Geotechnical Properties of Kanto Alluvial Soils based on Geochemical Survey

Chemical properties of pore water in soils have a great influence on interparticle bonding among clayey particles and, as a result, not only on their soil structure but also on their geotechnical properties. In this study, we analyzed ionic compositions in pore water extracted from alluvial soils deposited under different sedimentary environments in Kanto lowland area, Japan, and investigated the effect of the chemical compositions of pore water on the geotechnical properties such as compressibility and sensitivity. The following results were obtained: The ion concentrations of pore water measured by different extraction methods showed that the concentration of Na+ by the dilution method was higher than that by the centrifugation method, while the concentrations of Ca2+, Cl- and SO42- by the dilution method are significantly smaller than those by centrifugation method. The centrifugation method was recommended for evaluating geochemistry of the soils since the rotation speeds in the centrifugation method did not significantly affect the pore-water compositions. The geotechnical properties were highly related to the ion concentrations of pore water. Higher compression index and sensitivity were observed for the alluvial soils with higher monovalent/divalent ion ratio. In addition, more strong dependency of monovalent/divalent ion ratio on geotechnical properties was obtained for the alluvial soils with plasticity index larger than 30

Inhibitory effect of the CA2+ antagonist nifedipine on histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells.

45Ca uptake and histamine release was examined in mast cells from rats sensitized with ovalbumin and Bordetella Bertussis as an adjuvant. The uptake of 45Ca by the mast cells was significantly increased by stimulation with ovalbumin as was the release of histamine from the mast cells. Nifedipine, a calcium antagonist, inhibited the increase in both 45Ca uptake and histamine release stimulated by ovalbumin, though the effect on 45Ca uptake was stronger than that on histamine release.</p

Nucleophilic allylation of N,O-acetals with allylic alcohols promoted by Pd/Et3B and Pd/Et2Zn systems

Pd/Et3B and Pd/Et2Zn systems promote the nucleophilic allylations of 2-aminotetrahydrofuran and 2-aminotetrahydropyran with allylic alcohols to provide ω-hydroxyhomoallylamines in high yields. The transformation is applicable to the allylation of non-protective carbohydrates, such as ribose and deoxyribose

Acute Appendicitis in an Incarcerated Femoral Hernia: A Case of De Garengeot Hernia

Appendicitis and incarcerated hernia are frequently encountered reasons of emergency surgery for acute abdomen. The treatment in early stages of each condition is generally simple, but when these conditions are combined, the symptoms become slightly complicated, obscuring specific symptoms. Especially the lack of symptoms for appendicitis leads to delayed diagnosis, resulting in high morbidity. Amyand hernia, which contains appendix in its inguinal hernia sac, is perhaps more familiar to the general surgeons than De Garengeot hernia, which is an incarcerated femoral hernia with an appendix in its sac. We report the case of a 90-year-old female with incarcerated femoral hernia who underwent emergency hernioplasty only to reveal an inflamed appendix in its sac. The patient underwent both appendectomy and hernia repair simultaneously with synthetic mesh and was discharged on postoperative day 7 without any complications. We will also discuss the physical and radiological findings of De Garengeot hernia

Tiam1 interaction with the PAR complex promotes talin-mediated Rac1 activation during polarized cell migration.

Migrating cells acquire front-rear polarity with a leading edge and a trailing tail for directional movement. The Rac exchange factor Tiam1 participates in polarized cell migration with the PAR complex of PAR3, PAR6, and atypical protein kinase C. However, it remains largely unknown how Tiam1 is regulated and contributes to the establishment of polarity in migrating cells. We show here that Tiam1 interacts directly with talin, which binds and activates integrins to mediate their signaling. Tiam1 accumulated at adhesions in a manner dependent on talin and the PAR complex. The interactions of talin with Tiam1 and the PAR complex were required for adhesion-induced Rac1 activation, cell spreading, and migration toward integrin substrates. Furthermore, Tiam1 acted with talin to regulate adhesion turnover. Thus, we propose that Tiam1, with the PAR complex, binds to integrins through talin and, together with the PAR complex, thereby regulates Rac1 activity and adhesion turnover for polarized migration

Impact of renal insufficiency on long-term clinical outcome in patients with heart failure treated by cardiac resynchronization therapy

