Cytogenetic studies were done in lymph node and peripheral leukemic cells from sixteen patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma with peripheral T-cell type. Ten patients were positive for human T-cell leukemia virus I (HTLV-I) proviral DNA in tumour cells and six were negative. The former group had a higher tendency for leukemic conversion and poorer prognosis than the latter. However, no definite difference on the numerical and structural chromosomal abnormalities between these two groups was found. The most frequent chromosome abnormalities: 14p+, 14q+ and No. 6 abnormalities were detected in both groups. These results may indicate that HTLV-I does not play a specific role in chromosome abnormalities of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with peripheral T-cell type.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Japanese encephalitis.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an acute encephalomyelitis which is a primary viral encephalitis accompanying a viral infection. Clinically, the patient who either resides in an endemic region or who has been exposed to the viral vector (mosquito) may have symptoms including high fever, headache, and impaired consciousness. JE involves many portions of the supratentorial and infratentorial compartments including the brain stem, hippocampus, thalamus, basal ganglia, and white matter. Classically MR imaging demonstrates the lesions of JE as hyperintense on T2-weighted images and hypointense on T1-weighted images. Hemorrhagic transformations have also been described in JE lesions, with corresponding expected T1 and T2 changes. Differential considerations based on the MRI appearance are somewhat broad, including but not limited to primary viral encephalitis, acute encephalopathy, limbic encephalitis, and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. The therapy for JE is primarily conservative and supportive since there is no specific treatment for JE, and the disease has a high fatality rate. The prognosis depends on the extent of involvement at primary presentation, and on the autoimmune mechanisms of this disease.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Virtual CT gastrectomy by three-dimensional imaging using multidetector-row CT for laparoscopic gastrectomy.

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Butylscopolammonium Bromide↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Hemin (Fe(3+))-- and heme (Fe(2+))--smectite conjugates as a model of hemoprotein based on spectrophotometry.

Hemin (Fe(3+)) was adsorbed onto synthetic smectite (clay mineral) in acetone to form a hemin-smectite conjugate. The hemin-smectite conjugate became soluble in water to form a transparent colloidal solution with a dark brown color. Its absorption spectrum in water showed a sharp Soret band at 398 nm with the molar extinction coefficient as epsilon(398nm) = 11.6 x 10(4) M(-1) cm(-1), which is in good agreement with epsilon(398nm) = (12.2 +/- 3) x 10(4) M(-1) cm(-1) of monomeric hematin (1). Hemin (Fe(3+))-smectite conjugate had a peroxidase-like activity in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (a hydrogen acceptor) and guaiacol (a hydrogen donor) in aqueous solution and its activity was higher than that of hematin. Hemin (Fe(3+))-smectite conjugate in water was reduced by adding sodium dithionite to form a heme (Fe(2+))-smectite conjugate which is also a transparent colloidal solution in water. Its absorption spectrum in aqueous solution was surprisingly in close agreement with that of oxyhemoglobin. Its peak positions of alpha, beta, and Soret bands were located in only a 9--3 nm shift to shorter wavelengths in comparison with those of oxyhemoglobin. Therefore, heme (Fe(2+))-smectite conjugate was bound to O(2) to form O(2)-heme (Fe(2+))-smectite conjugate. The addition of carbon monoxide, CO, to O(2)-heme (Fe(2+))-smectite conjugate caused the formation of CO-heme (Fe(2+))-smectite conjugate with a similar absorption spectrum of carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) accompanied by shifting 8--10 nm to shorter wavelength. Therefore, the transformation of O(2)-heme (Fe(2+))-smectite conjugate to CO-heme (Fe(2+))-smectite conjugate was accompanied by shifting of 7, 4, and 3 nm to shorter wavelengths in the alpha, beta, and Soret bands respectively, which are similar to the spectral change from oxyhemoglobin to carboxyhemoglobin. Also the ratio (1:1.6) of the molar extinction coefficient of Soret band of O(2)-heme (Fe(2+))-smectite conjugate and CO-heme (Fe(2+))-smectite conjugate was surprisingly agreement with ratio (1:1.5) of oxyhemoglobin and carboxyhemoglobin. The phenomenon shown above was unexpectedly found during the course of study of bioconjugate of a bioactive substance, hemin (Fe(3+)) or heme (Fe(2+)), and a clay mineral, smectite, in place of the protein of globin in hemoglobin.

Gastrointestinal Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Photostable chlorophyll a conjugated with poly(vinylpyrrolidone)-smectite catalyzes photoreduction and hydrogen gas evolution by visible light.

