Visualizing the mixed bonding properties of liquid boron with high-resolution x-ray Compton scattering.

Bonding characteristics of liquid boron at 2500 K are studied by using high-resolution Compton scattering. An excellent agreement is found between the measurements and the corresponding Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations. Covalent bond pairs are clearly shown to dominate in liquid boron along with the coexistence of diffuse pairs. Our study reveals the complex bonding pattern of liquid boron and gives insight into the unusual properties of this high-temperature liquid.

Recurrent peritoneal inclusion cysts successfully treated with oral contraceptives: a report of two cases.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether conservative treatment with oral contraceptives is effective in the shrinkage of a peritoneal inclusion cyst (PIC). This is a case report of two patients with a PIC that developed after gynecological surgery. CASES: Both cases were suspected of a PIC based on the medical history, laboratory data, and image findings. It was difficult in differentiate a PIC from an ovarian tumor. Surgery was chosen at first. However, PICs in both cases recurred after surgery and were treated with oral contraceptives as a conservative treatment. PICs shrank after the treatment of oral contraceptives in both cases. CONCLUSION: Due to the high rate of recurrence following surgery, conservative treatment is recommended to treat PICs. Hormone therapy using oral contraceptives seems to have some therapeutic benefit for the PICs.

Persistence of covalent bonding in liquid silicon probed by inelastic x-ray scattering.

Metallic liquid silicon at 1787 K is investigated using x-ray Compton scattering. An excellent agreement is found between the measurements and the corresponding Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show persistence of covalent bonding in liquid silicon and provide support for the occurrence of theoretically predicted liquid-liquid phase transition in supercooled liquid states. The population of covalent bond pairs in liquid silicon is estimated to be 17% via a maximally localized Wannier function analysis. Compton scattering is shown to be a sensitive probe of bonding effects in the liquid state.

Efficacy of serum angiopoietin-1 measurement in the diagnosis of early rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies showed that angiopoietin-1(Ang-1) expression was increased in the synovium in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The present study was therefore designed to examine whether determination of serum Ang-1 might be effective in diagnosis of early RA. METHODS: One hundred and five serum samples of RA (21 males, 84 females) were studied for serum Ang-1 level. Serum samples were also collected from other collagen diseases, including 35 cases of SLE, 29 cases of systemic sclerosis, 16 cases of polymyositis/dermatomyositis. Serum samples were additionally obtained from 34 patients who visited our clinic for evaluation of symmetrical polyarthritis with morning stiffness. After one year of follow-up, those patients who satisfied the ACR 1987 classification criteria for RA were defined as 'early RA'. Serum Ang-1 levels were measured by sandwich ELISA using anti-angiopoietin-1 antibodies (both monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies). Serum anti-CCP antibody and rheumatoid factor (RF) were measured by ELISA and by laser nepherometry, respectively. RESULTS: Serum Ang-1 in RA patients was significantly higher than those in other collagen diseases. Serum Ang-1 levels in 50 normal healthy individuals were 5.8 ± 0.31 pg/ml (mean ± SEM). There was no significant difference in CRP and serum RF at the first visit between early RA patients and non-RA patients, whereas serum Ang-1 levels at the first visit were significantly higher in early RA (58.7 ± 17.9 pg/ml [mean ± SEM]) than those in non-RA (8.2 ± 4.5 pg/ml). ROC analysis revealed that serum Ang-1 (cut-off 23.91 pg/ml) could diagnose early RA at sensitivity 57.1% and specificity 84.6%, providing comparable area under the curve (0.71, 95% CI: 0.54-0.88) to that of serum anti-CCP antibody (0.72, 95% CI: 0.53-0.92). There was no significant correlation between anti-CCP antibody and Ang-1. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that serum Ang-1 is as useful a marker for the diagnosis of early RA as serum anti-CCP antibody.

Incidence and risk factors of falling in ambulatory patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective 1-year study.

