Chilliness in Japanese middle-aged women is associated with anxiety and low n-3 fatty acid intake.

Objective: This cross-sectional study investigated chilliness, which is the most prevalent sexual-vasomotor symptom in middle-aged Japanese women.Methods: First-visit records of 475 Japanese women (age 40-65 years) enrolled in the health and nutrition education program at a menopause clinic were analyzed. Chilliness was estimated based on responses to the Menopausal Symptom Scale. Effects of age, menopausal status, body composition, cardiovascular parameters, resting energy expenditure, physical fitness, menopausal symptoms, lifestyle, and estimated daily intake of nutrients were assessed using a multivariate logistic regression analysis.Results: Severe chilliness was found in 28.4% of women. It was not related to age, menopausal status, body mass index, or body fat percentage. The anxiety subscale score of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was the sole background characteristic independently associated with severe chilliness (adjusted odds ratio, 1.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.15 per point). Daily intakes of vitamin D and n-3 fatty acids were significantly lower in women with severe chilliness. Daily intake of n-3 fatty acids was negatively associated with severe chilliness after adjustment (odds ratio, 0.54; 95% confidence interval, 0.29-0.95 per g/1000 kcal intake).Conclusions: Chilliness is associated with anxiety and low intake of n-3 fatty acids.

Antimicrobial alumina nanobiostructures of disulfide- and triazole-linked peptides: Synthesis, characterization, membrane interactions and biological activity.

Due to the its physical-chemical properties, alumina nanoparticles have potential applications in several areas, such as nanobiomaterials for medicinal or orthodontic implants, although the introduction of these devices poses a serious risk of microbial infection. One convenient strategy to circumvent this problem is to associate the nanomaterials to antimicrobial peptides with broad-spectrum of activities. In this study we present two novel synthesis approaches to obtain fibrous type alumina nanoparticles covalently bound to antimicrobial peptides. In the first strategy, thiol functionalized alumina nanoparticles were linked via disulfide bond formation to a cysteine residue of an analog of the peptide BP100 containing a four amino acid spacer (Cys-Ala-Ala-Ala). In the second strategy, alumina nanoparticles were functionalized with azide groups and then bound to alkyne-decorated analogs of the peptides BP100 and DD K through a triazole linkage obtained via a copper(I)-catalyzed cycloaddition reaction. The complete physical-chemical characterization of the intermediates and final materials is presented along with in vitro biological assays and membrane interaction studies, which confirmed the activity of the obtained nanobiostructures against both bacteria and fungi. To our knowledge, this is the first report of aluminum nanoparticles covalently bound to triazole-peptides and to a disulfide bound antimicrobial peptide with high potential for biotechnological applications.

Evaluation of Deep Thermal Rehabilitation System Using Resonant Cavity Applicator During Knee Experiments.

This paper evaluates experiments on the knee using a new heating rehabilitation system. For effective thermal rehabilitation of osteoarthritis, it is necessary to heat the deep tissue inside the knee joint. Our new rehabilitation system is based on the re-entrant type resonant cavity applicator which was developed for deep hyperthermia treatment in our previous studies. Our experimental results using agar phantoms showed our heating system is able to heat the deep tissue inside the knee without physically contacting the surface skin. In this study, we developed a prototype applicator and experimented on a healthy human subject's knee under clinical conditions. To evaluate heating performance, we conducted heating experiments with our resonant cavity applicator and a conventional microwave diathermy system and compared the results. The experimental results of temperature increase distributions inside the human body were estimated by ultrasound imaging techniques. The estimated results from our knee experiments show that our heating system is able to heat knee tissue more deeply than microwave diathermy systems can and thus would be effective for deep thermal rehabilitation applications in clinics.

Nanobiostructure of fibrous-like alumina functionalized with an analog of the BP100 peptide: Synthesis, characterization and biological applications.

