[Reduction of helical artifact using SmartHelical algorithm].

Stair-step artifact is a serious problem in reconstructed images of multiplanar reformation (MPR), surface rendering and maximum-intensity projection (MIP). We developed a new algorithm, SmartHelical Algorithm (SHA), to reduce helical artifacts. SmartHelical Algorithm reduced helical artifacts significantly with slight worsening of longitudinal resolution.

Effects of various N-terminal fragments of glucagon-like peptide-1(7-36) on food intake in the neonatal chick.

Recently, the suppressive effect on food intake by the central administration of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) has been confirmed in both rats and chicks. The importance of the N-terminal amino acid, histidine, for the bioactivity of GLP-1(7-36) in the central nervous system was suggested, though the role for C-terminal amino acids in the central nervous system has not been reported. The present study was done to elucidate the central effect of N-terminal fragments of GLP-1(7-36) on food intake of the neonatal chick.

Claudin-1 and -2: novel integral membrane proteins localizing at tight junctions with no sequence similarity to occludin.

Occludin is the only known integral membrane protein localizing at tight junctions (TJ), but recent targeted disruption analysis of the occludin gene indicated the existence of as yet unidentified integral membrane proteins in TJ. We therefore re-examined the isolated junction fraction from chicken liver, from which occludin was first identified. Among numerous components of this fraction, only a broad silver-stained band approximately 22 kD was detected with the occludin band through 4 M guanidine-HCl extraction as well as sonication followed by stepwise sucrose density gradient centrifugation.

Subcellular distribution of tight junction-associated proteins (occludin, ZO-1, ZO-2) in rodent skin.

Occludin is an integral membrane protein that is concentrated at tight junctions (zonulae occludentes) in simple epithelial cells. ZO-1 and ZO-2 are peripheral membrane proteins that are localized at tight junctions in simple epithelial cells and at cadherin-based adherens junctions in nonepithelial cells. In this study, we investigated the expression and subcellular distribution of occludin, ZO-1, and ZO-2 in rodent skin.

Occludin is concentrated at tight junctions of mouse/rat but not human/guinea pig Sertoli cells in testes.

Occludin is the only integral membrane protein identified to date as a component of tight junctions (TJs). Here, we examined the distribution and expression of occludin in murine testis bearing well-developed TJ. In the adult mouse testis, occludin was concentrated at TJ strands, which are located at the most basal regions of lateral membranes of Sertoli cells.

Occludin-deficient embryonic stem cells can differentiate into polarized epithelial cells bearing tight junctions.

Occludin is the only known integral membrane protein of tight junctions (TJs), and is now believed to be directly involved in the barrier and fence functions of TJs. Occludin-deficient embryonic stem (ES) cells were generated by targeted disruption of both alleles of the occludin gene. When these cells were subjected to suspension culture, they aggregated to form simple, and then cystic embryoid bodies (EBs) with the same time course as EB formation from wild-type ES cells.

Air bubbles in the subclavian or internal jugular veins: a common finding on contrast-enhanced CT.

We investigated the frequency of air bubbles in the subclavian (SCV) or internal jugular (IJV) vein in 200 patients who underwent contrast-enhanced CT of the head and neck. Half the patients were reviewed retrospectively (group 1), while the other half were investigated prospectively after the radiologists who administered the contrast medium were instructed to be careful not to inject even a single air bubble during the procedure (group 2). Air bubbles were observed in the SCV or IJV in 15 of the 100 patients in group 1, while in group 2, there were 4 such patients.

B-cell monoclonality precedes the development of gastric MALT lymphoma in Helicobacter pylori-associated chronic gastritis.

Little is known about the temporal changes in Helicobacter pylori density and B-cell clonality during the evolution from chronic gastritis to gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Biopsied specimens from 28 patients with chronic gastritis who developed gastric MALT lymphoma (group A) and from 24 similar patients who did not (group B) during an equivalent follow-up period (mean, 42 months) were retrospectively scored for histological features of MALT lymphoma (0 to 5) and H. pylori density (0 to 3).

Microwave coagulation therapy on hepatomas: CT and MR appearance after therapy.

Laparoscopic microwave coagulation (LMC) for hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) was performed on 26 HCCs in 17 patients. Contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) and MR images (T1-weighted imaging [T1WI], T2WI, gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid [Gd-DTPA] T1WI) were obtained to determine changes over time. The irradiated center exhibited low to moderate intensity with surrounded high intensity (HI) on T2WI and Gd-DTPA T1WI.

[A case of hemangiopericytoma with multiple extracranial metastasis: a case report].

A case of a patient with hemangiopericytoma with multiple extracranial metastasis, who has survived for more than twenty years is reported. A fifty-five-year-old male presented brain tumor twenty years ago. He underwent total removal of the tumors, but recurrences occurred each time.

MHC class I bound peptides of a colon carcinoma cell line, a Ki-ras gene-targeted progeny cell line and a B cell line.

MHC class I associated peptides on cancer cells represent potential targets for CD8+ cytotoxic T cell activity against tumor cells. We eluted the naturally bound MHC class I peptides of a colon carcinoma cell line and compared them to peptides isolated from a B cell line and a slow-growing activated Ki-ras-disrupted colon cancer cell line. While we failed to detect any significant differences in class I associated peptides due to the presence or absence of activated Ki-ras in colon cancer cell lines, the colon cancer cell lines and B cell line presented vastly different peptide repertoires in the context of HLA-A*0201 molecules.

