Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to N Watanabe.
Dried biological specimens, such as fossil diatoms, collagen, nerve tissue and spicule of Trepang, were observed by X-ray photoelectron-conversion contact microscopy. A spatial resolution of 0.2 microns was attained. The fossil diatom image shows a clear difference below and above the carbon K-absorption edge (4.46 nm).
The purpose of this study was to make a longitudinal analysis of torque transmitted to a direct abutment tooth of a lower distal-extension removable partial dentures constructed with the conus crown telescopic system. Torque around the vertical and lateral axes of the tooth were measured during chewing of food at the time of insertion of the new dentures to about three months after. The maximal mean value of torque (Max.MT) was calculated from the peak level of all chewing strokes at the minimum of the interocclusal distance. The integration values of torque (I) and time (T) from initiation of chewing to swallowing were obtained, then the average value of torque (Ave.T) was calculated (Ave.T = I/T). The results are summarized as follows: (a) There were no remarkable changes of Max.MT around the both axes; (b) Max.MT around the lateral axis was 7-47 x 10(-3) kgm (mean: 25 x 10(-3) kgm) (1 kgm = 9.8 Nm) in the downward direction and Ave.T around the lateral axis was 6-14 x 10(-3) kgm ss-1 (mean: 10 x 10(-3) kgm ss-1) in the downward direction; (c) There were marked differences of Max.MT and Ave.T around the vertical axis between subjects. Max.MT around the vertical axis was less than 24 x 10(-3) kgm and Ave.T around the vertical axis was less than 6 x 10(-3) kgm ss-1.
The purpose of this study was to examine longitudinal changes of the occlusal force distribution in lower distal-extension removable partial dentures with the conus crown telescopic system. Occlusal force applied to the denture and forces transmitted to the retainers were measured on several separate occasions from the insertion of new dentures to about 3 months after. The occlusal force distribution ratio to the retainers was calculated when a load of 20 N was applied to the denture. The results are summarized as follows: (i) The more posterior the loading point of occlusal force, the smaller was the ratio. When the occlusal force was applied to the most anterior artificial tooth, the ratio was 65-100% of the occlusal force. (ii) As the denture wearing time proceeded, the ratio was decreased. The smaller the ratio, the greater was the rate of its decrease.
WBB6F1-+/+ mice were infested with larval Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks twice at an interval of 14 days: apparent resistance against ticks was expressed in the second infestation. The first infestation induced degranulation of a small number of mast cells at the feeding sites within 6 days, and resulted in two-fold increases of mast cell numbers on day 14 with a significant elevation of total immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels in sera and high proportion of IgE-bound mast cells. The second infestation resulted in the intensive degranulation of the increased mast cells at the feeding sites. Eosinophils infiltrated into the feeding sites of ticks: the second infestation led to a greater maximal level of the infiltrating eosinophils. These data suggest that the resistance against larval H. longicornis ticks in mice may be expressed as a result of immediate hypersensitivity and many eosinophils infiltrating from the blood to the feeding sites might contribute to the tick rejection.
The prognosis in 52 patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) was studied. There were 35 cases of systemic onset, 12 of polyarticular onset and 5 of pauciarticular onset. Thirteen systemic cases developed a polycyclic course with chronic polyarthritis. Many monocyclic JRA in systemic cases subsided within 1 year. There were no instances of polyarticular cases or pauciarticular cases that shifted to other type. However, there were many cases with a long active polyarticular JRA and with remission at an early stage in the pauciarticular type. The stage and class were I or II in 90% of cases with a good prognosis for the joints, but there were some serious cases. Transient carditis or iritis which developed at an early stage subsided later. The intractable systemic cases had drug-induced complications. The cases with steroid-induced complications tended to be chronic. One death in a systemic case was caused by hepatic failure.
Genetically mast cell-deficient W/Wv mice infected with Leishmania amazonensis showed progressive development of ulcerative skin lesions. However, no significant differences between the W/Wv mice and the normal littermates with respect to size of the lesions, anti-Leishmania immunoglobulin E antibody, and the number of eosinophils accumulated in the lesions were observed.
Participation of IgE in protective immunity against Schistosoma japonicum was examined by comparing congenital IgE-deficient SJA/9 and IgE-producing SJL/J mice. Mice immunized with 100 irradiated cercariae 7 weeks previously were infected with 50 live cercariae. In SJL/J mice at 40 days after infection, a 3-to 4-fold increase of total IgE levels and anti-S, japonicum egg IgE antibody production were observed with no significant difference between immunized and nonimmunized mice. IgE was not detected in SJA/9 mice throughout the experiments. Protective immunity evaluated by recovery of adult worms was found in SJA/9 mice and was comparable to that of SJL/J mice. These results suggest that acquired immunity in mice with irradiated cercariae of S. japonicum was not dependent on IgE in these strains of mice.
