Effect of Tubocurarine on the Adrenal Medulla

In experiments of suprareno-jugular anastomosis on dogs, MALME"JAc and GROSS" provided evidence that tubocurarine was capable of preventing the accelerating action of anoxia on the adrenaline secretion. In this view, the present study was attempted to investigate quantitatively how tubocurarine interferes with the adrenaline-secretory action of acetylcholine. Experiments were performed on six dogs anesthetized with Evipan-sodium, whose adrenal venous blood was collected by the lumbar route method.3 " The adrenaline content of the blood specimens was determined by the method of BLOOR & BULLRN." Intravenous injections of acetylcholine in a dose of 2 mg/kg were made twice before and after application of tubocurarine. In the first place, tubocurarine was injected into the central end of the ligated coeliac artery in a dose of 1 unit/kg. When the first injection of acetylcholine was made before tubocurarine, the rate of adrenaline secretion reached its maximal value such as 0.61-1.7 ,ug/kg/min. in the first sixty-second period after the start of injection. After tubocurarine, the rate of adrenaline secretion was also increased by the second acetylcholine injection, 0.53-1.7 peg/kg/min. being estimated there. Thus, no inhibitory effect of tubocurarine upon the augmented adrenaline secretion causable by acetylcholine was observed. In the second place, ani injection of tubocurarine was made directly into the adrenal tissue in a dose o` 4 units. On receiving acetylcholine before tubocurarine, the adrenaline secretion rate was found to be 0.99-1.3 ,ug/kg/min. After tubocurarine, the second acetylcholine injection resulted in an increase in adrenaline secretion rate, 0.31-0.78 ,ag being determined. In this case, the inhibitory effect of tubocurarine was slight and not definitive. Hereupon, in doses we have used, we failed to confirm the inhibitory effect of tubocurarine on the adrenaline-secretory action of acetylcholine

Hemodynamic Effects of Intravenous Calcium Administration on Septic Shock Patients:A Retrospective Study

We evaluated the hemodynamics and outcomes of septic shock (SS) patients who did not respond to fluid resuscitation, after treatment with or without intravenous calcium. We retrospectively collected information on 154 eligible SS patients who were admitted to Fukuyama City Hospital Emergency Medical Center and did not respond to fluid resuscitation. To compare their degree of hemodynamic impairment, we compared the changes in the vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS) in the calcium-treated group (n＝112) and the noncalcium-treated group (n＝42). We compared the length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital, in-hospital deaths, 28-day deaths, and changes in the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score within 72h of ICU admission between the 2 groups. Changes in the VIS at 1h after the baseline time were significantly greater in the calcium-treated group than in the noncalcium-treated group (1.41 vs. －1.25, respectively;p＜0.001). However, the changes in the VIS at 3, 6, 24, 48, and 72h did not differ between the 2 groups. The secondary outcomes also did not differ between the groups. Our findings indicate that calcium administered to SS patients might reduce their hemodynamic stabilization, but only for a short time after its administration

Oligopeptide Transporter-1 is Associated with Fluorescence Intensity of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid-Based Photodynamic Diagnosis in Pancreatic Cancer Cells

[Background] The 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-based photodynamic diagnosis is based on the accumulation of photosensitizing protoporphyrin IX in the tumor after ALA administration. However, the mechanisms connecting exogenous ALA and tumor fluorescence in pancreatic cancer remain unclear. We aimed to elucidate the mechanism underlying the ALA-induced fluorescent. [Methods] Human pancreatic duct epithelial cells (hPDECs) and pancreatic cancer cell lines were used. The expressions of ALA-associated enzymes and membrane transporters in these cell lines were investigated. ALA-induced fluorescence was also investigated. [Results] The expression of oligopeptide transporter-1 (PEPT-1), through which ALA is absorbed, was significantly higher in AsPC-1 cells and lower in MIA PaCa-2 cells than in hPDECs. AsPC-1 cells showed rapid and intense fluorescence after ALA administration, and that was attenuated by PEPT-1 inhibition. ALA-induced fluorescence was not sufficiently strong in MIA PaCa-2 cells to distinguish the cells from hPDECs. [Conclusion] We revealed the association of PEPT-1 with ALA-induced fluorescence. Cancers expressing PEPT-1 could be easily distinguished by this technique from normal cells. These findings help develop novel diagnostic modalities for pancreatic cancer

Enhanced Kerr nonlinearity for self-action via atomic coherence in a four-level atomic system

