Engineered Human Muscle Tissue from Multilayered Aligned Myofiber Sheets for Studies of Muscle Physiology and Predicting Drug Response.

In preclinical drug testing, human muscle tissue models are critical to understanding the complex physiology, including drug effects in the human body. This study reports that a multilayering approach to cell sheet-based engineering produces an engineered human muscle tissue with sufficient contractile force suitable for measurement. A thermoresponsive micropatterned substrate regulates the biomimetic alignment of myofiber structures enabling the harvest of the aligned myofibers as a single cell sheet.

Synchronization of relaxation oscillators with adaptive thresholds and application to automated guided vehicles.

The present paper proposes an adaptive control law for inducing in-phase and antiphase synchronization in a pair of relaxation oscillators. We analytically show that the phase dynamics of the oscillators coupled by the control law is equivalent to that of Kuramoto phase oscillators and then extend the results for a pair of oscillators to three or more oscillators. We also provide a systematic procedure for designing the controller parameters for oscillator networks with all-to-all and ring topologies.

Hypocellular Philadelphia chromosome-positive mixed-phenotype acute leukemia successfully treated with dasatinib: A case report.

Both hypocellular leukemia and Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome-positive mixed-phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL) are rare subtypes of leukemia showing unfavorable outcomes and lacking established optimal management. Ph-positive leukemia most often presents with hypercellularity and hypoplasia is a rare condition. The present study reports an extremely rare case of hypocellular biclonal Ph-positive MPAL, which was diagnosed by biopsy and genetic analysis of bone marrow, and successfully treated with dasatinib and steroids.

Association Among End-Of-Life Discussions, Cancer Patients' Quality of Life at End of Life, and Bereaved Families' Mental Health.

End-of-life discussions are essential for patients with advanced cancer, but there is little evidence about whether these discussions affect general ward patients and family outcomes. We investigated the status of end-of-life discussions and associated factors and their effects on patients' quality of death and their families' mental health. Participants in this retrospective cross-sectional observational study were 119 bereaved family members.

Low-Cost Bipolar Plates of TiO-Coated Ti for Water Electrolysis with Polymer Electrolyte Membranes.

Although hydrogen is expected to play an important role in the storage of energy from renewable energy sources, technology to produce hydrogen at low cost is needed for its widespread use. The key to the low-cost production of hydrogen with a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis system, which is widely used today, is to replace the Au- or Pt-coated Ti with a low-cost material that can be manufactured from inexpensive, corrosion-resistant, and conductive components. We studied titanium suboxide (TiO)-coated titanium (Ti) bipolar plates, which can be substituted for commonly used Pt-coated Ti bipolar plates, as an inexpensive way of producing the PEM water electrolysis system.

Solar-Driven Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation over an n-Type Lead-Titanium Oxyfluoride Anode.

Mixed-anion compounds (e.g., oxynitrides and oxysulfides) are potential candidates as photoanodes for visible-light water oxidation, but most of them suffer from oxidative degradation by photogenerated holes, leading to low stability.

Synthesis of a Layered Niobium Oxynitride, RbNdNbON·HO, Showing Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity for H Evolution.

Two-dimensional (2D) layered oxynitrides are promising candidates as visible-light-driven photocatalysts, but the actual examples are rare because of the difficulty in synthesizing the 2D oxynitrides. Here a phase-pure layered perovskite, RbNdNbON·HO, that belongs to a tetragonal P4/ mmm space group was successfully synthesized by thermal ammonolysis of a mixture of layered RbNdNbO and RbCO, as revealed by synchrotron X-ray diffraction, elemental analyses, and atomic-scale electron microscopy observation. The synthesized RbNdNbON·HO had an absorption edge at around 500 nm and a sufficiently high conduction-band potential to allow for proton reduction.

Effects of Oral Morphine on Dyspnea in Patients with Cancer: Response Rate, Predictive Factors, and Clinically Meaningful Change (CJLSG1101).