The central corticotropin-releasing factor and glucagon-like peptide-1 in food intake of the neonatal chick.

Recently, we have reported that central administration of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) strongly decreases food intake of chicks. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether suppressed food intake induced by the central injection of GLP-1 is mediated by activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. First, the effects of central administration of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) were investigated.

Mutations in the MRE11, RAD50, XRS2, and MRE2 genes alter chromatin configuration at meiotic DNA double-stranded break sites in premeiotic and meiotic cells.

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, meiotic recombination is initiated by DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs) occurring in micrococcal nuclease (MNase)-hypersensitive regions of the chromatin. MNase-sensitive sites also undergo meiosis-specific alterations in chromatin structure prior to the appearance of DSBs. DSB formation requires the products of numerous genes.

Effect of glycerol on blood flow distribution in tumoral and peritumoral brain tissue.

The effect of glycerol on blood flow in tumoral and peritumoral tissue was measured in 32 patients with brain tumor, 17 gliomas and 15 meningiomas. Blood flow before and after the administration of glycerol was measured by stable xenon-enhanced computed tomography. The tumor part of glioma was significantly hypoperfused.

Longitudinal changes of metacarpal cortical striation in Graves' disease.

Rationale And Objectives: The authors verify whether metacarpal cortical striation can be used to assess longitudinal changes in bone turnover in Graves' disease.

Methods: Eight patients with untreated Graves' disease (5 men, 3 women; age 36 +/- 12 years) and six patients with the disease in remission (1 man, 5 women; age 38 +/- 12) were studied. Posteroanterior radiographs of the bilateral hands were obtained using fine-grain mammography film and direct magnification.

Activated Ki-ras enhances sensitivity of ceramide-induced apoptosis without c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase or extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation in human colon cancer cells.

The activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK)/stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) and/or extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) is involved in ceramide-induced apoptosis in certain cells. To examine the relationship between activated Ki-ras-mediated signals and ceramide-induced apoptosis in human colon cancer cells, JNK/SAPK and ERK activity, as initiated by ceramide, was examined in HCT116, which has a mutation of Ki-ras at codon 13, and HCT116-derived clones, HKe-3 and HKh-2, in which activated Ki-ras was disrupted through gene targeting. In HKe-3 and HKh-2, the activity of JNK/SAPK increased significantly within 60 min following C2 ceramide stimulation, and some apoptosis followed.

Effects of dietary cholestyramine on the utilisation of diets containing medium or long chain triacylglycerols by chicks.

1. The effects of graded dietary concentrations of cholestyramine (CSTY, a bile acid binding polymer), which prevents micelle formation and bile acid reabsorption, on the lipid and energy metabolism of chicks given diets containing different dietary concentrations of medium chain triacylglycerol (MCT) and long chain triacylglycerol (LCT) were investigated. 2.

Effect of ketone bodies on crop emptying in the chicken.

1. The effect of ketone bodies on crop emptying was studied in chickens in 2 experiments. In the first, the effect of beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate or acetone on relative crop content was measured.

Influence of fasting and neuropeptide Y on the suppressive food intake induced by intracerebroventricular injection of glucagon-like peptide-1 in the neonatal chick.

Recently, we have reported that central administration of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) strongly decreased food intake of chicks. The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether suppressed food intake by central injection of GLP-1 would be modified by an appetite stimulant such as fasting and neuropeptide Y (NPY). Birds (2 days old) were starved for 3 or 6 h and then GLP-1 (0.

[CT analysis of the anterior mediastinal fat: before and after lobectomy].

CT analysis was performed to evaluate change in the anterior mediastinal fat (AMF) after lobectomy and differences in AMF in the lobectomized region. In 67 carcinoma patients who underwent lobectomy, the area and volume of AMF were measured on CT before and after surgery. Mediastinal deviation after lobectomy was also correlated to the altered fat tissue.

Occludin as a possible determinant of tight junction permeability in endothelial cells.

Endothelial cells provide a crucial interface between blood and tissue environments. Free diffusion of substances across endothelia is prevented by the endothelial tight junction, the permeability of which varies enormously depending on tissue. Endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier possess tight junctions of severely limited permeability, whereas those of non-neural tissue are considerably leakier, but the molecular basis for this difference is not clear.

Mammalian occludin in epithelial cells: its expression and subcellular distribution.

Occludin has been identified from chick liver as a novel integral membrane protein localizing at tight junctions, and the cDNA encoding its mammalian homologue was identified very recently (Ando-Akatsuka, Y., M. Saitou, T.

[Functional MRI in search of basal ganglia].

We investigated activation of the globus pallidus using conventional gradient echo sequence with a 1.5 tesla equipment. In accordance with complex finger tapping in the left hand, an increase in signal intensity from bilateral globus pallidus was attained, being grossly predominated on right side.

Expression of occludin, tight-junction-associated protein, in human digestive tract.

The tight junction seals cells together at a subapical location and functionally separates the plasma membrane into an apical and a basolateral domain. This junction is one of the most characteristic structural markers of the polarized epithelial cell. Recently, occludin has been identified as an integral transmembrane protein localizing at the tight junction and directly associated with ZO-1, an undercoat-constitutive cytoplasmic protein.