A large inferior mesenteric-caval shunt via the internal iliac vein.

A large portosystemic shunt between the inferior mesenteric vein and the right internal iliac vein in a 28-yr-old non-cirrhotic man is presented. This collateral was discovered by ultrasound done as a screening examination for gastrointestinal bleeding. The direct communication of the inferior mesenteric vein with the internal iliac vein was demonstrated by computed tomography and percutaneous transhepatic portography.

[Changes in monoamine metabolites in the nucleus accumbens and locomotor activity by reserpine: an in vivo microdialysis study].

The effect of ip administration of reserpine (2 mg/kg) on the monoamine metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxy-indoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) was estimated in the freely moving rat by intracerebral dialysis in the nucleus accumbens. Locomotor activity was measured simultaneously by Automex. Locomotor activity tended to increase during the first 2 hours.

Neurochemical effects of prenatal treatment with ochratoxin A on fetal and adult mouse brain.

Ochratoxin A (OA) is a mycotoxin produced by several storage fungi, such as Aspergillus ochraceus and several Penicillium species. OA (3 mg/kg) was given intraperitoneally to pregnant mice on day 11 of gestation (day 1 = day of insemination), and neurochemical changes in brains of their offspring were examined at fetal and adult stages. OA treatment produced retardation of intrauterine growth as well as microencephaly and reductions in total weight and DNA content of fetal brains.

Plaque rupture possibly induced by coronary spasm--an autopsy case of acute myocardial infarction.

The histological picture of sites of coronary spasms has not yet been made sufficiently clear. A histopathological examination was performed on the coronary artery of a patient who died of acute myocardial infarction after a refractory coronary spasm was identified by coronary arteriography. In the site of the coronary spasm, intimal bleeding as well as infiltration by lymphocytes and plasma cells in the adventitia were seen.

Hormonal regulation of DNA polymerase-beta activity in the rat thyroid gland.

Using hypophysectomized rats, it has been shown that DNA polymerase-beta activity in the adrenal gland and testis is largely influenced by pituitary trophic hormones. Sucrose gradient centrifugation of thyroid extracts revealed three peaks of DNA polymerase-beta activity sedimenting at 3.3S, 7.

DNA polymerase beta in human thyroid of Graves' disease and thyroid tumors.

We have shown that the level of DNA polymerase beta of rat adrenal cortex is regulated by pituitary trophic hormones and may correlate with their endocrine function. Here we measured DNA polymerase beta activity in human thyroid tissues of various benign and malignant thyroid disorders in order to verify the correlation between DNA polymerase beta activity and endocrine function. In Graves' disease (hyperfunction), the level of DNA polymerase beta per cell was three times higher than in normal thyroid, while in undifferentiated thyroid carcinomas this enzyme level was lower than normal.

Study on reaction of subpapillary venous plexus in patients with arterial occlusive diseases of lower extremity by reflective spectrophotometry.

The reactions of the subpapillary venous plexus were observed by analyzed fractional blood volume of tissue (Vb) in patients with arterial occlusive diseases, Fontaine's stage I-II, using the reflective spectrophotometer. The sole skin of 11 normal subjects, 17 patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO), and 14 patients with thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) were scanned by the light reflectance of four specially selected wavelengths, including isobestic points (586 and 569 nm) and peaks in the spectra of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin (577 and 560 nm) in referring to time. Sampling area was the subpapillary venous plexus histologically because the depth for receiving reflectance is about 1.

[Analysis of myocardial texture in two-dimensional echocardiographic images].

To evaluate tissue changes, we studied myocardial texture using two-dimensional echocardiographic images. We investigated 19 normal subjects, 28 patients with left ventricular hypertrophy, and 12 patients with old anteroseptal myocardial infarction of longer than one year duration. Using 2.

Placental transfer of IgG subclass-specific antibodies to varicella-zoster virus.

