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Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors have widely been used in internet of thinking (IoT) devices such as smartphones, smart watch and personal computer tablets [1] . The consumer market strongly requires higher sensitivity and higher speed image data processing to realize high functional CMOS image sensors such as three dimensionally stacked back-side-illuminated CMOS image sensors (3D-CIS) [2] . However, there are some serious technological issues in the fabrication of advanced CMOS image sensors as shown in Fig. 1 .

Supplementary Figure 3 from A Notch1 Ectodomain Construct Inhibits Endothelial Notch Signaling, Tumor Growth, and Angiogenesis

Supplementary Figure 4 from A Notch1 Ectodomain Construct Inhibits Endothelial Notch Signaling, Tumor Growth, and Angiogenesis

Supplementary Figure 1 from A Notch1 Ectodomain Construct Inhibits Endothelial Notch Signaling, Tumor Growth, and Angiogenesis

Supplementary Figure 2 from A Notch1 Ectodomain Construct Inhibits Endothelial Notch Signaling, Tumor Growth, and Angiogenesis

Due to its mild reaction conditions and unique chemoselectivity, hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) hydrogenation represents an indispensable method for the synthesis of complex molecules. Its analog using deuterium, deuterium atom transfer (DAT) deuteration, is expected to enable access to complex deuterium-labeled compounds. However, DAT deuteration has been scarcely studied for synthetic purposes, and a method that possesses the favorable characteristics of HAT hydrogenations has remained elusive. Herein, we report a protocol for the photocatalytic DAT deuteration of electron-deficient alkenes. In contrast to the previous DAT deuteration, this method tolerates a variety of synthetically useful functional groups including haloarenes. The late-stage deuteration also allows access to deuterated amino acids as well as donepezil-d2. Thus, this work demonstrates the potential of DAT chemistry to become the alternative method of choice for preparing deuterium-containing molecules.

In comparison with terrestrial mammals, dolphins require a large amount of haemoglobin in blood and myoglobin in muscle to prolong their diving time underwater and increase the depth they can dive. The genus Cetobacterium is a common gastrointestinal bacterium in dolphins and includes two species: C. somerae and C. ceti . Whilst the former produces vitamin B12, which is essential for the biosynthesis of haem, a component of haemoglobin and myoglobin, but not produced by mammals, the production ability of the latter remains unknown. The present study aimed to isolate C. ceti from dolphins and reveal its ability to biosynthesize vitamin B12. Three strains of C. ceti , identified by phylogenetic analyses with 16S rRNA gene and genome-based taxonomy assignment and biochemical features, were isolated from faecal samples collected from two captive common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). A microbioassay using Lactobacillus leichmannii ATCC 7830 showed that the average concentration of vitamin B12 produced by the three strains was 11 (standard deviation: 2) pg ml−1. The biosynthesis pathway of vitamin B12, in particular, adenosylcobalamin, was detected in the draft genome of the three strains using blastKOALA. This is the first study to isolate C. ceti from common bottlenose dolphins and reveal its ability of vitamin B12 biosynthesis, and our findings emphasize the importance of C. ceti in supplying haemoglobin and myoglobin to dolphins.

In comparison with terrestrial mammals, dolphins require a large amount of haemoglobin in blood and myoglobin in muscle to prolong their diving time underwater and increase the depth they can dive. The genus

Intramolecular hydroarylation of alkenes through hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) represents a robust method to prepare benzo-fused heterocycles. However, the reported methods have limitations in a variety of accessible cyclic scaffolds. Here we report a dual cobalt- and photoredox-catalyzed HAT hydroarylation of alkenes that is characterized by higher efficiency in the synthesis of a δ-lactam compared to established protocols. The proposed mechanism is supported by experiments and DFT calculations.