Enhancement of optical Kerr nonlinearity for self-action by electro-magnetically induced transparency in a four-level atomic system including dephasing between the ground states is studied in detail by solving the density matrix equations for the atomic levels. We discern three major contributions, from energy shifts of the ground states induced by the probe light, to the third-order susceptibility in the four-level system. In this four-level system with the frequency-degenerate probes, quantum interference amongst the three contributions can, not only enhance the third-order susceptibility more effectively than in the three-level system with the same characteristic parameters, but also make the ratio between its real and imaginary part controllable. Due to dephasing between the two ground states and constructive quantum interference, the most effective enhancement generally occurs at an offset that is determined by the atomic transition frequency difference and the coupling Rabi frequency.Comment: Permanent email address: [email protected]. Accepted by Optics Communication

Progranulin plays crucial roles in preserving bone mass by inhibiting TNF-α-induced osteoclastogenesis and promoting osteoblastic differentiation in mice

A close correlation between atherosclerosis, inflammation, and osteoporosis has been recognized, although the precise mechanism remains unclear. The growth factor progranulin (PGRN) is expressed in various cells such as macrophages, leukocytes, and chondrocytes. PGRN plays critical roles in a variety of diseases, such as atherosclerosis and arthritis by inhibiting Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) signaling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of PGRN on bone metabolism. Forty-eight-week old female homozygous PGRN knockout mice (PGRN-KO) (n = 8) demonstrated severe low bone mass in the distal femur compared to age- and sex-matched wild type C57BL/6J mice (WT) (n = 8) [BV/TV (%): 5.8 vs. 16.6; p < 0.001, trabecular number (1/mm): 1.6 vs. 3.8; p < 0.001]. In vitro, PGRN inhibited TNF-α-induced osteoclastogenesis from spleen cells of PGRN-KO mice. Moreover, PGRN significantly promoted ALP activity, osteoblast-related mRNA (ALP, osteocalcin) expression in a dose-dependent manner and up-regulated osteoblastic differentiation by down-regulating phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in mouse calvarial cells. In conclusion, PGRN may be a promising treatment target for both atherosclerosis and inflammation-related osteoporosis.Noguchi T., Ebina K., Hirao M., et al. Progranulin plays crucial roles in preserving bone mass by inhibiting TNF-α-induced osteoclastogenesis and promoting osteoblastic differentiation in mice. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 465, 638 (2015); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.08.077

Astrometry of Water Maser Sources in Nearby Molecular Clouds with VERA - II. SVS 13 in NGC 1333

We report on the results of multi-epoch VLBI observations with VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry) of the 22 GHz H2O masers associated with the young stellar object SVS 13 in the NGC 1333 region. We have carried out phase-referencing VLBI astrometry and measured an annual parallax of the maser features in SVS 13 of 4.25+/-0.32 mas, corresponding to the distance of 235+/-18 pc from the Sun. Our result is consistent with a photometric distance of 220 pc previously reported. Even though the maser features were detectable only for 6 months, the present results provide the distance to NGC 1333 with much higher accuracy than photometric methods. The absolute positions and proper motions have been derived, revealing that the H2O masers with the LSR (local standard of rest) velocities of 7-8 km s-1 are most likely associated with VLA4A, which is a radio counterpart of SVS 13. The origin of the observed proper motions of the maser features are currently difficult to attribute to either the jet or the rotating circumstellar disk associated with VLA4A, which should be investigated through future high-resolution astrometric observations of VLA4A and other radio sources in NGC 1333.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. PASJ, in press (2008, Vol. 60, No. 1

Astrometry of Galactic Star Forming Region Sharpless 269 with VERA : Parallax Measurements and Constraint on Outer Rotation Curve

We have performed high-precision astrometry of H2O maser sources in Galactic star forming region Sharpless 269 (S269) with VERA. We have successfully detected a trigonometric parallax of 189+/-8 micro-arcsec, corresponding to the source distance of 5.28 +0.24/-0.22 kpc. This is the smallest parallax ever measured, and the first one detected beyond 5 kpc. The source distance as well as proper motions are used to constrain the outer rotation curve of the Galaxy, demonstrating that the difference of rotation velocities at the Sun and at S269 (which is 13.1 kpc away from the Galaxy's center) is less than 3%. This gives the strongest constraint on the flatness of the outer rotation curve and provides a direct confirmation on the existence of large amount of dark matter in the Galaxy's outer disk.Comment: 7 pages and 4 figures, Accepted by PASJ (Vol. 59, No. 5, October 25, 2007 issue