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This study aimed to determine whether the distance of gait training using a hybrid assistive limb (HAL) is related to the improvement of walking independence in patients with acute brain injury. This was an exploratory, observational study. Thirty patients having hemiplegia (functional ambulation category, FAC score ≤2) with acute stroke or after brain tumor surgery were included. Patients performed 4 sessions of gait training using HAL (60 min/session), 1-3 sessions/week, combined with conventional physical therapy. The gait distance achieved in the four training sessions using HAL was measured. FAC score was measured before and after intervention. Patients were divided into groups A, B, and C, for FAC score improvements of 0, 1, and ≥2, respectively. Gait distance was compared among groups using one-way analysis of variance. Gait distance in group C was significantly longer than that ingroup A [mean (standard deviation): 2527 (1725) m vs. 608 (542) m]. This study suggested that the gait distance achieved during training using the HAL may be a clinical indicator of the effectiveness of the HAL on gait training in patients with acute brain injury. Clinical trial registration number : UMIN000012764 R000014756.

Before the upheaval brought about by phylogenetic classification, classical taxonomy separated living beings into two distinct kingdoms, animals and plants. Rooted in 'naturalist' cosmology, Western science has built its theoretical apparatus on this dichotomy mostly based on ancient Aristotelian ideas. Nowadays, despite the adoption of the Darwinian paradigm that unifies living organisms as a kinship, the concept of the "scale of beings" continues to structure our analysis and understanding of living species. Our aim is to combine developments in phylogeny, recent advances in biology, and renewed interest in plant agency to craft an interdisciplinary stance on the living realm. The lines at the origin of plant or animal have a common evolutionary history dating back to about 3.9 Ga, separating only 1.6 Ga ago. From a phylogenetic perspective of living species history, plants and animals belong to sister groups. With recent data related to the field of Plant Neurobiology, our aim is to discuss some socio-cultural obstacles, mainly in Western naturalist epistemology, that have prevented the integration of living organisms as relatives, while suggesting a few avenues inspired by practices principally from other ontologies that could help overcome these obstacles and build bridges between different ways of connecting to life.

In ecology and population biology, logistic equation is widely applied for simulating the population of organisms. By combining the logistic model with the low-density effect called Allee effect, several variations of mathematical expressions have been proposed. The upper half of the work was dedicated to establish a novel equation for highly flexible density effect model with Allee threshold. Allee effect has been rarely observed in microorganisms with asexual reproduction despite of theoretical studies. According to the exploitation ecosystem hypotheses, plants are believed to be insensitive to Allee effect. Taken together, knowledge on the existence of low-density effect in photosynthetic microorganisms is required for redefining the ecological theories emphasizing the photosynthetic organisms as the basis for food chains. Therefore, in the lower half of the present article, we report on the possible Allee effect in photo-autotrophic organisms, namely, green paramecia, and cyanobacteria. Optically monitored growth of green paramecia was shown to be regulated by Allee-like weak low-density effect under photo-autotrophic and photo-heterotrophic conditions. Insensitiveness of wild type cyanobacteria ( Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC6803) to low-density effect was confirmed, as consistent with our empirical knowledge. In contrast, a mutant line of PCC6803 impaired with a photosynthesis-related pxcA gene was shown to be sensitive to typical Allee's low-density effect ( i.e . this line of cells failed to propagate at low cellular density while cells start logarithmic growth at relatively higher inoculating density). This is the first observation that single-gene mutation in an autotrophic organism alters the sensitivity to Allee effect., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors., (© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Global warming caused by anthropogenic activity is one of the serious problems today. In order to suppress the global warming, the shift from fossil fuel-based energy source to the nature-oriented sustainable energy is encouraged. In this concept paper, possible biomimetic engineering approach inspired by the efficient and sustainable natural energy utilization in living plants is demonstrated. The focal features in plants include (1) the light-harvesting and energy condensing apparatus, (2) water splitting O 2 evolving apparatus, (3) storage of energy-related chemicals, and (4) reversal conversion of storage into the "energy in use" by meeting the demands. Demonstration of solar-driven chemical energy conversion was performed using a system consisted of (i) photovoltaic power-generating device, (ii) an electrochemical unit converting electric power into chemical energy, (iii) storage of H 2 , and (iv) polymer electrolyte cells converting H 2 back to electricity by meeting the demands on site. The present concept paper presenting a technical perspective based on the plant-inspired knowledge (conceptual similarity between natural photosynthesis and solar-to-H 2 conversion) is a fruit of interdisciplinary collaboration between the team of chemical energy conversion renown for the world highest record of solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency (24.4%, as of 2015) and a group of plant biologists.

