Autonomic and sensory nerve modulation of peristalsis in the upper urinary tract.

The primary function of the upper urinary tract is to propel urine and various water-soluble toxic compounds from the kidneys to the bladder for storage and evacuation to maintain body ionic balance and contribute to the regulation of blood volume and pressure. The mechanism by which the upper urinary tract propels urine has long been considered to be myogenic in origin as peristaltic contractions in vivo and in vitro (pyeloureteric peristalsis) propagate in a manner little affected by drugs that block nerve conduction or the sympathetic and parasympathetic transmission. However, it is now well established that the release of intrinsic prostaglandins and neuropeptides from primary sensory nerves (PSNs) helps to maintain pyeloureteric peristalsis. Electrical field stimulation of PSNs evokes species-specific positive inotropic and chronotropic effects that have been attributed to release of excitatory tachykinins superimposed on negative inotropic and chronotropic effects associated with the release of calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP), a rise in cellular cyclic-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and a protein kinase A-dependent activation of glibenclamide-sensitive ATP-dependent K+ (KATP) channels. This review summarises the existing evidence of the nervous control of the upper urinary tract and recent evidence suggesting that the autonomic innervation may indirectly modulate pyeloureteric peristalsis via the activation of PSN nicotinic receptors and via the modulation of KV7 channels located on interstitial cells within the renal pelvis wall.

[Thoracoscopic surgery for intractable pneumothorax under epidural and local aesthesia].

Thoracoscopic surgery under epidural and local anesthesia for intractable pneumothorax were performed in 26 patients. A total of 29 thoracoscopic operation were performed in 26 patients. Twenty-three patients undervent only a single thoracoscopic operation, and 3 patients underwent twice thoracoscopic operations. We could control the air leak of intractable pneumothorax with the covering of polyglycolic acid sheets using aerosolized fibrin glue in 25 patients. In all patients postoperative course was uneventful and there was no operative death.

Synthesis and physico-chemical properties of peptides in soil humic substances.

Soil humic substances (HS) are heterologous, polydispersive, and multi-functional organometallic macromolecules ubiquitous in soils and sediments. They are key players in the maintenance of the belowground ecosystems and in the bioavailability of both organic and inorganic contaminants. It is widely assumed that the peptidic substructures of HS are readily degraded and therefore do not contribute significantly to interactions with contaminants such as toxic metals. To investigate the turnover of humified peptides, laboratory soil aging experiments were conducted with 13C-glucose or 15N-nitrate for 8.5 months. Evidence for random-coil peptidic structures in the labeled HS was obtained from 2-D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (pyro-GC-MS), and circular dichroism data. Interaction of metals with the peptidic carbonyls of labeled HS was rationalized from the solid-state NMR data. Detailed 13C and 15N labeling patterns of amino acid residues in the acid hydrolysates of HS acquired from NMR and GC-MS revealed two pools of peptides, i.e. one extant (unlabeled) and the other, newly humified with little isotopic scrambling (fully labeled). The persistence of pre-existing peptidic structures indicates their resistance to degradation while the presence of fully labeled peptidic amino acids suggests wholesale incorporation of newly synthesized peptides into HS. These findings are contrary to the general notion that humified peptides are readily degraded.

[Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma of the lung; report of a case].

We experienced a case of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma of the lung. The patient was 50-year-old woman. She had been pointed out a lung abnormal shadow on chest X-ray. A lung biopsy by a bronchofiberscope failed to diagnose, and an open lung biopsy under video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) offered diagnosis as a MALT lymphoma. We performed the tumor resection (a upper-middle lobectomy of the right lung with hilar and mediastinal lymph node dissection under VATS). The post-operative course of the patient was uneventful and she has been free from the disease until now. MALT lymphoma has been a comparatively rare disease, but once the curative resection is performed the prognosis of the disease is good.

[Use of an expandable metallic stent in 4 patients with superior vena syndrome].

Recently developed expandable metallic stents have been adopted to superior vena cava syndrome with good results. We inserted stents into the superior vena cava in 4 patients with superior vena cava syndrome. The results were comfortable and no complications. We should consider the stenting as the first choice for superior vena cava syndrome.

[A case of video-assisted thoracic surgery for congenital esophago-bronchial fistula].

A 42-year-old male was admitted to our hospital because barium esophagograpm showed an esophago-bronchial fistula with an esophageal deverticulum. He has had frequent episodes of cough at drinking water since childhood. A chest CT scan showed mild inflammatory change and bronchiectasis in the right S6. Division of the fistula by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) was performed. There was no evidence of inflammation and adherent lymph nodes around the fistula. This case was diagnosed as a congenital esophago-bronchial fistula by operative findings and clinical course. The fistula was dissected easily and divided by an auto-suturing instrument. The affected lung could be preserved. The patient was discharged on the 10th postoperative day. VATS is an effective treatment for the patients of congenital esophago-bronchial fistula (Braimbrige type I and II), if they are not accompanied with pulmonary abscess or pleural empyema.