UNLABELLED: A prospective 1-year study showed that fall incidence was 50% in women with rheumatoid arthritis. Multivariate analysis identified swollen joint count, use of antihypertensives or diuretics, one-leg standing time, and sway area measured by stabilometer as significant parameters associated with falls. INTRODUCTION: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may be at increased risk of falling because they frequently experience muscle weakness and stiff or painful joints. The aim of this study was to use a prospective design to determine the incidence of falls and their risk factors in women with RA. METHODS: Eighty-four women aged 50 and over who had RA were enrolled. The mean age was 64.1 years. We evaluated postural stability, physical performance related to falls, disease activity, muscle volume, and bone density. The occurrence of falls was assessed every month for 1 year. Among 84 patients, 80 completed a 1-year observation. RESULTS: Forty patients (50.0%) reported one or more falls, and two of them (5.0%) had fractures during the follow-up period. The fall group had more swollen joints and took more antihypertensives and/or diuretics. The fall group also had lower postural stability and tended to have reduced physical performance. The one-leg standing time was shorter, and the step-up-and-down test score was lower in the fall group. The sway area was larger in the fall group. DISCUSSION: Multiple logistic regression analysis identified that number of swollen joints, use of antihypertensives or diuretics, shorter time standing on one foot, and the sway area were the most significant parameters associated with falls. CONCLUSION: We concluded that fall rates in RA patients were higher than in the general population and that balance impairment or side effects of drugs may play a role in increasing the risk of falls.

A foodborne outbreak of a group A streptococcal infection in a Japanese university hospital.

We describe an outbreak of foodborne tonsillopharyngitis caused by group A streptococcus (GAS), a rarely reported event that occurred during a campus orientation meeting in Japan. Of 461 students and staff members who had eaten boxed lunches during a meeting at Kitasato University, 298 developed sore throat and/or fever, and 285 underwent medical examination. Amoxicillin was prescribed when throat culture specimens yielded GAS. The attack rate was 64.6%. T-25 GAS was isolated from 150 examined persons. Of 65 patients who received amoxicillin for 3 days, GAS was eradicated before the first follow-up throat culture in 46 (70.8%) cases. Susceptibility was demonstrated to penicillins, cephalosporins, and macrolides in 86 GAS isolates obtained more than once from a given patient. GAS strains isolated at various time points were indistinguishable by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and prtF1 was present. GAS strains were often difficult to eradicate because of a short initial treatment period, patient compliance problems, and the presence of prtF1.

The human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) current inhibition selectively prolongs action potential of midmyocardial cells to augment transmural dispersion.

The majority of drug induced arrhythmias are related to the prolongation of action potential duration following inhibition of rapidly activating delayed rectifier potassium current (I(Kr)) mediated by the hERG channel. However, for arrhythmias to develop and be sustained, not only the prolongation of action potential duration but also its transmural dispersion are required. Herein, we evaluated the effect of hERG inhibition on transmural dispersion of action potential duration using the action potential clamp technique that combined an in silico myocyte model with the actual I(Kr) measurement. Whole cell I(Kr) current was measured in Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing the hERG channel. The measured current was coupled with models of ventricular endocardial, M-, and epicardial cells to calculate the action potentials. Action potentials were evaluated under control condition and in the presence of 1, 10, or 100 µM disopyramide, an hERG inhibitor. Disopyramide dose-dependently increased the action potential durations of the three cell types. However, action potential duration of M-cells increased disproportionately at higher doses, and was significantly different from that of epicardial and endocardial cells (dispersion of repolarization). By contrast, the effects of disopyramide on peak I(Kr) and instantaneous current-voltage relation were similar in all cell types. Simulation study suggested that the reduced repolarization reserve of M-cell with smaller amount of slowly activating delayed rectifier potassium current levels off at longer action potential duration to make such differences. The action potential clamp technique is useful for studying the mechanism of arrhythmogenesis by hERG inhibition through the transmural dispersion of repolarization.

Monosynaptic input from Leu5-enkephalin-immunoreactive terminals to vagal motor neurons in the nucleus ambiguus: comparison with the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus.

