On-surface polymerization reactions of dibrominated hexaphenylbenzene influenced by densely packed self-assembly.

Controlled bottom-up fabrication of molecular nanostructures through on-surface reactions of tailor-made precursors is of scientific and technological interest. Recently, on-surface polymerization reactions influenced by precursor self-assembly have been reported. Thus, a fundamental understanding of the reaction process is a prerequisite for controlled formation.

Investigation of ionization chamber perturbation factors using proton beam and Fano cavity test for the Monte Carlo simulation code PHITS.

The reference dose for clinical proton beam therapy is based on ionization chamber dosimetry. However, data on uncertainties in proton dosimetry are lacking, and multifaceted studies are required. Monte Carlo simulations are useful tools for calculating ionization chamber dosimetry in radiation fields and are sensitive to the transport algorithm parameters when particles are transported in a heterogeneous region.

Validation of deep learning-based CT image reconstruction for treatment planning.

Deep learning-based CT image reconstruction (DLR) is a state-of-the-art method for obtaining CT images. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of DLR in radiotherapy. Data were acquired using a large-bore CT system and an electron density phantom for radiotherapy.

Aqueous Stability of Metal-Organic Frameworks Using ReaxFF-Based Metadynamics Simulations.

Aqueous stability is a critical property for the application of metal-organic framework (MOF) materials in humid conditions. The sampling of the free energy surface for a water reaction is challenging due to a lack of a reactive force field. Here, we developed a ReaxFF force field for simulating the reaction of zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIFs) with water.

Neutralizing-antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 for 12 months after the COVID-19 workplace outbreaks in Japan.

This study aimed to elucidate the 12-month durability of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in patients infected during the 2020 workplace outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Japan. We followed 33 Japanese patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in April 2020 for 12 months (12M). Patients were tested for NAbs and for antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (anti-NC-Ab) and antibodies against the spike receptor-binding domain (anti-RBD-Ab).

Effects of replacement and addition of an amino acid contained in a cyclic peptide corresponding to a β-hairpin loop sequence of human EGF receptor.

Effects of replacement and addition of an amino acid in a cyclic decapeptide 1 (cyclic-CYNPTTYQMC) for inhibitory activity to dimerization of human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were examined. By alanine scanning of 1 corresponding to the arm structure (residues 246-254) of a β-hairpin loop sequence (residues 242-259) of EGFR, it was confirmed that replacement of any amino acid in the loop structure lowered the dimerization inhibitory activity of 1. Among the residues examined, Tyr at position 246 and Thr at 250 were found to be crucial for dimer formation.

Impact of Living at the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition Base on Urinary Status.

Objectives: Urinary disorders are generally well understood, but there are few reports on the urinary status of people living in unusual climates such as the polar regions. We studied the impact of living conditions on the urinary status of members of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition.

Methods: This prospective study enrolled 12 consenting members of the wintering party stationed at the Syowa Station in Antarctica between November 2012 and March 2014.

Evaluation and optimization of quartz resonant-frequency retuned fork force sensors with high Q factors, and the associated electric circuits, for non-contact atomic force microscopy.

High-Q factor retuned fork (RTF) force sensors made from quartz tuning forks, and the electric circuits for the sensors, were evaluated and optimized to improve the performance of non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) performed under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. To exploit the high Q factor of the RTF sensor, the oscillation of the RTF sensor was excited at its resonant frequency, using a stray capacitance compensation circuit to cancel the excitation signal leaked through the stray capacitor of the sensor. To improve the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio in the detected signal, a small capacitor was inserted before the input of an operational (OP) amplifier placed in an UHV chamber, which reduced the output noise from the amplifier.

Preoperative hepatocyte transplantation improves the survival of rats with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-related cirrhosis after partial hepatectomy.

Liver failure after liver resection for cirrhosis is a critical problem, and no effective therapy except liver transplantation is currently available. The objective of this study was to examine whether hepatocyte transplantation (HT) reduces the poststandard liver resection mortality rate of rats with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related cirrhosis. Liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) combined with NASH-related cirrhosis has become increasingly common.

Diffusion of hydrogen fluoride in solid parahydrogen.

We studied diffusion of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in solid parahydrogen (pH2) around 4 K. Diffusion rates were determined from time dependence of FT-IR spectra of HF monomers. The absorption of HF monomers shows temporal decay due to dimerization reaction via diffusion.

Visual cognitive function in infants with intractable epilepsy before and after surgery.

Purpose: One purpose of pediatric epilepsy surgery is to improve psychomotor development. However, few methods are available for evaluating cognitive function in infants with severe developmental delays. We used the following battery of tests to evaluate visual cognitive function of infants following surgery for intractable epilepsy.

Differentiation capacity of hepatic stem/progenitor cells isolated from D-galactosamine-treated rat livers.

Unlabelled: Oval cells and small hepatocytes (SHs) are known to be hepatic stem and progenitor cells. Although oval cells are believed to differentiate into mature hepatocytes (MHs) through SHs, the details of their differentiation process are not well understood. Furthermore, it is not certain whether the induced cells possess fully mature functions as MHs.

Low-dose steroid pretreatment ameliorates the transient impairment of liver regeneration.

Aim: To determine if liver regeneration (LR) could be disturbed following radiofrequency (RF) ablation and whether modification of LR by steroid administration occurs.

Methods: Sham operation, partial hepatectomy (PH), and partial hepatectomy with radiofrequency ablation (PHA) were performed on adult Fisher 344 rats. We investigated the recovery of liver volume, DNA synthetic activities, serum cytokine/chemokine levels and signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 DNA-binding activities in the nucleus after the operations.

