Successful pregnancy complicated by microscopic polyarteritis nodosa.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
K Watanabe
Publications and source records attributed to K Watanabe.
[Hemothorax following intraabdominal bleeding due to pedicle torsion of ovarian tumor via a small pore in the diaphragm: report of a case].
On February 25, 2004, 59-year-old woman visited a local clinic due to lower abdominal pain. On February 28, she was admitted to the clinic due to severe abdominal pain. Computed tomography (CT) showed a mass in the lower abdomen and plural effusion and athelectasis of the right lung. She had severe anemia (Hb 6.9 g/dl). On March 1, she was transferred to our hospital. Pleural fluid was revealed to be sanguineous by thoracentasis. She underwent thoracotomy on the day of admission. There was no source of bleeding in the pleural space. A small pore, 3 mm in diameter, was found in the tendinous portion of the diaphragm. An influx of bloody fluid from the abdomen via the pore caused hemothorax. Laparotomy was performed, followed by closure of the pore using direct suture. The origin of the abdominal bleeding was pedicle torsion of the right ovarian tumor. Seven months after surgery she was uneventful with no pleural effusion.
Abdominal Cavity↗
Effect of sodium valproate on neuromagnetic responses to chromatic flicker: implication for photosensitivity.
The effect of oral administration of sodium valproate in normal subjects was evaluated using whole-scalp magnetoencephalography, with results compared to the effect of sodium valproate in photosensitive children. Neuromagnetic responses to 10 Hz equiluminant red-green and red-blue flicker were measured before and after 5 days of sodium valproate administration. For the red-green flicker, relative power spectra at the stimulus frequency (10 Hz) were attenuated with medication in most brain regions. However, for the red-blue flicker, the 10-Hz power in the occipital region was enhanced with medication, while it was reduced in other regions. These results qualitatively resembled those in photosensitive children. The present findings suggest that (1) combinational chromatic sensitivity can be a critical factor for cortical excitability, that (2) the effect of sodium valproate is qualitatively similar in normal and photosensitive subjects, and that (3) the effect of sodium valproate on cortical excitability is not simply to suppress the stimulus-synchronized occipital activity, but rather to inhibit the spread of cortical activity from the occipital region to other regions.
Adolescent↗
Lattice imaging in low-angle and high-angle bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy.
Atomic resolution low-angle bright-field (LABF) scanning transmission electron-microscope (STEM) images and high-angle bright-field (HABF) STEM images of [011]-orientated Si have been experimentally obtained together with high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) STEM images. The contrast formation mechanisms of the LABF STEM and HABF STEM images are examined in comparison with HAADF STEM images. The HABF STEM images independent of defocus and thickness have spatial resolution comparable with HAADF STEM images, and are shown to be given as a simple convolution under the non-dispersion approximation of localized Bloch waves.
Journal Article↗
Recombinant antigen-based immuno-slot blot method for serodiagnosis of syphilis.
Three recombinant antigens of Treponema pallidum Nichols strain were fused with GST, cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, resulting in high levels of GST-rTp47 and GST-rTp17 expression, and supplementation with arginine tRNA for the AGR codon was needed to obtain GST-rTp15 overexpression. Purified fusion protein yields were 1.9, 1.7 and 5.3 mg/l of cell culture for GST-rTp47, GST-rTp17 and GST-rTp15, respectively. The identities of the antigens obtained were confirmed by automated DNA sequencing using ABI Prism 310 and peptide mapping by Finningan LC/MS. These recombinant antigens were evaluated by immuno-slot blot techniques applied to 137 serum samples from patients with a clinical and laboratory diagnosis of syphilis (61 samples), from healthy blood donors (50 samples), individuals with sexually transmitted disease other than syphilis (3 samples), and from individuals with other spirochetal diseases such as Lyme disease (20 samples) and leptospirosis (3 samples). The assay had sensitivity of 95.1% (95% CI, 86.1 to 98.7%) and a specificity of 94.7% (95% CI, 87.0 to 98.7%); a stronger reactivity was observed with fraction rTp17. The immunoreactivity results showed that fusion recombinant antigens based-immuno-slot blot techniques are suitable for use in diagnostic assays for syphilis.