Today, the Logistic equations are widely applied to simulate the population growth across a range of fields, chiefly, demography and ecology. Based on an assumption that growth-regulating factors within the Logistic model, namely, the rate of increase ( r ) and carrying capacity ( K ), can be considered as the functions reflecting the combination of the organism- and environment-specific parameters, here, we discussed the possible application of modified synthetic Logistic equations to the simulation of the changes in (1) population (density per volume) of photosynthetically growing free-living algae and (2) size (mass per individual) of higher plants, by newly composing r value as a function reflecting the photosynthetic activities. Since higher plants are multi-cellular organisms, a novel concept for the carrying capacity K must also be introduced. We brought the a priori assumption that information sharing amongst cells strongly influences the physiology of multi-cellular structures eventually defining the maximum size of plants, into view. A simplest form of 'synthetic organism' conformed to test this assumption is a linear chain of cells, and the first physiological phenomenon, modeled in this way, is growth. This combination of information flow along a chain, with exponential growth, produces a simple allotropic relationship. This relationship is compared with results for plants and is found to have excellent predictive power. This theory shows that fast-growing organisms, or multicellular structures, remain small, because of their inability to share information sufficiently quickly and, also, predicts determinate growth. The success of this simple model suggests, firstly, that the inclusion of information flows in theoretical physiology models, which have been, to date, dominated by energetic or metabolic assumptions, will be improved by incorporating information flows. Secondly, the application of more complex information theories, such as those of Shannon, to biological systems will offer deep insights into the mechanisms and control of intercellular communication.

Estradiol, a major female steroid produced during pregnancy, has been reported to protect ovariectomized animals against H1N1 influenza infections via its anti-inflammatory effects. However, it remains unclear why pregnant women with high gestational estradiol levels are highly susceptible to influenza infections. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of pregnancy level of estradiol on female immunity against H5N1 infection in Balb/c mice. A sex-dependent susceptibility to H5N1 infection (higher morbidity and higher mortality) was observed in both pregnant and non-pregnant female mice as compared to male mice. Subcutaneous implantation of estradiol pellets increased serum estradiol concentrations of non-pregnant female mice to the pregnancy level. These mice were protected from H5N1 infection through downregulation of pulmonary pro-inflammatory cytokines. However, the production of virus-specific antibodies after infection was significantly delayed in estradiol-implanted mice when compared to placebos. Virus-specific IgG-secreting and IL-4-secreting cells were also reduced in estradiol-implanted mice. Similarly, lower antibody titers to seasonal vaccine antigens were found in pregnant women as compared to non-pregnant females without hormone usage. Our results indicate that estradiol levels equivalent to those found during pregnancy have divergent effects on female immunity against influenza, highlighting the importance of vaccination during pregnancy to prevent severe influenza infections.

Changes in Ca 2+ concentrations in cytosol ([Ca 2+ ] C ) or nucleus ([Ca 2+ ] N ) may play some vital roles in plants under hypoosmotic shock (Hypo-OS). Here, we observed that Hypo-OS induces biphasic increases in [Ca 2+ ] C and [Ca 2+ ] N in two tobacco cell lines (BY-2) expressing apoaequorin either in the cytosol or in the nucleus. Both [Ca 2+ ] C and [Ca 2+ ] N were sensitively modulated by the inhibitors of calmodulin and protein kinases, supporting the view that calmodulin suppresses the 1 st peaks and and protein kinases enhance 2 nd peaks in [Ca 2+ ] C and [Ca 2+ ] N . Data also suggested that the 1 st and 2 nd events depend on the internal and extracellular Ca 2+ sources, respectively.

Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom-ash products possess qualifications to be utilized in cement production. However, the instant use of bottom ash is inhibited by a number of factors, among which the chlorine (Cl) content is always strictly restricted. In this paper, the unquenched MSWI bottom ash was used as the experimental substance, and the influences of thermal treatment and cooling methods on the content and existence of Cl in the ash residues were investigated. The characterization of the MSWI bottom-ash samples examined by utilizing X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The experimental results show that as a function of thermal treatment, the reduction rate of Cl is slight below 15.0%, which is relatively low compared with water washing process. Different cooling methods had impacts on the existing forms of Cl. It was understood that most of Cl existed in the glass phase if the bottom ash was air cooled. Contrarily in case of water-quenched bottom ash, Cl could also be accumulated in the newly-formed quench products as chloride salts or hydrate substances such as Friedel's salt.

Controlled generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is widely beneficial to various medical, environmental, and agricultural studies. As inspired by the functional motifs in natural proteins, our group has been engaged in development of catalytically active oligo-peptides as minimum-sized metalloenzymes for generation of superoxide anion, an active member of ROS. In such candidate molecules, catalytically active metal-binding minimal motif was determined to be X-X-H, where X can be most amino acids followed by His. Based on above knowledge, we have designed a series of minimal copper-binding peptides designated as G n H series peptides, which are composed of oligo-glycyl chains ended with C-terminal His residue such as GGGGGH sequence (G5H). In order to further study the role of copper binding to the peptidic catalysts sharing the X-X-H motif such as G5H-conjugated peptides, we should be able to score the occupancy of the peptide population by copper ion in the reaction mixture. Here, model peptides with Cu-binding affinity which show intrinsic fluorescence due to tyrosyl residue (Y) in the UV region (excitation at ca. 230 and 280 nm, and emission at ca. 320 nm) were synthesized to score the effect of copper occupancy. Synthesized peptides include GFP-derived fluorophore sequence, TFSYGVQ (designated as Gfp), and Gfp sequence fused to C-terminal G5H (Gfp-G5H). In addition, two Y-containing tri-peptides derived from natural GFP fluorophores, namely, TYG and SYG were fused to the G5H (TYG-G5H and SYG-G5H). Conjugation of metal-binding G5H sequence to GFP-fluorophore peptide enhanced the action of Cu(2+) on quenching of intrinsic fluorescence due to Y residue. Two other Y-containing peptides, TYG-G5H and SYG-G5H, also showed intrinsic fluorescence which is sensitive to addition of Cu(2+). There was linear relationship between the loading of Cu(2+) and the quenching of fluorescence in these peptide, suggesting that Cu(2+)-dependent quenching of Y-reside-derived fluorescence could be a measure of copper occupancy in the peptides. Lastly, the fate of Y residue in the Cu-loaded peptides under oxidative condition in the presence of H2O2 was discussed based on the Cu/H2O2-dependent changes in fluorescence spectra.

Generation of reactive oxygen species is useful for various medical, engineering and agricultural purposes. These include clinical modulation of immunological mechanism, enhanced degradation of organic compounds released to the environments, removal of microorganisms for the hygienic purpose, and agricultural pest control; both directly acting against pathogenic microorganisms and indirectly via stimulation of plant defense mechanism represented by systemic acquired resistance and hypersensitive response. By aiming to develop a novel classes of artificial redox-active biocatalysts involved in production and/or removal of superoxide anion radicals, recent attempts for understanding and modification of natural catalytic proteins and functional DNA sequences of mammalian and plant origins are covered in this review article.

Impact of redox active transition metals on activation of cell death signaling in plant cells have been documented to date. We have recently reported that GC-rich DNA oligomers with high affinity for binding of copper and catalytic activity for removal of ROS as novel plant cell-protecting agents. Here, we show that similar DNA oligomers protect the mouse macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells from copper-induced cell death, suggesting that the phenomenon firstly observed in plant model can be expanded to a wider range of cells and/or organisms including mammalian cells.

It is well documented that extracellular alkalization occurs in plants under the challenges by pathogenic microbes. This may eventually induce the pH-dependent extracellular peroxidase-mediated oxidative burst at the site of microbial challenges. By employing the purified proteins of horseradish peroxidase as a model, we have recently proposed a likely role for free Fe(2+) in reduction of ferric enzyme of plant peroxidases into ferrous intermediate and oxygen-bound form of enzyme known as Compound III which may eventually releases superoxide anion radical (O2(•-)), especially under alkaline condition, possibly contributing to the plant defense mechanism. In the present study, we employed the purified protein of soybean peroxidase (SBP) as an additional model, and examined the changes in the redox status of enzyme accompanying the generation of O2(•-) in response to Fe(2+) under alkaline condition.

