Inline Hot Rolling of Al-5%Mg Strip Cast Using an Unequal Diameter Twin-Roll Caster.

One advantage of twin-roll casting for aluminum alloys is that hot rolling can be omitted, thus shortening the process. The effect of inline hot rolling on the anisotropy of the mechanical properties, especially the elongation, of the roll-cast strip has not been investigated. In a high-speed twin-roll caster, inline hot rolling forms the metal shape before the temperature of the cast strip decreases below the temperature needed for hot rolling.

Characterization and Demonstration of Mock Communities as Control Reagents for Accurate Human Microbiome Community Measurements.

Standardization and quality assurance of microbiome community analysis by high-throughput DNA sequencing require widely accessible and well-characterized reference materials. Here, we report on newly developed DNA and whole-cell mock communities to serve as control reagents for human gut microbiota measurements by shotgun metagenomics and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The mock communities were formulated as near-even blends of up to 20 bacterial species prevalent in the human gut, span a wide range of genomic guanine-cytosine (GC) contents, and include multiple strains with Gram-positive type cell walls.

Influence of prior oral ethinylestradiol use on the efficacy of enzalutamide for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer in men.

Objective: To elucidate the effect of prior use of ethinylestradiol on enzalutamide treatment for men with castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 99 consecutive patients (median age 72 years, range 50-88 years) treated with enzalutamide for castration-resistant prostate cancer between May 2014 and November 2015 after receiving several lines of hormonal therapy.

Results: A total of 45 patients were given ethinylestradiol before enzalutamide.

Butanol production from alkali-pretreated rice straw by co-culture of Clostridium thermocellum and Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum.

The co-culture of cellulolytic Clostridium thermocellum NBRC 103400 and butanol-producing Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum strain N1-4 produced 5.5 g/L of butanol from 40 g/L of delignified rice straw pretreated with 1% (wt/vol) NaOH. The addition of cellulase (100 U/g biomass) in a co-culture system significantly increased butanol production to 6.

Oncological outcomes of hormonal therapy with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist combined with a steroidal or non-steroidal antiandrogen in patients with prostate cancer.

Aim: To determine the treatment outcome of combined androgen blockade (CAB) therapy using the non-steroidal antiandrogen bicalutamide or the steroidal antiandrogen chlormadinone in patients with prostate cancer.

Patients And Methods: In total, 124 patients with prostate cancer enrolled in the present study were randomized to receive CAB therapy using a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist, combined with bicalutamide or chlormadinone. The survival of patients was analyzed.

Spontaneous bladder rupture diagnosis based on urinary appearance of mesothelial cells: a case report.

Introduction: Spontaneous bladder rupture is an extremely rare clinical event that is associated with urinary ascites and apparent acute renal failure. This event is difficult to diagnose clinically, even with advanced techniques such as computed tomography; however, the timely diagnosis of this condition is critical. Here, we report a case of a patient who experienced a spontaneous intraperitoneal bladder rupture 10 years after postoperative pelvic irradiation for the treatment of uterine cancer.

Simultaneous determination of 5 psychotropic drugs of various types in an autopsy case of acute multiple drug poisoning.

We attempted the simultaneous determination of 5 drugs, mirtazapine, sertraline, chlorpromazine, amoxapine and zolpidem, detected in a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry screening test in an autopsy case. The solid-phase extraction of the analytes from biological samples was achieved using Oasis(®)HLB cartridges (Waters, Milford, MA, USA). Gas chromatography was performed on a HP-5MS fused silica capillary column (30 m × 0.

ABO genotyping by TaqMan assay and allele frequencies in a Japanese population.

ABO genotyping have become common tools for forensic casework. We developed a new rapid ABO genotyping method using a fast real-time PCR system with the TaqMan® Sample-to-SNP™ Kit. Eight single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites in the ABO gene (nt 261, 297, 467, 657, 703, 829, 930 and 1061) were selected to determine the ABO genotypes.

[Efficacy of naftopidil in patients with overactive bladder associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia: prospective randomized controlled study to compare differences in efficacy between morning and evening medication].