Antigens, Bacterial↗
Early sympathetic reinnervation demonstrated by iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine imaging in a child after cardiac transplantation.
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3-Iodobenzylguanidine↗
Therapeutic efficacy of sustained drug release from chitosan gel on local inflammation.
The model anti-inflammatory drug prednisolone (PS) was retained in chitosan (CS) gel beads, which were prepared in a 10% aqueous amino acid solution (pH 9.0). Sustained release of PS from the CS gel beads was observed. Carrageenan solution was injected into air pouches (AP), which were prepared subcutaneously on the dorsal surface of mice, in order to induce local inflammation. CS gel beads retaining PS were then implanted into the AP to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of sustained PS release against local inflammation. In vivo PS release from CS gel beads was governed by both diffusion of the drug and degradation of the gel matrix. Sustained drug release by CS gel beads allowed the supply of the minimum effective dose and facilitated prolonged periods of local drug presence. Inflammation indexes were significantly reduced after implantation of CS gel beads when compared with injection of PS suspension. Thus, extension of the duration of drug activity by CS gel beads resulted in improved therapeutic efficacy. These observations indicate that CS gel beads are a promising biocompatible and biodegradable vehicle for treatment of local inflammation.
Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic↗
Tolerable lifetime cadmium intake calculated from the inhabitants living in the Jinzu River basin, Japan.
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Adult↗
Differential expression of the non-receptor tyrosine kinase BRK in oral squamous cell carcinoma and normal oral epithelium.
BRK is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase whose functional role is poorly understood. Although it is an epithelial specific kinase, its expression appears to be tissue specific. To date, little is known about BRK expression in human oral epithelium. We investigated expression of BRK in human oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) and normal oral epithelium (NOE) using immunohistochemistry, laser confocal microscopy and Western blotting. The subcellular localization of BRK was identified by confocal microscopy and Western blotting of nuclear and cytoplasmic extracts from these cells. The results indicate that NOE express higher levels of BRK compared with OSCC cells. In NOE and moderately differentiated OSCC cells, BRK was localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm. However, in poorly differentiated OSCC cells, BRK was localized in perinuclear regions. These results suggest that BRK expression differs in normal and OSCC which may reflect a possible functional involvement in OSCC.
Blotting, Western↗
Quantitative high-resolution HAADF-STEM analysis of inversion boundaries in Sb(2)O(3)-doped zinc oxide.
[Formula: see text] -doped ZnO crystals including inversion boundaries were investigated by high-resolution high-angle annular-dark field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The images were analysed with the aid of the image simulation based on Bethe method and also the retrieval processing using deconvolution. Utility of these two approaches for the HAADF-STEM analysis is discussed.
Journal Article↗
Role of surface amorphous film in high-resolution high-angle annular dark field STEM imaging.
A different scheme for high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy image calculation of multilayers, such as a crystal covered by amorphous films, has been developed, in which intensities of electrons collected by an annular detector at each layer are evaluated by two kinds of optical potential for thermal diffuse scattering on the layer-by-layer representation. One beam condition caused by an amorphous structure changes the present method into a simplified method. Through a molecular dynamics study of amorphous SiO2, it is found that an off-axis cristobalite, regarded as one-beam condition, can be used for a model of amorphous SiO2 structure. Furthermore, we demonstrate how surface amorphous films adhering to a crystal reduce image contrast and show that a top surface amorphous film acts as changing defocus in coherent convergent electron beam.
Journal Article↗
Symmetries in BF and HAADF STEM image calculations.
