Giant Faraday Rotation in Metal-Fluoride Nanogranular Films.

Magneto-optical Faraday effect is widely applied in optical devices and is indispensable for optical communications and advanced information technology. However, the bismuth garnet Bi-YIG is only the Faraday material since 1972. Here we introduce (Fe, FeCo)-(Al-,Y-fluoride) nanogranular films exhibiting giant Faraday effect, 40 times larger than Bi-YIG. These films have a nanocomposite structure, in which nanometer-sized Fe, FeCo ferromagnetic granules are dispersed in a Al,Y-fluoride matrix.

Esperanto for histones: CENP-A, not CenH3, is the centromeric histone H3 variant.

The first centromeric protein identified in any species was CENP-A, a divergent member of the histone H3 family that was recognised by autoantibodies from patients with scleroderma-spectrum disease. It has recently been suggested to rename this protein CenH3. Here, we argue that the original name should be maintained both because it is the basis of a long established nomenclature for centromere proteins and because it avoids confusion due to the presence of canonical histone H3 at centromeres.

Ticlopidine-induced hepatotoxicity is associated with specific human leukocyte antigen genomic subtypes in Japanese patients: a preliminary case-control study.

Genetic risk factors for ticlopidine-induced hepatotoxicity were determined in 22 Japanese patients with ticlopidine-induced hepatotoxicity and 85 Japanese patients who tolerated ticlopidine therapy without experiencing adverse reactions. There was a significant correlation between ticlopidine-induced hepatotoxicity and five human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles: HLA-A*3303, HLA-B*4403, HLA-Cw*1403, HLA-DRB1*1302 and HLA-DQB1*0604 (corrected probability (P)-value (Pc)<0.01). In particular HLA-A*3303 was present in 15 (68%) of the 22 patients with ticlopidine-induced hepatotoxicity and in 12 (14%) of the 85 ticlopidine-tolerant patients (odds ratio, 13.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 4.40-38.59; the corrected P-value (Pc)=1.24 x 10(-5)). HLA-A*3303 was present in 12 (86%) of the 14 patients with ticlopidine-induced cholestatic hepatotoxicity (odds ratio, 36.50; 95% CI, 7.25-183.82, Pc=7.32 x 10(-7)). Ticlopidine-induced severe cholestatic hepatotoxicity occurred more frequently in subjects with HLA-A*3303 and its haplotype in Japanese patients. These findings may explain the high incidence of ticlopidine-induced hepatotoxicity in Japanese patients mediated via an immune-mediated mechanism.

[Tricuspid valve plasty associated with removal of an infected pacemaker lead: report of a case].

We performed tricuspid valve plasty in a 72-year-old woman with pacemaker lead infection and septicemia. All the infected pacemaker system was removed under cardiopulmonary bypass. Because of advanced adhesion and infection, we needed partial resection and plasty of the tricuspid valve. Postoperative echocardiography revealed only mild tricuspid regurgitation and the recurrence of infection has been avoided. Our technique of valve plasty was useful in a patient with advanced infection of both pacemaker leads and tricuspid valve leaflets.

[The third repair for pseudoaneurysm following Bentall procedure: report of a case].

A 77-year-old male, who had undergone the Bentall procedure 27 years ago, was admitted to our hospital for the repair of postoperative pseudoaneurysm. This was the 3rd repair, and the pseudoaneurysm was close to the sternum. Total extracorporeal circulation was established with femorofemoral cannulation and sternotomy was performed under deep hypothermia. During sternotomy, we encountered massive hemorrhage due to injury of the aortic graft. We coped effectively with the situation utilizing temporary circulatory arrest. Aortic graft reimplantation was performed under continuous retrograde cerebral perfusion. Collapse of the suture line of the left coronary orifice was recognized and was reconstructed. The patient was discharged uneventfully on the 26th postoperative day.

[Treatment strategy for acute type A aortic dissection; how to manage mesenteric ischemia].

Mesenteric ischemia is a dreaded complication of acute type A aortic dissection. From January 1994 to December 2004, 134 patients with acute type A aortic dissection were operated. Eleven patients showed postoperative mesenteric ischemia. Mortality of such patients was much higher than that without mesenteric ischemia (81.8 vs. 10.6% , p < 0.0001). Preoperative mesenteric and/or lower extremity ischemia were revealed to be the risk factors of postoperative mesenteric ischemia. Our strategy to manage these patients is as follows; patients who are suffering mesenteric and/or lower extremity ischemia preoperatively, or those whose computed tomography (CT) shows stenosis, obstruction, or dissection of the superior mesenteric artery, should be recognized as high-risk patients of postoperative mesenteric ischemia. Their mesenteric circulation should be examined directly with laparotomy after the central repair. If the mesenteric circulation seems to be suboptimal, iliac artery-superior mesenteric artery bypass should be performed.

