Novel nerve-sparing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy with endopelvic fascia preservation and long-term outcomes for a single surgeon.

Although novel techniques for avoiding incontinence during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy have been developed, long-term oncological outcomes are unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term oncological outcomes and functional outcomes of novel nerve-sparing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy with endopelvic fascia preservation for a single surgeon. Data from 100 patients who underwent structure-preserving prostatectomies performed by a single surgeon were retrospectively analyzed.

Disruption of Hydrogen-Bond Network in Rhodopsin Mutations Cause Night Blindness.

Rhodopsin is the photosensitive protein, which binds to 11-cis-retinal as its chromophore. In the dark, rhodopsin exists as a stable complex between the opsin moiety and 11-cis-retinal. The absorption of a light photon converts 11-cis-retinal to all-trans-retinal and initiates our vision.

Development and evaluation of rice giant embryo mutants for high oil content originated from a high-yielding cultivar 'Mizuhochikara'.

Rice bran oil is a byproduct of the milling of rice (Oryza sativa L.). It offers various health benefits and has a beneficial fatty acid composition.

Mastication markedly affects mandibular condylar cartilage growth, gene expression, and morphology.

Introduction: Mandibular growth is believed to be strongly related to mastication. Furthermore, mandibular condylar cartilage is known to be derived from neural crest cells. We examined whether the degree of chewing affects condylar cartilage growth of the mandible.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in the stratum corneum: a marker of the local severity of atopic dermatitis.

Different biomarkers are used to evaluate the severity of atopic dermatitis (AD); however, it remains difficult to determine the severity of localized skin lesions. MIF plays an essential role in the pathophysiology of skin inflammation. To establish whether the MIF level in the stratum corneum (SC) serves as a marker of the severity of AD lesions, we examined the SC MIF (scMIF) levels in AD patients.

UV-B radiation induces macrophage migration inhibitory factor-mediated melanogenesis through activation of protease-activated receptor-2 and stem cell factor in keratinocytes.

UV radiation indirectly regulates melanogenesis in melanocytes through a paracrine regulatory mechanism involving keratinocytes. Protease-activated receptor (PAR)-2 activation induces melanosome transfer by increasing phagocytosis of melanosomes by keratinocytes. This study demonstrated that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) stimulated PAR-2 expression in human keratinocytes.

A new method for alveolar bone repair using extracted teeth for the graft material.

Background: In the clinical field of jawbone formation, the use of autogenous bone as the graft material is the gold standard. However, there are some problems with this technique, such as risk of infection on the donor side, the limited amount of available bone mass, and marked resorption of the grafted bone. We investigated the potential for using teeth as a bone graft material for jawbone formation because the dental pulp contains stem cells, including undifferentiated neural crest-derived cells.

Multiple organ toxicity, including hypochromic anemia, following repeated dose oral administration of phenobarbital (PB) in rats.

A 4-week repeated dose oral toxicity study of phenobarbital (PB) sodium was conducted in F344 rats of both sexes at PB doses of 0.8, 8, and 80 mg/kg/day to fully elucidate its general toxicity including hematological changes. Both sexes in the 80 mg/kg/day group showed staggering gait, lacrimation, and/or sedation, which were more evident in the early stage of treatment.

Effects of mastication on mandibular growth evaluated by microcomputed tomography.

It is well known that mastication has a significant influence on mandibular growth and development, but the mechanism behind this effect has not yet been clarified. Furthermore, no studies have examined the effects of changes in mastication on the three-dimensional (3D) morphometry of the mandible. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influences of changes in mastication on mandibular growth and morphology.

Identification of differentially expressed genes in mandibular condylar and tibial growth cartilages using laser microdissection and fluorescent differential display: chondromodulin-I (ChM-1) and tenomodulin (TeM) are differentially expressed in mandibular condylar and other growth cartilages.

Mandibular condylar cartilage can be distinguished from articular and growth cartilages of long bones based on several differences in morphology, physiology, and function between these structures. However, there is almost no information available on the types of genes that contribute to these differences. In this study, genes that were differentially expressed in mandibular condylar and growth cartilages in 1-week-old rats were investigated using fluorescent differential display (FDD) and laser microdissection (LMD).

