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By a simple differential thermal analysis (DTA) system, the concentration dependence of the glass transition temperatures (Tgs) for the quaternary ammonium-type ionic liquid, N,N-diethyl-N-methyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl)ammonium bromide [DEME][Br] and H2O mixtures, after quick precooling was measured as a function of water concentration x (mol% H2O). We compared the results with the previous results of [DEME][I]-H2O and [DEME][BF4]-H2O mixtures in which a double-glass transition behavior was observed. Remarkably, the [DEME][Br]-H2O mixtures basically show one-Tg behavior and the Tg decreases monotonically with increasing H2O content up to around x=91.5. But it suddenly jumps to higher Tg value at a specific x=~92. At this very limited point, two Tgs (Tg1,Tg2) which we might consider as a transition state from the structure belonging to the Tg1 group to another one due to the Tg2 group were observed. These results clearly reflect the difference in the anionic effects among Br−, I−, and BF4-. The end of the glass-formation region of [DEME][Br]-H2O mixtures is around x=98.9 and moves to more water-rich region as compared to those of [DEME][BF4]-H2O (x=96.0) and [DEME][I]-H2O (x=95.0) mixtures.

By a simple DTA system, the glass transition temperatures of the quaternary ammonium type ionic liquid, {N,N-diethyl-N-methyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl) ammonium iodide, [DEME][I] + H2O} mixtures after quick pre-cooling were measured as a function of water concentration (x mol% H2O). Results were compared with the previous results of {[DEME][BF4] + H2O} mixtures in which double glass transitions were observed in the water concentration region of (16.5 to 30.0) mol% H2O. Remarkably, we observed the double glass transition phenomenon in {[DEME][I] + H2O} mixtures too, but the two-Tgs regions lie towards the water-rich side of (77.5 to 85.0) mol% H2O. These clearly reflect the difference in the anionic effect between BF 4 - and I− on the water structure. The end of the glass-formation region of {[DEME][I] + H2O} mixtures is around x = 95.0 mol% H2O, and this is comparable to that of {[DEME][BF4] + H2O} mixtures (x = 96.0 mol% H2O).

This paper proposes a low complexity noise suppressor with hybrid filterbanks and adaptive time-frequency tiling. An analysis hybrid filterbank provides efficient transformation by further decomposing low-frequency bins after a coarse transformation with a short frame size. A synthesis hybrid filterbank also reduces computational complexity in a similar fashion to the analysis hybrid filterbank. Adaptive time-frequency tiling reduces the number of spectral gain calculations. It adaptively generates tiling information in the time-frequency plane based on the signal characteristics. The average number of instructions on a typical DSP chip has been reduced by 30% to 7.5 MIPS in case of mono signals sampled at 44.1 kHz. A Subjective test result shows that the sound quality of the proposed method is comparable to that of the conventional one.

This paper investigates tradeoff between complexity and memory size in the 3GPP enhanced aacPlus decoder based on 16-bit fixed-point DSP implementation. In order to investigate this tradeoff, the speed- and the-memory conscious decoders are implemented. The maximum number of operations for the implemented speed-conscious decoder is 29.3 million cycles per second (MCPS) for a 32 kb/s bitstream. The maximum number of operations for the memory-conscious decoder, where 70% of the data are allocated to an external memory area, increases by 5.7 MCPS (19%) for the bitstream. The investigation of this tradeoff provides an actual relationship between the computational complexity and the internal memory size of the 3GPP enhanced aacPlus decoder. The implemented decoders enable music download and streaming services on next-generation mobile terminals.

OBJECTIVES Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis in a variety of tumor cells through two of its receptors: TRAIL-R1 and TRAIL-R2. In this study, we investigated the susceptibility of human prostate cancer and bladder cancer cells to HGS-ETR2, a human monoclonal agonistic antibody specific for TRAIL-R2. METHODS The cell surface expression of TRAIL-R1 and TRAIL-R2 on prostate cancer and bladder cancer cells was determined using flow cytometry. Cytotoxicity was assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, and caspase activities were measured by a quantitative colorimetric assay. RESULTS HGS-ETR2 effectively induced apoptotic cell death in DU145, PC3, and LNCaP human prostate cancer cells and J82 and T24 human bladder cancer cells. The increased effectiveness of HGS-ETR2 for inducing cell death might have been affected by differences in the cell surface expression of the two TRAIL receptors, in that TRAIL-R2, but not TRAIL-R1, was frequently expressed in the prostate cancer and bladder cancer cells. HGS-ETR2 significantly activated the caspase cascade, including caspase-3, -6, -8, and -9, which were the downstream molecules of the death receptors in prostate cancer cells. Caspase-3, -6, and -9 were also significantly activated with HGS-ETR2-induced apoptosis in the bladder cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest the potential utility of TRAIL-R2 antibody as a novel therapeutic agent against prostate cancer and bladder cancer.

