Chemotherapy and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the head and neck.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is believed to be useful for shortening the duration of granulocytopenia and for minimizing the decrease in the granulocyte count caused by chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In the present study we investigated the effect of G-CSF on bone marrow suppression caused by chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the head and neck. The leukocyte and neutrophil nadirs were significantly higher, while the duration of leukopenia, the time to recovery, and the time to the nadir were significantly shorter when G-CSF was administered prophylactically from 48 h after the completion of chemotherapy than when it was administered after the leukocyte and neutrophil counts had reached nadir.

Transitional concentration of antibacterial agent to the maxillary sinus via a nebuliser.

Surface and tissue transitional concentration of 3% FOM aerosol for treatment of paranasal sinusitis was examined in 18 patients (21 sides) who underwent the Caldwell-Luc operation. In this operation, patients have a bony window on the sinus; we therefore investigated the difference of compliance of the maxillary sinus between when we closed the bony window with subcutaneous tissue and when we did it with a silicone sheet before the FOM nebulization. No significance was found in the mean concentration of FOM either at the maxillary sinus surface or in the tissue with or without the use of the silicone sheet.

Radiotherapy after hyperbaric oxygenation for malignant gliomas: a pilot study.

The results of radiotherapy combined with hyperbaric oxygen in 9 patients with malignant glioma were compared with those of radiotherapy without hyperbaric O2 in 12 patients. This is the first report of a pilot study of irradiation immediately after exposure to hyperbaric O2 in humans. All patients receiving this treatment showed more than 50% regression of the tumor, and in 4 of them, the tumors disappeared completely.

[Resolution of psoriasis vulgaris following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for aplastic anemia].

A 36 year-old man had suffered from psoriasis vulgaris for about 25 years. He had received corticosteroids ointment and PUVA therapy with partial response. In 1987, he was diagnosed as having aplastic anemia (AA) and treated with various medications, but failed to respond.

Transfer of "Pseudomonas riboflavina" (Foster 1944), a gram-negative, motile rod with long-chain 3-hydroxy fatty acids, to Devosia riboflavina gen. nov., sp. nov., nom. rev.

The taxonomic position of "Pseudomonas riboflavina" was studied by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and chemotaxonomic methods. This organism is a gram-negative, strictly aerobic rod and has a DNA guanine-plus-cytosine content of 61.4 mol%; the major isoprenoid quinone is ubiquinone 10, and the unusual cellular fatty acids 3-hydroxytetracosenoic acid (3-OH 24:1) and 3-hydroxyhexacosenoic acid (3-OH 26:1) are the major 3-hydroxy cellular fatty acids.

B cell-B cell interaction through intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and lymphocyte functional antigen-1 regulates immunoglobulin E synthesis by B cells stimulated with interleukin-4 and anti-CD40 antibody.

IgE synthesis by purified human B cells is induced by two signals: a class switching factor, most commonly interleukin (IL)-4, and the engagement of CD40, which is activated through its interaction with CD40 ligand (CD40L) expressed on activated T cells. Thus, the combination of IL-4 and anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody (mAb) has been shown to stimulate IgE production in vitro by highly purified B cells. In this T cell-independent system, strong homotypic aggregation of B cells is observed prior to the production of IgE.

Cloning of Corticium rolfsii glucoamylase cDNA and its expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A cDNA coding for the glucoamylase of Corticium rolfsii AHU 9627 was cloned using synthetic oligonucleotide probes that code for inner amino acid sequences of the purified enzyme. This clone (CG 15) is 1900 base pairs long and contains the entire coding region for a polypeptide of 579 residues. Comparison with amino acid sequences of other fungal glucoamylases showed homologies of 35%-56%, and most homology with that of Aspergillus niger.

[Study of diffusion phenomenon using an experimental magnetic resonance system (SIS 200/400) for small animals--reliability and apparent diffusion coefficient of normal animals].

We have developed a magnetic resonance (MR) spin echo method to obtain diffusion weighted imaging using motion probing gradient (MPG) pulses in orthogonal direction before and after a 180 degree pulse. Phantom models containing water, acetone, cupric sulfate and agar, and normal brains of Wistar rats and puppies were examined. MRI was performed using a SISCO SIS 200/400 MRI/MRS experimental system for small animals (4.

