Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy by ethanol mixed with CO2 microbubble for hepatocellular carcinoma

One of the shortcomings of percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is that many sessions are necessary to accomplish the treatment. This may be caused by which the ultrasonography (US) image does not reflect correctly to the kinetics of injected ethanol into HCC nodule. It is considered that number of treatment sessions are able to be reduced if we just enough injected labelled ethanol under US into HCC nodule. Therefore, we tried PEIT by ethanol mixed with CO2 microbubble (CO2 ethanol). The injected CO2 ethanol was aquired as hyperechoic image without strong acoustic shadow to the end of injection. Consequently we could reduce the number of treatment sessions to almost 1 for lesions < or = 3 cm in diameter and markedly reduce total dose of injected ethanol. The detectable rate of CO2 ethanol leaked out HCC nodule was high. No serious complication occurred. There have been only 1 lesion of local recurrence and no case of intrahepatic and peritoneal dissemination for 11.5 months on average of observation after PEIT by CO2 ethanol (CO2PEIT). These findings suggest that CO2PEIT is useful method for reducing the number of treatment sessions and total dose of injected ethanol, moreover preventing complication by ethanol leakage.     

Built-in folded monopole antenna for handsets

A built-in folded monopole antenna for handsets (BFMA) is introduced and investigated. The characteristics of the BFMA are compared with those of a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA), which is one of the conventional handset antennas. As a result, it has been confirmed that the BFMA has smaller size and wider bandwidth compared with the PIFA.     

Ultrahigh Electrical Resistance of Poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate)/Carbon Nanotube Composites Prepared Using Surface‐Initiated Polymerization

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes on which poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate)s are densely grafted (PCHMA‐CNTs), are synthesized using a modified surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization technique. The electrical resistance of PCHMA‐CNT is systematically characterized under direct current (DC) and alternating current and compared to that of conventional nanocomposites prepared by blending PCHMA with the CNT (PCHMA/CNT). At a comparable volume fraction of CNT, DC volume resistivity of PCHMA‐CNT is 14 orders of magnitude higher than that of PCHMA/CNT. This is because the grafted polymer with a combination of the high molecular weight and the high grafting density isolates individual CNTs at a long distance in the PCHMA‐CNT system. In addition, impedance analysis reveals that the highly insulated PCHMA‐CNT has the same electrical nature as neat PCHMA, i.e., it is a dielectric. Furthermore, dynamic mechanical analysis shows PCHMA‐CNT has a good mechanical properties as well as ultrahigh electrical resistance.     

Wideband and compact folded loop antenna

A simple and successful design method that yields a wideband and compact antenna without a ground plane is proposed. The antenna, referred to as the folded loop antenna, can, with the right parameters, achieve wideband characteristics. Calculated and measured results agree well and more than 50% bandwidth (return loss /spl les/-10 dB) is obtained.     

Does mixed venous desaturation during a bed bath indicate cardiopulmonary decompensation in postoperative cardiac patients?]

The bed bath procedure consists of cleansing patients' body, passive position change, changing gown and making a bed. During the procedure, mixed venous desaturation was observed consistently in postoperative cardiac patients. We investigated the cause of the phenomenon in 22 patients undergoing cardiac surgery in their first postoperative day. The patients were breathing oxygen-enriched air via a Venturi mask. Cardiac index (CI), transluminal SvO2, arterial blood gas, Hb, DO2, VO2, FIO2, A-aDO2 and Qp/Qs were measured before and during the bed bath, while the patients were in the supine and left lateral position, respectively. Mean 8.5 +/- 1.5 minutes were required to complete the bed bath. During the bed bath, SvO2 decreased from 71 +/- 7% to 59 +/- 9% (P < 0.001), and returned to the baseline 6.5 +/- 7.4 minutes after the completion of the bed bath. VO2 increased markedly from 128 +/- 27 to 194 +/- 47 ml.min-1.m-2 (P < 0.001), while DO2 increased slightly from 480 +/- 91 to 513 +/- 110 ml.min-1.m-2 (P < 0.05). Among the determinants of DO2, CI increased slightly from 3.3 +/- 0.6 to 3.6 +/- 0.8 l.min-1.m-2, Hb remained unchanged and SaO2 decreased from 98.5 +/- 0.8 to 98.0 +/- 1.1%. FIO2 also decreased, while A-aDO2 and Qp/Qs remained unchanged. There was a negative correlation between VO2 change and SvO2 change, but no correlation between DO2 change and SvO2 change. There was a positive correlation between SaO2 change and SvO2 change, as well as between FIO2 change and SaO2 change. Therefore, the major cause of mixed venous desaturation was not the decreased DO2 or cardiopulmonary decompensation but the increased VO2 due to increased activity of the skeletal muscles. However, the decrease in SaO2 due to markedly increased O2 demand and the limited increase in CI might partially contribute to the marked decline in SvO2 through the limited increase in DO2.     