LIGA process has been developed in the 2.5-dimensional world. We introduced new technologies of a 3D X-ray lithography and a worm injection molding with an unscrewing de-molding mechanism, and succeeded in the deployment of a 3D LIGA process. Furthermore, we fabricated a spiral microcoil using the 3D-LIGA process and a metallization technique combining flat and smooth electroplating and isotropic chemical etching. The microcoil diameter was 0.5 mm and the length was 1 mm. The width of coil lines was 10µm and the pitch was 20µm. Characteristics of this microcoil as an inductor combine the inductance of 91 nH and the quality factor of 5.8 at the frequency of 1 GHz. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 166(1): 43–51, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20679

色落ち海苔 (海苔) からの乳酸発酵によるGABA生産を検討するとともに, 高血圧自然発症ラット (SHR) を用いて発酵海苔の血圧上昇抑制効果を評価した。(1) 海苔をLactobacillus brevis NBRC12005で発酵させた結果, 海苔から遊離したグルタミン酸の94%がGABAに変換され, 海苔が優れたGABA生産基材になり得ることが確認できた。(2) 海苔を2.5%塩酸液中で121℃, 5時間加熱処理することによって, 海苔からのグルタミン酸遊離量を約6倍増加させることができた。しかし, 中和により生じる塩により乳酸菌の生育が阻害され, 乳酸発酵によりGABAは生成されなかった。一方, 海苔をペプチダーゼ系酵素剤の0.5%溶液中で5時間処理すると, 海苔からのグルタミン酸遊離量は約2.5倍増加した。(3) 発酵海苔の乾燥物を飼料に1%量添加してSHRに投与した結果, 海苔を乳酸発酵することによって, 血圧上昇抑制効果が顕著に増大することを確認した。

Investigations of microactuators are actively being pursued in various viewpoint, researchers are exploring output energy sources such as electrostatic, piezoelectric, electromagnetic and etc. We focus attention recently on the electromagnetic microactuator. In generally, electromagnetic actuator is not well suited to miniaturization because of decreased output force when miniaturized. However, we have already developed 3D-LIGA process to produce a spiral microcoil in 2003. Then, the production process of a smaller and higher output force microactuator was devised based on this technology.

LIGA processes have been developed generally in the 2.5D world. We introduced techniques of 3D X-ray lithography and worm injection molding with a unscrewing release mechanism, and succeeded in the development to three dimensions of LIGA process. We called this technology 3D-LIGA process, and came to be able to fabricate the plastic molded product with a spiral microstructure. Furthermore, we succeeded in the trial production of a spiral microcoil using 3D-LIGA process and metallization technique combining flat and smooth electroplating with a leveling agent and an isotropic chemical etching. The diameter of this microcoil was 0.5 mm and the length was 1 mm. The width of the Cu coil line was 10 μm, and the pitch was 20 μm. Moreover, we measured characteristics of this microcoil as an inductor. The inductance and the quality factor at the frequency of 1 GHz were 91 nH and 5.8, respectively. This is the first time successful fabrication of an electric device with a 3D form like a spiral microcoil using the 3D-LIGA process has been achieved.

We developed a method for fabricating a three-dimensional spiral micro-inductor with high inductance using the LIGA process. The spiral inductor created had a diameter of 0.5mm, and a length of 1mm. The width of the spiral line was 10µm, the pitch was 20µm, and the number of turns was 15. It was made of plated copper. The master was a brass round bar coated with PMMA resist. Deep X-ray lithography was employed to fabricate a master for a metallic mold at the NewSUBARU synchrotron radiation facility, University of Hyogo. The inductor core was made of resin by injection molding. It has a spiral micro flute on the surface. We chose the worm injection molding technique in order to avoid the parting line across the spiral line. The worm injection molding was the method─for demolding the work such as that used in loosening a screw.

