Intraperitoneal administration of oxygenated perfluorochemical inhibits bacterial translocation associated with severe acute pancreatitis.

Bacterial translocation from gut has been assumed to be an infectious source in severe acute pancreatitis. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of intraperitoneal administration of oxygenated perfluorochemical on bacterial translocation associated with rat experimental acute necrotizing pancreatitis. Severe necrotizing pancreatitis was induced by retrograde injection of 3% sodium deoxycholate into the biliopancreatic ducts of male Wistar rats.

Observation of choroidal circulation using index of erythrocytic velocity.

Objective: To describe a noninvasive method to visualize choroidal circulation by means of erythrocytic velocity.

Methods: Laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) and indocyanine green (ICG) angiography were performed on 9 volunteers. The LSFG measures the quantitative relative velocity index of erythrocytes (normalized blur [NB] value) in retinal and choroidal vessels.

Ruthenium(II) complexes containing 8-(dimethylphosphino)quinoline (Me(2)Pqn): preparation, crystal structures, and electrochemical and spectroscopic properties of [Ru(bpy or phen)(3)(-)(n)(Me(2)Pqn)(n)](PF(6))(2) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; phen = 1,10-phenanthroline; n = 1, 2, or 3).

Several new ruthenium(II) complexes containing 8-(dimethylphosphino)quinoline (Me(2)Pqn) were synthesized, and their structures and electrochemical/spectroscopic properties have been investigated. In addition to the mono(Me(2)Pqn) complex [Ru(bpy or phen)(2)(Me(2)Pqn)](PF(6))(2) (1 or 1'; bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), the geometrical isomers trans(P)- and C(1)-[Ru(bpy)(Me(2)Pqn)(2)](PF(6))(2) (tP-2 and C(1)-2) and mer- and fac-[Ru(Me(2)Pqn)(3)](PF(6))(2) (m-3 and f-3) were also selectively synthesized and isolated. It was found that complexes tP-2 and m-3 were converted quantitatively to the corresponding C(1)-2 and f-3 isomers, respectively, by irradiation of light corresponding to the MLCT transition energy.

Resolution of diabetic cystoid macular edema associated with spontaneous vitreofoveal separation.

Purpose: To report spontaneous resolution of diabetic cystoid macular edema (CME) associated with spontaneous vitreofoveal separation.

Design: Interventional case series.

Methods: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed on three eyes of three diabetic patients with CME before and after vitreofoveal separation.

Influence of mosapride citrate on gastric motility and autonomic nervous function: evaluation by spectral analyses of heart rate and blood pressure variabilities, and by electrogastrography.

Background: Mosapride citrate selectively acts on serotonin (5-HT(4)) receptors, thus accelerating gastrointestinal motility via acetylcholine. However, few studies have evaluated the influence of mosapride citrate on autonomic nervous activity and hemodynamics.

Methods: The changes in autonomic nervous activity, QT interval, and QT dispersion resulting from the administration of mosapride citrate were studied.

Changes in hemodynamics and autonomic nervous activity in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy: differences between the pneumoperitoneum and abdominal wall-lifting method.

Background And Study Aims: Intraoperative changes in circulatory hemodynamics and autonomic nervous activity were evaluated in 33 patients with cholelithiasis who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Patients And Methods: Of these patients, 18 were treated using a pneumoperitoneum (group G) and 15 using the abdominal wall-lifting method (group WL). Their ECG, blood pressure, arterial oxygen saturation, and expiratory carbon dioxide partial pressure were monitored.

A controlled study of vitrectomy for diabetic macular edema.

Purpose: To compare eyes that underwent surgery with untreated fellow eyes to assess the efficacy of vitrectomy for diabetic macular edema.

Methods: In a nonrandomized clinical trial, seven adult patients with mean age of 53 years (range 42 to 64) and the same degree and duration of diabetic macular edema in both eyes were followed up for more than 5 months after unilateral vitrectomy. The treated eye was selected at random, but if visual disparity between the both eyes was more than 3 lines, we operated on the worse side.

Induction of VEGF gene expression by retinoic acid through Sp1-binding sites in retinoblastoma Y79 cells.

