Production of monozygotic twins following the transfer of bisected embryos in the goats

Embryos at the morula, blastocyst and hatched blastocyst stage were obtained from superovulated and naturally ovulated Japanese native goats. They were bisected into halves with a glass needle, and transferred immediately or after culture (for morula) to recipients. None of five does which received bisected morula became pregnant. Three of nine goats became pregnant after transfer of bisected hatched blastocysts, six of eleven recipients became pregnant. Four of them produced monozygotic twins and the remaining two produced singles. The present study demonstrated that the hatched blastocyst is suitable for bisection in the goat.

Direct growth of horizontally aligned carbon nanotubes between electrodes and its application to field-effect transistors

This paper presents direct growth of horizontally-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) between two predefined various inter-spacing up to tens of microns of electrodes (pads) and its use as CNT field-effect transistors (CNT-FETs). Using the conventional photolithography technique followed by thin film evaporation and lift off, the catalytic electrodes (pads) were prepared, consisting of Pt, Al and Fe triple layers on SiO2/Si substrate. The grown CNTs were horizontally-aligned across the catalytic electrodes on the modified gold image furnace hot stage (thermal CVD) at 800 degrees C by using an alcohol vapor as the carbon source. Scanning and transmission electron microcopies (SEM/TEM) were used to observe the structure, growth direction and density of CNTs, while Raman spectrum analysis was used to indicate the degree of amorphous impurity and diameter of CNTs. Both single- and multi-wall CNTs with diameters of 1.1-2.2 nm were obtained and the CNT density was controlled by thickness of Fe catalytic layer. Following horizontally-aligned growth of CNTs, the electrical properties of back-gate CNT-FETs were measured and showd p-type conduction behaviors of FET.

Characterization of oxide scales thermally formed on single-crystal silicon carbide

Microstructures of oxide scales thermally formed on single-crystal silicon carbide were investigated using transmission electron microscopy. The oxide scales were formed on the Si-face of 6H-SiC at 1273-1473 K in dry oxygen. Spherical patterns were observed on the surfaces of the oxidized samples by an optical microscope in some regions. In these regions, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations show that the oxide scale was divided into two layers; the upper layer (surface side) was composed of crystalline silica, and the lower layer on the silicon carbide substrate was amorphous silica, while the oxide scales in the surroundings of the patterns were composed of only amorphous silica. The oxidation activation energy in the amorphous silica layer of the Si-face of 6H-SiC was found to be 408 kJ/mol by the evolution of thickness directly measured from the cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy and TEM images.

[Complete resection of Pancoast tumor following induction chemoradiotherapy improves survival]

OBJECTIVE

Pancoast tumors are some of the most challenging thoracic malignant diseases to treat because of their proximity to vital structures at the thoracic inlet. We retrospectively analyzed 23 patients with pT3-4, N0-3 Pancoast tumors who underwent combined chest wall resection including the 1st rib, and discuss the anatomical considerations, assessment of induction therapy, and surgical approaches for these cancers.

METHODS

Between 1983 and 2006, 23 patients with Pancoast tumors underwent combined resection of the 1st rib at our institute. Of those, 21 were male and 2 were female, with an average age of 58 years. There were 10 each of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, 2 large cell carcinoma, and 1 adenosquamous carcinoma. Over the past decade, induction chemoradiotherapy (>40Gy) was employed before surgery.

RESULTS

A posterior approach was employed in 14 patients, an anterior approach in 7, and a combined anterior and posterior approach in 2. Sixteen patients underwent complete resection. One of 7 patients undergoing incomplete resection (4.3%) died on the 45th postoperative day. The 3- and 5-year survival rates were 50 and 22%, respectively, for patients with complete resection. No case survived for more than 8 months out of the 7 patients with incomplete resection. Fourteen patients with pN0 showed significantly better survival than those with pN1-3 (p = 0.0053).

CONCLUSION

Recent literature and our results suggest that patients with pN0 and/or a pathological complete response (pCR) after induction chemoradiotherapy could achieve long-term survival after complete resection.

