Analytical solution for Gamo entropy under spatially partial coherent illumination.

We present a methodology for obtaining the analytical solution of the Gamo entropy, defined by the intensity matrix proposed by Gamo [J. Opt. Soc.

Perturbative analysis of partially coherent illumination for coma aberration measurements.

The theory of coma aberration measurement for aerial image sidelobe peaks is extended from coherent illumination to partial illumination. We prove that the intensity difference between the two peaks is linear to the amount of coma aberration in the partially coherent case. Using weak diffraction approximation, we analytically reveal the coherence dependency of the aberration measurement sensitivity for a single line in a bright field.

Parity decomposition theory of full wavefront aberration measurement using the intensity differences of aerial images in microlithography.

The theory of full wavefront aberration measurements is developed using the intensity differences of aerial images, which are the projected images of one-dimensional measurement patterns consisting of single- or multibars. The key concept is the parity decomposition about the optical axis for two optical components: illumination pupil and wavefront aberration. An additional mathematical treatment, which is a perturbative approach with regard to aberration, is applied to the partially coherent imaging formula.

Theoretical analysis of coma aberration measurement for aerial image sidelobe peaks.

By analyzing aerial images, we characterize the lowest order coma aberration measurements for the projection optics of a microlithography exposure apparatus based on scalar diffraction theory. Our developed method for measuring the coma aberration exploits the intensity difference between the sidelobe peaks appearing near the boundaries of the bright field ("negative") single-line or plural-line patterns. Our method further demonstrates linearity between the intensity difference of the sidelobe peaks and the amount of residual lowest order coma aberration.

A family predisposition to adult T-cell leukemia.

We report here the rare case of a family predisposed to adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). Six of seven siblings developed ATL with ages of onset of 77, 48, 60, 64, 72, and 62 years old. Although virological tests for human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 were unavailable for two of the six patients, all were diagnosed with ATL based on their clinical, hematological, and histopathological features.

Process design of chondrocyte cultures with monolayer growth for cell expansion and subsequent three-dimensional growth for production of cultured cartilage.

The subculture of rabbit chondrocytes with serial passaging was carried out for cell expansion on a collagen-coated surface, and the morphological transition of round-shaped cells to spindle-shaped ones was examined. The observation of cytoskeletal formation by staining F-actin and vinculin supported the view that the round-shaped cells were in the process of differentiation with immature stress fibers relating to less cellular polarity. The cellular morphology was estimated in terms of the distribution of roundness, R(C), during the subculturing on the collagen substrate.

Evaluation of attachment and growth of anchorage-dependent cells on culture surfaces with type I collagen coating.

The effects of coating the culture surface with bovine type I collagen on the culture properties of anchorage-dependent cells were investigated. When human fibroblasts were cultured on a surface coated with collagen at 5.8 x 10(-3) mg/cm2, cell attachment and subsequent cell growth were both enhanced compared to the culture on an uncoated surface.

Analysis of HLA class I and class II gene polymorphisms in Japanese patients with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1-associated uveitis.

Purpose: To investigate the immunogenetic background of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-associated uveitis (HAU) that presents immune-mediated reactive changes in the uvea.

Methods: HLA class I and class II genes were studied in 51 patients with HAU, 192 asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers, and 266 HTLV-1-seronegative controls using a high-resolution method of HLA DNA typing. The HLA alleles of HAU were compared with those of HTLV-1 carriers and healthy controls.

Subculture of chondrocytes on a collagen type I-coated substrate with suppressed cellular dedifferentiation.

To evaluate the degree of cellular dedifferentiation, subculture of chondrocytes was conducted on a surface coated with collagen type I at a density of 1.05 mg/cm(2). In the primary culture, most of the cells were round in shape on the collagen (CL) substrate, whereas fibroblastic and partially extended cells were dominant on the polystyrene plastic (PS) substrate.

HTLV-1 provirus load in peripheral blood lymphocytes of HTLV-1 carriers is diminished by green tea drinking.

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is causatively associated with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Since a high level of HTLV-1 provirus load in circulating lymphocytes is thought to be a risk for ATL and HAM/TSP, diminution of HTLV-1 provirus load in the circulation may prevent these intractable diseases. Our previous study (Jpn J Cancer Res 2000; 91: 34-40) demonstrated that green tea polyphenols inhibit in vitro growth of ATL cells, as well as HTLV-1-infected T-cells.

Integration of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 in genes of leukemia cells of patients with adult T-cell leukemia.

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) occurs after a long latent period of persistent infection by human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). However, the mechanism of oncogenesis by HTLV-1 remains to be clarified. It was reported that the incidence curve of ATL versus age was consistent with a multistage carcinogenesis model.

Expression of heat shock protein 70 mRNA in polymorphonuclear cells responding to surgical stress.

Purpose: This study was performed to investigate the expression of heat shock protein (HSP) 70 mRNA in polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) as a possible new biomarker for surgical stress.

Methods: The HSP70 mRNA in PMN of 10 patients who underwent lobectomy was evaluated by Northern blot analysis. Their leukocyte counts, including white blood cells (WBC) and PMN, plasma cortisol levels, and plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, were obtained by cell counting, radioimmunoassay, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively.

HLA-DRB1*1602 allele is positively associated with HPV cervical infection in Bolivian Andean women.

