Triaxial testing system for pressure core analysis using image processing technique.

In this study, a newly developed innovative triaxial testing system to investigate strength, deformation behavior, and/or permeability of gas hydrate bearing-sediments in deep sea is described. Transport of the pressure core from the storage chamber to the interior of the sealing sleeve of a triaxial cell without depressurization was achieved. An image processing technique was used to capture the motion and local deformation of a specimen in a transparent acrylic triaxial pressure cell and digital photographs were obtained at each strain level during the compression test. The material strength was successfully measured and the failure mode was evaluated under high confining and pore water pressures.

Induction of double ovulation in mares using deslorelin acetate.

This study aimed to determine whether deslorelin acetate could induce double ovulation in mares. In Experiment 1, eight mares were treated with prostaglandin on Day 8 (D8) after ovulation, then treated with saline or with 100 µg of a controlled-release formulation of deslorelin acetate vehicle intramuscularly (IM) every 12h from D8 after ovulation until at least two follicles reached 33 mm. At this time, ovulation was induced with 2500 IU of hCG. Artificial insemination was performed 24h after induction, and embryos were collected on the eighth day after ovulation was first detected. In Experiment 2, 112 estrous cycles in 56 mares were studied. In this experiment, the deslorelin acetate protocol was initiated only in mares that achieved a follicle with a diameter of at least 25 mm and at least one second follicle with a diameter≥20mm was detected, at which time 100 µg deslorelin acetate or saline was administered IM every 12h. The other procedures were similar to those described in Experiment 1. The variables studied were analyzed using Student's t-test and Fisher's exact test. In Experiment 1, only two mares in deslorelin group having second follicles of 20-25 mm on responded with double ovulation. In the second experiment, 82% of treated mares responded with double ovulation, and the embryo recovery per estrous cycle was 1.12 and 0.57 in the group treated with deslorelin acetate and the control group, respectively (P<0.05). Deslorelin acetate is effective in inducing double ovulation in mares using the protocol proposed. On average, it allows for the recovery of one embryo by uterine flushing.

Evaluation of essential and variable residues of nukacin ISK-1 by NNK scanning.

Nukacin ISK-1, a type-A(II) lantibiotic, comprises 27 amino acids with a distinct linear N-terminal and a globular C-terminal region. To identify the positional importance or redundancy of individual residues responsible for nukacin ISK-1 antimicrobial activity, we replaced the native codons of the parent peptide with NNK triplet oligonucleotides in order to generate a bank of nukacin ISK-1 variants. The bioactivity of each peptide variant was evaluated by colony overlay assay, and hence we identified three Lys residues (Lys1, Lys2 and Lys3) that provided electrostatic interactions with the target membrane and were significantly variable. The ring structure of nukacin ISK-1 was found to be crucially important as replacing the ring-forming residues caused a complete loss of bioactivity. In addition to the ring-forming residues, Gly5, His12, Asp13, Met16, Asn17 and Gln20 residues were found to be essential for antimicrobial activity; Val6, Ile7, Val10, Phe19, Phe21, Val22, Phe23 and Thr24 were relatively variable; and Ser4, Pro8, His15 and Ser27 were extensively variable relative to their positions. We obtained two variants, Asp13Glu and Val22Ile, which exhibited a twofold higher specific activity compared with the wild-type and are the first reported type-A(II) lantibiotic mutant peptides with increased potency.

Comparison of duodenal stent placement with surgical gastrojejunostomy for palliation in patients with duodenal obstructions caused by pancreaticobiliary malignancies.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Palliative treatment for duodenal stenosis with an enteral stent is effective in enhancing the quality of life of patients with duodenal obstruction. There have been no thorough comparisons of duodenal stent placement with standard surgical gastrojejunostomy. The present study evaluated the outcome of duodenal stent placement and surgical gastrojejunostomy for palliation of duodenal stenosis caused by pancreaticobiliary malignancies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Medical records for patients who underwent palliative enteral stenting during the past 9 years were retrospectively reviewed, and the patients' clinical outcome was compared with that in patients who underwent open surgical gastrojejunostomy during the same period. Patients who underwent prophylactic gastrojejunostomy were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Twenty patients (11 men, nine women; mean age 71.8 years) with pancreaticobiliary malignancy underwent palliative enteral stenting (stent group). Nineteen patients (12 men, seven women; mean age 68.7 years) with pancreaticobiliary malignancies underwent surgical gastrojejunostomy (bypass group). In the stent group, the diagnoses were 12 pancreatic cancers, six gallbladder cancers, one bile duct cancer, and one ampullary cancer. In the bypass group, the diagnoses were 14 pancreatic cancers and five gallbladder cancers. There were no significant differences between the two groups with regard to clinical background. Both procedures were successful. There were no differences between the two groups with regard to the technical or clinical success rates, patient survival, possibility of discharge, need for parenteral nutrition, or incidence of complications. However, the time from the procedure to resumption of food intake was shorter in the stent group than in the bypass group (1 day vs. 9 days; P < 0.0001). Improvement in the performance score after the procedure was observed more frequently in the stent group (65 % vs. 26.3 %; P < 0.05). In terms of the median hospital stay from the time of the procedure to the time of initial discharge home (12 patients vs. nine patients), there was no statistical difference (15 days vs. 30 days) due to the small size of the sample. There was no procedure-related mortality in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Palliative stent placement was more beneficial than surgical gastrojejunostomy in enhancing the quality of life of patients with duodenal obstruction due to pancreaticobiliary malignancies.

