A method for screening antifouling paints using the CIELAB coordinates of Ectocarpus sp. under a flow-through condition.

A laboratory test with a flow-through system was designed and its applicability to testing antifouling paints of varying efficacies was investigated. Six different formulations of antifouling paints were prepared to have increased contents (0 to 40 wt%) of Cu2O. The test plates were initially aged for 45 days by rotating them at a speed of 10 knots inside a cylinder drum. A bioassay was then conducted using the alga, Ectocarpus sp., as the test species. The new bioassay for screening antifouling paints under a flow-through system was successfully established using algae affixed on substrata. The correlation between the mean values of CIELAB parameters (L*, a* and b*), the total colour difference (ΔE*), and the cell survival rate of the algae was investigated. The paint performance estimated from the bioassay was confirmed using correlation patterns between colour parameters and the algal cell survival rate.

Erratum to "Ependymoma of the broad ligament mimicking an ovarian surface epithelial tumor" [Radiology Case Reports 16 (2021) 210-214].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.radcr.2020.10.046.].

Abnormal accumulation of OFD1 in endometrial cancer with poor prognosis inhibits ciliogenesis.

The aim of the present study was to examine primary cilia in endometrial tissue during the menstrual cycle and to clarify their morphological changes with different grades of endometrial cancer. Images of fluorescence immunostaining taken by confocal microscopy were used to count the number of primary cilia in normal endometrium and endometrioid carcinoma Grade 1 and Grade 3 specimens. To examine the association between autophagy and ciliogenesis in endometrioid carcinoma, the expression of p62/Sequestosome-1, a selective substrate for autophagy, and oral-facial-digital syndrome 1 protein (OFD1), a protein associated with ciliogenesis, were examined using images of fluorescence immunostaining taken by confocal microscopy. The level of p62 expression was confirmed by western blotting. In proliferative and secretory endometrial stromal cells, the percentage of cells that were ciliated was 7.2 and 32.7% (95% confidence interval=21.61-39.79; P<0.01), and the length of the primary cilia was 1.24 µm and 2.34 µm (0.92-1.26; P<0.01), respectively. In stromal cells of endometrioid carcinoma Grade 1 and Grade 3, the percentage of ciliated cells was 13.5 and 2.9% (7.89-15.05; P<0.001), and the length of the primary cilia was 2.02 and 1.14 µm (0.76-0.99; P<0.001), respectively. In both normal menstrual cycle tissue and endometrial carcinomas, the percentage of primary cilia was lower and their length was shorter in tissues with higher proliferative potential. The expression of OFD1 was significantly higher in Grade 3 compared with Grade 1 as indicated by quantifying the intensity of the fluorescence images (133-12248; P=0.046). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study concerning the distribution of primary cilia in normal endometrium and endometrial cancer tissues. Overall, fewer ciliated cells in the highly malignant endometrial cancer tissues may be associated not only to the proliferation of cancer cells, but also to the excessive accumulation of OFD1 due to dysfunctional autophagy.

Abnormal ciliogenesis in decidual stromal cells in recurrent miscarriage.

Primary cilia regulate cellular signaling and are involved in both sensing and transducing extracellular stimuli. A recent study of patients with recurrent miscarriage (RM) identified mutations affecting DYNC2H1, which were involved in ciliary biogenesis. However, there has been no study concerning primary cilia in the decidua. We compared the number and the length of primary cilia in the decidua of 15 patients with unexplained RM with those of 7 pregnant controls who underwent an artificial termination of pregnancy. Immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies against primary cilia, extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs), macrophages, uterine Natural Killer (uNK) cells, decidual stromal cells, and the activation of TGF-ß and CREB signaling in the decidua of early pregnancy was studied. The density of decidual stromal cells, but not EVTs, macrophages or uNK cells, was found to be significantly higher in the decidua of patients compared to controls. The percentage of ciliated decidual stromal cells was significantly decreased in patients. There was no difference in the primary ciliary length. Regarding TGF-ß signaling, p-Smad2 in these cells was diminished significantly in patients, and most of the TGF-ß-activated decidual stromal cells of both patients and controls had primary cilia. No difference in the activation of CREB was found. Abnormal primary cilia on decidual stromal cells may be one of the explanatory factors for unknown RM. The inactivation of TGF-ß signaling may lead to abnormal ciliogenesis in the decidua.

A bronchial mucous gland adenoma harboring GNAS R201C mutation.

We present a case of bronchial mucous gland adenoma (MGA) and discuss the results of its cytomorphological and cytogenetic examination serving as a basis for the differential diagnosis. To our best knowledge, this is a first report that demonstrate a GNAS gene (R201C) mutation in mucous gland adenoma, which may play an important role in MGA tumorigenesis, as is the case in other mucinous-type epithelial neoplasms of various organs.

Ependymoma of the broad ligament mimicking an ovarian surface epithelial tumor.