Microalbuminuria is thought to be a risk factor for progression to macroalbuminuria, an indicator of renal functional decline in patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes. However, it remains unknown which renal histological factors predict the onset of macroalbuminuria or eGFR Conclusions: Aggravated arteriolar hyalinosis is a histological risk factor for renal functional decline and predicts the onset of macroalbuminuria and CKD in patients with type 2 diabetes, normo-microalbuminuria, and normal renal function regardless of microalbuminuria grade. This finding might reflect initial changes in early diabetic nephropathy. Disclosure T. Moriya: None. A. Hayashi: None. A. Suzuki: None. M. Matsubara: None. M. Ouchi: None.

In the present study, we isolated and characterized Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis) subsp. lactis from a female Cuvier&rsquo, s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) stranded in Shizuoka, Japan. Only five isolates (CBW1-5), grown on Lactobacilli de Man Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) agar plates prepared using 50% artificial seawater, were positive in L. lactis species-specific primer PCR. Their 16S rRNA sequences were highly similar to those of L. lactis subsp. lactis JCM 5805T. The Gram reaction, motility, gas production from glucose, catalase production, and growth conditions were consistent with those of the type strain. Additionally, carbohydrate utilization of the strains was consistent with previously reported marine organism-derived strains. The pH-neutralized cell-free culture supernatant of strain CBW2 inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis ATCC 6051 and Vibrio alginolyticus ATCC 17749, whereas protease treatment eliminated or diminished its inhibitory activity. The strain possesses a precursor of the nisin structural gene (nisA), which showed 100% homology with nisin Z, and nisin biosynthesis-related genes (nisB, nisC, nisT, nisP, nisF, nisI, and nisRK), suggesting that the strain produces a nisin-like substance. This study provides fundamental information on whale-derived L. lactis subsp. lactis which may be useful for reducing the carriage of B. subtilis subsp. subtilis and V. alginolyticus.

In the present study, we isolated and characterized Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis) subsp. lactis from a female Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) stranded in Shizuoka, Japan. Only five isolates (CBW1-5), grown on Lactobacilli de Man Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) agar plates prepared using 50% artificial seawater, were positive in L. lactis species-specific primer PCR. Their 16S rRNA sequences were highly similar to those of L. lactis subsp. lactis JCM 5805T. The Gram reaction, motility, gas production from glucose, catalase production, and growth conditions were consistent with those of the type strain. Additionally, carbohydrate utilization of the strains was consistent with previously reported marine organism-derived strains. The pH-neutralized cell-free culture supernatant of strain CBW2 inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis ATCC 6051 and Vibrio alginolyticus ATCC 17749, whereas protease treatment eliminated or diminished its inhibitory activity. The strain possesses a precursor of the nisin structural gene (nisA), which showed 100% homology with nisin Z, and nisin biosynthesis-related genes (nisB, nisC, nisT, nisP, nisF, nisI, and nisRK), suggesting that the strain produces a nisin-like substance. This study provides fundamental information on whale-derived L. lactis subsp. lactis which may be useful for reducing the carriage of B. subtilis subsp. subtilis and V. alginolyticus.

A high urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and low glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are risk factors for progressive renal function loss in type 2 diabetic patients. In addition, diabetic retinopathy (DR) is also a risk factor for progressive renal function decline in microalbuminuric type 2 diabetic patients. We aimed to elucidate the factors, including DR, associated with a more severe situation of diabetic nephropathy, i.e., hemodialysis (HD) induction in normo- and microalbuminuric type 2 diabetic patients without renal dysfunction.Normo- and microalbuminuric type 2 diabetic patients with normal renal function whose GFRs had been measured by iohexol injection in 1995-1997 and had been followed for over 5 years were analyzed (n = 199). HbA1c levels was divided into HbA1c ≥ 7.0 (n = 146) and7.0 (n = 53) groups. The UAE levels were classified as normoalbuminuria (NA, n = 114) and microalbuminuria (MA, n = 85). Seventy-two patients had DR, and 96 had hypertension. Patients were followed up for 15.7 ± 6.0 years and frequency of and duration to the HD induction were evaluated.During the study period, 8 patients received HD induction. There were no remarkable differences in the rates of HD induction between patients with and without HbA1c ≥7.0, microalbuminuria, DR or hypertension. A Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that HbA1c ≥7.0 (p = 0.037) and DR (p = 0.037) were associated with a significantly higher risk of HD induction than HbA1c7.0 and no DR, respectively while albuminuria grade and hypertension were not associated with the risk of HD induction. There was significant negative correlation between HbA1c and annual decline rate of eGFR and annual decline rate of eGFR in the patients with prepro-proliferative DR (PDR) was significantly higher than that in the patients without DR. In the multivariate analysis, HbA1c and PDR showed significant relationships with the annual decline rate of eGFR.It was reasonable that poorer glycemic control affected HD induction for 16 years follow-up. However, DR, especially PDR, should also be considered a substantial risk factor for HD induction although microalbuminuria and hypertension did not predict it at the early stage of diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients with normal renal function.

