Longitudinal study of specific antibodies to toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-human serum albumin (HSA) conjugate in patients with TDI-induced asthma.

Background: An appreciable number of patients with toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-induced asthma have high serum levels of specific IgE (sIgE) antibody to TDI-human serum albumin conjugate (HSA). A recent investigation suggested a role of specific IgG (sIgG) in the development of TDI asthma.

Methods: We observed the changes in the levels of specific IgE and IgG antibodies to TDIHSA conjugate in TDI-induced asthmatic patients during seven years avoidance.

Platelet-activating factor induces lung inflammation and leak in rats: hydrogen peroxide production along neutrophil-lung endothelial cell interfaces.

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) levels and neutrophils are increased in the lung-lavage fluid of patients with acute lung injury (ALI), and instilling IL-1 intratracheally into rats causes rapid lung-neutrophil influx and neutrophil-dependent lung leakage. IL-1 insufflation also increases platelet-activating factor (PAF) activity in rat lung, and PAF is increased in the lung-lavage fluid of ALI patients. To assess the direct effects of PAF on the lung, we administered PAF intratracheally in rats.

Toxic characteristics of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(epsilon-caprolactone) nanospheres; in vitro and in vivo studies in the normal mice.

Amphiphilic diblock polymeric nanospheres composed of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MePEG) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone)(PCL) was prepared for application as a novel drug carrier. We could obtain the MePEG/PCL nanospheres that exhibited an average diameter of less than 200 nm with narrow size distribution and a relatively high drug-loading efficiency of about 41.98% and 20.

Interaction of human chondrocytes and NIH/3T3 fibroblasts on chloric acid-treated biodegradable polymer surfaces.

It has been recognized that adhesion and proliferation of cells on biodegradable polymers such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(glycolic acid) (PGA), and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) depend on the surface properties. The chloric acid (CA) treatment of these films was developed to increase surface wettability and to improve adhesion and proliferation of human chondrocytes and NIH/3T3 fibroblasts. The CA-treated films were characterized by the measurement of water contact angle, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Characterization of human SMARCE1r high-mobility-group protein.

The high-mobility-group (HMG) proteins are chromatin-associated proteins that are common to all higher organisms. They bind DNA in a sequence-specific or non-sequence-specific way to induce DNA bending, and regulate chromatin function and gene expression. Here we report the characterization of an HMG box-containing gene, designated human Smarce1r gene.

Hanja alexia with agraphia after left posterior inferior temporal lobe infarction: a case study.

Korean written language is composed of ideogram (Hanja) and phonogram (Hangul), as Japanese consists of Kanji (ideogram) and Kana (phonogram). Dissociation between ideogram and phonogram impairment after brain injury has been reported in Japanese, but few in Korean. We report a 64-yr-old right-handed man who showed alexia with agraphia in Hanja but preserved Hangul reading and writing after a left posterior inferior temporal lobe infarction.

Therapeutic field trial with praziquantel (Biltricide(R)) in a rural population infected with Clonorchis sinensis.

The present study was undertaken to determine the acceptablility, tolerance and effectiveness of praziquantel in a rural population infected with Clonorchis sinensis and to suggest the suitable dosages of praziquantel for the field use on a large scale. A total of 121 patients with proven C. sinensis infection were treated by two dosages with praziquantel at a single dose of 40 mg/kg bwt and 2 doses of 30 mg/kg bwt in a single day.