Spread of malignant cells in the surgical margin with stapled excision of lung cancer: comparison of aggressive clump and less traumatic jaw closure type staplers

BACKGROUND

During stapled excision of lung cancer tissue, malignant cells can spread in the surgical margin. Stapling methods can be classified as aggressive clumping (AC) and less traumatic jaw closing (LTJC) types, thus the ratio of malignant margins may differ between stapler types.

METHODS

The malignant status of the stapled margin was retrospectively investigated in 112 cases using a cytology technique. Stapler type, maximum tumor diameter, distance from surgical margin, thoracotomy type, and tumor location were used as variables. In addition, clinical results of excision cases were assessed.

RESULTS

The ratio of malignant margins was 22/54 (41 %) in the AC group and 11/58 (19 %) in the LTJC group ( P = 0.01). Multivariate analysis revealed that the stapling method and tumor location were an independently significant factor. Surgical margin recurrence occurred only in 4 (57 %) of 7 cases with malignant margin.

CONCLUSIONS

The AC type method showed a greater potential to spread malignant cells, thus there seems to be a higher possibility of regional relapse with that technique.

Influence of tilt and decentration of scleral-sutured intraocular lens on ocular higher-order wavefront aberration

AIM

To investigate the influence of tilt and decentration of scleral-sutured intraocular lenses (IOLs) on ocular higher-order wavefront aberrations.

METHODS

In 45 eyes of 36 patients who had undergone scleral suture fixation of posterior chamber IOL, tilt and decentration of IOLs were determined by Scheimpflug videophotography, and higher-order aberration for a 4-mm pupil was measured using the Hartmann-Shack aberrometer. In another 100 eyes of 100 patients after standard cataract surgery with posterior chamber IOL implantation, ocular higher-order aberration was measured.

RESULTS

In eyes with scleral-sutured IOL, the mean (SD) tilt angle and decentration were 4.43 degrees (3.02 degrees ) and 0.279 (0.162) mm, respectively. Ocular coma-like aberration in the sutured IOL group was 0.324 (0.170) microm, which was significantly greater than that of the standard cataract surgery group (0.169 (0.061) microm, p<0.001, Student's t test). No significant difference was found in ocular spherical-like aberration between the sutured IOL group (0.142 (0.065) microm) and standard surgery group (0.126 (0.033) microm; p = 0.254). In the sutured IOL group, IOL tilt significantly correlated with ocular coma-like aberration (Pearson's correlation coefficient r = 0.628, p<0.001), but no significant correlation was found between IOL tilt and ocular spherical-like aberration (r = 0.222, p = 0.175). The IOL tilt did not correlate with corneal coma-like (r = 0.289, p = 0.171) and spherical-like (r = 0.150, p = 0.356) aberrations. The IOL decentration did not correlate with any higher-order aberrations.

CONCLUSION

In eyes with scleral-sutured posterior chamber IOL, tilting of the lens induces considerable amount of ocular coma-like aberrations.

Efficient dechlorination of tetrachloroethylene in soil slurry by combined use of an anaerobic Desulfitobacterium sp. strain Y-51 and zero-valent iron

A laboratory test was conducted to examine the combined effect of bioaugmentation of an anaerobic bacterial Desulfitobacterium sp. strain Y-51 and addition of zero-valent iron (Fe0) on the reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) in a non-sterile soil slurry. Introduction of a strain Y-51 culture in soil (3 mg vss (volatile suspended solids)/kg soil) containing PCE (at 60 micromol/kg soil) led to complete conversion of PCE to cis-1,2-dichloroethylene (cis-DCE) within 40 d. Treatments of the same soil slurry with Fe0 (0.1-1.0%) resulted in extended PCE dechlorination to ethylene (ETH) and ethane (ETA). The combined use of a strain Y-51 culture and Fe0 showed effective dechlorination of PCE than did the individual use. The cis-DCE produced from biological PCE dechlorination by strain Y-51 was totally converted to non-chlorinated end products by the following chemical reduction by Fe0. Furthermore, anaerobic corrosion of Fe0 was found to stimulate the biological reductive dechlorination of PCE by keeping proper levels of pH and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) and by producing cathodic hydrogen, which might be used as an electron donor for respiratory PCE dechlorination. These findings suggest that the combined use of bacterial strain Y-51 and Fe0 is effective for practical treatment of PCE and other chlorinated ethylenes in contaminated sites.

