[Leakage in anesthesia circuits--a comparison between 1998 and 2005 investigations].

Background: We checked for the occurrence of any leakage in an anesthesia circuit to estimate the present situation of airtightness of an anesthesia circuit in 55 anesthesia machines at various medical institutions in Okinawa.

Methods: Leakage was detected and measured by a leak checker.

Results: A certain degree of leakage was found in 28 of the anesthesia machines (51%).

Gene delivery by aminofullerenes: structural requirements for efficient transfection.

A series of aminofullerenes that share a common structural motif have been synthesized and subjected to a systematic investigation of structure activity relationship regarding their ability for transient transfection and cytotoxicity. DNA-binding tests indicated that any water-soluble fullerene-bearing amino group would bind to double-stranded DNA. For these molecules to be effective transfection reagents, however, they require additional structural features.

Cardiac imaging using 256-detector row four-dimensional CT: preliminary clinical report.

Purpose: Along with the increase of detector rows on the z-axis and a faster gantry rotation speed, the spatial and temporal resolutions of the multislice computed tomography (CT) have been improved for noninvasive coronary artery imaging. We investigated the feasibility of the second specification prototype 256-detector row four-dimensional CT for assessing coronary artery and cardiac function.

Materials And Methods: The subjects were five patients with coronary artery disease.

Wilms' tumor 1-associating protein regulates G2/M transition through stabilization of cyclin A2 mRNA.

Wilms' tumor 1-associating protein (WTAP) has been reported to be a ubiquitously expressed nuclear protein. Although a relation to splicing factors has been postulated, its actual physiological function still remains to be elucidated. To investigate the role of WTAP, we generated WTAP-knockout mice and performed small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown analyses in primary cultured cells.

Serotype-specific polysaccharide of Streptococcus mutans contributes to infectivity in endocarditis.

Streptococcus mutans and other viridans streptococci have been implicated as major etiological agents of infective endocarditis. The serotype-specific rhamnose-glucose polysaccharide (RGP) of S. mutans has several biological functions that appear to be essential for the induction of infective endocarditis.

Sex-related differences in the relations of insulin resistance and obesity to left ventricular hypertrophy in Japanese hypertensive patients.

Echocardiographically determined left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy is a powerful, independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Both insulin resistance and obesity have a well-known association with LV hypertrophy. However, whether or not there are sex-related differences in the relations of insulin resistance and obesity to LV hypertrophy has never been systematically explored in Japan.

Method for efficient storage and transportation of sputum specimens for molecular testing of tuberculosis.

Setting: The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a highly sensitive method for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is available in most countries, though to a lesser extent in rural areas.

Objective: To amplify M. tuberculosis DNA sequences of sputum spotted on FTA cards and compare them with the results of microscopic examination among culture-positive samples.

[A case of hepatic metastases of sigmoid colon cancer which completely responded to systemic l-leucovorin/5-FU therapy and oral LV/UFT combination therapy].

A 73-year-old man was admitted for sigmoid colon cancer with multiple hepatic metastases. The patient underwent a sigmoidectomy only, because of bronchial asthma. Then, l-leucovorin (375 mg/body) and 5-FU (750 mg/body) were injected every week.

Aberrant halt of syringe pump motion: an improved system to prevent false setting of the syringe.

A syringe pump is used to inject precise doses of drugs having a strong action; for example, vasoactive drugs. Unexpected and undetected halt of a syringe pump can lead to potentially life-threatening complications. We experienced a sudden halt in the movement of a syringe pump (Terufusion syringe pump; Terumo, Tokyo, Japan) in two patients while administering norepinephrine in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Nonviral gene delivery by tetraamino fullerene.