Impact of transition metals which catalyze the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), on activation of cell death signaling in plant cells have been documented to date. Similarly in green paramecia (Paramecium bursaria), an aquatic protozoan species harboring symbiotic green algae in the cytoplasm, toxicities of various metallic ions have been documented. We have recently examined the effects of double-stranded GC-rich DNA fragments with copper-binding nature and ROS removal catalytic activity as novel plant cell-protecting agents, using the suspension-cultured tobacco cells. Here, we show that above DNA oligomers protect the cells of green paramecia from copper-induced cell death, suggesting that the phenomenon firstly observed in tobacco cells is not limited only within higher plants but it could be universally observable in wider range of organisms.

It has been reported that salicylic acid (SA) induces both immediate spike and long lasting phases of oxidative burst represented by the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide anion radical (O2(•-)). In general, in the earlier phase of oxidative burst, apoplastic peroxidase are likely involved and in the late phase of the oxidative burst, NADPH oxidase is likely involved. Key signaling events connecting the 2 phases of oxidative burst are calcium channel activation and protein phosphorylation events. To date, the known earliest signaling event in response to exogenously added SA is the cell wall peroxidase-catalyzed generation of O2(•-) in a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-dependent manner. However, this model is incomplete since the source of the initially required H2O2 could not be explained. Based on the recently proposed role for H2O2-independent mechanism for ROS production catalyzed by plant peroxidases (Kimura et al., 2014, Frontiers in Plant Science), we hereby propose a novel model for plant peroxidase-catalyzed oxidative burst fueled by SA.

Using A. thaliana cultured cells; we recently reported new insights regarding the effect of acute O₃ exposure. This consist in an oxidative dependent controlled cell death process involving cell shrinkage due to an early activation of anion channel (1) and a delayed activation of K(+) outward currents, but also to early events like Ca (2+) influx or singlet oxygen production possibly linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. Here we provide evidence that most of these early events act downstream of caspase-like activities as recently demonstrated for K(+) channel activation.

There have been a wide variety of approaches for handling the pieces of DNA as the "unplugged" tools for digital information storage and processing, including a series of studies applied to the security-related area, such as DNA-based digital barcodes, water marks and cryptography. In the present article, novel designs of artificial genes as the media for storing the digitally compressed data for images are proposed for bio-computing purpose while natural genes principally encode for proteins. Furthermore, the proposed system allows cryptographical application of DNA through biochemically editable designs with capacity for steganographical numeric data embedment. As a model case of image-coding DNA technique application, numerically and biochemically combined protocols are employed for ciphering the given "passwords" and/or secret numbers using DNA sequences. The "passwords" of interest were decomposed into single letters and translated into the font image coded on the separate DNA chains with both the coding regions in which the images are encoded based on the novel run-length encoding rule, and the non-coding regions designed for biochemical editing and the remodeling processes revealing the hidden orientation of letters composing the original "passwords." The latter processes require the molecular biological tools for digestion and ligation of the fragmented DNA molecules targeting at the polymerase chain reaction-engineered termini of the chains. Lastly, additional protocols for steganographical overwriting of the numeric data of interests over the image-coding DNA are also discussed.

The automata theory is the mathematical study of abstract machines commonly studied in the theoretical computer science and highly interdisciplinary fields that combine the natural sciences and the theoretical computer science. In the present review article, as the chemical and biological basis for natural computing or informatics, some plants, plant cells or plant-derived molecules involved in signaling are listed and classified as natural sequential machines (namely, the Mealy machines or Moore machines) or finite state automata. By defining the actions (states and transition functions) of these natural automata, the similarity between the computational data processing and plant decision-making processes became obvious. Finally, their putative roles as the parts for plant-based computing or robotic systems are discussed.