Background: HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) testing performed by IHC (immunohistochemical) methods and FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) is semi-quantitative. Exact quantification of HER2 is needed to predict which patients are more or less likely to response to anti HER2 therapy. To improve the method for cancer patients' HER2 status, we developed a novel fluorescence IHC method using new fluorescence nanoparticle. The fluorescent intensity of this new nanoparticles, termed phosphor-integrated dot (PID), was approximately 100-fold brighter than that of Quantum dots. Because of its increased brightness and analyzing technology, this PID-based fluorescent IHC(IHC-PIC) has an ability of quantifying the biomarker protein in the cancer tissue sample at single particle level. In this study, the primary objective was to investigate if pathological complete response (pCR) rate in HER2- positive breast cancer treated by trastuzumab and lapatinib containing neoadjuvant systemic therapy would depend on the level of HER2, EGFR, HER3, Ki67, ER and PgR protein quantified by this new method. Methods: The Neo-LaTH study is a randomized phase II multicenter trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of lapatinib and trastuzumab followed by lapatinib and trastuzumab plus weekly paclitaxel with or without prolongation of anti-HER2 therapy prior to chemotherapy (18 weeks vs. 6 weeks). The primary endpoint was the comprehensive pCR rate. We evaluated the HER2, EGFR, HER3, Ki67, ER and PgR amount by nano-patho method using PID in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded core biopsy samples taken at diagnosis retrospective analysis. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the association between pCR and variables, including HER2, EGFR, HER3, Ki67, ER and PgR nano-patho score and clinicopathological factors including histological grade, tumor status, nodal status and HER2 FISH ratio. Results: A total of 96 tumor samples from patients were used for the present analysis.The pCR rate was 60.4%. We obtained the images of only PID signal by the image analyses, and calculated the number of PID particles in a cell and defined it as IHC-PID score that reflects the level of HER2, EGFR, HER3, Ki67, ER and PgR protein expression in cancer cells. Univariate analysis showed that HER2 IHC-PID score(p Conclusion: We successfully performed the quantitative IHC-PID for HER2, EGFR, HER3, Ki67, ER and PgR. And we propose using HER2 IHC-PID score as a predictive factor for trastuzumab and lapatinib containing neoadjuvant systemic therapy. This quantitative diagnostic method would be expected to contribute to the development of a molecular therapeutic strategy. Citation Format: Tada H, Miyashita M, Gonda K, Watanabe M, Suzuki A, Watanabe G, Harada N, Sato A, Hamanaka Y, Masuda N, Toi M, Ohno S, Bando H, Ishiguro H, Inoue K, Yamamoto N, Kuroi K, Ohuchi N, Ishida T. New quantitative diagnostic method by fluorescence nanoparticle for HER2 positive breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant lapatinib and trastuzumab: The Neo LaTH study (JBCRG-16TR) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-09-28.

