Preventive effect of Kaempferia parviflora ethyl acetate extract and its major components polymethoxyflavonoid on metabolic diseases.

Previously, we reported that rhizome powder of Kaempferia parviflora Wall. Ex. Baker prevented obesity and a range of metabolic diseases.

Proteasome assembly defect due to a proteasome subunit beta type 8 (PSMB8) mutation causes the autoinflammatory disorder, Nakajo-Nishimura syndrome.

Nakajo-Nishimura syndrome (NNS) is a disorder that segregates in an autosomal recessive fashion. Symptoms include periodic fever, skin rash, partial lipomuscular atrophy, and joint contracture. Here, we report a mutation in the human proteasome subunit beta type 8 gene (PSMB8) that encodes the immunoproteasome subunit β5i in patients with NNS.

Stroke volume variation obtained with Vigileo/FloTrac™ system during bleeding and fluid overload in dogs.

Purpose: Stroke volume variation (SVV) is a parameter for estimating fluid responsiveness. Recently, the Vigileo™ and the Flo-Trac™ sensor (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA, USA) were made available for clinical use to estimate SVV. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the circulating blood volume and SVV, measured by the Vigileo-FloTrac™ system (SVV-FloTrac) or by central venous pressure (CVP), during a dynamic change in circulating blood transfusion volume, using a continuous constant bleeding and fluid-overload model in dogs.

Effect of enzymatic treatment on sedimentation and flocculation abilities of solid particles in rice washing drainage and its relationship with protein profiles.

In this research, the protein participation that occurs with the flocculation and sedimentation phenomena caused by adding enzymes to solid particles derived from rice washing drainage and the electrostatic properties of the solid particle surfaces was examined. As seen in the results, adding protease to rice washing drainage decreased the protein content, strengthened the negative surface electron charge, and decreased the isoelectric point (IEP) value of the solid particles. In addition, about 25% of the proteins in the rice washing drainage still remained after enzyme treatment.

Long-term follow-up of adalimumab monotherapy for rheumatoid arthritis in Japanese patients: a report of six cases.

We present six cases of patients with Japanese rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha blocking agent, adalimumab as monotherapy for 220 weeks. All six patients were women, and the median age was 54.0 ± 7.

Contribution of an adenine to guanine single nucleotide polymorphism of the matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) -77 promoter region to the production of anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies in patients with HLA-DRB1*shared epitope-negative rheumatoid arthritis.

We examined whether matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) contributes to disease susceptibility or severity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Eighty-seven patients with RA whose disease duration was <2 years and 71 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Adenine (A) to guanine (G) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the -77 MMP-13 promoter region in RA and healthy controls was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique.

Transcriptional activation of the cAMP-responsive modulator promoter in human T cells is regulated by protein phosphatase 2A-mediated dephosphorylation of SP-1 and reflects disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease with numerous abnormalities recorded at the cellular, molecular, and genetic level. Expression of the basic leucine zipper transcription factor cAMP-responsive element modulator (CREM)α was reported to be abnormally increased in T cells from SLE patients. CREMα suppresses IL-2 and T cell receptor ζ chain gene transcription by direct binding to the respective promoters.

Efficacy and safety of mizoribine by one single dose administration for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: Mizoribine (MZR) is an immunosuppressant that inhibits nucleic acid metabolism and is a relatively safe disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD). We evaluated the efficacy and safety of one single dose per day for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Patients And Methods: In this study 32 patients with RA received MZR therapy.

Suppression of autoimmunity and organ pathology in lupus-prone mice upon inhibition of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type IV.

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with aberrant immune cell function. Treatment involves the use of indiscriminate immunosuppression, which results in significant side effects. SLE T cells express high levels of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type IV (CaMKIV), which translocates to the nucleus upon engagement of the T cell receptor-CD3 complex and accounts for abnormal T cell function.

Effect of anchoring groups on electrochemical self-assembly of ZnO/xanthene dye hybrid thin films.

Three xanthene dyes with different anchoring groups, eosin Y (EY), dicarboxy-eosin Y (CEY) and sulfonated eosin Y (SEY) were employed to electrodeposit ZnO/dye hybrid thin films to study the effect of anchoring groups on the electrochemical self-assembly (ESA) of hybrid thin films. The adsorption stabilities of the dyes in oxidized form were in the order, CEY >> EY > SEY, as evaluated by Langmuir isothermal adsorption experiments. The reduction potential of dyes, the dependence on Zn(2+) concentration that reflects stabilities of complexes between reduced dyes and Zn(2+) ion, and the diffusion coefficients of dyes were determined by electrochemical measurements.

Successful treatment of chronic lupus myocarditis with prednisolone and mizoribine.

A 36-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with chronic myocarditis as an initial manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was admitted to our hospital. At her third occurrence of heart failure, we performed an endomyocardial biopsy and proved chronic myocarditis with SLE. Subsequently, she was treated with prednisolone and the immunosuppressive agent mizoribine (MZR), and her cardiac function improved.

Unreliable pesticide control of the vector psyllid Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) for the reduction of microorganism disease transmission.

Systemic insecticides and application methods were examined for the control of the vector psyllid of citrus greening disease, Diaphorina citri, on grown king mandarin trees in an orchard in southern Vietnam from May 2007 to September 2008. Leaf spraying of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin attained about 50 % to 70 % mortality of the psyllid for one month after the application and showed decreased efficacy thereafter. Imidacloprid was more effective than the other two insecticides, but the efficacy on grown trees was still much lower than that following application to young seedlings.