[Clinical outcome of aortic valve replacement with 19-mm prosthetic valve in elderly patients].

From 1979 to June 2005, 90 patients aged 65 or older underwent aortic valve replacement with 19-mm prosthetic valve. They were 84 women and 6 men, with a mean age of 74. The mean body surface area was 1.35 m2. Bioprosthetic valves were implanted in 77 patients (85.6%). In-hospital mortality was 2.2% (2 of 90). There were 13 late deaths. New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class improved to class I in most of survivors. Survival rates for 5 and 10 years were 84.9 and 71.2%, respectively. The outcome of aortic valve replacement with 19-mm prosthetic valve in elderly patients was excellent.

[Subpectoral implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation in a 20 kg-weighted child].

An 11-year-old boy (weight 20 kg, height 124 cm), who was survived from ventricular fibrillation due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, admitted to our institution for implantable cardioveter defibrillator (ICD) implantation. We implanted a transvenous single coil lead and a device (Medtronic model 6943, GEM II VR 7229 Cx) in the subpectoral pocket. We selected this system because of less restriction on normal cardiac function, low operative morbidity, and expectation of long-term defibrillation threshold stability. Subpectoral implantation is cosmetically acceptable comparing with abdominal area. Lead insertion by cut-down technique is feasible and recommended to avoid lead-related complications. ICDs are infrequently used in pediatric patients and prospective study with long-term follow-up will be required to ascertain the prognosis for young survivors from sudden cardiac death.

[Pacemaker therapy in Kearns-Sayre syndrome].

Kearns-Sayre syndrome is regarded as a type of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy accompanied with mitochondrial DNA abnormality of the muscle. Diagnosis of this disease is based upon the progressive external ophthalmoplegia, atypical retinal pigmentation and cardiac conduction block. We report two clinical cases of this disorder treated with permanent pacemaker implantation at a 20 year old man (patient 1) and a 27 years old woman (patient 2). Patient 1 with bifascicular block at 19 years old progressed into complete heart block at 20 years old. Patient 2 with complete heart block was occurred "torsade de pointes." Several problems of this disease in permanent pacing should be considered the patients' small size, pacing mode selection and coexistence of congenital heart disease. Routine electrocardiography is recommended for these patients and bifascicular block in this disease constitutes a definite indication for prophylactic pacemaker implantation.

Clearance of extracellular and cell-associated amyloid beta peptide through viral expression of neprilysin in primary neurons.

Amyloid beta peptide (Abeta), the pathogenic agent of Alzheimer's disease (AD), is a physiological metabolite constantly anabolized and catabolized in the brain. We previously demonstrated that neprilysin is the major Abeta-degrading enzyme in vivo. To investigate whether or not manipulation of neprilysin activity in the brain would be an effective strategy for regulating Abeta levels, we expressed neprilysin in primary cortical neurons using a Sindbis viral vector and examined the effect on Abeta metabolism. The corresponding recombinant protein, expressed in the cell bodies and processes, exhibited thiorphan-sensitive endopeptidase activity, whereas a mutant neprilysin with an amino acid substitution in the active site did not show any such activity. Expression of the wild-type neprilysin, but not the mutant, led to significant decreases in both the Abeta40 and 42 levels in the culture media in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, neprilysin expression also resulted in reducing cell-associated Abeta, which could be more neurotoxic than extracellular Abeta. These results indicate that the manipulation of neprilysin activity in neurons, the major source of Abeta in the brain, would be a relevant strategy for controlling the Abeta levels and thus the Abeta-associated pathology in brain tissues.

Dissociation of m-calpain subunits occurs after autolysis of the N-terminus of the catalytic subunit, and is not required for activation.