Vagal motor neurons in the rat dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMN) are known to receive direct synaptic input from enkephalin-containing terminals. We examined 1) whether the vagal motor neurons within the nucleus ambiguus (NA) also received monosynaptic input from enkephalin-immunoreactive terminals and 2), if so, whether their ultrastructural relations differed from those in the DMN. In both regions, terminals containing Leu5-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity (LE-LI) were examined in relation to motor neurons identified by retrograde transport of wheat germ-agglutinated horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) applied to the cut end of the cervical vagus nerve in single sections of the medulla oblongata of adult rats. By light microscopy, the most significant overlap between varicose processes with LE-LI and WGA-HRP-containing neurons was seen in the rostral compact portion of the NA and the DMN at the level of the obex. Thus, only these regions were examined by electron microscopy. The most distinguishing ultrastructural feature of WGA-HRP-labeled neurons in the NA compared to the DMN was their higher incidence of nonsynaptic appositions with other neurons. In both the NA and the DMN, terminals with LE-LI formed primarily symmetric synapses on smaller (presumably distal) dendrites; many of these dendrites, as well as most target perikarya, contained WGA-HRP. Additionally, in the compact portion of the NA compared to the DMN 1) multiple LE-labeled terminals more frequently contacted single perikarya or dendrites and 2) single terminals with LE-LI more commonly showed two contacts or active zones and contained more abundant LE-immunoreactive large (80-100 nm) dense-core vesicles (dcvs). In contrast to small (40-50 nm), clear vesicles, which were usually aggregated near active zones, the immunoreactive dcvs were usually located near glial processes distal to these zones. These results indicate that enkephalin immunoreactivity is intensely localized to dcvs within terminals that may have direct inhibitory (symmetric synapses) actions on vagal motor neurons in both the compact portion of the NA and the DMN. Moreover, because numbers of dcvs and active zones have been equated with synaptic strength, our findings suggest enhanced potencies of enkephalin-immunoreactive terminals in the compact portion of the NA. Our findings support a prominent role for enkephalin in the coordinated activity of esophageal motor neurons located in the compact portion of the NA.

Positron emission tomographic scanning demonstrates a presynaptic dopaminergic lesion in Lytico-Bodig. The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-parkinsonism-dementia complex of Guam.

We performed positron emission tomography using 18F-6-fluorodopa on four Guamanians with an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis syndrome, eight Guamanians with parkinsonism, and seven clinically normal Guamanians; the results were compared with those of nine Vancouver control subjects. The Guamanian subjects had all been exposed to similar Chamorro lifestyles. The scans were analyzed using a graphic method that calculates a constant for whole striatal 18F-6-fluorodopa uptake. The parkinsonian subjects all had significantly reduced striatal 18F-6-fluorodopa uptake. The group with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis had significantly reduced uptake that was intermediate between that of the control group and the parkinsonian group. Two Guamanian normal subjects had reduced striatal 18F-6-fluorodopa uptake. The nigrostriatal dopaminergic lesion in Guamanian parkinsonism is similar to that found in idiopathic parkinsonism. The nigrostriatal lesions in the subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and the Guamanian normal subjects are examples of subclinical neuronal damage demonstrable in living subjects with positron emission tomography.

Solitary infantile myofibromatosis of bone. An immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study.

A rare case of solitary infantile myofibromatosis of bone in an 11-month-old boy is reported. Radiographically the lesion of parietal bone was round, well-circumscribed, and osteolytic with a sclerotic rim. Histologically the tumor was made up of nodules that were hyalinized or cellular and containing plump, spindle-shaped cells that were intermediate in appearance between fibroblasts and smooth-muscle cells, arranged in short bundles or whorls. Another typical feature was the presence of distended, cleft-shaped vascular spaces around the nodules. The microscopic features of this tumor were consistent with those of infantile myofibromatosis of other sites, such as the skin and deep soft tissue. The tumor cells showed immunoreactivities for vimentin and alpha-smooth muscle actin. Microfilaments with dense bodies were observed in the fibroblast-like tumor cells. In addition, many tumor cells stained for collagen type IV and were covered by incomplete external laminae, indicating infantile myofibromatosis has more advanced smooth-muscle differentiation than conventional fibromatosis.

The use of FDG-PET in the detection and management of malignant lymphoma: correlation of uptake with prognosis.

Twenty-one patients with untreated malignant lymphoma in the head and neck region were evaluated with positron emission tomography (PET) using fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and gallium-67 SPECT imaging. Tumor-to-normal soft-tissue contrast ratios (TCRs) obtained 60 min after injection of FDG were higher than 2.6, and all malignant lymphomas were clearly visualized. In patients with poor prognosis, higher TCRs and glucose utilization rates (GURs) were observed, whereas low TCR and GUR were shown in a patient with low-grade malignancy. In comparison with 67Ga scintigraphy, patients with high TCRs and GURs were likely to show increased accumulation of gallium-67, but accumulation of gallium-67 was not increased as much as FDG in poor prognostic patients. FDG-PET may be useful in the detection and management of malignant lymphoma.