A fullerene derivative bearing two diamino side chains binds to a plasmid vector DNA, either 4 or 40 kbp in size, delivers it to mammalian cells on incubation, and leads to expression of the encoded gene either transiently or stably. The initial physicochemical investigations upon DNA-binding and protective properties of various fullerene compounds against nuclease led us to identify the tetraamino fullerene as an ideal candidate to probe the new concept of fullerene-mediated gene delivery to mammalian cells. Studies on transient and stable transfection of COS-1 cells using green fluorescent protein and luciferase reporter genes revealed several useful properties of the fullerene transfection as compared with the conventional lipid-based transfection method, including much higher efficiency of stable transfection and ability to transfect confluent cells.

Image fusion of coronary tree and regional cardiac function image using multislice computed tomography.

Background: Although trials of image fusion, such as positron emission computed tomography and multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT), have already demonstrated clinical usefulness, fusion of the coronary artery image and functional image by MSCT alone has not been reported yet. Here, a new idea of data analysis is proposed in which both regional cardiac function and the responsible coronary arteries can be assessed by a fused image.

Methods And Results: The study group comprised 5 patients with coronary artery disease.

An outbreak of histamine poisoning after ingestion of the ground saury paste in eight patients taking isoniazid in tuberculous ward.

Objective: To determine the cause of outbreak mimicking food poisoning, we studied the toxic polyamine contents of the food and analyzed the clinical characteristics of the affected eight patients.

Patients And Methods: Eight cases of histamine poisoning which occurred in tuberculous patients after dinner in our hospital were analyzed by clinical and biochemical methods. We examined the contents of four representative toxic polyamines, histamine, putrescine, cadaverine and tyramine, of the each food of the dinner and their serum concentrations of the monoamine oxidase (MAO), one of histaminases, using radioimmunoassay.

Experimental infective endocarditis induced by human supragingival dental plaque in rats.

Human dental plaque is thought to contribute to disease, not only in the oral cavity but also at other body sites. To investigate the pathogenicity of dental plaque in tissues remote from the mouth, we examined the ability of human supragingival dental plaque to induce infective endocarditis (IE) in rats. In total, 15 out of 27 catheterized rats survived after intravenous injections with human supragingival dental plaque suspensions containing 3 x 10(6) colony-forming units (CFU) of bacterial cells.

Experimental abscess formation caused by human dental plaque.

Human dental plaque consists of a wide variety of microorganisms, some of which are believed to cause systemic infections, including abscesses, at various sites in the body. To confirm this hypothesis experimentally, we examined the abscess-forming ability of native dental plaque in mice, the microbial features of the infectious locus produced by the plaque, and the anti-phagocytic property of microbial isolates. Aliquots of a suspension of supragingival dental plaque containing 6 x 10(6) colony-forming unit of bacteria were injected subcutaneously into the dorsa of mice.

Inhibition of Cdk6 expression through p38 MAP kinase is involved in differentiation of mouse prechondrocyte ATDC5.

Because a temporal arrest in the G1-phase of the cell cycle is a prerequisite for cell differentiation, this study investigated the involvement of cell cycle factors in the differentiation of cultured mouse prechondrocyte cell line ATDC5. Among the G1 cell cycle factors examined, both protein and mRNA levels of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk6) were downregulated during the culture in a differentiation medium. The protein degradation of Cdk6 was not involved in this downregulation because proteasome inhibitors did not reverse the protein level.

Three elderly cases with Brugada-type electrocardiographic pattern unmasked by pilsicainide at the toxic level.

We describe three elderly patients with Brugada-type electrocardiographic abnormalities unmasked by a high plasma concentration of the Class IC antiarrhythmic drug pilsicainide, caused by renal dysfunction. The electrocardiograms showed right bundle branch block pattern and ST segment elevation in the precordial leads in patients 1 and 2, and a polymorphic wide QRS wave in patient 3. The serum concentrations of pilsicainide were 2.

Bone morphogenetic protein 2-induced osteoblast differentiation requires Smad-mediated down-regulation of Cdk6.