The functionalization of alumina nanoparticles of specific morphology with antimicrobial peptides (AMP) can be a promising strategy for modeling medical devices and packaging materials for cosmetics, medicines or food, since the contamination by pathogens could be reduced. In this paper, we show the synthesis of a fibrous-like alumina nanobiostructure, as well as its functionalization with the peptide EAAA-BP100, an analog of the antimicrobial peptide BP100. The antibacterial activity of the obtained material against some bacterial strains is also investigated. The covalent binding of the peptide to the nanoparticles was promoted by a reaction between the carboxyl group of the glutamate side chain (E1) of the peptide and the amino groups of the alumina nanoparticles, previously modified by reaction with 3-aminopropyltrietoxysilane (APTES). The functionalized nanoparticles were characterized by zeta potential measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and other physicochemical techniques. Although the obtained alumina nanobiostructure shows a relatively low degree of substitution with EAAA-BP100, antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium strains are appreciably higher than the activities of the free peptide. The obtained results can affect the design of new hybrid nanobiomaterials based on nanoparticles functionalized with AMP.

Performance of hybrid subsurface constructed wetland system for piggery wastewater treatment.

The objective of this study was to evaluate performance of a hybrid constructed wetland (CW) built for high organic content piggery wastewater treatment in a cold region. The system consists of four vertical and one horizontal flow subsurface CWs. The wetland was built in 2009 and water quality was monitored from the outset. Average purification efficiency of this system was 95±5, 91±7, 89±8, 70±10, 84±15, 90±6, 99±2, and 93±16% for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), ammonium-N (NH4-N), total phosphorus (TP), total coliform (T. Coliform), and suspended solids (SS), respectively during August 2010-December 2013. Pollutant removal rate was 15±18 g m(-2) d(-1), 49±52 g m(-2) d(-1), 6±4 g m(-2) d(-1), 7±5 g m(-2) d(-1), and 1±1 g m(-2) d(-1) for BOD5, COD, TN, NH4-N, and TP, respectively. The removal efficiency of BOD5, COD, NH4-N, and SS improved yearly since the start of operation. With respect to removal of TN and TP, efficiency improved in the first three years but slightly declined in the fourth year. The system performed well during both warm and cold periods, but was more efficient in the warm period. The nitrate increase may be attributed to a low C/N ratio, due to limited availability of carbon required for denitrification.

Variations in survival and perioperative complications between hospitals based on data from two phase III clinical trials for oesophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Variations in institutional practice may contribute to different outcomes of cancer treatment. The impact of interinstitutional heterogeneity on outcomes between hospitals after oesophagectomy has not been examined previously using data from surgical clinical trials. METHODS: The data from two phase III trials for oesophageal cancer were used. Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) 9204 involved oesophagectomy (92-OP) versus oesophagectomy plus postoperative chemotherapy (92-POST), with accrual from 1992 to 1997. JCOG9907 involved postoperative chemotherapy (99-POST) versus preoperative chemotherapy (99-PRE), with accrual from 2000 to 2006. Hospitals contributing fewer than three patients were excluded. The influence of time and preoperative chemotherapy on interinstitutional heterogeneity related to postoperative complications and 5-year overall survival were evaluated by comparisons within and between these trial groups. Heterogeneity was estimated by a mixed-effects model after adjusting for age, sex, performance status, location of the primary tumour and clinical stage. RESULTS: Twelve hospitals in 92-OP (114 patients), 13 in 92-POST (114), 19 in 99-POST (158) and 18 in 99-PRE (154) were eligible. There was considerable heterogeneity in predicted postoperative complications in both groups in JCOG9204 (median 31.3 (range 15.0-68.2) per cent), and in 99-PRE (35.2 (22.6-46.6) per cent) but not in 99-POST (27.7 (27.7-27.7) per cent) from JCOG9907. A similar pattern was seen for predicted overall survival (92-POST: 66.4 (range 64.1-68.9) per cent; 99-PRE: 55.9 (54.0-59.7) per cent; 99-POST: 44.4 (44.4-44.4) per cent). CONCLUSION: Interinstitutional heterogeneity regarding complications and survival after oesophagectomy is a problem that merits wider consideration.