It has long been concerned that some secondary air pollutants such as smog components, ozone (O3) and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), are highly phytotoxic even at low concentrations. Compared with the biology of O3, we largely lack the information on the toxicity model for PAN at the cellular signaling levels. Here, we studied the cell-damaging impact of PAN using suspension culture of smog-sensitive tobacco variety (Bel-W3). The cells were exposed to freshly synthesized PAN and the induced cell death was assessed under microscope after staining with Evans blue. Involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in PAN toxicity was suggested by PAN-dependently increased intracellular H2O2 and also by the cell-protective effects of ROS scavengers and related inhibitors. Calcium chelator also lowered the level of PAN-induced cell death, indicating that Ca2+ is also involved. Using a transgenic cell line expressing aequorin, an increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration responsive to the pulse of PAN, but sensitive to Ca2+ channel blockers, was recorded, indicating that Ca2+ channels are activated by PAN or PAN-derived signals. Above data show some similarity between the signaling mechanisms responsive to O3 and PAN.

Arabidopsis roots are routinely exposed to light both during their cultivation within transparent Petri dishes and during their confocal microscopy analysis. Here we report that illumination of roots which naturally grow in darkness, even for a few seconds, induces an immediate and strong burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Plant scientists studying roots should pay great attention to the environment of living roots, and keep them in darkness as long as possible. Results obtained using illuminated roots during in vivo microscopic analysis should also be interpreted with great caution.

Single-cell green paramecia (Paramecium bursaria) is a swimming vehicle that carries several hundred cells of endo-symbiotic green algae. Here, a novel model for endo-symbiosis, prepared by introducing and maintaining the cells of cyanobacterium (Synechocystis spp. PCC 6803) in the apo-symbiotic cells of P. bursaria is described.

To date, a number of studies have documented the toxic impacts of Al ions in plant cells. One of the key factors required for Al cytotoxicity is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here we observed that Al treatments of suspension-cultured Arabidopsis thaliana cells resulted in biphasic superoxide generation monitored with chemiluminescence. Among six respiratory burst oxidase homologs (Atrbohs) coding for plant NADPH oxidase, AtrbohD was shown to be the only gene responsive to Al. As the expression of AtrbohD was rapid and long-lasting (1 min to 24 h). Al-induced superoxide generation, AtrbohD expression and cell death were all inhibited by NADPH oxidase inhibitor and superoxide dismutase. Interestingly, Al-induced AtrbohD expression and cell death were inhibited in the mutant and transgenic cell lines lacking salicylic acid biosyhthesis and accumulation (sid2 and NahG). Involvements of salicylic acid signaling in Al-induced AtrbohD expression and cell death development were also confirmed by the use of npr1 mutant cells and NPR1-overexpressing cells. Taken together, there would be a loop of SA signaling and SA-dependent expression of AtrbohD gene leading to prolonged ROS production and cell death development in the Al-exposed Arabidopsis cells.

Ozone-inducible (OI) peptides found in plants contain repeated sequences consisting of a hexa-repeat unit (YGH GGG) repeated 7-9 times in tandem, and each unit tightly binds copper. To date, the biochemical roles for OI peptides are not fully understood. Here, we demonstrated that the hexa-repeat unit from OI peptides behaves as metal-binding motif catalytically active in the O2•--generation. Lastly, possible mechanisms of the reaction and biological consequence of the reactions are discussed by analogy to the action of human prion octarepeat peptides.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is caused by expression of the Bcr-Abl fusion protein in hematopoietic stem cells. The MUC1-C oncoprotein is expressed in CML blasts and stabilizes Bcr-Abl. The present studies demonstrate that treatment of KU812 and K562 CML cells with GO-201, a cell-penetrating peptide inhibitor of MUC1-C oligomerization, downregulates Bcr-Abl expression and inhibits cell growth. In concert with decreases in Bcr-Abl levels, KU812 and K562 cells responded to GO-201 with induction of a differentiated myeloid phenotype as evidenced by increased expression of CD11b, CD11c and CD14. The results also show that the GO-201-treated cells undergo a late apoptotic/necrotic response, consistent with induction of terminal differentiation. Primary CML blasts expressing MUC1 similarly responded to GO-201 with induction of a more differentiated phenotype and late apoptosis/necrosis. In addition, treatment of KU812 xenografts in nude mice was associated with upregulation of CD11 and tumor regression. These findings indicate that CML blasts respond to targeting of the MUC1-C oncoprotein with induction of terminal differentiation.

