Endochondral Ossification Signals in Cartilage Degradation During Osteoarthritis Progression in Experimental Mouse Models

Hiroshi Kawaguchi 한국분자세포생물학회 2008 Molecules and cells Vol.25 No.1

Osteoarthritis (OA), one of the most common skeletal disorders characterized by cartilage degradation and osteophyte formation in joints, is induced by accumulated mechanical stress; however, little is known about the underlying molecular mechanism. Several experimental OA models in mice by producing instability in the knee joints have been developed to apply approaches from mouse genetics. Although proteinases like matrix metalloproteinases and aggrecanases have now been proven to be the principal initiators of OA progression, clinical trials of proteinase inhibitors have not been successful for the treatment, turning the interest of researchers to the upstream signals of proteinase induction. These signals include undegraded and fragmented matrix proteins like type II collagen or fibronection that affects chondrocytes through distinct receptors. Another signal is proinflammatory factors that are produced by chondrocytes and synovial cells; however, recent studies that used mouse OA models in knockout mice did not support that these factors have a role in the central contribution to OA development. Our mouse genetic approaches found that the induction of a transcriptional activator Runx2 in chondrocytes under mechanical stress contributes to the pathogenesis of OA through chondrocyte hypertrophy. In addition, chondrocyte apoptosis has recently been identified as being involved in OA progression. We hereby propose that these endochondral ossification signals may be important for the OA progression, suggesting that the related molecules can clinically be therapeutic targets of this disease.

Direct Analysis of Aerosol Particles by Atomic Emission and Mass Spectrometry

Hiroshi Kawaguchi,Tsutomu Nomizu,Tomokazu Tanaka,Satoshi Kaneco 한국분석과학회 1995 분석과학 Vol.8 No.4

Direct Analysis of Aerosol Particles by Atomic Emission and Mass Spectrometry

Kawaguchi, Hiroshi,Nomizu, Tsutomu,Tanaka, Tomokazu,Kaneco, Satoshi 한국분석과학회 1995 분석과학 Vol.8 No.4

A method for the direct determination of elemental content in each of aerosol particles by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission (ICP-AES) or mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is described. This method is based upon the introduction of diluted aerosol into an ICP and the measurement of either the flash emission intensities of an atomic spectral line or ion intensities. A pulse-height analyzer is used for the measurement of the distribution of the elemental content. In order to calibrate the measuring system, monodisperse aerosols are used. The potentials of the method are shown by demonstrating the copper emission signals from the aerosols generated at a small electric switch, a study of the relation between the decreasing rate of particle number density and particle size, and measurements of calcium contents in the individual biological cells.

Efficacy and safety of venous thromboembolism prophylaxis with fondaparinux in women at risk after cesarean section

( Ryuji Kawaguchi ),( Shoji Haruta ),( Hiroshi Kobayashi ) 대한산부인과학회 2017 Obstetrics & Gynecology Science Vol.60 No.6

Objective Cesarean section is associated with an increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). The safety and efficacy of primary prophylaxis of fondaparinux, a synthetic sulfated pentasaccharide heparin analog, in women at risk after cesarean section is uncertain. Methods This was a retrospective study of 295 cases of pregnant women presenting to a tertiary referral center of Nara, Japan, to evaluate the usefulness of thromboprophylaxis with fondaparinux after cesarean delivery between 2011 and 2012. Patients were initially received unfractionated heparin (once 5,000 IU subcutaneously, twice a day), starting 6 hours after cesarean section for 24 hours, and then treated with fondaparinux (once 2.5 mg daily, subcutaneously) for 5 days. The primary efficacy end-point was an improvement in the incidence of symptomatic VTE or fatal post-cesarean pulmonary thromboembolism. The primary safety end-point was major bleeding during treatment. Results There were neither any episodes of symptomatic VTE cases nor maternal deaths. A total of 10 patients had a bleeding event. Major bleeding complication was observed in 2 (0.68%) of 295 patients receiving fondaparinux. Non-major bleeding into critical sites was observed in 8 patients, often at surgical sites, and recovery was not delayed. Conclusion This study demonstrates the safety and efficacy of fondaparinux in women at high risk of VTE after cesarean section. Large phase trials comparing clinical outcomes with fondaparinux across a wide spectrum of patients are needed to confirm these observations.

