A brief history of the Japan Society for Cell Biology.
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The Japan Society for Cell Biology (JSCB) was first founded in 1950 as the Japan Society for Cellular Chemistry under the vigorous leadership of Seizo Katsunuma, in collaboration with Shigeyasu Amano and Satimaru Seno. The Society was provisionally named as above simply because cell biology had not yet been coined at that time in Japan, although in prospect and reality the Society was in fact for the purpose of pursuing cell biology. Later in 1964, the Society was properly renamed as the Japan Society for Cell Biology. After this renaming, the JSCB made great efforts to adapt itself to the rapid progress being made in cell biology. For this purpose the Society's constitution was created in 1966 and revised in 1969. According to the revised constitution, the President, Executive Committee and Councils were to be determined by ballot vote. The style of the annual meetings was gradually modified to incorporate general oral and poster presentations in addition to Symposia (1969-1974). The publication of annual periodicals in Japanese called Symposia of the Japan Society for Cellular Chemistry (1951-1967) and later Symposia of the Japan Society for Cell Biology (1968-1974) was replaced by a new international journal called Cell Structure and Function initiated in 1975. This reformation made it possible for the Society to participate in the Science Council of Japan in 1975 and finally in 1993 to acquire its own study section of Cell Biology with grants-in-aid from the Ministry of Education and Science, Japan. The JSCB hosted the 3rd International Congress on Cell Biology (ICCB) in 1984 and the 3rd Asian-Pacific Organization for Cell Biology (APOCB) Congress in 1998, thus contributing to the international advancement of cell biology. Now the membership of JSCB stands at approximately 1,800 and the number of presentations per meeting is 300 to 400 annually. Although a good number of interesting and important findings in cell biology have been reported from Japan, the general academic activity of the JSCB is far less than one might expect. This is simply due the fact that academic activity in the field of cell biology in Japan is divided among several other related societies such as the Japan Society for Molecular Biology and the Japan Society for Developmental Biology, among others. (+info)
Collaborative work to evaluate toxicity on male reproductive organs by repeated dose studies in rats--overview of the studies.
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The National Institute of Health Sciences and 28 member companies of the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA) have conducted a validation study intended to examine whether or not lesions in the male reproductive organs noted in 4-week treatment studies can also be detected after 2-week treatment. In this study, lesions in the male reproductive organs after 2-week treatment were, therefore, compared with those after 4-week treatment. A total of 24 test substances was evaluated, these being nucleic acid modulators, cell division inhibitors, central hormonal modulators, hormonal drugs and their antagonists, other drugs and general chemicals. Among these substances, theophylline did not cause any appreciable lesions in the male reproductive organs even after 4-week treatment in the preliminary studies. With busulfan, data reported in the literature was not reproduced in the preliminary study and all animals died. Therefore, detailed examinations were not conducted for busulfan and theophylline. The remaining 22 test substances, when given to animals for 2 weeks at doses equal to or higher than for 4-week treatment, caused lesions similar to those noted after 4 weeks. It is evident from these findings that effects of pharmaceuticals on the male reproductive organs can be detected in most cases with 2-week treatment. (+info)
The Immune Tolerance Network: tolerance at the crossroads.
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Immune tolerance therapies are designed to reprogramme immune cells in a highly specific fashion in order to eliminate pathogenic responses but preserve normal immune function. A concept that has tantalized immunologists for decades, tolerogenic therapies would replace current lifelong immunosuppressive regimens and their often debilitating side-effects with short-term immunosuppressive regimens and their often debilitating side-effects with short-term, effective cures. Significant advances have been made over the past decade that have provided a more detailed understanding of the molecular events associated with T-cell recognition and activation. Unprecedented opportunities to test these approaches in a variety of human diseases have now emerged. As a result of these advances, the Immune Tolerance Network (ITN), a group of 70 expert immunologists spanning multiple disciplines, has been created to identify and promote the use of tolerogenic therapies in the clinic. Using a unique interactive approach designed to speed the development of clinical tolerance therapies, the ITN is examining new and innovative therapeutic approaches and bioassays in a range of autoimmune diseases and transplantation settings, as well as asthma and allergies. This work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (in collaboration with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International). (+info)
Draft recommendations on classification of rodent neoplasms for Peto analysis.