A total of 100 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms (BPH/OAB), enrolled between June 2006 to March 2008, were randomly divided into 2 groups of morning medication (M) and evening medication (E) groups, then 50 mg of naftopidil was given once a day after breakfast or supper for 8 weeks. Data were available for efficacy analysis on 80 patients (M group ; 43, E group ; 37). Naftopidil significantly improved the overall international prostatic symptom score ; from 19.

Analysis of the sarcomere protein gene mutation on cardiomyopathy - Mutations in the cardiac troponin I gene.

Developments in the molecular genetic studies of cardiomyopathy (CM) have led to discovery of a large number of mutations in the genes encoding the sarcomeric proteins. In this study, comprehensive screening of TNNI3 was performed in 36 consented autopsy cases diagnosed as CM, in order to evaluate the prevalence of gene mutations in sudden death caused by CM. In DCM cases, a new missense mutation Pro16Thr was detected.

Interstitial pneumonia probably associated with sorafenib treatment: An alert of an adverse event.

There has been no literature which reports a case of interstitial lung disease associated with sorafenib. However, a recent post-marketing survey in Japan revealed that interstitial pneumonia occurred in 4 among approximately 2 000 Japanese patients treated with sorafenib. In this article, we describe a Japanese patient with severe interstitial pneumonia probably caused by sorafenib treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Case report: Etizolam and its major metabolites in two unnatural death cases.

A simultaneous analytical method for etizolam and its main metabolites (alpha-hydroxyetizolam and 8-hydroxyetizolam) in whole blood was developed using solid-phase extraction, TMS derivatization and ion trap gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Separation of etizolam, TMS derivatives of alpha-hydroxyetizolam and 8-hydroxyetizolam and fludiazepam as internal standard was performed within about 17 min. The inter-day precision evaluated at the concentration of 50 ng/mL etizolam, alpha-hydroxyetizolam and 8-hydroxyetizolam was evaluated 8.

A case of V-A shunt catheters migration into the pulmonary artery.

A man in his sixties, who developed CPA at home, was transferred to the emergency center. Since CT images revealed a tube-shaped foreign body in the pulmonary artery, pulmonary embolism was initially suspected; however, this did not lead to a definite diagnosis. Autopsy revealed that the foreign body in the cadaver was a fragment of a V-A shunt catheter implanted about 30 years previously for the treatment of hydrocephalus.

Predictive value of serum macrophage colony-stimulating factor for development of aortic calcification in haemodialysis patients: a 6 year longitudinal study.

Background: Accelerated atherosclerosis is a major complication in patients on haemodialysis (HD). Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (MCSF) is a representative regulator of activation of monocytes and macrophages, and plays important roles in the development of atherosclerosis in HD patients. However, the long-term predictive value of the serum MCSF level for the development of aortic calcification under HD conditions has not been reported.

[A case of renal pelvic squamous cell carcinoma accompanied with humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM)].

A 78-year-old male was urgently admitted to our hospital because of consciousness disturbance. Laboratory data showed marked hypercalcemia (17.0 mg/dl), hypophosphatemia, low intact PTH level, high PTH relating peptide (PTHrP) level, normal osteocalcin and normal 1-25(OH)2D level.

Three cases of sudden death due to butane or propane gas inhalation: analysis of tissues for gas components.

We report three cases of sudden death due to inhalation of portable cooking stove fuel (case 1), cigarette lighter fuel (case 2), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (case 3). Specimens of blood, urine, stomach contents, brain, heart, lung, liver, kidney, and fat were collected and analyzed for propylene, propane, isobutane, and n-butane by headspace gas chromatography. n-Butane was the major substance among the volatiles found in the tissues of cases 1 and 2, and propane was the major substance in case 3.

[A case of prostate cancer with invasion to the middle ureter].

A 69-year-old male was diagnosed as having prostate cancer with ureter invasion. His serum prostate specific antigen level was not so high (19.6 ng/ml) before treatment, but clinical stage was D2, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of prostate.