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Intractable Hepatic Encephalopathy with a Large Portosystemic Shunt Successfully Treated Using Shunt-preserving Disconnection of the Portal and Systemic Circulation
Get PDFHepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a significant symptom of decompensated liver cirrhosis. Occlusion of portosystemic shunts is used to treat refractory HE. Nevertheless, these treatments often cause adverse events,
such as ascites and esophageal varices. We treated a 57-year-old man with refractory HE using shuntpreserving disconnection of the portal and systemic circulation (SPDPS). After SPDPS, there were no obvious
complications, and the patient’s ammonia level significantly decreased. To date, the patient has not experienced recurrent HE. SPDPS appears to be a safe and effective treatment method for portosystemic encephalopathy
Production of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Glycoprotein-Pseudotyped Lentiviral Vector Is Enhanced by Ezrin Silencing
Get PDFHuman immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-based viral vector is widely used as a biomaterial to transfer a gene of interest into target cells in many biological study fields including gene therapy. Vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G)-containing HIV-1 vector much more efficiently transduces various mammalian cells than other viral envelope proteins-containing vectors. Understanding the mechanism would contribute to development of a novel method of efficient HIV-1 vector production. HIV-1 vector is generally constructed by transient transfection of human 293T or African green monkey COS7 cells. It was found in this study that HIV-1 Gag protein is constitutively digested in lysosomes of African green monkey cells. Surprisingly, VSV-G elevated HIV-1 Gag protein levels, suggesting that VSV-G protects Gag protein from the lysosomal degradation. Unphosphorylated ezrin, but not phosphorylated ezrin, was detected in COS7 cells, and ezrin silencing elevated Gag protein levels in the presence of VSV-G. Expression of unphosphorylated ezrin reduced Gag protein amounts. These results indicate that unphosphorylated ezrin proteins inhibit the VSV-G-mediated stabilization of HIV-1 Gag protein. Trafficking of HIV-1 Gag-associated intracellular vesicles may be controlled by ezrin. Finally, this study found that ezrin silencing yields higher amount of VSV-G-pseudotyped HIV-1 vector
Feasibility analysis for intermediated fluid type LNG vaporizers using R32 and R410A considering fluid properties
No full textLNG vaporizer is widely used all over the world to vaporize LNG by using seawater. An intermediated fluid type vaporizer (IFV) uses intermediated fluid between LNG and heat source to transfer heat, and is enable to utilize LNG cold energy for a cryogenic power generation, and so on. Conventionally propane has been used as an intermediated fluid; however, refrigerants other than propane are recently needed because of the diversified usage environments. In this study, R32 and R410A are selected and their feasibility is discussed in heat transfer aspect. By using a number of unit (NTU) method, prediction of boiling and condensation heat transfer rate in tube bundles was carried out. The prediction demonstrated that those selected refrigerants can increase the vaporization rate with IFV from the base line of propane. From those, feasibility of refrigerant use in IFV was shown
Study on multi-point displacement/vibration measuring system of bridge using high frame rate camera and corner cube
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to develop a bridge deflection measurement system using a low cost high frame rate camera and a corner cube with retroreflectivity. The final goal is to achieve static and dynamic bridge deflection distribution measurement with high accuracy and wide range measurement.In addition, we aim to realize the flexure measurement of bridges that can be inspected for a short time without traffic regulation by effectively utilizing the ease of installing cameras and markers
The Relationship Between Lymphangiogenesis and Liver Regeneration After Partial Hepatectomy in Cholestatic Mice
No full textBackground: The mechanisms of lymphangiogenesis in the cholestatic liver after partial hepatectomy (PH) remain unclear. We aimed to demonstrate the relationship between lymphangiogenesis and liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in the cholestatic liver. Methods and Results: C57BL/6 mice were subjected to 70% partial hepatectomy only (PH group, n = 20) and 70% partial hepatectomy with temporary common bile duct (BD) obstruction by clipping (BD+PH group, n = 20). Five mice per group were sacrificed at 1, 3, 5, and
7 days after the procedure. The liver function was examined by blood tests, and the liver regeneration rate was assessed by body weight and liver weight. Immunohistochemical staining of lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor-1 (LYVE-1) showed liver lymphangiogenesis. The gene expression of lymphangiogenesis-associated factors (e.g., vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3
