Efficiency of immunocastration with an anti-gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine on cryptorchid bulls.

Cryptorchid bulls have low economic value owing to the effects of masculinization. Moreover, surgical removal of an ectopic testis is difficult in certain clinical cases. Recently, immunocastration has garnered popularity as a nonsurgical castration method in pig farming; however, the effects of immunocastration on cryptorchid bulls are yet to be yet. Herein, we investigated endocrine changes due to immunocastration in cryptorchid bulls and studied its effectiveness. This study included 13 Holstein bulls diagnosed with cryptorchidism and classified into two groups based on pubertal period: <8 months of age (pregroup) and ≥8 months of age (postgroup). Antigonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine was used for immunocastration, and two vaccine doses were administered. Blood testosterone and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels were measured and analyzed for endocrine evaluation. The testosterone levels significantly decreased following the start of immunocastration in both groups, thereby confirming the efficacy of antiGnRH vaccination in cryptorchid bulls. The AMH levels significantly increased in the pregroup with two antiGnRH vaccination, suggesting a compensatory response via the neutralization of GnRH antibodies. The AMH levels did not significantly change in the postgroup, indicating the partial suppression of AMH secretion in Sertoli cells during sexual maturation and failure of Sertoli cell maturation. Thus, we successfully restrained the serum testosterone levels in cryptorchid bulls using antiGnRH vaccine. The testosterone levels are a useful indicator of the immunocastration effect on cryptorchid bulls. Hereafter, a vaccine program that can sustain the castration effect on cryptorchid bulls is necessary.

Seasonal changes of the prostate gland in the raccoon (Procyon lotor) inhabiting Hokkaido, Japan.

In the prostate gland of the raccoon (Procyon lotor), the morphological appearance of the epithelial cells, such as basal and luminal cells, and the expressions of p63, androgen receptor (AR), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were examined histologically and immunohistochemically to clarify their seasonal dynamics throughout the year. In this study, the regression with luminal cell defluxion and the regeneration process of the prostatic glandular epithelium was revealed in the seasons with declined spermatogenesis (June to August). The expression of p63 was observed only in the basal cells. AR immunoreactivity in the luminal cells was shown in the developed and regenerating (close to developed) prostates, whereas the basal cells exhibited AR immunoreactivity all year round. PCNA expression was rare in epithelial cells of the developed prostate gland. In the regressed gland, the basal cells demonstrated proliferative ability, whereas PCNA of the luminal cells appeared for the first time in the regenerating phase. This study is the first to clarify the regression with luminal cell defluxion and restoration and the seasonal dynamics of AR expression and proliferative activity in the prostate gland of seasonal breeders.

Esophageal submucosal tumor diagnosed with EBUS-guided transbronchial mediastinal cryobiopsy: A case report.

Cryobiopsy is advantageous for collecting larger specimens with minimum crushing compared to forceps biopsy and transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA), but it has not been widely used for mediastinal tumors. In this report, a leiomyoma of the thoracic esophagus was diagnosed with endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial mediastinal cryobiopsy (EBUS-cryo). An asymptomatic 49-year-old woman had a 2.6-cm sized submucosal tumor (SMT) of the esophagus adjacent to the trachea and left main bronchus. EBUS-TBNA and EBUS-guided intranodal forceps biopsy were performed, followed by EBUS-cryo. The biopsy forceps could not be inserted into the tumor, but the cryoprobe was smoothly inserted. EBUS-TBNA could not obtain enough spindle-shaped tumor cells for immunohistochemical staining, but EBUS-cryo provided sufficient specimens for diagnosing the leiomyoma. Adding EBUS-cryo to EBUS-TBNA has recently been reported to achieve high diagnostic yields for lymphomas, uncommon tumors, and benign diseases. EBUS-cryo seems a valid diagnostic option for esophageal SMTs that are difficult to diagnose with needles and forceps.