Commercially available mouse monoclonal antibodies to human IgG subclasses (IgG 1 to IgG 4) were used in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to examine the placental transfer of IgG subclass-specific antibodies to varicella-zoster virus (VZV). All 46 mothers had total IgG antibody to VZV, and an equal level of antibody was found in the cord blood. All of the mothers had high antibody activities to VZV in IgG 1 and IgG 4 subclasses.

[Effects of experimental salpingoplasty on fertility in the rabbit].

The present study was undertaken to determine the functional capacity of oviduct following distal ampullar salpingostomy and tubal anastomosis. In the first experiment using 6 rabbits, the left fimbria of an oviduct and adjoining ampulla were resected, and then the remaining distal ampulla was subjected to cuff salpingostomy. The contralateral oviduct of each rabbit served as a control.

Ionic basis of depressed automaticity and conduction by acetylcholine in rabbit AV node.

To investigate the ionic mechanisms underlying the negative chrono- and dromotropic effects of acetylcholine (ACh) on the atrioventricular (AV) node, experiments were carried out in rabbit AV node preparations with the use of double-microelectrode techniques. In current-clamp experiments (n = 6), 10(-6) M ACh hyperpolarized the resting membrane from -42.3 to -58.

[Assessment of interaction between the left and right ventricles using pressure-volume loops in various heart diseases].

To assess the interaction and interdependence of left and right ventricular function, ECG-gated radionuclide angiocardiography was performed immediately after cardiac catheterization during right atrial pacing for 11 patients with old myocardial infarction (MI), two with non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, one with aortic stenosis (AS), two with pulmonary infarction (PI), and one with neurocirculatory asthenia (NCA). Absolute left ventricular (LV) volume curves were obtained by the count-based method with attenuation factor corrections. Biventricular pressure and volume curves were digitized and synchronized to end-diastole, and pressure-volume (P-V) loops were constructed throughout a cardiac cycle.

Experimental study on significance of QRS area map--comparison with VAT map.

The QRS area map, which is obtained by time integration of the QRS potential, is assumed to correlate with the ventricular activation time (VAT) map. Using 16 mongrel dogs, the QRS area map and VAT map from cardiac and body surface were compared during sinus rhythm and left and right ventricular endocardial pacing. The cardiac surface QRS area map resembled the cardiac surface VAT map, and it was considered useful to estimate the excitation sequence.

[Evaluation of coronary blood flow using digital subtraction technique and cine coronary angiography: a preliminary report].

To evaluate coronary circulation in ischemic heart disease, digital image processing with cine coronary angiography was performed. Using time-density curves obtained from individual pixels, images showing the distribution of contrast density and transit time were obtained. To record angiograms, contrast medium was injected into the coronary artery in a steady manner during right atrial pacing.

P wave changes in body surface potential maps due to increasing heart rate during exercise in normals.

Exercise-induced changes in P maps were investigated in normal subjects (n = 20) in order to clarify the basic changes in P maps caused by exercise in patients with ischemic heart disease or by exercise-induced dysfunction of the left ventricle in patients with various heart diseases. Maps were obtained using an 87 lead-point system (HPM-6500, Chunichi-Denshi Corporation) and were recorded at rest and at heart rates up to 140/min in 20/min steps under graded bicycle ergometric exercise. P waves were divided into 3 phases (initial, middle and terminal) by locating the maximum.

Brain changes in rats induced by prenatal injection of methylazoxymethanol.

Various doses (0, 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 mg/kg) of methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM), a potent alkylating agent, were injected singly into pregnant rats intraperitoneally on day 15 of gestation. Relationships between brain weights and neurochemical changes in the cerebral hemispheres (CHs; cerebral cortex and subjacent white matter, hippocampus, amygdala) and remainder of the brain (BGDM; basal ganglia, diencephalon, and mesencephalon) were examined at 60 days of age in offspring; varying degrees of microencephaly were observed. Dose-dependent reductions in the weights of CH and BGDM were observed.

Membrane actions of quinidine sulfate in the rabbit atrioventricular node studied by voltage clamp method.