Purpose: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an angiogenic peptide that has been implicated in many retinopathies. Although all trans-retinoic acid (atRA) has long been known as an essential factor in the visual cycle, the role of atRA in the pathogenesis of retinal disease remains elusive. In this study, we investigated the effects of atRA on expression of the VEGF gene in retinoblastoma Y79 cells.

Involvement of the telomeric protein Pin2/TRF1 in the regulation of the mitotic spindle.

Pin2/TRF1 was independently identified as a telomeric DNA-binding protein (TRF1) that regulates telomere length, and as a protein (Pin2) that can bind the mitotic kinase NIMA and suppress its lethal phenotype. We have previously demonstrated that Pin2/TRF1 levels are cell cycle-regulated and its overexpression induces mitotic arrest and then apoptosis. This Pin2/TRF1 activity can be potentiated by microtubule-disrupting agents, but suppressed by phosphorylation of Pin2/TRF1 by ATM; this negative regulation is critical in mediating for many, but not all, ATM-dependent phenotypes.

Persistent foveal retinal detachment after successful rhegmatogenous retinal detachment surgery.

Purpose: To describe the tomographic features of the neurosensory retina after successful rhegmatogenous retinal detachment surgery.

Design: Cohort study.

Methods: We prospectively examined cross-sectional retinal images using optical coherence tomography (OCT) in 15 eyes of 15 consecutive patients (mean age, 46 years) who underwent scleral buckling surgery for treatment of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

Effects of polymerization and hydrolysis degrees of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) on the efficiency of the PVA-solid substrate for room-temperature phosphorimetry.

Several kinds of poly(vinyl alcohols) (PVAs) having different degrees of polymerization and hydrolysis were tested as a material of a solid substrate for room-temperature phosphorimetry (RTP). Effects of these differences on the efficiency of the solid substrate were investigated. Completely hydrolyzed PVAs acquired a luminescence property in the grinding process of substrate preparation, but partially hydrolyzed PVAs did not acquire this property.

Optic nerve involvement in neuro-Behcet's disease.

Background: To report the ocular manifestations of neuro-Behcet's disease.

Cases: A 34-year-old woman had recurrent meningitis. She developed diplopia, headache, and ataxia, and was diagnosed as having neuro-Behcet's disease.

Histological study of PIVKA-II expression in hepatocellular carcinoma and adenomatous hyperplasia.

Although serum concentration of protein induced vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA-II) has been widely used for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), little information is available concerning tissue PIVKA-II as an immunohistochemical marker for liver histology. In this study, we examined the expression of PIVKA-II in precancerous nodules (adenomatous hyperplasia) and various differentiation grades of HCC by immunohistochemical study using the monoclonal anti-PIVKA-II antibody (MU-3). We examined the relationship between tissue PIVKA-II staining and serum PIVKA-II level, tumor histology and tumor size.

Stimulation of vascular endothelial growth factor gene transcription by all trans retinoic acid through Sp1 and Sp3 sites in human bronchioloalveolar carcinoma cells.

In this study, we examined the effects of all trans-retinoic acid (at-RA) on the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in human bronchioloalveolar carcinoma NCI-H322 cells to evaluate the potential of at-RA to affect tumor progression. Northern blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analyses indicate that VEGF production is significantly increased by 1 microM of at-RA. A series of 5'-deletion and site-directed mutation analyses indicated that G+C-rich sequence located at -81 and -52 was required for at-RA- and retinoic acid receptor alpha-mediated induction of VEGF promoter.

Serous retinal detachment in patients under systemic corticosteroid treatment.

Purpose: To understand the pathophysiology of central serous chorioretinopathy or bullous retinal detachment in patients under systemic corticosteroid treatment. Little is understood about the mechanism of the development of serous retinal detachment.

Methods: Three patients who had developed central serous chorioretinopathy or bullous retinal detachment during systemic corticosteroid administration were examined by fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography.

A critical role for Pin2/TRF1 in ATM-dependent regulation. Inhibition of Pin2/TRF1 function complements telomere shortening, radiosensitivity, and the G(2)/M checkpoint defect of ataxia-telangiectasia cells.

