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Get PDFBackground: Image-enhanced endoscopy has been increasingly useful for esophageal cancer screening. Although iodine staining is currently the standard modality for the early diagnosis of esophageal cancer, conventionally used concentrations often induce mucosal irritation, leading to discomfort. The aim of the study was to determine the optimal FICE setting and iodine concentration required for maximum color enhancement for the endoscopic diagnosis of superficial esophageal cancer. Methods: Four esophageal specimens with squamous cell carcinoma that were surgically resected were investigated. The color difference between iodine-stained and background mucosa was evaluated using the 10 preset flexible spectral imaging color enhancement (FICE) wavelength combinations. In addition, the optimum wavelength that best reflected the widest color difference was calculated with and without FICE, and the color differences elicited by different iodine concentrations (from 0.1% to 0.8%) were evaluated with FICE and compared to 1% iodine without FICE (the control). Results: Maximum color differences were observed using the FICE7 wavelength values. Color enhancement with FICE0, 1, 5 and 7 using a concentration of 0.2% iodine solution or greater was significantly higher than that with the standard 1% iodine concentration (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Low-concentration iodine staining with image-enhanced endoscopy is a useful diagnostic modality that can reduce the degree of discomfort experienced by patients.departmental bulletin pape
International Dental Education Course for Clinical Expertise at Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School
Get PDFThe aim of this report is to assess and introduce the new dental educational course on clinical expertise which has been established at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), named “Essential Expertise for Clinical Dentistry” (EECD). Designed to offer lectures and hands-on learning experiences to dental professionals, it has been offered to graduate students at TMDU since 2016. Enrollment in the 4 hands-on sessions of the course in 2016 was 18, 13, 21, and 19; and in the 3 hands-on sessions of the course in 2017 was 14, 15, and 14, respectively. Post questionnaire-surveys were conducted following hands-on sessions to assess students’ overall satisfaction with the course, including explanations given by the instructors, session style, instructors’ English proficiency, materials and instruments, and the need for such a course in the participants’ home countries. The respondents provided favorable feedback for all the survey items, which revealed their learning interests and needs regarding clinical dental education, and the possible demand for this type of course internationally. Therefore, we can say that there is a significant need for courses like EECD, which provide life-long learning opportunities for dental professionals worldwide. There are plans to make the EECD course available worldwide someday in the future.journal articl
Get PDFPurpose: This study aimed to provide the data to establish the national cervical cancer prevention program by studying the knowledge and attitude regarding cervical cancer and its prevention among Lao female workers in Vientiane, capital city of Laos. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 356 female workers in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. They were interviewed by means of a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed and compared between the medical worker (MW) group, office worker (OW) group, and factory worker and cleaner (FWC) group. Results: Participants who had heard of cervical cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV), and HPV vaccine comprised 89.9%, 34.0%, and 27.8%, respectively. The average knowledge score of FWC was lower than that of the MW or OW group. Only 3.4% of the participants knew that HPV infection was the cause of cervical cancer. Among the 175 women who felt at a risk of cervical cancer, 84 had never undergone a Pap smear. The main reasons for not undergoing a Pap smear were the absence of symptoms (28.8%) and the feeling of shame or embarrassment (24.6%). Conclusions: Female workers, especially in the FWC group, had little knowledge regarding cervical cancer and its prevention. Thus, cervical cancer education for female workers and the cultivation of health professionals are most efficient steps to overcome this situation.departmental bulletin pape
Get PDFBackground:
Platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs) have been reported to enhance proliferation of synovial mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) without reducing their multi-lineage differentiation potential in vitro. This study was aimed to elucidate the intracellular molecular pathways activated by PDGFs.
Methods:
Synovial MSCs were isolated from patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty with institutional approval and patients’ permission. Cell proliferation and differentiation assays were performed in the presence of small inhibitor molecules specific for intracellular kinases.
Results:
Both PDGF-AA and -BB enhanced cell proliferation in medium containing reduced serum. These effects were significantly reduced by a phosphatidylinositol- 3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor, LY290042. During chondrogenic spheroid formation in vitro, LY290042 significantly reduced the size of spheroids enhanced by PDGF-AA. LY290042 also significantly inhibited in vitro chondrogenic and osteoblastic differentiation of synovial MSCs.
