Temperature dependence and P/Ti ratio in phosphoric acid treatment of titanium dioxide and powder properties.

OBJECTIVE: Titanium dioxide has photocatalytic activity and is used as a white pigment for cosmetics. A certain degree of sebum on the skin is decomposed by the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. In this work, titanium dioxide was shaken with phosphoric acid to synthesize a white pigment for cosmetics. METHODS: Titanium dioxide was treated with 0.1 mol/L of phosphoric acid at various P/Ti molar ratios, and then shaken in hot water for 1 h. The chemical composition, powder properties, photocatalytic activity, colour phase, and smoothness of the obtained powder were studied. RESULTS: The obtained materials indicated XRD peaks of titanium dioxide, however the peaks diminished subsequent to phosphoric acid treatment. The samples included small particles with sub-micrometer size. The photocatalytic activity of the obtained powders decreased, decomposing less sebum on the skin. Samples prepared at high P/Ti ratio with high shaking temperature indicated low whiteness in in L*a*b* colour space. The shaking and heating temperature and P/Ti ratio had influence on the smoothness of the obtained materials. CONCLUSION: Phosphoric acid treatment of titanium dioxide is an effective method to inhibit photocatalytic activity for a white pigment.

CT enteroclysis/enterography findings in drug-induced small-bowel damage.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the CT enteroclysis (CTE)/enterography findings of patients with small-bowel mucosal damage induced by aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and to compare these findings with the duration of drug use and endoscopic findings. METHODS: CTE findings of 11 patients (22 lesions) with drug-induced small-bowel damage were reviewed, including 8 NSAID users and 3 aspirin users. Three patients were short-term users (6 months or shorter) and eight were long-term users (3 years or longer). Nine patients also underwent videocapsule endoscopy (VCE) or double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE). RESULTS: Small-bowel abnormalities were visible in 8 of 11 patients (73%) on CTE. Multiple lesions were seen in five patients, including all short-term users. Lesions were classified into three types. Type 1 (mucosal patchy enhancement) was found in four of eight patients (50%, 12 lesions) all were short-term users. Small erosions with mild oedema/redness were shown by DBE. Type 2 (homogeneous hyperenhancement) was found in two of eight patients (25%, four lesions) who were long-term users. Large ulcers with marked oedema/redness were shown by DBE. Type 3 (stratification enhancement) was found in four of eight patients (50%, six lesions), both short-term and long-term users. Annular or large ulcers with strictures were shown by VCE or DBE. CONCLUSION: On CTE, Type 1 lesions in patients with mostly short-term aspirin or NSAID use, Type 2 lesions in patients with long-term use and Type 3 lesions in both types of patients were detected. CTE may have usefulness for the detection of mild damage. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: Small-bowel abnormalities owing to aspirin or NSAID present with three different patterns on CTE.

Influence of pH, concentration of sodium lactate as an additive and ultrasonic treatment on synthesis of zinc phosphate white pigments.

Zinc oxide that has the photocatalytic activity is used as a white pigment for cosmetics. A certain degree of sebum on the skin is decomposed by the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. In this work, zinc phosphates were prepared from zinc nitrate and phosphoric acid at pH 5 and 7 with and without the addition of sodium lactate and ultrasonic treatment as a novel white pigment for use in cosmetics. The chemical composition, powder properties, photocatalytic activity, colour phase, moisture retention and smoothness of the zinc phosphates were studied. The obtained materials had a Zn/P ratio of about 1.5, which corresponds to zinc orthophosphate Zn3 (PO4 )2 . Samples prepared with ultrasonic treatment indicated the high ratios of large particles in scanning electron microscopy images and particle-size distributions. The photocatalytic activity of these zinc phosphate particles was too less to protect the sebum on the skin. The materials obtained and their thermal products at 100°C showed a high reflectance within the range of visible light. The slipping resistance and roughness of the powder were enough low for use in cosmetics.

