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M Morioka

Publications and source records attributed to M Morioka.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

High durability cementitious material with mineral admixtures and carbonation curing.

Nuclear waste repositories need highly durable cementitious materials to function for over thousands of years while resisting leaching and degradation. The durability of cementitious material can be effectively improved by reducing permeability and by changing cement hydrates to a less soluble matrix. This paper describes the properties of carbonated new cementitious materials containing belite-rich cement and gamma-2CaO.SiO2 as main components. In addition, the long-term leaching properties are investigated and compared with ordinary Portland cement by using a predictive leaching model.

Carbon↗
PubMed2006

Carbohydrate metabolism genes and pathways in insects: insights from the honey bee genome.

Carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes may have particularly interesting roles in the honey bee, Apis mellifera, because this social insect has an extremely carbohydrate-rich diet, and nutrition plays important roles in caste determination and socially mediated behavioural plasticity. We annotated a total of 174 genes encoding carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes and 28 genes encoding lipid-metabolizing enzymes, based on orthology to their counterparts in the fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. We found that the number of genes for carbohydrate metabolism appears to be more evolutionarily labile than for lipid metabolism. In particular, we identified striking changes in gene number or genomic organization for genes encoding glycolytic enzymes, cellulase, glucose oxidase and glucose dehydrogenases, glucose-methanol-choline (GMC) oxidoreductases, fucosyltransferases, and lysozymes.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Clinical evaluation of cellulose porous beads for the therapeutic embolization of meningiomas.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cellulose porous beads (CPBs) are a new, exceptionally uniformly sized, nonabsorbable embolic agent. We evaluated their efficacy in the preoperative embolization of meningiomas. METHODS: In 141 consecutive patients, we used CPBs (200-microm diameter) for the preoperative embolization of meningiomas. We selected patients whose tumors were > or =4 cm with 50% of blood to the tumor supplied by the external carotid artery (ECA). All patients underwent a provocation test before embolization. The percentage of blood supplied to the tumor by the internal carotid artery and ECA was determined angiographically. Nonenhanced areas on postembolization MR imaging were calculated. Intraoperative blood loss, units of blood transfusion, and hemostasis at the time of surgery were recorded for each patient. The interval between embolization and surgery was intentionally longer than 7 days. RESULTS: Of the 141 patients, 128 underwent CBP embolization. Eleven patients had positive provocation test results, and 2 had vasospasm; they were not CBP embolized. In 72% of the patients CBP embolization achieved reduction in the flow of the feeding artery by more than 50%. The nonenhanced area on MR imaging was not significantly correlated with the degree of ECA supply or devascularization. The interval between embolization and surgery was 8-26 days (mean, 9.9 days). The longer this interval, the greater was the tumor-softening effect and the rate of tumor removal. CONCLUSIONS: CPBs may be useful for the preoperative embolization of meningiomas. To increase the efficacy of CPB embolization, the interval to surgery should be at least 7 days.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Brain stem venous congestion due to dural arteriovenous fistulas of the cavernous sinus.

BACKGROUND: Venous congestion of the brain stem due to dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) in the cavernous sinus is rare and presents therapeutic challenges. To assess the prognosis of patients with symptomatic DAVFs and brain stem dysfunction, we evaluated the degree of venous ischemia by examining pre- and post-treatment magnetic resonance images (MRI) in 2 patients presenting with venous congestion of the brain stem. METHODS: A 56-year-old woman with left hemiparesis and a 70-year-old woman with gait disturbance attributable to right cavernous sinus DAVFs were referred to our hospital. In both cases, T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) disclosed a hyperintensity lesion in the brainstem due to venous congestion. FINDINGS: Both patients underwent open surgery for direct embolization of the cavernous sinus because there were no approach routes for transvenous embolization. The patient whose pretreatment MRI demonstrated Gd enhancement continued to manifest neurological deficits and persistence of the abnormal hyperintensity on post-treatment T2-weighted MRI. In the other patient whose pretreatment MRI showed no Gd enhancement, treatment produced a complete response of her neurological deficit and disappearance of the abnormal hyperintensity area. CONCLUSIONS: We tentatively conclude that lesions corresponding to hyperintensity areas on non-Gd-enhanced, T2-weighted MRI may reflect a reversible condition whereas lesions identified as hyperintense areas on GD-enhanced T2-weighted MRI may be indicative of irreversibility.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Ischemia-induced neuronal cell death is mediated by the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway involving CHOP.