Effects of night work on the cognitive function in young and elderly subjects with specific reference to the auditory P300.

To estimate the effects of night work on the human cognitive function, P300 event related potentials (ERPs) evoked with an auditory "oddball" paradigm were recorded for 17 nurses (mean age 27.4 +/- 6.1 years; range 21-41 years) for 3 epochs; after a night of work, after a day of work and on a holiday, and for 12 elderly security guards (mean age 62.

Epidemiological study of ulcerative colitis in Japan: incidence and familial occurrence. The Epidemiology Group of the Research Committee of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Japan.

Epidemiological studies of ulcerative colitis (UC) have been conducted once every year since 1973 in Japan. The number of participating hospitals in 1429 and they are distributed throughout Japan. A total number of 10819 patients diagnosed with UC have been registered, including 197 patients with a positive family history.

High avidity state of leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 on rheumatoid synovial fluid T lymphocytes.

The integrin LFA-1 (CD11a/CD18) is a cell surface adhesion molecule required for leukocyte extravasation and subsequent immune and inflammatory responses. Rapid transition between nonadherent and adherent states of LFA-1 is of key importance to Ag-specific recognition of T lymphocytes. In this paper, LFA-1-mediated adhesiveness of peripheral blood (PB) and synovial fluid (SF) T lymphocytes to affinity-purified ICAM-1-coated plates was studied in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in patients with non-RA panels, including osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, erythema nodosum, pseudogout, and pustulosis.

Enzymatic synthesis of L-tryptophan by Enterobacter aerogenes tryptophanase highly expressed in Escherichia coli, and some properties of the purified enzyme.

We constructed two plasmids that have a strong tac promoter and a structural gene for tryptophanase of Enterobacter aerogenes SM-18 (pKT901EA) or Escherichia coli K-12 (pKT951EC). The tryptophanase activity of E. coli JM109 transformed with pKT901EA (JM109/pKT901EA) was inducible with isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside, and 3.

A progressive occlusion of the internal carotid arteries in a case of adult-onset moyamoya disease.

Progressive occlusions of the intracranial portions of ICAs are already established phenomena in childhood-onset moyamoya disease, but they have not yet been demonstrated in adult-onset patients. A patient with moyamoya disease manifested at 25 years of age was examined with cerebral angiography at 27 and 45 years of age. The angiograms taken at 27 revealed that the right ICA was completely occluded at the clinoidal portion, while the left one was patent and the occlusive/stenotic change was limited to the terminal portion.

[Prostaglandin E1 bladder instillations for late-onset hemorrhagic cystitis following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation].

Between July, 1990 and March, 1994, 31 patients with hematological malignancies or severe aplastic anemia underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) at the Second Department of Internal medicine, Chiba University Hospital. Among the 29 evaluable patients who survived over 100 days after transplant, 11 patients (37.9%) developed late-onset hemorrhagic cystitis with a median time of onset of 57 days (range 11-205) from BMT.

Bacillus curdlanolyticus sp. nov. and Bacillus kobensis sp. nov., which hydrolyze resistant curdlan.

Taxonomic characteristics of seven bacterial strains which were isolated from soil and hydrolyze resistant curdlan were studied. These bacteria were aerobic, spore-forming rods, contained menaquinone 7 as a major quinone, contained anteiso-C15:0 and iso-C16:0 as major cellular fatty acids, had guanine-plus-cytosine contents of 50 to 52 mol%, and could be divided into two groups on the basis of physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics and DNA-DNA hybridization data. We propose the following two new species: Bacillus curdlanolyticus for strains YK9, YK121, YK161, YK201, and YK203, with type strain YK9 (= IFO 15724); and Bacillus kobensis for strains YK205 and YK207, with type strain YK205 (= IFO 15729).

Syringomyelia secondary to tonsillar herniation caused by posterior fossa tumors.

Background: A number of patients diagnosed as having syringomyelia secondary to tonsillar herniation caused by posterior fossa tumors has recently been described, although the backgrounds of the affected patients were not studied. In order to determine the possible causative contribution of the tonsillar herniation, the present cooperative study was carried out.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed by five cooperating institutes.