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-021-01251-y

Key Points Question Does the performance of adjunctive ultrasonography for breast cancer detection among women undergoing screening mammography change according to breast tissue density? Findings In this secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial, screening mammography alone demonstrated low sensitivity, whereas adjunctive ultrasonography improved sensitivity both in dense and nondense breasts. Meaning These findings suggest that adjunctive ultrasonography has the potential to improve the detection of early-stage and invasive cancers across both dense and nondense breasts and to mitigate the flaws of mammographic screening., This secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial evaluates the performance of adjunctive ultrasonography for breast cancer screening in asymptomatic women aged 40 to 49 years undergoing screening mammography according to differences in breast density., Importance Mammography has limited accuracy in breast cancer screening. Ultrasonography, when used in conjunction with mammography screening, is helpful to detect early-stage and invasive cancers for asymptomatic women with dense and nondense breasts. Objective To evaluate the performance of adjunctive ultrasonography with mammography for breast cancer screening, according to differences in breast density. Design, Setting, and Participants This study is a secondary analysis of the Japan Strategic Anti-cancer Randomized Trial. Between July 2007 and March 2011, asymptomatic women aged 40 to 49 years were enrolled in Japan. The present study used data from cases enrolled from the screening center in Miyagi prefecture during 2007 to 2020. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to undergo either mammography with ultrasonography (intervention group) or mammography alone (control group). Data analysis was performed from February to March 2020. Exposures Ultrasonography adjunctive to mammography for breast cancer screening regardless of breast density. Main Outcomes and Measures Sensitivity, specificity, recall rates, biopsy rates, and characteristics of screen-detected cancers and interval breast cancers were evaluated between study groups and for each modality according to breast density. Results A total of 76 119 women were enrolled, and data for 19 213 women (mean [SD] age, 44.5 [2.8] years) from the Miyagi prefecture were analyzed; 9705 were randomized to the intervention group and 9508 were randomized to the control group. A total of 11 390 women (59.3%) had heterogeneously or extremely dense breasts. Among the overall group, 130 cancers were found. Sensitivity was significantly higher in the intervention group than the control group (93.2% [95% CI, 87.4%-99.0%] vs 66.7% [95% CI, 54.4%-78.9%]; P

We aimed to determine whether high-resolution specimen-positron emission mammography (PEM) using fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) can reveal extension of breast cancer in breast-conserving surgery (BCS), and assess the safety of radiation exposure to medical staff. Sixteen patients underwent positron emission tomography, and then BCS with intraoperative frozen section analysis on the same day. Resected specimens with remaining 18F-FDG accumulation were scanned by high-resolution PEM. At least 1 day after surgery, tumour extension was evaluated by three independent experienced readers and by binarized images from the specimen-PEM data. Intraoperative exposure of medical staff to 18F-FDG was measured. Specimen-PEM evaluations of binarized images and the three investigators detected all (100 %, 12/12) invasive lesions and 94.4 % (17/18) of in situ lesions using both methods. The positive predictive value of the accumulated lesions was 74.4 % (29/39) for the binarized images and 82.9 % (29/35) for the three investigators. Analysis of intraoperative frozen sections detected 100 % (2/2) of the margin-positive cases, also detected by both specimen-PEM evaluation methods with no false-positive margin cases. The mean exposure of the medical staff to 18F was 18 μSv. Specimen-PEM detected invasive and in situ lesions with high accuracy and allowable radiation exposure. • Specimen-PEM detected invasive and in situ lesions with high accuracy. • Specimen-PEM predicted complete resection with the same accuracy as frozen section analysis. • Breast-conserving surgery after fluorodeoxyglucose injection was performed with low medical staff exposure.

We investigated the extent of potential applicability of our recently developed method for preparing lipid vesicles [T. Kuroiwa et al., J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc., 93 (2016) 421], designated as the multiple emulsification-solvent evaporation method, with the intention of controlling the vesicle diameter and achieving high entrapment efficiency for water-soluble compounds. Using this method, the diameter of lipid vesicles could be varied by selecting the methods for preparing the primary water-in-oil emulsion, which contained water droplets as templates for the internal water phases of lipid vesicles. We obtained lipid vesicles with mean diameters of 0.2-4.4μm from water-in-oil-in-water multiple emulsions after solvent evaporation. A high entrapment yield of calcein, a water-soluble fluorescent dye, into the lipid vesicles was obtained for each vesicle sample, depending on their diameter and the type of emulsifier added to the external water phase. The use of polymeric emulsifier was more effective in achieving a high entrapment yield. The obtained lipid vesicles were powderized via freeze-drying. Vesicles could be powderized while maintaining their original diameter, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, the powderized vesicles could be rehydrated and resuspended without significant change in their diameter. However, the entrapment yield of calcein decreased after freeze-drying and rehydration. The calcein leakage during the freeze-drying followed by rehydration could be suppressed by adding an appropriate amount of trehalose as a lyoprotectant.

