A study on the nuclear extrusion of mammalian erythroblast

A study was carried out to clarify the mechanism of nuclear extrusion of mammalian erythroid cells by observing erythroblasts of rabbit under various conditions in vitro. The animals were made anemic by phenylhydrazine injection and erythroblasts were obtained from the peripheral blood and observed morphologically after a certain time of incubation. After two hour incubation at 37 degrees C, about 50% of erythroblasts were denucleated. The nuclear extrusion was remarkably suppressed by the inhibitor for electron transport system or by uncouplers for oxidative phosphorylation. It was also arrested by the inhibitor of cell movement, like cytochalasin B. In contrast, monoiodo-acetic acid, ouabain and colchicine hardly inhibited the nuclear extrusion. The observations indicated that the nuclear extrusion of mammalian erythroblast is an energy-dependent process in connection with the function of contractile microfilamentous system susceptible to cytochalasin B.</p

Tapping but Not Massage Enhances Vasodilation and Improves Venous Palpation of Cutaneous Veins

This paper investigated whether tapping on the median cubital vein or massaging the forearm was more effective in obtaining better venous palpation for venipuncture. Forty healthy volunteers in their twenties were subjected to tapping (10 times in 5 sec) or massage (10 strokes in 20 sec from the wrist to the cubital fossa) under tourniquet inflation on the upper arm. Venous palpation was assessed using the venous palpation score (0-6, with 0 being impalpable). Three venous factors―venous depth, cross-sectional area, and elevation―were also measured using ultrasonography. The venous palpation score increased significantly by tapping but not by massage. Moreover, all 3 venous measurements changed significantly by tapping, while only the depth decreased significantly by massage. The three venous measurements correlated significantly with the venous palpation score, indicating that they are useful objective indicators for evaluating vasodilation. We suggest that tapping is an effective vasodilation technique

Relationship between Tourniquet Pressure and a Cross-Section Area of Superficial Vein of Forearm

This study investigated the appropriate tourniquet pressure (TP) and duration of tourniquet application for venipuncture by calculating the venous cross-section (VCS) area on ultrasonography. Twenty healthy volunteers without cardiovascular risk factors were enrolled in this study. A target vein (either a cephalic or median cubital vein) was selected on ultrasonography. The pneumatic tourniquet was inflated using a rapid cuff inflator system at setting pressure for 120sec. TP strength was varied from 20mmHg to 100mmHg, in 20mmHg increments. The order of TP was randomized. Compari-sons among more than 3 groups were performed by one-way repeated-measures ANOVA and the Bonferroni method. The VCS area increased rapidly until 10sec after tourniquet inflation. The VCS area then increased gradually until 30sec after tourniquet inflation. After that, the VCS area did not increase remarkably. The VCS area increased with TP strength up to 80mmHg, but the VCS area at TP 100mmHg decreased to less than that at TP 40mmHg. Based on these results, we recommend a tourniquet pressure of 60mmHg, and duration of tourniquet application is 30 to 60sec for venipuncture

Distribution of ferritin and hemosiderin in the liver, spleen and bone marrow of normal, phlebotomized and iron overloaded rats.

The distribution of ferritin has been studied in many tissues, but has not yet been established on the cellular level. We investigated the cellular distribution of ferritin in the liver, spleen and bone marrow using the immunoperoxidase method, and compared it with that of hemosiderin. We also examined changes in the distribution of these proteins after phlebotomy and iron overload. In normal rats, ferritin was seen in centrilobular hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, macrophages in the red and white pulp of the spleen and central macrophages in bone marrow. Hemosiderin was observed almost exclusively in the red pulp and partly in tangible body macrophages of the white pulp. After phlebotomy, neither ferritin nor hemosiderin were detectable in these cells except for ferritin-positive cells in the white pulp, which showed little change after either phlebotomy or iron overload. In iron overloaded rats, both ferritin and hemosiderin increased in hepatocytes and reticulo-endothelial (RE) cells. Ferritin-positive cells in the liver were mainly located in the periportal area. These results indicated that hepatocytes and RE cells except for those in the white pulp may play an important role in iron storage, and that ferritin-positive cells in the white pulp may have a function other than iron reserve. They also suggested that the zonal distribution of ferritin-positive hepatocytes may be due to microcirculation in the hepatic lobules.</p

Chemo-Sensitive Running Droplet

Chemical control of the spontaneous motion of a reactive oil droplet moving on a glass substrate under an aqueous phase is reported. Experimental results show that the self-motion of an oil droplet is confined on an acid-treated glass surface. The transient behavior of oil-droplet motion is also observed with a high-speed video camera. A mathematical model that incorporates the effect of the glass surface charge is built based on the experimental observation of oil-droplet motion. A numerical simulation of this mathematical model reproduced the essential features concerning confinement within a certain chemical territory of oil-droplet motion, and also its transient behavior. Our results may shed light on physical aspects of reactive spreading and a chemotaxis in living things.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure

Laparoscopic fundoplication for neurologically impaired adolescents with severe scoliosis

AbstractLaparoscopic antireflux procedure for patients with severe scoliosis is often challenging, as the esophageal hiatus lies in an extremely deep position and is frequently rotated. Reports regarding the clinical results of laparoscopic fundoplication are scarce, especially in patients with severe scoliosis. In this study, laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication was applied to seven adolescent patients aged between 19 and 29 years with neurological impairment and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The scoliosis among them was considerably severe with a median Cobb angle of 131°. Follow-up was conducted with a median period of 7.8 years. There was no intraoperative complication or recurrence of GERD. Two patients required tracheostomy, and one died due to recurrent pneumonia after fundoplication. Our experience suggested the feasibility of laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication with an arrangement of port layout even in neurologically impaired adolescents with severe scoliosis. As recurrent aspiration pneumonia can persist after fundoplication in some patients, an anti-aspiration procedure may be considered to achieve a higher quality of life

Relationships between Students' Self-Educational Ability in Their College Age and Personal Teaching Theory (PTT) in their High School Age

This study investigated the relationships of students' self-educational ability in their college age with their personal teaching theory (PTT) in their high school age. A total of 789 students completed two kinds of questionaires, one of which was to measure their selfeducational ability (interest in learning subjects, self-directed thinking, skillfulness of learning method, self-monitoring, planning, independence, and self-actualization) in their college age and the other was to measure their personal teaching theory in their high school age. The major findings were as follows: (1) The students who wished to go on to higher level of education in their high school age showed more self-educational ability than those who did not wish to go on to higher level of education, and (2) the personal teaching theory of the students who wished to go on to higher level of education was more acive and self-regulational in their high school age. These results were discussed in relation to how to foster the self-educational ability of students

In vitro transformation of rat renal cells by treatment with ferric nitrilotriacetate.

Administration of ferric nitrilotriacetate (Fe-NTA) in vivo causes acute renal tubular injury and finally induces renal cell carcinoma. There is accumulating evidence that these processes involve free radicals generated by Fe-NTA. To study the mechanism of renal carcinogenesis by Fe-NTA, we attempted to induce malignant transformation of primary cultured renal cells by treatment with Fe-NTA. When primary cultured renal cells (PRC) were treated continuously with Fe-NTA, all of the PRC died without transformation. On the other hand, when PRC were treated intermittently with Fe-NTA, transformed epithelial colonies were observed at 3 weeks after the first treatment. The established transformed cell line (RK523) showed drastic morphological transformation, grew in soft agar, and formed tumors when transplanted into athymic nude mice. These results indicate that the balance between cytotoxicity and mutagenecity is important for Fe-NTA induced transformation. The RK523 cell line may be a useful model for studying renal carcinogenesis in vitro.</p

Organ distribution of asialo-red blood cell ghosts: an attempt at targeting to the liver.

We investigated the organ distribution of four types of red blood cells (RBC) preparations: native RBC, asialo-RBC, native ghosts and asialo-ghosts. Intravenously injected asialo-ghosts were rapidly removed from the blood stream and accumulated mainly in the liver 120 min after the injection. Our results suggest that asialo-ghosts are a simple and effective carrier for targeting of drugs to the liver.</p

MACULAR BLOOD FLOW CHANGES IN BRANCH RETINAL VEIN OCCLUSION EXAMINED BY OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY VARIABLE INTERSCAN TIME ANALYSIS

Purpose: To examine the relationship between changes in retinal blood flow and the recurrence of macular edema in eyes with branch retinal vein occlusion. Methods: This observational study included 32 eyes in 32 patients (18 men and 14 women) with branch retinal vein occlusion who visited the Department of Ophthalmology at Kyoto University Hospital (February 2021–November 2021). At the time of inclusion in the study, each patient underwent optical coherence tomography angiography on a macular area measuring 4 × 4 mm2. For variable interscan time analysis, different interscan times were set at 7.6 (IST7.6) and 20.6 ms (IST20.6) for the optical coherence tomography angiography. The parafoveal vessel densities were measured sectorally at IST7.6 and IST20.6, and their relationship with the longitudinal changes evident in the retinal thicknesses during the variable interscan time analysis examination and 2 months later was evaluated. Results: The parafoveal vessel densities in the affected sector was significantly greater at IST20.6 than at IST7.6 (P = 0.011). At 2 months after the variable interscan time analysis examination, 6 patients (19%) showed recurrence of macular edema involving the fovea. The difference in the parafoveal vessel densities (IST20.6 − IST7.6) in the affected sector was significantly associated with longitudinal retinal thickening in the corresponding parafovea (P = 0.020) and fovea (P = 0.014). Conclusion: In eyes with branch retinal vein occlusion, optical coherence tomography angiography variable interscan time analysis facilitated the detection of retinal blood flow changes that might be predictive for the recurrence of macular edema