The axonal–myelin sheath interface of vertebrate myelinated axons possesses special structural complexities, and there may be an intercellular macromolecular traffic transversing the periaxonal cleft that spans the internodal axon. By conventional electron microscopy and serial sectioning, we observed a category of double-walled vesicles at the axonal–myelin sheath interface, which often contained ribosome-like particles or endoplasmic reticulum. Some of them were demonstrated to continue with the subjacent axon with a thin stalk. In addition, we described a special category of axonal invaginations, probably mediated by subsurface cisternae. The functional implications of these specialized structures were discussed.

The authors performed cavernous nerve reconstruction by nerve grafting in 22 patients (unilateral-16, bilateral-6) between August 2001 and June 2004. Harvesting of the sural nerve was unexpectedly more difficult than nerve grafting in the extremities or the head and neck, because a knee and lumbar bending position was impossible due to the pelvic surgical field. Suture of the grafted nerve on the distal side required great effort, because there was only sufficient space for one hand at the maximum in a deep region of the pelvic cavity, and the nerve ends easily become invisible by inflow of even a small amount of urine or blood. The mean time of the nerve harvesting and grafting was 1 hr 50 min for unilateral grafting and 2 hr 40 min for bilateral grafting. Recovery of erectile function was observed in about half the patients who had undergone surgery nearly 1 year before. Since harvesting of the sural nerve and nerve grafting were more difficult than expected, modification and improvement of many surgical elements, such as improvement of surgical devices and application of endoscopic techniques, are necessary.

The localization of calbindin-D28K (CB) was studied immunocytochemically in laminae I and II of the dorsal horn and in spinal ganglia in the chicken, and compared with the distribution of substance P (SP) using double immunolabeling. At the light microscopic level, CB immunoreactivity was observed most intensely in the lamina II using the avidin-biotinylated peroxidase complex (ABC) and immunofluorescence methods. At the electron microscopic level using the ABC method, CB immunoreactivity was observed in the following three neuronal elements: 1) the scalloped central terminal with many dense-cored vesicles (DCVs) in the synaptic glomerulus; 2) some vesicle-containing dendrites (VCDs) inside or outside the synaptic glomerulus; and 3) some axon terminals outside the synaptic glomerulus. The CB-immunoreactive (IR) VCDs in the synaptic glomerulus often formed reciprocal synapses with the central terminal. Strong immunoreactivity was observed at the postsynaptic membrane of CB-IR elements. Double immunofluorescence and immunolabeling methods at the electron microscopic level showed that CB and SP colocalized in the scalloped central terminal with DCVs of the synaptic glomerulus. Almost all SP-IR neurons in the spinal ganglion revealed the coexistence of CB in serial sections in the chicken. In light of previous biochemical and physiological reports, our findings suggest that CB - coexisting with SP - plays an important role in the control of pain transmission through its strong Ca(2+)-buffering action in the chicken.

Vesicular integral protein of 36 kDa (VIP36) is an intracellular lectin recognizing high-mannose type glycans and is highly expressed in salivary glands, especially the parotid gland, which secretes alpha-amylase in large quantities. Here immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that VIP36 was primarily localized to secretory vesicles in the glandula parotis of the rat, where alpha-amylase also resided. A secretory vesicle fraction, prepared by Percoll density gradient centrifugation, contained both VIP36 and alpha-amylase. Moreover, alpha-amylase that was localized to these secretory vesicles contained high-mannose type glycans. In addition, VIP36 coprecipitated with alpha-amylase in an endo H treatment-sensitive manner. These results suggest that VIP36 is involved in the secretion of alpha-amylase in the rat parotid gland.

The vesicular integral membrane protein VIP36 belongs to the family of animal lectins and may act as a cargo receptor trafficking certain glycoproteins in the secretory pathway. Immunoelectron microscopy of GH3 cells provided evidence that endogenous VIP36 is localized mainly in 70-100-nm-diameter uncoated transport vesicles between the exit site on the ER and the neighboring cis-Golgi cisterna. The thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation and treatment with actin filament-perturbing agents, cytochalasin D or B or latrunculin-B, caused marked aggregation of the VIP36-positive vesicles and the appearance of a VIP36-positive clustering structure located near the cis-Golgi cisterna. The size of this structure, which comprised conspicuous clusters of VIP36, depended on the TRH concentration. Confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed the electron microscopically demonstrated distribution and redistribution of VIP36 in these cells. Furthermore, VIP36 colocalized with filamentous actin in the paranuclear Golgi area and its vicinity. This is the first study to show the ultrastructural distribution of VIP36 in the early secretory pathway in GH3 cells. It suggests that actin filaments are involved in glycoprotein transport between the ER and cis-Golgi cisterna by using the lectin VIP36.