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The Executive Committee of the Society of Toxicologic Pathology appointed an ad hoc working group to review the current use of the Peto model for statistical analysis of rodent carcinogenicity study data and to provide recommendations for pathologists regarding appropriate and consistent classification of neoplasms for analysis by the Peto model. In the Peto model, neoplasms that are detected as in-life observations are classified as Mortality Independent and the incidences of these neoplasms are analyzed by the onset-rate method. For neoplasms that are not detected in-life in animals that come to necropsy before the end of the treatment period, the original Peto model requires pathologists to classify neoplasms as Fatal or Incidental (Non-fatal). Each Fatal neoplasm is modeled statistically as rapidly fatal regardless of how long the neoplasm has been present in the animal, and the date of death is used as a surrogate for date of onset of Fatal neoplasms. Fatal neoplasms are analyzed by the death-rate (life-table analysis) method, while Incidental neoplasms are analyzed by the prevalence method. In practice, most neoplasms that cause death are not rapidly fatal, e.g., a slowly progressive pituitary adenoma in a rat. The Peto model does not appropriately model slowly growing or slowly progressive neoplasms that cause death. RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. For animals that die or are killed prior to scheduled sacrifice, all neoplasms should be classified into one of four categories on an animal-by-animal basis: Observed In Life (Mortality-lndependent)--Neoplasms that were observed during in-life observations and for which the day of onset (first observation) was recorded: Incidental--Neoplasms that were not observed prior to necropsy and likely did not contribute to death of the animal or bringing the animal to necropsy; Rapidly Fatal--Neoplasms that were not observed prior to necropsy, likely contributed to death or bringing an animal to necropsy, and appeared to grow and develop rapidly. For these neoplasms, the day of death would serve as a surrogate for the day of onset of the neoplasm: Not Rapidly Fatal--Neoplasms that were not observed prior to necropsy, likely contributed to death or bringing an animal to necropsy, and did not appear to grow or develop rapidly. 2. Other guidelines for pathologists interpreting carcinogenicity studies include: More than one neoplasm may be Rapidly Fatal, Not Rapidly Fatal, and/or Incidental in a single animal. An individual animal may have 2 or more Rapidly Fatal neoplasms if the pathologist believes that each neoplasm had a rapid onset and likely contributed to bringing the animal to necropsy: Each pathologist should use scientific judgment when differentiating Rapidly Fatal and Not Rapidly Fatal neoplasms. This scientific judgment is similar to that used in determining whether neoplasms contribute to the cause of death. Criteria for malignancy (tissue invasion, metastasis, necrosis, high mitotic index, anaplasia, etc.) can be helpful as guides for classifying a neoplasm as Rapidly Fatal. 3. Industry and regulatory statisticians should continue to explore alternatives to the Peto method that do not require classification of neoplasms according to their impact on the death of the animal, and should use these methods if they offer equivalent or superior analytical capabilities. (+info)
Considerations for planning and conducting clinic-based research in physical therapy.
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There is growing demand to increase the volume of clinic-based research in physical therapy. Special considerations, unique to the planning and conduct of clinic-based research, need to be addressed to increase the likelihood that these studies will be completed successfully. The purposes of this perspective are to discuss factors affecting clinic-based research and to offer suggestions for addressing these problems when designing and conducting research studies in a clinical setting. This perspective discusses issues such as patient management, determining the availability of target patient populations, acquiring support from physical therapists and physicians, reporting and managing research-related injury or illness, and modifying or terminating projects. Some of the points made in this perspective are illustrated using examples from the authors' experiences in conducting clinical research. (+info)
Increasing worker and community awareness of toxic hazards in the workplace.(22/332)