Feasibility of oxaliplatin and infusional fluorouracil/leucovorin (FOLFOX4) for Japanese patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background: A combination of oxaliplatin and infusional fluorouracil/leucovorin (FOLFOX4) is one of the standard regimens for palliative and adjuvant chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. However, the feasibility of FOLFOX4 for Japanese patients has not been determined. We conducted this prospective study to evaluate the feasibility of FOLFOX4.

Dendritic cells: ontogeny.

Dendritic cells (DC) play key rolls in various aspects of immunity. The functions of DC depend on the subsets as well as their location or activation status. Understanding developmental lineages, precursors and inducing factors for various DC subsets would help their clinical application, but despite extensive efforts, the precise ontogeny of various DC, remain unclear and complex.

Real-time observation of the photoinduced structural change of bis(2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline)copper(I) by femtosecond fluorescence spectroscopy: a realistic potential curve of the Jahn-Teller distortion.

In copper(I) complex [Cu(dmphen)(2)]+ (dmphen = 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline), a "flattening" structural change is induced with 1MLCT excitation, which is a prototype of the structural change accompanied with Cu(I)/Cu(II) conversion in copper complexes. Femtosecond and picosecond emission dynamics of this complex were investigated in solution at room temperature with optically allowed S(2) <-- S(0) photoexcitation. Time-resolved emission was measured in the whole visible region, and the lifetimes, intrinsic emission spectra, and radiative lifetimes of the transients were obtained by quantitative analysis.

The answer to concerted versus step-wise controversy for the double proton transfer mechanism of 7-azaindole dimer in solution.

The dynamics and mechanism of the double proton transfer reaction of the 7-azaindole dimer was investigated in solution by excitation wavelength dependence in steady-state and femtosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Femtosecond measurements in the UV region revealed that the dynamics of the dimer fluorescence exhibits remarkable change as the excitation wavelength was scanned from 280 to 313 nm. The fluorescence showed a biexponential decay (0.

An effective management regimen for laryngeal granuloma caused by gastro-esophageal reflux: combination therapy with suggestions for lifestyle modifications.

According to our previous study, lifestyle modification in combination with drug therapy is much more effective than drug therapy alone in cases of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). Most patients with LPR will have chronic gastro-esophageal reflux diseases (GERD) and require long-term medical therapy for control, resulting in high total expenditure on pharmacologic agents. We combined pharmacologic management with lifestyle modifications for the management of GERD with successful outcomes in patients with GERD-related laryngeal granulomas.

Development of atopic dermatitis-specific communication tools: Interview form and question and answer brochure.

At first consultation, it is sometimes difficult for patients to decide which questions they want to ask most. We investigated whether an improvement in interview forms would identify the questions that patients want to ask doctors and help patients express their needs. First, we developed a two-part interview form specifically for atopic dermatitis (AD) patients.

Status of surgical treatment procedures for endometrial cancer in Japan: results of a Japanese Gynecologic Oncology Group survey.

Objective: We investigated the current status of surgical procedures for endometrial carcinoma in Japan by surveying members of the Japan Gynecologic Oncology Group (JGOG).

Methods: A mail survey focusing on hysterectomy procedures, indications for radical hysterectomy, methods for detecting pelvic (PEN) and para-aortic lymph node (PAN) status, and indications for PAN dissection/biopsy, was sent to all 215 authorized JGOG member institutions.

Results: A total of 139 (57.

Expression and prognostic significance of Stat5a and E-cadherin in extramammary Paget's disease.

Background: Stat5 has been shown to regulate the proliferation and inhibition of apoptosis in cancer cells. E-cadherin plays an important role in maintaining epithelial stability and is widely regarded as a prognostic marker in many types of human cancers. The expression of Stat5 has not been investigated in extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD).

Expression of the p38 MAPK, NF-kappaB and cyclin D1 in extramammary Paget's disease.

Background: The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB)/cyclin D1 signaling pathway has recently been shown to play an important part in the pathogenesis of many human tumors. However, the role of this signal transduction pathway in extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) remains unknown.