Objectives: The outcome of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy using a microwave tissue coagulator for treatment of small renal tumors was studied. Patients and Methods: From June 1999 to May 2001, eight patients with small renal tumors of less than 5.0cm in diameter (1.0–5.0cm, T1N0M0) underwent retroperitoneoscopic partial nephrectomy. To control bleeding during the partial nephrectomy, the renal parenchyma around the tumor was coagulated using a microwave tissue coagulator with a needle of 1.5cm length. The tumor was circumscribed within the coagulated area with 8–13 punctures of the coagulation needle, and partial nephrectomy was performed using scissors and bipolar forceps. Results: All eight patients successfully underwent the procedure retroperitoneoscopically. The average operative time was 295 minutes and the average blood loss was 129ml. Three patients showed urine leakage from the renal calyces, which was controlled by suturing retroperitoneoscopically. In two patients, the surgical margin was revealed to be positive for renal cell carcinoma by frozen section pathology and additional resection was performed in these individuals. The patients were discharged from the hospital with almost full convalescence on day 10 on average. Within the mean follow-up period of 10.4 months, no recurrence was found when examined with computer tomography (CT) using contrast media. As a complication, one patient experienced a decrease in function of the operated kidney caused by unknown reason. Conclusion: Retroperitoneal partial nephrectomy using a microwave tissue coagulator is useful for treatment of small renal tumors located at the peripheral area of the kidney. Bleeding from the renal parenchymal incision site is well controlled without occlusion of the renal artery with additional use of a bipolar coagulator, when necessary. Further experience and long-term follow-up are mandatory however, to establish the usefulness of this technique.

VIP36, an intracellular lectin that recognizes high mannose-type glycans (Hara-Kuge, S., Ohkura, T., Seko, A., and Yamashita, K. (1999) Glycobiology 9, 833-839), was shown to localize not only to the early secretory pathway but also to the plasma membrane of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. In the plasma membrane, VIP36 exhibited an apical-predominant distribution, the apical/basolateral ratio being approximately 2. Like VIP36, plasma membrane glycoproteins recognized by VIP36 were found in the apical and basolateral membranes in the ratio of approximately 2 to 1. In addition, secretory glycoproteins recognized by VIP36 were secreted approximately 2-fold more efficiently from the apical membrane than from the basolateral membrane. Thus, the apical/basolateral ratio of the transport of VIP36-recognized glycoproteins was correlated with that of VIP36 in MDCK cells. Upon overproduction of VIP36 in MDCK cells, the apical/basolateral ratios of both VIP36 and VIP36-recognized glycoproteins were changed from approximately 2 to approximately 4, and the secretion of VIP36-recognized glycoproteins was greatly stimulated. In contrast to the overproduction of VIP36, that of a mutant version of VIP36, which has no lectin activity, was of no effect on the distribution of glycoproteins to apical and basolateral membranes and inhibited the secretion of VIP36-recognized glycoproteins. Furthermore, the overproduction of VIP36 greatly stimulated the secretion of a major apical secretory glycoprotein of MDCK cells, clusterin, which was found to carry at least one high mannose-type glycan and to be recognized by VIP36. In contrast to the secretion of clusterin, that of a non-glycosylated apical-secretion protein, galectin-3, was not stimulated through the overproduction of VIP36. These results indicated that VIP36 was involved in the transport and sorting of glycoproteins carrying high mannose-type glycan(s).

