Intraocular pressure-lowering effects of ripasudil on open-angle glaucoma in eyes with high myopia and pathological myopia.

The aim is to study the intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering effects of additional administration of ripasudil in open-angle glaucoma (OAG) patients including high myopia (HM) and pathological myopia (PM). Study design is retrospective cohort study. We assessed the changes in the mean IOP between the HM eyes (axial length ≧ 26.

Construction of transgenic that exhibits new reddish leaf and flower colors due to introduction of β-carotene ketolase and hydroxylase genes.

, small white morning glory, is an ornamental plant belonging to the family Convolvulaceae, and cultivated worldwide. generates white petals including a pale-yellow colored star-shaped center (flower vein). Its fully opened flowers were known to accumulate trace amounts of carotenoids such as β-carotene.

Merger of (Betulaceae) from northern Japan with northeast Asian based on ploidy level.

It has been controversial whether , a dwarf birch distributed in Hokkaido of northern Japan, is an endemic species or a synonym of broadly distributed in northeast Asia. The endemic hypothesis is based on the idea that is diploid while is tetraploid and that they are separated based on the ploidy level; however, no chromosome data have actually been published before. Resolving the taxonomic problem is crucial also in judging the conservation priority of in a global perspective.

Is the Effect of Body Mass Index on Hypertension Modified by the Elevation? A Cross-Sectional Study of Rural Areas in Japan.

Obesity is an established independent risk factor for developing hypertension. A recent study showed that the effect of obesity on hypertension varies by the elevation of the residence area. Thus, we hypothesized that the interaction effect of body mass index (BMI) and elevation has a significant association with hypertension.

Effects of potassium adsorption filters on the removal of ammonia from blood products.

Background: Although ammonia in plasma does not usually pass through the blood-brain barrier (BBB), in cases of traumatic brain injury it may do so, acting as a neurotoxin on the brain. Excess intake of ammonia should be restricted in conditions involving BBB breakdown, such as traumatic brain injury. Washing is a method to remove ammonia from blood products, but fresh-frozen plasma and albumin products cannot be washed.

Impact of chronic kidney disease and anemia on physical function in patients with chronic heart failure.

Objective: The aim of this study was to confirm the effects of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and anemia on physical function and to clarify whether the interaction between CKD and anemia has an additive effect.

Design: Eligible subjects were chronic heart failure (HF) patients who were discharged between March 2007 and August 2009. A total of 102 chronic HF patients (33% females; mean age: 68 ± 14 years) were enrolled in the present study.

Visible, safe and certain endotracheal intubation using endoscope system and inhalation anesthesia for rats.

Anesthesia strongly influences laboratory animals, and it can also greatly affect the experimental data. Rats rank only second to mice in the number used in research fields, such as organ transplantation, regenerative medicine and imaging. Therefore, appropriate and effective anesthesia, including the protocol of the endotracheal intubation and inhalation anesthesia, is crucial.

Variations in early gross motor milestones and in the age of walking in Japanese children.

Background: Gross motor development is usually assessed in terms of age of achievement of motor milestones. Although there is generally an impression of faster development if the milestones are achieved at younger ages, no longitudinal studies have been done on the associations between the milestones, especially in Japan. As a part of the Japan Children's Study, the purpose of the present study was to determine whether the achievement of gross motor milestones in infancy is related with the age of walking.

[Laterality of upper extremity movements in infancy: observations at 4 and 9 months of age].

This study investigated the process involved in the lateralization of movements during infancy by observing upper extremity movements in a laboratory setting. Reaching for flying rings, balls, mini toy cars, and small round cookies were observed and recorded by videotape at 4 and 9 months of age. The subjects were 202 infants who participated in Japan Children's Study, a cohort study on the development of sociability.

Head growth evaluation in early childhood, from the Japan Children's Study.

Background: Head circumference (HC) trajectories are held to reflect neurological development and the acquirement of intelligence. It is important to assess HC growth accurately because atypical HC growth is an indicator of various developmental disorders. HC growth is determined by both familial and physical factors but, hitherto, no one has considered both factors together.

[Calcification on the posterior surface of an implanted silicone intraocular lens in a patient with asteroid hyalosis].

Background: Calcification on the surface of the hydrogel intraocular lens (IOL) has been reported, but the mechanism of the surface calcification is not fully understood. We report a case of surface calcification on an implanted silicone IOL. The purpose of our study was to examine the clinical and ultrastructural findings associated with the late surface calcification of a silicone IOL.

Field-induced ferromagnetic order and colossal magnetoresistance in La(1.2)Sr(1.8)Mn2O7: a 139La NMR study.

In order to gain insights into the origin of colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) in manganese oxides, we performed a 139La NMR study in the double-layered compound La(1.2)Sr(1.8)Mn2O7.

[Effects of topical prostaglandin analogues on the aqueous flare intensity in rabbit eyes at an early phase of endotoxin-induced uveitis].