Because a temporal arrest in the G(1) phase of the cell cycle is thought to be a prerequisite for cell differentiation, we investigated cell cycle factors that critically influence the differentiation of mouse osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells induced by bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2), a potent inducer of osteoblast differentiation. Of the G(1) cell cycle factors examined, the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (Cdk6) was found to be strongly down-regulated by BMP-2/Smads signaling, mainly via transcriptional repression. The enforced expression of Cdk6 blocked BMP-2-induced osteoblast differentiation to various degrees, depending on the level of its overexpression.

Osteoclast differentiation by RANKL requires NF-kappaB-mediated downregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (Cdk6).

Unlabelled: This study investigated the involvement of cell cycle factors in RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation. Among the G1 cell cycle factors, Cdk6 was found to be a key molecule in determining the differentiation rate of osteoclasts as a downstream effector of the NF-kappaB signaling.

Introduction: A temporal arrest in the G1 phase of the cell cycle is a prerequisite for cell differentiation, making it possible that cell cycle factors regulate not only the proliferation but also the differentiation of cells.

Assessment of flow velocity in a bypass graft of the gastroepiploic artery by contrast-enhanced transabdominal Doppler echocardiography: a case report.

An 81-year-old man with effort angina pectoris underwent coronary artery bypass grafting operation using the bilateral internal thoracic arteries and the right gastroepiploic artery (GEA). Angiography after operation showed that the bilateral internal thoracic arteries were patent. Abdominal angiography showed severe ostial stenosis in the celiac trunk.

Assessment of intermediate stenosis in the left anterior descending coronary artery with contrast-enhanced transthoracic Doppler echocardiography.

Background: Visual or quantitative assessment of coronary angiography may not exactly predict the physiological significance of intermediate (40-70%) coronary stenosis. Coronary flow reserve is a well-established marker of the functional significance of coronary stenosis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) using contrast-enhanced transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (CE-TTDE) with thallium-201 imaging in assessment of intermediate lesions in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD).

Overexpression of Cdk6-cyclin D3 highly sensitizes cells to physical and chemical transformation.

Virtually all mammalian cells express two seemingly redundant cyclin-D-dependent kinases (Cdk4 and Cdk6) and three partner cyclins (D1, D2 and D3) essential for the G(1)-S transition, with predominant expression of Cdk4 and D1 in mesenchymal cells and Cdk6 and D3 in hematopoietic cells. We recently found two novel functions for Cdk6 executed in fibroblasts although unlike Cdk4 it is dispensable for their proliferation. In the rat fibroblast NRK-49F cells, oncogenic stimulation recruits Cdk6 to participate in a step of the cell cycle start that seems to be critical for anchorage-independent S-phase onset.

The fission yeast pfh1(+) gene encodes an essential 5' to 3' DNA helicase required for the completion of S-phase.

The Cdc24 protein plays an essential role in chromosomal DNA replication in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, most likely via its direct interaction with Dna2, a conserved endonuclease-helicase protein required for Okazaki fragment processing. To gain insights into Cdc24 function, we isolated cold-sensitive chromosomal suppressors of the temperature-sensitive cdc24-M38 allele. One of the complementation groups of such suppressors defined a novel gene, pfh1(+), encoding an 805 amino acid nuclear protein highly homologous to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pif1p and Rrm3p DNA helicase family proteins.

Mammalian Rcd1 is a novel transcriptional cofactor that mediates retinoic acid-induced cell differentiation.

Rcd1, initially identified as a factor essential for the commitment to nitrogen starvation-invoked differentiation in fission yeast, is one of the most conserved proteins found across eukaryotes, and its mammalian homolog is expressed in a variety of differentiating tissues. Here we show that mammalian Rcd1 is a novel transcriptional cofactor and is critically involved in the commitment step in the retinoic acid-induced differentiation of F9 mouse teratocarcinoma cells, at least in part, via forming complexes with retinoic acid receptor and activation transcription factor-2 (ATF-2). In addition, antisense oligonucleotide treatment of embryonic mouse lung explants suggests that Rcd1 also plays a role in retinoic acid-controlled lung development.