Calpain is a heterodimeric, intracellular Ca(2+)-dependent, "bio-modulator" that alters the properties of substrates through site-specific proteolysis. It has been proposed that calpains are activated by autolysis of the N-terminus of the large subunit and/or its dissociation into the subunits. It is, however, unclear whether the dissociation into subunits is required for the expression of protease activity and/or for in vivo function. Recently, the crystal structure of m-calpain in the absence of Ca(2+) has been resolved. The 3D structure clearly shows that the N-terminus of the m-calpain large subunit (mCL) makes contact with the 30K subunit, suggesting that autolysis of the N-terminus of mCL changes the interaction of both subunits. To examine the relationship between autolysis, dissociation, and activation, we made and analysed a series of N-terminal mutants of mCL that mimic the autolysed forms or have substituted amino acid residue(s) interacting with 30K. As a result, the mutant m-calpains, which are incapable of autolysis, did not dissociate into subunits, whereas those lacking the N-terminal 19 residues (Delta 19), but not those lacking only nine residues (Delta 9), dissociated into subunits even in the absence of Ca(2+). Moreover, both Delta 9 and Delta 19 mutants showed an equivalent reduced Ca(2+) requirement for protease activity. These results indicate that autolysis is necessary for the dissociation of the m-calpain subunits, and that the dissociation occurs after, but is not necessary for, activation.

Surgical repair of coronary arteriovenous fistula: a simple and useful approach to identify the fistulous communication.

In repairing coronary arteriovenous fistula (CAVF), it is very important to interrupt the fistulous tract without compromise of normal coronary vessel flow. In our case, selective coronary arteriography showed that the CAVF from the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) was very close to the native coronary artery and had a very broad and short neck. We describe a simple and useful approach, by using both antegrade and retrograde coronary perfusion, that makes it possible to certainly protect myocardium and to clearly distinguish the normal native coronary artery from the fistulous tract.

[Two successful cases of coronary artery bypass grafting followed by transluminal carotid angioplasty with stenting].

In coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), carotid artery disease is an important factor that affects the incidence of perioperative stroke. The incidence of stroke following cardiac surgery is about 5 times higher in patients with carotid lesions than in patients without them. However, therapeutic strategies for those cases have not established in recent years. We report 2 successful cases of CABG following transluminal carotid angioplasty with stenting (TCAS) for concomitant coronary and carotid artery disease. The first case was a 71-year-old male who had left main trunk (LMT) and three-vessel coronary artery disease (CAD) and a 90% stenosis of the right internal carotid artery (ICA). One month after TCAS, triple CABG with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was performed. The second case was a 75-year-old male who had LMT and single vessel CAD and a 99.9% stenosis of the lt. ICA. Considering his poor general conditions, combined strategy of off-pump CABG and PTCA was performed following TCAS. During and after cardiac surgery, they had no cerebral complications. Postoperative myocardial scintigraphy showed improved imaging in both cases. Preoperative TCAS is a safe and minimally invasive procedure for the patients with carotid artery stenosis who need CABG.

Stepwise graded refractive-index profiles for design of a narrow-bandpass filter.

A combination of stepwise graded refractive-index profiles and a cavity structure is used for designing narrow-bandpass filters of TiO(2)/SiO(2) multilayer films upon BK7 glass substrates. Symmetrical profiles of stepwise graded refractive indices result in high transmittance of passbands for the designed filters. The bandwidth of the narrow-bandpass filter is controlled by adjustment of parameters such as the thickness and the number of layers in the multilayer stack. This design is proposed as a new and simple method for coating synthesis of optical filters.

Human CENP-H multimers colocalize with CENP-A and CENP-C at active centromere--kinetochore complexes.

Centromere and kinetochore proteins have a pivotal role in centromere structure, kinetochore formation and sister chromatid separation. However, the molecular architecture and the precise dynamic function of the centromere-kinetochore complex during mitosis remain poorly understood. Here we report the isolation and characterization of human CENP-H. Confocal microscopic analyses of HeLa cells with anti-human CENP-H-specific antibody demonstrated that CENP-H colocalizes with inner kinetochore plate proteins CENP-A and CENP-C in both interphase and metaphase. CENP-H was present outside centromeric heterochromatin, where CENP-B is localized, and inside the kinetochore corona, where CENP-E is localized during prometaphase. Furthermore, CENP-H was detected at neocentromeres, but not at inactive centromeres in stable dicentric chromosomes. In vitro binding assays of human CENP-H with centromere-kinetochore proteins suggest that the CENP-H binds to itself and MCAK, but not to CENP-A, CENP-B or CENP-C. CENP-H multimers were observed in cells in which both FLAG-tagged CENP-H and hemagglutinin-tagged CENP-H were expressed. These results suggest that CENP-H multimers localize constitutively to the inner kinetochore plate and play an important fundamental role in organization and function of the active human centromere-kinetochore complex.