Positron emission tomography using fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose in malignant lymphoma: a comparison with proliferative activity.

To evaluate the relationship between PET using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and pathological findings and to compare indices obtained by FDG-PET, FDG-PET was performed in 23 patients with untreated malignant lymphoma. Three indices obtained by FDG-PET, tumor-to-normal contrast ratio (TCR), distribution absorption ratio (DAR), k1k2/(k2 + k3), correlated with proliferative activity which was pathologically estimated both by mitotic count and by proportion of cells in all phases of the cell cycle. The relationship did not significantly change according to which of the three indices was chosen. FDG-PET, which shows the proliferative activity of tumors, is considered to be a useful method for managing tumors.

Improved identification of Staphylococcus aureus using a new agglutination test. Results of an international study.

A new reagent for the identification of Staphylococcus aureus, SLIDEX STAPH-KIT, operates on the principle of a latex and red blood cell combination agglutination: red blood cells are coated with fibrinogen for the detection of clumping factor, and latex particles are sensitized with anti-S. aureus serotype 18 monoclonal antibody for the detection of protein A and antigen 18. French strains belonging to serotype 18 are methicillin-resistant. The performance of this reagent was compared with STAPHYSLIDE and STAPHAUREX in Europe (France, Germany, Italy), in the United States and in Japan using 548 methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains, 392 methicillin-sensitive S. aureus strains, and 441 non-aureus staphylococci. The specificity of the three reagents was equivalent (98.8% for SLIDEX STAPH-KIT, 99.1% for STAPHYSLIDE, 98.1% for STAPHAUREX). SLIDEX STAPH-KIT (97.3%) was more sensitive than STAPHYSLIDE (93.5%) and STAPHAUREX (89.7%) for all S. aureus strains due to a higher rate of identified methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains.

Preferential selection of heterologous G3-VP7 gene in the genetic background of simian rotavirus SA11 detected by using a homotypic single-VP7 gene-substitution reassortant.

Introduction of segmented genomes into virion is an important process in viral replication of rotavirus. We previously studied the assortment of the VP7 gene segment (encoding outer capsid protein VP7) in the genetic background of simian rotavirus SA11 (G serotype 3, G3) and found the preferential selection of homologous G3 VP7 gene over VP7 gene of heterologous G serotype (G1, G2 or G4). In the present study, in order to clarify whether or not VP7 gene derived from different G3 rotavirus (heterologous G3-VP7 gene) is also preferentially selected in the SA11 background, a single-VP7 gene-substitution reassortant was prepared from SA11 through multiple steps of coinfection with rotaviruses in vitro. The isolated reassortant, SNR1, possessed VP7 gene derived from canine G3 rotavirus K9 and all other gene segments of SA11 origin, and showed an identical growth characteristic to that of SA11. Amino acid sequence of K9 VP7 gene showed a high degree of identity (93.6%) to SA11 VP7 gene. In analysis by mixed infection and multiple passages of SNR1 and a single VP7 gene (with G1, G2 or G4 specificity) reassortant in the SA11 background, the G3-VP7 gene became predominant at early passage numbers. However, in mixed infection with SA11 and SNR1, homologous G3-VP7 gene (SA11-VP7 gene) was preferentially selected into progenies over heterologous one (K9-VP7 gene). These results together with our previous findings suggested that G3-VP7 gene, irrespective of origin of species, was functionally adapted to the genetic background of SA11, although the homologous gene had a better fit with other SA11 genes than did heterologous one, providing suggestions for efficaciousness of multivalent reassortant rotavirus vaccine.

Selection of rotavirus VP7 gene in the genetic background of simian rotavirus SA11: implications for rotavirus reassortant vaccine development.