A novel MRI-based predictive index can identify patients suitable for preservation of the nipple-areola complex in breast reconstructive surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Accurately predicting nipple-areola complex (NAC) involvement in breast cancer is necessary for identifying patients who may be candidates for a nipple-sparing mastectomy. Although multiple risk factors are indicated in the guidelines, it is difficult to predict NAC involvement (NAC-i) preoperatively even if these factors are evaluated individually. This study aimed to develop a more accurate and practical preoperative NAC-i prediction model using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: All tumors in 252 patients were evaluated using postcontrast T1-weighted subtraction on MRI. RESULTS: The receiver operating characteristic curves identified cut-off values for tumor size and tumor-to-nipple distance (TND) as 4 cm and 1.2 cm, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that TND (p < 0.001), ductal enhancement extending to the nipple (DEEN) (p < 0.001), and nipple enhancement (NE) (p = 0.005) were independent clinical risk factors for pathological NAC-i. A formula was constructed using odds ratios for these three independent preoperative risk factors in multivariate analysis: the MRI-based NAC-i predictive index (mNACPI) = TND × 4 + DEEN × 3 + NE × 1. A total score of ≤4 points was defined as low risk and ≥5 points as high risk. NAC-i rates were 2.4% in the low-risk group and 89.4% in the high-risk group; a significant correlation was observed between the risk group and permanent pathological NAC-i (p < 0.001). Assuming that the NAC was preserved in low-risk patients and resected in high-risk patients, NAC-i was verified using the mNACPI. CONCLUSION: mNACPI may contribute greatly to the improvement of selecting suitable patients for NAC preservation in breast reconstructive surgery while maintaining oncological safety.

Gross and histological lesions in the livers of sika deer with particular emphasis on fascioliasis.

We performed gross and histological examinations of the livers of sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) in Hokkaido, Japan. Out of 1,381 deer slaughtered for venison production, thickening and dilation of the large intrahepatic bile ducts and Fasciola flukes in the duct lumens were detected in 621 deer (45.0%). Furthermore, 107 non-bile lesions (75 intrahepatic and 32 capsular lesions) were detected during gross examinations. Histologically, the bile duct lesions included chronic proliferative cholangitis, papillary hyperplasia, goblet cell and pyloric gland metaplasia, and periductal fibrosis. Many of the intrahepatic non-bile duct lesions (53/75, 71%) were considered to be Fasciola fluke migration-associated lesions, including two lesion types: necrosis, hemorrhage, and eosinophilic granuloma formation (29 lesions), and lymphoid tissue formation (24 lesions). Lymphoid tissue formation was considered to result from the persistent immune responses against dead Fasciola flukes. An epidermoid liver cyst was found incidentally, which has not been reported in the veterinary literature. In summary, this study demonstrated the predominance of fascioliasis-associated lesions in sika deer livers. The gross and histological lesions caused by Fasciola flukes in sika deer were similar to fascioliasis in other animals. Moreover, we described lymphoid tissue formation as a fascioliasis-associated lesion for the first time. The fact that bile duct lesions (45.0%) had a markedly higher prevalence than fascioliasis-associated parenchymal lesions (53/1,381, 3.8%) indicated that sika deer are a permissive host for fascioliasis. Our results provide information that will aid pathological examinations of sika deer.

A fibril-based structural constitutive theory reveals the dominant role of network characteristics on the mechanical behavior of fibroblast-compacted collagen gels.

In this paper, we present a general, fibril-based structural constitutive theory which accounts for three material aspects of crosslinked filamentous materials: the single fibrillar force response, the fibrillar network model, and the effects of alterations to the fibrillar network. In the case of the single fibrillar response, we develop a formula that covers the entropic and enthalpic deformation regions, and introduce the relaxation phase to explain the observed force decay after crosslink breakage. For the filamentous network model, we characterize the constituent element of the fibrillar network in terms its end-to-end distance vector and its contour length, then decompose the vector orientation into an isotropic random term and a specific alignment, paving the way for an expanded formalism from principal deformation to general 3D deformation; and, more important, we define a critical core quantity over which macroscale mechanical characteristics can be integrated: the ratio of the initial end-to-end distance to the contour length (and its probability function). For network alterations, we quantitatively treat changes in constituent elements and relate these changes to the alteration of network characteristics. Singular in its physical rigor and clarity, this constitutive theory can reproduce and predict a wide range of nonlinear mechanical behavior in materials composed of a crosslinked filamentous network, including: stress relaxation (with dual relaxation coefficients as typically observed in soft tissues); hysteresis with decreasing maximum stress under serial cyclic loading; strain-stiffening under uniaxial tension; the rupture point of the structure as a whole; various effects of biaxial tensile loading; strain-stiffening under simple shearing; the so-called "negative normal stress" phenomenon; and enthalpic elastic behaviors of the constituent element. Applied to compacted collagen gels, the theory demonstrates that collagen fibrils behave as enthalpic elasticas with linear elasticity within the gels, and that the macroscale nonlinearity of the gels originates from the curved fibrillar network. Meanwhile, the underlying factors that determine the mechanical properties of the gels are clarified. Finally, the implications of this study on the enhancement of the mechanical properties of compacted collagen gels and on the cellular mechanics with this model tissue are discussed.