Comparative RP-HPLC for rapid identification of glycopeptides and application in off-line LC-MALDI-MS analysis.

Despite the increasing attention being paid to the functions of glycoproteins, their structural analysis is still difficult and hinders functional investigations. Structural analysis of post-translationally modified proteins is thought to be achieved using methods frequently utilized in proteomics research; however, the same methods cannot be used for glycosylated proteins. One of the difficulties associated with the physiochemical properties of glycopeptides and peptides is that the detection of the former is considerably more difficult, because of the existence of glycoforms that increase molecular weight and reduces quantities of individual species.

Inhibitory effects of bufadienolides on interleukin-6 in MH-60 cells.

Derivatives of bufogenin isolated from the skin of the Chinese toad, Bufo bufo gargarizans Cantor ("Ch'an Su"), and several semisynthetic derivatives of 20beta,21beta-epoxy-resibufogenin (13) have been evaluated for interleukin-6 (IL-6) antagonistic activity due to their growth-inhibitory activities on IL-6-dependent MH-60 cells. Among the naturally derived compounds (1-17), 20S,21-epoxy-resibufogenin formate (1) showed potent inhibitory activity on the IL-6-dependent growth of MH-60 cells. Epoxide groups at both the C-14, C-15 and C-20, C-21 positions are required to exhibit this type of activity.

Suppression of cancer cachexia by 20S,21-epoxy-resibufogenin-3-acetate-a novel nonpeptide IL-6 receptor antagonist.

While screening for novel IL-6 inhibitors, we synthesized 20S,21-epoxy-resibufogenin-3-acetate (ERBA). ERBA dose-dependently suppressed IL-6-induced cell growth with an IC(50) value of 5.3 microM and caused a parallel rightward shift of dose-response curves to IL-6.

Discovery of novel transcription control relationships with gene regulatory networks generated from multiple-disruption full genome expression libraries.

Gene regulatory networks elucidated from strategic, genome-wide experimental data can aid in the discovery of novel gene function information and expression regulation events from observation of transcriptional regulation among genes of known and unknown biological function. To create a reliable and comprehensive data set for the elucidation of transcription regulation networks, we conducted systematic genome-wide disruption expression experiments of yeast on 118 genes with known involvement in transcription regulation. We report several novel regulatory relationships between known transcription factors and other genes with previously unknown biological function discovered with this expression library.

Mechanisms of promotion and progression of preneoplastic lesions in hepatocarcinogenesis by DDT in F344 rats.

Time-related changes in potential factors involved in hepatocarcinogenesis by DDT were investigated in a 4-week and a 2-year feeding studies of p,p'-DDT with F344 rats. In the 4-week study with males at doses of 50, 160, and 500 ppm, cell proliferation and gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) were examined after 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. Cell proliferation was enhanced within 3 days at any dose level, but returned to normal after 7 days, whereas GJIC was inhibited throughout the study.

Suppression of bone resorption by madindoline A, a novel nonpeptide antagonist to gp130.

IL-6 is a multifunctional cytokine involved in regulation of differentiation, antibody production, and growth of certain types of tumor cells. Its excessive production plays a major role in pathogenesis of multiple myeloma and postmenopausal osteoporosis. In the course of a screening program aimed at IL-6 inhibitor from microbial products, we found madindoline A (MDL-A) and madindoline B, which have a fuloindoline structure with diketocyclopentene bound to the methyl group.

Biological activity of a novel nonpeptide antagonist to the interleukin-6 receptor 20S,21-epoxy-resibufogenin-3-formate.

Interleukin (IL)-6 is a key mediator in the regulation and coordination of the immune response and participates in pathogenesis of cancer cachexia, autoimmune disease, and postmenopausal osteoporosis. In the course of a screening program aimed at IL-6 inhibitor from natural products, we isolated 20S,21-epoxy-resibufogenin-3-formate (ERBF) from bufadienolide and examined the effect of ERBF on activities of various cytokines. ERBF dose dependently suppressed IL-6 activity and caused a parallel rightward shift of dose-response curves to IL-6 at concentrations of 0.