The lamina propria of the large intestine is rich in macrophages, and they might be one of the first lines of the host defense in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157 : H7 infection. Although macrophages were infected with them, they can survive the EHEC O157 infection. We examined the structural rearrangements of the actin cytoskeleton during the microbial infection process. Macrophage actin filaments were rearranged in the following sequence ; 1) disappearance of the actin filament bundles in the cytoplasm, 2) accumulation of actin filaments under the cell surface, and 3) construction of actin networks underlying the endosome membrane. Before infection, actin filaments were distributed under the cell surface and in bundles located in the macrophage cytoplasm. Within 2 min, infection caused a rapid and marked loss of the actin filament bundles that had run parallel to the long axis of the cell. Concomitant with the loss, actin filaments became more markedly distributed under the cell surface. In the formation of the endosome, new networks of actin filaments were constructed below the phagosome membrane. The networks contained a large amount of actin as well as α fodrin-like immunoreactivity. The thickness of the networks reached about 400 nm under the phagosome membrane. The actin networks disappeared again after the bacterial digestion. The results of this study showed that actin filaments undergo three major rearrangements of the actin filaments during the infection in macrophages, and suggested that the third rearrangement is mediated by actin-binding proteins, such as α fodrin-like molecules. These morphological changes in macrophages were not clear after infection with other strains of Escherichia coli.

We have developed B2itTM (Buried Bump interconnection technology) printed wiring boards (PWB's) for high density and high performance wiring boards or substrates. Ordinary PWB's have low thermal conductivity because of their organic materials, compared with ceramic substrates and so on. The B2itTM PWB's have filled via holes by silver paste bumps to connect wiring lines between neighbor layers. The feature is different from ordinary PWB's having copper-plated through holes. This paper reports the thermal management properties for the B2itTM PWB's by measuring the thermal resistance of several filled via hole situation. And a thermal conductivity of the via hole material was simulated from the measurement values. As the results, the thermal conductivity of the via hole was very high to compare with that of the normal printed silver paste, and the B2itTM PWB's had good thermal management property enough to high density packaging.

The basal ganglia and cerebral cortex have close relationship through the striato-pallido-thalamo-cortical loop. The loop circuit is composed of several sub-loops in connection with the modular organization in the basal ganglia, such as the putamino-pallidal and caudate-nigral systems. We sought to reveal functional similarities and differences of these sub-loop systems in the movement mechanisms. Single neuron activity in the primate putamen and caudate nucleus was examined during learned arm movements initiated in 3 different behavioral contexts: Monkeys depressed 3 push buttons laid out in a triangular form on a panel in an instructed sequence using its arm in visually guided, self-initiated and memory-guided modes

A 72-year-old female was admitted to the hospital because of acute appendicitis. Laparotomy was performed and a grape bunch like multi-nodular tumor was found in the appendix. Appendectomy was performed. Pathohistologically it was diagnosed as multiple subserous lipoma. No additional case report has been seen in the literature as far as we could review. This case is extremely rare.

Two monoclonal antibodies, SPM-1 and SPM-2, raised against brain synaptic membrane specifically recognized two different ω-conotoxin receptor-associated proteins with molecular masses of 36 kDa and 28 kDa, respectively. In the anterior lobe of the rat pituitary, all secretory cells were immunostained with SPM-2, but not with SPM-1, although folliculo-stellate cells were stained with both SPM-1 and SPM-2. Castration or stimulation with hypothalamic hormones caused an increase in the intensity of the SPM-2 staining in hormone-secretory cells. In the intermediate lobe, all secretory cells showed a strong 28-kDa-protein immunoreactivity. In the posterior lobe, the immunoreactivity to both SPM-1 and SPM-2 was recognized in nerve endings

We evaluated low-impedance power distribution network (PDN) of decoupling capacitor embedded interposers for 3-D integrated LSI system. Measurements are carried out using the developed impedance analyzer system of a wide frequency range for evaluating ultralow impedance, and calculations are carried out using 2.5-D finite element method (FEM) electromagnetic field simulator. We fabricated various types of capacitor mounted or capacitor embedded interposers test element group (TEG), such as surface-mounted and embedded chip capacitors, and thin film capacitors on silicon interposers using the same simple design to compare measurement results with calculation ones. As a result, the chip capacitor embedded organic interposer TEG and thin film capacitor embedded silicon interposer TEG could provide low PDN impedance at a wide frequency range of up to 40 GHz. In particular, the interposer TEGs of the thin film capacitor embedded interposer that shows a low impedance of 0.1 Ω could be evaluated and calculated accurately. By using chip capacitor embedded or thin film capacitor embedded interposers for 3-D integrated LSI system, it is expected that the PDN of the system can be achieved ultralow PDN impedance.