BACKGROUND: Our objective was to assess phasic coronary blood flow and velocity characteristics of the proximal portion of the left anterior descending artery and to evaluate their relation to the clinical and hemodynamic manifestations in patients with aortic valve disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined 26 patients with chronic aortic regurgitation (AR), 12 patients with predominant aortic stenosis (AS), and 11 control subjects using an intravascular Doppler catheter with spectral analysis. Angiographic assessment of AR identified 10 patients with mild regurgitation and 16 with severe regurgitation. The resting systolic coronary flow velocity-time integral (VTI) was significantly higher and the diastolic VTI was slightly but significantly higher in patients with severe regurgitation than in those with mild regurgitation (11.8 +/- 4.2 vs 4.1 +/- 1.1 cm, P < .001; 18.5 +/- 5.8 vs 13.2 +/- 3.2 cm, P < .05) and control subjects (4.0 +/- 1.0 cm, P < .001 and 13.3 +/- 3.6 cm, P < .05), respectively. Patients with AS had a slightly lower resting systolic VTI (3.8 +/- 1.4 cm) and a higher diastolic VTI (14.6 +/- 3.7 cm) than control subjects. Resting coronary blood flow was greater in patients with aortic valve disease than in control subjects. There was a significant correlation between the ratio of the resting systolic to diastolic VTI (S/D ratio) and the ratio of the aortic systolic to diastolic pressure (r = .75, P < .001) in patients with AR. The S/D ratio was inversely correlated with left ventricular systolic pressure (r = -.92, P < .001) and positively correlated with the ratio of the aortic systolic to diastolic pressure (r = .68, P < .05) in patients with AS. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that hemodynamic changes related to aortic valve disease contribute to alterations in the resting phasic coronary blood flow and velocity profiles observed in these patients.
To clarify the role of substance P (SP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in nasal allergy, we measured their concentrations in the nasal secretions and plasma of normal subjects and patients with nasal allergy to house dust and Japanese cedar pollen by competitive enzyme-linked immunoassay. The mean levels of SP (224 pmol/L) and VIP (41.6 pmol/L) in the nasal secretions of normal subjects were significantly higher than those in plasma (SP 3.04 pmol/L and VIP 1.04 pmol/L; p < .01). The mean levels of SP and VIP in the nasal secretions of the pollinosis group were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < .05 and p < .01), while the levels of the house dust allergy group were not higher than those of the control group. Intranasal allergen challenge significantly reduced SP levels in the nasal secretions of the allergy groups, while it did not influence VIP levels in the nasal secretions. These findings suggest that SP and VIP are actively secreted into the nose and may play an important role in the allergic reaction on the surface of the human nasal mucosa.
A case of episodic angioedema and eosinophilia syndrome is reported. An 18-year-old male suffered from monthly episodes of angioedema, pruritic papules, weight gain, and fever for twelve years. During the episodes, peripheral eosinophils and serum levels of interleukin (IL)-5, an eosinophil proliferating cytokine were elevated. Extensive evaluations disclosed neither visceral involvement nor evidence of parasitic infections, collagen diseases, or neoplastic disorders. Corticosteroid treatment brought about a dramatic clinical improvement concomitant with decrement of eosinophils and serum IL-5 was observed. These observations suggest that IL-5 may be a causative factor for this pathological state.
A 39-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of general malaise, polyuria, disturbance of ocular movement and right cervical tumor. Blood examination revealed increased parathyroid hormone, hypercalcemia and hypophosphatemia, suggestive of hyperparathyroidism. Histology of the resected tumor revealed a benign parathyroid adenoma. Ectopic calcifications in the choroid and sclera were noted by computed tomography and further ophthalmological examination. Although ocular calcification in conjunctiva and cornea associated with hyperthyroidism is not unusual, sclerochoroidal calcification has not been reported previously in Japan. The possible cause of this unusual condition in this patient is discussed.
Bacteroides fragilis when inoculated intragastrically induced abscess formation in the mice of which the intestinal microbial flora had been disturbed by the prior intake of streptomycin and erythromycin in their drinking water. The lesion usually developed at the left axillary lymph node one week after inoculation and persisted for at least two months. Without the antibiotic treatment, B. fragilis did not induce such abscess formation. Although B. fragilis was isolated from blood after inoculation, intravenous administration of B. fragilis into mice did not induce the abscess formation. Therefore, B. fragilis inoculated did not appear to spread from the intestine to the distant locus via the bloodstream. The number of B. fragilis in the mesenteric lymph nodes reached 10(5) colony-forming units per lymph node 6 h after oral administration and remained unchanged over a 24-h period of infection. These results suggest that the lymphatic dissemination of B. fragilis accounts for the abscess formation at the left axillary lymph node.
