Transabdominal impalement injury by an iron pipe - A case report.

Impalement injuries are rare and complex problems, often involving multiple organ injuries. An 18-year-old male was admitted to our emergency department after a car accident. Positioned in the right-side recumbent position, he had a 4.5 cm diameter pipe penetrating from his left abdomen to his back. Given the pipe's length exceeding the CT gantry's capacity, further imaging tests were not feasible. Consequently, the patient proceeded directly to the operating room without preoperative imaging. Before laparotomy, a left thoracotomy was conducted for aortic cross-clamping, anticipating uncontrollable bleeding during pipe removal. The subsequent laparotomy, with the patient in the right-side recumbent position, revealed the pipe impaling through the mesentery of the descending colon without evident major vessel injury. The pipe was cautiously extracted. The patient was subsequently discharged on day 26. The absence of imaging feasibility emphasized that current hemodynamic stability does not rule out the potential for significant vessel injury. Therefore, the sequential approach of left thoracotomy for aortic cross-clamping followed by laparotomy emerges as a potentially beneficial strategy in cases of transabdominal impalement. The impalement injury requires our preparedness and flexibility, which should be tailored to the individual case.

Hypothermia Attenuates Neurotoxic Microglial Activation via TRPV4.

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) provides neuroprotection. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of TH are not fully elucidated. Regulation of microglial activation has the potential to treat a variety of nervous system diseases. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4), a nonselective cation channel, is activated by temperature stimulus at 27-35 °C. Although it is speculated that TRPV4 is associated with the neuroprotective mechanisms of TH, the role of TRPV4 in the neuroprotective effects of TH is not well understood. In the present study, we investigated whether hypothermia attenuates microglial activation via TRPV4 channels. Cultured microglia were incubated under normothermic (37 °C) or hypothermic (33.5 °C) conditions following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Hypothermic conditions suppressed the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and the number of phagocytic microglia. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-NF-κB signaling was inhibited under hypothermic conditions. Furthermore, hypothermia reduced neuronal damage induced by LPS-treated microglial cells. Treatment with TRPV4 antagonist in normothermic culture replicated the suppressive effects of hypothermia on microglial activation and microglia-induced neuronal damage. In contrast, treatment with a TRPV4 agonist in hypothermic culture reversed the suppressive effect of hypothermia. These findings suggest that TH suppresses microglial activation and microglia-induced neuronal damage via the TRPV4-AMPK-NF-κB pathway. Although more validation is needed to consider differences according to age, sex, and specific central nervous system regions, our findings may offer a novel therapeutic approach to complement TH.

Enzymatic Preparation and Characterization of Spherical Microparticles Composed of Artificial Lignin and TEMPO-Oxidized Cellulose Nanofiber.

A one-pot and one-step enzymatic synthesis of submicron-order spherical microparticles composed of dehydrogenative polymers (DHPs) of coniferyl alcohol as a typical lignin precursor and TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCNFs) was investigated. Horseradish peroxidase enzymatically catalyzed the radical coupling of coniferyl alcohol in an aqueous suspension of TOCNFs, resulting in the formation of spherical microparticles with a diameter and sphericity index of approximately 0.8 µm and 0.95, respectively. The ζ-potential of TOCNF-functionalized DHP microspheres was about -40 mV, indicating that the colloidal systems had good stability. Nanofibrous components were clearly observed on the microparticle surface by scanning electron microscopy, while some TOCNFs were confirmed to be inside the microparticles by confocal laser scanning microscopy with Calcofluor white staining. As both cellulose and lignin are natural polymers known to biodegrade, even in the sea, these woody TOCNF-DHP microparticle nanocomposites were expected to be promising alternatives to fossil resource-derived microbeads in cosmetic applications.

Attenuation imaging based on ultrasound technology for assessment of hepatic steatosis: A comparison with magnetic resonance imaging-determined proton density fat fraction.