This article is introductory to the series of works presented in this special issue on the homeostasis and the signaling roles of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants. Upper half of this article briefly describes the history of the ROS study in the field of plant immunity research initiated by the observation that the attacks by pathogenic microorganisms possibly stimulate the burst of ROS production in the plant tissues. The topics covered in the series of works presented here include the plants' responses to abiotic oxidative stress (atmospheric ozone), regulation of seed germination, chemical interaction between parasitic and host plants and the draught tolerance, all controlled through homeostasis of ROS at biochemical and molecular biological levels. Lastly a discussion forum was proposed to further deepen our understanding of ROS behaviors in plants.

Ozone (O(3))-induced cell death in two suspension-cultured cell lines of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) derived from Bel-W3 (hyper-sensitive to O(3)) and Bel-B (highly tolerant to O(3)) varieties were studied. By exposing the newly prepared cell lines to the pulse of ozonized air, we could reproduce the conditions demonstrating the difference in O(3) sensitivity as observed in their original plants, depending on the exposure time. Since O(3)-induced acute cell death was observed in the dark, the requirement for photochemical reactions could be eliminated. Addition of several ROS scavengers and chelators inhibited the cell death induced by O(3), indicating that singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)), hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), hydroxyl radical and redox-active metals such as Fe(2+) play central roles in O(3)-induced acute damages to the cells. As expected, we observed the generation of (1)O(2) and H(2)O(2) in the O(3)-treated cells using chemiluminescent probes. On the other hand, an NADPH oxidase inhibitor, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and some SOD mimics showed no inhibitory effect. Thiols added as antioxidants unexpectedly behaved as prooxidants drastically enhancing the O(3)-induced cell death. It is noteworthy that some ROS scavengers effectively rescued the cells from dying even treated after the pulse of O(3) exposure, confirming the post-ozone progress of ROS-dependent cell death mechanism. Since one of the key differences between Bel-B and Bel-W3 was suggested to be the capacity for ROS detoxification by catalase, the endogenous catalase activities were compared in vivo in two cell lines. As expected, catalase activity in Bel-B cells was ca. 7-fold greater than that in Bel-W3 cells. Interestingly, Ca(2+) chelators added prior to (not after) the pulse of O(3) effectively inhibited the induction of cell death. In addition, increases in cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration sensitive to Ca(2+) chelators, ion channel blockers, and ROS scavengers were observed in the transgenic Bel-W3 cells expressing aequorin, suggesting the action of Ca(2+) as a secondary messenger initiating the oxidative cell death. The O(3)-induced calcium response in Bel-W3 cells was much greater than Bel-B cells. Based on the results, possible pathways for O(3)-dependent generation of the lethal level of ROS and corresponding signaling mechanism for induction of cell death were discussed.

Conclusion: The possible roles of CD44st, CD44v5 and CD44v6 in the prognosis of head and neck cancer deserve further elucidation and evaluation with long-term patient follow-up., Objective: Standard CD44 (CD44st), CD44 variant 5 (CD44v5) and CD44 variant 6 (CD44v6) are expressed in human malignant cells and tissues. The mechanism of their expression remains unclear, but has been reported to be associated with the progression and metastasis of malignancies. Recently, it has frequently been reported that the prognosis of head and neck cancer is associated with expression of the cell adhesion molecule CD44., Material and Methods: We investigated correlations between the soluble adhesion molecule CD44 and clinicopathologic variables, for example, age, sex, histologic grade, tumor size, lymph node status, distant metastasis and TNM stage. The pre- and post-treatment serum levels of CD44st, CD44v5 and CD44v6 were determined by means of ELISAs in 81 patients with head and neck cancer and 20 healthy volunteers (controls)., Results: In the cancer patients, the pre-treatment median serum levels of CD44st, CD44v5 and CD44v6 were 327 +/- 134, 312 +/- 118 and 211 +/ 110 ng/ml, respectively. The corresponding post-treatment levels were 185 +/- 103, 177 +/- 90 and 110 +/- 65 ng/ml. In the healthy volunteers, the median serum levels of CD44st, CD44v5 and CD44v6 were 133 +/- 40, 142 +/- 39 and 86 +/- 22 ng/ml, respectively. In the cancer patients, there was no significant correlation between the serum levels of CD44st, CD44v5 and CD44v6 and the clinicopathological variables. The pre-treatment serum levels of CD44st, CD44v5 and CD44v6 were closely associated with TNM stage (p = 0.0017, 0.0005 and 0.0046, respectively). The median pre-treatment serum levels of CD44st, CD44v5 and CD44v6 were significantly higher than those in the control group (p = 0.0002, 0.0065 and 0.0038, respectively). The median post- treatment serum levels of CD44st, CD44v5 and CD44v6 were significantly lower than the pre-treatment levels (p = 0.0003, 0.0027 and 0.0034, respectively).

