Tape stripping induces marked epidermal proliferation and altered TGF-alpha expression in non-lesional psoriatic skin

PURPOSE: This study was performed to establish the classification and the treatment modality for recurrent cervical cancer of the vaginal stump after hysterectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety patients with centrally recurrent cervical cancer of the vaginal stump following hysterectomy were treated with high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy with or without external irradiation. The intervals between primary surgery and vaginal recurrences varied from 3 months to 36 years. Tumor size of the vaginal stump was determined by bimanual rectovaginal examination at the time of recurrence and was classified into three groups, i.e., small (no palpable tumor), medium (less than 3 cm), and large (3 cm or more). RESULTS: The 10-year survival rates for all patients were 52%. Survival was greatly influenced by the tumor sizes of the vaginal stump. The 10-year survival rates of patients with small, medium, and large size tumors were 72, 48, and 0%, respectively. All patients with large size tumors died within 5 years. Of 90 patients, 75 (83%) were determined by physical examination to be free of tumor on at least one visit within 2 months of the completion of treatment (CR). The remaining 15 patients (17%) had physical findings suggestive of residual tumor (Residual). The overall 10-year survival rate for all patients with CR was 63%, compared with 10% for the patients with Residual (P < 0.0001). The incidences of distant metastases of the patients with or without local failure were 55 and 13%, respectively (P < 0.0001). The patients with local failure had significantly higher incidence of metastases. Most patients with small size tumor were treated with brachytherapy alone, and the survival rates of these patients were not improved by combination with external irradiation. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that tumor size was a significant prognostic factor for recurrent cervical cancer of the vaginal stump. Patients with small size tumors were recommended to be treated with brachytherapy alone.     

Reduced sensitivity to ethanol of Gs alpha and Gi/o alpha in the cerebral cortex of alcoholic patients

CA125 is a coelomic epithelial antigen which is widely used to monitor residual disease in patients undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Interpretation of serum CA125 levels has been based on a normal value of 35 U/ml which was derived by screening a young, general population of blood donors which included women with intact reproductive systems. This study addresses the issue of what constitutes a normal serum CA125 level following successful surgical therapy for gynecologic malignancy. Three hundred ninety-three CA125 values were measured in 145 patients after an elapsed time of at least 1 year following completion of surgical therapy for early-stage endometrial or cervical adenocarcinoma. All patients were without evidence of recurrent disease. The mean duration of followup was 4.3 years with a median of 3.7 years. Sixty-seven percent of the CA125 values were less than 10 U/ml; 95% were less than or equal to 20 U/ml. The median value for this patient population was 7.5 U/ml with a mode of 7.1 U/ml. There was no correlation between patient age and CA125 levels. These data suggest that the normal value for CA125 used for patient follow-up after treatment for gynecologic adenocarcinoma needs to be redefined. Our data support an upper limit of normal of 20 U/ml and encourage further study on the clinical impact of this new definition.     

Composition and Structure of Fat Bloom in Untempered Chocolate

It is generally accepted that visual fat bloom is caused by the separation of cocoa butter toward the surface. However, this is not always true for all types of bloom. One type of fat bloom, which can occur due to lack of tempering, has still not been completely elucidated. We performed a compositional and structural study of this type of fat bloom in plain chocolate. More specifically, we performed (1) an investigation of its crystallographic properties, (2) investigation of fat content, (3) analysis of the composition of triacylglycerol (TAG), (4) stereomicroscopic observations, and (5) observation and elemental analysis using a scanning electron microscope with an energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometer (SEM‐EDS). In the bloomed chocolate, the fat content in the light brown phase was lower than that in the black phase. Concerning fat composition, the content of sn‐1,3‐saturated acyl, sn‐2‐oleoyl glycerols (Sat‐O‐Sat type TAGs) in the light brown phase was lower. The lower fat content is thought to result in its lighter color. The results of our composition analysis and morphological observations suggest that the mechanism of the bloom generation due to nontempering involves not the separation of fat toward the surface but the crystallization of fat which leads to withdrawal of fat from the vicinity of the growing crystal, leading to differences in fat content.     

Gas hollow tungsten arc welding experiments in aircraft‐borne simulated space environment

The resistance spot welding process is widely used in the automotive industry, because it provides high productivity (over 20 spots per minute) and good quality. However, the introduction of galvanized steels onto production lines has brought difficulties in correctly adjusting welding parameters. This work therefore presents a detailed study of the influence of the principal parameters of the process (upslope time, current time, downslope time, electrode force and water flow) on the geometry and resistance of spot welds on galvanized steel plates. To do this, experimental robust planning was considered (the Taguchi method) for the factors mentioned above, evaluating the robustness of the system (analysis of the reduction of the signal/noise level) in regard to the diameter, indentation and mechanical resistance of the spot weld (responses). The difference between this work and others lies in the fact that instead of maintaining a fixed current level, which is the traditional method, the energy used in the process (current × time) is fixed. The conclusion is that it is possible to obtain robust parameters for a system in which the statistically significant parameter is current time.     