Comprehensive analysis of organic ligands in whole root exudates using nuclear magnetic resonance and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Root exudates in the rhizosphere are vital to the normal life cycle of plants. A key factor is phytometallophores, which function in the nutritional acquisition of iron and zinc and are likely to be important in the uptake of pollutant metals by plants. Unraveling the biochemistry of these compounds is tedious using traditional analyses, which also fall short in providing the overall chemical composition or in detecting unknown or unexpected organic ligands in the exudates. Here, we demonstrate a comprehensive analysis of the exudate composition directly by 1H and 13C multidimensional NMR and silylation GC-MS. The advantages are (a) minimal sample preparation, with no loss of unknown compounds, and reduced net analysis time; (b) structure-based analysis for universal detection and identification; and (c) simultaneous analysis of a large number of constituents in a complex mixture. Using barley root exudates, a large number of common organic and amino acids were identified. Three derivatives of mugineic acid phytosiderophores were also determined, the major one being 3-epihydroxymugineic acid, for which complete 1H and 13C NMR assignments were obtained. Quantification of all major components using these methods revealed a sevenfold increase in total exudation under moderate iron deficiency, with 3-epihydroxymugineic acid comprising approximately 22% of the exudate mixture. As iron deficiency increased, total quantities of exudate per gram of root remained unchanged, but the relative quantity of carbon allocated to phytosiderophore increased to approximately 50% of the total exudate in response to severe iron deficiency.

Hypoxia does not affect rate of ATP synthesis and energy metabolism in rice shoot tips as measured by 31P NMR in vivo.

The cytoplasmic pH, concentrations of phosphate metabolites, and rate of ATP synthesis were measured in vivo in excised rice shoot tips under normoxic and hypoxic conditions using 31P NMR. When supplied with glucose, the shoot tips grew rapidly and were relatively unaffected by hypoxia. The cytoplasmic pH decreased transiently by only 0.2 units during hypoxia, and the concentration of ATP was maintained to at least 90% of the normoxic level. Most importantly, the unidirectional rate constant of ATP synthesis from free phosphate decreased less than 25% during hypoxia. This is in contrast to other actively growing tissues such as the maize root tip. gamma-Aminobutyrate was the major nonvolatile fermentation end product after 22 h of hypoxia. Other hypoxia-induced changes included a modest increase in [Ala] and [succinate] as well as a substantial decrease in [malate].

Temperature dependence of arginine kinase reaction in the tail muscle of live Sycionia ingentis as measured in vivo by 31P-NMR driven saturation transfer.

We have employed the driven 31P-NMR saturation transfer method to measure in vivo the temperature dependence of the forward and reverse unidirectional fluxes of the arginine kinase reaction in the tail muscle of a live shrimp, Sycionia ingentis. Our results indicated that neither the forward nor the reverse rate constants of this reaction were significantly temperature-dependent between 8 and 16 degrees C, in contrast to the kinetic characteristics of isolated arginine kinases.

[A case of ruptured distal arch aneurysm associated with postoperative unilateral respiratory disorders].

This paper describes a patient with ruptured distal arch aneurysm associated with postoperative unilateral respiratory disorders whose life was able to be saved by surgery. The patient was a 68-year old male who underwent emergency surgery due to sealed rupture of distal arch aneurysm while preparing for selective surgery. Artificial graft replacement of the distal arch was carried out under centrifugal pump bypass. Respiration was controlled using differential lung ventilation (DLV) techniques. This was done because weaning from the respirator was difficult due to decreases in lung-thorax compliance on the opened chest side after surgery. Weaning from the respirator was achieved on the 10th day of illness after surgery. Postoperative prognosis of ruptured thoracic aneurysm is extremely poor, with high mortality being attributable to the fact that most patients are elderly and the incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular complications is very high. In addition, problems are often encountered in postoperative respiration management in patients with thoracic aneurysm who need open chest surgery. DLV seems to be a useful support in such patients who have underlying respiratory disorders.

Sublethal effects of pentachlorophenol in the abalone (Haliotis rufescens) as measured by in vivo 31P NMR spectroscopy.