Asymmetric synthesis of 11, the precusor to chiral (3R,4R)-3-[(1R)-1-[(tert-butyldimenthylsilyl)oxy]ethyl]-4-acetoxyazetidin-2-one (3) was achieved by utilizing a highly diastereoselective aldol-type reaction of acetaldehyde and the chiral tin(II) enolate of 5. Similar diastereoselective alkylations of chiral and achiral tin(II) enolates 13a-d with chiral 3 were also performed to obtain the desired alkylated azetidin-2-ones (17a-d)

We evaluated low-impedance power distribution network (PDN) of decoupling capacitor embedded interposers for 3-D integrated LSI system. Measurements are carried out using the developed impedance analyzer system of a wide frequency range for evaluating ultralow impedance, and calculations are carried out using 2.5-D finite element method (FEM) electromagnetic field simulator. We fabricated various types of capacitor mounted or capacitor embedded interposers test element group (TEG), such as surface-mounted and embedded chip capacitors, and thin film capacitors on silicon interposers using the same simple design to compare measurement results with calculation ones. As a result, the chip capacitor embedded organic interposer TEG and thin film capacitor embedded silicon interposer TEG could provide low PDN impedance at a wide frequency range of up to 10 GHz. In particular, the interposer TEGs of the thin film capacitor embedded interposer that shows a low impedance of approximately 0.001 Ω could be evaluated and calculated accurately. By using chip capacitor embedded or thin film capacitor embedded interposers for 3-D integrated LSI system, it is expected that the PDN of the system can be achieved ultralow PDN impedance.

We developed an impedance analyzer system with a wide frequency range for evaluating ultralow impedance. The four-point impedance measurement technique is introduced using this system. This impedance measurement can be reliably and accurately carried out by a four-point technique where one pair of contacts is used to inject a signal into the device under test (DUT), and a second pair of contacts is used to sense the resulting signal across the DUT. As a result, an evaluation system for the tens of micro-ohms of trans-impedance Z 21 in the frequency range of 10 Hz to 40 GHz can be realized. By using two microwave contact probes, PDN impedance evaluation with contacted pads is realized. Therefore, the PDN impedance can be measured directly without the connectors during the measurement. Moreover, it is expected that the accurate and wideband impedance evaluation of a substrate with an electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structure can be realized.

A 47-year-old women referred to our hospital with sudden left lower abdominal pain and state of shock in April 2006. Computed tomographic (CT) scan revealed a retroperitoneal hematoma and we suspected a renal tumor or angio myolipoma but enhanced CT scan show bleeding from a left renal artery. We perfomed left renal artery angiography and admitted a arteryal stenosis. Finally we diagnosed renal artery aneurysm caused by fibromuscular dysplasia. We performed left radical nephrectomy on the same day. We report the details of this case.

This paper presents a versatile echo-and-noise control suite with a user-control capability, which is effective for nonlinear echo and impact noise. The suite consists of an acoustic echo canceller (AEC) and downlink/uplink noise suppressors (NSs). The AEC cancels both linear and nonlinear echoes based on an estimated ratio of the linear echo to the nonlinear echo with a smaller number of computations. The NSs simultaneously achieve low distortion and high suppression with accurate noise estimation. Impact noise is detected by its typical characteristics and selectively applied suppression and/or estimation depending on the speech presence probability. The downlink NS is equipped with a user-control capability to meet the user preference in the distortion-suppression trade-off. Subjective evaluation results demonstrate that this capability is useful for user-preference diversity.

The lower urinary tract anatomy in men after radical prostatectomy (RP) resembles that in women. Out of 112 male patients who had undergone RP for localized prostate cancer, 102 (91%) of them responded to a questionnaire survey. The mean age of the responders at the time of RP was 65.9 +/- 5.3 years. The time of response after RP ranged from 2 months to 6 years (median: 44 months). The instruments used for the assessment of urinary status were the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and QOL score, the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF) and Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS). Urinary status of 40 elderly female patients aged 59.5 +/- 6.9 years who consulted our outpatient clinic due to conditions (microhematuria, simple renal cyst, etc.) unrelated to lower urinary tract disorders were assessed with the IPSS. In the male patients, total IPSS and QOL score showed significant improvement over time after RP (P = 0.0004, P = 0.0015, respectively). In particular, the voiding symptom score of IPSS showed significant improvement (P0.0001). The improvement of incontinence within 1 year after RP was confirmed with ICIQ-SF (p = 0.06). In contrast, the storage symptom score of IPSS after RP was not different with time after RP. Furthermore, the OABSS rose with time after RP (p = 0.08). On the other hand, in the elderly female controls, the storage symptom score of IPSS was significantly higher than voiding symptom score (P = 0.0019). Men who underwent RP showed significant improvement in their voiding symptoms and continence status, but the storage symptoms, progressively worsened following RP. Consequently, careful follow-up and appropriate medical intervention are needed in men after RP as in aging women.