Theoretical modelling of gas-liquid two-phase flow in a vertical and straight pipe

This paper treats the theoretical analysis to obtain the flow characteristics of gas-liquid two-phase mixtures in a vertical and straight pipe. The system of equations governing the gas-liquid two-phase flow field is based upon the multifluid model. The transitions of the gas flow pattern from bubbly to slug flows as well as from slug to churn flows are introduced into the system of the above governing equations. In order to confirm the validity of the present theoretical model, the flow characteristics calculated on the basis of this model have been compared with experimental data measured by changing the pipe diameter and the submergence ratio. As a result, it has been found that the present theoretical model built up in this investigation gives good fit to the measured data. We believe that the simplicity of this pump can make it possible to transport molten iron/steel between different refining processes. But, we also note that the experiments have been performed on a cold model using an air-water system     

A risk for obstruction of the airways in the parenteral use of levomepromazine with benzodiazepine

Arrhythmogenic effects of phenothiazines appear to be associated with sudden death, whereas respiratory complications have received little attention. In this report we describe 5 cases with accompanying obstruction of the airways after intramuscular injections of levomepromazine (LPZ), a potent sedative phenothiazine, in combination with intravenous injections of benzodiazepine (BZ) during a 3-month period in a psychiatric intensive care unit. Two out of 5 cases were unpredictable because obstruction of the airways occurred 2 hours or more after the last injection. As compared with patients who received parenteral (intravenous or intramuscular) injections during the same period, the dose of intramuscular LPZ was significantly large in the 5 cases with obstruction of the airways. All 5 of these cases received intramuscular LPZ 0.52 mg/kg or more. In contrast, there was no patient with obstruction of the airways who received only intramuscular LPZ, the combination of LPZ and HDL, or BZ and HDL. The occurrence of obstruction of the airways among patients who received both intramuscular LPZ and intravenous BZ was significantly higher than among patients who received other drug regimes. These preliminary results suggest that the intramuscular use of LPZ with intravenous BZ may be a risk for obstruction of the airways.     

Numerical analysis of the formability of an aluminum 2024 alloy sheet and its laminates with steel sheets

A criterion for ductile fracture is applied to the formability prediction of an aluminum 2024 alloy sheet and its laminated composite sheets. Axisymmetric deep-drawing processes of the 2024 sheet and the laminates clad by mild steel sheets are simulated by the finite-element method. From the calculated distributions and histories of stress and strain, the fracture initiation site and the forming limit are predicted by means of the ductile fracture criterion. The predictions so obtained are compared with experimental observations. The results show that the fracture initiation in the 2024 sheet with no appearance of necking is successfully predicted by the present numerical approach. Furthermore, it is found that the formability of the 2024 sheet is improved by sandwiching it with the mild steel sheets.     

Allelotype analysis of adult T-cell leukemia

Allelotype analysis of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) was undertaken for the first time to identify chromosomal loci relevant to the development of acute/lymphomatous ATL. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was screened using 94 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers, distributed among all nonacrocentric, autosomal chromosomes. In each of the 22 cases, DNA obtained from their leukemic cells in acute/lymphomatous phase was compared with their constitutional DNA from mononuclear cells in chronic or remission phase. Allelic losses of at least on one chromosome arm occurred in 91% of the cases (20 individuals). Among 39 chromosome arms, allelic losses were observed on 31 arms at least for one sample. A high frequency of allelic loss (>30%) was seen on chromosome arms 6q (41%) and 17p (48%). The mean fractional allelic loss (FAL) was 0.109. These findings suggest that a novel tumor suppressor gene on chromosome arm 6q, as well as the p53 gene on chromosome arm 17p, probably have an important role in the development of acute/lymphomatous ATL.     

Mechanical properties of type 304 stainless steel sheet produced by twin-roll strip casting process

Tensile properties and formability of type 304 stainless steel sheets which were cast by a twin-roll type strip caster and thereafter cold-rolled are examined and compared with those of conventionally processed sheets. The results exhibit that the strip casting processed sheets have mechanical properties almost equal to the conventional ones. Furthermore, it is found that the degree of plastic anisotropy caused by crystallographic anisotropy in the present sheets is weaker than that in the conventional ones.     

Interhemispheric competition of antagonistic memories in the rat.

2 competing solutions to a black-white discrimination were stored separately in the 2 hemispheres of 48 albino rats under KCl-induced unilateral spreading cortical depression. When tested with both hemispheres intact in an unresolvable conflict situation, Ss showed disordered behavior and regressed to innate types of behavior (e.g., exploration and position responding). The results indicate that when there was no intermediate solution available and the 2 memories were of equal potency, Ss behaved in a more primitive fashion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)