Deodorant pad for ulcerated breast cancer: safety and efficacy.

OBJECTIVES: APOLLO study, 'efficacy and safety of the deodorAnt Pad against Odour and uLceration for LOcally advanced breast cancer', aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of wearing a deodorant pad in patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) with an ulceration. METHODS: Komagome Pads were previously developed by Juntendo University and Kao Corporation. In test A, a conventional pad consisting of gauze, a commercially available diaper, pad, etc and the Komagome Pad were compared over 3 days to assess their efficacy and possible improvements for short-term use. In test B, the Komagome Pad was used continuously for 1 month to evaluate its safety during long-term use. RESULTS: This study included 14 patients in test A and nine in test B. In odour evaluation using sensory testing in test A, nine patients reported more significant efficacy in odour suppression with the Komagome Pad. The odour intensity of the Komagome Pad was lower on the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The group with a high level of exudation reported significantly higher satisfaction with the Komagome Pad. In test B, no adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS: A new deodorant pad for LABC demonstrated high safety and deodorant efficacy.

Dosimetric comparison of pencil beam scanning proton therapy with or without multi-leaf collimator versus volumetric-modulated arc therapy for treatment of malignant glioma.

This study aimed to examine the dosimetric effect of intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) with a multi-leaf collimator (MLC) in treating malignant glioma. We compared the dose distribution of IMPT with or without MLC (IMPTMLC+ or IMPTMLC-, respectively) using pencil beam scanning and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) plans for 16 patients with malignant gliomas. High- and low-risk target volumes were assessed using D2%, V90%, V95%, homogeneity index (HI), and conformity index (CI). Organs at risk (OARs) were evaluated using the average dose (Dmean) and D2%. Furthermore, the dose to the normal brain was evaluated using from V5Gy to V40Gy at 5 Gy intervals. There were no significant differences among all techniques regarding V90%, V95%, and CI for the targets. HI and D2% for IMPTMLC+ and IMPTMLC- were significantly superior to those for VMAT (p < 0.01). The Dmean and D2% of all OARs for IMPTMLC+ were equivalent or superior to those of other techniques. Regarding the normal brain, there was no significant difference in V40Gy among all techniques whereas V5Gy to V35Gy in IMPTMLC+ were significantly smaller than those in IMPTMLC- (with differences ranging from 0.45% to 4.80%, p < 0.05) and VMAT (with differences ranging from 6.85% to 57.94%, p < 0.01). IMPTMLC+ could reduce the dose to OARs, while maintaining target coverage compared to IMPTMLC- and VMAT in treating malignant glioma.

Rapidly Growing Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Definitive Chemoradiotherapy Using Adaptive Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Followed by Durvalumab Maintenance: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND It is difficult to reduce lung toxicity in chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced lung cancer. Volume-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is a useful lung dose-lowering radiation technique, but it is time-consuming because of its complexity. We present a case of a rapidly growing bulky lung cancer treated with VMAT and intensive adaptation to volume change. CASE REPORT A 43-year-old man with chest pain was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, cT4N3M0 stage IIIC (UICC 8th edition). Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with a VMAT of 60 Gy in 30 fractions and carboplatin/paclitaxel was performed. Despite initiating chemoradiation, monitoring with cone-beam computed tomography (CT) revealed tumor progression. The peak tumor volume was 1.5 times larger than that on CT simulation. The VMAT plan was recreated to cover the increased tumor size. After the irradiation field was enlarged, the tumor, on the contrary, shrank rapidly. Therefore, VMAT planning was performed again to further shrink the irradiation field. CT at the end of the treatment showed a good volume reduction response. Durvalumab therapy was continued for 1 year. After that, the patient was alive and showed no sign of progression. Only asymptomatic radiation pneumonitis was observed as a sub-acute adverse event. CONCLUSIONS We present a case in which proper adaptive VMAT and durvalumab for dramatically progressive non-small cell lung cancer were effective, resulting in 1-year progression-free survival. Even when rapid progression of bulky lung cancer is suggested, the combination of VMAT and adaptive radiotherapy with improved target coverage and reduced lung dose can be a treatment option.

Sperm MMP-2 is indispensable for fast electrical block to polyspermy at fertilization in Xenopus tropicalis.

Sperm matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) is necessary for frog fertilization. Monospermy is ensured by a fast, electrical block to polyspermy mediated by a positive fertilization potential. To determine the role of the MMP-2 hemopexin domain (HPX) in a fast block to polyspermy during fertilization of the frog, Xenopus tropicalis, we prepared mutant frogs deficient in mmp2 gene using the transcription activator-like effector nuclease method. mmp2 ΔHPX (-/-) sperm without MMP-2 protein were able to fertilize wild-type (WT; +/+) eggs. However, polyspermy occurred in some eggs. The mutant sperm generated a normal fertilization potential amounting to 10 mV, and were able to fertilize eggs at 10 mV, at which WT sperm never fertilized. Sensitivity during voltage-dependent fertilization decreased in mutant sperm. This study demonstrates for the first time that the genetic alteration of the MMP-2 molecule in sperm causes polyspermy during fertilization of a monospermic species. Our findings provide reliable evidence that sperm MMP-2 is indispensable for the fast, electrical block to polyspermy during Xenopus fertilization.