Prostatic neuroendocrine (NE) carcinoma is a rare disease and the NE differentiation in prostate cancer is characterized by poor prognosis, rapidly progressing tumor and an androgen-independent state, for which there is currently no successful therapy. Herein, we report a case of NE differentiatiated prostatic cancer, which metastasized to the base of tongue, intraorbit and brain stem. This is the first Japanese report of prostate cancer metastasis to the brain stem and base of the tongue.

Correlative morphological and physiological analysis was carried out in order to clarify the role of somatostatin in the inhibition of the secretion of growth hormone (GH) from somatotrophs of the rat anterior pituitary gland in vivo. Transmission electron microscopy combined with immunogold labelling showed an increased number of exocytotic GH-containing secretory granules in somatotrophs fixed between 2 and 10 min after injection of GH-releasing factor (GRF). Injection of GRF also induced the appearance of immunopositive material in cisternae of the Golgi apparatus, many coated vesicles and multivesicular bodies. Microtubules were observed more frequently throughout the cytoplasm, particularly in and near the Golgi region. At 2 and 10 min after injection of somatostatin (SRIF), both the number of exocytotic figures in the somatotrophs previously stimulated by GRF and the amount of radioimmunoassayable GH in the plasma were clearly decreased. Undulation of the plasma membrane (PM) induced by GRF rapidly disappeared, and the number of granules just beneath the plasma membrane was significantly reduced. After injection of SRIF, parallel bundles of microfilaments were often observed in the space between the granules and the plasma membrane. SRIF did not cause a noticeable decrease in the amount of immunopositive material, coated vesicles and multivesicular bodies in the Golgi areas or any significant changes in the distribution of microtubules. SRIF therefore appears to inhibit hormone release mainly at the level of the plasma membrane, probably through changes in the distribution of microfilaments.

Mast cells are known to be involved in type I allergy and to be localized in almost all tissues in the body. However, they have slightly different properties depending on their tissue of residence. Although mast cells are found in skeletal muscle tissue, there have been no reports of their appearance in cultured skeletal muscles. We report here that mast cells appear in long-term cultures of skeletal muscles from neonatal rats and rat fetuses. When muscle cells were disseminated and cultured in minimum essential medium with 10% fetal calf serum and 10% horse serum, oval cells containing large granules started to appear on myotube sheets at 5 days of culture. These oval cells continued to proliferate for 2–3 months, and showed immunoreactivity for histamine, tryptase, FceRI, and c-kit. They showed metachromatic staining with 0.5% toluidine blue at pH 0.5 and were stained with both Alcian blue and safranin. Biochemically measured histamine content per dish was significantly higher in 2-month than in 5-day culture. From these results, we concluded that these oval cells were mast cells. Because proteases from mast cells have been reported previously to affect myoblast proliferation, the present findings suggest that there may be some interaction between mast cells and muscle cell proliferation or differentiation. The present finding that mast cells are easily obtained from ordinary skeletal muscle cultures provides a useful method for the study of the diverse functions of mast cells. Anat Rec, 1424-1430, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

VIP36 is an intracellular lectin that cycles between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi apparatus, and is thought to act as a cargo receptor in the transport and sorting of glycoproteins. Here we sought to identify the proteins that interact with VIP36 during the quality control of secretory proteins. VIP36 was crosslinked and immunoprecipitated from HEK293 cells that expressed Myc-tagged VIP36. An approximately 80 kDa protein coprecipitated with VIP36 and LC/MS/MS analysis revealed it to be immunoglobulin-binding protein (BiP), a major protein of the Hsp70 chaperone family. A VIP36 mutant with defective lectin activity was also proficient for the coimmunoprecipitation of an equivalent amount of BiP, indicating that the interaction between VIP36 and BiP was carbohydrate-independent. Immunoelectron microscopy experiment demonstrated that the interaction between VIP36 and BiP occurred in the ER. However, the VIP36 coprecipitated with BiP was resistant to endo beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H treatment. A pulse-chase experiment revealed that the amount of BiP interacting with VIP36 did not change over more than 2 h. These results suggest that the interaction of VIP36 and BiP is not due to chaperone-substrate complex. Surface plasmon resonance analysis using recombinant proteins confirmed these binding characteristics of VIP36 and BiP in vitro. The interaction between recombinant soluble VIP36 and BiP is dependent on divalent cations but not on ATP. This mode of interaction is also different from that observed between BiP and its chaperone substrates. These observations suggest a new role for VIP36 in the quality control of secretory proteins.