Molecular cloning and expression of aminopeptidase A isoforms from rat hippocampus.

The full-length cDNA encoding aminopeptidase A (APAL) was cloned from a rat hippocampus cDNA library. A short variant aminopeptidase A (APAS), produced by deletion, was also cloned. In the case of APAL, the longest open reading frame encodes 945 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 108 kDa, and the deduced amino acid sequence shows 76, 86 and 78% identity with its human, murine and porcine counterparts, respectively. Rat aminopeptidase A mRNAs were detected in the kidney, liver, heart and brain by Northern blot analysis. When overexpressed in COS-1 cells, APAL shows apparent aminopeptidase A activity, whereas APAS does not.

[Experimental study of calcification of the xenopericardia].

UNLABELLED: We studied the calcification of four kinds of xenopericardium used in cardiac surgery. Group 1: bovine Pericardium (Tissueguard. Biovascular, inc), Group 2: bovine pericardium (No-React. Shelhigh, inc), Group 3: porcine pericardium (Rigg. Polystan, inc), Group 4: equine pericardium (Xenomedica. Baxter-Edwards, inc). Each pericardium was implanted in abdominal subcutaneous pouches of rats. The mean calcium content of each Group after eight weeks of subcutaneous implantation were 0.67 +/- 0.15 mg/g, 0.51 +/- 0.15 mg/g, 161 +/- 18 mg/g and 173 +/- 18 mg/g in Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4, respectively. There was no significant difference between Group 1 and 2, or between Group 3 and 4. On the other hand, there were significant differences between Group 1, 2 and Group 3, 4 (p < 0.001). The deposition of calcium and inflammatory changes were markedly observed microscopically in Group 3 and 4, but in Group 1 and 2, they were only slightly observed. CONCLUSION: Two kinds of bovine pericardium are superior to both porcine and equine pericardium in the point of less calcium deposition and inflammatory cellular response after implantation.

Dpb11 controls the association between DNA polymerases alpha and epsilon and the autonomously replicating sequence region of budding yeast.

Dpb11 is required for chromosomal DNA replication and the S-phase checkpoint in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we report detection of a physical complex containing Dpb11 and DNA polymerase epsilon (Dpb11-Polepsilon complex). During the S phase of the cell cycle, Dpb11 associated preferentially with DNA fragments containing autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs), at the same time as Polepsilon associated with these fragments. Association of Dpb11 and Polepsilon with these fragments was mutually dependent, suggesting that the Dpb11-Polepsilon complex associates with the ARS. Moreover, Dpb11 was required for the association of Polalpha-primase with the fragments. Thus, it seems likely that association of the Dpb11-Polepsilon complex with the ARS fragments is required for the association of the Polalpha-primase complex. Hydroxyurea inhibits late-origin firing in S. cerevisiae, and the checkpoint genes, RAD53 and MEC1, are involved in this inhibition. In the presence of hydroxyurea at temperatures permissive for cell growth, Polepsilon in dpb11-1 cells associated with early- and late-origin fragments. In wild-type cells, however, it associated only with early-origin fragments. This indicates that Dpb11 may also be involved in the regulation of late-origin firing. Overall, these results suggest that Dpb11 controls the association between DNA polymerases alpha and epsilon and the ARS.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of recombinant full-length human m-calpain.

m-Calpain constitutes the prototype of the superfamily of neutral calcium-activated cysteine proteinases. It is a heterodimer consisting of an 80 and a 30 kDa subunit. Recombinant full-length human m-calpain has been crystallized using macro-seeding techniques and vapour-diffusion methods. Two different monoclinic crystal forms (space group P2(1)) were obtained from a solution containing polyethylene glycol (M(W) = 10 000) as a precipitating agent. Complete data sets have been collected to 2.3 and 3.0 A resolution using cryo-cooling conditions and synchrotron radiation. The unit-cell parameters are a = 64.86, b = 133.97, c = 78.00 A, beta = 102.43 degrees and a = 51.80, b = 171.36, c = 64.66 A, beta = 94.78 degrees, respectively. The V(m) values indicate that there is one heterodimer in each asymmetric unit.