Regulation of disease susceptibility and mononuclear cell infiltration into the labial salivary glands of Sjögren's syndrome by monocyte chemotactic protein-1.

Objective: To investigate how monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) is involved in the pathological process of primary SS (pSS).

Methods: Guanine (G) to adenine (A) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the -2518 MCP-1 promoter region in pSS and healthy controls was determined by the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. Immunohistochemical staining towards MCP-1 and C-C motif chemokine receptor-2 (CCR2), a receptor of MCP-1, of the labial salivary glands of pSS was investigated.

Effective use of neonicotinoids for protection of citrus seedlings from invasion by Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae).

The application of insecticides to control Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) is a principal component of the current management for citrus greening disease or Huanglongbing. It is recommended that growers apply systemic insecticides such as imidacloprid and thiamethoxam every 2 mo after seedling planting, but this practice renders the seedlings insecticide-free and vulnerable to psyllid infestation in the first 2 mo. We evaluated the risk of vector invasion during this period from field studies of the psyllid in five new king mandarin, Citrus nobilis Loureiro, orchards in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.

Development of a comb needle with five needles for securing access to large blood vessels during emergency resuscitation.

Purpose: Animal tests have indicated that providing venous-arterial (V-A) bypass extracorporeal circulation immediately after cardiac arrest is a useful resuscitation technique for achieving resumption of a normal cardiac function and brain resuscitation. However, pulsation of the femoral artery cannot be felt in the case of cardiac arrest, and it takes a long time to puncture the femoral artery and vein. We developed a comb needle that has five 18-gauge metallic needles fixed in parallel on a plastic board.

[Pilomyxoid astrocytoma presenting in an elderly patient: a case report].

A 77-year-old man presented with progressive visual disturbance. MR images revealed a mass lesion mainly spreading in the left basal cistern, sylvian fissure and to the left hypothalamic region, with ventricular enlargement. To obtain precise diagnosis of the mass lesion, an open biopsy was performed.

Influence of queen and diet on nestmate recognition and cuticular hydrocarbon differentiation in a fission-dispersing ant, Aphaenogaster senilis.

In social insects, colony fission is a particular mode of dispersal by which an adult colony splits into two or more independent nests. In the monogynous ant Aphaenogaster senilis, field data suggest that new queens may be produced in queenless daughter nests after nest relocation. Because workers do not fly, colony fission limits dispersal distance, leading young sister colonies to compete together and with the mother queen.

Cutaneous vasculitis induced by TNF inhibitors: a report of three cases.

We describe 3 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy-induced cutaneous vasculitis. Two cases were induced by infliximab and the other, in whom cutaneous vasculitis was found early at the start of therapy, was induced by etanercept. Skin biopsy was obtained in 2 patients, with histology-proven leukocytoclastic vasculitis.

Switching to the anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody tocilizumab in rheumatoid arthritis patients refractory to antitumor necrosis factor biologics.

We evaluated the short-term effects of the anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antibody tocilizumab (TCZ) in six patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had been refractory to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist therapy. All subjects were considered to be secondary nonresponders to TNF antagonists as decided by each physician. The Disease Activity Score of 28 Joints (DAS28) appeared to improve slowly by TCZ compared with TNF antagonist therapy, but significantly decreased at 24 weeks.

What is artificial endocrine pancreas? Mechanism and history.

The artificial endocrine pancreas is a feedback control instrument that regulates insulin delivery on a minute-by-minute basis according to measured blood glucose levels. Only one type of bedside-type artificial endocrine pancreas is now available in Japan: STG-22 (Nikkiso Co. Ltd.

Ontogeny of hydrocarbon profiles in the ant Aphaenogaster senilis and effects of social isolation.

In ants, cuticular hydrocarbons are used for nestmate recognition; they are stored in the postpharyngeal gland and shared among the individuals. Newly emerged ants have a very small quantity of hydrocarbons. We studied the ontogeny of the hydrocarbon profile in Aphaenogaster senilis.

Prediction of DAS28-ESR remission at 6 months by baseline variables in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with etanercept in Japanese population.

We tried to determine which baseline variables are responsible for remission induction at 6 months in unselected rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients of Japanese population treated with etanercept. One hundred forty-one patients with RA who were administered etanercept were registered. Thirty-four patients were started on etanercept monotherapy, 60 patients on cotherapy with methotrexate (MTX) (MTX cotherapy), and 47 patients on cotherapy with other non-MTX nonbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) (non-MTX cotherapy).

[A case of microscopic polyangiitis relapsed with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis].

The patient was a 63-year-old woman. She was admitted to our hospital with acute renal failure and multiple mononeuritis in 2002. She was diagnosed as microscopic polyangiitis based on positive for MPO-ANCA.

Macrophagic myofascitis associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Macrophagic myofascitis (MMF) is an unusual inflammatory myopathy characterized by muscle infiltration by macrophages and lymphocytes. Here, we describe a case of MMF which is associated with rheumatoid arthritis. A 53-year-old Japanese rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient presented with focal tenderness of lower extremities.

First Report of Root-Knot Nematode Meloidogyne enterolobii on Guava in Vietnam.

In southern Vietnam, citrus is interplanted with guava (Psidium guajava L.) for the management of citrus greening disease. Guava seedlings exhibited decline symptoms including leaf browning, growth inhibition, leaf drop, and death.