Incidence of cervical cancer is high among Bolivian Andean women. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is known as the major risk factor of cervical cancer. The host immune system plays an important role in the outcome of HPV infection and associated malignancies.

Human Papillomavirus Infection among Bolivian Amazonian Women.

Cervical cancer is the most common malignancy among women in Latin America. Human papilloma virus infection is known to be an important risk factor. However, HPV infection among Bolivian women has not yet been fully evaluated.

High Prevalence of HBV in Tibet, China.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV), distributed throughout the world, is classified into seven geographically separated genotypes designated A to G. Since the prevalence of HBV infection in isolated ethnic Tibetan populations in China, and the HBV genotypes involved have been hither to remained unclear, we collected 262 blood samples from four isolated villages in the east and west regions of Tibet. The prevalence of HBV infection was estimated by EIA for HBV Ag and HBV Ab.

Successful bone marrow transplantation from an unrelated donor in a patient with adult T cell leukemia.

We report a 51-year-old male with adult T cell leukemia (ATL) who received a BMT from an HLA-identical unrelated donor. The ATL proved refractory to chemotherapy, and he underwent BMT conditioned with CY/TBI. Complications of encephalitis of unknown origin were successfully treated with steroid therapy and the patient has been in CR for 16 months after BMT.

Eradication of virus-infected T-cells in a case of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma by nonmyeloablative peripheral blood stem cell transplantation with conditioning consisting of low-dose total body irradiation and pentostatin.

We describe the case of a 55-year-old man with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) in first remission who underwent nonmyeloablative allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation with conditioning consisting of 4 courses of pentostatin and low-dose total body irradiation. Complete chimerism in peripheral blood was achieved on day 42 without severe myelosuppression. Concomitantly, the proviral DNA load for human T-cell leukemia virus I (HTLV-I) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells decreased below detectable limits and was still undetectable on day 270.

HLA-A*26, HLA-B*4002, HLA-B*4006, and HLA-B*4801 alleles predispose to adult T cell leukemia: the limited recognition of HTLV type 1 tax peptide anchor motifs and epitopes to generate anti-HTLV type 1 tax CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Genetic risk for adult T cell leukemia (ATL) has been implicated by ethnic and familial segregation of ATL patients from HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). To clarify the genetic risk for ATL, we characterized HLA class I alleles of ATL patients and analyzed the anchor motifs of HTLV-1 peptides binding to HLA class I molecules, using 291 lines of anti-HTLV-1 CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) generated in vitro with a total of 165 synthetic peptides for HTLV-1 Tax and Env proteins. Allele frequencies of HLA-A*26, B*4002, B*4006, and B*4801 were significantly higher in ATL patients than in HAM/TSP patients and asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers in southern Japan.

Improved outcome of adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is a poor prognosis T cell malignancy. In order to improve the outcome, we employed allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) for ATL in 10 patients, nine of whom were from HLA-identical siblings and one from an unrelated donor. Conditioning regimens varied among the patients except that all received total body irradiation.

Green tea polyphenols induce apoptosis in vitro in peripheral blood T lymphocytes of adult T-cell leukemia patients.

Green tea polyphenols (TEA) are known to exhibit antioxidative activity as well as tumor-suppressing activity. In order to examine the tumor-suppressing activity of TEA against adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), we cultivated peripheral blood T lymphocytes of ATL patients (ATL PBLs), an HTLV-I-infected T-cell line (KODV) and healthy controls (normal PBLs) for 3 days in the presence of TEA and its main constituent, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCg), to measure cell proliferation and apoptosis, and to quantitate mRNAs of HTLV-I pX and beta-actin genes of the cultured cells. Growth of ATL PBLs was significantly inhibited by 9-27 microg/ml of TEA and EGCg, in contrast to minimal growth inhibition of T cells of normal PBLs.

The presence of ancient human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I provirus DNA in an Andean mummy.

The worldwide geographic and ethnic clustering of patients with diseases related to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) may be explained by the natural history of HTLV-I infection. The genetic characteristics of indigenous people in the Andes are similar to those of the Japanese, and HTLV-I is generally detected in both groups. To clarify the common origin of HTLV-I in Asia and the Andes, we analyzed HTLV-I provirus DNA from Andean mummies about 1,500 years old.

Characteristic distribution of HTLV type I and HTLV type II carriers among native ethnic groups in South America.

To confirm the geographic and ethnic segregation of HTLV-I and HTLV-II carriers in native populations in South America, we have conducted a seroepidemiological study of native populations in South America, including HTLV-I carriers distributed among seven ethnic groups in the Andes highlands of Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile, and two ethnic groups on Chiloe Island and Easter Island; and HTLV-II carriers distributed among seven ethnic groups of the lowlands along the Atlantic coast of Colombia, Orinoco, Amazon, and Patagonia, and one ethnic group on Chiloe Island. The incidence rate of HTLV-I and HTLV-II carriers varied among the ethnic groups, ranging from 0.8 to 6.

Detection of borna disease virus-reactive antibodies from patients with psychiatric disorders and from horses by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.

The prevalence of Borna disease virus (BDV)-specific antibodies among patients with psychiatric disorders and healthy individuals has varied in several reports using several different serological assay methods. A reliable and specific method for anti-BDV antibodies needs to be developed to clarify the pathological significance of BDV infections in humans. We developed a new electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) for the antibody to BDV that uses two recombinant proteins of BDV, p40 and p24 (full length).