Absence of Jahn-Teller transition in the hexagonal Ba3CuSb2O9 single crystal.

With decreasing temperature, liquids generally freeze into a solid state, losing entropy in the process. However, exceptions to this trend exist, such as quantum liquids, which may remain unfrozen down to absolute zero owing to strong quantum entanglement effects that stabilize a disordered state with zero entropy. Examples of such liquids include Bose-Einstein condensation of cold atoms, superconductivity, quantum Hall state of electron systems, and quantum spin liquid state in the frustrated magnets. Moreover, recent studies have clarified the possibility of another exotic quantum liquid state based on the spin-orbital entanglement in FeSc2S4. To confirm this exotic ground state, experiments based on single-crystalline samples are essential. However, no such single-crystal study has been reported to date. Here, we report, to our knowledge, the first single-crystal study on the spin-orbital liquid candidate, 6H-Ba3CuSb2O9, and we have confirmed the absence of an orbital frozen state. In strongly correlated electron systems, orbital ordering usually appears at high temperatures in a process accompanied by a lattice deformation, called a static Jahn-Teller distortion. By combining synchrotron X-ray diffraction, electron spin resonance, Raman spectroscopy, and ultrasound measurements, we find that the static Jahn-Teller distortion is absent in the present material, which indicates that orbital ordering is suppressed down to the lowest temperatures measured. We discuss how such an unusual feature is realized with the help of spin degree of freedom, leading to a spin-orbital entangled quantum liquid state.

Modulation of laser induced-cracks inside a LiF single crystal by fs laser irradiation at multiple points.

Crack formations inside a LiF single crystal after femtosecond laser irradiation at multiple points were investigated. In the case of sequential laser irradiation at three points, the propagations of some cracks were prevented by the dislocation bands generated by the previous laser irradiation. On the other hand, in the case of simultaneous laser irradiation at three points with a spatial light modulator, cracks in all the <100> directions from the photoexcited regions were generated clearly, but the length of one crack depended on the distribution of laser irradiation positions. The simulation of elastic dynamics after fs laser irradiation at three points elucidated that the interference of laser induced stress waves depended on the distributions of the irradiation positions. We found that the constructive interference of stress waves at a crack tip should have prevented the crack from propagating further and the tensile stress by destructive interference of stress waves along a crack should have facilitated the propagation of the crack.

Dynamical spin-orbital correlation in the frustrated magnet Ba3CuSb2O9.

At low temperatures, atomic magnetic moments usually exhibit some order, for example ferromagnetic order. An exception is frustrated magnets, in which the symmetry impedes the minimization of energy by pairwise magnetic interactions. In such frustrated magnets, new quantum phases, such as spin liquids, are expected. Theoretically, a quantum liquid based on the orbital degree of freedom has also been considered possible when spin and orbital degrees of freedom are entangled. However, to date, experimental observation of such a dynamic spin-orbital state has been a challenge. Here we report an X-ray scattering study of a dynamic spin-orbital state in the frustrated magnet Ba3CuSb2O9. Orbital dynamical motion and increasing short-range orbital correlation with cooling are observed. The most significant feature is that the temperature variation of the orbital correlation is clearly affected by the magnetic interaction. This finding strongly supports a new quantum state in which spins and orbitals are entangled.