AIM: A new method has recently been developed for diagnosing hepatic steatosis based on attenuation measurement using ultrasound. We investigated the ability of attenuation imaging (ATI) to detect steatosis that was identified by proton density fat fraction (PDFF) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with chronic liver disease. METHODS: A total of 119 patients with chronic liver disease (non-B, non-C) were analyzed. The relationship between ATI values and steatosis grades determined by PDFF was evaluated. Additionally, the diagnostic ability of ATI was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, and the correlation between ATI values and PDFF values was determined. RESULTS: The ATI values of steatosis grades 0, 1, 2, and 3 were 0.55, 0.61, 0.74, and 0.84 dB/cm/MHz, respectively (P < 0.001). There was a statistically significant trend of higher ATI values with higher steatosis grades (P < 0.001). The correlation coefficient (r) between PDFF values and ATI values was 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59-0.78; P < 0.001), corresponding to a strong relationship. The diagnostic ability of ATI for steatosis grades ≥1, ≥2, and 3, as determined by PDFF, were 0.81 (95% CI 0.73-0.89), 0.87 (95% CI 0.79-0.96), and 0.94 (95% CI 0.89-0.98), respectively. The r between PDFF values and ATI values was 0.49 (95% CI 0.31-0.63; P < 0.001) for patients with mild or no steatosis (grade ≤1), and 0.75 (95% CI 0.57-0.86; P < 0.001) for obese patients (body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 ). CONCLUSION: ATI values had an excellent diagnostic ability to detect hepatic steatosis.

Functional Disruption of the Tomato Putative Ortholog of HAWAIIAN SKIRT Results in Facultative Parthenocarpy, Reduced Fertility and Leaf Morphological Defects.

A number of plant microRNAs have been demonstrated to regulate developmental processes by integrating internal and environmental cues. Recently, the Arabidopsis thaliana F-box protein HAWAIIAN SKIRT (HWS) gene has been described for its role in miRNA biogenesis. We have isolated in a forward genetic screen a tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) line mutated in the putative ortholog of HWS. We show that the tomato hws-1 mutant exhibits reduction in leaflet serration, leaflet fusion, some degree of floral organ fusion, and alteration in miRNA levels, similarly to the original A. thaliana hws-1 mutant. We also describe novel phenotypes for hws such as facultative parthenocarpy, reduction in fertility and flowering delay. In slhws-1, the parthenocarpy trait is influenced by temperature, with higher parthenocarpy rate in warmer environmental conditions. Conversely, slhws-1 is able to produce seeds when grown in cooler environment. We show that the reduction in seed production in the mutant is mainly due to a defective male function and that the levels of several miRNAs are increased, in accordance with previous HWS studies, accounting for the abnormal leaf and floral phenotypes as well as the altered flowering and fruit development processes. This is the first study of HWS in fleshy fruit plant, providing new insights in the function of this gene in fruit development.

Thoracoscopic Esophagectomy in the Prone Position Versus the Lateral Position (Hand-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery): A Retrospective Cohort Study of 127 Consecutive Esophageal Cancer Patients.

PURPOSE: To assess the validity of esophagectomy with the patient in the prone position (PP), the short-term surgical results of PP and hand-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (HATS) were compared. METHODS: This study enrolled 127 patients who underwent esophagectomy with HATS (n=91) or PP (n=36) between October 1999 and September 2014. The patients' background characteristics, operative findings, and postoperative complications were examined. RESULTS: The patients' background characteristics were not significantly different. During surgery, total and thoracic blood loss were significantly lower in PP than in HATS (P<0.0001, <0.0001). Other operative findings were not significantly different between the 2 groups. Postoperatively, recurrent nerve palsy was significantly less frequent in PP than in HATS (P=0.049). In the comparison between the recurrent nerve palsy-positive and palsy-negative groups, sex (male) and preoperative respiratory comorbidity (negative) were significantly correlated with recurrent nerve palsy. CONCLUSIONS: In thoracoscopic esophagectomy, the PP was associated with lower surgical stress than HATS, with equal operative performance oncologically. The PP could prevent recurrent nerve palsy because of the magnified view effect.

[Transmanubrial Osteomuscular-sparing Approach for Resection of Superior Mediastinal Schwannoma].

Various approaches can be applied to resect superior mediastinal tumor. It is important to choose the procedure according to the location, size, and characteristics of the tumor in order to perform safe procedure surgery because of distinctive anatomy of this site. We hereby report on a case of Schwannoma of the superior mediastinum resected by the transmanubrial approach. A 67-year-old woman was referred to our department to examine an abnormal chest shadow found at a regular health checkup. Computed tomography revealed a tumor 58×52 mm in size extending from the left supraclavicular fossa to the upper border of the aortic arch. The surgery was performed under the diagnosis of neurogenic tumor using the transmanubrial approach. The tumor was resected safely and the pathological diagnosis was a Schwannoma. Transmanubrial approach was found to be quite useful in securing an adequate visual field and enabling the safe separation of blood vessels and nerves from the tumor.