Purpose: We examined the effects of prostaglandin analogues on the blood-aqueous barrier(BAB) permeability in rabbit eyes at an early phase of endotoxin-induced uveitis(EIU).

Subjects And Methods: One drop of 0.005% latanoprost or 0.

Comparison of topographic indices that correlate with visual acuity in videokeratography.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between the best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) and two quantitative indices of the anterior corneal surface obtained by videokeratography.

Design: Prospective, single center, comparative, observational study.

Participants: Eighty-nine normal eyes and 52 eyes with keratoconus with contact lens-corrected visual acuity of 20/20 or better.

Immunohistochemical localization of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) in the adrenal medulla of the rat.

Localization of PACAP in rat adrenal glands was examined by light and electron microscopic immunohistochemistry using a specific antiserum to PACAP 38, R0831. In the light microscopic study, PACAP immunoreactivity was observed in some cell groups in the medulla, but not in the cortex. In comparison with adjacent sections stained with antisera to catecholamine synthesizing enzymes, PACAP-positive cells were immunoreactive to tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine beta-hydroxylase, but not to phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase, suggesting that they were coincident with noradrenaline secreting cells.

Localization of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) in the hypothalamus-pituitary system in rats: light and electron microscopic immunocytochemical studies.

The localization of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) in the hypothalamus-pituitary system in rats was examined in light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry using a specific antiserum to synthetic PACAP 1-38 (R0831). In light microscopic study, intensely PACAP-immunostained perikarya were observed in the supraoptic and paraventricular magnocellular nucleus in the hypothalamus. In the median eminence, many immunoreactive nerve fibers were observed in the internal layer, but a few immunoreactive terminals were noticed in the external layer.

Involvement of specific placental antigen X-P2 in rat olfaction: an immunohistochemical study in the olfactory bulb.

Human placental antigen X-P2 (hPAX-P2), an antigen complex associated with cytochrome P-450 of aromatase within estrogen synthesizing tissues, has been reported to be present in a distinct group of rat primary olfactory receptors involved in suckling behavior. In this study, most of the mitral and tufted cells in the rat olfactory bulb were found to possess hPAX-P2 immunoreactivity. This suggests that the activity of these cells can be hormonally modulated and that hPAX-P2 is involved in rat olfaction not only at the receptor level but also at integrative brain levels via the secondary projecting neurons of the olfactory pathway.

Effects of constant light and darkness on the intrapineal neurons of golden hamsters, stained for tyrosine hydroxylase. A morphometric analysis.

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons (TH neurons) were found in the pineal gland of golden hamsters. To examine possible relations between TH neurons and environmental light, we kept male animals under constant light (LL) and darkness (DD) for a week, and morphometrically compared the number, size, and immunoreactivity of TH neurons with those of control animals kept under 12L/12D (LD), using an image processor, Nexus 6400. In LL animals, the number of TH neurons/mm2 of pineal tissue and each cell area were decreased, and immunoreactivity to TH was less than in LD animals.

Screening of aromatase-containing neurons in rat forebrain: an immunohistochemical study with antibody against human placental antigen X-P2 (hPAX-P2).

Aromatase-containing neurons were immunohistochemically examined in rat brains by using a polyclonal antibody against human placental antigen. The antibody recognizes cytochrome P-450 portion of aromatase, an enzyme converting androgen to estrogen. A large group of strongly immunoreactive cells was identified in the ventral pallidum, which extends caudally from the area surrounding the islands of Calleja.

An electron microscopic immunocytochemical study on the tyrosine hydroxylase-positive, dopamine Beta-hydroxylase-negative cells in the pineal gland of golden hamsters.

Abstract We have examined the ultrastructure of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive, dopamine beta-hydroxylase-negative neuron-like cells in the pineal gland of golden hamsters by electron microscopic immunocytochemistry using antiserum to tyrosine hydroxylase. The tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells were scattered throughout the parenchyma of the pineal gland. Their cell bodies were oval or spindle-shaped (maximum diameter 15 to 20 mum) with one or two short cell processes and a large round nucleus.

Interaction between cholinergic neurons and substance P or calcitonin gene-related peptide terminals of the rat sacral intermediolateral nucleus: double immunostaining at the light and electron microscopic levels.

The relationships both between cholinergic neurons and substance P (SP) and between cholinergic neurons and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) terminals were examined in the rat sacral intermediolateral nucleus at the light and electron microscopic levels by means of double-immunostaining methods. Cholinergic neurons were labeled by a monoclonal antibody to choline acetyltransferase (CAT) with the avidin-biotin technique and stained bluish-green by indolyl-beta-galactoside reaction products with beta-galactosidase as a marker. On the same sections, SP or CGRP fibers were labeled by polyclonal antisera to SP or CGRP after application of the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) method and stained brown by the p-dimethylaminoazobenzene (DAB) reaction.