Cut-off value of D-dimer for prediction of deep venous thrombosis before treatment in ovarian cancer

Ryuji Kawaguchi,Naoto Furukawa,Hiroshi Kobayashi 대한부인종양학회 2012 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.23 No.2

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) before treatment in ovarian cancer and the appropriate cut-off value of D-dimer (DD) for the diagnosis of DVT. Methods: Between July 2007 and October 2008, eighty seven patients with presumed ovarian cancer (final diagnosis: ovarian cancer, n=59; borderline malignancy, n=28) were enrolled. Measurement of DD levels and subsequent venous ultrasonography were performed before treatment. Results: The mean DD level was 4.1 μg/mL. Subsequent venous ultrasonography revealed DVT in 14 of 87 (16.1%) patients (ovarian cancer, 12 cases; borderline malignancy, 2 cases). None were found to have developed DVT if they had a DD level of <1.5 μg/mL. If 1.5 μg/mL was used as a cut-off value for DD levels to diagnose DVT, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 100%, 61.6%, 33.3%, and 100%. There was noclinical onset of postoperative pulmonary thromboembolism. Conclusion: Our data suggest that presumed ovarian cancer patients with at least more than 1.5 μg/mL should be examined using venous ultrasonogaphy to detect DVT. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) before treatment in ovarian cancer and the appropriate cut-off value of D-dimer (DD) for the diagnosis of DVT. Methods: Between July 2007 and October 2008, eighty seven patients with presumed ovarian cancer (final diagnosis: ovarian cancer, n=59; borderline malignancy, n=28) were enrolled. Measurement of DD levels and subsequent venous ultrasonography were performed before treatment. Results: The mean DD level was 4.1 μg/mL. Subsequent venous ultrasonography revealed DVT in 14 of 87 (16.1%) patients (ovarian cancer, 12 cases; borderline malignancy, 2 cases). None were found to have developed DVT if they had a DD level of <1.5 μg/mL. If 1.5 μg/mL was used as a cut-off value for DD levels to diagnose DVT, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 100%, 61.6%, 33.3%, and 100%. There was noclinical onset of postoperative pulmonary thromboembolism. Conclusion: Our data suggest that presumed ovarian cancer patients with at least more than 1.5 μg/mL should be examined using venous ultrasonogaphy to detect DVT.

Scheduling Parallel Program Tasks onto a Message Passing MultiProcessor System

Tsuyoshi Kawaguchi,Hiroshi Masuyama 대한전자공학회 1991 JTC-CSCC : Joint Technical Conference on Circuits Vol.- No.-

Posttreatment cut-off levels of squamous cell carcinoma antigen as a prognostic factor in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer treated with radiotherapy

Ryuji Kawaguchi,Naoto Furukawa,Hiroshi Kobayashi,Isao Asakawa 대한부인종양학회 2013 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.24 No.4

Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess prognostic factors for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer treated with radiotherapy as the primary treatment and to assess the posttreatment cut-off levels of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) to predict three-year overall survival (OS) rates. Methods: One hundred and twenty-eight patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics [FIGO] stage IIB-IVA) treated using radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy were identified. Of these patients, 116 who had SCC-Ag levels >1.5 ng/mL prior to treatment were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Median age was 68 years (range, 27 to 79 years). The complete response rate was 70.7% and the three-year OS rate was 61.1%. The median levels of pretreatment and posttreatment SCC-Ag were 11.5 ng/mL (range, 1.6 to 310.0 ng/mL) and 0.9 ng/mL (range, 0.4 to 41.0 ng/mL), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that pretreatment anemia (p=0.041), pelvic lymph node metastasis (p=0.016) and posttreatment SCC-Ag levels (p=0.001) were independent prognostic factors for three-year OS. The SCC-Ag level cut-off point for three-year OS rates, calculated using a receiver operating characteristic curve, was 1.15 ng/mL (sensitivity, 80.0%; specificity, 74.0%). Conclusion: Pretreatment anemia and pelvic lymph node metastasis are poor prognostic factors in locally advanced cervical cancer. Furthermore, posttreatment SCC-Ag levels <1.15 ng/mL predicted better three-year OS rates.

