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Magnetic resonance T2 mapping allows for the quantification of water and proteoglycan content within tissues and can be used to detect early cartilage abnormalities as well as to track the response to therapy. The goal of the present study was to use T2 mapping to quantify intervertebral disk water content according to the Pfirrmann classification.This study involved 60 subjects who underwent lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (a total of 300 lumbar disks). The degree of disk degeneration was assessed in the midsagittal section on T2-weighted images according to the Pfirrmann classification (grades I to V). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed among grades to determine the cut-off values.In the nucleus pulposus, T2 values tended to decrease with increasing grade, and there was a significant difference in T2 values between each grade from grades I to IV. However, there was no significant difference in T2 values in the anterior or posterior annulus fibrosus. T2 values according to disk degeneration level classification were as follows: grade I (116.8 ms), grade II (92.7-116.7 ms), grade III (72.1-92.6 ms), grade IV (72.0 ms).T2 values decreased with increasing Pfirrmann classification grade in the nucleus pulposus, likely reflecting a decrease in proteoglycan and water content. Thus, T2 value-based measurements of intervertebral disk water content may be useful for future clinical research on degenerative disk diseases.

We developed novel transparent saponite films with excellent thermal stability and water resistance. The transparent saponite films were composed of either 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium saponite (EMI-SA) or tetraphenyl phosphonium saponite (TPP-SA), which were produced by ion exchange reaction of synthetic saponite (SA) with 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium bromide (EMI-Br) or tetraphenyl phosphonium bromide (TPP-Br). We dispersed these organo-saponites, with poor swelling properties and dispersibility, in N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF). We produced a transparent self-supported film by casting. Coloring of the films at high temperature indicated its excellent thermal stability up to 300 °C. Especially, TPP-SA self-supported film showed excellent thermal stability and good flexibility, showing little coloring up to 400 °C with a decomposition temperature > 500 °C. It showed transparency of > 80% in the visible-light region, with high flexibility, and good water resistance. These results demonstrate that TPP-SA self-supported films are a promising transparent material for various applications.

Background Bone regeneration therapy using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is beginning to come into clinical use. To overcome the difficulty of healing large bone defects, we previously reported the efficacy of using rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs) carrying a modified adenoviral vector (Adv-F/RGD) with an RGD-containing peptide in the HI loop of the fiber knob domain of adenovirus type 5 (Ad5). Methods Firstly, we evaluated the transduction efficiency of Adv-F/RGD into bone-marrow-derived human MSCs (hMSCs) using a β-galactosidase chemiluminescent assay. Next, we evaluated whether the vector AxCAhBMP2-F/RGD carrying the human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) gene could enhance the osteogenic activity of hMSCs in vitro and in vivo (in an ectopic model). In the ectopic model, transduced hMSCs, hMSCs in the presence of recombinant human BMP2 (rhBMP2) or hMSCs alone were implanted into a subcutaneous site of nude mice. We also applied this vector system to an orthotopic model (large bone defect model) using rMSCs. Results The transduction efficiency of Adv-F/RGD into hMSCs was increased 10-fold over the vector containing the wild-type fiber (Adv-F/wt), as assessed by a β-galactosidase chemiluminescent assay. AxCAhBMP2-F/RGD increased the osteogenic activity of hMSCs in vitro. In the ectopic model, AxCAhBMP2-F/RGD-transduced hMSCs were found to induce new bone at 1 week after transplantation, and a greater quantity of new bone was formed than in other groups. Similarly, AxCAhBMP2-F/RGD-transduced rMSCs induced a greater quantity of new bone than other groups (AxCAhBMP2-F/wt-transduced rMSCs, rMSCs in the presence of rhBMP2, rMSCs alone, or scaffolds alone) in the orthotopic model. Conclusions These data suggest that Adv-F/RGD is useful for introducing foreign genes into MSCs and that it will be a powerful gene therapy tool for bone regeneration and other tissue-engineering applications. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ion exchange membranes for fuel cell are expected to become thinner in order to reduce the membrane resistance. On the other hand, a thinner membrane has a weaker mechanical strength. The novel proton-exchange membranes were prepared by reinforcing with two kinds of 100 % PTFE fiber sheets, which were fabricated by a papermaking method with or without uniaxially stretching as the core for a reinforced membrane. The stress, the strain, water content, ion exchange capacity and ionic conductivity were measured for different membranes. By pre-treating the PTFE sheet at 320 degree and hot-pressing the membrane at 140 degree, a strength of 27 MPa was obtained for the membrane reinforced with a PTFE sheet in the machine direction (MD) and 21 MPa in the transverse direction (TD). The tensile yield stress was almost the same as that of Nafion112 in both directions. The water content and proton conductivity of the membrane reinforced with the PTFE sheet decreased to less than 28.3 % and 20 % when compared to that of Nafion112, respectively. The obtained ion exchange capacity was 0.89 mol/kg-dry.