TOMATOMA Update: Phenotypic and Metabolite Information in the Micro-Tom Mutant Resource.

TOMATOMA (http://tomatoma.nbrp.jp/) is a tomato mutant database providing visible phenotypic data of tomato mutant lines generated by ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS) treatment or γ-ray irradiation in the genetic background of Micro-Tom, a small and rapidly growing variety. To increase mutation efficiency further, mutagenized M3 seeds were subjected to a second round of EMS treatment; M3M1 populations were generated. These plants were self-pollinated, and 4,952 lines of M3M2 mutagenized seeds were generated. We checked for visible phenotypes in the M3M2 plants, and 618 mutant lines with 1,194 phenotypic categories were identified. In addition to the phenotypic information, we investigated Brix values and carotenoid contents in the fruits of individual mutants. Of 466 samples from 171 mutant lines, Brix values and carotenoid contents were between 3.2% and 11.6% and 6.9 and 37.3 µg g(-1) FW, respectively. This metabolite information concerning the mutant fruits would be useful in breeding programs as well as for the elucidation of metabolic regulation. Researchers are able to browse and search this phenotypic and metabolite information and order seeds of individual mutants via TOMATOMA. Our new Micro-Tom double-mutagenized populations and the metabolic information could provide a valuable genetic toolkit to accelerate tomato research and potential breeding programs.

Effects of varying light quality from single-peak blue and red light-emitting diodes during nursery period on flowering, photosynthesis, growth, and fruit yield of everbearing strawberry.

We studied the effects of varying light quality on the flowering, photosynthetic rate and fruit yield of everbearing strawberry plants (Fragaria×ananassa Duch. 'HS138'), which are long-day plants, to increase the efficiency of fruit production in plant factories. The plants were grown under continuous lighting using three types of blue and red LEDs (blue light peak wavelength: 405, 450, and 470 nm; red light peak wavelength: 630, 660, and 685 nm) during the nursery period. All blue light from the various peak LED types promoted more flowering compared with red light (630 and 660 nm except for 685 nm). The longer wavelength among the red light range positively correlated with earlier flowering, whereas the number of days to anthesis did not significantly differ among blue LED treatment wavelengths, irrespective of peak wavelength. The result of a similar experiment using the perpetual flowering Fragaria vesca accession Hawaii-4 representing a model strawberry species showed almost the same pattern of flowering response to light quality. These results suggest that long-day strawberry plants show similar flowering response to light quality. The photosynthetic rate under red light (660 nm) was higher than that under blue light (450 nm). However, the plants grown under red light showed lower photosynthetic capacity than those grown under blue light. Although the light color used to grow the seedlings showed no difference in the daily fruit production, blue light irradiation during the nursery period hastened harvesting because of the advance in flowering.

The FT-like gene PehFT in petunia responds to photoperiod and light quality but is not the main gene promoting light quality-associated flowering.

In Arabidopsis, flowering is delayed under red light and induced under far red light and blue light. Studies suggest that the florigen, FLOWERING LOCUS T, is involved in the control of light quality-associated flowering in Arabidopsis. In petunia, similar to Arabidopsis, flowering is delayed under red light and induced under blue light, however its mechanism still remains unknown. Here we isolated a gene which has 75% amino acid sequence similarity with Arabidopsis FT (AtFT), named PehFT. By overexpressing PehFT in Arbidopsis and petunia, we tested its ability to induce flowering. Also, by conducting expression analyses of PehFT under different light quality treatments, we tested its response to light quality. We concluded that PehFT, like AtFT, is a gene which responds to photoperiod and light quality, but unlike AtFT, is not the main gene controlling the light quality-associated flowering.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) deficiency affects the germination, growth and fruit sugar content in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.).

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is a key regulatory enzyme and is utilized in the gluconeogenesis pathway in plants. Although, its catalytic and regulatory properties are quite well understood, there are uncertainties regarding its physiological role in many plants tissues such as the flesh of developing fruits. To further understand the function of PEPCK in fruits and other tissues, RNAi transgenic tomato plants in which SlPEPCK transcription was down-regulated by either CaMV 35S constitutive promoter or the fruit-specific E8 promoter were generated and characterized on the basis of their phenotypic and metabolic aspects. In the PEPCK-deficient lines, prominent growth suppression of germinated seedlings was observed and other vegetative suppression appeared during the early stage of plant growth in the 35S promoter-driven lines. In particular, root elongation was most obviously suppressed in the germinated seedlings, indicating that the gluconeogenesis pathway is involved in the root growth of seedlings. Regarding the primary metabolism in fruit, the soluble sugar content tended to decrease, whereas the malate content tended to increase in ripening fruits of the RNAi lines compared with the wild type. These results indicate that activation of the gluconeogenesis pathway from organic acids to sugars occurs during ripening but is suppressed by the knocking down of the PEPCK gene, suggesting that PEPCK participates in determining the sugar/acid ratio in ripening fruit.