Chlorophyll a was adsorbed to a synthetic smectite intercalated by poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) to form the chlorophyll-PVP-smectite conjugate (Chl-PVP-SME) having an absorption maximum at 677 nm. The conjugate was found to be stable toward light illumination in comparison with chlorophyll-smectite, chlorophyll-PVP, and free chlorophyll a. Chl-PVP-SME had a photoinduced activity for catalyzing the reduction of methyl viologen. Furthermore, the evolution of hydrogen gas was observed when an aqueous suspension containing Chl-PVP-SME, methyl viologen (an electron carrier), 2-mercaptoethanol (an electron donor), and hydrogenase was illuminated by visible light.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Hydrogen gas evolution and carbon dioxide fixation with visible light by chlorophyllin coupled with polyethylene glycol.

Chlorophyllin a was conjugated with alpha-(3-aminopropyl)-omega-methoxypoly(oxyethylene), PEG-NH(2), to form the PEG-chlorophyllin conjugate through acid-amide bonds. The PEG-chlorophyllin conjugate was stable toward light illumination under anaerobic condition in comparison with chlorophyllin a. The conjugate catalyzed the reduction of methyl viologen in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol and the evolution of hydrogen gas in the presence of methyl viologen (an electron carrier), 2-mercaptoethanol (an electron donor) and hydrogenase (Scheme 1). Furthermore, the PEG-chlorophyllin conjugate catalyzed the photoreduction of NADP(+) or NAD(+) in the presence of ascorbate as an electron donor and ferredoxin-NADP(+) reductase as the coupling enzyme. Utilizing the reducing power of NADPH generated by the PEG-chlorophyllin conjugate under the illumination, CO(2) fixation was accomplished by the synthesis of malate (C(4)) from pyruvate (C(3)) and CO(2) in the presence of malic enzyme (Scheme 2). These reactions mentioned above did never proceed in dark or without each enzyme.

Anaerobiosis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship between thigmotropism and Candida biofilm formation in vitro.

The biofilm formation of the oral fungal pathogen Candida on denture acrylic strips coated with saliva or serum was examined in relation to the ability to induce hyphae by thigmotropic reaction, using C. albicans (4 isolates), C. glabrata (3 isolates) and C. tropicalis (3 isolates). Both the degree of biofilm formation and the amount of hyphae exhibiting thigmotropism varied depending upon both the species and strains of Candida. Although there was no significant correlation between the amount of hyphae induced by thigmotropic reaction of fungal isolates and biofilm formation on uncoated control specimens (r = 0.577; p < 0.05), the ability of hyphae induced by thigmotropic reaction significantly correlated with the amount of both saliva- and serum-admixed biofilms (r = 0.734; p < 0.05 and r = 0.793; p < 0.01, respectively). Taken together our in vitro data suggested that the hyphal induction by thigmotropic reaction is of importance in candidal biofilm formation on saliva- or serum-coated acrylic surfaces.

Acrylic Resins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Personal exposure and health effect relationship for NO2 with urinary hydroxyproline to creatinine ratio as indicator.

Establishment of an exposure-effect relationship was attempted between personal nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure and urinary hydroxyproline to creatinine ratio of approximately 800 adult women, who were mothers of primary schoolchildren living in two communities around Tokyo. Daily average of the personal NO2 exposure (ENO2) was measured during wintertime by a newly developed personal monitor exposed for 24 hours. The hydroxyproline to creatinine ratio (HOP:C) in the urine sample collected early in the morning of the day for ENO2 measurement was used as a biochemical indicator of the health effect of NO2 exposure. The HOP:C was found to have significant correlation with ENO2 and number of cigarettes smoked actively and passively. ENO2, however, had no correlation with the intensity of the smoking levels; they might affect HOP:C independently. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that HOP:C could be predicted by ENO2 and smoking habits at a high confidence level. The regression analysis of the active smokers' group indicated that a few cigarettes was enough to increase the HOP:C, while in the case of passive smoking, HOP:C increased proportionally to the number of cigarettes.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Does sodium sensitivity affect nocturnal blood pressure variation in outpatients with hypertension?

We investigated the relationship between sodium sensitivity and diurnal variation of blood pressure in outpatients with hypertension. Twenty hypertensives were maintained on both a regular sodium diet for a period of 2 weeks and a low salt (7 g/day) diet for a period of one or two weeks. Ambulatory blood pressure was recorded at thirty minute intervals for 24 hours by automatic device before and during low salt diet. Patients were classified by nocturnal fall in blood pressure. 14 patients were classified as sodium sensitive, whereas 6 were classified as non-sodium sensitive on the basis of a > or = 0 in salt sensitive index caused by sodium restriction. Incidence of reversed dipper and non-dipper in systolic blood pressure was reduced by sodium restriction, however, dipper and extreme dipper were increased. In conclusion, the results of this study show that patients with high sodium sensitivity index have strong sodium sensitivity and non-dipper is not always changed by sodium restriction.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Novel control system for blood glucose using a model predictive method.

