Identification of the promoter region regulating the transcription of the REV7 gene.

REV7 is involved in various biological processes including DNA repair and mutagenesis, cell cycle regulation, gene transcription, and carcinogenesis. REV7 is highly expressed in adult testicular germ cells as well as several malignant tumors. REV7 expression levels are associated with prognosis in several human cancers, however, the mechanism of REV7 transcriptional regulation has not been elucidated.

Taste Disorders: Effect of Education in Patients With Breast Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy.

Background: For patients with breast cancer treated with certain chemotherapy regimens, taste disorders associated with those regimens can negatively affect quality of life.

Objectives: This study evaluated the effects of taste disorder-related education on meal satisfaction and sense of taste in Japanese women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

Methods: A sample of 53 newly diagnosed women with breast cancer scheduled for chemotherapy treatment were randomly assigned to the control or intervention (nurse-provided education about chemotherapy-associated taste disorders) group.

Influence of arm position and respiration technique during liver examinations on the detectability of mammary lesions.

During liver computed tomography (CT), scanning is performed with the raised arm position and an inhalation technique. However, for liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the arms are placed at the sides of the body and an exhalation technique is used. This study was aimed at evaluating the effect that the patient's arm position and respiration technique had on the ability to detect mammary glands in the scan range to discover unexpected mammary lesions during the liver MRI examination.

Spontaneous malignant myoid thymoma in an aged female Fischer 344 rat.

A whitish mass approximately 30 mm in diameter was noted in the anterior mediastinum of a 67-week-old female Fischer 344 rat. Histopathologically, two types of tumor cells were identified on the basis of morphologic features: epithelial tumor cells with a tubular or cord-like growth pattern and rhabdomyosarcomatous tumor cells characterized by the presence of cross-striations. Immunohistochemically, the epithelial tumor cells reacted positively for cytokeratin AE1/AE3, and some reacted positively for p63, which is expressed in normal thymic epithelial cells.

A spontaneous myoepithelial carcinoma in the mammary gland of an aged female ICR (CD-1) mouse.

We report a female Crlj:CD1(ICR) mouse with a spontaneous mammary gland tumor composed of biphasic tumor cells, i.e., epithelioid and spindle-shaped myoepithelial cells.

Effects of a warm compress containing menthol on the tear film in healthy subjects and dry eye patients.

Menthol is thought to stimulate lacrimation via activation of cold-sensitive primary afferent neurons in the cornea. We evaluated a warm compress containing menthol as a potential treatment for dry eye by examining its effects on the tear film in healthy subjects (n = 20) and dry eye patients (n = 35). Disposable eyelid-warming steamers that either did (MH) or did not (HO) contain menthol were applied to one eye of each subject either once only for 10 min or repeatedly over 2 weeks.

[A Case of Stage IV Gastric Cancer Successfully Treated Using Salvage Surgery after S-1/CDDP Therapy].

A 75-year-old man admitted for left lateral abdominal pain was found to have advanced poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma with abdominal para-aortic and Virchow's lymph node metastases, which was diagnosed to be clinical Stage IV (T3N3H0M1[LYM]). As curative surgery was not deemed possible, we started chemotherapy administration using S-1 (120mg/day)administered orally for 3 weeks and cisplatin(CDDP 100mg/body)administered intravenously on day 8. After 6 courses of chemotherapy, a CT scan showed that all lymph nodes metastases had disappeared, resulting in downstaging to clinical Stage II (T3[SE]N0H0P0M0).

Late Metabolic Acidosis Caused by Renal Tubular Acidosis in Acute Salicylate Poisoning.

A 16-year-old man was transferred to our emergency department seven hours after ingesting 486 aspirin tablets. His blood salicylate level was 83.7 mg/dL.

Spontaneous extraskeletal osteosarcoma with various histological growth patterns in the abdominal wall of an ICR mouse.

