Interferon-gamma-inducing factor gene transfection into Lewis lung carcinoma cells reduces tumorigenicity in vivo

The operative mortality and morbidity in patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remain high. The low ejection fraction is the major risk factor for operative mortality. However, ejection fraction (EF) alone may not necessarily be an accurate predictor of operative mortality. We studied the correlation between indices of left ventricular volume and operative mortality. One thousand patients undergoing isolated coronary bypass operations were divided into three groups according to their preoperative ejection fraction. Fifty patients (group I) had severe left ventricular dysfunction (EF < or = 0.3), 56 patients (group II) had moderately left ventricular dysfunction (0.3 < EF < or = 0.4) and 894 patients (group III) had good left ventricular function (EF > 0.4). We analyzed the relationship between hospital mortality and left ventricular volume in 106 patients with an EF < or = 0.4. RESULTS: Cardiac index was not significantly different among the three groups. The left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and mean pulmonary artery pressure in groups I an II were higher than those in group III. The left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) was 146 +/- 44 ml/m2 in Group I, 112 +/- 31 ml/m2 in Group II and 82 + 30 ml/m2 in Group III, respectively (Group I versus II, p < 0.05, Group I and II versus III, p < 0.01). The left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) was 111 +/- 38 ml/m2 in Group I, 72 +/- 21 ml/m2 in Group II and 30 +/- 14 ml/m2 in Group III, respectively (Group I versus II, p < 0.05, Group I and II versus III, p < 0.01). The LVEDV and LVESV were higher in Group I than in Group II and both in Groups I and II were higher than in Group III. The hospital mortality of any cause before discharge was 8.0% (4/50) in Group I, 3.6% (2/56) in Group II, and 2.0% (18/894) in Group III. The mortality in Group I was higher than that in Group III, but the mortality between Groups I and II was not different. We assessed correlations between large left ventricle with left ventricular dysfunction and operative mortality in 106 patients with ejection fractions of < or = 0.4. The hospital mortality in patients with both under fraction 0.4 and an LVESV > or = 140 ml/m2 was 50% (4/8). This rate was higher than in patients with an LVESV between 80 and 140 ml/m2 (1.8%, 1/55) (p = 0.0006) and an LVESV less than 80 ml/m2 (2.3%, 1/43), (p = 0.0013). The hospital mortality in patients with an LVEDV > or = 200 ml/m2 was 67% (4/6). It was also higher than that in patients with an LVEDV between 200 and 120 ml/m2 (1.7%, 1/58), (p = 0.0001), and an LVEDV less than 120 ml/m2 (2.4%, 1/42), (p = 0.0004). We conclude that patients with a low ejection fraction and an elevated LVESV or LVEDV are at increased risk for hospital death following CABG.     

Mechanistic studies on the neighboring base damage induced by KMnO4 oxidation of 8-oxoguanine in DNA

New types of DNA substrates containing an 8-oxoguanine residue (8-oxo-G) were prepared in order to examine the mechanisms for the neighboring base damage initiated by KMnO4 oxidation of the 8-oxo-G. The results obtained from the reactions suggested that the damage at remote sites in the single strands can be explained by an electronic interaction (redox reaction) between an oxidized 8-oxo-G species and the base (to be damaged), which are close each other in a loop structure. For the inefficient damage observed in duplex substrates, electron transfer through stacked bases might be involved.     

A case of left main bronchus obstruction due to recurrent esophageal cancer successfully treated by Nd-YAG laser followed by radiotherapy, low-dose CDDP and continuous infusion of 5-FU

A 63-year-old female patient with obstruction of left main bronchus due to recurrent esophageal cancer was treated by emergency Nd-YAG laser therapy under bronchoscopy. Severe dyspnea subsided dramatically and she was the given radiotherapy with a total dose of 50 Gy (2 Gy/f and 25 f/5 wks). Concurrent chemotherapy was performed at the 3rd week of radiation therapy. In this chemotherapy of CDDP plus 5-FU, CDDP (10 mg/day) was given for 5 days by intravenous and 5-FU (500 mg/day) for 5 days by continuous infusion the same week. By this treatment, a partial response (PR) was obtained, and the patient returned to normal life. But after 4 months, she had a recurrent lesion at the same place, and underwent only palliative laser therapy. Nd-YAG laser therapy for obstructive lesion of trachea due to recurrent cancer is the most useful one, but some subsequent treatment is required.     