Brain ischemia induces apoptosis in neuronal cells, but the mechanism is not well understood. When wild-type mice were subjected to bilateral common carotid arteries occlusion (BCCAO) for 15 min, apoptosis-associated morphological changes and appearance of TUNEL-positive cells were observed in the striatum and in the hippocampus at 48 h after occlusion. RT-PCR analysis revealed that mRNAs for ER stress-associated proapoptotic factor CHOP and an ER chaperone BiP are markedly induced at 12 h after BCCAO. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that CHOP protein is induced in nuclei of damaged neurons at 24 h after occlusion. In contrast, ischemia-associated apoptotic loss of neurons was decreased in CHOP(-/-) mice. Primary hippocampal neurons from CHOP(-/-) mice were more resistant to hypoxia-reoxygenation-induced apoptosis than those from wild-type animals. These results indicate that ischemia-induced neuronal cell death is mediated by the ER stress pathway involving CHOP induction.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Endovascular coil trapping for ruptured vertebral artery dissecting aneurysms by using double microcatheters technique in the acute stage.

BACKGROUND: In the treatment of vertebral artery (VA) dissecting aneurysms, only proximal occlusion of the VA does not necessarily prevent rerupture. We evaluated the efficacy of coil trapping for the ruptured VA dissecting aneurysms using the double microcatheters technique. METHODS: We treated 11 patients who presented with subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) due to rupture of a VA dissecting aneurysm which did not involve the posterior inferior cerebellar artery at the site of dissection. All patients tolerated the balloon occlusion test. Within 3 days of the SAH, the dissection site was trapped with a Guglielmi detachable coil (GDC) using the double microcatheters technique. The proximal and distal sites of the dissecting aneurysm were embolized simultaneously. FINDINGS: GDC trapping at the affected site was successful in all 11 patients. Radiographic findings showed complete occlusion of the dissection site and patency of the unaffected artery. Although one patient experienced transient dysphagia, there were no major complications. INTERPRETATION: The double microcatheters technique is effective for coil trapping of ruptured VA dissecting aneurysms in selected patients. The risks posed by this simple technique are minimal, even in the acute stage.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2003

The neuroprotective effect of a novel calmodulin antagonist, 3-[2-[4-(3-chloro-2-methylphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-5,6-dimethoxy-1-(4-imidazolylmethyl)-1H-indazole dihydrochloride 3.5 hydrate, in transient forebrain ischemia.

A novel calmodulin (CaM) antagonist DY-9760e, (3-[2-[4-(3-chloro-2-methylphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-5,6-dimethoxy-1-(4-imidazolylmethyl)-1H-indazole dihydrochloride 3.5 hydrate), with an apparent neuroprotective effect in vivo, potently inhibits CaM-dependent nitric oxide synthase in situ. In the present study, we determined whether DY-9760e inhibits nitric oxide (NO) production and protein nitration by peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) formation in the hippocampal CA1 region of gerbils after transient forebrain ischemia. In freely moving gerbils, NO production after 10-minute forebrain ischemia was monitored consecutively with in vivo brain microdialysis. Pretreatment with DY-9760e (50 mg/kg i.p.) significantly decreased the increased levels of NO(x)(-) (NO metabolites, NO(2)(-) plus NO(3)(-)) immediately after, 24 h after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion to the control levels of sham-operated animals. Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses using an anti-nitrotyrosine antibody as a marker of ONOO(-) formation indicated a marked increase in nitrotyrosine immunoreactivity in the pyramidal neurons of the CA1 region 2 h after reperfusion, and DY-9760e significantly inhibited increased nitrotyrosine immunoreactivity. Coincident with the inhibition of the NO production and protein tyrosine nitration, pretreatment with DY-9760e rescued the delayed neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 region. These results suggest that the inhibitory effects of DY-9760e on the NO-ONOO(-) pathway partly account for its neuroprotective effects in cerebral ischemia.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Intravenously injected FK506 failed to inhibit hippocampal calcineurin.

