Concordance of proxy-perceived change and measured change in multiple domains of function in older persons.

Objectives: To compare proxy perceptions about change over 6 months in physical, instrumental, affective, and cognitive functioning of older persons with computed change in patient self-report and performance and patient's own perceptions about change.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Recovery from hip fracture that occurred in community-dwelling persons in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1990-91.

Notes on the maximum likelihood estimation of haplotype frequencies.

The maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is one of the most popular ways to estimate haplotype frequencies of a population with genotype data whose linkage phases are unknown. The MLE is commonly implemented in the use of the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm. It is known that the EM algorithm carries the risk that an estimator may converge erroneously to one of the local maxima or saddle points of the likelihood surface, resulting in serious errors in the MLE of haplotype frequencies.

Effects of high-intensity endurance exercise training in the G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The G93A transgenic mouse has a mutation in copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) that results in oxidative stress and motor neuron loss. Endurance exercise training is known to increase antioxidant capacity in skeletal muscle. Therefore, we hypothesized that endurance training may extend onset of disease or survival in the G93A mouse.

[Wiener spectrum and relative electron density resolution in heavy ion CT based on measurement of residual range distribution].

The relative electron density resolution was discussed by the Wiener spectrum in the heavy ion CT image. The two-dimensional (2D) Wiener spectrum in the CT image was obtained from the one-dimensional (1D) Wiener spectrum of the measured residual range distribution of the water phantom for a single projection angle, and the relative electron density resolution in the CT image was calculated from the 2D Wiener spectrum. To examine the usefulness of this method, the relative electron density resolution was also estimated by other two methods; the calculation using the Wiener spectrum of the reconstructed image of the water phantom, and the estimation by the reconstructed image of the electron density resolution phantom.

An efficient synthesis of an alphavbeta3 antagonist.

A practical preparation of an alpha(v)beta(3) antagonist is reported. The antagonist consists of three key components, a tetrahydronaphthyridine moiety, a beta-alanine moiety, and a central imidazolidone moiety. The tetrahydronaphthyridine component was prepared using two different methods, both of which relied on variations of the Friedländer reaction to establish the desired regiochemistry.

The combination of metformin and a dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor prevents 5-fluorouracil-induced reduction of small intestine weight.

Glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2), which has intestinotrophic effects, is secreted from L-cells in the intestine in response to nutrient ingestion and is degraded by dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV). In this report, we show that biguanides promote GLP-2 release. Plasma GLP-2 levels were significantly increased by 1.

Metformin causes reduction of food intake and body weight gain and improvement of glucose intolerance in combination with dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor in Zucker fa/fa rats.

An incretin hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), has been shown to lower plasma glucose via glucose-dependent insulin secretion and to reduce appetite. We previously found that the biguanide metformin, an antidiabetic agent, causes a significant increase of plasma active GLP-1 level in the presence of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) inhibitor in normal rats. This finding suggested that the combination treatment might produce a greater antidiabetic and anorectic effect, based on enhanced GLP-1 action.

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase expression in follicular lymphoma: association between AID expression and ongoing mutation in FL.

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is required for somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR) of the immunoglobulin (Ig) gene. AID has been reported to be specifically expressed in the germinal center (GC). Follicular lymphoma (FL) cells are known to be exposed to GC reaction, as characterized by a high degree of SHM with some heterogeneity in terms of intraclonal microheterogeneity and antigen selection.

Identification of Magnaporthe oryzae Avirulence Genes to Three Rice Blast Resistance Genes.

The segregation of avirulence/virulence was studied in 115 F progeny isolates of Magnaporthe oryzae from a cross of two field isolates on three Japanese race-differential rice cultivars Kanto 51, Fukunishiki, and Toride 1. The χ tests of goodness-of-fit for a 1:1 ratio indicated that avirulence on cvs. Kanto 51, Fukunishiki, and Toride 1 was under monogenic control.

Distribution and properties of arginase in the salivary glands of four species of laboratory mammals.

Important progress in arginine metabolism includes the discovery of widespread expression of two isoforms of arginase, arginase I and II, not only in hepatic cells but also in non-hepatic cells, and the formation of nitric oxide, a widely distributed signal-transducing molecule, from arginine by nitric oxide synthase. Possible physiological roles of arginase may therefore include regulation of nitric oxide synthesis through arginine availability for nitric oxide synthase. In this paper, arginase was investigated in the submandibular, sublingual, and parotid glands of rat, mouse, guinea pig, and rabbit.

Effects of short-term exercise training on plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1).

Purpose: To observe the effects of exercise training on plasminogen activator inhibitor, type-1 (PAI-1), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), and associated metabolic variables in sedentary men and women.

Methods: A randomized, controlled experimental design was used to examine the influence of 10 d of moderate-intensity exercise training on measures of fibrinolysis. Sixteen men and 16 women between the ages of 50 and 70 yr were randomly assigned to exercise (EX) and control groups (CON) that were balanced for gender and hormone replacement therapy.

[Effect of latanoprost on diurnal variations of intraocular pressure in normal-tension glaucoma].

Objectives: To study the effect of instillation of latanoprost on the diurnal variation in the intraocular pressure(IOP), blood pressure, and pulse rate in patients with normal-tension glaucoma(NTG).

Subjects And Methods: The diurnal variation in the IOP was determined in 23 eyes in 23 NTG patients after a washout period of 4 weeks or longer. The diurnal variation in IOP was then remeasured after latanoprost monotherapy of 8 weeks or longer.

