Selective neuronal damage and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance in atherosclerotic occlusive disease of the major cerebral artery

In atherosclerotic internal carotid artery (ICA) or middle cerebral artery (MCA) disease, selective neuronal damage can be detected as a decrease in central benzodiazepine receptors (BZRs) in the normal-appearing cerebral cortex. This study aimed to determine whether a decrease in the BZRs in the non-infarcted cerebral cortex is associated with poor performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), which assesses executive functions

Observation of the Behavior of Deuteriums Implanted in Aluminium by Use of the Nuclear Reaction D(³He, p)⁴He

By applying the depth-profiling technique using the nuclear reaction D(³He, p)⁴He, the thermal behavior of deuteriums implanted in aluminium at a depth of 0-2 μm was examined. The behavior of deuteriums depended greatly on the polishing procedures for the sample surface. When the surface was polished on a series of five abrasive papers or finished by diamond paste, the dispersion behavior of deuteriums in aluminium was quite different from that preducted on the basis of ordinary diffusion in homogeneous media. As suggested by Bugeat and Ligeon, it may be explained by the existence of a weak trapping effect against implanted deuteriums. The half-life of the trapped state at 0°C was estimated at about 1.4×10⁴ sec. Once they are released from the trapping sites, they rapidly disperse over the bulk of aluminium with an ordinary diffusivity measured by permeation methods. On the other hand, for the samples whose surface was finished with coarse Al₂O₃, the deuterium implanted at a depth of 0-2 μm had a much smaller dispersibility than those observed for samples which were polished on a series of five abrasive papers or finished by diamond paste. At room temperature the depth profile was almost unchanged, even after a few weeks. A large depth-dependence of the dispersion behavior was observed

Binary fission and encystation of Opalina sp. in axenic medium

金沢大学理工研究域自然システム学系Opalina sp. were cultivated under an anaerobic condition in the complex medium containing DME/F-12 HAM mixture (Sigma) as a basic medium, and fetal bovine serum and autoclaved rumen fluid as additional components. In the medium, the opalinid cells reproduced by binary fission, and in the longest case they were maintained for more than one month, following successive transfers. When cells collected from the host in breeding season were cultured in the same medium, encystation occurred after rapid cell divisions. In this case, the population obtained from the frog had contained a sub-population of cells with small number of nuclei and small cell size. The sub-population might have been in the phase of palintomy that is a rapid sequence of binary fissions without cell growth and finally produces small cysts. Our successful maintenance of the opalinid cells can offer the first step for the establishment of the in-vitro culture method

A single consumption of curry improved postprandial endothelial function in healthy male subjects: a randomized, controlled crossover trial

BACKGROUND: Curry, one of the most popular foods in Japan, contains spices that are rich in potentially antioxidative compounds, such as curcumin and eugenol. Oxidative stress is thought to impair endothelial function associated with atherosclerosis, a leading cause of cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to determine whether a single consumption of curry meal would improve endothelial function in healthy men. METHODS: Fourteen healthy male subjects (BMI 23.7 ± 2.7 kg/m(2); age 45 ± 9 years) were given a single serving of curry meal or spice-free control meal (180 g of curry or control and 200 g of cooked rice; approximately 500 kcal in total) in a randomized, controlled crossover design. Before and 1 hr after the consumption, fasting and postprandial flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) responses and other parameters were measured. RESULTS: The consumption of the control meal decreased FMD from 5.8 ± 2.4% to 5.1 ± 2.3% (P = 0.039). On the other hand, the consumption of the curry meal increased FMD from 5.2 ± 2.5% to 6.6 ± 2.0% (P = 0.001), and the postprandial FMD after the curry meal was higher than that after the control meal (P = 0.002). Presence of spices in the curry did not alter significantly the systemic and forearm hemodynamics, or any biochemical parameters including oxidative stress markers measured. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the consumption of curry ameliorates postprandial endothelial function in healthy male subjects and may be beneficial for improving cardiovascular health. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry 000012012

Nanosurgery of sub-cellular organelles in living cells using a femtosecond laser oscillator

Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering, 2006, San Jose, California, United StatesWataru Watanabe, Tomoko Shimada, Sachihiro Matsunaga, Hiroshi Ishii, Tsunehito Higashi, Kiichi Fukui, Kazuyoshi Itoh, "Nanosurgery of sub-cellular organelles in living cells using a femtosecond laser oscillator," Proc. SPIE 6108, Commercial and Biomedical Applications of Ultrafast Lasers VI, 610804 (28 February 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.645474

Fulminant hepatic failure during remission from leukemia: three cases associated with massive liver cell necrosis and hepatitis B virus.

Three patients at various stages of remission from leukemia died following the development of massive liver necrosis within only 4-6 days. All had either hepatitis B surface antigen or antibody in their sera, and two of them experienced severe epigastric pain before the onset of liver injury. Hepatitis B surface antigen appeared in two of these patients after remission from leukemia. Serum gamma-globulin levels increased with decreasing doses of prednisolone and other antileukemic drugs, and hepatic cell necrosis occurred extensively. Localization of hepatitis B surface antigen in their livers revealed a strong positive reaction in the phagocytic cells. These observations strongly suggest that hepatitis B virus may be causally related to the fulminant hepatic failure at least in two of the reported leukemic patients.</p

Treatment for Churg-Strauss Syndrome: Induction of Remission and Efficacy of Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy

ABSTRACTChurg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is characterized by the presence of asthma, eosinophilia, and small-vessel vasculitis with granuloma. It is a distinct entity, as determined from all classifications of systemic vasculitis. The poor prognostic factors in CSS are renal insufficiency, cardiomyopathy, severe gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and central nervous systems (CNS) involvement. The initial management of CSS should include a high dose of a corticosteroid: prednisone at 1 mg/kg/day or its equivalent for methylprednisolone with tapering over 6 months. In patients with severe or rapidly progressing CSS, the administration of methylprednisolone pulse at 1 g/body/day for 3 days is recommended. When corticosteroid therapy does not induce remission, or when patients have poor prognostic factors, immunosuppressive cytotoxic therapy is indicated. However, some patients with severe CSS often show resistance to conventional treatment. We think that IVIG therapy is a hopeful candidate for second-line treatment for CSS patients, particularly in the case of neuropathy and/or cardiomyopathy, which are resistant to conventional therapy. However, there is not much evidence supporting the effectiveness of IVIG in CSS, and the mechanisms underlying the action of IVIG remain unclear. Now we are performing clinical trials of IVIG therapy for CSS patients who are resistant to conventional treatment, through a nationwide double-blinded placebo-controlled study in Japan