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the expression of phosphorylated p38 MAP kinasealpha (p-p38 MAPKalpha), phosphorylated NF-kappa B p65 (p-NF-kappaB p65) and cyclin D1 proteins in EMPD and to evaluate the relationship among them.

Adjuvant chemotherapy with irinotecan hydrochloride and cisplatin for clear cell carcinoma of the ovary.

Clear cell carcinoma (CCC) of the ovary has distinct characteristics showing resistance to conventional platinum-based regimen. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of combination therapy with irinotecan hydrochloride and cisplatin (CPT-P), comparing to regimen with paclitaxel and platinum (TP). We retrospective reviewed 172 patients with complete surgical staging procedures including lymphadenenctomy.

Differential induction of Th1-prone immunity by human dendritic cells activated with Sporothrix schenckii of cutaneous and visceral origins to determine their different virulence.

Sporotrichosis is caused by a thermo-dependent dimorphic fungus, Sporothrix schenckii. The major clinical manifestations occur in the skin; however, cases of visceral manifestations have also been increasingly reported with some being observed in immune compromised patients. Different virulence of individual S.

Coherent nuclear wavepacket motions in ultrafast excited-state intramolecular proton transfer: sub-30-fs resolved pump-probe absorption spectroscopy of 10-hydroxybenzo[h]quinoline in solution.

The dynamics of the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer of 10-hydroxybenzo[h]quinoline (10-HBQ) and the associated coherent nuclear motion were investigated in solution by femtosecond absorption spectroscopy. Sub-picosecond transient absorption measurements revealed spectral features of the stimulated emission and absorption of the keto excited state (the product of the reaction). The stimulated emission band appeared in the 600-800-nm region, corresponding to the wavelength region of the steady-state keto fluorescence.

Use of interleukin 7 receptor-alpha knockout donor cells demonstrates the lymphoid independence of dendritic cells.

The precise lineage of dendritic cells (DCs), including skin Langerhans cells (LCs), is unclear. Interleukin 7 (IL-7) and its receptor (IL-7R alpha) are known to mediate lymphopoiesis, and IL-7 is also known to be essential for the generation of DCs from lymphoid-committed precursors in vitro. Thus, to determine the developmental lymphoid (or IL-7R alpha) dependency of various DCs and to examine the importance of IL-7/IL-7R alpha for DC development in vivo, we used IL-7R alpha knockout (KO) donor cells to reconstitute DCs/LCs in sublethally irradiated recipients and compared the results to those obtained using wild-type (WT) donor cells.

Tripartite relationship among P300, clinical features and brain structure in neuroleptic-naive schizophrenia.

Auditory P300 abnormalities in schizophrenia patients have been repeatedly reported by many studies. However, reported relationships among P300 abnormalities, clinical features and other biological variables, such as abnormalities in structural brain imaging, are notably discrepant. This is partially due to the inclusion of patients who have had long-term administration of neuroleptics and those from whom this treatment has been withdrawn.

Malignant melanoma of nasal cavity: report of 16 Japanese patients.

Background: Primary malignant melanoma of the nasal cavity is a rare disease that has a poor prognosis. There are significant racial differences in the incidence of melanomas in the nasal cavity.

Methods: Sixteen Japanese patients treated at the Hospital of Tokyo University were reviewed retrospectively.

Activation of medial prefrontal cortex by phencyclidine is mediated via a hippocampo-prefrontal pathway.

Phencyclidine (PCP) is a psychotomimetic drug that elicits schizophrenia-like symptoms in healthy persons, and administration of PCP to animals is used as a pharmacological model of schizophrenia. We recently demonstrated that systemic administration of PCP to rats produces long-lasting activation of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons with augmentation of locomotor activity, whereas direct application of PCP to mPFC neurons has little effect on their firing activity. These findings suggest that PCP-induced activation of mPFC neurons is elicited mainly via excitatory inputs from regions outside the mPFC.

