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Biomedical subjects

M Ueno

Publications and source records attributed to M Ueno.

At least 487 records · Page 27Linked to original sources

Temporal raphe of the retinal nerve fiber layer revealed by medullated fibers.

Three cases of medullated nerve fibers of the retina were seen. They had medullated nerve fibers in both the upper and lower quadrants of the temporal retina, whereby the temporal raphe of the retinal nerve fiber layer could be visualized. Some nerve fibers from the upper and lower quadrants crossed each other on the horizontal meridian. The structure of the temporal raphe reported by Vrabec through anatomical studies was confirmed by ophthalmoscopy.

Adult↗

[Clinical statistics of urological inpatients 80 years old or older].

A statistical analysis was performed on 85 inpatients admitted to our Urological Department during the past 12 years. These patients were 80 years old or older at the time of admission. The age, chief complaint, primary disease, mode of operation, and duration of admission of these patients were evaluated. According to our classification of diseases, urological tumors were the highest in frequency (77 cases). Frequent diseases among urological tumors were benign prostatic hyperplasia (60 cases), and therefore transurethral resection of prostate was the most frequent surgery. This analysis indicated that operations on elderly patients can be done safely under nongeneral anesthesia unless the case is accompanied by serious complications.

Aged↗

[Regional intra-arterial infusion in combination chemotherapy with IFN-beta, MMC and 5-FU (beta-MF chemotherapy) in liver tumors].

The effect of combination chemotherapy with Interferon-beta, Mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil (beta-MF chemotherapy) on 7 hepatic tumors by intra-arterial administration was studied. Complete remission (CR) was observed in one patient and partial remission (PR) in two patients, the efficacy rate being 42.9%. The survival period was more than one year in 6 patients. Fever was observed in 6 cases, although it was slight in all cases and preventable by pre-treatment with antipyretics. The authors consider that beta-MF chemotherapy can be expected to be one form of treatment for nonresectable gastrointestinal carcinoma.

Aged↗

Individualized principal component analysis of endocrine circannual variability.

The technique of principal component (PC) analysis (PCA) of multivariate observations is a method that allows dimension reduction of multivariate data for further analysis. It is here introduced as a means of selecting chronobiologically important variables that can be further studied by an analysis of variance. The use of PCA is illustrated for a study of major temporal sources of human endocrine variability. Contributions to temporal variability by seven steroidal and six nonsteroidal hormones are compared in samples available at 100-min intervals for 24 hr in three seasons for each of three clinically healthy individuals: an adolescent woman, a menstrually cycling woman, and a postmenopausal woman. On an individualized basis, it is ascertained that the first principal component, a new variable, is primarily determined by steroids and that PCA can single out variables displaying interseasonal (circannual) differences validated as statistically significant by a subsequent analysis of variance. The variables here scrutinized and identified as contributing to the PC, however, need not all differ with statistical significance along the scale of the seasons. The steroids contributing the first principal component are DHEA-S and an estrogen in all three individuals studied, cortisol and aldosterone in two of them, and 17-OH progesterone in one case.

Adolescent↗

Is single oral administration of captopril beneficial in screening for primary aldosteronism?

Plasma renin activity (PRA) and plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) were measured in 19 cases with primary aldosteronism (PA) and in 72 with essential hypertension (EHT) to differentiate the two disorders during the following conditions on normal salt diet: after overnight recumbency (basal state) and 2 hours after oral administration of 25 mg of captopril. Screening criteria were determined so that all PA patients were diagnosed as positive, and their specificities were compared with those of other conventional screening methods for PA. After captopril administration, the specificity of a criterion based on a combination of PAC and PAC/PRA ratio was 93% and positive predictive value was 79%. This criterion was superior to blood pressure response to angiotension II analog infusion, PRA on salt depletion, and to PAC on salt loading. However, higher specificity (97%) and positive predictive value (90%) were obtained from a criterion based on a combination of basal PAC and PAC/PRA ratio. Therefore, the use of a combination criterion based on PAC and PAC/PRA ratio at basal state rather than after captopril administration may give a satisfactory result in the screening for PA.

Adult↗

Characterization of histamine release in digitonin-permeabilized rabbit platelets.

To manipulate the intracellular milieu of rabbit platelets, permeabilization was performed using digitonin. Permeabilized platelets showed dose-dependent release of histamine, which was stored in granules of rabbit platelets, in response to extracellular calcium ion. As PMA stimulated the release reaction in digitonin-permeabilized platelets, the protein kinase C system, which regulates metabolic processes and cell reactions in intact platelets, was revealed to be working. Cupric phenanthroline also released histamine from permeabilized rabbit platelets dose-dependently, and dithiothreitol inhibited the release strongly. Since cupric phenanthroline is a mild oxidant which catalyzes the formation of disulfide bridges, as in the case of Ca2+-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum, the results suggested that protein cross-linking is implicated in the regulation of the release reaction in permeabilized rabbit platelets.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Circadian characteristics of urinary melatonin from clinically healthy young women at different civilization disease risks.