Staurosporine stimulates insulin gene expression via CRE dependent manner.

We examined various compounds to stimulate the transcription of promoter-reporter construct in pancreatic HIT-T15 cells, that had been stably transfected with the rat insulin I promoter-PLAP reporter gene, and found staurosporine at dose of nanomole enhanced insulin promoter activity significantly. Northern blotting analysis and ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) showed that the promoter activity of insulin gene was well correlated with the endogenous level of insulin mRNA and protein in HIT-T15, indicating that staurosporine stimulated the biosynthesis of insulin at levels of transcription and translation. The deletion and point mutation of cAMP response element (CRE) in the promoter region of insulin gene lost the promoter activity of reporter gene induced by staurosporine.

Delorme's procedure for rectal prolapse: clinical and physiological analysis.

Purpose: Clinical and physiological results of Delorme's procedure were assessed retrospectively in patients undergoing this procedure for rectal prolapse.

Methods: A consecutive series of 31 patients (7 males, 24 females; age, 14-93, mean 70 years) with full-thickness, rectal prolapse were treated by Delorme's procedure between 1994 and 2002. Median follow-up was 39 (range, 6-96) months.

Convenient asymmetric synthesis of beta-substituted alpha,alpha-difluoro-beta-amino acids via Reformatsky reaction between Davis' N-sulfinylimines and ethyl bromodifluoroacetate.

The enantiopure Davis' N-sulfinylimines were found to be efficient as chiral imine equivalents in the high-temperature Reformatsky-type additions with BrZnCF(2)COOEt affording an efficient approach to the enantiomerically pure alpha,alpha-difluoro-beta-amino acids. High chemical and stereochemical yields (drs > 9:1, and as high as 99:1) render this method immediately useful for preparing the target amino acids.

Treatment of Epstein-Barr virus-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (EBV-HLH) in young adults: a report from the HLH study center.

Background: Epstein-Barr virus-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (EBV-HLH), also known as EBV-associated hemophagocytic syndrome, develops mostly in children and young adults and may be fatal. Early etoposide treatment has been confirmed to be effective in children. However, it is unclear whether the same treatment is useful in adults.

Influence of the shielding on the induction of chromosomal aberrations in human lymphocytes exposed to high-energy iron ions.

Computer code calculations based on biophysical models are commonly used to evaluate the effectiveness of shielding in reducing the biological damage caused by cosmic radiation in space flights. Biological measurements are urgently needed to benchmark the codes. We have measured the induction of chromosomal aberrations in human peripheral blood lymphocytes exposed in vitro to 56Fe-ion beams accelerated at the HIMAC synchrotron in Chiba.

Intercomparison of radiation instruments for cosmic-ray with heavy ion beams at NIRS (ICCHIBAN project).

The first InterComparison for Cosmic-ray with Heavy Ion Beams At NIRS (ICCHIBAN) project is an ongoing, international collaboration organized at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), Japan, for the purpose of characterizing and comparing at a controlled, ground-based heavy ion facility the radiation response of instruments used aboard piloted spacecraft for crew and area dosimetry. We present preliminary results from the first set of ICCHIBAN exposures made at HIMAC heavy ion accelerator in February 2002. The initial series of exposures (1st ICCHIBAN run) was designed to establish the response of active detectors to two well-characterized heavy ion beams; 400 MeV/nucleon 12C and 400 MeV/nucleon 56Fe.

[Shared development of printed material as a health education strategy with public school employees in Rio de Janeiro State].

This article describes the process and results of an experience with preparing a mural entitled A Day in the Life of the School Lunch Cook, conducted with public school employees in the State of Rio de Janeiro by a team of researchers and students from the Specialization Course in Workers' Health at the Center for Studies on Workers' Health of the National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, in partnership with the School Employees' Union. "Health workshops" based on participatory research were used to raise questions related to daily work by school lunch cooks and kitchen staff. Produced to share the results of workshops with other schools, the mural is highly meaningful in terms of the reality of a specific segment of public employees and is intended as food for thought.

(+)-Strigol, a witchweed seed germination stimulant, from Menispermum dauricum root culture.

(+)-Strigol was isolated from Menispermum dauricum root culture filtrate. Its identity was confirmed by HPLC, 1H NMR, UV and MS, and on the basis of its CD spectrum. This is the first report on isolation of strigolactone from aseptic plant culture.

[The investigation of the testing method on fracture toughness of dental adhesive resins].

Objective: The testing method for mode I fracture toughness (GIC) of dental adhesive resins was investigated.

Methods: The dental adhesive resins were placed between two Co-Cr alloy plates to make up test specimen, so test specimen had a metal/adhesive resin/metal construction. The category of adhesive resins, the dimensions of test specimen and testing speed were used as the variants.

Enteroinsular axis of db/db mice and efficacy of dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibition.

In type 2 diabetic patients, the administration of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), known as an incretin, exerts antidiabetic effects. However, GLP-1 is rapidly degraded by dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) after its release. DPPIV inhibition is thought to be a rational strategy to treat type 2 diabetes.

Functional characterization of the adenosine receptor contributing to glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in rat hepatocytes.

The adenosine receptor subtype mediating glucose production by glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis was studied in primary cultured rat hepatocytes. Adenosine and adenosine agonists caused cyclic AMP accumulation in rat hepatocytes. The order of potency was 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (NECA)>R(-)-N(6)-(2-phenylisopropyl)adenosine (RPIA)>adenosine>2-[p-(carboxyethyl)phenylethylamino]-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (CGS21680).