Usefulness of peripheral anterior chamber depth assessment in glaucoma screening

PURPOSE

This study was conducted to determine the usefulness of peripheral anterior chamber depth assessment in angle-closure glaucoma (ACG) screening in Japanese subjects.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

The subjects were 14,779 adults 40 years old or older. Eyes having peripheral anterior chamber depth that is 1/4 the peripheral corneal thickness (van Herick's classification: grade 2) and less than 1/4 the peripheral corneal thickness (van Herick's classification: grade 1) were extracted as narrow angle eyes, and those eyes were further examined.

RESULTS

Of 14,779 subjects, 923 eyes of 505 subjects were diagnosed as narrow angle eyes (3.4%). Narrow angle eyes were observed in 4.9% of female subjects and 1.9% of male subjects, indicating a significantly higher frequency in women. The percentage of narrow angle eyes increased with age. Among the narrow angle eyes, 61 eyes of 32 subjects were diagnosed with ACG suspect (6.5%). In contrast to the frequency of ACG suspect in eyes classified as grade 1, according to van Herick's classification, being 17.9%, that in eyes classified as grade 2 was significantly lower at 5.6%.

CONCLUSION

Since the incidence of ACG suspect increases as the peripheral anterior chamber depth decreases, caution for the peripheral anterior chamber depth is required for the ACG screening.

Production of l-lactic acid from a mixture of xylose and glucose by co-cultivation of lactic acid bacteria

The production of optically pure lactic acid in a high yield from xylose or a mixture of xylose and glucose, which is a model hydrolysate of lignocellulose, is described. In a single cultivation, Enterococcus casseliflavus produced 38 g/l of lactic acid with an optical purity of 96% enantiomeric excess (ee) and 6.4 g/l of acetic acid from 50 g/l of xylose when MRS medium was used. When a mixture of 50 g/l of xylose and 100 g/l of glucose was used as the carbon source in a cultivation of E. casseliflavus alone, glucose was converted to lactic acid in the early phase of the cultivation but xylose was hardly consumed. In a co-cultivation where E. casseliflavus and Lactobacillus casei specific for glucose were simultaneously inoculated, little or no lactic acid was produced after the glucose was almost consumed. A co-cultivation with two-stage inoculation (in which E. casseliflavus was added at a cultivation time of 40 h after L. casei cells were inoculated) resulted in complete consumption of 50 g/l of xylose and 100 g/l of glucose. In the co-cultivation, 95 g/l of lactic acid with a high optical purity of 96% ee was obtained at 192 h. Such a co-cultivation using two microorganisms specific for each sugar is considered to be one promising cultivation technique for the efficient production of lactic acid from a sugar mixture derived from lignocellulose.

A prospective, randomised comparison of single and three piece acrylic foldable intraocular lenses

AIMS

To compare the postoperative performance of single and three piece acrylic foldable intraocular lenses (IOLs).

METHODS

20 patients underwent bilateral cataract surgery with a single piece SA30AL IOL in one eye and a three piece MA30BA IOL in the other eye. The eyes were randomly assigned to either a single or three piece lens. The amount of IOL decentration and tilt, area of anterior capsule opening, and degree of posterior capsule opacification were measured using the Scheimpflug anterior segment analysis system (Nidek EAS-1000). Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were examined. Measurements were performed by masked examiners before and 1 day, 1 week, 1, 3, 6, and 18 months after surgery.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences between the two groups (p>0.05, paired t test) in the amount of IOL decentration, IOL tilt, area of anterior capsule opening, degree of posterior capsule opacification, best corrected visual acuity, and contrast sensitivity throughout the 18 month follow up period.