Reductions in bright-field (BF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) STEM image calculations with the aid of Bloch wave symmetry are discussed under assumptions that an absorption potential is written by a local potential and a zero-order Laue zone lies parallel to the crystal surface. Translational symmetry allows us to take only partial incident beams in the first Brillouin zone instead of enormous number of partial incident beams in a large convergent disk. Two dimensional point group confines partial incident beams to an irreducible area in addition to factoring a dispersion matrix into noninteracting submatrices on a high symmetry line using the projection operator. The drastic reductions in computing time and memory enable us to readily calculate various BF STEM and HAADF STEM images. The validity and accuracy are demonstrated in comparisons with high resolution experimental BF STEM and HAADF STEM images.
Algorithms↗
Electroencephalographic aspects of periventricular hemorrhagic infarction in preterm infants.
The aim of this study was to investigate electroencephalographic aspects of periventricular hemorrhagic infarction (PVHI) in preterm infants. The subjects were 11 preterm infants with PVHI, who were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Anjo Kosei Hospital from April 1985 through December 1997. The patients underwent serial cranial ultrasonography and were diagnosed as having PVHI. An EEG was recorded at least once within 1 week after PVHI and then recorded at 1- to 4-week intervals until 40 weeks of postconceptional age. The EEG findings were classified into acute and chronic stage abnormalities. Acute stage EEG abnormalities were seen in 5 infants after PVHI, which were symmetrical in all infants. Among them, 3 infants died during the early neonatal period. The infants who had a higher grade of acute stage EEG abnormalities showed significantly higher mortality. Among the surviving 8 infants, chronic stage EEG abnormalities were seen in 3 predominantly in the ipsilateral side of PVHI, and all of them developed hemiplegia. The sensitivity and specificity of chronic stage EEG abnormalities to predict outcome were 0.75 and 1.0, respectively. Acute and chronic stage EEG abnormalities give valuable information for short-term and long-term outcome in preterm infants with PVHI.
Brain Infarction↗
Novel resistin promoter polymorphisms: association with serum resistin level in Japanese obese individuals.
OBJECTIVES: Resistin, an adipocyte-secreted cytokine recently discovered in mice, has been proposed as a link between obesity and diabetes. We analyzed resistin gene polymorphisms and examined their association with serum resistin level and obesity phenotypes in humans. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixty young, obese, non-diabetic subjects taking no medication were studied. DNA sequencing and genotyping of identified single nucleotide polymorphisms were performed. Associations between polymorphisms and serum resistin level, BMI, body composition, fat distribution, and several indices of insulin sensitivity were examined. Moreover, single nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter region were examined for their influence on resistin gene transcriptional activity using luciferase reporter vectors. RESULTS: Ten non-coding single nucleotide polymorphisms were found. The -638G>A, -420C>G, and -358G>A polymorphisms in the promoter region showed marked linkage disequilibrium with each other, and were associated with serum resistin level; however, there was no association between these polymorphisms and parameters related to adiposity or insulin resistance. The results of luciferase assay revealed that -638G>A together with the -420C>G polymorphism influenced resistin gene transcriptional activity. CONCLUSION: We found that variability in the serum resistin level might be related to polymorphic variants of the promoter region of the gene.
Adenine↗
Protective role of vanilloid receptor type 1 in HCl-induced gastric mucosal lesions in rats.
BACKGROUND: Effects of vanilloid-receptor agonists and antagonists on HCl-induced gastric lesions in rats were investigated to elucidate the role of vanilloid receptor type 1 (VR1) in gastric mucosal defense mechanisms. METHODS: Gastric lesions in rats were evaluated after intragastric administration of 0.6 N HCl. The localization of VR1 in the stomach was investigated immunohistochemically. RESULTS: Intragastric administration of capsaicin inhibited the formation of gastric lesions in a dose-dependent manner (0.1-2.5 mg/kg). The functional VR1 antagonists ruthenium red and capsazepine markedly aggravated HCl-induced gastric lesions in rats. The gastroprotective effect of capsaicin was attenuated by ruthenium red or capsazepine. It is reported that resiniferatoxin, [6]-gingerol and lafutidine are compounds that activate VR1 and/or capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons. These compounds significantly inhibited the formation of HCl-induced gastric lesions, and their gastroprotective effects were inhibited by treatment with ruthenium red. The immunohistochemical studies revealed that nerve fibers expressing VR1 exist along gastric glands in the mucosa, around blood vessels in the submucosa, in the myenteric plexus, and in the smooth muscle layers, especially the circular muscle layer. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that VR1 plays a protective role in the gastric defensive mechanism in rats.