Randomized clinical trial: rikkunshito in the treatment of functional dyspepsia--a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Rikkunshito, a standardized Japanese herbal medicine, is thought to accelerate gastric emptying and relieve dyspepsia, although no large-scale, randomized, placebo-controlled trials of rikkunshito have been conducted. This study aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of rikkunshito for treating functional dyspepsia (FD). METHODS: FD patients received 2.5 g rikkunshito or placebo three times a day for 8 weeks in this multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial. The primary end point was the proportion of responders at 8 weeks after starting test drug, determined by global patient assessment (GPA). The improvement in four major dyspepsia symptoms severity scale was also evaluated. In addition, plasma ghrelin levels were investigated before and after treatment. KEY RESULTS: Two hundred forty-seven patients were randomly assigned. In the eighth week, the rikkunshito group had more GPA responders (33.6%) than the placebo (23.8%), although this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.09). Epigastric pain was significantly improved (p = 0.04) and postprandial fullness tended to improve (p = 0.06) in the rikkunshito group at week 8. Rikkunshito was relatively more effective among Helicobacter pylori-infected participants (rikkunshito: 40.0% vs placebo: 20.5%, p = 0.07), and seemed less effective among H. pylori-uninfected participants (rikkunshito: 29.3% vs placebo: 25.6%, p = 0.72). Among H. pylori-positive individuals, acyl ghrelin levels were improved just in rikkunshito group. There were no severe adverse events in both groups. CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES: Administration of rikkunshito for 8 weeks reduced dyspepsia, particularly symptoms of epigastric pain and postprandial fullness. (UMIN Clinical Trials Registry, Number UMIN000003954).

SAR analysis of the improved resonant cavity applicator with electrical shield and water bolus for deep tumors by a 3-D FEM.

This paper discusses the improvements of the re-entrant resonant cavity applicator, such as an electromagnetic shield and a water bolus for concentrating heating energy on deep tumors in an abdominal region of the human body. From our previous study, it was found that the proposed heating system using the resonant cavity applicator, was effective for heating brain tumors and also for heating other small objects. However, when heating the abdomen with the developed applicator, undesirable areas such as the neck, arm, hip and breast were heated. Therefore, we have improved the resonant cavity applicator to overcome these problems. First, a cylindrical shield made of an aluminum alloy was installed inside the cavity. It was designed to protect non-tumorous areas from concentrated electromagnetic fields. Second, in order to concentrate heating energy on deep tumors inside the human body, a water bolus was installed around the body. Third, the length of the lower inner electrode was changed to control the heating area. In this study, to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed methods, specific absorption rate (SAR) distributions were calculated by FEM with the 3-D anatomical human body model reconstructed from MRI images. From these results, it was confirmed that the improved heating system was effective to non-invasively heat abdominal deep tumors.

Heating properties of a new hyperthermia system for deep tumors without contact.

In this paper, heating properties of the proposed hyperthermia system for non-invasive treatment of deep tumors are discussed. Our heating system is composed of a large size resonant cavity applicator. In this heating method, a human body is placed between the two inner electrodes. It is heated by electromagnetic fields stimulated in the cavity without contact between the surface of the human body and the applicator. First, we presented the experimental results of heating a cylindrical agar phantom and a cylindrical fat-agar phantom using the proposed system. From the thermal images of the heated phantoms, the center of the agar was locally heated to maximum temperature. Second, we presented the experimental results of heating a mini pig. In the heating experiment, temperature measurements were performed by using fiber-optical thermometers inserted in four locations inside the mini pig. From the results, the deepest region of the liver was heated to the highest temperature 43.3 °C.

A new heating method with dielectric bolus using resonant cavity applicator for brain tumors.

In this paper, we discuss a new method of controlling heating location in the proposed resonant cavity applicator. A dielectric bolus was used to non-invasively treat brain tumors. We have already confirmed that our heating system using resonant cavity is useful to non-invasively heat brain tumors. In order to heat tumors occurring at various locations, it is necessary to control the heating area with our heating system. First, we presented the proposed heating method and a phantom model to calculate temperature distributions. The results of temperature distributions were discussed. Second, a 3-D human head model constructed from 2-D MRI images was presented. The results of specific absorption rate distributions were discussed. From these results, it was found that the proposed heating method was useful to non-invasively treat brain tumors.

SAR analysis of a re-entrant resonant cavity applicator for brain tumor hyperthermia treatment with a 3-D anatomical human head model.

A re-entrant resonant cavity applicator system for non-invasive brain tumor hyperthermia treatments was presented. We have already confirmed the effectiveness of the heating properties of this heating system with cylindrical agar phantoms and with computer simulations.

Heating properties of coaxial needle applicator made of SMA for hyperthermia treatments.

This paper describes heating properties of the developed coaxial needle applicator made of a shape memory alloy (SMA) for brain tumor hyperthermia treatments to avoid undesirable hotspots. We estimated the temperature distribution inside an agar phantom by the finite element method (FEM) and heated the agar phantom with the developed needle applicator.