Polymorphisms of dopamine receptor and transporter genes and Parkinson's disease

Disturbances of the dopamine system are involved in the pathogenesis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Although genetic factors may play a role in the etiology of PD, there is little direct evidence implicating a specific gene. We conducted a study to test the hypothesis that allelic variations of the dopamine receptors (D2, D3, D4) and the dopamine transporter (DAT) contribute to the susceptibility to PD. Association analyses of 70 Japanese PD patients and the same number of age-matched controls did not reveal any association between alleles of the D2, D3 or D4 receptor genes or the DAT gene and PD. Thus, our results suggest that factor(s) other than allelic variations of these key proteins in the dopamine system contribute to the susceptibility to PD.     

Viscoelastic behavior of poly(butyl methacrylate) densely grafted on silica nanoparticles

A series of poly(butyl methacrylate)s (PBMAs) with various molar masses (33 000–270 000 g mol^?1), which were densely grafted on fumed silica nanoparticles (PBMA–SiO₂), were synthesized by surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. The dynamic viscoelastic behavior of PBMA–SiO₂ was systematically investigated in the solid and molten states with oscillatory strains, and compared to that of a conventional nanocomposite (PBMA/SiO₂). The storage moduli of PBMA–SiO₂ and PBMA/SiO₂ are equivalent in the solid state, whereas the storage modulus of PBMA–SiO₂ is lower than that of PBMA/SiO₂ in the molten state, especially at high silica loading. This is because the formation of a network structure composed of the silica nanoparticles in PBMA–SiO₂ is strongly suppressed by the polymer brushes on the particles. In contrast, even at low silica loading, the PBMA–SiO₂ system exhibits a gel‐like behavior resulting from a steric repulsion between the composite particles, because all of the tethered polymers behave as bound polymers. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

A Novel LRRK2 Variant p.G2294R in the WD40 Domain Identified in Familial Parkinson’s Disease Affects LRRK2 Protein Levels

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a major causative gene of late-onset familial Parkinson’s disease (PD). The suppression of kinase activity is believed to confer neuroprotection, as most pathogenic variants of LRRK2 associated with PD exhibit increased kinase activity. We herein report a novel LRRK2 variant—p.G2294R—located in the WD40 domain, detected through targeted gene-panel screening in a patient with familial PD. The proband showed late-onset Parkinsonism with dysautonomia and a good response to levodopa, without cognitive decline or psychosis. Cultured cell experiments revealed that p.G2294R is highly destabilized at the protein level. The LRRK2 p.G2294R protein expression was upregulated in the patient’s peripheral blood lymphocytes. However, macrophages differentiated from the same peripheral blood showed decreased LRRK2 protein levels. Moreover, our experiment indicated reduced phagocytic activity in the pathogenic yeasts and α-synuclein fibrils. This PD case presents an example wherein the decrease in LRRK2 activity did not act in a neuroprotective manner. Further investigations are needed in order to elucidate the relationship between LRRK2 expression in the central nervous system and the pathogenesis caused by altered LRRK2 activity.     

ATMPKs: a gene family of plant MAP kinases in Arabidopsis thaliana

We previously reported two cDNAs for MAP kinases (cATMPK1 and cATMPK2) from a dicot plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. We describe here the cloning and characterization of five additional cDNAs encoding novel MAP kinases in Arabidopsis, cATMPK3, cATMPK4, cATMPK5, cATMPK6, and cATMPK7. The amino acid residues corresponding to the sites of phosphorylation (Thr-Glu-Tyr) that are involved in the activation of animal MAP kinases are conserved in all the seven putative ATMPK proteins. Genes for MAP kinases in Arabidopsis constitute a family that contains more than seven members. Sequence analysis suggests that there are at least three subfamilies in the family of Arabidopsis genes for MAP kinases.     

Myopathology of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles in neurodegenerative diseases, with reference to the mechanism of vocal cord paralysis

To investigate the mechanism of the vocal cord abductor paralysis (VCAP) in the neurodegenerative diseases, the intrinsic laryngeal muscles (the crycothyroid, the interarytenoid, and the posterior crycoarytenoid muscles) from 41 autopsied cases were histologically examined: 10 cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), 10 of Parkinson's disease (PD), 9 of multiple system atrophy (MSA), 4 of Machado-Joseph disease (MJD), 4 of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), 1 of familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP), and 3 of cerebrovascular diseases as a control. According to the distribution of the neurogenic changes among above-described three intrinsic laryngeal muscles, three forms were raised: 1. The totally paralytic form showing that all the three muscles developed neurogenic atrophy. This form includes ALS, MJD, and FAP. 2. The posterior muscle-paralytic form showing that only the posterior crycoarytenoid muscle was selectively involved. This form includes MSA. 3. The nonparalytic form showing no morphological abnormalities in any of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles. This type includes PD and PSP. In this nonparalytic form, supranuclear mechanism such as pyramidal or extrapyramidal tract involvement may cause VCAP through the increased laryngeal muscles tone. Considering that VCAP can be seen in any of the above-described forms, our results indicate that the mechanism of VCAP is different among the neurological disorders.