Airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) have been reported to express Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and take part in the pathogenesis of asthma exacerbation. Though TLRs were found to activate epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in airway epithelial cells, little is known about the association of TLR ligands with EGFR signaling pathways in ASMCs. Using primary cultured ASMCs from Brown Norway rats, TLR4, eotaxin, and RANTES mRNA were examined by real-time quantitative RT-PCR after stimulation with the TLR4 ligand, lipopolysaccharides (LPS). The concentration of RANTES protein in culture supernatant was measured by ELISA. The effect of EGFR signaling inhibitors on RANTES expression was examined as well. Phosphorylation of EGFR after stimulation was examined by Western Blotting. Rat ASMCs expressed TLR4 and eotaxin, and LPS upregulated RANTES production. The EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor AG1478, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002, and the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor GM6001 inhibited RANTES expression induced by LPS. LPS phosphorylated EGFR. TLR4 activation can induce RANTES expression via EGFR transactivation and PI3K/Akt pathway in rat ASMCs. MMP-induced EGFR proligand cleavage and ligand binding to EGFR seem to be involved in this pathway. These findings may be critical in the pathogenesis of asthma exacerbation by airway infection.

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Background: Some kinds of incisions have been reported in skin- or nipple-sparing mastectomy, but few reports have described the advantages and disadvantages of each incision. This study was conducted to compare the lateral horizontal incision with the lateral vertical incision in both mastectomies, in terms of hypertrophic scarring, breast envelope necrosis, nipple-areola necrosis. Material and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent skin- or nipple-sparing mastectomy using lateral horizontal or lateral vertical incisions with immediate breast reconstruction. All data were obtained retrospectively from databases, operation records and postoperative pictures. We compared the frequency of hypertrophic scarring and breast envelope necrosis between lateral horizontal and lateral vertical incision groups by using Pearson’s chi-square test. For nipple-sparing mastectomy, we also investigated nipple-areola necrosis. Results and Conclusions: One hundred fifty cases were analyzed and identified as 89 lateral horizontal incision cases and 61 lateral vertical incision cases. Mastectomy comprised SSM in 49 cases and NSM in 101 cases. Hypertrophic scarring was significantly less frequent with lateral vertical incisions (1.6%) than with lateral horizontal incisions (14.6%) (P =0.007). No significant differences were seen in terms of breast envelope necrosis, nipple-areolar necrosis.

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The measurement of early mother-child relationship and interaction is a critical issue for infant mental health. The Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS) has been regarded as one of the most effective assessment tools. A Japanese version (JNCATS) has been developed and its reliability was reported. The purpose of the present study was to show evidence for the validity of the JNCATS by utilizing micro analysis and　sequential analysis of 53 mother-child interactions. Micro analysis is a second-by-second analysis of mother and child behavioral streams. Sequential analysis is a technique to detect mutual and contingent aspects of interaction. Variables obtained from these two methods were: a) probabilities of coding categories, and b) log odds ratios of contingency codes, whose correlations with JNCATS scores were examined. Some weak and medium correlations were found (p < .05). It was suggested that these two methods and the JNCATS could capture similar features of motherchild interaction, which provides evidence for the validity of the JNCATS.

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