Persistent elevated C-reactive protein after treatment is an independent marker of a poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

PURPOSE: The pretreatment C-reactive protein (CRP) level is reported to be a prognostic indicator in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We investigated the prognostic implications of the changes in the CRP level after initial treatment in patients with HCC. We prospectively evaluated a cohort of 150 patients with newly diagnosed HCC. The patients were categorized into three groups: group 1 (n = 120) with pre- and post-treatment CRP <1.0 mg/dl, group 2 (n = 5) with pre-treatment CRP ≥1.0 mg/dl and post-treatment CRP <1.0 mg/dl, and group 3 (n = 25) with pre- and post-treatment CRP ≥1.0 mg/dl. RESULTS: The 1- and 3-year overall survival rates were 92.3 and 82.9 % for group 1, 80.0 and 53.3 % for group 2, and 58.8 and 4.2 % for group 3. The overall survival rate for group 3 was significantly lower than that for group 1 (P < 0.0001), or group 2 (P = 0.003). No significant difference was found between groups 1 and 2 (P = 0.627). A multi-variate analysis showed that albumin level (P = 0.049), the CRP group (P < 0.0001), and the Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP) score (P < 0.0001) were independently associated with the overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: A persistently elevated CRP level after initial treatment is an independent marker of a poor prognosis, and normalization of the CRP level after initial treatment is associated with a better outcome in patients with HCC (AU)

Persistent elevated C-reactive protein after treatment is an independent marker of a poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The pretreatment C-reactive protein (CRP) level is reported to be a prognostic indicator in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We investigated the prognostic implications of the changes in the CRP level after initial treatment in patients with HCC. We prospectively evaluated a cohort of 150 patients with newly diagnosed HCC. The patients were categorized into three groups: group 1 (n = 120) with pre- and post-treatment CRP <1.0 mg/dl, group 2 (n = 5) with pre-treatment CRP ≥1.0 mg/dl and post-treatment CRP <1.0 mg/dl, and group 3 (n = 25) with pre- and post-treatment CRP ≥1.0 mg/dl. RESULTS: The 1- and 3-year overall survival rates were 92.3 and 82.9 % for group 1, 80.0 and 53.3 % for group 2, and 58.8 and 4.2 % for group 3. The overall survival rate for group 3 was significantly lower than that for group 1 (P < 0.0001), or group 2 (P = 0.003). No significant difference was found between groups 1 and 2 (P = 0.627). A multi-variate analysis showed that albumin level (P = 0.049), the CRP group (P < 0.0001), and the Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP) score (P < 0.0001) were independently associated with the overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: A persistently elevated CRP level after initial treatment is an independent marker of a poor prognosis, and normalization of the CRP level after initial treatment is associated with a better outcome in patients with HCC.

Comparison of the prognostic value of inflammation-based prognostic scores in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation-based prognostic scores including the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) are associated with survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of these inflammation-based prognostic scores in patients with HCC. METHODS: In total, 150 patients with newly diagnosed HCC were prospectively evaluated. Patients were divided according to the GPS, modified GPS, NLR, platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), Prognostic Index (PI), and PNI. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) was calculated to compare the predictive ability of each of the scoring systems. A univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to identify the clinicopathological variables associated with overall survival. RESULTS: The GPS consistently had a higher AUC value at 6 months (0.768), 12 months (0.787), and 24 months (0.758) in comparison with other inflammation-based prognostic scores. A multivariate analysis showed that the GPS was independently associated with overall survival. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the GPS, an inflammation-based prognostic score, is an independent marker of poor prognosis in patients with HCC and is superior to the other inflammation-based prognostic scores in terms of prognostic ability.

Synthesis and pigmental properties of titanium phosphates with the addition of urea.

As a white pigment, titanium oxide is used for cosmetic application. This oxide is well known to have the photo catalytic activity. Therefore, a certain degree of sebum is decomposed by the ultraviolet radiation in the sunlight. In this work, titanium phosphates were prepared as a novel white pigment. Their chemical composition, powder properties, photo catalytic activity, moisture retention and smooth were studied with the addition of urea. These white pigments had little photo catalytic activity. The addition of urea improved the moisture retention of titanium phosphates. The slipping resistance of samples became small by heating, on the other hand, the roughness of samples became small by the addition of urea.

Distinctive expression of lprcg in the heterozygous state on different genetic backgrounds.