We have developed several types of functionality sheets made with polymer fibers and metal fibers using the wet paper making technique. We have recently developed the Poly (p-phenylene-2, 6-benzobisoxazole)(PBO) fiber sheet for printed circuit boards.This PBO fiber (ZYLON) is made by TOYOBO CO., LTD. and has excellent properties such as high tensile strength, high tensile modulus. low moisture content and high thermal resistance.This report presents the way of making PBO fiber sheet, it's property and PBO pulp which is needed to make the PBO fiber sheet.

Cervical spondylotic amyotrophy (CSA), characterized by amyotrophy and muscular weakness of the upper limbs, is caused by damage to anterior spinal root or anterior horn of the spinal cord. Formerly, anterior decompression and fusion were performed for treatment of CSA, but it has recently been reported that posterior decompression is also effective. However, a consensus on the choice of procedure has not yet been reached. Selective laminoplasty as minimally invasive surgery is a posterior decompression procedure that alleviates axial neck pain. Because, for CSA patients, the responsible lesion level is localized, this procedure combined with foraminotomy enables simultaneous spinal cord and root decompression. Therefore, we report the results of this treatment for CSA.Subjects were 28 patients (25 males, 3 females), average age 50.6 years and average follow-up 43.5 months. The muscles involved were deltoid for 14 patients, biceps for 11, and extensor digitorum communis and/or intrinsic muscles of the hand for 9. MMT scores were grade 2 for 23 cases and grade 3 for 5 cases. To evaluate the results of minimally invasive surgery, cervical ROM (C2-7) and postoperative neck pain (VAS) on the first postoperative day and 1 week after surgery were evaluated.Muscle strength improvement was rated as "excellent" for 18 patients, "good" for 9, and "fair" for 1, with none rated "poor". Four of 10 patients whose muscle strength did not fully improve had distal type CSA and/or had preoperative MMT scores of 2. Average %ROM was 91.2 % and almost complete cervical ROM was maintained. The average postoperative VAS score was 2.6 on the first postoperative day and 1.2 1 week after surgery.Selective laminoplasty with segmental decompression is advantageous for minimizing postoperative neck pain and for simultaneous decompression of the affected spinal cord segment and nerve root.

Pyogenic spondylitis can be life-threatening for elderly patients. To discuss the characteristics of the disease in the elderly, medical records of 103 consecutive cases of pyogenic spondylitis were reviewed. Of these, 45 cases were 65 years of age or older, and these 45 cases were enrolled into further study. In this study, the proportion of elderly patients among the total number with pyogenic spondylitis was 43.7%, and this figure has increased with the passing of time as follows: 37.5% (1988–1993), 44.4% (1994–1999), and 55.5% (2000–2005). The microorganisms were isolated in 16 cases: Staphylococcus aureus in 13 cases (including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in nine) and others in three. Twenty-five patients had associated diseases: diabetes in 18 patients and malignant tumors in seven. Thirty patients were treated conservatively, and 15 patients underwent surgery. Twenty-six patients had paralysis. All 15 patients treated surgically, and eight of the 11 patients treated conservatively showed improvement in paralysis. Bone union was achieved in all cases except one. Our results indicate that a good outcome can be expected from conservative treatment in elderly patients as well as the young.

Despite the availability of effective treatment and well-publicized treatment guidelines for preventing osteoporotic fractures, there are significant gaps in implementing the recommendations, and it is unknown how many patients are treated for prevention of secondary osteoporotic fractures. In this study, we investigate what percentage of osteoporosis patients were treated with antiosteoporotic drugs after osteoporotic fractures of the hip, wrist, and proximal humerus, and we discuss here the need for improvement in the treatment of osteoporosis following fracture.We studied 422 patients with osteoporotic fractures, 91 men and 331 women, with an average age of 77.1 years (range, 52-102 years). The 422 cases consisted of 299 hip fractures, 97 distal radius fractures, and 26 proximal humerus fractures. All patients underwent surgical intervention. The variables were examined to ascertain whether osteoporosis patients were medicated with antiosteoporotic drugs at postfracture.Fifty-five (13%) of the 422 patients received antiosteoporotic medication at postfracture. Pharmaceutical treatment was given in 44 cases (14.7%) of hip fractures, 8 cases (8.2%) of distal radius fractures, and 3 cases (11.5%) of proximal humerus fractures. Thirty-one (7.3% of total) of the 55 patients were taking the same medication pre- and postfracture. Seven (1.7%) of the 55 were administered a different drug compared to before the fracture, and 17 (4%) started to take an antiosteoporotic drug for the first time subsequent to the fracture.The present rate of treatment is insufficient given the high risk of secondary fractures and the availability of appropriate drugs that would reduce that risk.