Acetamides↗
Cytological basis for enhancement of radiation-induced mortality by Friend leukaemia virus infection.
PURPOSE: To analyse the cytological basis for enhancement of radiation-induced mortality by Friend leukaemia virus infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cellularity in haematopoietic tissues of C3H mice infected with FLV and/or whole-body irradiation was examined. RESULTS: When mice were treated with a sublethal dose (3 Gy) of irradiation at 1 week after virus infection, most manifested a severe loss of cellularity in the spleen, bone marrow and peripheral blood 2 weeks after irradiation. More than 90% of the mice died within 1 month post-irradiation. However, this deleterious effect of virus infection on the survival of irradiated mice was observed only when they were irradiated at around 1 week after virus inoculation. Strain differences in the sensitivity to this effect were observed among virus-sensitive strains of mice. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that Friend leukaemia virus infection can cause enhancement of radiation sensitivity of haematopoietic cells in host animals in a restricted manner in terms of genetic background and the interval between infection and irradiation.
Animals↗
Possible participation of outer mitochondrial membrane cytonchrome B5 in steroidogenesis in zona glomerulosa of rat adrenal cortex.
Outer mitochondrial membrane cytochrome b5 (OMb) originally found in rat liver is an isoform of cytochrome b5 (b5) of the endoplasmic reticulum. In contrast to accumulated data on the physiological roles of b5, functions of OMb have not been well characterized except for its involvement in regeneration of ascorbic acid [i.e., in a semidehydroascorbate reductase (SDAR) system]. By using highly specific antibodies against rat OMb, we found immunohistochemically that OMb in the rat adrenal gland was most abundant in the zona glomerulosa (zG) among the three cortical zones, and the expression level was enhanced on angiotensin II-stimulation. SDAR activity was found in zG and inhibited by anti-OMb antibody. Moreover, the increase in plasma aldosterone concentration under Na+ -deficiency was suppressed by limited ascorbic acid (Asc) availability in rat mutants unable to synthesize Asc, while plasma corticosterone concentration was not affected. These data suggest that OMb, present abundantly in zG, participates in aldosterone formation in zG of rat under angiotensin II-stimulation through regeneration of Asc.
Adrenal Cortex↗
A phase II study of cisplatin and docetaxel administered as three consecutive weekly infusions for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in elderly patients.
BACKGROUND: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of treatments for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in elderly patients aged 75 years or older, we conducted a phase II study of cisplatin and docetaxel administered in three consecutive weekly infusions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The eligibility criteria for the study included the presence of chemotherapy-naive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, age > or =75 years, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1, a measurable lesion, adequate organ functions and signed informed consent. The chemotherapy regimen consisted of cisplatin (25 mg/m(2)) and docetaxel (20 mg/m(2)) on days 1, 8 and 15 every 4 weeks. RESULTS: Between February 2000 and March 2002, 34 elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer were enrolled in the study and 33 patients were treated. Two complete responses and 15 partial responses were obtained for an objective response rate of 52% in 33 treated patients. The median survival period was 15.8 months, and the 1-year survival rate was 64%. Toxicities were mild with no grade 4 toxicities. Only grade 3 leukopenia (6%), neutropenia (12%), anemia (3%), hyponatremia (3%) and nausea/vomiting (3%) were observed. CONCLUSION: Cisplatin and docetaxel administered in three consecutive weekly infusions was safe and effective for the treatment of elderly patients with chemotherapy-naive non-small-cell lung cancer.
Aged↗