Here we describe 2 patients with acute leukemia in whom human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) encephalitis developed after cord blood transplantation. In patients 1 and 2, generalized seizure and coma developed on day 62 and day 15, respectively, after cord blood transplantation, which failed to engraft in patient 1. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of patient 1's brain showed low-intensity signals at the gyri of the bilateral lateral lobes on T1-weighted images and high-intensity signals on T2-weighted images. MRI of patient 2's brain showed high-intensity signals in bilateral white matter on T2-weighted images and on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images. Cerebrospinal fluid examination revealed an increased protein level with pleocytosis in patient 1 and a normal protein level without pleocytosis in patient 2. Polymerase chain reaction analysis detected HHV-6 DNA in the cerebrospinal fluid of both patients. Patient 1 recovered after administration of gancyclovir for 3 weeks. However, she again suffered from encephalitis after discontinuation of gancyclovir, and died of sepsis. Patient 2 died from an anoxic brain caused by generalized seizure. When neurological symptoms and signs appear in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients, we should consider HHV-6 encephalitis and promptly and empirically treat them with gancyclovir or foscarnet.

The clinical features and outcome of 25 previously untreated aggressive non-Hodgidn's lymphoma (NHL) patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were evaluated retrospectively. The patients included 18 males and 7 females with a median age of 66 years. The median observation period for survivors was 32 months. Although there were no patients with hepatocellular carcinoma during the follow-up period, 7 patients had cirrhosis (LC) at the initiation of therapy for NHL. Seventeen patients (68%) had initial extranodal involvement including 2 cases with liver involvement. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate in the whole group was 46%, and the 5-year relapse-free survival (RFS) rate of patients with complete response (CR) was 48%. Patients with non-cirrhosis (n = 18) showed better OS (P = 0.04) compared with patients with LC (n = 7) and 5-year OS rates were 55 and 21%, respectively. Fourteen patients died in the whole group; 4 of NHL and 2 of liver failure in the LC group and 8 of NHL in the non-cirrhotic group. Among the latter 8 patients, cumulative dose (CD) of doxorubicin (ADR) and cyclophosphamide (CPA) were significantly lower than those of survivors with non-cirrhosis. In conclusion, patients with HCV-positive aggressive NHL have a similar prognosis as HCV-negative aggressive NHL. In non-cirrhotic patients, attention should be paid to the CD of drugs required to cure the aggressive NHL.

Objective: To find out the optimal method for diagnosing and treating anastomotic leaks and necrosis of the organs used for reconstruction after resection of oesophageal cancer and oesophagoplasty., Design: Retrospective study., Setting: University department, Japan., Subjects: 481 patients who underwent resection of oesophageal cancer and subsequent oesophagoplasty (including 47 postoperative anastomotic leaks and 10 cases of necrosis of the organs used for reconstruction)., Main Outcome Measures: Morbidity and mortality., Results: Of 47 patients with anastomotic leaks 2 died during their hospital stay as did 3 (30%) of 10 patients with necrosis. Necrosis was most common in cases in which the colon had been harvested by the presternal route (4/13, 31%). Secondary reconstruction with a free jejunal graft was successful in 3/4 cases., Conclusion: Most anastomotic leaks were cured by conservative treatment. In cases of necrosis of the organs used for reconstruction, early drainage and secondary reconstruction with free jejunal grafts yielded the best results.