sutures through the sacrospinous ligament was accomplished in less than 2 minutes. There were no complications. One patient described mild buttock pain that resolved in 1 week. At 4-6 months' follow-up, vaginal examination with maximal straining demonstrated direct apposition of the vaginal wall to the sacrospinous ligament.     

Structure and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline Ag/MgO composites

Nanocrystalline Ag/MgO composites were prepared by the ultrafine-powder-compaction method. The structure was investigated for the first time by high-resolution electron microscopy. Nanometre-sized Ag grains and MgO grains in the composites bonded directly without any intermediate phase layer. Certain preferred orientation relationships were observed between the Ag and MgO grains. The nanocrystalline Ag/MgO composites retained their grain size during annealing up to 873 K. Vickers microhardness measurements were performed on the as-compacted and annealed specimens. Generation and propagation of cracks were less active in the nanocrystalline Ag/MgO composites than in a single-phase nanocrystalline MgO. The Vickers microhardness of the nanocrystalline Ag/MgO composites remained up to 1073 K. Hot-pressing deformation tests showed that the nanocrystalline Ag/MgO composites deformed plastically at 1073 K.     

Genotoxicity of nano/microparticles in in vitro micronuclei, in vivo comet and mutation assay systems

Background

Recently, manufactured nano/microparticles such as fullerenes (C₆₀), carbon black (CB) and ceramic fiber are being widely used because of their desirable properties in industrial, medical and cosmetic fields. However, there are few data on these particles in mammalian mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. To examine genotoxic effects by C₆₀, CB and kaolin, an in vitro micronuclei (MN) test was conducted with human lung cancer cell line, A549 cells. In addition, DNA damage and mutations were analyzed by in vivo assay systems using male C57BL/6J or gpt delta transgenic mice which were intratracheally instilled with single or multiple doses of 0.2 mg per animal of particles.

Results

In in vitro genotoxic analysis, increased MN frequencies were observed in A549 cells treated with C₆₀, CB and kaolin in a dose-dependent manner. These three nano/microparticles also induced DNA damage in the lungs of C57BL/6J mice measured by comet assay. Moreover, single or multiple instillations of C₆₀ and kaolin, increased either or both of gpt and Spi^- mutant frequencies in the lungs of gpt delta transgenic mice. Mutation spectra analysis showed transversions were predominant, and more than 60% of the base substitutions occurred at G:C base pairs in the gpt genes. The G:C to C:G transversion was commonly increased by these particle instillations.

Conclusion

Manufactured nano/microparticles, CB, C₆₀ and kaolin, were shown to be genotoxic in in vitro and in vivo assay systems.     

Cowden's disease with a defined genetic alteration--chromosomal duplication at 15q11-q13

Cowden's disease, multiple hamartoma syndrome, is a dominantly inherited disorder characterized by multiple hamartomas of ectodermal, endodermal, and mesodermal origin and also by a high incidence of malignant tumors. Despite many efforts to identify the genetic alterations responsible for the syndrome, the molecular mechanism remains unclear. We report a case of Cowden's disease in which karyotype analysis revealed a small duplication (about 1 Mb) at 15q11-q13. This part of the genome is a region that is deleted in the Prader-Willi/Angelman syndrome and is a "hot spot" of chromosomal duplication.