Social distance evaluation in human parietal cortex.

Across cultures, social relationships are often thought of, described, and acted out in terms of physical space (e.g. "close friends" "high lord").

[Tension hemothorax associated with congenital pulmonary arteriovenous fistula].

We describe a case of intrapleural rupture of pulmonary arteriovenous fistula A 37-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a sudden onset of right chest pain. A computed tomography scan showed massive pleural effusion and tension hemothorax. Subsequently the patient went into shock.

VIPoma with expression of both VIP and VPAC1 receptors in a patient with WDHA syndrome.

We report a case of VIPoma in a 72-year-old female patient who presented with excessive diarrhea, severe hypokalemia, and acidemia. She had been referred to our hospital three times because of severe diarrhea. No primary tumor site was found by conventional techniques, including contrast-enhanced CT and MRI, angiography, endoscopy, and positron emission tomography (PET), but a tumor was subsequently found in the head of the pancreas by octreotide scanning.

Biological and biochemical characterization of L-type-like bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) detected in Japanese black beef cattle.

A case of L-type-like atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy was detected in 14-year-old Japanese black beef cattle (BSE/JP24). To clarify the biological and biochemical properties of the prion in BSE/JP24, we performed a transmission study with wild-type mice and bovinized transgenic mice (TgBoPrP). The BSE/JP24 prion was transmitted to TgBoPrP mice with the incubation period of 199.

Genotypic variation in rice yield enhancement by elevated CO2 relates to growth before heading, and not to maturity group.

Maturity group (based on the number of days to maturity) is an important growth trait for determining crop productivity, but there has been no attempt to examine the effects of elevated [CO(2)] on yield enhancement of rice cultivars with different maturity groups. Since early-maturing cultivars generally show higher plant N concentration than late-maturing cultivars, it is hypothesized that [CO(2)]-induced yield enhancement might be larger for early-maturing cultivars than late-maturing cultivars. To test this hypothesis, the effects of elevated [CO(2)] on yield components, biomass, N uptake, and leaf photosynthesis of cultivars with different maturity groups were examined for 2 years using a free-air CO(2) enrichment (FACE).

[The role of pharmacies at HPN patient discharge--attending discharge conferences].

After April, 2006, the number of cases of patients with end-stage cancer under home care has steadily increased. Since these patients require both pain control and nutritional management, pharmacists are involved in providing both medication and equipment for a fee. This time, we considered the effect of a pharmacist attending the patient discharge conference for the 10 cases which our pharmacy was involved in from December, 2006 to May, 2008.

Exaggerated placental site reaction following an elective abortion.

We encountered a case of exaggerated placental site (EPS) reaction following an elective abortion. EPS is a miscellaneous trophoblastic lesion. There have been few reports describing its clinical course, and the ultrasonogram and magnetic resonance imaging characteristics have not been reported previously.

Synthetic fibril peptide promotes clearance of scrapie prion protein by lysosomal degradation.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are infectious and neurodegenerative disorders that cause neural deposition of aggregates of the disease-associated form of PrP(Sc). PrP(Sc) reproduces by recruiting and converting the cellular PrP(C), and ScN2a cells support PrP(Sc) propagation. We found that incubation of ScN2a cells with a fibril peptide named P9, which comprises an intrinsic sequence of residues 167-184 of mouse PrP(C), significantly reduced the amount of PrP(Sc) in 24 hr.

Efficacy of consistent atrial pacing algorithm for suppression of atrial arrhythmias in patients with sick sinus syndrome and atrial fibrillation.

Atrial overdrive provides the best opportunity to suppress atrial arrhythmias. Atrial preference pacing (APP) algorithm has been designed to achieve a high percentage of atrial pacing. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of APP algorithm in patients with implanted pacemakers and tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome.

[Transient blindsight (type 2) after surgery for posterior cerebral artery aneurysm--case report].

In a 47-year-old woman experiencing pulsatile headache, radiological examination revealed a large right posterior cerebral artery (PCA) aneurysm. Preoperative neurological examination showed bilateral papilledema, but no visual disturbance. Cerebral angiography revealed that the aneurysm originated from the ambient segment of the PCA, and the posterior temporal, calcarine, and parieto-occipital arteries were all branched from the aneurysmal dome.

A noninvasive method for assessing interior skin damage caused by chronological aging and photoaging based on near-infrared diffuse reflection spectroscopy.

This paper reports a noninvasive method for evaluating skin aging based on near-infrared diffuse reflectance (NIR-DR) spectroscopy. Skin aging can be attributed to photoaging and chronological aging. Both types of aging are heavily involved in the skin changes that occur as we get older, for example, wrinkles or sagging skin.

Elderly adults improve verbal fluency by videophone conversations: a pilot study.

We conducted videophone conversations with elderly adults living in a nursing home to discover whether their verbal ability was improved by repeated remote conversations. The control group comprised five elderly adults. The experimental group comprised six elderly adults, including three patients with dementia.

Long-term effects of prism adaptation on chronic neglect after stroke.

Unlabelled: Previous studies have discussed the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of prism adaptation for neglect patients.