The structure of the O-specific polysaccharide from Thiobacillus sp. IFO 14570, with three different diaminopyranoses forming the repeating unit.

The O-specific polysaccharide, liberated by mild acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS-P) from Thiobacillus sp. IFO14570 as isolated from the phenol phase after phenol-water extraction, is shown to have a linear trisaccharide repeating-unit containing three different diamino sugars, namely 2,4-diacetamido-2,4-dideoxyglucuronic acid, 2-acetamidino-4-acetamido-2,4,6-trideoxyglucopyranose, and 2,3-diacetamido-2,3-dideoxyglucuronic acid in the molar ratio of 1:1:1. On the basis of 1H and 13C spectroscopy, including 2D COSY and coherent transfer (RCT)COSY, 1D NOE in the difference mode, and 2D rotating frame NOE(ROESY) the sequence, the type of substitution, and the position of the acetamidino group could be determined.

Taxonomic study of bacteria isolated from plants: proposal of Sphingomonas rosa sp. nov., Sphingomonas pruni sp. nov., Sphingomonas asaccharolytica sp. nov., and Sphingomonas mali sp. nov.

The taxonomic positions of 10 strains of 3-ketolactose-forming bacteria which were isolated from the roots of plants (Rosa sp., Psychotria nairobiensis, Ardisia crispa, Prunus persica, and apple trees) were investigated. The DNA base compositions of these strains ranged from 64.

Molecular analysis of insulin receptor gene in Werner's syndrome.

Werner's syndrome is characterized by premature aging and frequent impaired glucose tolerance or overt diabetes. Insulin resistance may play an important role and may be caused by a post-receptor defect or dysfunctional insulin receptor. The present study was undertaken to investigate the insulin receptor gene mutation in Werner's syndrome.

[Details of a magnetic resonance system (SIS 200/400) for experimental small animals].

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) employing the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) phenomenon were used as a non-invasive method for obtaining anatomical images and for studying intracellular metabolism in vivo. A SISCO SIS 200/400 MRI/MRS experimental system for small animals (4.7 tesla, 400 mm bore) was set up, and its installation was completed in October 1993.

Pyruvic acid production by an F1-ATPase-defective mutant of Escherichia coli W1485lip2.

An F1-ATPase-defective mutant, TBLA-1, was constructed by the transduction of a defective gene for the alpha subunit of F1-ATPase, atpA401, into Escherichia coli W1485lip2, a lipoic acid-requiring pyruvic acid producer. The pyruvic acid production of the strain TBLA-1 was found to be improved markedly compared with that of strain W1485lip2. In cultures using a jar fermentor, the strain W1485lip2 consumed 50 g/liter of glucose and produced 25 g/liter of pyruvic acid after culture for 32h, while strain TBLA-1 consumed the same amount of glucose, and produced more than 30 g/liter of pyruvic acid in a 24-h culture.

Phosphorylethanolamine content of human brain tumors.

Phosphorylethanolamine (PEA) is the major component of the phosphomonoester peak detected by phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy, but the absolute concentration has not been determined. This study measured the PEA concentration in biopsy specimens of brain tumors and lobectomized cerebral cortex using high-performance liquid chromatography. The concentration of PEA was 118.

Phylogenetic analysis of the genus Microbacterium based on 16S rRNA gene sequences.

16S rRNA gene (rDNA) studies of the six species of the genus Microbacterium, M. lacticum, M. laevaniformans, M.

Development of posterior fossa dural sinuses, emissary veins, and jugular bulb: morphological and radiologic study.

Purpose: To report the anatomic and radiologic development of the transverse, sigmoid, and occipital sinuses, the emissary veins, and the jugular bulb formation from the jugular sinus in humans before and after birth.

Methods: Roentgenograms of 33 injected brains showing the cranial venous system in human fetuses from 3 to 7 months of gestational age and cerebral angiograms of newborns and infants up to 6 years of age (23 clinical cases) were made and analyzed in detail. Special attention was focused on the inner diameters of the transverse and sigmoid sinuses and of the internal jugular veins, particularly at the sigmoid sinus-internal jugular vein junction.