We previously reported that the VP7 gene from simian rotavirus SA11 with G-serotype 3(G3-VP7 gene) was preferentially selected in the genetic background of SA11 compared with the G1- or G2-VP7 gene. In the present study, selection of the G4-VP7 gene in competition with G1-, G2- or G3-VP7 gene in the SA11 background was analyzed through mixed infection experiments using SA11 and SA11-human rotavirus single-VP7 gene-substitution reassortants with G-serotypes 1, 2, and 4 (G1-, G2- and G4-reassortant). In virus clones from coinfection of SA11 and G4-reassortant, the frequency of G4 virus decreased to 7% at the 3rd passage and the G4 virus disappeared at the 10th passage, whereas the majority of the clones possessed G3 specificity. However, the predominance of either of the viruses coinfected was not observed in the mixed infection with G4-reassortant and G1- or G2-reassortant. Although growth kinetics of SA11 and G4-reassortant was similar, G4-reassortant showed significantly smaller plaque size than SA11, G1- and G2-reassortant did. These results indicated that the G3-VP7 gene from SA11 might be preferentially selected in the SA11 genetic background compared with the G4-VP7 gene, and suggested that the introduction of a single G4-VP7 gene may affect growth characteristics of recipient virus SA11. These results together with our previous findings suggested the significance of genetic compatibility between recipient viral genes and foreign VP7 gene in the development of multivalent reassortant rotavirus vaccines.

Tumor blood flow measured using dynamic computed tomography.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: A method for measuring the tumor blood flow (TBF) by means of dynamic computed tomography (DCT) was devised and investigated. METHODS: Twenty-seven patients with superficial tumors underwent measurement of TBF by the new DCT method. For all of the 27 patients, the thermal clearance method was employed to measure the relative tumor blood flow (RTBF). For 16 patients, TBF was measured by oxygen-15-gas positron-emission tomography (PET). The TBF values measured by DCT were compared with the RTBF by the thermal clearance method and the TBF by PET. RESULTS: The results demonstrated a linear relationship. CONCLUSIONS: The newly devised DCT method yields reliable data in measuring TBF.

Molecular discrimination of enterotoxin C subtype in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus.

The subtype of staphylococcal enterotoxin C (SEC) of 33 S. aureus clinical isolates was determined by polymerase chain reaction and direct DNA sequencing of a portion of the SEC gene encoding the SEC subtype-specific region. With the exception of a single strain with the SEC2 gene, all other strains showing different biologic and genetic properties were proved to possess the SEC3 gene.

Glomerular thromboxane contributes to pressor response in deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension.

To assess the role of renal thromboxane in a salt sensitive pressor response in hypertension, urinary excretion of thromboxane and its release from isolated glomeruli and renal papillae were examined in deoxycorticosterone acetate treated rats with normal (0.6%, n = 12) and high (4%, n = 12) salt diets for 8 weeks. Mean blood pressure, measured directly by an implanted aortic catheter, was higher in the high salt diet group than in the normal salt diet group (146 +/- 2 vs 119 +/- 2 mmHg, P<0.01). Urinary excretion of thromboxane B2 and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha in the high salt group were significantly higher than those in the normal salt diet group, but there was no difference in urinary excretion of prostaglandin E2 between the two groups. Release of thromboxane B2, 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha, and prostaglandin E2 from isolated glomeruli in the high salt diet group increased significantly by 104%, 55%, and 74%, respectively, compared with the normal salt diet group. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that significant contributory factors for mean blood pressure in deoxycorticosterone acetate treated rats were urinary excretion of sodium (F=14.187, P<0.01) and release of thromboxane B2 from isolated glomeruli (F=4.135, P<0.05). The unstandardized coefficient (R) calculated from the regression function using these two factors was 0.875 and R2 was 0.765. The manifest synthesis of thromboxane in renal glomeruli has an important role on salt sensitive pressor response in deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension of rats.

T-Cell type acute lymphoblastic leukemia following cyclosporin A therapy for aplastic anemia.

Cyclosporin A (CsA) is used to prevent rejection in transplantation and to treat autoimmune and hematologic diseases such as aplastic anemia. However, the tumor growth-promoting effect of CsA remains controversial. We report the case of a 24-year-old man who developed acute lymphoblastic leukemia of precursor-T-cell origin after 75 months of treatment with CsA for aplastic anemia. The surface antigen phenotype of his leukemic cells was CD2+, CD3+, CD5+, CD7+, CD4-, CD8-, CD10-, CD20-, CD34-, CD41-, and CD56-. Southern blot analysis revealed a monoclonal rearrangement of T-cell receptor-Jgamma nongermline fragments in HindIII digestion.

Endoscopic incision of persistent ureteral infoldings.

We report 2 cases of persistent ureteral infolding in a four-month-old infant and an eight-year-old boy, both presenting with hydronephrosis. Initial diagnostic evaluation showed multiple pleats in the upper ureter. Endoscopic incision of the pleats relieved hydronephrosis. The concept of persistent ureteral infolding seems to apply to these cases.