The Surface Density of States of Superfluid 3He for Different Surface Boundary Conditions

We measured the complex transverse acoustic impedance of superfluid ³He in the B phase by coating a surface with ⁴He to study the boundary condition dependence of the surface bound states. Observed features in the temperature dependence were similar to those without ⁴He coating. However, temperatures showing singularities became higher and variations in the dependence became smaller. The small variations indicated that a specular surface was realized by the ⁴He coating. Increase in the singularity temperature indicated that the bandwidth of the surface Andreev bound states became broader by the coating.      

Production of new types of sophorolipids by Candida batistae

Sophorolipids (SLs) are glycolipid biosurfactants abundantly produced from different feedstocks by yeasts, and have been widely developed for various applications. In this study, we searched for novel SLs, aiming to broaden the functions and application range. As a result of screening based on the phylogenetic information of a known SL producer, we found that Candida batistae CBS 8550 produces new types of SLs. Interestingly, the present product mainly constituted acid-form SLs (more than 60% of the total SLs), considerably different from conventional SLs that mainly constitute lactone-form ones. In the shake-flask culture with glucose and olive oil as the carbon sources, the yeast produced 6 g/L of SLs after 3 days cultivation. The critical micelle concentrations of the present SL product and isolated acid-form SL (GL-A) were 366 and 138 mg/L, respectively, while those of conventional SLs and isolated acid-form SL were 17 and 95 mg/L, respectively. From these results, the phylogenetic approach should lead to the discovery of new biosurfactant producers, and the yeast product possessing high hydrophilicity may facilitate a broad range of applications for SLs.     

Accurate determination of multiple sets of single molecular conductance of Au/1,6-hexanedithiol/Au break junctions by ultra-high vacuum-scanning tunneling microscope and analyses of individual current-separation curves

The effect of the binding sites of the terminal groups -S on gold on currents through a single molecular junction (MJ) of Au/1,6-hexanedithiol/Au was studied by measuring current-separation (i-s) curves during repeated formation of a break junction in UHV-STM. Three different single molecular conductance (SMC) values (i.e. G(m)(HC), G(m)(MC) and G(m)(LC)) were found by a careful analysis of corrected current histograms for background tunneling currents using a previously developed robust statistical analysis. Here, HC, MC and LC represent a single MJ with high, medium and low conductance, respectively. These three SMC values are attributed to three different contact modes (i.e. strong-strong, strong-weak (or weak-strong) and weak-weak bindings at the two ends). In addition to these three SMC values due to the different contacts, another lower SMC value was newly observed in the corrected histogram. The presence of the fourth SMC is specific to MJs of alkanedithiols and is attributable to LC of a single alkylene chain with gauche rich conformation, which has a lower SMC value than that of LC with all-trans conformation as proposed previously (Fujihira M et al 2006 Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 8 3876). Due to the effects of the contact and the conformational change, it was difficult to determine six different SMC values corresponding to two different conformations (i.e. gauche-rich versus all-trans) with three different contacts (i.e. HC, MC and LC). In addition to this complexity, the current steps corresponding to HC, MC and LC almost always appeared in this order in measured i-s curves during separation. The current step observed here could not only be a contribution from a single molecule, but also contributions from a few groups of molecules that happen to link gold atoms of the substrate with those of the tip apex. Therefore, the SMC value for HC obtained as a peak or a set of peaks in the current histogram could be based upon the sum of the current of HC and those of MCs and LCs coexisting in parallel, unless every MJ would change successively from HC to MC and MC to LC. Namely, the currents through coexisting MCs and LCs would raise the intrinsic current observed for HC itself, while those through coexisting LCs would raise the intrinsic current for MC. To avoid such errors in determining the true SMC, we demonstrate here a new method based upon analyses of individual i-s curves referred to as jump height analyses of individual i-s curves. By this method, the true SMC of LC(all-trans) was determined to be 1.6?nS (i.e. G(m) (LC, all-trans) of 2.1 × 10(-5)G(o)) without ambiguity in spite of the possible presence of LCs(gauche rich) in parallel.     