The effects of quinidine (0.01-20 micrograms/ml) on spontaneous action potentials and membrane current systems of the rabbit atrioventricular node were studied. At therapeutic concentrations, this drug decreased the action potential amplitude, the maximal diastolic potential, the threshold potential as well as the maximal rate of depolarization and showed a negative chronotropic action.

Intermittent versus long-term tapering prednisolone for initial therapy in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome.

Forty-six children with steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome were randomly allocated to receive two different prednisolone regimens for initial therapy. Twenty-nine children (group 1) received an intermittent regimen (60 mg/m2/day for 4 weeks, followed by 40/mg/m2/day on 3 days a week for 4 weeks); 17 children (group 2) had a long-term regimen (60 mg/m2/day for 4 weeks, followed by the same dose on alternate days for 4 weeks and the doses tapered by 10 mg/m2, given on alternate days every 4 weeks for 5 months). There was no difference between the two groups in the regimen used to treat relapses, steroid responsiveness, number of patients with relapses, and frequency of toxic reactions to steroids.

Immunoglobulin subclass antibodies to varicella-zoster virus.

Commercially available mouse monoclonal antibodies to human IgG subclass (IgG1 to IgG4) were applied to an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure IgG subclass-specific antibodies to varicella-zoster virus in children naturally infected with varicella-zoster virus and in varicella vaccine recipients. In children naturally infected with varicella-zoster virus, IgG 1 antibody was detected 2 weeks after onset of the disease in all cases, its activity increased at 1 month after onset, and almost equal antibody value was maintained 10 years after infection. This pattern of antibody response was similar to that of total IgG antibody to varicella-zoster virus after natural infection.

Quantitation of serum carotenoid concentrations in healthy inhabitants by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Serum carotenoid concentrations in healthy subjects by age and sex were investigated, as determined by two high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. Serum 'carotene' concentrations were 0.655 +/- 0.

Induction of tumors in ACI rats given a diet containing ptaquiloside, a bracken carcinogen.

Fifteen female ACI rats initially 5 weeks old were each given a diet containing 0.027-0.08% ptaquiloside [(PT) CAS: 87625-62-5], a carcinogen in bracken, throughout the 210-day experimental period.

Structures of the sugar chains of mouse immunoglobulin G.

The asparagine-linked sugar chains of mouse immunoglobulin G (IgG) were quantitatively liberated as radioactive oligosaccharides from the polypeptide portions by hydrazinolysis followed by N-acetylation, and NaB3H4 reduction. After fractionation by paper electrophoresis, lectin (RCA120) affinity high-performance liquid chromatography, and gel filtration, their structures were studied by sequential exoglycosidase digestion in combination with methylation analysis. Mouse IgG was shown to contain the biantennary complex type sugar chains.

The subcutaneous pedicle flap: widening of its applications.

The subcutaneous pedicle flap is useful for reconstruction of a relatively small defect, and there have been many reports on its use in the facial region. With careful manipulation and thought given to the selection of the patient, it is also applicable to the trunk and extremities. During the last 7 years, we have treated 80 patients who had subcutaneous pedicle flaps applied to various parts of the body (57 on the face, 12 on the trunk, and 11 on the extremities).

[Two-dimensional echocardiographic echo intensity distribution by histographic analysis].

To assess myocardial tissue changes, the distribution of echo intensities of two-dimensional echocardiograms was analyzed using a histogram. The materials were obtained from six normal subjects (N), 29 patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and 12 patients one year or more after the onset of anteroseptal myocardial infarction (MI). A transducer with a central frequency of 2.

[Ultrasonic tissue characterization in diagnosing myocardial infarction].

To evaluate myocardial tissue changes using two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography, several approaches were attempted. 1. Quantitative evaluation of the myocardial echo intensity by computerized image processing in patients with old anteroseptal myocardial infarction: 2D echocardiograms of the parasternal long-axis view were converted to digital images to measure the echo intensity of the regions of interest (ROI) placed in the interventricular septum (IVS), the left ventricular posterior wall (LVPW), the left ventricular cavity, and the pericardium.