We developed a novel blood glucose control system, using a model predictive method, to achieve optimal control of the blood glucose level in severely diabetic or pancreatectomized patients. This system is designed to predict glucose level changes in advance, considering delayed response time and the administered doses of insulin. This method is also designed to calculate the most appropriate insulin infusion rate by considering differences in individual response to insulin. In this study, we compared our system with a conventional proportional and differential controller (PD controller) to determine whether the new system could regulate the glucose level efficiently in pancreatectomized dogs. The model predictive control method resulted in a significant reduction of mean insulin infusion rate compared with the conventional PD controller (0.71 mU/kg per min vs. 1.81 mU/kg per min, p = 0.0005), when the glucose level in both methods reached the planned target level (100 mg/dl). The new system also tended to have a reduced mean glucose infusion rate for compensating for overshooting of the glucose level compared with the PD controller (0.7 mg/kg per min vs. 1.1 mg/kg per min, p = 0.16). These results indicate that the new system should be a useful tool for regulating the glucose level in severely diabetic patients.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Renal angiomyolipoma extending into inferior vena cava: MR demonstration.

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Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Magnetization transfer contrast imaging of the cervical spine at 0.3 T.

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the efficacy of magnetization transfer contrast (MTC) imaging of the cervical spine in conjunction with a gradient recalled echo (GRE) technique using a 0.3 T permanent magnet imager. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy patients were prospectively investigated. Multislice sagittal and axial images of the cervical spine with and without MTC were obtained using a GRE sequence (TR/TE/flip angle = 750 ms/23 ms/25 degrees). The contrast-to-noise ratios (C/Ns) for CSF versus cord or disk were calculated for quantitative analysis. Qualitative image analysis was also performed. RESULTS: Both sagittal and axial MTC images had significantly higher C/N values than conventional GRE images. The MTC images showed better differentiation between the CSF and the cord or thecal sac as well as better delineation of the nerve roots. Furthermore, MTC images demonstrated syringomyelia more clearly than conventional images. CONCLUSION: Magnetization transfer contrast images at 0.3 T are effective for diagnosing diseases of the cervical spine.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Three-dimensional imaging of liver tumors using helical CT during intravenous injection of contrast medium.

PURPOSE: The goal of this work was to determine whether 3D reconstruction of images from CT during intravenous injection of contrast medium, performed in tandem with advanced rendering algorithms, could accurately depict major anatomic structures and hepatic tumors. METHOD: Thirty-one patients (22 with hepatocellular carcinoma, 8 with metastatic lesions, and 1 with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma) underwent CT imaging. Twenty-three of the 31 patients underwent needle biopsy or surgery, yielding a histologic diagnosis. The remaining eight patients were diagnosed from imaging findings and laboratory data. We compared the ability of maximum intensity projection (MIP) and volume-rendered technique (VRT) images to depict the hepatic veins and intrahepatic portal veins. RESULTS: Both MIP and VRT depicted the course of vessels up to the second or third branches. The techniques did not significantly differ. In this regard, in most cases, visualization of the liver surface and tumor was excellent with VRT images. CONCLUSION: Volume-rendered 3D-CT images during intravenous injection without the MIP technique produced 3D images of high quality with excellent visualization of tumors and their relationships to vital structures.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Intrahepatic peripheral cholangiocarcinoma: comparison of dynamic CT and dynamic MRI.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this work was to compare dynamic MRI (D-MRI) with dynamic CT (D-CT) for the diagnosis of peripheral cholangiocarcinoma (PCC) of the liver. METHOD: Twenty patients with PCC underwent both D-CT and D-MRI during the early, middle, and delayed phase after contrast medium administration. The findings from D-MRI were compared with those from D-CT. RESULTS: D-CT and D-MRI exhibited a similar tumoral enhancement pattern, and this enhancement was more conspicuous on D-MRI. A wedge-like enhancement area peripheral to the tumor was observed in 9 (45%) patients on D-CT and 11 (55%) patients on D-MRI. Ductal dilatation was found in 13 (65%) patients on both techniques. Vascular involvement and extrahepatic invasion were seen in nine (45%) and two (10%) patients, respectively. The relationship of the tumor to the vessels and surrounding organs was more easily evaluated on D-CT. CONCLUSION: Both D-CT and D-MRI can provide important information for the diagnosis of PCC. D-CT is better than D-MRI for demonstrating vascular involvement and extrahepatic invasion. D-MRI gives more conspicuous enhancement.

Aged↗