The identification of menstrual blood by means of paper electrophoresis, a medico-legal study

Attempts were made to identify menstrual blood by means of paper electrophoresis with preparation of extracts of menstrual blood isolated under various conditions and mixed with human fibrin. Also similar analyses were conducted with blood aspirated from the median cubital vein of a woman during menstruation as well as from a man as the control, also with extracts of lochial blood from a woman after normal delivery, and of the blood obtained at arrtificial abortion. Animal fibrins (from rabbit, mouse, steer, and guinea pig) were also used to see the lytic action of the bloods. The following are the results of the present experiments. 1. The identification of menstrual blood by means of paper electrophoresis is a simple method in legal medicine and its electrophorogram is an excellent method to offer an evidence of proof for mentrual blood. 2. By this method it is possible to identify the menstrual bloodstain even after the lapse of time as much as 6 months. 3. It is possible to identify even putrefied menstrual bloodstain. 4. In the case where the material stained with menstrual blood is found in water, it is not possible to identify the menstrual blood by this method. 5. When the menstrual blood is heated at 60°C over 30 minutes, it becomes impossible to identify it by this method. 6. In the case of venous blood during menstruation fibrinolytic product can be detected only on the first day of menstruation, but since it appears only in trace, it is easy to differentiate it from menstrual blood. 7. As for lochial blood the fibrinolytic product can be detected only in the blood obtained on the first and second days of puerperium, but the amount being so slight that it can readily be distinguished from menstrual blood. 8. In the case of the blood obtained at artificial abortion fibrinolytic product appears just as much as in the case of menstrual blood, and thus it is impossible to differentiate it from mentrual blood by this method. 9. As for the use of human fibrin it is best to employ it while it isdresh, but the human fibrin up to 6 days old can be used. However, the older is the human fibrin the lesser the fibrinolytic product detectable. 10. In the case using animal fibrins mixed with the extract of menstrual blood some do produce fibrinolytic product in trace, but since there is a danger of also producing the fibrinolytic product-like substance in venous blood, it is advisable not to use animal fibrins.</p

Ex­perimental study and practice on the detection of vegetative planktons in the bone marrow of the drowned dead body

Experiment on the animals proved that in the case of the death by drowning planktons always immigrate into the bone marrow and some kinds of them can be detected in the bone marrow even after a long period of time, suggesting that the detection of these planktons in the bone marrow of the dead person will give the important clue for the determination of the cause of death by drowning. Actually applying this method in a decayed corpse, we could successfully show the cause of death is due to drowning in which the cause of death was long argued in the court.</p

The Management of Constipation: Current Status and Future Prospects

Chronic constipation, a common condition, can have remarkably negative effects on a patient’s quality of life. Recent research has identified factors that may influence the prognosis of chronic constipation and suggests the need for adequate therapy. However, the major obstacles in this field were: (1) a small number of therapeutic options, (2) no clear diagnostic criteria, and (3) no effective method to collect information form the patients. These were due to the fact that bowel movement patterns vary widely among individuals, and also the functional constipation, including irritable bowel syndrome, is difficult to be distinguished from the chronic constipation. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the Rome IV diagnostic criteria of functional constipation and the Bristol stool form scale are useful for the objective evaluation and recording of stool. Based on these developments, and the increase of newly developed medicines the therapy for the constipation is significantly changing and therefore, if conventional therapy for chronic constipation is ineffective, switching of medicines is possible. Therefore, clinicians should update the information of these newly developed drugs available in clinics and diagnostic criteria. For this purpose, in this chapter, we have summarized the perspective on the current paradigm of treatment for chronic constipation focusing on recently introduced therapeutic drugs

0-kV diffractive imaging using newly developed electron diffraction microscope

a b s t r a c t A new electron diffraction microscope based on a conventional scanning electron microscope (SEM), for obtaining atomic-level resolution images without causing serious damage to the specimen, has been developed. This microscope in the relatively low-voltage region makes it possible to observe specimens at suitable resolution and record diffraction patterns. Using the microscope we accomplished 10-kV diffractive imaging with the iterative phase retrieval and reconstructed the structure of a multi-wall carbon nanotube with its finest feature corresponding to 0.34-nm carbon wall spacing. These results demonstrate the possibility of seamless connection between observing specimens by SEM and obtaining their images at high resolution by diffractive imaging