Femtosecond absorption study of photodissociation of diphenylcyclopropenone in solution: reaction dynamics and coherent nuclear motion.

Reaction dynamics and coherent nuclear motions in the photodissociation of diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP) were studied in solution by time-resolved absorption spectroscopy. Subpicosecond transient absorption spectra were measured in the visible region with excitation at the second absorption band of DPCP. The obtained spectra showed a new short-lived band around 480 nm immediately after photoexcitation, which is assignable to the initially populated S(2) state of DPCP before the dissociation.

Time-wavelength two-dimensional femtosecond fluorescence imaging.

We report a new femtosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectrometer that enables us to observe fluorescence intensity as a time-wavelength two-dimensional image in a single measurement. This method utilizes a time-to-space conversion technique and fluorescence sum-frequency mixing with a femtosecond gate pulse. It provides a fluorescence image covering temporal and spectral spans of approximately 2 ps and approximately 60 nm, respectively.

Indications for surgical repair of funnel chest based on indices of chest wall deformity and psychological state.

Purpose: We examined the surgical indications for funnel chest, taking psychological factors into consideration.

Methods: We assessed 36 young people with funnel chest who were seen as outpatients, including 31 boys and 5 girls aged from 1 to 22 years old. Respondents were asked whether they suffered psychological distress, and if they wanted surgery.

Paradoxically abundant expression of Bcl-2 and adrenomedullin in invasive cervical squamous carcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify the role of Bcl-2 protein and adrenomedullin (AM) expression in relation to apoptosis in the neoplastic changes of squamous epithelium of the uterine cervix.

Methods: Apoptosis in sections of normal cervical epithelium, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and invasive squamous cell carcinoma was determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated 2'-deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Bcl-2 protein and AM expression were analyzed using the avidin-biotin immunoperoxidase method.

Absorption of short wavelengths of endoillumination in indocyanine green solution: implications for internal limiting membrane removal.

Purpose: To measure the absorption coefficients of short wavelengths, irradiated by a light source used for vitreous surgery, in indocyanine green (ICG) solution and balanced salt solution (BSS), and to determine the implications of these absorption coefficients on retinal phototoxicity caused by ICG-assisted internal limiting membrane removal.

Methods: The absorption coefficients of short wavelengths irradiated by a commercially available light source used for vitreous surgery were measured in ICG solution and BSS using a dual-beam spectroradiometer.

Results: The absorption coefficient of wavelengths irradiated by the endoillumination light source in ICG solution was almost the same as that obtained in BSS.

Genomic convergence: identifying candidate genes for Parkinson's disease by combining serial analysis of gene expression and genetic linkage.

We present a multifactorial, multistep approach called genomic convergence that combines gene expression with genomic linkage analysis to identify and prioritize candidate susceptibility genes for Parkinson's disease (PD). To initiate this process, we used serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) to identify genes expressed in two normal substantia nigras (SN) and adjacent midbrain tissue. This identified over 3700 transcripts, including the three most abundant SAGE tags, which did not correspond to any known genes or ESTs.

Different effects of phencyclidine and methamphetamine on firing activity of medial prefrontal cortex neurons in freely moving rats.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of systemically administered MAP with those of phencyclidine (PCP), both of which induced comparable locomotor activity, on firing activity of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons in freely moving rats. The results show that, unlike PCP, acutely administered MAP produced little changes in firing activity of mPFC neurons.

Production of sound waves by bacterial cells and the response of bacterial cells to sound.

Bacterial cells enhance the proliferation of neighboring cells under stress conditions by emitting a physical signal. Continuous single sine sound waves produced by a speaker at frequencies of 6-10, 18-22, and 28-38 kHz promoted colony formation by Bacillus carboniphilus under non-permissive stress conditions of high KCl concentration and high temperature. Furthermore, sound waves emitted from cells of Bacillus subtilis at frequencies between 8 and 43 kHz with broad peaks at approximately 8.