Proliferation of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus strain H4 in BmN cells is enhanced by exchange of the F gene sequence with type strain T3.

The Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV)-based baculoviral expression vector system is among the most efficient expression vector systems for eukaryotic proteins especially when used in combination with silkworms as a host. We newly isolated a novel BmNPV strain (BmNPV H4) in Hokkaido, Japan that outperforms the type strain T3 in terms of both proliferation and expression of polyhedrin protein in silkworm larvae; however, it proliferates poorly in the BmN cell line. We inferred the gene responsible for the differences in proliferation between viral strains by quantifying amino acid similarity distances in protein functional domains and identifying highly divergent alleles between the H4 and T3 strains. Among proteins that differ markedly in functional domain sequence between H4 and T3, we identified the F gene, which encodes the F protein, as a putative cause of proliferative differences between the two strains. Using recombinant viruses with the F protein-coding sequence exchanged between H4 and T3, we determined that the T3 F protein increases H4 proliferation in BmN while the H4 F protein does not improve T3 proliferation in silkworm larvae. Our results suggest that the BmNPV F protein can strongly affect viral proliferation in a genetic background-specific manner and may be an important target for manipulating the proliferation characteristics of BmNPV-based expression vectors.

5-Amino-1-naphthol, a novel 1,5-naphthalene derivative matrix suitable for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization in-source decay of phosphorylated peptides.

RATIONALE: Although matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization in-source decay (MALDI-ISD) is an important method for post-translational modification (PTM) analysis, the conventional matrices, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,5-DHB) and 1,5-diaminonaphthalene (1,5-DAN), are poor in terms of the fragment ion yields of the phosphorylated peptides. The use of 5-amino-1-naphthol (5,1-ANL) as a novel matrix for ISD of phosphorylated peptides in MALDI time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) is described here. METHODS: We have evaluated the ion yields of ISD fragments obtained from phosphorylated peptides using three 1,5-naphthalene derivatives as MALDI-ISD matrices, i.e., 5,1-ANL, 1,5-DAN and 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene (1,5-DHN). The signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of c'-series ions obtained from these matrices was used to estimate their suitability for MALDI-ISD of non-modified and phosphorylated peptides. RESULTS: The order of the S/N values of the ISD fragments for non-modified and phosphorylated peptides were 1,5-DAN > 5,1-ANL > 1,5-DHN and 5,1-ANL > 1,5-DHN > 1,5-DAN, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The newly introduced matrix 5,1-ANL gave highest ion yields of ISD fragments from mono-, di-, and tetraphosphorylated peptides, while 1,5-DAN was poor in the ISD ion yields for phosphorylated peptides.

Bidirectional sex change induced by sex steroid implantation in the hermaphrodite fish, Pseudolabrus sieboldi.

Sex steroids have been suggested to be involved in gonadal sex change in hermaphrodite fish. Aromatase, the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of androgens into estrogens, is a principal enzyme regulating gonadal sex. However, the detailed functions of each steroid hormone remain to be evaluated. Recent studies have demonstrated that estradiol-17ß (E2) is synthesized via estrone (E1) in some hermaphrodite species. On the other hand, 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) is produced in the testis via testosterone (T). In this study, we hypothesized that E1 and T are also involved in the sex change as precursors for E2 and 11KT, respectively. We implanted females of the wrasse, Pseudolabrus sieboldi, with T and 11KT, and males with E1 and E2, by use of sustained-release capsules. In females, testicular tissues and body color change were observed after androgen administration, in which 11KT was more effective than T. In contrast, after estrogen administration, the gonads of males contained oocytes. In females, the administration of T and 11KT resulted in reduced serum E2 levels. Conversely, serum 11KT levels decreased in the E1- and E2-treated males. Thus, we successfully induced bidirectional sex change in the gonad by estrogen and androgen administration in vivo. Moreover, this study raises the possibility that E1 and T are involved in the sex change as precursors for E2 and 11KT, respectively.

Specific interaction between negative atmospheric ions and organic compounds in atmospheric pressure corona discharge ionization mass spectrometry.

The interaction between negative atmospheric ions and various types of organic compounds were investigated using atmospheric pressure corona discharge ionization (APCDI) mass spectrometry. Atmospheric negative ions such as O(2)(-), HCO(3)(-), COO(-)(COOH), NO(2)(-), NO(3)(-), and NO(3)(-)(HNO(3)) having different proton affinities served as the reactant ions for analyte ionization in APCDI in negative-ion mode. The individual atmospheric ions specifically ionized aliphatic and aromatic compounds with various functional groups as atmospheric ion adducts and deprotonated analytes. The formation of the atmospheric ion adducts under certain discharge conditions is most likely attributable to the affinity between the analyte and atmospheric ion and the concentration of the atmospheric ion produced under these conditions. The deprotonated analytes, in contrast, were generated from the adducts of the atmospheric ions with higher proton affinity attributable to efficient proton abstraction from the analyte by the atmospheric ion.