Spectroscopy of HF and HF-containing clusters in solid parahydrogen.

We report measurements of FT-IR absorption spectroscopy of HF, DF, and their clusters in solid parahydrogen (pH(2)). The observed spectra contain many absorption lines which were assigned to HF monomers, HF polymers, and clusters with other species, such as N(2), O(2), orthohydrogen (oH(2)), etc. The rotational constants of HF and DF monomers were determined from the cooperative transitions of the vibration of solid pH(2) and the rotation of HF and DF.

Proliferation of rat small hepatocytes requires follistatin expression.

Small hepatocytes (SHs) are a subpopulation of hepatocytes that have high growth potential in culture and can differentiate into mature hepatocytes (MHs). The activin (Act)/follistatin (Fst) system critically contributes to homeostasis of cell growth in the normal liver. ActA and ActB consist of two disulfide-linked Inhibin (Inh)β subunits, InhβA and InhβB, respectively.

Growth ability and repopulation efficiency of transplanted hepatic stem cells, progenitor cells, and mature hepatocytes in retrorsine-treated rat livers.

Cell-based therapies as an alternative to liver transplantation have been anticipated for the treatment of potentially fatal liver diseases. Not only mature hepatocytes (MHs) but also hepatic stem/progenitor cells are considered as candidate cell sources. However, whether the stem/progenitor cells have an advantage to engraft and repopulate the recipient liver compared with MHs has not been comprehensively assessed.

Characterization of hepatic-organoid cultures.

Small hepatocytes (SHs) are "committed progenitor cells" that can further differentiate into mature hepatocytes (MHs). SHs can proliferate to form colonies, and the maturation of SHs occurs with the alteration of the cell shape from small and flat to large and rising/piled-up. The hepatic organoids consisting of rising/piled-up cells possess highly differentiated functions like those of MHs and anastomosing networks of bile canaliculi (BC) are developed.

Thy1-positive cells have bipotential ability to differentiate into hepatocytes and biliary epithelial cells in galactosamine-induced rat liver regeneration.

In galactosamine (GalN)-induced rat liver injury, hepatic stem/progenitor cells, small hepatocytes (SHs) and oval cells, transiently appear in the initial period of liver regeneration. To clarify the relationship between SHs and oval cells, CD44(+) and Thy1(+) cells were sorted from GalN-treated livers and used as candidates for SHs and oval cells, respectively. Some Thy1(+) cells isolated 3 days after GalN-treatment (GalN-D3) formed CD44(+) cell colonies, but those from GalN-D2 could form few.

[A successfully resected case of liver metastasis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor responding to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with imatinib mesylate and interventional radiology].

A 75-year-old woman underwent resection of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) of small intestine in 1999. In January 2006, she suffered liver dysfunction and abdominal CT revealed she had a large liver metastasis. At first the tumor in the right lobe progressed to the medial segment and seemed unresectable.

[Ineffective thrombolytic therapy for calcified cerebral emboli originated from calcified internal carotid artery stenosis].

We report a 71-year-old man who presented with acute right hemiparesis and aphasia The admission CT and CT angiogram showed multiple small calcified emboli in branches of the left middle cerebral artery. The patient had shown no sign of improvement after intravenous thrombolytic therapy. Follow-up CT indicated acute multiple infarctions in the left middle cerebral artery area coincident with the calcified emboli.

Thyroid hormone is necessary for expression of constitutive androstane receptor in rat hepatocytes.

Small hepatocytes are hepatocyte progenitor cells that possess the capability of maturation and cryopreservation. When cryopreserved rat small hepatocytes were cultured in serum-free medium, the protein expression and the inducibility of CYP1A1/2, CYP2E1, and CYP3A were maintained, but those of CYP2B1 were lost. In this study we investigated the cause of the loss of CYP2B1 expression in cryopreserved small hepatocytes by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay.

Proliferation of hepatocyte progenitor cells isolated from adult human livers in serum-free medium.

Rat small hepatocytes (SHs) are committed progenitor cells that can differentiate into mature hepatocytes and can selectively proliferate in serum-free medium when they are cultured on hyaluronic acid (HA)-coated dishes. In this study we examined the separation of human SHs from adult human livers. We obtained liver tissues from the resected liver of 16 patients who underwent hepatic resections.

Functional expression of organic anion transporters in hepatic organoids reconstructed by rat small hepatocytes.

Small hepatocytes (SHs) are hepatic progenitor cells with hepatic characteristics. They can proliferate to form colonies in culture and change their morphology from flat to rising/piled-up with bile canaliculi (BC), which results in maturation. In this study, we examined whether SHs could express hepatic transporters with polarity, whether the transporters could transport organic anion substrates into BC, and whether the secreted substances could be recovered from BC.

Selective proliferation of rat hepatocyte progenitor cells in serum-free culture.

This protocol details a method of obtaining selectively proliferated hepatocyte progenitor cells using hyaluronic acid (HA)-coated dishes and serum-free medium. A small hepatocyte (SH) is a hepatocyte progenitor cell of adult livers and has many hepatic functions. When the rat SH begins to proliferate, CD44 is specifically expressed.

[Comparative studies on activities of antimicrobial agents against causative organisms isolated from patients with urinary tract infections (2004). III. Secular changes in susceptibility].

The bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) isolated from patients diagnosed as urinary tract infections (UTIs) in 14 institutions in Japan were collected between August 2004 and July 2005. The susceptibilities of these bacteria to various antimicrobial agents were measured.