Purpose: The aim of present study was to determine the long-term effect of prism adaptation with activity performance instead of pointing performance on chronic neglect patients.

Subjects: Seven patients with chronic unilateral spatial neglect were recruited.

Bifurcations to diversify geometrical patterns of shear bands on granular material.

The mechanism to diversify geometrical patterns on granular material was elucidated using a group-theoretic image analysis of patterned shear bands, with associated numerical bifurcation analysis. Pattern formation of granular materials took the course of the evolution of a diamondlike diffuse bifurcation breaking uniformity, followed by further bifurcation, mode jumping, and the formation and disappearance of shear bands through localization. A chaotic explosive increase of possible postbifurcation states was emphasized as a mechanism to diversify geometrical patterns.

Plasmonic devices with controllable resonances--an avenue towards high-speed and mass fabrication of optical meta-materials.

We report on the fabrication of plasmonic devices with adjustable resonances in the visible portion employing a thermal lithography method. The genuine approach enables the fabrication of nanostructured pattern at a spatial resolution comparable to other nanofabrication techniques, but at significantly larger speeds and over extended spatial domains. The fabricated structures consisted in periodically arranged nanoholes in a silver thin film and supported localized plasmon resonance (LPR) in the vicinity of 370 nm.

Identification and functional characterization of a bovine orthologue to DC-SIGN.

Dendritic cell-specific ICAM-3-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) C-type lectin is almost exclusively expressed at the cell surface of DC. In addition to its normal function facilitating contact of DC with T cells, DC-SIGN has been shown to bind a variety of pathogens, including Mycobacterium bovis, and HIV-1 envelope protein gp120. In this study, we identified the bovine ortholog of the human DC-SIGN gene within the bovine genome, which exists as a single copy.

Bradykinin-induced microglial migration mediated by B1-bradykinin receptors depends on Ca2+ influx via reverse-mode activity of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger.

Bradykinin (BK) is produced and acts at the site of injury and inflammation. In the CNS, migration of microglia toward the lesion site plays an important role pathologically. In the present study, we investigated the effect of BK on microglial migration.

Experimental transmission of two young and one suspended bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases to bovinized transgenic mice.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is caused by a prion that primarily consists of an abnormal isoform of the prion protein (PrP(Sc)). Since PrP(Sc) is partially resistant to proteolytic digestion, the routine diagnosis of BSE is based on the immunological detection of the proteinase K (PK)-resistant moiety of PrP(Sc) (PrP(core)). However, transmission studies are indispensable in order to demonstrate prion infectivity and to analyze prion characteristics.

Accumulation of mono-glycosylated form-rich, plaque-forming PrPSc in the second atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy case in Japan.

The recent identification of several atypical cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has raised the possibility of the existence of distinct strains of BSE agents, arguing against the previous notion that BSE is caused by a single strain. To date, at least, two atypical types (L and H) of agent have been reported based on the molecular sizes of the proteinase K-resistant forms of prion protein (PrP(Sc)). These atypical agents were identified first in Japan, Italy, France, and Germany, and later in other European countries.

Nucleolin modulates the subcellular localization of GDNF-inducible zinc finger protein 1 and its roles in transcription and cell proliferation.

GZF1 is a zinc finger protein induced by glial cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). It is a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor with a BTB/POZ (Broad complex, Tramtrack, Bric a brac/Poxvirus and zinc finger) domain and ten zinc finger motifs. In the present study, we used immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry to identify nucleolin as a GZF1-binding protein.

Delivery by cesarean section after embolization for vaginal arteriovenous malformation.

Vaginal arteriovenous malformation (AVM) can lead to life-threatening complications on delivery. No deliveries have been reported after selective embolization for a vaginal AVM. A 34-year-old nulliparous woman was found to have an arterial pulsatile mass on the left vaginal wall.

Prevention of prion propagation by dehydrocholesterol reductase inhibitors in cultured cells and a therapeutic trial in mice.

In prion diseases, the normal cellular form of prion protein (PrP(C)) is converted into the disease-associated isoforms (PrP(Sc)) which accumulate in the infected tissues. Although the precise mechanism of this conversion remains unsolved, drugs of various categories have been reported to reduce the accumulation of PrP(Sc) in prion-infected cultured cells. We here show that AY-9944 (a 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase inhibitor) and U18666A (a 24-dehydrocholesterol reductase inhibitor) prevent PrP(Sc) from accumulating in prion-infected mouse neuroblastoma cells (ScN2a), with an ED50 of about 0.

Comprehensive separation of secondary metabolites in natural products by high-speed counter-current chromatography using a three-phase solvent system.

High-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) using the three-phase solvent system n-hexane-methyl acetate-acetonitrile-water at a volume ratio of 4:4:3:4 was applied to the comprehensive separation of secondary metabolites in several natural product extracts. A wide variety of secondary metabolites in each natural product was effectively extracted with the three-phase solvent system, and the filtered extract was directly submitted to the HSCCC separation using the same three-phase system. In the HSCCC profiles of crude natural drugs listed in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, several physiologically active compounds were clearly separated from other components in the extracts.