A phase I/IIa trial of atorvastatin in Japanese patients with acute Kawasaki disease with coronary artery aneurysm: Study protocol of a multicenter, single-arm, open-label trial.

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic vasculitis complicated with coronary artery abnormalities (CAAs). Intravenous immunoglobulin reduces the occurrence of CAAs, but significant number of KD patients with CAAs still exists. Thus, new approaches to prevent and attenuate CAAs are warranted.

Towards threshold invariance in defining hippocampal ripples.

Hippocampal ripples are transient neuronal features observed in high-frequency oscillatory bands of local field potentials (LFPs), and they occur primarily during periods of behavioral immobility and slow-wave sleep. Ripples have been defined based on mathematically engineered features, such as magnitudes, durations, and cycles per event. However, the 'ripple' could vary from laboratory to laboratory because their definition is subject to human bias, including the arbitrary choice of parameters and thresholds.

Highly active neurons emerging in vitro.

Mean firing rates vary across neurons in a neuronal network. Although most neurons infrequently emit spikes, a small fraction of neurons exhibit extremely high frequencies of spikes; this fraction of neurons plays a pivotal role in information processing, however, little is known about how these outliers emerge and whether they are maintained over time. In primary cultures of mouse hippocampal neurons, we traced highly active neurons every 24 h for 7 wk by optically observing the fluorescent protein dVenus; the expression of dVenus was controlled by the promoter of , an immediate early gene that is induced by neuronal activity.

Central Histamine Boosts Perirhinal Cortex Activity and Restores Forgotten Object Memories.

Background: A method that promotes the retrieval of lost long-term memories has not been well established. Histamine in the central nervous system is implicated in learning and memory, and treatment with antihistamines impairs learning and memory. Because histamine H receptor inverse agonists upregulate histamine release, the inverse agonists may enhance learning and memory.

Ethanol facilitates socially evoked memory recall in mice by recruiting pain-sensitive anterior cingulate cortical neurons.

Alcohol is a traditional social-bonding reinforcer; however, the neural mechanism underlying ethanol-driven social behaviors remains elusive. Here, we report that ethanol facilitates observational fear response. Observer mice exhibited stronger defensive immobility while observing cagemates that received repetitive foot shocks if the observer mice had experienced a brief priming foot shock.

Lysyl Oxidase Enhances the Deposition of Tropoelastin through the Catalysis of Tropoelastin Molecules on the Cell Surface.

The cross-linking of elastin by lysyl oxidase (LOX) family members is essential for the integrity and elasticity of elastic fibers, which play an important role in the characteristic resilience of various tissues. However, the temporal sequence of oxidation by LOX during elastic fiber formation is still incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that the cross-linking of tropoelastin molecules by LOX occurs concurrent with elastin deposition.

A Computationally Efficient Filter for Reducing Shot Noise in Low S/N Data.

Functional multineuron calcium imaging (fMCI) provides a useful experimental platform to simultaneously capture the spatiotemporal patterns of neuronal activity from a large cell population in situ. However, fMCI often suffers from low signal-to-noise ratios (S/N). The main factor that causes the low S/N is shot noise that arises from photon detectors.

Development of an experimental rat model of hyperammonemic encephalopathy and evaluation of the effects of rifaximin.

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neuropsychiatric syndrome associated with hepatic dysfunction. However, the precise mechanism of HE is unclear. To elucidate the mechanism, we developed a new rat model of HE with coma using a combination of subcutaneous splenic transposition, partial hepatectomy and portal vein stenosis.

Novel attenuation correction of SPECT images using scatter photopeak window data for the detection of coronary artery disease.

Background: Attenuation correction using segmentation with scatter and photopeak window data (SSPAC) may enable evaluation of the attenuation map in a patient-specific manner without the need for additional radiation exposure and more acquisition time. We examined the feasibility of SSPAC and compared the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of this new correction method with that of conventional non-corrected myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) among patients with suspected or diagnosed coronary artery disease.

Methods And Results: One hundred sixty-one patients who underwent both (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin stress/rest SPECT examination and invasive coronary angiography were enrolled in the study.

[Application of collimator broad correction three dimensional ordered subsets expectation maximization for regional cerebral blood flow measurement].

Autoradiography (ARG) has been used for quantitative analysis of the cerebral blood flow using I-IMP, and the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) can be assessed more accurately with scatter and attenuation correction. Currently, the filtered back projection (FBP) method is generally used for image reconstruction. However, we anticipate obtaining more accurate rCBF by the ordered subsets expectation maximization method with collimator broad correction three dimensional ordered subsets expectation maximization (3D-OSEM).

Plasmodium falciparum FIKK kinase members target distinct components of the erythrocyte membrane.

Background: Modulation of infected host cells by intracellular pathogens is a prerequisite for successful establishment of infection. In the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, potential candidates for erythrocyte remodelling include the apicomplexan-specific FIKK kinase family (20 members), several of which have been demonstrated to be transported into the erythrocyte cytoplasm via Maurer's clefts.

Methodology: In the current work, we have knocked out two members of this gene family (Pf fikk7.

Metallothionein-1 isoforms and vimentin are direct PU.1 downstream target genes in leukemia cells.

PU.1 is a key transcription factor for hematopoiesis and plays important roles in various hematological malignancies. To clarify the molecular function of PU.

Local injection of a sustained-release antiandrogen formulation into a target prostatic site: an experimental study.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of one intraprostatic injection with sustained-release chlormadinone acetate (CMA-SR) in rats.

Materials And Methods: CMA, a steroidal antiandrogen, was enclosed in microcapsules for sustained-release (CMA-SR). Forty-eight rats were divided into group A (intraprostatic CMA-SR 8 mg/kg, one injection), group B (as A but with 25 mg/kg), group C (intraprostatic, vehicle only) and group D (subcutaneous, s.

Two cysteine protease inhibitors, EhICP1 and 2, localized in distinct compartments, negatively regulate secretion in Entamoeba histolytica.

The enteric protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica uniquely possesses two isotypes of ICPs, a novel class of inhibitors for cysteine proteases. These two EhICPs showed a remarkable difference in the ability to inhibit cysteine protease (CP) 5, a well-established virulence determinant, whereas they equally inhibited CP1 and CP2. Immunofluorescence imaging and cellular fractionation showed that EhICP1 and EhICP2 are localized to distinct compartments.

Impact of intestinal colonization and invasion on the Entamoeba histolytica transcriptome.

A genome-wide transcriptional analysis of Entamoeba histolytica was performed on trophozoites isolated from the colon of six infected mice and from in vitro culture. An Affymetrix platform gene expression array was designed for this analysis that included probe sets for 9435 open reading frames (ORFs) and 9066 5' and 3' flanking regions. Transcripts were detected for > 80% of all ORFs.

New insights into molecular mechanisms of phagocytosis in Entamoeba histolytica by proteomic analysis.

The protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica ingests microorganisms and mammalian cells. Phagocytosis is essential for cell growth and is implicated in pathogenesis of E. histolytica.

Kinetics and strain variation of phagosome proteins of Entamoeba histolytica by proteomic analysis.

The protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica ingests and feeds on microorganisms and mammalian cells. Phagocytosis is essential for cell growth and implicated in pathogenesis of E. histolytica.

Proteomic analysis of phagocytosis in the enteric protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica.

Proteomic analysis of phagosomes isolated from Entamoeba histolytica by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry identified 85 proteins involved in surface recognition, actin cytoskeleton rearrangement, vesicular trafficking, and degradation. Phagosome localization of representative proteins was verified by immunofluorescence assay. This study should provide a basis for molecular identification and characterization of phagosome biogenesis.