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Background. Pulmonary fiber content of both asbestos and nonasbestos types were evaluated in Japanese patients with malignant pleural mesotheliomas. Methods. Pulmonary fiber content was analyzed in 16 patients and 16 case‐matched control subjects by transmission electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis using a low‐temperature ashing procedure. Results. The geometric mean content of total asbestos was significantly higher in the patients (22.0 × 106 fibers/g dry lung) than in the control subjects (2.24 × 106 fibers/g dry lung) (P < 0.01). When the asbestos content was analyzed by fiber type, the geometric means were also consistently and significantly higher among the patients compared with the control subjects (P < 0.01). Results were as follows: (1) amosite: patients 3.94 times 106 versus control subjects 0.23 × 106; (2) crocidolite: patients 3.56 times 106 versus control subjects 0.35 times 106; (3) total amphiboles: patients 16.0 times 106 versus control subjects 0.77 times 106; and (4) chrysotile: patients 3.76 times 106 versus control subjects 1.01 times 106. However, when individual total asbestos content was considered, 7 of the 16 patients (44%) had levels lower than the highest value noted among the control subjects. Pulmonary fiber content of patients and control subjects also revealed the presence of nonasbestos fibers. The geometric mean of nonasbestos fibers was significantly higher in the patients (87.3 × 106) than in control subjects (33.8 × 106) (P × 0.01). The major type of nonasbestos fibers in both groups was aluminum silicates. The mean of ratios of nonasbestos fiber contents to total asbestos contents in the patients and control subjects was 7.0 and 17.3, respectively. Conclusions. The results were mainly in agreement with the findings of earlier investigations, but fiber content of both chrysotile and nonasbestos fiber as well as those of amphibole asbestos were significantly higher in the patients than in the control subjects.

The transcription factor OASIS gene, which encodes for a CREB/ATF family member, is specifically expressed in the salivary gland, the cartilage and the tooth germs of the mouse embryo. In the present study, the expression patterns were compared between OASIS mRNA and major vertebrate proteoglycans, which might be the downstream genes of OASIS in the tooth germs of mouse first mandibular molars, through in situ hybridization histochemistry. OASIS mRNA expression was observed in the inner enamel epithelium during the cap and bell stages (E14.5-E18.5) in the preodontoblasts during differentiation stage (E18.5-P0) and in the differentiating odontoblasts during the early secretory stage (P2.5-P4.5). Proteoglycans (versican, decorin, biglycan, glypican, syndecan-1, and syndecan-3) were expressed in the tooth germs in various patterns. Decorin, biglycan, syndecan-1 and syndecan-3 showed gene expressions overlapping with OASIS. Especially the expression pattern of decorin and syndecan-3 coincided temporally and spatially exactly with that of OASIS. These results suggest that the OASIS gene might be related to proteoglycan expression and may play an important role in the differentiation of the odontoblast and cells in inner enamel epithelium.

Cationic cyclopolymerization of 2‐methyl‐5,5‐bis(vinyloxymethyl)‐1,3‐dioxane (1), a divinyl ether with a cyclic acetal group, was investigated with the HCl/ZnCl2 initiating system in toluene and methylene chloride at −30 °C. The reaction proceeded quantitatively to give gel‐free, soluble polymers in organic solvents. The number‐average molecular weight (Mn) of the polymers increased in direct proportion to monomer conversion, and further increased on addition of a fresh monomer feed to the almost completely polymerized reaction mixture, indicating that the polymerization proceeded in living/controlled manner. The contents of the unreacted vinyl groups in the produced soluble polymers were less than ∼3 mol %, and therefore, the degree of cyclization was determined to be ∼97%. In contrast, the pendant cyclic acetal groups remained intact in the polymers under the present cationic polymerization conditions. These facts show that cyclopolymerization of 1 almost exclusively occurred and the poly(vinyl ether)s with the cyclized repeating units and cyclic pendant acetal rings were obtained. Glass transition temperature (Tg) and thermal decomposition temperature (Td) of poly(1) (Mn = 7870, Mw/Mn = 1.57) were found to be 166 and 338 °C, respectively, indicating that poly(1) had high Tg and high thermal stability. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 952–958, 2010

Nonspecific tumoricidal effectors, called lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells, can be induced from the tumor-bearer's spleen in vitro. The adoptive transfer of such LAK cells to a patient with unresectable hepatoma was performed in this study. About 2.4 X 10(9) LAK cells generated from the autologous spleen were adoptively transferred to the patient via hepatic arterial catheter. Signs of toxicity encountered with LAK cell infusions comprised chills and fever only. Chemical studies of hepatic, renal, and hematologic parameters were normal; pulmonary function studies revealed no changes after infusion. With the transfer of LAK cells, serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels were markedly decreased and ascitic fluid retention was transiently reduced. Though the therapeutic effect was transient, these trials offered hope for a new therapeutic approach to unresectable hepatoma. Further, the availability of large amounts of recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) may now make widespread use of this approach possible.