Hokkaido University

About: Hokkaido University is a education organization based out in Sapporo, Hokkaidô, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Population. The organization has 53925 authors who have published 115403 publications receiving 2651647 citations. The organization is also known as: Hokudai & Hokkaidō daigaku.

Forty consecutive resections of hilar cholangiocarcinoma with no postoperative mortality and no positive ductal margins: results of a prospective study.

Abstract: The use of major hepatectomy in the surgical treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma has increased resectability and improved long-term results.1–3 The reported 3-year and 5-year survival rates of 30 to 40% and 20 to 30%, respectively, however, are still far from encouraging.4–14 The poor survival rates have mostly been attributed to in-hospital death from postoperative hepatic failure7,15–18 and to positive surgical margins, particularly in the stumps of the remnant hepatic ducts.19–21 More extensive hepatic resection to obtain negative ductal margins increases the risk of postoperative hepatic failure, whereas less extensive hepatectomy, which is performed because of fear of hepatic failure, increases the risk of positive ductal margins. Therefore, balancing these conflicting considerations has been difficult. To address this problem, we began a prospective study in July 1999 on surgical treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma using new departmental guidelines. The results of this study are reported here and new potential strategies are proposed to improve long-term survival.

Fluffy dust forms icy planetesimals by static compression

Abstract: Context. Several barriers have been proposed in planetesimal formation theory: bouncing, fragmentation, and radial drift problems. Understanding the structure evolution of dust aggregates is a key in planetesimal formation. Dust grains become fluffy by coagulation in protoplanetary disks. However, once they are fluffy, they are not sufficiently compressed by collisional compression to form compact planetesimals. Aims. We aim to reveal the pathway of dust structure evolution from dust grains to compact planetesimals. Methods. Using the compressive strength formula, we analytically investigate how fluffy dust aggregates are compressed by static compression due to ram pressure of the disk gas and self-gravity of the aggregates in protoplanetary disks. Results. We reveal the pathway of the porosity evolution from dust grains via fluffy aggregates to form planetesimals, circumventing the barriers in planetesimal formation. The aggregates are compressed by the disk gas to a density of 10-3 g/cm3 in coagulation, which is more compact than is the case with collisional compression. Then, they are compressed more by self-gravity to 10-1 g/cm3 when the radius is 10 km. Although the gas compression decelerates the growth, the aggregates grow rapidly enough to avoid the radial drift barrier when the orbital radius is ≲6 AU in a typical disk. Conclusions. We propose a fluffy dust growth scenario from grains to planetesimals. It enables icy planetesimal formation in a wide range beyond the snowline in protoplanetary disks. This result proposes a concrete initial condition of planetesimals for the later stages of the planet formation.

Genome-wide cDNA microarray analysis of gene expression profiles in pancreatic cancers using populations of tumor cells and normal ductal epithelial cells selected for purity by laser microdissection

Abstract: To characterize molecular mechanism involved in pancreatic carcinogenesis, we analysed gene-expression profiles of 18 pancreatic tumors using a cDNA microarray representing 23,040 genes. As pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas usually contain a low proportion of cancer cells in the tumor mass, we prepared 95% pure populations of pancreatic cancer cells by means of laser microbeam microdissection, and compared their expression profiles to those of similarly purified, normal pancreatic ductal cells. We identified 260 genes that were commonly upregulated and 346 genes that were downregulated in pancreatic cancer cells. Because of the high degree of purity in the cell populations, a large proportion of genes that we detected as upregulated or downregulated in pancreatic cancers were different from those reported in previous studies. Comparison of clinicopathological parameters with the expression profiles indicated that altered expression of 76 genes was associated with lymph-node metastasis and that of 168 genes with liver metastasis. In addition, expression levels of 30 genes were related to the recurrence of disease. These genome-wide expression profiles should provide useful information for finding candidate genes whose products might serve as specific tumor markers and/or as molecular targets for treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer.

Revisiting the taxonomy and evolution of pathogenicity of the genus Leptospira through the prism of genomics

Abstract: The causative agents of leptospirosis are responsible for an emerging zoonotic disease worldwide. One of the major routes of transmission for leptospirosis is the natural environment contaminated with the urine of a wide range of reservoir animals. Soils and surface waters also host a high diversity of non-pathogenic Leptospira and species for which the virulence status is not clearly established. The genus Leptospira is currently divided into 35 species classified into three phylogenetic clusters, which supposedly correlate with the virulence of the bacteria. In this study, a total of 90 Leptospira strains isolated from different environments worldwide including Japan, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Algeria, mainland France, and the island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean were sequenced. A comparison of average nucleotide identity (ANI) values of genomes of the 90 isolates and representative genomes of known species revealed 30 new Leptospira species. These data also supported the existence of two clades and 4 subclades. To avoid classification that strongly implies assumption on the virulence status of the lineages, we called them P1, P2, S1, S2. One of these subclades has not yet been described and is composed of Leptospira idonii and 4 novel species that are phylogenetically related to the saprophytes. We then investigated genome diversity and evolutionary relationships among members of the genus Leptospira by studying the pangenome and core gene sets. Our data enable the identification of genome features, genes and domains that are important for each subclade, thereby laying the foundation for refining the classification of this complex bacterial genus. We also shed light on atypical genomic features of a group of species that includes the species often associated with human infection, suggesting a specific and ongoing evolution of this group of species that will require more attention. In conclusion, we have uncovered a massive species diversity and revealed a novel subclade in environmental samples collected worldwide and we have redefined the classification of species in the genus. The implication of several new potentially infectious Leptospira species for human and animal health remains to be determined but our data also provide new insights into the emergence of virulence in the pathogenic species.