Conclusion:
Our data indicated that activation of the PI3K-PKB/ Akt pathway by PDGFs plays an important role in both proliferation and differentiation of synovial MSCs. Hence, these data could be beneficial for optimizing the in vitro culture conditions of synovial MSCs for clinical use.departmental bulletin pape
Get PDFMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important therapeutic targets for intractable diseases and antisense oligonucleotides that silence microRNA (antagomirs) have been developed for clinical applications. Although conjugation of ligands to antagomirs is a promising means of delivering them to target tissues and cells, the efficacy of these constructs is yet to be optimized. In this study, we designed a novel antagomir construct that comprise an antagomir strand and its complementary RNA strand. We were then able to indirectly conjugate ligands to this double-stranded antagomir via the complementary RNA strand. We then used single- or doublestranded antagomirs to examine effects of ligand type, conjugation site, or chemical modifications of the antagomir strand on miRNA silencing in vitro. We found that indirect conjugation of cholesterol ligand to a double-stranded antagomir produced a construct with comparable miRNA-silencing efficacy as that of a single-stranded antagomir directly conjugated with the ligand. Our findings support application of this technology for the therapeutic regulation of miRNA.departmental bulletin pape
Get PDFCurrent understanding on the mechanisms of acute stroke highlights the importance of targeting brain endothelial cells (ECs), which regulate blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption, neuronal cell death, and immune cell infiltration. Because the transcellular pathway through ECs is activated immediately after stroke onset, understanding transporter expression should facilitate development of an efficient drug delivery system to ischemic ECs. Here, we examined BBB leakage profiles and expression of three lipoprotein receptors, lowdensity lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), scavenger receptor class B member 1 (SRB1), and LDLR-related protein 1 (LRP1), in a mouse model of permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Evans blue staining showed a biphasic BBB disruption with one peak at 6 h and the other at 3 days after MCAO. The tight junction protein occludin in the ischemic cortex significantly decreased at 3 days, but not 6 h, after MCAO. LDLR, SRB1, and LRP1 mRNA levels were significantly up-regulated early after MCAO. LDLR and SRB1 proteins were colocalized predominantly in brain ECs, whereas LRP1 was localized in neurons in the ischemic cortex. The early overexpression of lipoprotein receptors after stroke suggests that lipoprotein-associated lipids could be suitable ligands for drug delivery into ECs and neurons in the acute ischemic brain.departmental bulletin pape
Survey of Professional Training Colleges’ Curricula for Dental Hygienist Programs in Japan
Get PDFProfessional training colleges (PTCs) are the most common educational institutions in Japan for dental hygienists. This study aimed to clarify latent factors that characterize each PTC and to examine the relationship of these factors to each school’s curriculum. Self-administered questionnaires on teaching subjects and students’ postgraduate careers were distributed to 133 PTCs by post. Information on curricula, entrance requirements, and other school information were also collected. The response rate was 59.1%. Exploratory factor analysis clarified a structure that expressed PTCs’ characteristics according to six independent factors: “size,” “low academic performance,” “selective characteristic subject,” “specialized teaching,” “national exam,” and “basic characteristic subject,” while teaching content differed by PTC. The pass rate for the national exam for dental hygienists related highly to the low academic performance factor and was not related to the national exam factor. To lower the dropout rate, it was necessary to enroll people with a certain level of academic ability. To that end, it was suggested that implementing an entrance examination would be beneficial. We also concluded that the validity of these research results should be examined by confirmatory factor analysis and should also include dental hygienist training schools other than PTCs.journal articl
Prognostic value of texture analysis by baseline 18F-FDG PET/CT in indolent B-cell lymphoma patients
Get PDFBackground: This study aimed to elucidate the prognostic value of texture analysis on positron emission tomography/computed tomography in indolent B-cell lymphoma patients who received chemoimmunotherapy followed by rituximab maintenance therapy. Methods: Twenty-two patients with pathologically proven indolent B-cell lymphoma underwent 18 F-flu o ro d e ox yglu c o s e p o sit ro n e mis sio n tomography/computed tomography at study enrollment, after induction therapy, after rituximab maintenance therapy, and at post-rituximab maintenance follow-up period. Textural parameters at baseline were evaluated from volume of interest. Texture features included 12 higher-order features, 5 second-order features, and 7 firstorder features. Percentage reduction rates of the standardized uptake value parameters between baseline and post-rituximab maintenance therapy were calculated. Stratification of texture features and standardized uptake value parameters were compared with progression-free survival using the Mantel-Cox log-rank test. Results: The decreased percentage changes in all standardized uptake value parameters showed significant differences with prognosis by univariate analysis (P＜0.01). Neighborhood grey tone difference matrices strength, neighborhood grey level co-occurrence matrices (NGLCM3D) homogeneity-max, and NGLCM3D mean uniformity were significantly different with prognosis (P＝0.03). Conclusion: These results suggest that texture features of positron emission tomography/ computed tomography are potential prognostic indicators in patients with indolent B - cell lymphoma.journal articl
Get PDFWe have previously demonstrated that kelch-like protein 2 (KLHL2) forms a complex with Cullin3 that functions as an E3 ligase in the degradation of with-no-lysine kinases (WNKs). KLHL2 physiologically mediates the WNK3‒SPAK‒NKCC1 phosphorylation cascade in vascular smooth cells, thereby regulating vascular tone. A high-potassium diet can attenuate hypertension by reducing peripheral vascular resistance. In addition, we have reported that extracellular potassium can negatively regulate the WNK‒OSR1/SPAK‒NCC phosphorylation cascade in COS7 cells. However, the effect of high-potassium concentrations on the role of WNKs in vascular tone regulation has not yet been clarified. In the present study, we investigated whether the WNK‒SPAK‒NKCC1 cascade in mouse vascular smooth muscle (MOVAS) cells could be regulated by high potassium concentrations. We confirmed that the WNK3‒SPAK‒NKCC1 phosphorylation cascade was significantly inhibited in high-potassium medium but that the protein level of WNK1 remained unchanged. Furthermore, KLHL2 levels increased when MOVAS cells were incubated in a high-potassium medium. KLHL2-knockdown experiments confirmed that the inhibition of the WNK3‒SPAK‒NKCC1 phosphorylation cascade induced by high potassium concentrations was attributable to KLHL2-mediated degradation of WNK3. Thus, the present study could explain one of the mechanisms underlying antihypertensive effects of high dietary potassium intake.departmental bulletin pape