PainVision Apparatus Is Effective for Assessing Low Back Pain

Seiji Ohtori,Hiroshi Kawaguchi,Tsuneo Takebayashi,Sumihisa Orita,Gen Inoue,Kazuyo Yamauchi,Yasuchika Aoki,Junichi Nakamura,Tetsuhiro Ishikawa,Masayuki Miyagi,Hiroto Kamoda,Miyako Suzuki,Gou Kubota,Yos 대한척추외과학회 2014 Asian Spine Journal Vol.8 No.6

Study Design: Case series. Purpose: To determine the utility of “PainVision” apparatus for the assessment of low back pain. Overview of Literature: A newly developed device, the PainVision PS-2100 (Nipro, Osaka, Japan), has been used to assess the perception of pain in a quantitative manner. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of PainVision for the assessment of low back pain. Methods: We assessed 89 patients with low back pain. The numeric rating scale (NRS) score, McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) score and the degree of pain calculated by PainVision were measured twice at 4-week intervals in each patient. An electrode was patched on the forearm surface of the patients and the degree of pain was automatically calculated (degree of pain=100×[current producing pain comparable with low back pain–current at perception threshold/current at perception threshold]). Correlations between NRS and MPQ scores and the degree of pain were determined using Spearman’s rank correlation test. Results: There was a strong correlation between the NRS and MPQ scores at each time point (rs =0.60, p <0.0001). The degree of pain also showed a moderate correlation with NRS and MPQ scores at each time point (rs =0.40, p <0.03). The change in the degree of pain over 4 weeks showed a moderate correlation with changes in the NRS and MPQ scores (rs =0.40, p <0.01). Conclusions: PainVision as self-reported questionnaires is a useful tool to assess low back pain.

Postal Addresses As An Assay of Cultural Cognition

Hiroko Nakamura,Hiroshi Yama,Gary L. Brase,Nasriah Zakaria,Yoshiko Arai,Norhayati Zakaria,Shafiz A. Mohd Yusof,Jun Kawaguchi 대한사고개발학회 2014 The International Journal of Creativity & Problem Vol.24 No.2

The present study investigate/d cultural differences in semantic processing, using a city-to-state and state-to-city priming task, in Japan, Malaysia and the United States. Prior research suggests that Easterners tend to engage in context-dependent cognition whereas Westerners tend to engage in context-independent cognition (Nisbett et al., 2001). According to this view, Japanese and Malaysians should show a greater facilitation effect when state name (context) is presented before city name (object) and/or should be more strongly affected by the prime as a contextual cue. However, if domain-specific knowledge about postal addressing order affects semantic priming, both Malaysians and Americans (who share a city-to-state postal address style) should show greater facilitation from city-to-state priming. The results showed cultural differences in the long SOA (700ms) priming task: Americans and Japanese showed significant differences between congruent pairs (e.g., Texas-Dallas) and incongruent pairs (e.g., Texas-Chicago), both in state- to-city and city-to-state priming, whereas Malaysian didn’t show such differences in state-to-city priming. On the other hand, in the short SOA (200ms) priming task, there were no differences between Easterners and Westerners in amount of priming. These results imply that when the priming order didn’t fit the domain-specific knowledge about addressing order, but was consistent with the culturally engaged cognitive tendency, this domain-general cognitive tendency facilitated the target processing via conscious use of strategies.

Traffic Control for ATM Networks

Kyoichi Nakamaki,Masami Kawakatsu,Masaharu Kawaguchi,Hiroshi Inoue 대한전자공학회 1988 JC-CNSS : Joint Conference on Communications, Netw Vol.1 No.-