Metabolomics has recently emerged as a tool for understanding comprehensive tumor-associated metabolic dysregulation. However, only limited application of this technology has been introduced into the clinical setting of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of metabolome analysis using routine CNB/VAB samples from breast cancer patients and to elucidate metabolic signatures using metabolic profiling. After breast cancer screenings, 20 consecutive patients underwent CNB/VAB, and diagnosed with benign, DCIS and IDC by histology. Metabolome analysis was performed using CE–MS. Differential metabolites were then analyzed and evaluated with MetaboAnalyst 4.0. We measured 116-targeted metabolites involved in energy metabolism. Principal component analysis and unsupervised hierarchical analysis revealed a distinct metabolic signature unique to namely “pure” IDC samples, whereas that of DCIS was similar to benign samples. Pathway analysis unveiled the most affected pathways of the “pure” IDC metabotype, including “pyrimidine,” “alanine, aspartate, and glutamate” and “arginine and proline” pathways. Our proof-of-concept study demonstrated that CE–MS-based CNB/VAB metabolome analysis is feasible for implementation in routine clinical settings. The most affected pathways in this study may contribute to improved breast cancer stratification and precision medicine.

This article updates readers as to what is new in the Japanese Breast Cancer Society Clinical Practice Guidelines for Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis, 2018 Edition. Breast cancer screening issues are covered, including matters of breast density and possible supplemental modalities, along with appropriate pre-operative/follow-up diagnostic breast imaging tests. Up-to-date clinical practice guidelines for breast cancer screening and diagnosis should help to provide patients and clinicians with not only evidence-based breast imaging options, but also accurate and balanced information about the benefits and harms of intervention, which ultimately enables shared decision making about imaging test plans.

Herbivorous animals have unique intestinal microbiota that greatly helps with plant digestion in the host; however, knowledge on the microbiota of marine herbivores is limited. To better understand the taxonomy of intestinal microbiota in manatees, and the possible effects of captive conditions on that, we characterized the fecal microbiota of captive Antillean manatee Trichechus manatus manatus and compared the bacterial community with that of wild Florida manatees Trichechus manatus latirostris. Fecal samples were collected from four captive Antillean manatees in Ocean Expo Park, Okinawa, Japan. The high-quality sequences of the V3–V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA obtained using an Illumina MiSeq platform were assigned to 16 bacterial phyla, and the most dominant was Firmicutes (84.05 ± 3.50%), followed by Bacteroidetes (8.60 ± 1.71%). Seven of the top 20 bacterial genera were responsible for hydrolyzing cellulose and metabolizing bile acid. The microbiota composition was remarkably different from that found in wild Florida manatees and more diverse than the composition in wild Florida manatees; hence, this result may be dependent on a captive environment. Our results highlight the unique intestinal microbiota in captive manatees, reflecting their diet and possibly an impact of the captive environment.

We developed a novel method for preparing lipid vesicles with high entrapment efficiency and controlled size using water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) multiple emulsions as vesicle templates. Preparation consists of three steps. First, a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion containing to-be-entrapped hydrophilic molecules in the water phase and vesicle-forming lipids in the oil phase was formulated by sonication. Second, this W/O emulsion was introduced into a microchannel emulsification device to prepare a W/O/W multiple emulsion. In this step, sodium caseinate was used as the external emulsifier. Finally, organic solvent in the oil phase was removed by simple evaporation under ambient conditions to afford lipid vesicles. The diameter of the prepared vesicles reflected the water droplet size of the primary W/O emulsions, indicating that vesicle size could be controlled by the primary W/O emulsification process. Furthermore, high entrapment yields for hydrophilic molecules (exceeding 80 % for calcein) were obtained. The resulting vesicles had a multilamellar vesicular structure, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy.