Much knowledge of the etiopathogenesis of human autoimmune diseases has been obtained from the mutant mouse models carrying lpr and gld. These autoimmune genes have been regarded as autosomal recessive. The novel lymphoproliferative and autoimmune mutation lprcg is unique in its interaction with gld despite their different chromosomal locations: chromosomes 19 and 1, respectively. Both lprcg and lpr mutations are shown to be the defects in the Fas antigen gene that controls apoptosis. Evidence has been provided for the partial expression of lpr in the heterozygous state and the significant influences of background genes on lpr-induced autoimmune disorders. To investigate the expression of the heterozygous lprcg and the effects of background genes on it, anatomical, serological, and pathological manifestations were compared among lprcg/lprcg,lprcg/+, and +/+ mice on both MRL/MpJ (MRL) and CBA/KlJms (CBA) backgrounds. On the MRL background, lymph nodes (LN) and spleens of lprcg/+ were significantly larger in weight than those of +/+, but far lower than those of lprcg/lprcg mice. In accord with this, these lprcg/+ mice had intermediate levels of anti-single-stranded DNA antibodies, circulating immune complexes, and serum Igs between those of lprcg/lprcg and +/+ mice and were similar to lprcg/lprcg mice in severity of glomerulonephritis. However, accumulation of anomalous CD4-8- T cells characteristic of the lpr disease was not proved in the enlarged lprcg/+ LN. On the CBA background, the LN and spleen weight increases in lprcg/+ were statistically significant compared to +/+ mice but were minimal, being regarded as clinically insignificant. In support of this, lprcg/+ mice were not different from +/+ mice in any of the serological and pathological parameters examined. The results clearly demonstrate that the lprcg gene can function to induce autoimmune disorders in the heterozygous state on the MRL but not on the CBA background.

Nephritogenicity of the lprcg gene on the MRL background.

The novel lymphoproliferative and autoimmune lprcg gene, originally discovered in the CBA/K1Jms (CBA) strain of mice, was transferred onto the MRL/MpJ (MRL) strain background, and the resultant partially congenic MRL-lprcg/lprcg carrying 93% or more MRL genomes on average were examined for immune-complex glomerulonephritis and serological aberrations. Ordinary histological studies revealed that MRL-lprcg/lprcg mice developed glomerulonephritis histologically indistinguishable from that in MRL-lpr/lpr but at a lower frequency than in MRL-lpr/lpr mice. Glomerular immune complex deposition was almost the same in MRL-lprcg/lprcg and MRL-lpr/lpr mice. The levels of serum Ig, circulating immune complexes and autoantibodies in MRL-lprcg/lprcg were comparable to or even higher than those in MRL-lpr/lpr mice. Comparison of the serological abnormalities between MRL-lprcg/lprcg with glomerulonephritis and CBA-lprcg/lprcg without it evidenced the enhanced class switch from IgM to IgG responses in both class-specific autoantibody responses and serum Ig levels in MRL-lprcg/lprcg as in MRL-lpr/lpr mice. These results taken together indicate that the lprcg gene functions in much the same manner as lpr in induction of glomerulonephritis and serological abnormalities on the MRL background as expected from the allelism between the two mutant genes.

Interdigitating reticulum cells in human renal grafts.

Seventeen human renal graft biopsies taken 1 h to 50 days after transplantation and 3 human renal non-graft biopsies (2 minimal change and 1 non-tumour portion of angiomyolipoma) were investigated with immunoelectron microscopy in order to identify interdigitating reticulum cells (IDC) or dendritic cells (DC) in renal tissues. The antibodies used consisted of a rabbit polyclonal antibody of antihuman S100 beta protein, mouse monoclonal antibodies of antihuman HLA-DR, anti-CD3, and anti-CD1a. IDC or DC were identified in 11 renal grafts. They were found both in the glomerular and interstitial (peritubular) capillary lumens but not in the interstitium of 1 case: both were present in the interstitial capillary lumens and interstitium of another case, and in the interstitium only of 9 cases. In the remaining 6 grafts and 3 non-grafts they were not detected. These 6 grafts and 3 non-grafts did not show any pathological change except for foot process fusion of the glomerular epithelia in 2 cases of minimal change. These findings suggest that IDC or DC are not normally present in human renal tissues. The presence of the cell in the glomerular and peritubular capillary lumens of a biopsy taken after 1 h and their presence in the interstitial capillary lumens of another graft biopsy, suggest that the IDC or DC in human renal grafts are derived from recipients, not donors, and that they migrate from the circulating blood toward the interstitium.