The sublethal biochemical effects of pentachlorophenol (PCP) were investigated in live, intact red abalones (Haliotis rufescens), using a flow-through exposure system, by in vivo 31P NMR spectroscopy. Based on rangefinding tests (6-hr LC50 = 1.6 mg/L; 6-hr no-observable-effect-level (NOEL) = 0.8 mg/L), three abalones were separately exposed to a sublethal concentration (1.2 mg/L) for 5 hr, followed by a 13 hr recovery period. Effects in foot muscle included both a decrease in phosphoarginine and an increase in inorganic monophosphate concentrations ([PA] and [Pi], respectively); both foot muscle concentrations of adenosine triphosphate [ATP] and intracellular pH (pHi) also declined. Parallel in vitro experiments revealed that concentrations of glycerol 3-phosphate, lactate, citrate, succinate, malate, and alanine (Ala) all increased, while those of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and glutamine (Gln) remained stable. Also, these effects were not evident until 2 hr into exposure, possibly the time required for PCP to attain an effective concentration in foot muscle. During recovery, while Pi declined to pre-exposure levels, [PA] completely recovered in only one individual. Also, realkalinization of pHi was similar to recovery of [Pi], and ATP returned to near-initial levels, as did glycerol 3-phosphate, lactate, succinate, malate, and Ala; glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, citrate, and Gln levels declined. Recovery responses corresponded to the time for PCP clearance from foot muscle. The effects of PCP were similar to those of hypoxia, fatigue, hypersalinity, and arginine kinase inhibitors, and so sublethal PCP concentrations may also inhibit electron transport and arginine kinase as well as uncouple mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in intact molluscs. Thus, the effects of pollutants on key biochemical processes may now be measured in intact aquatic organisms as they occur, improving our ability to accurately assess the environmental effects of pollutants in the laboratory.

[An operative case of benign schwannoma originating in the intrathoracic vagal nerve].

A 50-years-old man was admitted with cough and abnormal shadow on the chest film. The tumor originated from the left vagal nerve in the antero-superior mediastinum. Subcapsular extirpation was performed to save the nerve function, since the tumor located in the site proximal to the branching point of the recurrence nerve. Pathological diagnosis was a benign schwannoma. Though H-E and Bodian stain did not show any nerve fibers in the schwannoma, postoperative hoarseness arose. In this country, 4 cases of subcapsular extirpation have been performed, but all of them had postoperative hoarseness. We think that postoperative hoarseness cannot be prevented by the subcapsular extirpation.

In vivo 23Na and 31P NMR measurement of a tonoplast Na+/H+ exchange process and its characteristics in two barley cultivars.

A Na+ uptake-associated vacuolar alkalinization was observed in roots of two barley cultivars (Arivat and the more salt-tolerant California Mariout) by using 23Na and 31P in vivo NMR spectroscopy. A NaCl uptake-associated broadening was also noted for both vacuolar Pi and intracellular Na NMR peaks, consistent with Na+ uptake into the same compartment as the vacuolar Pi. A close coupling of Na+ with H+ transport (presumably the Na+/H+ antiport) in vivo was evidenced by qualitative and quantitative correlations between Na+ accumulation and vacuolar alkalinization for both cultivars. Prolongation of the low NaCl pretreatment (30 mM) increased the activity of the putative antiport in Arivat but reduced it in California Mariout. This putative antiport also showed a dependence on NaCl concentration for California Mariout but not for Arivat. No cytoplasmic acidification accompanied the antiporter activity for either cultivar. The response of adenosine phosphates indicated that ATP utilization exceeded the capacity for ATP synthesis in Arivat, but the two processes seemed balanced in California Mariout. These comparisons provide clues to the role of the tonoplast Na+/H+ antiport and compensatory cytoplasmic adjustments including pH, osmolytes, and energy phosphates in governing the different salt tolerance of the two cultivars.

Alterations in tight junctions of human endometrial epithelial cells during normal menstrual cycle--freeze-fracture electron microscopic study.

The structural change in the tight junction between human endometrial epithelial cells during the normal menstrual cycle was observed by means of freeze-fracture replica electron microscopy. Tight junctions between epithelial cells of the endometrial basal layer showed no alterations in structure during the menstrual cycle, while those between epithelial cells of the functional layer exhibited remarkable changes synchronized with the menstrual cycle; in the early proliferative phase, the tight junctions were composed of strands running mainly parallel to the luminal surface and the depth of the junctions from the luminal surface was 0.57 +/- 0.04 micron (Mean +/- S.E.), whereas in the late proliferative phase the junction formed a prominent network of strands 0.80 +/- 0.04 micron deep. In the early secretory phase, the junctions developed mostly as a complex network, and the depth was 0.96 +/- 0.04 micron. In the late secretory phase, the network consisting of the junctions looked disorderly and the depth of the junctions was reduced to 0.71 +/- 0.04 micron. As a conclusion, it was suggested that the tight junction in the human endometrial epithelium tended to develop or diminish according to the phase of the menstrual cycle.