The argonauts (genus Argonauta) are enigmatic cephalopods. They have a cosmopolitan distribution in subtropical and tropical seas, where they inhabit the epipelagic zone. Their biology, ecology, and life cycle are poorly understood. It is for the first time that stable isotope (δ13C, δ18O) and element ratios (Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca) from three argonaut shells have been analyzed in order to test whether their life cycle and habitat are reflected in these data. The three studied shells have been collected in October 2012 from a mass stranding in Yoichi Bay, Hokkaido, Japan. The specimens were sampled along the keel of the shells to acquire ontogenetic records and along growth-sections of the shells to obtain synchronous data of differing shell growth rates. Carbon and oxygen isotope values as well as Mg/Ca ratios are in part controlled by the shell growth rate. Sr/Ca values show similar ontogenetic trends in the three shells. Comparison with measured sea surface temperature data indicates a temperature control on δ18O, Mg/Ca, and Sr/Ca, and a fast growth of the argonaut shell. Ba/Ca ratios of the shells might record environmental parameters. These new data highlight the influence of vital effects, but they also demonstrate that argonaut shell isotopic and elemental records can be used to understand the life cycle of these animals better.

The anti-tumor immune response was recently reported to play a critical role in the chemotherapeutic sensitivity of breast cancer. Therefore, we investigated the correlation between CD8+ and FOXP3+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and the pathological complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), in conjunction with neoangiogenesis, basal and proliferation markers. CD8+ and FOXP3+ lymphocytes were assessed in biopsy specimens by double-staining immunohistochemistry, in combination with immunostaining of vasohibin-1, CD31, EGFR, CK5/6, and Ki-67. Earlier age, pre-menopausal status, smaller tumor size, and high Ki-67 were significantly associated with pCR, as in high CD8+, high CD8+/FOXP3+ ratio, and low vasohibin-1 positive ratio. Multivariate analysis did reveal that a high CD8+/FOXP3+ ratio was a strong predictor of pCR with an odds ratio of 5.32 (P = 0.005). High Ki-67 was also significantly associated with pCR (P = 0.002). TNBCs with a high CD8+/FOXP3+ ratio and high Ki-67 had the highest pCR rate (70%) following NAC. However, the pCR rate of the patients with low CD8+/FOXP3+ ratio and low Ki-67 was only 5%. The pCR rates of a high CD8+/FOXP3+ ratio and low Ki-67 patients and those with a low CD8+/FOXP3+ ratio and high Ki-67 were 24 and 21%, respectively. TNBCs with a high CD8+/FOXP3+ ratio were more sensitive to anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapeutic regimens, and the CD8+/FOXP3+ ratio in conjunction with Ki-67 could predict pCR following NAC in TNBC. This predictor may represent a new surrogate for testing the efficacy of investigational agents in the neoadjuvant setting.

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and immunohistochemical evaluation is a surrogate marker that is widely used in clinical settings to identify the intrinsic subtypes. The definition of the Luminal B-like breast cancer was changed at the 2013 St. Gallen meeting; therefore, we investigated the clinicopathological features of the new Luminal B-like breast cancer categorized in the latest definition. We also compared the conventional PgR-high Luminal B-like breast cancer with the conventional PgR-low or -negative Luminal B-like breast cancer. We investigated 118 Luminal HER2-negative breast cancer patients who were operated in 2005–2008 at a single institution. Data on each patient’s medical history were retrieved. A subset of patients (14.4 %) was categorized as the new Luminal B-like due to low or negative PgR: 58.8 % were histological grade I, 65 % were T1 in tumor size, and half had node involvement. Chemotherapy was performed in half of the cases. Breast cancer-related events were more frequent for the new Luminal B-like breast cancer than for the Luminal A-like breast cancer and were less frequent than for the conventional Luminal B-like breast cancer. Based on multivariate analysis, low or negative expression of PgR and the absence of hormonal therapy were worse prognostic factors. When categorized into two groups by the PgR status, 48.1 % of the conventional Luminal B-like breast cancer was PgR-high; tumor size was smaller, and nodal involvement was less in this group. The rate of adjuvant chemotherapy of the conventional PgR-high Luminal B-like breast cancer was less than that of the conventional PgR-low or -negative Luminal B-like breast cancer. Breast cancer-related events were significantly lower in the conventional PgR-high Luminal B-like breast cancer. Our results show the possibility that PgR status has some influence on the prognosis for Luminal HER2-negative breast cancers. Therefore, attention should be paid to the PgR status as well as Ki-67.