We report a case of ependymoma of the broad ligament occurring in a 21-year-old woman. CT and MRI findings showed a 40-mm-diameter, well-demarcated cystic mass with a lobulated solid component in the right pelvis. The solid component showed heterogeneous intermediate signal intensity on T2-weighted image and prolonged mild contrast enhancement. The tumor was resected and confirmed as ependymoma based on the histologic findings along with its immunohistochemical profile. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an adnexal ependymoma describing the precise radiological characteristics that resembled those of borderline or malignant epithelial ovarian tumors.

Short-term outcomes of robotic-assisted versus conventional laparoscopic radical hysterectomy for early-stage cervical cancer: A single-center study.

AIM: Our hospital adopted laparoscopic surgery for early-stage cervical cancer in August 1998, with robot-assisted surgery implemented in October 2013. This study aimed to compare short-term outcomes for conventional laparoscopic radical hysterectomy (LRH) and robot-assisted radical hysterectomy (RARH) and assess the technical feasibility of RARH for early-stage cervical cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively compared operative time, blood loss, number of resected lymph nodes, length of postoperative hospital stay, rate of positive vaginal margin and perioperative complications between two groups of 121 patients (LRH group, n = 57; RARH group, n = 64) with stage IA2 to IIB, among 164 patients who underwent endoscopic radical hysterectomy for early-stage cervical cancer performed between January 2010 and December 2017 by an expert surgeon, excluding cases of para-aortic lymphadenectomy. RESULTS: No differences in patient background, in terms of age and body mass index, were identified. For the LRH/RARH groups (mean ± standard deviation), results obtained were as follows: operative time, 211 ± 38/280 ± 59 min (P < 0.01); blood loss, 219 ± 114/370 ± 231 mL (P < 0.01); number of resected lymph nodes, 38.5 ± 15.9/50.2 ± 18.2 (P < 0.01); length of postoperative hospital stay, 11.6 ± 3.3/11.3 ± 4.8 days (P = 0.67); and perioperative complications with Clavien-Dindo classification of grade III or higher, 1.8/7.8% (P = 0.13). CONCLUSION: The operative time was significantly longer and blood loss greater in the RARH than LRH group. A greater number of lymph nodes were removed in the RARH group. However, these differences seem to be within a clinically acceptable range, showing that RARH is as feasible and safe as LRH in terms of short-term outcomes.

A Method for Evaluating the Efficacy of Antifouling Paints Using Mytilus galloprovincialis in the Laboratory in a Flow-Through System.

A laboratory test with a flow-through system was designed and its applicability for testing antifouling paints of varying efficacies was investigated. Six different formulations of antifouling paints were prepared to have increasing contents (0 to 40 wt.%) of Cu2O, which is the most commonly used antifouling substance, and each formulation of paint was coated on just one surface of every test plate. The test plates were aged for 45 days by rotating them at a speed of 10 knots inside a cylinder drum. A behavioral test was then conducted using five mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) that were pasted onto the coated surface of each aged test plate. The number of the byssus threads produced by each mussel generally decreased with increasing Cu2O content of the paint. The newly designed method was considered valid owing to the high consistency of its results with observations from the field experiment.

PP062. Characteristic changes of systemic blood pressure in eclampsia.

AIM: It was found that eclampsia might be caused by vasogenic edema of brain as the results of breaking autoregulation of cerebral blood flow due to possibly the systemic increase in blood pressure (BP). In the present study, we investigated characteristic changes of systemic BP just after the onset of eclampsia. METHOD: Four eclamptic women during pregnancy were participated. Two had labor pains. Two were given anti-hypertensive drugs due to severe hypertension. BP in both systolic and diastolic, and mean arterial pressure (MAP), before and after onset of eclampsia were evaluated. RESULT: Basal BP in systolic, diastolic and MAP before eclampsia were 132±13, 79±24, 90±20mmHg. Maximum BP in systolic, diastolic and MAP before eclampsia were 172±10, 96±13 and 121±10mmHg. BP in systolic, diastolic and MAP after eclampsia were 124±23, 74±14 and 91±12mmHg. An increase in MAP was 24±11mmHg before eclampsia, while a decrease was 31±2mmHg after onset of eclampsia. CONCLUSION: In eclampsia, an increase in BP was seen just before eclampsia, while a severe decrease in BP (more than 30mmHg of MAP) was seen after it.

Redox-photosensitized aminations of 1,2-benzo-1,3-cycloalkadienes, arylcyclopropanes, and quadricyclane with ammonia.

1,2,4-Triphenylbenzene and 2,2'-methylenedioxy-1,1'-binaphthalene successfully photosensitized the aminations of 1,2-benzo-1,3-cycloalkadienes, arylcyclopropanes, and quadricyclane with ammonia and primary amines in the presence of m- or p-dicyanobenzene, which gave the 4-amino-1,2-benzocycloalkenes, 3-amino-1-arylpropanes, and 7-amino-5-(p-cyanophenyl)bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene, respectively. A key pathway for the photosensitized amination is the hole transfer from the cation radicals of the sensitizers that were generated by photoinduced electron transfer to the electron acceptors to the substrates. Therefore, it was found that the relationships in oxidation potentials between the sensitizers and the substrates and the positive charge distribution of the cation radicals of the substrates were important factors for the efficient amination.