CONCLUSION

The single and three piece acrylic foldable IOLs are equally stable in the eye after surgery.

Comparison of corneal thickness measurements using Orbscan II, non-contact specular microscopy, and ultrasonic pachymetry in eyes after laser in situ keratomileusis

AIMS

To compare central corneal thickness measurements of three pachymetry devices in eyes after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK).

METHODS

Central corneal thickness was measured in 203 eyes after myopic LASIK. Orbscan II scanning slit topography (Bausch & Lomb), SP-2000P non-contact specular microscopy (Topcon), and ultrasonic pachymetry (Tomey) were used in this sequence.

RESULTS

Three devices gave significantly different corneal thickness readings (p<0.0001, repeated measure analysis of variance). The measurements of Orbscan II (445.6 (SD 60.0) microm) were significantly smaller than those of noncontact specular microscopy (467.9 (SD 40.2) micro m; p<0.0001, Tukey multiple comparison) and ultrasonic pachymetry (478.8 (SD 41.9) microm; p<0.0001). The value obtained with SP-2000P non-contact specular microscopy was significantly smaller than that taken with ultrasonic pachymetry (p<0.001). There were significant linear correlations between scanning slit topography and non-contact specular microscopy (Pearson's correlation coefficient r = 0.912, p<0.0001), non-contact specular microscopy and ultrasonic pachymetry (r = 0.968, p<0.0001), and ultrasonic pachymetry and scanning slit topography (r = 0.933, p<0.0001).

CONCLUSION

In post-LASIK eyes, Orbscan II scanning slit topography significantly underestimated corneal thickness. Non-contact specular microscopy gave smaller thickness readings than ultrasonic pachymetry, but these two units showed an excellent linear correlation.

[RNA-interference, induced by transient and continuous expression of hairpin RNA in cells from Drosophila and mammals]

RNA interference (RNAi) may be induced by a plasmid with an inverted repeat (IR) sequence directing transcription of hairpin-type double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). This study examines the effects of changing various parameters of IR constructs on Drosophila and mammalian RNAi, using the dual luciferase system, RNAi activity was found to vary depending on IR length ass well as the length and sequence of the internal loop separating sense and antisense sequences. Both transient and stable RNAi occurred in Drosophila cultured cells. Although transient DNA-mediated RNAi was noted in most mammalian cells, no mammalian cells stably possessing IR sequences and hence RNAi activity could be obtained. In Drosophila, DNA-mediated RNAi was considerably weaker than long-dsRNA-mediated RNAi. The cytological data indicated that this was most probably caused by abortive processing of hairpin RNA produced within cells. DNA-mediated RNAi was examined at the level of Drosophila individuals using extramacrochaetae as a model gene, and the presence of an intron sequence in the single-stranded loop region was shown to be essential for effective RNAi.

Serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and cavity formation in active pulmonary tuberculosis

BACKGROUND

In active pulmonary tuberculosis, certain cytokines have been postulated to be related to cavity formation, although the detailed mechanism of cavity formation is not yet known.

OBJECTIVE

We examined the relationship between cavity formation in pulmonary tuberculosis and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which functions as an angiogenesis factor.

METHODS

Forty-eight patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis were divided into two groups according to cavity formation as evaluated by chest high-resolution computed tomography. We evaluated serum VEGF levels by enzyme immunoassay.

RESULTS

Group A (with cavities) was comprised of 22 patients and group B (without cavities) was comprised of 26 patients. The serum levels of VEGF were significantly higher in group B (58.733 +/- 21.612 pg/ml) than those in normal individuals (8.739 +/- 3.656 pg/ml) and in group A (13.053 +/- 8.670 pg/ml) (Mann-Whitney U test, p = 0.0149 and p = 0.0481, respectively). Serum levels of interleukin-8 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were not significantly different between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggested that increased serum VEGF levels subdue cavity formation in active pulmonary tuberculosis.