Potent antistaphylococcal activity was conferred on E1077 by the introduction of the propenylammonium group at the 3-position in the cephem nucleus and of the fluoromethoxyimino group in the 7 beta-side chain. Antistaphylococcal activity was more markedly increased by the former group than by the latter. This effect seemed likely to be due to the increased high affinity for penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 3, which may be one of the essential PBPs of Staphylococcus aureus, and secondly for PBP 4. E1077 also showed more potent bactericidal activity than did cefpirome at concentrations above the MICs, although the MICs of E1077 for S. aureus were only half those of cefpirome. While cefpirome showed little killing activity within 4 hours at its MIC, the addition of cefoxitin (0.05 micrograms/ml), a specific inhibitor for PBP 4, enhanced the killing activity of cefpirome to match that of E1077. In addition, peptidoglycan (PG) obtained from cells grown with the subinhibitory E1077 concentration was more susceptible to lytic enzymes than that from untreated cells or cefpirome-treated cells. These results indicated that the increased inhibition of PBPs 3 and 4 by E1077, which was brought about by the introduction of two distinctive functional groups, led to the enhanced antistaphylococcal activity and to the production of poorly cross-linked PG, and thereby to rapid bactericidal activity.
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A 32-year-old male with a diagnosis of truncus arteriosus (Van Praggh Type A3) underwent successfully a total correction by the modified Rastelli procedure. The bilateral pulmonary arteries (PA) were disconnected from the truncus, and the ventricular septal defect was rerouted with a Dacron patch from the left ventricle to the true aorta. A new outflow from the right ventricle to the bilateral PA was established by the use of a T tube graft which consisted of a Rygg's valved conduit and a Rygg's pericardium. The patient had recent cardiac catheterization with slight elevated pulmonary hypertension (Rt-PA 40/10 mmHg, Lt-PA 30/10 mmHg), but is doing well at 5 years postoperatively.
We performed 201Tl SPECT and cell kinetic studies on 28 presurgical patients with supratentorial gliomas by administering bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR). All patients had surgery and had follow-up for more than 25 mo. In patients with grade IV glioma (198.1% +/- 32.8%, n = 10), the 201Tl index, expressed as the count rate of the tumor site to the count rate over the contralateral normal region, was significantly higher than that in patients with grade III glioma (140.5% +/- 15.1%, n = 4, p < 0.01) or low-grade glioma (104.1% +/- 22.6%, n = 14, p < 0.001). A significant correlation was observed between the 201Tl index and BUdR-positive cells in excised tumor specimens (r = 0.67, p < 0.001). The 201Tl index of the 12 patients who died was higher than those who survived (173.2% versus 122.4%, p < 0.01). These results show the clinical utility of 201Tl brain SPECT in imaging supratentorial glioma and that the 201Tl index is representative of proliferative activity of the tumor.
In diabetic patients with autonomic neuropathy, it is suggested that there is a reduced uptake of 123I-MIBG in the heart. We compared the difference of myocardial 123I-MIBG accumulation between 4 diabetic patients with triopathy and 6 patients without it. In all 10 patients, coronary angiography and 201Tl imaging (rest and 4 hours later) were performed. 123I-MIBG (111 MBq) was administered intravenously and its imaging was recorded on 15 minutes and 4 hours after injection. In all 4 cases with triopathy, 123I-MIBG imaging showed defect in apical and inferior region. In 2 out of 6 cases without triopathy, rapid clearance was noticed in apical and inferior region. There was no significant stenosis in right coronary artery and no defect in initial and delayed 201Tl images in all cases. We concluded that diabetic autonomic neuropathy in the heart was prominent in apical and inferior region and 123I-MIBG imaging might be useful for the evaluation of degrees in diabetic neuropathy.
We report a case of interferon-alpha-induced pneumonitis. A 61-year-old man was diagnosed as having recurrence of renal cell carcinoma and treated with 3 x 10(6) unit of interferon-alpha daily for 8 weeks. On the 55th injection, he presented with a high fever and mild dyspnea, and his chest CT films revealed diffuse reticulonodular shadows in both lung fields. We suspected interstitial pneumonitis due to interferon-alpha, and started steroid therapy. He showed rapid improvement of symptoms and diffusing capacity, and the pulmonary infiltrates in his chest CT were markedly reduced. Transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) revealed slightly thickened alveolar walls and small granulomatous-like lesions. These granulomatous-like lesions showed marked accumulation of macrophages. To our knowledge, this is the first report of interferon-alpha-induced pulmonary injury in Japan.