Heating properties of the re-entrant type cavity applicator for brain tumor with several resonant frequencies.

We have proposed the re-entrant resonant cavity applicator system for non-invasive brain tumor hyperthermia treatment. In this method, a human head is placed in the gap of the inner electrodes. A brain tumor is heated with the electromagnetic field stimulated in the cavity without contact between the human head and the applicator. We have already presented the effectiveness of the heating properties of this system with cylinder-type agar phantoms and by computer simulations. This paper discusses the heating properties of the developed system with the human head-type agar phantom for brain tumor hyperthermia treatment. First, in order to heat deep brain tumors, we tried to heat the human head-type agar phantom by using several electromagnetic field patterns of the resonant frequency. We found that the temperature distributions can be controlled inside the agar phantom by changing the resonant frequencies. Second, to heat local and deep areas of the agar phantom, we tried to achieve heating using the two different resonant frequencies. We found distinct heating properties by changing the electromagnetic field patterns of resonant frequencies. From these results, it was found that our developed heating system can be applied to hyperthermia treatments of deep-seated brain tumors. Further, by changing resonant frequency, treatment can very correspond to the size and the position of a tumor.

Heating properties of the needle type applicator made of shape memory alloy by 3-D anatomical human head model.

Since the human brain is protected by the skull, it is not easy to non-invasively heat deep brain tumors with electromagnetic energy for hyperthermia treatments. Generally, needle type applicators were used in clinical practice to heat brain tumors. To expand the heating area of needle type applicators, we have developed a new type of needle made of a shape memory alloy (SMA). In this paper, heating properties of the proposed SMA needle type applicator were discussed. Here, in order to apply the SMA needle type applicator clinically. First, we constructed an anatomical 3-D FEM model from MRI and X-ray CT images using 3D-CAD software. Second, we estimated electric and temperature distributions to confirm the SMA needle type applicator using the FEM soft were JMAG-Studio. From these results, it was confirmed that the proposed method can expand the heating area and control the heating of various sizes of brain tumors.

Improvement of the matching speed of AIMS for development of an automatic totally tuning system for hyperthermia treatment using a resonant cavity applicator.

In this paper, we discuss the improvement of the speed of AIMS (Automatic Impedance Matching System) to automatically make impedance matching for a re-entrant resonant cavity applicator for non-invasive deep brain tumors hyperthermia treatments. We have already discussed the effectiveness of the heating method using the AIMS, with experiments of heating agar phantoms. However, the operating time of AIMS was about 30 minutes. To develop the ATT System (Automatic Totally Tuning System) including the automatic frequency tuning system, we must improve this problem. Because, when using the ATTS, the AIMS is used repeatedly to find the resonant frequency. In order to improve the speed of impedance matching, we developed the new automatic impedance matching system program (AIMS2). In AIMS, the stepping motors were connected to the impedance matching unit's dials. These dials were turned to reduce the reflected power. AIMS consists of two phases: all range searching and detailed searching. We focused on the three factors affecting the operating speed and improved them. The first factor is the interval put between the turning of the motors and AD converter. The second factor is how the steps of the motor when operating all range searching. The third factor is the starting position of the motor when detail searching. We developed the simple ATT System (ATT-beta) based on the AIMS2. To evaluate the developed AIMS2 and ATT- beta, experiments with an agar phantom were performed. From these results, we found that the operating time of the AIMS2 is about 4 minutes, which was approximately 12% of AIMS. From ATT-beta results, it was shown that it is possible to tune frequency and automatically match impedance with the program based on the AIMS2.

Heating properties of non-invasive hyperthermia treatment for abdominal deep tumors by 3-D FEM.

This paper discusses the heating properties of a new type of hyperthermia system composed of a re-entrant type resonant cavity applicator for deep tumors of the abdominal region. In this method, a human body is placed in the gap of two inner electrodes and is non-invasively heated with electromagnetic fields stimulated in the cavity. Here, we calculated temperature distributions of a simple human abdominal phantom model that we constructed to examine the heating properties of the developed hyperthermia system. First, the proposed heating method and a simple abdominal model to calculate the temperature distribution are presented. Second, the computer simulation results of temperature distribution by 3-D FEM are presented. From these results, it was found that the proposed simple human abdominal phantom model composed of muscle, fat and lung was useful to test the heating properties of our heating method. Our heating method was also effective to non-invasively heat abdominal deep tumors.