Accuracy assessment of a noninvasive device for monitoring beat-by-beat blood pressure in the radial artery using the volume-compensation method

For the noninvasive and accurate measurement of instantaneous blood pressure (BP) in the radial artery, the performance of a device based on the principle of volume-compensation was assessed by comparison with simultaneous measurement of direct (invasive) radial artery pressure in nine healthy subjects. Bias and precision of systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) derived from Bland-Altman plots of data from the present system and the direct method averaged -0.5 +/- 2.1 mmHg and 0.6 +/- 1.8 mmHg respectively, over a wide range of SBP and DBP. These results clearly indicate that, using this system, instantaneous radial artery pressure can be measured noninvasively with high accuracy.     

Influence of the preparation conditions of TiO2 electrodes on the performance of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells with CuI as a hole collector

Solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated in which the thin p-CuI film acts as a hole collector. Influences of the different preparation methods, composition, aging time of the TiO₂ pastes and sensitizing time on the performance of the cells were investigated. Different preparation routes for the TiO₂ paste do not obviously affect the performance of the cells. The volume of water, acetic acid and 2-propanol contained in the TiO₂ pastes and the amount of the TiO₂ powder were determined. The efficiency of the cells remains nearly stable when the aging period of the TiO₂ pastes is within one week. The favorable dying time is above 2 h. The cells having a favorable performance deliver a mean short-circuit photocurrent of 10.8 mA cm⁻² and mean open-circuit voltage of 0.61 V at 100 mW cm⁻² (1.5 AM). The mean fill factor and the mean efficiency of these cells are 0.55% and 3.7%, respectively. The short-circuit photocurrent rapidly decays after 3 h, and at the same time, the open-circuit voltage slowly decreases when the time increases, and then remains nearly stable after 24 h.     

论不同地区的最佳人口分布

为了得到一个国家不同地区人口分布的最佳模式,对中央政府给每个地区的拨款进行了研究。如果所有地区大小相同,可适用亨利·乔治定理,即要使每个地区都获得人口规模最优,所有土地的租金都应当用于公共物品投资。但是如果各地区的面积不相等,则不适用亨利·乔治定理。这种情况下,要提高所有地区居民的福利,中央政府应该重新分配税收收入,以实现帕累托改进。最后,阐述了税收最佳分配方案以及帕累托改进方法。     

Energy Saving and Environmental Measures in Railway Technologies: Example with Hybrid Electric Railway Vehicles

The electric railway system is the highest class of energy efficient transportation means. This is due to two important points: (i) low running resistance (including low energy losses) and (ii) energy regeneration in braking. Regenerative braking of railway electric vehicles is effective when the other powering ones, in other words electrical load, exist near the regenerating train on the same electrified line. So, early in the morning and at midnight, or in the low‐density district lines, regeneration cancellation phenomenon often occurs and the regenerative brake force cannot be operated in accordance with the recommended value. Newly appeared high‐performance energy storage devices press the issues of energy storage and reuse technologies on ground and on vehicles. Hybrid energy source is one effective solution. In this paper, as an example, we show our trolley and on‐board battery hybrid controlled tramcar, developed to reduce regeneration cancellation. With the trolley line collective power as well as charge and discharge power of the on‐board lithium ion rechargeable battery, the hybrid energy providing and regenerating technology is achieved. The running test results show a maximum regenerative ratio of 44%, which is top class value in an electric railway system. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.