[VEGFR-3]) was examined by a real-time polymerase chain reaction. The liver function in the BD+PH group was worse than that in the PH group on postoperative day 1 (POD1) (aspartate aminotransferase: 6528 ± 1641 U/L vs. 2741 ± 368 U/L, p < 0.05,
alanine aminotransferase: 4160 ± 1255 U/L vs. 2315 ± 357 U/L, total bilirubin: 1.36 ± 1.16 mg/dL vs. 0.09 ± 0.01 mg/dL), and the liver regeneration rate in the BD+PH group was worse on POD7 (4.57% vs. 5.91%, p < 0.05). The LYVE-1 expression in Glisson's capsule peaked on POD5 and POD7 in the PH and BD+PH groups, respectively. The peak gene expression of VEGFR-3 in the BD+PH group
was delayed in comparison with the PH group. Conclusions: Lymphangiogenesis after partial hepatectomy in the cholestatic liver
was suggested to be delayed due to impaired liver regeneration and the late expression of VEGFR-3
Ultrasensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of MPT64 secretory antigen to evaluate Mycobacterium tuberculosis viability in sputum
Get PDFObjectives: This study examined Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-secreted MPT64 as a surrogate of bacterial viability for the diagnosis of active pulmonary TB (PTB) and for follow-up treatment. Methods: In this proof-of-concept prospective study, 50 PTB patients in the Tokyo metropolitan region, between 2017 and 2018, were consecutively included and 30 healthy individuals were also included. Each PTB patient submitted sputum on days 0, 14 and 28 for diagnosis and follow-up, and each healthy individual submitted one sputum sample. The following were performed: smear microscopy, Xpert MTB/RIF, MGIT and solid culture, and MPT64 detection on the sputum samples. Ultrasensitive ELISA (usELISA) was used to detect MPT64. The receiver operating characteristic analyses for diagnosis and follow-up revealed the optimal cut-off value of MPT64 absorbance for detecting culture positivity at multiple intervals. Results: The sensitivity of MPT64 for diagnosing PTB was 88.0% (95% CI 75.7–95.5) and the specificity was 96.7% (95% CI 82.8–99.9). The specificity of MPT64 for predicting negative culture results on day 14 was 89.5% (95% CI 66.9–98.7). The sensitivity of MPT64 for predicting positive culture results on day 28 was 81.0% (95% CI 58.1–94.6). Conclusions: This study revealed that MPT64 is useful for diagnosing active PTB in patients and predicting treatment efficacy at follow-up
Biofouling control of a forward osmosis membrane during single-pass pre-concentration of wastewater
No full textPre-concentration of wastewater using a forward osmosis (FO) membrane prior to processing by an anaerobic digester can enhance biogas production. However, biofouling caused by microbes in wastewater remains a challenge. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of chloramination in mitigating the biofouling of an FO membrane during a single-pass concentration of primary wastewater effluent. Pre-disinfection at a chloramine dose of 22–121 mg/L successfully alleviated membrane fouling. Bacterial cell counts in the feed and concentrate showed that most of the bacterial cells in the wastewater were trapped on the membrane surface or spacer. The FO membrane surfaces in non-chloraminated/chloraminated systems were fully-covered by intact/damaged bacterial cells, respectively, indicating that chloramination effectively mitigated biofouling. However, due to high permeate-recovery and low cross-flow velocity in a single-pass concentration process, organic fouling on the membrane surface (and possibly on the interior wall of the membrane-pores) appeared to cause a gradual reduction in permeate-flux. This study demonstrated successful biofouling control using chloramination during a single-pass and high-recovery pre-concentration of primary wastewater effluent
Radiocesium concentrations in wild boars captured within 20 km of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Get PDFThe Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in 2011 released large amounts of artificial radioactive substances into the environment. In this study, we measured the concentration of radiocesium (134Cs + 137Cs) in 213 muscle samples from wild boars (Sus scrofa) captured in Tomioka town, which is located within 20 km of the FDNPP. The results showed that 210 (98.6%) muscle samples still exceeded the regulatory radiocesium limit (100 Bq/kg) for general foods. Radiocesium (134Cs + 137Cs) levels ranged from 87.1–8,120 Bq/kg fresh mass (FM), with a median concentration of 450 Bq/kg FM. The median committed effective dose was estimated to be 0.070–0.26 μSv/day for females and 0.062–0.30 μSv/day for males. The committed effective dose for one-time ingestion of wild boar meat could be considered extremely low for residents in Tomioka. The relatively high levels of radioactivity found in this study suggest that the high variability of food sources may have led to the large accumulation of radioactive substances. These results suggest that comprehensive long-term monitoring is needed to identify risk factors affecting recovery from a nuclear disaster
Conjugacy Classes of Plane Congruence Group
Get PDF長崎大学教育学部紀要：自然科学 通巻 第87号（Bulletin of Faculty of Education, Nagasaki University: Natural Science, Vol.87) 梶本ひろし教授 退職記念