Cells derived from patients with the human genetic disorder ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) display many abnormalities, including telomere shortening, premature senescence, and defects in the activation of S phase and G(2)/M checkpoints in response to double-strand DNA breaks induced by ionizing radiation. We have previously demonstrated that one of the ATM substrates is Pin2/TRF1, a telomeric protein that binds the potent telomerase inhibitor PinX1, negatively regulates telomere elongation, and specifically affects mitotic progression. Following DNA damage, ATM phosphorylates Pin2/TRF1 and suppresses its ability to induce abortive mitosis and apoptosis (Kishi, S.

Characterization of zebrafish caspase-3 and induction of apoptosis through ceramide generation in fish fathead minnow tailbud cells and zebrafish embryo.

Caspase-3 was cloned from zebrafish embryos and its properties were characterized to identify the biological implications of caspase in embryogenesis and apoptosis in zebrafish, which is a model organism in vertebrate developmental biology and genetics. The predicted amino acid sequence, totalling 282 amino acid residues, consisted of the prodomain and large and small subunits. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the cloned zebrafish caspase was a member of the caspase-3 subfamily with approx.

Type IV collagen serum and vitreous fluid levels in patients with diabetic retinopathy.

We compared the levels of type IV collagen (IV-C) in vitreous fluid and serum and the levels of glycosylated haemoglobin in 47 patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (DR) and 21 patients with non-inflammatory retinopathies. Levels of IV-C were found to be higher in the vitreous fluid in patients with DR than in patients with non-inflammatory retinopathy (53.2 +/- 14.

A specific interaction between the telomeric protein Pin2/TRF1 and the mitotic spindle.

Pin2/TRF1 was independently identified as a telomeric DNA binding protein (TRF1) [1] and as a protein (Pin2) that can bind the mitotic kinase NIMA and suppress its ability to induce mitotic catastrophe [2, 3]. Pin2/TRF1 has been shown to bind telomeric DNA as a dimer [3-7] and to negatively regulate telomere length [8-11]. Interestingly, Pin2/TRF1 levels are regulated during the cell cycle, being increased in late G2 and mitosis and degraded as cells exit from mitosis [3].

Close correlation of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine 5'-triphosphate, an intracellular active metabolite, to the therapeutic efficacy of N(4)-behenoyl-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine therapy for acute myelogenous leukemia.

N(4)-Behenoyl-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (BHAC), a prodrug of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine, is used effectively for the treatment of leukemia in Japan. BHAC therapy may be more effective if it is delivered in conjunction with monitoring of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine 5'-triphosphate (ara-CTP), the intracellular active metabolite of ara-C derived from BHAC. However, previous monitoring methods for ara-CTP were insufficiently sensitive.

Inflammatory cytokines in vitreous fluid and serum of patients with diabetic vitreoretinopathy.

To determine whether inflammatory cytokines are increased in proliferative diabetic retinopathy. We measured concentrations of interleukin-6, 8 (IL-6, 8) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in vitreous and serum from 47 patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and 21 patients with vitreous noninflammatory retinopathies. Vitreous concentration of IL-6 were 64.

Time sequential expression of markers of apoptosis induced by 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine in human T-lymphoblastic leukemia CCRF-CEM cells.

A wide variety of chemotherapeutic agents including 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine can induce cell death by apoptosis. However, an appropriate method for early detection of apoptosis that can be clinically applicable to peripheral blood samples freshly obtained from leukemic patients under chemotherapy has not yet been established. We investigated the chronology of ara-C induced apoptosis in CCRF-CEM cells by monitoring the expression of a number of apoptotic markers in a time- and concentration-dependent manner with the aim of estimating the earliest reliable marker of apoptosis to apply to clinical drug sensitivity assays.

Monitoring of intracellular 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine 5'-triphosphate in 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine therapy at low and conventional doses.

1-beta-D-Arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) is used empirically at a low, conventional, or high dose. Ara-C therapy may be optimal if it is directed by the clinical pharmacokinetics of the intracellular active metabolite of ara-C, 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine 5'-triphosphate (ara-CTP). However, ara-CTP has seldom been monitored during low- and conventional-dose ara-C therapies because detection methods were insufficiently sensitive.