FK506 (tacrolimus) is known as an inhibitor for calcineurin and is used in numerous research fields. It is not clear whether intravenously injected FK506 inhibits neuronal calcineurin. We measured the calcineurin activities of normal and postischemic rat hippocampi after intravenous injection of FK506 (3 mg/kg). Intravenously injected FK506 had no inhibitory effect on calcineurin activity in the hippocampi of normal and postischemic rats, whereas FK506 inhibited the calcineurin in vitro (purified enzyme, hippocampal homogenate, and hippocampal slice culture homogenate). Thus, it is considered that intravenously injected FK506 does not act on intraneuronal calcineurin and that several effects of FK506 are not due to the inhibition of neuronal calcineurin.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Expression of angiopoietin-2 in human glioma cells and its role for angiogenesis.

In highly vascular malignant glioma, glioma cells themselves may express angiogenic factors and induce angiogenesis. Recent studies have shown that novel angiogenic factors, angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) and -2 (Ang2), play important roles in the modulation of vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. In this study, we determined Ang2 mRNA expression in cultured human malignant glioma cells (U105, U251, and U373 MG) by reverse transcriptase-PCR. Western blot analysis and immunocytochemical analysis with antihuman Ang2 antibody revealed that Ang2 protein was expressed and secreted by these cells. Furthermore, hypoxia increased the Ang2 protein level in cultured glioma cells. Serial sections of 32 human glioma tissues (14 glioblastomas, eight anaplastic astrocytomas, seven astrocytomas, and three pilocytic astrocytomas) were immunostained against Ang2, vascular endothelial growth factor, Tie2, von Willebrand factor, and alpha smooth muscle actin. The immunoreactivity of each angiogenic factor was higher in malignant gliomas than in low-grade gliomas. Ang2 protein was detected not only in endothelial cells but also in glioma cells, and its expression was prominent in both the area surrounding the necrosis and the periphery of glioblastomas. In the area surrounding necrosis, Ang2 was highly expressed and tumor vessels showed regression. In the tumor periphery, Ang2 was highly expressed and many small vessels stained positively for von Willebrand factor but not for alpha smooth muscle actin, suggesting angiogenesis. Statistical analysis revealed that the Ang2 expression was negatively correlated with vessel maturation in malignant gliomas and that vascular endothelial growth factor expression was positively correlated with vessel maturation in low-grade gliomas (P < 0.05). These results suggest that glioma cells themselves express Ang2 and that expression may be induced by hypoxic stimulation and may play a crucial role in the vessel maturation, angiogenesis, and vessel regression in malignant glioma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Management outcome for ruptured anterior circulation aneurysms with a Hunt and Hess clinical grade of III in patients in the 9th decade of life.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to define general guidelines for rational clinical decision-making with respect to patients older than 80 years who present with ruptured anterior circulation aneurysms and a Hunt and Hess clinical grade of III. METHODS: The 29 consecutive patients enrolled in this study were treated at 4 participating centers between 1995 and 1998. All were 80 years or older on admission and met 7 eligibility criteria. The decision to treat surgically or non-surgically was made individually at each center. The outcome at discharge was assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS); the Barthel Score (BS) was used to determine the patients' quality of life after discharge. RESULTS: Of 15 surgically treated patients, 4 died before discharge and 8 were discharged in poor condition. Of these, 7 died of unrelated causes within 2 years of the SAH and one is living in a nursing home. Three patients with middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms made a good recovery; they are currently living at home. Of the 14 conservatively treated patients, 10 died during their hospital stay mainly because of rebleeding that occurred within 3 weeks of the subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Three others who were discharged in poor condition died of systemic illness within 2 years. The remaining patient is living in a nursing home with a BS value of 0. CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes for patients treated conservatively were catastrophic. Even in surgically treated patients, favorable outcomes were rare; the best results were achieved in surgically treated patients with MCA aneurysms.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Prognostic factors for survival and bladder recurrence in transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract.