Cyclic ADP-ribose as an endogenous inhibitor of the mTOR pathway downstream of dopamine receptors in the mouse striatum

The role of cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) as a second messenger and modulator of the mTOR pathway downstream of dopamine (DA) receptors and/or CD38 was re-examined in the mouse. ADP-ribosyl activity was low in the membranes of neonates, but DA stimulated it via both D1- and D2-like receptors. ADP-ribosyl cyclase activity increased significantly during development in association with increased expression of CD38. The cADPR binding proteins, FKBP12 and FKBP12.6, were expressed in the adult mouse striatum. The ratio of phosphorylated to non-phosphorylated S6 kinase (S6K) in whole mouse striatum homogenates decreased after incubation of adult mouse striatum with extracellular cADPR for 5 min. This effect of cADPR was much weaker in MPTP-treated Parkinson’s disease model mice. The inhibitory effects of cADPR and rapamycin were identical. These data suggest that cADPR is an endogenous inhibitor of the mTOR signaling pathway downstream of DA receptors in the mouse striatum and that cADPR plays a certain role in the brain in psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. © 2016 Springer-Verlag WienEmbargo Period 12 month

Point mutation of tyrosine 759 of the IL-6 family cytokine receptor, gp130, augments collagen-induced arthritis in DBA/1J mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Knock-in mice (gp130F759) with a Y759F point mutation in gp130, a signal transducing receptor subunit shared by members of the IL-6 cytokine family, show sustained activation of STAT3, enhanced acute-phase or immune responses, and autoimmune arthritis. We conducted a detailed analysis of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in gp130F759 with a DBA/1J background (D/J.gp130F759).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We backcrossed gp130F759 to C57BL/6 and DBA/1J, and compared the pathologic changes, including occurrence of arthritis, in the two distinct genetic backgrounds. We analyzed CIA in D/J.gp130F759 and investigated the effects of methotrexate (MTX) on CIA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>C57BL/6 background gp130F759 mice, but not D/J.gp130F759, spontaneously developed polyarthritis and glomerulonephritis. On the other hand, keratitis of the eyes only developed in D/J.gp130F759, indicating the influence of genetic background on disease development in gp130F759 mice. Resistance of the DBA/1J background against spontaneous arthritis urged us to examine CIA in D/J.gp130F759. CIA in D/J.gp130F759 was more severe, with greater bone destruction, than the control mice. After collagen immunization, splenomegaly and serum levels of rheumatoid factor and anti-DNA antibody were augmented in D/J.gp130F759. Bio-Plex analysis of serum cytokines revealed increased IL-12p40 and PDGF-BB before immunization, and increased levels of IFN-γ, IL-17, TNF-α, IL-9, and MIP-1β 8 days after the booster dose. IL-6 and PDGF-BB in D/J.gp130F759 showed distinct kinetics from the other cytokines; higher levels were observed after arthritis development. MTX partially attenuated the development of arthritis and inhibited bone destruction in D/J.gp130F759, with reduction of anti-type II collagen antibody levels, suggesting that MTX mainly affects antigen-specific immune responses in CIA.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The Tyr-759 point mutation of the IL-6 family cytokine receptor subunit, gp130, caused autoimmune disease, and this was also influenced by the genetic background. CIA in D/J.gp130F759 is useful for evaluating drugs in a relatively short period because sustained activation of STAT3 may enhance the disease symptoms.</p

低エネルギー電子回折イメージング

Unlike conventional crystallography techniques, diffractive imaging becomes possible to analyze the specimen structure of non-crystalline materials. Combined low-energy electron beam with diffractive imaging, low-damage imaging technique has been developed for the analysis of light element material that is susceptible to damage due to beam. Here, it is described with respect to results of verification of low-energy electron diffractive imaging and atomic resolution imaging with carbon nanotubes as specimens. Furthermore, features of electron diffractive imaging in comparison with X-ray and our approach and efforts to date are described in this article