The prognosis of patients with malignant glioma is extremely poor, despite the extensive surgical treatment that they receive and recent improvements in adjuvant radio- and chemotherapy. In the present study, we propose the use of gene-modified mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a new tool for gene therapy of malignant brain neoplasms. Primary MSCs isolated from Fischer 344 rats possessed excellent migratory ability and exerted inhibitory effects on the proliferation of 9L glioma cell in vitro. We also confirmed the migratory capacity of MSCs in vivo and showed that when they were inoculated into the contralateral hemisphere, they migrated towards 9L glioma cells through the corpus callosum. MSCs implanted directly into the tumor localized mainly at the border between the 9L tumor cells and normal brain parenchyma, and also infiltrated into the tumor bed. Intratumoral injection of MSCs caused significant inhibition of 9L tumor growth and increased the survival of 9L glioma-bearing rats. Gene-modification of MSCs by infection with an adenoviral vector encoding human interleukin-2 (IL-2) clearly augmented the antitumor effect and further prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing rats. Thus, gene therapy employing MSCs as a targeting vehicle would be promising as a new therapeutic approach for refractory brain tumor.

Objective. To compare the hematopoietic support provided by telomerized human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and telomerized MSC-derived stromal cells. Methods. We transfected the human telomerase catalytic subunit (hTERT) gene into primary MSCs to establish hTERT-transduced MSCs (hTERT-MSCs). Stromal induction of hTERT-MSCs was performed by replacing the culture medium with Dexter-type culture medium. Hematopoietic support was examined by coculture with cord blood CD34 + cells. Results. The hTERT-MSCs were morphologically identical with the primary MSCs and expressed surface antigens including CD105, CD73, and CD166. hTERT-MSCs showed a similar doubling time as primary MSCs and continued to proliferate to over 80 population doublings (PD), although the primary MSCs underwent crisis in vitro at 16 PD. The osteogenic, chondrogenic, adipogenic, neurogenic, and stromal differentiation potential of hTERT-MSCs were maintained up to at least 40 PD. The degree of expansion of CD34 + cells and total number of colony-forming units in culture (CFU-C) upon 12-day coculture with the hTERT-MSC–derived stromal cells were nearly the same as those upon 12-day coculture with hTERT-MSCs (CD34, 33.0-fold±2.8-fold vs 36.1-fold±1.7-fold of the initial cell number; CFUs, 344.4-fold±62.5-fold vs 239.3-fold±87.0-fold; CFU-mix, 368.4-fold±113.7-fold vs 341.3-fold±234.3-fold). However, on day 18 of coculture, the number of cobblestone areas (CA) observed beneath the stromal cells was 15 times higher than that beneath hTERT-MSCs (CA, 146.9±54.6 vs 9.4±8.1, p Conclusion. Stromal induction of hTERT-MSCs exclusively enhanced the support of CA formation provided by hTERT-MSCs. Our human hTERT-MSCs will be useful for elucidating the mechanism of the formation of CAs.

Transparent clay films were prepared using tetraphenyl phosphonium (TPP) modified smectites (TPP-SA, TPP-HE, and TPP-SA-HE), which were prepared by ion exchange of either synthetic saponite (SA) or synthetic hectorite (HE) as well as a mixture of these two kinds of smectites (SA-HE) with TPP-bromide (TPP-Br). Uniform liquid dispersions of these TPP-smectites were successfully prepared by adding N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) to hydrous gels of TPP-smectites. Finally, transparent self-supported films of about 30 µm thickness were prepared by casting these dispersions. From the optical studies, it was confirmed that the transparent clay films maintained their optical transparency in the visible range even after annealing at 350 °C for an hour. Particularly, haze value of the TPP-SA-HE film decreased by one-third compared to TPP-SA, and it was also confirmed that the flexibility of TPP-SA-HE film was better than that of TPP-HE. From the cross-sectional scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, it was confirmed that TPP-SA film has large voids, which causes scattering of light compared to TPP-HE. Finally, the average void size was reduced by mixing these two TPP-smectites with different particle size.