A small, time efficient and sensitive instrument for the continuous analysis of very volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with a boiling point lower than 100 degrees C in addition to the analysis of VOCs with a boiling point in the range of 100-150 degrees C was developed and applied to the measurement of VOCs in the course of university research and environmental monitoring. VOCs, such as n-hexane, acetone, ethyl acetate, alcohols, benzene, toluene and xylene, were continuously measured once every 30 min. The detection limits of hexane, ethyl acetate, benzene and toluene at a preconcentration time of 10 min were 0.41 microg/m(3) (0.12 ppb), 0.67 microg/m(3) (0.19 ppb), 0.22 microg/m(3) (0.07 ppb) and 0.22 microg/m(3) (0.06 ppb), respectively. The relative standard deviations of VOCs were less than 5%. The sensitivities of the present method VOCs were higher than those of the conventional method. The temporal changes in VOC concentrations in several laboratories and at a plant for the disposal of organic liquid wastes were measured, and the behavior of VOCs was analyzed. All the VOC concentrations, except that of ethyl acetate, determined using the portable instrument were slightly lower than those determined using a passive sampler. The portable instrument developed in the course of this study can be used for the risk assessment and management of chemicals.

A temporary inferior vena cava (IVC) filter was placed in 4 patients. Patient 1 had an advanced testicular germ cell tumor with IVC tumor thrombosis, patient 2 presented with a large adrenal tumor with IVC tumor thrombosis, patient 3 was found to have deep vein thrombosis following grade 3b renal injury, and patient 4 was suffering severe SLE with renal vein thrombosis. The temporary inferior vena cava filter prevented pulmonary thromboembolism in all cases, and no adverse reaction was observed. Temporary inferior vena cava filter is safe and useful to prevent pulmonary thromboembolism associated with urological disorders.

This paper presents implementation of the 3GPP (the 3rd generation partnership project) enhanced aacPlus decoder on a 16-bit fixed-point DSP. Enhanced aacPlus is a 3GPP standard integrating newly standardized MPEG-4 parametric stereo (PS) into MPEG-4 high efficiency advanced audio coding (HE-AAC). PS enables audio coding at a low bitrate for stereo signals by efficiently representing stereo information. The maximum number of operations for the implemented decoder is 29.3 million cycles per second for a 32 kb/s bitstream. This implementation with stereo decoding capability achieves higher sound quality than mono HE-AAC at the cost of 90% increase in computational complexity. 3GPP mobile terminals for music download and streaming services can be realized by using the implemented decoder.

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) triggers apoptosis in a variety of tumor cells through two of its receptors: TRAIL-R1 and TRAIL-R2. We investigate the susceptibility of human renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cells to TRM-1 and HGS-ETR2, 2 human monoclonal agonistic antibodies specific for TRAIL-R1 and TRAIL-R2, respectively. HGS-ETR2 effectively induced apoptotic cell death in 10 of 11 cell cultures, including 2 human RCC cell lines and 9 human primary RCC cell cultures, with a more pronounced effect after preincubation with anti-human IgG Fc. In contrast, TRM-1 was effective in only 1 primary RCC cell culture. The increased effectiveness of HGS-ETR2 for inducing cell death might have been affected by differences in the cell-surface expression of the 2 TRAIL receptors, namely that TRAIL-R2 but not TRAIL-R1 was frequently expressed in most of the RCC cells tested. The activities of caspase-9, -8, -6, and -3 were increased with HGS-ETR2-induced apoptosis, and cell death could be blocked by specific caspase inhibitors for caspase-9, -8, and -3, and the general caspase inhibitor. In vivo administration of HGS-ETR2 with or without cross-linker significantly suppressed tumor growth of subcutaneously inoculated human RCC xenografts in immunodeficient mice. These results suggest the potential utility of TRAIL-R2 antibody as a novel therapeutic agent in RCC.