Ascending speed and nocturnal activity of adult masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou Brevoort) during upstream migration.

We released five adult masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) tagged with external transmitters to track their ascending behaviour. The signals of all specimens were recorded in the upper area of the river system. Two patterns of ascending behaviour were recognized: ascending upward immediately after release and ascending during increased river discharge. The fastest ascending speed was about 1000 m h-1 . Active movements were detected at night. The signal recording duration at each receiver for each fish was generally brief. Most fish did not stay at the pools where the receivers were installed.

Antitumor activity of new combination chemotherapy with irinotecan hydrochloride and nedaplatin against human cervical cancer cell lines.

Antitumor activity of combination chemotherapy with irinotecan hydrochloride (CPT-11) and nedaplatin was compared to that with CPT-11 and cisplatin. In vitro cytotoxicity of SN-38 (an active metabolite of CPT-11) in combination with nedaplatin or cisplatin was evaluated using three human cervical cancer cell lines (ME-180, CaSki and SiHa). IC50 values of nedaplatin against these three human cervical cancer cell lines were about 2-fold as high as those of cisplatin, indicating somewhat weak cytotoxic effects of nedaplatin. Interactions between two drugs in combination were investigated using a simultaneous-exposure schedule and analyzed by the IC50-based isobologram method. Simultaneous exposure to SN-38 with each platinum preparation showed synergistic and additive effects against ME-180 and SiHa. In vivo antitumor effects of CPT-11 in the combination with each platinum were studied using SiHa xenografts. While CPT-11, nedaplatin and cisplatin alone hardly showed any antitumor effects even at the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) levels, the combination chemotherapy with CPT-11 and nedaplatin or cisplatin resulted in significant antitumor effects even at three-quarter MTD of CPT-11 combined with two-third MTD of platinum. All treatments were tolerable for mice, indicating that the combinations did not cause significant enhancement in toxicity. In clinical application, nedaplatin causes a lower incidence of nephropathy and does not require the replacement of a large volume of fluid, which is needed for cisplatin administration, facilitating treatment at the out-patient clinic. In addition, the incidences of digestive disorder, peripheral neuropathy and auditory disorder are lower. These findings suggest that the combination chemotherapy with CPT-11 and nedaplatin for squamous cell cancer of uterine cervix is very useful in clinical practice. A dose-finding study should be conducted.

An anti-nuclear antibody-negative patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) accompanied with anti-ribosomal P antibody (anti-P).

We report a case of an anti-nuclear antibody (ANA)-negative patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) accompanied with anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) and lupus nephritis (LN). Histological examination of placenta obtained by an artificially-induced abortion revealed multiple thromboses in the placental villi. Histology of biopsied kidney tissue revealed minimal change with deposits of immunoglobulin and complement. Anti-ribosomal P antibodies (anti-P) and lupus anticoagulant (LAC) were positive and anti-double stranded DNA antibody (anti-DNA) showed only a slightly positive titer in her serum. The intensity of proteinuria of the patient was correlated with the anti-P, but not anti-DNA titers.