BACKGROUND: Prognostic factors for survival in transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract have been extensively evaluated, but detailed analyses of patterns of bladder recurrence after surgery have been rare. METHODS: The outcome and tumor recurrence of 93 patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract surgically treated between 1975 and 1999 were reviewed, retrospectively. Disease-specific survival by pathologic stage and grade were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier METHOD: Prognostic factors for survival and bladder recurrence were examined by univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The 5-year disease-specific survival rates of the patients with pTa, T1 and T2 were 92.9%, 100% and 88.9%, respectively. However, that of the pT3 patients was 61.9% and the median survival of the pT4 cases was only 7 months. Bladder recurrence was seen in 40 cases and recurrences occurred within 1 year in 32 of these patients. The stage and grade of metachronous bladder tumors usually resembled those of primary tumors, but invasive recurrences were seen in 19% of recurrent cases with primary pTa, pT1 tumors. The significant prognostic factor for survival was pathologic stage (pT3, pT4), but no significant variables were detected for bladder recurrence by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of pT3, pT4 patients is poor and effective systemic adjuvant therapy is necessary. Invasive bladder recurrence occurred in 19% of patients with superficial primary tumors. As no significant prognostic variables for bladder recurrence were identified, careful follow up for bladder recurrence is important even if the primary tumors are non-invasive.

Administration, Intravesical↗
PubMed2001

Activation of Akt/protein kinase B contributes to induction of ischemic tolerance in the CA1 subfield of gerbil hippocampus.

Apoptosis plays an important role in delayed neuronal cell death after cerebral ischemia. Activation of Akt/protein kinase B has been recently reported to prevent apoptosis in several cell types. In this article the authors examine whether induction of ischemic tolerance resulting from a sublethal ischemic insult requires Akt activation. Sublethal ischemia gradually and persistently stimulated phosphorylation of Akt-Ser-473 in the hippocampal CA1 region after reperfusion. After lethal ischemia, phosphorylation of Akt-Ser-473 showed no obvious decrease in preconditioned gerbils but a marked decrease in nonconditioned gerbils. Changes in Akt-Ser-473 phosphorylation were correlated with changes in Akt activities, as measured by an in vitro kinase assay. Intracerebral ventricular infusion of wortmannin before preconditioning blocked both the increase in Akt-Ser-473 phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner and the neuroprotective action of preconditioning. These results suggest that Akt activation is induced by a sublethal ischemic insult in gerbil hippocampus and contributes to neuroprotective ischemic tolerance in CA1 pyramidal neurons.

Androstadienes↗
PubMed2001

Neuroprotective effect of sodium orthovanadate on delayed neuronal death after transient forebrain ischemia in gerbil hippocampus.

In transient forebrain ischemia, sodium orthovanadate as well as insulinlike growth factor-1 (IGF-1) rescued cells from delayed neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 region. Adult Mongolian gerbils were subjected to 5-minute forebrain ischemia. Immunoblotting analysis with anti-phospho-Akt/PKB (Akt) antibody showed that phosphorylation of Akt at serine-473 (Akt-Ser-473) in the CA1 region decreased immediately after reperfusion, and in turn transiently increased 6 hours after reperfusion. The decreased phosphorylation of Akt-Ser-473 was not observed in the CA3 region. The authors then tested effects of intraventricular injection of orthovanadate and IGF-1, which are known to activate Akt. Treatment with orthovanadate or IGF-1 30 minutes before ischemia blocked delayed neuronal death in the CA1 region. The neuroprotective effects of orthovanadate and IGF-1 were associated with preventing decreased Akt-Ser-473 phosphorylation in the CA1 region observed immediately after reperfusion. Immunohistochemical studies with the anti-phospho-Akt-Ser-473 antibody also demonstrated that Akt was predominantly in the nucleus and was moderately activated in the cell bodies and dendrites of pyramidal neurons after orthovanadate treatment. The orthovanadate treatment also prevented the decrease in phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Pretreatment with combined blockade of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and MAPK pathways totally abolished the orthovanadate-induced neuroprotective effect. These results suggest that the activation of both Akt and MAPK activities underlie the neuroprotective effects of orthovanadate on the delayed neuronal death in the CA1 region after transient forebrain ischemia.

Androstadienes↗
PubMed2001

[Endovascular treatment for facial arteriovenous malformations using new particles: report of two cases].

