[Evaluation of serum fibrosis markers in asbestos-exposed workers].

The usefulness of serum fibrosis markers to evaluate asbestos exposure was investigated. Subjects who underwent chest CT in screening for asbestos-exposed workers were divided in two groups, with or without pleural plaque findings, and they were compared in terms of serum fibrosis markers (Type IV collagen, Type III procollagen-N-peptide, Hyaluronic acid, KL-6, SP-D, SP-A). 8 younger cases, a case with elevated AST and a case with asbestosis of all the 43 cases who underwent chest CT were excluded.

Performance evaluation of 4 measuring methods of ground-glass opacities for predicting the 5-year relapse-free survival of patients with peripheral nonsmall cell lung cancer: a multicenter study.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of 4 methods of measuring the extent of ground-glass opacities as a means of predicting the 5-year relapse-free survival of patients with peripheral nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSLC).

Methods: Ground-glass opacities on thin-section computed tomographic images of 120 peripheral NSLCs were measured at 7 medical institutions by the length, area, modified length, and vanishing ratio (VR) methods. The performance (Az) of each method in predicting the 5-year relapse-free survival was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic analysis.

Crystal structure of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase: insights into the mechanism of catalysis by a key enzyme for glutathione homeostasis.

Gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gammaGCS), a rate-limiting enzyme in glutathione biosynthesis, plays a central role in glutathione homeostasis and is a target for development of potential therapeutic agents against parasites and cancer. We have determined the crystal structures of Escherichia coli gammaGCS unliganded and complexed with a sulfoximine-based transition-state analog inhibitor at resolutions of 2.5 and 2.

Development and evaluation of a teleradiology and videoconferencing system.

We developed a teleradiology system linking a general hospital on Sado Island to tertiary care hospitals in Niigata City. The island is 40 km from Niigata City on the mainland and has only one diagnostic radiologist (for 72,000 islanders). Fibre optic cables between Sado Island and Niigata City were used for transmission.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies on pyruvate phosphate dikinase from maize.

Pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK) from maize catalyzes the reversible conversion of ATP, orthophosphate and pyruvate to AMP, pyrophosphate and PEP. In higher plants, this enzyme is believed to be involved in the C(4) dicarboxylic acid pathway. PPDK was crystallized by the vapour-diffusion method using polyethylene glycol as a precipitant.

Capturing enzyme structure prior to reaction initiation: tropinone reductase-II-substrate complexes.

To understand the catalytic mechanism of an enzyme, it is crucial to determine the crystallographic structures corresponding to the individual reaction steps. Here, we report two crystal structures of enzyme-substrate complexes prior to reaction initiation: tropinone reductase-II (TR-II)-NADPH and TR-II-NADPH-tropinone complexes, determined from the identical crystals. A combination of two kinetic crystallographic techniques, a continuous flow of the substrates and Laue diffraction measurements, enabled us to capture the transit structures prior to the reaction proceeding.

Using slow-infusion MR arteriography and an implantable port system to assess drug distribution at hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess perfusion patterns seen on slow-infusion MR arteriography using the hepatic arterial infusion system compared with those seen on CT arteriography.

Subjects And Methods: In 37 patients with liver metastases who had implantable port systems for hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy, slow-infusion MR arteriography using an infusion rate of 10 mL/hr through an implantable port and CT arteriography using an injection rate of 0.7 mL/sec were performed.

Recognition of a cysteine substrate by E. coli gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase probed by sulfoximine-based transition-state analogue inhibitors.

A series of sulfoximine-based transition-state analogue inhibitors with a varying alkyl side chain was synthesized to probe the recognition of a Cys substrate by E. coli gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-GCS). The sulfoximines with a small alkyl group (H, methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl and CH2OH) each served as a slow-binding inhibitor, the sulfoximine with an ethyl being by far the most potent inhibitor to cause facile and irreversible enzyme inhibition.

Escherichia coli B gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase: modification, purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis.

Escherichia coli B gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gammaGCS) catalyzes the ATP-dependent coupling of L-Glu and L-Cys to form the glutathione precursor gamma-L-Glu-Cys and is a target for development of potential therapeutic agents. By introducing four point mutations of surface-exposed cysteine residues to serine, the gammaGCS was purified to homogeneity; single crystals have been obtained using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method with sodium formate. The gammaGCS crystal diffracted to 2.