AbstractBackgroundRenal insufficiency is recognized as a predictor of mortality and adverse outcome in heart failure (HF) patients. However, the long-term clinical outcome of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in Japanese HF patients with renal insufficiency remains uncertain.MethodsWe evaluated 67 consecutive patients who underwent CRT at our hospital. The patients were divided into two groups according to a baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (e-GFR) cut-off value of 50ml/min, which is defined as the time at which patients should be referred to a nephrologist, by the Japanese Society of Nephrology. Follow-up echocardiographic findings and renal function were examined at 3–6 months after CRT. Then, we compared long-term clinical outcomes between the two groups, and analyzed the effect of CRT on renal function, echocardiographic parameters and cardiac survival.ResultsDuring a mean follow-up period of 30.3 months, patients with advanced renal insufficiency (e-GFR<50ml/min) had significant higher all-cause mortality (log-rank p=0.033) and higher cardiac mortality combined with HF hospitalization (log-rank p=0.017) than patients with e-GFR≥50ml/min. Multivariate analysis revealed that advanced renal insufficiency was an independent predictor of cardiac mortality combined with HF hospitalization (odds ratio=3.01, p=0.008). Subgroup analysis in the baseline advanced renal insufficiency group revealed that patients with preserved renal function by CRT (<10% reduction in e-GFR) had a higher rate of decrease of left ventricular end-systolic diameter (−14.0% vs. −0.8%, p=0.023) and lower cardiac mortality combined with HF hospitalization (log-rank p=0.029) compared with patients with deterioration of renal function (≥10% reduction in e-GFR).ConclusionsThe present study suggests that advanced renal insufficiency is quite useful for the prediction of worsening clinical outcomes in HF patients treated by CRT. Preservation of renal function by CRT brings about better cardiac survival through prevention of adverse cardiac events, even in HF patients with advanced renal insufficiency

Genetic diversity of Sicyopterus japonicus as revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequencing

To examine the genetic diversity of Sicyopterus japonicus, 448 sites of the control region of the mitochondrial DNA were analyzed in 77 specimens from the four localities of Okinawa, Kochi, Wakayama, and Shizuoka in Japan. A total of 74 haplotypes were found in the individuals examined. The same haplotypes occurred in Okinawa and Kochi, Kochi and Wakayama, and two specimens in Wakayama. The average sequence in genetic characteristics within localities varied from 1.7% in Kochi, 1.6% in Wakayama to 1.4% in Okinawa. There was no significant difference in genetic characteristics among the three locations of Wakayama, Kochi, and Okinawa (10,000 times permutation test, P>0.05). The number of specimens from Shizuoka was too small to compare to the other three locations. The neighbor-joining tree of the mitochondrial DNA haplotypes for all specimens constructed from the Kimura\u27s two-parameter distances suggested no evidence of genetic subdivision of S. japonicus. These results suggested that this species has a single panmictic population and their larvae probably have a high dispersal ability during their oceanic stage

Numerical changes in blood monocytes in bronchial asthma.

Numerical changes in peripheral blood monocytes were examined in 125 patients with bronchial asthma using a new direct method of counting blood monocytes. The number of monocytes in non-attack stages of bronchial asthma was similar to that of healthy controls. The monocyte count observed in overall cases showed a significantly higher value both in pre-attack and attack stages than in non-attack stages. Changes in the number of monocytes in an individual spontaneous asthmatic cycle tended to increase in pre-attack stages, increase more markedly during asthma attacks, then to decrease after the attack was alleviated. Monocytes in cases with a positive test for bronchial challenge to house dust extract changed in almost the same manner as for spontaneous asthma attacks. The number of monocytes did not change during bronchospasm provoked by inhalation of acetylcholine. Exercise-induced asthma patients exhibited indefinite changes of monocytes; that is, some cases showed a significant increase in the number of monocytes related to the asthma cycle, but other cases did not show any appreciable change. These findings suggest that the number of monocytes in the peripheral blood may change in close relation to asthma attacks elicited by allergic reactions.</p

Right-to-left shunts may be not uncommon cause of TIA in Japan.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although 30% to 60% of transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) have embolic sources, the etiology of the remaining TIAs is unknown. Right-to-left shunt (RLS) is one of the most important etiologies of cryptogenic stroke. The aim of this study was to determine whether RLS is related to transient ischemic attack (TIA) of unknown etiology. METHODS: We performed transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and/or transcranial Doppler (TCD) studies for consecutive TIA patients in order to detect RLS from April 2004 to December 2006. TIA patients were divided into three groups, as follows: 1) Cardioembolic TIA, with a patent cardioembolic source, 2) thrombotic TIA, with an atherothrombotic and/or lacunar mechanism, and 3) undetermined TIA, without identified cause of TIA. We compared the characteristics and presence of RLS among these three groups. RESULTS: We enrolled 124 TIA patients (age: 67+/-13 years old, 80 men). There were 13 patients with Cardioembolic TIA, 25 with Thrombotic TIA, and 86 with Undetermined TIA. TEE and/or TCD were able to detect RLS in 61 of the 124 (49%) patients. RLS was frequent in patients with Undetermined TIA compared with those in the other TIA groups (60% in the Undetermined TIA group, 28% in the Thrombotic TIA group, and 15% in the Cardioembolic TIA group; p<0.001). Smoking and previous history of TIA were frequent in the Thrombotic TIA group (p=0.030 and p=0.016, respectively). CONCLUSION: RLS may play an important role in the etiology of TIA of undetermined cause