Extraskeletal osteosarcoma is extremely rare in mice. This case report demonstrates a spontaneous murine extraskeletal osteosarcoma that exhibited various histological growth patterns in an ICR mouse. At necropsy, the tumor mass was located in the abdominal wall and was 45 × 30 × 25 mm in size.

Poorly differentiated salivary gland carcinoma with prominent squamous metaplasia in a pregnant Wistar Hannover rat.

A subcutaneous pale brown-colored mass was observed macroscopically in the ventral neck of a 16-week-old Wistar rat on day 18 of gestation. The mass was well demarcated from the adjacent tissues with partial invasion into connective tissues. Necrosis and hemorrhage were evident throughout the mass.

Inhibition of lipopolysaccharide-induced liver injury in rats treated with a hepatic drug-metabolizing enzyme inducer p,p'-DDT.

Hepatocellular hypertrophy in association with drug-metabolizing enzyme induction is considered to be an adaptive change associated with drug metabolism. To improve our understanding of liver hypertrophy, we determined the effect of a single ip injection of either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or vehicle in male F344 rats with hepatocellular hypertrophy induced by oral delivery of p,p'-DDT for 2 weeks. The rats were sacrificed 3h or 24h after LPS or vehicle injection.

Somatic insulin signaling regulates a germline starvation response in Drosophila egg chambers.

Egg chambers from starved Drosophila females contain large aggregates of processing (P) bodies and cortically enriched microtubules. As this response to starvation is rapidly reversed upon re-feeding females or culturing egg chambers with exogenous bovine insulin, we examined the role of endogenous insulin signaling in mediating the starvation response. We found that systemic Drosophila insulin-like peptides (dILPs) activate the insulin pathway in follicle cells, which then regulate both microtubule and P body organization in the underlying germline cells.

Effects of pH and lactate on hydrogen sulfide production by oral Veillonella spp.

Indigenous oral bacteria in the tongue coating such as Veillonella have been identified as the main producers of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), one of the major components of oral malodor. However, there is little information on the physiological properties of H2S production by oral Veillonella such as metabolic activity and oral environmental factors which may affect H2S production. Thus, in the present study, the H2S-producing activity of growing cells, resting cells, and cell extracts of oral Veillonella species and the effects of oral environmental factors, including pH and lactate, were investigated.

Serum levels of apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage are associated with hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Background: Apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage (AIM) and adipocytokines are involved in the metabolic syndrome, which has been putatively associated with the progression of chronic hepatitis C (CHC). However, the association between these cytokines and CHC is not fully elucidated. The aim of this study is to test whether serum levels of AIM and adipocytokines are associated with histological features, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), or whole body insulin sensitivity index (WBISI) in CHC patients.

Correlation of serum levels of complement C4a desArg with pathologically estimated severity of glomerular lesions and mesangial hypercellularity scores in patients with IgA nephropathy.

The aim of the present study was to explore serum biomarkers for the pathology of IgA nephropathy using serum proteomics. The subjects were 57 patients with IgA nephropathy who were divided into two groups (group 1, n=25; group 2, n=32) and 14 healthy controls. Serum protein profiles were analyzed using the ProteinChip surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization (SELDI) system.

[A case of adenocarcinoma of small intestine surviving for many years].

In adenocarcinoma of the small intestine, delays in diagnosis are frequent. The majority of patients present with advancedstage disease, and have either lymph node involvement or distant metastatic disease. Surgical resection is a mainstay in treatment of this disease, and the effectiveness of chemotherapy for advanced-stage or metastatic disease has been reported.

Intercellular protein movement in syncytial Drosophila follicle cells.

Ring canals connecting Drosophila germline, follicle and imaginal disc cells provide direct contact of cytoplasm between cells. To date, little is known about the formation, structure, or function of the somatic ring canals present in follicle and imaginal disc cells. Here, we show by confocal and electron microscopy that Pavarotti kinesin-like protein and Visgun are stable components of somatic ring canals.

Reversible response of protein localization and microtubule organization to nutrient stress during Drosophila early oogenesis.

