[Peripapillary fluorescein angiographic findings in non-glaucomatous eyes].

Purpose: In fluorescein angiography (FAG), glaucomatous eyes show a zone of no fluorescence around the disc and hyperfluorescence indicating serum diffusion at the margin of the zone, which play some role in glaucomatous optic nerve damage. But detailed FAG findings have not been reported in non-glaucomatous eyes. We conducted a study to investigate whether peripapillary FAG findings in glaucomatous eyes were specific to glaucoma or not.

Relationship between airway pressure and the distribution of gas-liquid interface during partial liquid ventilation in the oleic acid lung injury model: fluorine-19 magnetic resonance imaging study.

Objective: To elucidate the relationship between airway pressure (Paw) and the distribution of gas-liquid interface d ring partial liquid ventilation (PLV).

Design: Prospective, controlled study.

Setting: A research laboratory at a university medical center.

Distinct expression of CDX2 and GATA4/5, development-related genes, in human gastric cancer cell lines.

CDX2 is a tumor-suppressor homeobox gene involved in colon carcinogenesis, but its role in gastric cancer is unknown. Although GATA4, -5 and, -6 transcription factors have distinct functions in the regulation of gastrointestinal epithelial cell differentiation, there have been no reports regarding GATA4/5/6 alterations in gastrointestinal carcinomas. By using a semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay, we studied the expression of gut development-related genes CDX2/1 and GATA4/5/6 in 11 human gastric cancer cell lines.

Beta-catenin and adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) mutations in adenomas from hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer patients.

To clarify the roles of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) and beta-catenin genes in hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) tumorigenesis, we searched for their mutations in 14 HNPCC adenomas with microsatellite instability (MSI). Seven (50%) adenomas exhibited somatic APC mutations, five of which were frameshift mutations and the other two nonsense ones. However, the APC mutational spectrum of these adenomas was similar to that of sporadic colorectal tumors.

Alterations and hypermethylation of the p14(ARF) gene in gastric cancer.

p14(ARF), generated through an alternative splicing process that replaces the first exon, 1alpha, of p16(INK4a) with exon 1beta, located >15 kb upstream of exon 1alpha, has been shown to function as a growth suppressor. We examined 11 gastric cancer cell lines for mRNA expression, homozygous deletion, mutation, and promoter methylation of the p14(ARF) gene. No mRNA expression was detected in 5 of the 7 diffuse-type cell lines.

Seizure frequency and bilateral temporal abnormalities: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) was performed in seven healthy volunteers and 17 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) to clarify the correlation of the severity of epilepsy with bilateral temporal changes in N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline-containing compounds (Cho) and creatine + phosphocreatine (Cr). Despite unilateral EEG focus, bilateral temporal reduction in NAA /(Cho + Cr) was revealed in patients with intractable seizures. The potential for seizure generation correlated with the NAA /(Cho + Cr) reduction not only on the ipsilateral side but also on the contralateral side.

Significance of carbohydrate antigen sialyl-Lewis X, sialyl-Lewis A, and possible unknown ligands to adhesion of human urothelial cancer cells to activated endothelium.

Objective: To assess the contribution of the carbohydrate antigens, sialyl-Lewis X (sLe(x)) and sialyl-Lewis A (sLe(a)), which are known to be ligands for E-selectin, to the adhesion between human urothelial cancer cells and cytokine-activated human endothelial cells.

Materials And Methods: We studied the expression of sLe(x) and sLe(a) antigens of three bladder cancer cell lines (JTC 30, JTC 32, and T24) by flow cytometry and the adherence to interleukin 1beta-activated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC).

Results: JTC 30 and JTC 32 cells expressed both sLe(x) and sLe(a) antigens, and showed adhesion to activated HUVEC, which was completely abolished by anti-E-selectin antibody.

Comparison of prazosin, terazosin and tamsulosin in the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia: a short-term open, randomized multicenter study. BPH Medical Therapy Study Group. Benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Background: The objective of this open randomized clinical study was to compare the short-term efficacy and safety of three alpha-1 blockers, prazosin, terazosin and tamsulosin, in the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Methods: The study comprised 121 patients with symptomatic BPH who were randomized to receive 0.5 mg of prazosin twice daily, 0.