Background: Although the efficacy of parenteral morphine for alleviating dyspnea has been previously demonstrated in several studies, little is known regarding the efficacy of oral morphine for dyspnea among patients with cancer, including its response rate and predictive factors of effectiveness. Therefore, the aim of this study was to clarify the effectiveness of oral morphine on dyspnea in patients with cancer and elucidate the predictive factors of its effectiveness.

Subjects, Materials, And Methods: In this multicenter prospective observational study, we investigated the change in dyspnea intensity in patients with cancer before and after the administration of oral morphine by using a visual analog scale (VAS).

Multifaceted therapeutic benefits of factors derived from stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth for acute liver failure in rats.

In acute liver failure (ALF), a poorly controlled innate immune response causes massive hepatic destruction, which elicits a systemic inflammatory response, progressive multiple organ failure and ultimate sudden death. Although the liver has inherent tissue-repairing activities, its regeneration during ALF fails, and orthotopic liver transplantation is the only curative approach. Here we show that a single intravenous administration of stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) or of SHED-derived serum-free conditioned medium (SHED-CM) into the d-galactosamine-induced rat model of ALF markedly improved the condition of the injured liver and the animals' survival rate.

Simple and scalable preparation of master mold for nanoimprint lithography.

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is one of the most prominent bottom-up techniques for duplicating nanostructures with a high throughput. However, fabrication of starting master mold commonly requires expensive equipment of top-down techniques, or additional steps to transfer the fabricated patterns from bottom-up methods. Here we demonstrate that a SiO nanostructure manufactured from a self-assembled block copolymer, polystyrene-b-polydimethylsiloxane (PS-b-PDMS), directly serves as a master mold for NIL without further modification.

Factors secreted from dental pulp stem cells show multifaceted benefits for treating acute lung injury in mice.

Background Aims: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a severe inflammatory disorder characterized by acute respiratory failure, resulting from severe, destructive lung inflammation and irreversible lung fibrosis. We evaluated the use of stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) or SHED-derived serum-free conditioned medium (SHED-CM) as treatments for bleomycin (BLM)-induced mice acute lung injury (ALI), exhibiting several pathogenic features associated with the human disease ARDS.

Methods: Mice with BLM-induced ALI with or without SHED or SHED-CM treatment were examined for weight loss and survival.

[Change of the patient characteristics among adult asthmatics hospitalized due to acute exacerbation].

Background: We analysed the patient characteristics among adult asthmatics hospitalized to our hospital to clearfy the residual problems in the prevention and treatment of asthma.

Methods: We identified the adult asthmatics hospitalized to our hospital during the period A: Jan 2004-Dec 2005 and the period B: Jan 2009-Dec2010 and analysed retrospectively around age, smoking history, and the use of ICS (including combination medicine) and so on.

Results: The total patient numbers were A: 161 and B: 88, decreasing to almost half.

Design of a single-step immunoassay principle based on the combination of an enzyme-labeled antibody release coating and a hydrogel copolymerized with a fluorescent enzyme substrate in a microfluidic capillary device.

A combination of an enzyme-labeled antibody release coating and a novel fluorescent enzyme substrate-copolymerized hydrogel in a microchannel for a single-step, no-wash microfluidic immunoassay is demonstrated. This hydrogel discriminates the free enzyme-conjugated antibody from an antigen-enzyme-conjugated antibody immunocomplex based on the difference in molecular size. A selective and sensitive immunoassay, with 10-1000 ng mL(-1) linear range, is reported.

Three-Dimensional Periodically Ordered Nanohetero Metallic Materials from Self-Assembled Block Copolymer Composites.

We report a synthetic route to inorganic nanoheterostructures with tunable size and morphology via self-assembled block copolymer mesophase templates. Two Fe precursors, tricarbonyl(cyclooctatetraene) iron and acetylacetonate iron(III), and one Pt precursor, platinum dimethylcyclooctadiene, were selectively introduced into separate polymer blocks of a block copolymer, polystyrene--poly-4-vinylpyridine, and then the block copolymer templates were removed by pyrolysis. Self-assembled inorganic nanoheterostructures (spheres, hexagonal cylinders, and layers of hard magnetic phase FePt in a matrix of soft magnetic phase α-Fe) were produced.

