ラットの膀胱内圧測定及び摘出膀胱収縮力に対する虚血の影響

ラットの両側内腸骨動脈を結紮し虚血ラット膀胱を作成し, この虚血膀胱におけるurethane麻酔下の膀胱内圧測定及び摘出膀胱の電気刺激, bethanechol, ATP, KClに対する収縮力を検討した.次いで一定速度で生理食塩水を膀胱内に注入しながら電気刺激を繰り返しvolume-pressure studyを実施した.膀胱の重量は虚血により有意に増大した.膀胱内圧曲線を分析した結果, 膀胱容量, 残尿量は増大し, 排尿筋収縮圧は減少した.この結果, 虚血に伴い排尿効率(排尿量/膀胱容量)は有意に減少した.摘出膀胱における排尿収縮力は, 全ての刺激に対して虚血後に低下した.volume-pressure studyの結果からin vitroの膀胱complianceは7日後減少し14日後は逆に増大したIschemia induced by atherosclerosis is a common cause of organ failure in the elderly. We investigated the effects of in vivo ischemia created by ligation of the internal iliac arteries on the parameters of in vivo infusion cystometry under urethane anesthesia and on in vitro whole bladder contractility of the rat. Bladder weight significantly increased after ischemia for 14 days. Infusion cystometry demonstrated that in the ischemic bladders the capacity increased, the voiding pressure decreased, and the volume of residual urine increased, which resulted in deteriorated voiding efficacy. The in vitro whole bladder contractility to field stimulation, bethanechol, ATP, and KCl was reduced by ischemia. The passive pressure increased as the bladder volume enlarged and the bladder compliance once decreased by ischemia on the 7th day, but increased on the 14th day. In an active volume-pressure relationship study the peak response was decreased by ischemia. The volume at which response reached a peak value shifted to a larger volume 14 days after surgery. In conclusion, ischemia impaired in vivo rat detrusor power to empty. Since detrusor contractility in vitro decreased in response to various kinds of stimulation, this deteriorated bladder function was supposed to be caused by muscle degeneration

Successful Endoscopic Dilation Treatment of Small Intestinal Stricture Occurring during Chemotherapy for Malignant Lymphoma

We report a stricture occurring during chemotherapy for malignant lymphoma that was successfully treated by endoscopic balloon dilation. The patient was diagnosed with stage IV malignant lymphoma by esophagogastroduodenoscopy and computed tomography scans. She complained of nausea and vomiting after undergoing the second cycle of chemotherapy. A small intestinal series through an ileus tube showed severe stricture of the ileum. Endoscopic balloon dilation was successfully performed with single-balloon endoscopy. After the procedure, her symptoms subsided and did not recur even 8 months after endoscopic dilation therapy

Uniform Suspension of the Clustered Triamcinolone Acetonide Particle

Purpose. MaQaid (MaQ) is a new triamcinolone acetonide commercialised in Japan to visualize the vitreous. Because MaQ is preservative-free, it has a lower risk of ocular toxicities. However, since MaQ is only available as a powder, it needs suspenssion. Suspension does not always result uniformally, which causes poor visibility. This study reports a new MaQ suspension for better visibility. Methods. After medium addition to a MaQ vial, various methods were used. These included the use of (1) vortex mixer, (2) two syringes and a three-way stopcock, and (3) ultrasonic washer. We calculated suspended MaQ concentration (). To evaluate the reproducibility, we estimated the coefficient of variance (CV, ). We used this MaQ for pig eyes, and vitreous visualization was simulated. Subsequently, we used this MaQ suspension for humans. Results. MaQ suspensions were sucessfull, and the concentrations of single particles increased significantly (). The CV was 36.1% for the routine method and 9.03% ffor the new method. Administration of a suspended MaQ made it possible to clearly visualize the vitreous in both pig and human eyes. Conclusions. We devised new techniques for uniformal MaQ suspension. These new methods can compensate for the MaQ disadvantages and ensure a safety surgery

Seronegative Oligoarthritis Preceding Psoriasis by 9.5 Years

We report a case of psoriatic arthritis where oligoarthritis preceded the skin lesions. A 57-year-old man complained of left third-finger pain. Laboratory examinations were negative for anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies and rheumatoid factor; he was treated for suspected rheumatoid arthritis. Six years later, X-ray revealed enthesitis of his fingers and wrist joint. At 9.5 years after the initial visit, skin lesions appeared in the left auricular region and buttock and dermatopathology findings indicated psoriasis vulgaris. The final diagnosis was psoriatic arthritis. In cases of seronegative oligoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis must be considered because some patients demonstrate osteoarticular lesions preceding skin lesions

The Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Status of Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a complex musculoskeletal disorder. Its clinical features include psoriasis, peripheral arthritis, spinal involvement, enthesitis, and dactylitis. Typically, skin lesions precede osteoarticular lesions, although osteoarticular lesions can precede skin lesions in some cases. This study aimed to investigate the onset pattern of PsA, the time interval between the occurrence of skin and osteoarticular lesions, and the treatment status of PsA. A total of 64 patients with PsA who had been assessed according to the CASPAR criteria were enrolled. Of those, 75% had a typical lesion onset pattern where skin lesions preceded osteoarticular lesions (skin leading) and 16% had an osteoarticular leading lesion pattern. The mean time interval between the onset of lesions in patients with the skin leading pattern was 14.2 years and that in patients with the osteoarticular leading pattern was 4.5 years. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were prescribed to 39% of patients, conventional synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to 64%, and biologic DMARDs to 51.5%. In conclusion, there were several cases where osteoarticular lesions preceded skin lesions in PsA; therefore, care should be taken with regard to oligo- or poly-arthritis patients with a negative rheumatoid factor without the presence of skin lesions

Lysophosphatidic Acid Induces Allergic Inflammation

Background: Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a prototypic member of a large family of lysophospholipids, has been recently shown to play a role in immune responses to respiratory diseases. The involvement of LPA in allergic airway inflammation has been reported, but the mechanism remains unclear. Object: We analyzed the biological activity of LPA in vitro and in vivo and investigated its role in allergic inflammation in mice using an LPA receptor 2 (LPA2) antagonist. Methods: We used a murine model with acute allergic inflammation, in which mice are sensitized and challenged with house dust mite, and analyzed airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), pathological findings, Th2 cytokines, and IL-33 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung homogenates. The effect of LPA on Th2 differentiation and cytokine production was examined in vitro using naive CD4+ T cells isolated from splenocytes. We also investigated in vivo the effects of LPA on intranasal administration in mice. Results: The LPA2 antagonist suppressed the increase of AHR, the number of total cells, and eosinophils in BALF and lung tissue. It also decreased the production of IL-13 in BALF and IL-33 and CCL2 in the lung. LPA promoted Th2 cell differentiation and IL-13 production by Th2 cells in vitro. Nasal administration of LPA significantly increased the number of total cells and IL-13 in BALF via regulating the production of IL-33 and CCL-2-derived infiltrating macrophages. Conclusion: These findings suggest that LPA plays an important role in allergic airway inflammation and that the blockade of LPA2 might have therapeutic potential for bronchial asthma

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 2 Tax protein induces interleukin 2-independent growth in a T-cell line

BACKGROUND: While human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a causative agent of adult T-cell leukemia, HTLV type 2 (HTLV-2) is not associated with this malignancy. Accumulating evidence suggests that Tax, a transforming protein of HTLV-1 or HTLV-2, plays a crucial role in the distinctive pathogenesis of these two infections. We herein examined whether Tax2 by itself has a growth promoting activity in a mouse T-cell line CTLL-2, and compared the activity with that of Tax1. RESULTS: We found that Tax2 converts the cell growth of CTLL-2 from an interleukin(IL)-2-dependent growth into an independent one. Cyclosporine A, an inhibitor of transcription factor NFAT, inhibited the growth of two out of four Tax2-transformed CTLL-2 cells, but it had little effect on two Tax1-transformed cells. While the HTLV-2-transformed human T-cell lines produce a significant amount of IL-2, Tax2-transformed CTLL-2 cells only produced a minimal amount of IL-2. These results thus suggest that NFAT-inducible gene(s) other than IL-2 play a role in the cell growth of Tax2-transformed CTLL-2 cells. CONCLUSION: These results show that HTLV-2 Tax2 by itself has a growth promoting activity toward a T-cell line CTLL-2, and the CTLL-2 assay used in this study may therefore be a useful tool for comparing the activity of Tax2 with that of Tax1 in T-cells, thereby elucidating the mechanism of HTLV-1 specific leukemogenesis

Enhanced Merge Sort- A New Approach to the Merging Process

AbstractOne of the major fundamental issues of Computer Science is arrangement of elements in the database. The efficiency of the sorting algorithms is to optimize the importance of other sorting algorithms11. The optimality of these sorting algorithms is judged while calculating their time and space complexities12. The idea behind this paper is to modify the conventional Merge Sort Algorithm and to present a new method with reduced execution time. The newly proposed algorithm is faster than the conventional Merge Sort algorithm having a time complexity of O(n log2 n). The proposed algorithm has been tested, implemented, compared and the experimental results are promising