Backscattered electron imaging and elemental analysis of rapidly frozen plant cells using variable accelerating voltage.

Rapidly frozen rosemary leaves were observed at variable accelerating voltages in a low-vacuum scanning electron microscope equipped with a cryo transfer system. After water was sublimated from the fractured face of the leaf, distinct backscattered electron (BSE) images were obtained depending on the accelerating voltages applied. At 5 kV, surface cell wall structure was observed, whereas at 10 and 15 kV chloroplasts lining the inside of the cell wall and membrane were visualized. With energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, elemental information corresponding to the BSE images was obtained. Besides visualization of the structures and elemental composition close to the living state, information on layers at different depths from the surface could be detected by varying the accelerating voltage in this system.

A Soup Service for Advanced Digestive Cancer Patients with Severe Anorexia in Palliative Care.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The palliative care team (PCT), nutrition support team (NST), and department of nutrition in our hospital developed a special soup service for patients with terminal cancer. We evaluated the usefulness of this soup service for improving the mood in patients with advanced digestive cancer with severe anorexia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 18 patients with advanced cancer originating in digestive organs who received soup service at our institution between 2015 and 2016. Members of the PCT, NST, and a licensed cook visited the bedside of each patient and served them a cup of soup twice a week. RESULTS: Fifteen patients (83%) were able to taste the soup with no adverse events, and 11 (73%) of them enjoyed the taste of the soup. In the five patients who died in our hospital during the service, the time between their last soup intake and death ranged from two to seven days (median three days). CONCLUSION: Even terminally ill patients suffering from advanced digestive cancer with severe anorexia were able to enjoy the taste of the soup served to them. The establishment of special meal service, such as this soup service, may not only relieve their stress but also support the strength of living and help improve their spiritual quality of life.

A case of enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma: diagnosis by flow cytometric immunophenotyping and genome analysis using ascitic fluid.

Enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (ETCL) is a primary extranodal T-cell lymphoma arising in the gastrointestinal tract, and is known as a rare and highly aggressive disease with a poor prognosis. The diagnosis of ETCL is usually established by histological examination using resected tumors or biopsy specimens during endoscopic studies. If tumor specimens for histopathological investigation are not available, then such a case might be difficult to accurately diagnose. We report here a case of ETCL which was diagnosed by cytopathology and flow cytometric immunophenotyping using paracentesis fluid without tumor specimens. Immunophenotyping by flow cytometry (FCM) of the ascitic fluid (AF) was invaluable in the final diagnosis of ETCL. Moreover, genetic alterations in the current case were also demonstrated. We emphasize the usefulness of effusion cytology for the expeditious diagnosis of ETCL. In particular, even in cases without tumor specimens, immunophenotyping by FCM using AF can play an important role in the diagnosis of ETCL, and simultaneous genome analysis may be useful to elucidate the biological characteristics of ETCL.

A successful treatment by hepatic arterial infusion therapy for advanced, unresectable biliary tract cancer.

Biliary tract cancers (BTC) are relatively rare tumors, and the prognosis is extremely poor. There has been no standard chemotherapy for advanced BTC. However, recently, gemcitabine (GEM) have been used against BTC as the most active agent, and promising response rates and overall survival times with tolerable drug toxicities have been observed. In this article, two cases of advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and unresectable metastatic gallbladder (GB) cancer are reported. They were treated with hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) chemotherapy using a combination of GEM and cisplatin, along with the systemic administration of GEM. As a consequence, multiple liver tumors, the GB cancer and metastatic lymph nodes regressed without severe drug toxicities, and favorable results (the overall survival times were 16 and 14 mo, respectively) were achieved. In conclusion, HAI therapy using GEM combined with cisplatin may be a useful and well-tolerated option for advanced BTC, especially in cases where multiple liver metastases are detected.

Localization by scanning immunoelectron microscopy of triosephosphate isomerase, the molecules responsible for contact-mediated killing of Cryptococcus, on the surface of Staphylococcus.

T In our previous studies, TPI were found to be the molecules responsible for contact-killing of C. neoformans by S. aureus cells. Since TPI is a glycolytic protein that functions in the cytoplasm, evidence that TPI is present on the surface of S. aureus was required. In the present study, the presence of TPI on the cell surface of S. aureus was demonstrated by agglutination test and scanning immunoelectron microscopy. Furthermore, TPI was found to be present at a lower density than protein A/G molecules on the surface of S. aureus.

A successful treatment for metastatic liver tumors from endocrine carcinoma of the stomach.

Endocrine carcinomas (ECs) of the stomach reveal prominently aggressive behavior and have poor prognoses. Optimal treatments for gastric ECs have not been established because of the rarity of EC. In general, patients with gastric ECs die within a year of diagnosis in spite of surgical resections and subsequent chemotherapies. Liver metastases are the most common cause of death in gastric ECs, and their control is very important for improving the poor prognosis associated with the disease. In the present report, we describe a case in which a subject with stomach EC was diagnosed at an early stage. However, multiple liver metastases occurred soon after curative surgical resection and were treated via hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) with a combination of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. Consequently, the tumors almost completely disappeared. HAI therapy is a useful treatment for multiple metastatic liver tumors from gastric ECs devoid of metastases in other organs. Previously published therapies used to treat ECs of the stomach, including the ones used in the current case, are also discussed herein.

Scanning electron microscopy of food-poisoning bacterium Bacillus cereus using a variable-pressure SEM.

A variable-pressure scanning electron microscopy (VP-SEM) with a cooling stage permits long hours of observation of water-containing specimens in their natural or close to natural state, without the conventional specimen preparations of fixation, dehydration, drying and metal coating. It reduces water vaporization and beam damage by keeping the specimens at a low temperature. We observed Bacillus cereus colonies on nutrient agar, which would shrink significantly if any conventional specimen preparation technique were used. We also studied the growing process of the bacteria on raw and steamed rice using the VP-SEM without conventional preparation techniques. Original specimens were directly mounted onto specimen holders and their backscattered electron images observed under the following conditions: specimen stage temperature, -10 degrees C; specimen chamber vacuum level, 30-70 Pa; and accelerating voltage, 15-20 kV. We recognized that the VP-SEM minimized deformation of the colonies due to shrinkage of the nutrient agar, and successfully imaged the morphology of the colonies and bacteria without a decline in bacteria number, which is apt to occur during fixation and dehydration. Also, the growth process of the bacteria on raw or steamed rice could be observed promptly, since there is no specimen preparation step.

In vivo cytokine responses in gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and spleen following oral administration of staphylococcal enterotoxin B.

The mechanisms responsible for oral tolerance have been analyzed using various antigens. The induction of oral nonresponsiveness to low doses of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B (SEB), in which SEB-reactive clonal anergy and deletion are involved, has also been confirmed. However, few reports have examined the cytokine milieu of the mucosal and peripheral lymphoid tissue during tolerance induction after the oral administration of SEB. In this study, to elucidate the mechanism responsible for the oral tolerance to low dose of SEB, the cytokine responses of the gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT) and the spleen were examined using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. After the oral administration of a single low dose of SEB, the expressions of Th2 and TGF-beta, and to a lesser extent Th1 mRNA were observed in the mucosa. In contrast, following repeated oral low doses of SEB, in a manner different from previous results using conventional antigens, no cytokine enhancements were demonstrated in the GALT or the spleen. In conclusion, the involvement of unknown inhibitory or regulatory cytokines, together with SEB-reactive clonal anergy and deletion, is suggested in the induction of oral tolerance to low dose SEB.