The determinants of patients in a palliative care unit being discharged home in Japan.

In Japan, regarding the place of end-of-life care, many people preferred the home. However, there is a discrepancy between patients' wishes and the actual circumstances. The primary aim of this study was to explore the factors that determine discharge home of patients in a palliative care unit.

Effect of nutritional support on terminally ill patients with cancer in a palliative care unit.

The role of nutritional support on terminally ill patients with cancer in a palliative care unit has not been clarified. A total of 63 patients were retrospectively investigated; the patients receiving individualized nutritional support (intervention group [n = 22]) were compared to the others (control group [n = 41]). The intervention group received individualized nutritional support.

[A case of drug-induced pneumonitis due to a cold remedy].

The patient was an 84-year-old woman who took a combination cold remedy, Shin-Rulu-A' for three days because of fever and cough. However, her symptoms worsened and she visited our hospital. Arterial blood gas analysis revealed severe hypoxemia and chest computed tomography showed diffuse ground glass opacities in both lungs.

Structures of new phenylbutanoids and nitric oxide production inhibitors from the rhizomes of Zingiber cassumunar.

The methanolic (MeOH) extract from the rhizomes of Zingiber cassumunar showed nitric oxide (NO) production inhibitory effects induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mouse peritoneal macrophages. From the MeOH extract, six new phenylbutanoids, phlains I-VI, were isolated together with 16 known constituents. The structures of new phenylbutanoids were determined on the basis of physicochemical and chemical evidence.

[A case of Legionnaires' disease with abnormal neurological findings showing the corpus callosum abnormality on brain MRI].

A 47-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of dysarthric speech and high fever. His brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed high intensity in the splenium of the corpus callosum (SCC) on diffusion-weighted and FLAIR imaging. His chest CT showed ground-glass attenuation in bilateral lung upper lobes, and consolidation in the right lower lobe.

[Management of difficult-to-treat asthma using a flow sheet for systematic evaluation and therapeutic intervention].

Background: Although most patients of asthma can be controlled by inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), some patients remain uncontrolled even after the introduction of ICS treatment. In management of such difficult-to-treat asthma, systematic review including additional differential diagnosis and avoidance of exacerbating factors is very important.

Methods: Here we postulate a flow sheet presenting an algorithm which intends to achieve better asthma control following ATS refractory asthma guidance.

Theoretical analysis of concerted and stepwise mechanisms of Diels-Alder reactions of butadiene with silaethylene and disilene.

The concerted and the stepwise mechanisms of the Diels-Alder reactions of butadiene with silaethylene and disilene were studied by ab initio MO methods. For the reaction of butadiene and silaethylene, an asymmetric concerted process that is almost stepwise and two stepwise processes were located. For the first step of the stepwise process, the C-Si bond formation is more favorable than the C-C bond formation.

[A case of Behçet disease with multiple nodular shadows and aneurysm of the brachiocephalic trunk caused by necrotizing vasculitis].

A 36-year-old man was admitted to our hospital in 1994 because of fever, and abdominal CT showed multiple low-density areas in the liver. Although granulomas were found in a liver biopsy specimen, a definitive diagnosis could not be established. With complaints of oral and genital ulcerations and erythema nodosum, Behçet disease was diagnosed in 1995 and he was treated with colchicine and cyclosporin.

Development of the sport achievement orientation questionnaire for Japanese athletes by exploratory factor analysis.

In this study, a questionnaire to assess achievement orientation in sport for Japanese athletes was developed. We created the questionnaire by picking items from free descriptions of Japanese athletes and using factor analysis of the responses in a Japanese sport setting. The subjects were 2,415 athletes (M=16.