Palliative effect of lafutidine on oral burning sensation.

UNLABELLED: Lafutidine is a unique histamine H(2)-receptor antagonist (H2RA) that has a sensitizing effect on capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons (CSAN). This effect may make lafutidine useful for the treatment of burning mouth syndrome (BMS). METHODS: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of lafutidine in patients with oral burning sensation, a randomized controlled trial was performed. Patients who had been receiving other H2RAs with no sensitizing effect on CSAN were randomly assigned to receive lafutidine 10 mg twice daily for 12 weeks, instead of the previous H2RAs, plus gargling with azulene sulfonate sodium (ASS) (lafutidine group, n = 36) or to continue to receive the previous H2RAs plus ASS gargling (control group, n = 35). The intensity of burning sensation was scored by means of a visual analog scale (VAS). RESULTS: Thirty-four patients in the lafutidine group and 30 in the control group completed the study. In the lafutidine group, the rate of improvement in the VAS score as compared with the baseline value was significant after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of treatment (P < 0.05). The improvement rate was consistently higher in the lafutidine group than in the control group; the differences between the groups were significant (P < 0.05) after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of treatment. Only two mild abdominal adverse events occurred in the lafutidine group, but neither required the termination of treatment. CONCLUSION: Oral lafutidine is very safe and effective for reducing the intensity of oral burning sensation and may therefore be a viable option for the treatment of BMS.

Effects of green tea polyphenol on methylation status of RECK gene and cancer cell invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma cells.

RECK is a novel tumour suppressor gene that negatively regulates matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and inhibits tumour invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis. In the present study, we investigated the effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a major polyphenol in green tea, on the methylation status of the RECK gene and cancer invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines. Our results showed that treatment of oral cancer cells with EGCG partially reversed the hypermethylation status of the RECK gene and significantly enhanced the expression level of RECK mRNA. Inhibition of MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels was also observed in these cells after treatment with EGCG. Interestingly, EGCG significantly suppressed cancer cell-invasive ability by decreasing the number of invasive foci (P<0.0001) as well as invasion depth (P<0.005) in three-dimensional collagen invasion model. Although further investigation is required to assess the extent of contribution of RECK on MMPs to the suppression of invasive behaviour, these results support the conclusion that EGCG plays a key role in suppressing cell invasion through multiple mechanisms, possibly by demethylation effect on MMP inhibitors such as RECK.

Chemosensitivity of patients with recurrent esophageal cancer receiving perioperative chemotherapy.

Perioperative chemotherapy (CT) and chemoradiotherapy are widely used for advanced esophageal cancer. We evaluated the chemosensitivity of patients displaying recurrent esophageal cancer after esophagectomy with perioperative CT. From the database at National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo, we extracted recurrent esophageal cancer cases after perioperative CT and evaluated the effectiveness of the first CT against the recurrent disease according to the duration between termination of the original perioperative CT and recurrence with treatment-free intervals (TFIs) 6 months. Systemic CT for their recurrent disease was performed for 30 esophageal cancer patients after perioperative CT. All patients received 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin as perioperative CT, with relapses occurring at TFIs 6 months in 19 patients (all received platinum-containing regimens). The response rate of patients experiencing a recurrence at TFIs 6 months was 0 and 37% (P = 0.029), the median progression-free survival was 2.8 and 4.8 months (log-rank P = 0.001) and the median overall survival was 6.1 and 10.2 months (log-rank P = 0.012), respectively. Recurrence at the TFI

Heating properties of re-entrant resonant cavity applicator for brain tumor with simple head model.

We have already confirmed the effectiveness of the re-entrant resonant cavity applicator system with non-invasive experiments of heating cylindrical agar phantoms and computer simulations. This paper discusses the heating properties of the developed heating system with a human head model made of agar for brain tumor hyperthermia treatment. First, we present the results of heating a uniform agar head model with the developed heating system. In the experiments, the temperature rise at the center of the agar was about 8 degrees C, it was found that the center of the agar is heated to maximum temperature non-invasively. Second, we present the results of heating a non-uniform agar head model having an oral cavity and a nasal cavity. We found that the center of the agar can be heated to maximum temperature as well as uniform agar head model. From these results, it is confirmed that the possibility of effective hyperthermia for various types of deep-seated brain tumors.