Potential Use of a Weak Ethylene Receptor Mutant, Sletr1-2, as Breeding Material To Extend Fruit Shelf Life of Tomato.

Mutations in the ethylene receptor gene (SlETR1), Sletr1-1 and Sletr1-2, are effective in reducing ethylene sensitivity and improving fruit shelf life. In this study the effect of Sletr1-1 and Sletr1-2 mutations was investigated in F1 hybrid lines. These two mutants and control were crossed with four commercial pure-line tomatoes. The Sletr1-1 mutation showed undesirable pleiotropic effects in the F1 hybrid lines. The Sletr1-2 mutation was effective in improving fruit shelf life of F1 hybrid lines for 4-5 days longer. It was also effective in improving fruit firmness without change in fruit size, ethylene production, respiration rate, and total soluble solids or a great reduction in fruit color, lycopene, and ß-carotene, although the titratable acidity was increased by Sletr1-2 mutation. These results indicate that the Sletr1-2 mutant allele has the potential to improve fruit shelf life via incorporation in tomato breeding programs.

Validation of histological diagnostic methods for detecting endothelin B receptor expression.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has an extremely poor prognosis. Recently, it was reported that the endothelin B receptor (ETBR) of tumor endothelial cells prevents antitumor immunity. However, the immuno-histochemistry (IHC) conditions required to detect ETBR expression remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to confirm the appropriate conditions for IHC for ETBR using ETBR cDNA and transfectant cells and to assess ETBR expression in PDAC patients. An ETBR-expressing cell was established as an objective positive control and the detectability of ETBR expression was evaluated using several types of anti-ETBR antibodies. ETBR mRNA expression was then studied. Finally, ETBR expression was examined in human PDAC tissue using IHC. As a result, four different anti-ETBR antibodies recognized the cell surface ETBR appropriately. A non-specific reaction was shown in the detection of ETBR in normal human tissues. ETBR mRNA expression was weakly detected only in the adrenal gland. No biologically significant correlation was observed in the ETBR-IHC of human PDAC sections. In conclusion, it is necessary to perform IHC using an appropriate control to assess the tissue expression of ETBR.

Deterioration of bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic devices by a minute amount of oxidized fullerene.

A chemical model of deterioration of a bulk heterojunction organic solar cell containing a photooxidized product of 1,4-bis(dimethylphenylsilylmethyl)[60]fullerene suggests that molecular oxygen degrades device performance by two mechanisms.

TOMATOMA: a novel tomato mutant database distributing Micro-Tom mutant collections.

The tomato is an excellent model for studies of plants bearing berry-type fruits and for experimental studies of the Solanaceae family of plants due to its conserved genetic organization. In this study, a comprehensive mutant tomato population was generated in the background of Micro-Tom, a dwarf, rapid-growth variety. In this and previous studies, a family including 8,598 and 6,422 M(2) mutagenized lines was produced by ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis and γ-ray irradiation, and this study developed and investigated these M(2) plants for alteration of visible phenotypes. A total of 9,183 independent M(2) families comprising 91,830 M(2) plants were inspected for phenotypic alteration, and 1,048 individual mutants were isolated. Subsequently, the observed mutant phenotypes were classified into 15 major categories and 48 subcategories. Overall, 1,819 phenotypic categories were found in 1,048 mutants. Of these mutants, 549 were pleiotropic, whereas 499 were non-pleiotropic. Multiple different mutant alleles per locus were found in the mutant libraries, suggesting that the mutagenized populations were nearly saturated. Additionally, genetic analysis of backcrosses indicated the successful inheritance of the mutations in BC(1)F(2) populations, confirming the reproducibility in the morphological phenotyping of the M(2) plants. To integrate and manage the visible phenotypes of mutants and other associated data, we developed the in silico database TOMATOMA, a relational system interfacing modules between mutant line names and phenotypic categories. TOMATOMA is a freely accessible database, and these mutant recourses are available through the TOMATOMA (http://tomatoma.nbrp.jp/index.jsp).