Rhythm characteristics in the about-daily (circadian) and about-yearly (circannual) frequency ranges were assessed for urinary melatonin. Clinically healthy women in Minnesota, USA, and Kyushu, Japan, were sampled around the clock once in 1-4 seasons. Possible differences that could reflect the large difference in breast cancer incidence in these two geographic locations were investigated. Each subject's risk of developing breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases resulting from an elevated blood pressure, and emotional conditions was numerically evaluated according to epidemiologic questionnaires. A prominent circadian rhythm characterizes urinary melatonin in both populations, peaking in the middle of the night. The American women exhibit a larger circadian rhythm-adjusted mean (mesor) than do the Japanese women. A circannual rhythm is also apparent in the North American women, but not in the Japanese women. The circadian mesor of urinary melatonin correlates negatively with the risk score of emotional depression and positively with that of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Adolescent↗

Heparin-induced leukocyte lysis in vitro.

An investigation on the effect of heparin on leukocytes in vitro was conducted. We have demonstrated that heparin and other mucopolysaccharides destroyed leukocytes as judged by macromolecule leakage. The cytotoxicity of heparin was suppressed by protamine. A medium which mimics intracellular ionic conditions was found to suppress the cytotoxicity of heparin. Macromolecule leakage induced by heparin is thought to be facilitated by passive ion flux. Mepacrine, a phospholipase inhibitor, suppressed the heparin-induced macromolecule leakage from leukocytes. Thus, the activation of phospholipase appears to be involved in the cytotoxicity of heparin. These results suggest that activation of phospholipase and passive movement of ions may be important steps for the heparin-induced leukocyte lysis in vitro.

Animals↗

Age-dependent changes in warfarin tissue distribution.

Whole blood levels, serum protein binding and tissue concentration following intravenous administration of warfarin were investigated in 1-d-old, 1-, 3- and 8-week-old rats to determine the drug disposition in the growth process. It was shown that the clearance of warfarin in 1-d-old or 1-week-old rats was considerably lower than that in 3- or 8-week-old rats. The decrease in clearance in infant and young rats was considered to be caused by the immaturity of the physiological function of the liver to remove exogenous compounds. The distribution volume in 1-d-old or 1-week-old rats was larger than that in 3- or 8-old rats. The percentages of serum free warfarin in 1-d-old and 1-week-old rats were about twice those in 3- and 8-week-old rats. The increased distribution volume in infant rats was considered to be caused by a lower serum protein binding in these rats.

Aging↗

Studies on motion sickness caused by high curve speed railway vehicles. Evaluation of the swing and its effects on passengers and conductors.

The high curve speed railway vehicles (HCSRVs) of the Japanese National Railway have been operating since 1973 with the aim of increasing speed on ordinary routes with many curve track sections. Although the aim of increased speed has been attained, it has been pointed out that the swing of HCSRVs is stronger than that of ordinary-type trains and it may increase motion sickness among the passengers and conductors. In this study, the authors examined motion sickness symptoms among 119 passengers and 100 conductors of both trains with a self-administered questionnaire, and evaluated the vibration acceleration on the floor by using the 1/3 Octave Band Analyzer and the Fast Fourier Transform method (FFT). The results can be summarized as follows: There were more passengers and conductors suffering from motion sickness riding on HCSRVs than those on the control trains. HCSRVs had the peak values of vibration acceleration within the range of 0.5 Hz and 1 Hz at horizontal, although the control train showed them above 1.0 Hz. These results suggest that the high rates of subjective complaints of passengers and conductors riding on HCSRVs were affected by vibration acceleration of frequency lower than 1 Hz.

Acceleration↗

Circadian characteristics of urinary epinephrine and norepinephrine from healthy young women in Japan and U.S.A.

Clinically healthy diurnally active young adult women were studied during the same season (March) at the Universities of Kyushu (Fukuoka City, Japan) and of Minnesota (Minneapolis, U.S.A.), under comparable conditions, except that the habitual diets were not changed. The subjects (20 Japanese and 16 Americans of mixed Caucasian background) were studied over a single 24-hr span. Urine was collected at 4-hr intervals. A circadian rhythm in total urinary norepinephrine excretion showed similar characteristics in Japanese and Americans. In epinephrine excretion, the Japanese women showed a statistically significantly higher amplitude with higher peak values, but no statistically significant difference in the rhythm-adjusted mean. This intergroup difference is strictly time dependent; it does not come to the fore in urine samples covering the nocturnal rest span of the subjects.

Adult↗

OF4949, new inhibitors of aminopeptidase B. III. Biosynthesis.

To elevate production of OF4949 by Penicillium rugulosum OF4949 and to elucidate the pathway of its biosynthesis, mutants were selected on the basis of their resistance to growth inhibition by phenylalanine analogs. A mutant resistant to m-fluorophenylalanine, strain No. M414, had 3-fold the production of the parent. In a study of the biosynthesis of OF4949-I and II, several 14C-labeled compounds were examined as possible precursors of OF4949. L-[14C]Tyrosine and L-[14C]asparagine were incorporated efficiently. Most of the radioactivity of L-[14C]tyrosine was found in the 4-methylisodityrosine (B2) or isodityrosine (B1) moieties, and that of L-[14C]asparagine was in the beta-hydroxyasparagine moiety.

Aminopeptidases↗