A ZYGOTE-SPECIFIC PROTEIN WITH HYDROXYPROLINE-RICH GLYCOPROTEIN DOMAINS AND LECTIN-LIKE DOMAINS INVOLVED IN THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CELL WALL OF CHLAMYDOMONAS REINHARDTII (CHLOROPHYTA).

The cell wall of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii zygotes, which forms rapidly after the fusion of wall-free gametes, provides a tractable system for studying the properties and assembly of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins, the major proteinaceous components of green algal and plant cell walls. We report the cloning of the zsp2 gene and the analysis of its ZSP-2 product, a 58.9 kDa polypeptide that is synthesized exclusively by zygotes.

Sexual dimorphism in the regulation of meiotic process in the rabbit.

Meiosis, mitosis, and apoptosis during fetal and postnatal periods were investigated in order to explore mechanisms of sexual dimorphism in initiation of germ cell meiosis. Gonads were obtained from Japanese white rabbits from 23 to 51 days postcoitum (dpc). Gonadal thin sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin.

Olivocerebellar climbing fibers in the granuloprival cerebellum: morphological study of individual axonal projections in the X-irradiated rat.

Elimination of cerebellar granule cells early during postnatal development produces abnormal neural organization that retains immature characteristics in the adult, including innervation of each Purkinje cell by multiple climbing fibers from the inferior olive. To elucidate mechanisms underlying development of the olivocerebellar projection, we studied light-microscopic morphology of single olivocerebellar axons labeled with biotinylated dextran amine in adult rats rendered agranular by a single postnatal X-irradiation. Each reconstructed olivocerebellar axon gave off approximately 12 climbing fibers, approximately twice as many as in normal rats.

Demonstration of phase-3 and phase-4 retrograde block in a second concealed accessory pathway after an initial successful radiofrequency ablation of a 'normal' concealed accessory pathway.

We report a patient with concealed Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome who, following catheter ablation, demonstrated phase-3 and phase-4 retrograde block in a concealed accessory pathway. After an initial 'apparently successful' ablation, retrograde conduction was through the atrioventricular node during constant ventricular pacing. Ventricular extrastimulus testing was performed at a basic drive cycle length of 600 ms.

Consistency behind trial-to-trial variation in intrinsic optical responses to single-whisker movement in the rat D1-barrel cortex.

We examined consistent characteristics behind the trial-to-trial variati on in intrinsic optical imaging of single barrel cortical responses to D 1-whisker movement in 2-5-week postnatal (2-5 W) and adul t (>9-weeks) Wistar rats, and we identified the effective are a of the neural response. The extent/size, configuration and orientation of the intrinsic optical response area varied from trial-to-trial with the same whisker stimulation. We argue that the trial-to-trial variation was due to cortical blood circulation related to the barrel neural activity.

Small diameter vascular prosthesis with a nonthrombogenic phospholipid polymer surface: preliminary study of a new concept for functioning in the absence of pseudo- or neointima formation.

The purpose of this study was to prepare a small diameter vascular prosthesis functioning without pseudointima formation. A nonthrombogenic phospholipid polymer, the 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) polymer, has a cell membrane-like structure and has demonstrated strong nonthrombogenicity. We have recently prepared 2 kinds of vascular prostheses, 2 mm in diameter, composed of the MPC polymer and segmented polyurethane (SPU).

[De novo cancer and adenoma-carcinoma sequence of the colorectum--clinicopathological differences between de novo carcinoma and carcinoma with the sequence].

The adenoma-carcinoma sequence ("The great majority of colorectal carcinomas arises from adenomas") proposed by Morson et al (1972) has been generally accepted world wide. Considering the sequence from the viewpoint of human carcinogenesis in general, however, a few contradictions and mysterious phenomena are found in the development and growth process of the colorectal carcinomas. It is evident that the histogenesis of the adenoma-carcinoma sequence including such contradictions is logically false.

Frequent allelic imbalance on chromosome 18q21 in early superficial colorectal cancers.

Genetic alterations in early superficial colorectal cancers have rarely been reported. In the present study, we searched for alterations in the APC and p53 genes in 27 superficial (20 depressed and 7 elevated) and 21 protruding colorectal cancers with submucosal invasion by means of PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism. Allelic imbalance (AI) on five loci, i.