Production of recombinant miraculin using transgenic tomatoes in a closed cultivation system.

We constructed a cultivation system with a controlled light period, light intensity, temperature, and CO(2) concentration for mass production of the taste-modifying protein miraculin from transgenic tomatoes. The tomato plants exhibited normal growth and produced over 270 g of fresh weight (FW) fruit per plant, with the recombinant miraculin concentration reaching up to 90 microg per g FW of tomatoes. The recombinant miraculin content of transgenic tomatoes was compared to that of plants grown in a netted greenhouse. The recombinant miraculin content of transgenic tomatoes grown in a closed cultivation system was more stable than that of tomatoes grown in a netted greenhouse, suggesting that the closed cultivation system is suitable for the production of recombinant miraculin. We estimate that 45 tFW of tomatoes and 4 kg of recombinant miraculin per 1,000 m(2) of cultivation area can be harvested per year.

Antihypertensive effect of a gamma-aminobutyric acid rich tomato cultivar 'DG03-9' in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) rich tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivar 'DG03-9' in comparison with 'Momotaro', a commonly consumed tomato cultivar in Japan, on systolic blood pressure (SBP) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In a single administration study, treatment with the GABA-rich cultivar elicited a significant decrease in SBP compared to the control group. In a chronic administration study, SHR were fed diets containing one of the tomato cultivars for 4 weeks. Both cultivars significantly reduced the increase in SBP compared to the control. The antihypertensive effect of the GABA-rich cultivar was higher than that of the commonly consumed cultivar in both the single- and chronic-administration studies. Treatment with a comparable amount of GABA elicited a similar response to treatment with the GABA-rich cultivar. These results suggest that the GABA-rich cultivar 'DG03-9' is a potent antihypertensive food and may be useful for treating hypertension effectively.

Salinity induces carbohydrate accumulation and sugar-regulated starch biosynthetic genes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. 'Micro-Tom') fruits in an ABA- and osmotic stress-independent manner.

Salinity stress enhances sugar accumulation in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruits. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, the transport of carbohydrates into tomato fruits and the regulation of starch synthesis during fruit development in tomato plants cv. 'Micro-Tom' exposed to high levels of salinity stress were examined. Growth with 160 mM NaCl doubled starch accumulation in tomato fruits compared to control plants during the early stages of development, and soluble sugars increased as the fruit matured. Tracer analysis with (13)C confirmed that elevated carbohydrate accumulation in fruits exposed to salinity stress was confined to the early development stages and did not occur after ripening. Salinity stress also up-regulated sucrose transporter expression in source leaves and increased activity of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) in fruits during the early development stages. The results indicate that salinity stress enhanced carbohydrate accumulation as starch during the early development stages and it is responsible for the increase in soluble sugars in ripe fruit. Quantitative RT-PCR analyses of salinity-stressed plants showed that the AGPase-encoding genes, AgpL1 and AgpS1 were up-regulated in developing fruits, and AgpL1 was obviously up-regulated by sugar at the transcriptional level but not by abscisic acid and osmotic stress. These results indicate AgpL1 and AgpS1 are involved in the promotion of starch biosynthesis under the salinity stress in ABA- and osmotic stress-independent manners. These two genes are differentially regulated at the transcriptional level, and AgpL1 is suggested to play a regulatory role in this event.

Long-term conservation of six duplicated structural genes in cephalopod mitochondrial genomes.

The complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial (mt) genomes of three cephalopods, Octopus vulgaris (Octopodiformes, Octopoda, Incirrata), Todarodes pacificus (Decapodiformes, Oegopsida, Ommastrephidae), and Watasenia scintillans (Decapodiformes, Oegopsida, Enoploteuthidae), were determined. These three mt genomes encode the standard set of metazoan mt genes. However, W. scintillans and T. pacificus mt genomes share duplications of the longest noncoding region, three cytochrome oxidase subunit genes and two ATP synthase subunit genes, and the tRNA(Asp) gene. Southern hybridization analysis of the W. scintillans mt genome shows that this single genome carries both duplicated regions. The near-identical sequence of the duplicates suggests that there are certain concerted evolutionary mechanisms, at least in cephalopod mitochondria. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of mt protein genes are suggestive, although not statistically significantly so, of a monophyletic relationship between W. scintillans and T. pacificus.