Facial arteriovenous malformations (FAVM) are difficult to treat because of their highly vascular networks. Intravascular treatment using liquid material to occlude the FAVM occasionally results in skin necrosis after embolization. The use of particulate materials to obliterate the nidus often fails to obtain a permanent cure due to arterial recanalization. We report two patients with FAVM who were successfully treated with endovascular embolization using a new type of particulate material. One patient was treated with embolization only, the other was treated with embolization followed by surgical resection. Both patients showed clinical and angiographic improvement. Intravascular treatment using particles with a smooth surface and optimal size is safe and effective in the treatment of patients with FAVM.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

[Treatment of spontaneous carotid-cavernous fistula by the transvenous approach via the facial and angular route].

We report a case of a patient with a spontaneous carotid-cavernous sinus fistula (CCF) who was successfully treated by the facial vein approach. This 66-year-old female had a 3-month history of right chemosis and exophthalmos. Angiograms showed a spontaneous right CCF with primary drainage via the superior ophthalmic vein. As both inferior petrosal sinuses were hypoplastic, the transvenous approach could not be used to gain access to the right cavernous sinus. With effort, we were able to traverse the sharp angle at the corner of the angular vein and the superior ophthalmic vein with a microcatheter. Thereafter, it was easily navigated into the right cavernous sinus. Successful placement of Guglielmi detachable coils resulted in complete closure of the fistula. When it is difficult to gain access to the cavernous sinus via the inferior petrosal sinus, the facial vein approach is a useful alternative.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Expression of neuron specific phosphatase, striatal enriched phosphatase (STEP) in reactive astrocytes after transient forebrain ischemia.

We studied the distribution and change of striatal enriched phosphatase (STEP) in the gerbil hippocampus after transient forebrain ischemia. STEP was expressed in the perikarya and in neuronal processes; it was not detected in non-neuronal cells of control animals. After 5-min forebrain ischemia, STEP immunoreactivity (STEP-IR) was preserved for 2 days; it disappeared 4 and more days after ischemia with completion of delayed neuronal death (DND) in the CA1 subfield. Furthermore, only in the CA1 after ischemia, STEP was expressed in reactive astrocytes for 4 to 28 days, showing different patterns of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive reactive astrocytes. After non-or less-than lethal ischemia, STEP expression in reactive astrocytes corresponded with the degree of neuronal degeneration. Immunoblot analysis of the CA1 subfield revealed the expression of three isoforms, STEP45, -56 and -61; their expression patterns changed with time after ischemia. These data suggest that neuronal STEP is preserved until cell degeneration after ischemia and that STEP is expressed in reactive astrocytes only after lethal ischemia, with different expression patterns for its isoforms. Of STEP45, -56 and -61, STEP61 was the most strongly expressed in the reactive astrocytes; both STEP45 and -61 were expressed in neurons and the expression of STEP56 was weak. STEP may play an important role not only in neurons but also in reactive astrocytes after ischemia, depending on neuronal degeneration.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Effect of interleukin-1beta on aromatase activity and cell proliferation in human osteoblast-like cells (HOS).

Osteoblast cells have a capacity to produce estrogen from androgen. It is known that inflammatory cytokines in bone increase during estrogen deficiency. In the present study, the effect of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) on aromatase (Arom) activity in human osteoblast-like cells (HOS) was investigated. We also investigated the effect of IL-1beta and estradiol (E2) on cell proliferation in HOS. [(3)H] water method was employed to measure Arom activity. Expression of Arom mRNA was determined by the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. The PCR products were confirmed by Southern blot analysis. Cell proliferation was measured by an ELISA-bromo deoxyuridine (BrdU) kit. Addition of IL-1beta increased Arom activity in a dose-dependent manner and addition of IL-1beta (10 ng/ml) resulted in 40% greater activity than control. Addition of 500 ng/ml of human recombinant IL-1 receptor antagonist neutralized the increased Arom activity to control level. Stimulation of Arom mRNA expression by IL-1beta was also found. IL-1beta and E2 stimulate osteoblastic cell proliferation significantly. These findings suggest for the first time that IL-1beta stimulates Arom activity through the IL-1 receptor and also cell proliferation in osteoblast-like cells. It is also demonstrated that this stimulatory effect may be through the IL-1 receptor. Cell proliferation stimulated by IL-1beta was reduced by the addition of the Arom inhibitor fadrozole-HCL (CGS-16949A). These results imply that IL-1beta has a stimulatory effect on estrogen formation and sequentially cell proliferation in bone, and this mechanism may play an important role in osteoblastic function especially in postmenopausal women.

Aromatase↗