The isolated artery: an intrahepatic arterial pathway that can bypass the lobular parenchyma in mammalian livers.

Controversy persists concerning the distribution of intrahepatic arterial termination. Apart from nourishing structures in the portal tract, several authors have suggested arterial supply to some isolated vascular beds that bypass the parenchyma, but this was not verified morphologically. In the present study, the existence of an isolated hepatic artery unaccompanied by a portal vein or a bile duct was shown in livers of pigs and other mammals including the dog, seal, ox, horse, and man.

Liver microvascular architecture: an insight into the pathophysiology of portal hypertension.

Structural adaptations in the liver to constantly receive and release a large volume of circulating blood at low pressure are present at many levels; alteration of these structures can modify flow and perturb pressure gradients. Liver growth multiplies the lobule number by a factor of 4-5 after birth. Lobule configuration conforms with observations in space division, each unit being bordered by planes; curvature will impede expansibility and retractability among units.

An event-related potential study in schizophrenia using Japanese sentences.

To examine the neurophysiological and cognitive characteristics of language disorder in schizophrenia, the N400 component and late positive component (LPC) of event-related potentials (ERPs) were investigated in medicated schizophrenic patients and health comparison subjects. The subjects were required to indicate whether Japanese sentence completions were semantically congruous or incongruous. The ERPs for the range of 300-500 ms to the incongruous completions contained a more negative component (N400), followed by LPC, which was inversely more positive for the incongruous than congruous condition.

Methylation of the hMLH1 promoter in familial gastric cancer with microsatellite instability.

Microsatellite instability (MSI), which is recognized as an important mechanism in tumorigenesis, has been reported in familial gastric cancers (FGC). However, genetic defects responsible for this phenotype, that is, mutations in mismatch-repair genes such as hMLH1 and hMSH2, have not been detected in most FGC cases. Earlier studies have shown that the promoter region of the hMLH1 gene was methylated in some sporadic colorectal and endometrial cancers.

Effect of superoxide dismutase on bleomycin-induced dermal sclerosis: implications for the treatment of systemic sclerosis.

Bleomycin has a chemical toxicity capable of inducing superoxide radicals, which are suggested to play an important part in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. We have recently established a mouse model for scleroderma induced by repeated local injections of bleomycin. In this study, we examined the inhibitory effect of superoxide dismutase on the development of dermal sclerosis induced by bleomycin using this mouse model.

Intestinal metaplasia at the esophagogastric junction in Japanese patients without clinical Barrett's esophagus.

Objective: The significance of intestinal metaplasia found in biopsy specimens taken from healthy appearing squamocolumnar junction is unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of intestinal metaplasia at the esophagogastric junction in Japanese patients with no clinical diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus.

Methods: A total of 103 specimens from consecutive surgeries were studied.

Functional analysis of aquaporin-2 mutants associated with nephrogenic diabetes insipidus by yeast expression.

Mutations of aquaporin-2 (AQP2) vasopressin water channel cause nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI). It has been suggested that impaired routing of AQP2 mutants to the plasma membrane causes the disease; however, no determinations have been made of mutation-induced alterations of AQP2 channel water permeability. To address this issue, a series of AQP2 mutants were expressed in yeast, and the osmotic water permeability (P(f)) of the isolated vesicles was measured.

Evaluation of voltage-sensitive dyes for long-term recording of neural activity in the hippocampus.

We searched for an optimal voltage-sensitive dye for optical measurements of neural activity in the hippocampal slice by evaluating several merocyanine-rhodanine and oxonol dyes. The wavelength dependence (action spectra), pharmacological effects of staining, signal size, signal-to-noise ratio, and the utility of the dyes for long-term continuous recording were examined for four merocyanine-rhodanine dyes (NK2761, NK2776, NK3224 and NK3225), which had been reported to be optimal in embryonic nervous systems, and for two oxonol dyes (NK3630 (RH482) and NK3041 (RH155)), which have been among the most popular potentiometric probes for the hippocampal slice preparation. NK2761, NK3224 and NK3225 provided large signal-to-noise ratios, and proved to be useful for optical recordings lasting several hours.