Salusin-β is an endogenous bioactive peptide that systemically exerts acute parasympathomimetic hemodynamic actions and locally induces atherogenesis. Due to its unique physicochemical characteristics to immediately adhere to all types of plastic and glassware, its plasma concentrations have only been successfully determined very recently. Using a total of 50 healthy adults (median age 28 years, range 24-57 years), we evaluated whether circulating salusin-β levels are affected by the autonomic nervous functions. Plasma total salusin-β levels obtained during daytime ambulatory monitoring of heart rate variability showed strong negative correlations with variables reflecting parasympathetic nervous activity, high frequency amplitude (HF; r=-0.27, p=0.0018) and the square root of the mean squared differences of successive normal-to-normal intervals (RMSSD; r=-0.19, p=0.0292), but did not with low frequency amplitude (LF) or LF/HF, variables influenced by sympathetic nervous activity. Because early morning nadir in the diurnal variation of plasma total salusin-β levels appeared to follow the nighttime parasympathetic nervous activity peak as quantified by HF and RMSSD, we determined whether parasympathetic stimulation reduces plasma salusin-β levels. Both Valsalva maneuver (p0.05) and urination (p0.05) significantly reduced plasma total salusin-β levels. Despite the fact that salusin-β is the sole endogenous parasympathomimetic peptide identified to date, the current results argue against the contention that physiological parasympathetic augmentation is the consequences of upregulated circulating salusin-β. Rather, circulating salusin-β levels are suppressed following physiological parasympathetic stimulation and appear to constitute a negative feedback relationship with the parasympathetic nervous system.

Fukushima Radiation Symposium 2013, A 9.0 magnitude (M) earthquake with an epicenter off the Sanriku coast occurred at 14: 46 on March 11, 2011. TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (F-1 NPP) was struck by the earthquake and its resulting tsunami. Consequently a critical nuclear disaster developed, as a large quantity of radioactive materials was released due to a hydrogen blast. On March 16th, 2011, radioiodine and radioactive cesium were detected at levels of 177 Bq/kg and 58 Bq/kg, respectively, in tap water in Fukushima city (about 62km northwest of TEPCO F-1 NPP). On March 20th, radioiodine was detected in tap water at a level of 965 Bq/kg, which is over the value-index of restrictions on food and drink intake (radioiodine 300 Bq/kg (infant intake 100 Bq/kg)) designated by the Nuclear Safety Commission. Therefore, intake restriction measures were taken regarding drinking water. After that, although the all intake restrictions were lifted, in order to confirm the safety of tap water, an inspection system was established to monitor all tap water in the prefecture. This system has confirmed that there has been no detection of radioiodine or radioactive cesium in tap water in the prefecture since May 5th, 2011. Furthermore, radioactive strontium (^{89} Sr, ^{90}Sr) and plutonium (^{238}Pu, ^{239}Pu+^{240}Pu) in tap water and the raw water supply were measured. As a result, ^{89}Sr, ^{238}Pu, ^{239}Pu+^{240}Pu were undetectable and although ^{90}Sr was detected, its committed effective dose of 0.00017 mSv was much lower than the yearly 0.1 mSv of the World Health Organization guidelines for drinking water quality. In addition, the results did not show any deviations from past inspection results.

Mammography is the only method of breast cancer screening that has established evidence of a mortality reduction. However, mammography does not achieve sufficient accuracy in the high-density breasts of patients