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Several scoliosis detection systems, using three-dimensional (3D) cameras or sensors, have been developed in recent years. Because these systems require specific 3D digital cameras or sensors, and the equipment is expensive, they are rarely used in many countries and regions. The development of a scoliosis screening system that uses standard two-dimensional (2D) digital cameras that come with tablet personal computers (PCs) and smartphones will facilitate the efforts made to detect scoliosis patients on a global scale. The aim of this technical note was to report on a mobile application for scoliosis screening that uses a standard 2D digital camera. The subjects were patients aged 10 years or older who visited our outpatient clinic for scoliosis or suspected scoliosis and underwent whole-spine radiography. Photographs of subjects were obtained using a standard 2D digital camera connected to a tablet PC. For analysis, we used the simplified scoliosis diagnosis support application (Cobb First, Its Corporation, Kawasaki, Japan) which operates on Windows 10 operating system (OS). When an image was imported into the application, it was displayed within a grid. The grid consisted of four columns and 40 rows and was divided into 160 areas. Each image was converted into binarized image data by demarcating skin and background color. The image of the subject was displayed as a black subject on a white background. Two types of conditions were presented to process differences in the environment versus skin color. A binarized image with a clear outline was selected. The determination was displayed as a percentage of the black area in each grid. In each row of the grid, the left and right sides of the black area were compared, and the part with the larger area with respect to the opposite side was colored and displayed. Depending on the ratio of the difference, it was possible to display green, yellow, and red. If this mobile application is available for clinical use, it has the potential to improve the accuracy of screening by physicians and nurses. Furthermore, it may also be used globally to check for possible evidence of scoliosis at home to facilitate the early detection of patients who require a medical checkup for scoliosis. Although it is essential to perform a radiographic examination for the definitive diagnosis of scoliosis, our future goal is to limit radiation exposure and replace a radiologic method with one based on a tablet PC or smartphone. A mobile application using a standard 2D digital camera may improve the accuracy of screening scoliosis by physicians and may have global application in home environments.

This is the first report to describe the potential for classification of cancer using anti-phosphoprotein monoclonal antibodies (PPmAbs) and multiple discriminant analysis. Over 150 hybridoma clones producing monoclonal antibodies were generated against a human phosphoprotein mixture derived from a human leukemia cell line. The expression profiles of 22 cell lines from 9 different types of cancer using PPmAbs were examined. The relationship between cancer cells and the expression of human phosphoprotein in the cells was analyzed by multiple discriminant analysis and was used to construct a diagnostic system for cancers. Multiple discriminant analysis was able to successfully classify the cell lines into the correct cancer group by using the diagnostic system for cancers. These results show that multiple discriminant analysis based on phosphoprotein expression in cells or tissues may be a potentially valuable method for assisting in the classification of several cancers.Post-translational modification of proteins is one of the major determinants of organism complexity (1). One of the most studied post-translational modifications is phosphorylation, because cellular phosphoproteins are involved in numerous signaling pathways. The most significant role of phosphorylation is to act as a switch to turn "on" and "off" protein activity or a cell-signaling pathway in an acute and reversible manner (8). Therefore, disruption of phosphorylation and/or intracellular signaling by mutation of phosphoproteins is central to many different chronic diseases, including cancer. Recently, many different tools for comprehensively analyzing phosphoproteins have been developed using proteomics-based technology, which were coined "phosphoproteomics." Phosphoproteomics include 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, direct staining of phosphoproteins using several fluorescent phosphosensor dyes (5), and surface-enhanced laser desorption-ionization time-offlight mass spectrometry (9). Although numerous cancer proteome studies have been performed in many laboratories across the world, these studies have been focused on the expression of relatively abundant and specifically cancer-related proteins. Hirohashi et al. reported a unique immunization procedure using a gastric cancer xenograft as an immunogen (4). The authors succeeded in developing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) reactive to hitherto unknown tumor-associated antigens in whole cancer tissues. We have previously produced anti-human phosphoprotein mAbs (PPmAbs) using a phosphoprotein mixture that was not purified and not identified, and termed this immunization procedure "random immunization." The

We have reported that mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells transfected with insulin-like growth factor (IGF) II differentiated into mature skeletal muscle cells in vitro and in vivo after transplantation. On the contrary, IGFII transfected human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells did not demonstrate mature skeletal muscle differentiation. The morphogenic factor Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) was suggested to upregulate the myogenic process along with IGF through Phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. We cultured hiPS cells with SHH to generate myoblasts and transplanted the cells to hind limbs of mice.SHH with IGFII supplementation rapidly enhanced myogenic gene and protein expressions (MyoD, myogenin, Mrf4, and dystrophin) of hiPS cells. After the transplantation, we observed severe inflammation in the transplanted sites with host immunocompetent cells despite systemic administration of dexamethasone and cyclosporine. Surviving transplanted myoblasts showed lower expressions of myogenic proteins (MyoD, myogenin, and dystrophin) than in vitro cultured myoblasts did.We successfully generated mature skeletal muscle cells from hiPS cells with SHH supplementation. We suggest that further studies are needed to characterize the underlying molecular mechanisms of transplanted myoblasts derived from hiPS cells for the formation of mature human skeletal muscle.

Cancer types can be classified according to novel antibody-based proteomics using anti-phosphoprotein monoclonal antibodies (PPmAbs) and multiple discriminant analysis. The antibody-based phosphoproteomics using an antibody panel from over 150 uncharacterized PPmAbs combined with multiple discriminant analysis makes it possible to classify cancer cells. To improve the system, new antibody panels need to be developed using characterized PPmAbs for clinical diagnosis. The uncharacterized 154 PPmAbs were tested for reactivity based on immunohistostaining of several cancer tissues. We focused on AKPS288 PPmAb, and the PPmAb-related antigen was localized in the cytoplasm of tumor cells of the colon and stomach but did not react with non-tumor cells in both tissues. Moreover, the AKPS288 PPmAb showed positive staining in the cytoplasm of normal prostate tissue but not cancer tissue. Based on the mass spectrometry (MS), the PPmAb-related antigen was identified as TATA-element modulatory factor 1 (TMF/ARA160), a tumor-associated antigen (TAA). These results indicate that the use of a novel antibody panel consisting of anti-TAA mAbs could have considerably greater utility for cancer classification than the PPmAb panel with unknown specificity identified in our previous study.

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