The maturation of animal oocytes is highly sensitive to nutrient availability. During Drosophila oogenesis, a prominent metabolic checkpoint occurs at the onset of yolk uptake (vitellogenesis): under nutrient stress, egg chambers degenerate by apoptosis. To investigate additional responses to nutrient deprivation, we studied the intercellular transport of cytoplasmic components between nurse cells and the oocyte during previtellogenic stages.

Use of a Gluconobacter frateurii mutant to prevent dihydroxyacetone accumulation during glyceric acid production from glycerol.

To prevent dihydroxyacetone (DHA) by-production during glyceric acid (GA) production from glycerol using Gluconobacter frateurii, we used a G. frateurii THD32 mutant, ΔsldA, in which the glycerol dehydrogenase subunit-encoding gene (sldA) was disrupted, but ΔsldA grew much more slowly than the wild type, growth starting after a lag of 3 d under the same culture conditions. The addition of 1% w/v D-sorbitol to the medium improved both the growth and the GA productivity of the mutant, and ΔsldA produced 89.

Atypical cadherins Dachsous and Fat control dynamics of noncentrosomal microtubules in planar cell polarity.

How global organ asymmetry and individual cell polarity are connected to each other is a central question in studying planar cell polarity (PCP). In the Drosophila wing, which develops PCP along its proximal-distal (P-D) axis, we previously proposed that the core PCP mediator Frizzled redistributes distally in a microtubule (MT)-dependent manner. Here, we performed organ-wide analysis of MT dynamics by introducing quantitative in vivo imaging.

Two-stage electrodialytic concentration of glyceric acid from fermentation broth.

The aim of this research was the application of a two-stage electrodialysis (ED) method for glyceric acid (GA) recovery from fermentation broth. First, by desalting ED, glycerate solutions (counterpart is Na+) were concentrated using ion-exchange membranes, and the glycerate recovery and energy consumption became more efficient with increasing the initial glycerate concentration (30 to 130 g/l). Second, by water-splitting ED, the concentrated glycerate was electroconverted to GA using bipolar membranes.

Evaluation of in vivo liver genotoxic potential of Wy-14,643 and piperonyl butoxide in rats subjected to two-week repeated oral administration.

Wy-14,643 (WY), a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha agonist, and piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a pesticide synergist, induce oxidative stress and promote hepatocarcinogenesis in the liver of rodents. These chemicals belong to a class of non-genotoxic carcinogens, but DNA damage secondary to the oxidative stress resulting from reactive oxygen species generation is suspected in rodents given these chemicals. To examine whether WY or PBO have DNA-damaging potential in livers of rats subjected to repeated oral administration for 14 days, the in vivo liver comet assay was performed in partially hepatectomized rats, and the expression of some DNA-repair genes was examined.

Antioxidant enzymatically modified isoquercitrin suppresses the development of liver preneoplastic lesions in rats induced by beta-naphthoflavone.

To investigate the modifying effect of enzymatically modified isoquercitrin (EMIQ) on hepatocellular tumor promotion induced by beta-naphthoflavone (BNF) treatment, male rats were administered a single intraperitoneal injection of N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and were fed a diet containing BNF (0.5%) for 6 weeks with or without EMIQ (0.2%) in the drinking water after DEN initiation.

A case report of an uncommon sex-cord stromal tumor consisted of luteal and sertoli cells in a spayed bitch.

We report a rare case of benign sex cord-stromal tumor consisted largely of luteoma with minor portion of Sertoli cell tumor located at the position of the left ovary excision in an 11-year-old ovariectomized bitch. Granulosa cell component was lacking, and both luteal and Sertoli cell portions were entirely positive for inhibin alpha and neuron-specific enolase, whereas luteoma portion alone was positive for Wilms' tumor-1 (WT1), immunohistochemically. The results suggest that this tumor is a possible complication of incomplete ovarian excision at the time of ovariectomy and consisted of uncommon hybrid of luteal and Sertoli cells to be diagnosed as an unclassified sex cord-stromal tumor if applied in human cases.