Topological manifestations of surface-roughening collapse in Langmuir monolayers.

A transition from surface-roughening collapse to a random network collapse has been investigated in fatty acid Langmuir monolayers. In contrast to the random network crack pattern, the surface-roughening crack pattern grows on a much longer time scale and on a much shorter length scale. A change in the isotherm from a surface pressure "spike" to a "plateau" occurs at the transition. In the surface-roughening regime, the pattern is manifested by the emergence of a three-dimensional (3D) disordered stripe phase with locally aligned, anisotropic stripe clusters. The individual stripes coalesce less with each other even at a late stage of the collapse process and there is a characteristic length for the stripe width and the nearest neighbor spacing. The pattern includes a high density of topological defects such as single open ends, twin open ends, branches, and loops. The effects of shear deformation on the observed patterns are discussed.

Omental cyst: report of a case.

We report the case of an omental cyst, a rare type of abdominal cystic lesion that is difficult to diagnose preoperatively. A 43-year-old man with no clinical symptoms was admitted to our hospital for investigation of an abdominal cyst detected by ultrasonography (US). We performed diagnostic examinations including US, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. An omental cyst was diagnosed because of its position and connection to the surrounding tissues. Pathological examination of the surgical specimen revealed endothelial cells on its internal wall and colonies of lymphocytes, confirming a diagnosis of lymphangioma, which is the most common type of omental cyst.

[Photodynamic diagnosis and photodynamic therapy for experimental hepatoma with ME 2906].

We studied the effects of photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) in confirming the existence of hepatoma, using the new photosensitizer mono-L-aspartyl chlorine 6. Japanese white rabbits were selected for abdominal incision under intravenous anesthesia, and VX 2 tumor cells were transplanted into the left liver lobe to create a hepatoma model. In the experiment, hepatoma of 1 cm in diameter (at one week after transplantation) was radiated with a semiconducter laser (664 nm, 200 J/cm2) for treatment.

Herniation through both Winslow's foramen and a lesser omental defect: report of a case.

The herniation of small bowel through Winslow's foramen is a rare type of internal hernia which can cause ileus; however, a hernia traversing the lesser sac is even more unusual. To the best of our knowledge, only 25 cases of herniation through Winslow's foramen and 10 cases of lesser sac hernia have been reported in the Japanese literature. We describe herein the case of a 33-year-old man who presented to our hospital complaining of abdominal pain in whom a plain abdominal radiograph revealed small bowel gas with air-fluid levels, suggesting ileus. Following admission, an ileus tube was inserted, but the intestinal shadow did not improve and surgery was performed based on suspicion of an internal hernia. Approximately 100 cm of ileum was found to have herniated through a defect in the lesser omentum after passing through Winslow's foramen. Since the herniated bowel was viable, manual reduction without resection was performed. The patient had a satisfactory postoperative course, and was discharged on postoperative day 11. There are many unknown aspects surrounding the etiology of Winslow's foramen hernia and lesser sac hernia, and although internal hernia is a rare cause of ileus, its possibility should be kept in mind.

Clinical and analytical evaluation of the simultaneous HPLC assay of retinol and alpha-tocopherol.

We describe a method for the simultaneous assay of retinol and alpha-tocopherol using normal-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Our normal-phase HPLC method gave better resolution (Rs) of retinol (Rs= 1.58) and alpha-tocopherol (Rs = 1.40) when compared with the Rs values for a-tocopherol and retinol from literature. Also, the alpha-tocopherol concentrations obtained by our method agreed well with another normal-phase HPLC method that used fluorometric detection (r = 0.951, p<0.001. Sy.x=0.58 mg/L). The concentrations of retinol in our method agreed well with those determined by a reversed-phase HPLC procedure, although the correlation (r=0.646, p<.001, Sy.x=62 microg/L) was not as good as the method proposed. Our procedure gave acceptable precision: the within-run CV was 7.7% for alpha-tocopherol and 5.9% for retinol. The between-day CV was 9.0% for alpha-tocopherol and 6.8% for retinol. The mean recoveries were 97% for alpha-tocopherol and 107% for retinol. Our assays were linear for alpha-tocopherol concentrations from 0.1 to 30 mg/L and for retinol concentrations from 20 to 2,000 microg/L. In children ages 7 to 12 y, and in adolescents ages 14 to 16 y, the alpha-tocopherol and retinol concentrations in the blood were significantly lower than the concentrations in normal adults. Individuals over 70 y old also showed alpha-tocopherol and retinol values that were lower than those of normal adults between ages 30 and 40 y. In female university students, the inter-individual variation of alpha-tocopherol was reduced by dividing the alpha-tocopherol results by their total cholesterol or total lipid concentrations; however, this was not obtained for retinol. In cancer patients undergoing surgery, the ratio of retinol to retinol-binding protein (RBP) remained fairly constant, although the concentrations of both retinol and RBP decreased to about one-half the preoperative values after surgery. We conclude that our normal-phase HPLC method is a stable and reproducible method for alpha-tocopherol and retinol, and is an easy-to-use analytical tool.

New methods of control against postoperative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection.

The incidence of postoperative infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Japan has been increasing dramatically. In March 1990, we assigned special doctors in infection control (infection control doctor, ICD), and defined comprehensive controls against MRSA infection. A total of 3536 cases of digestive tract surgery performed at our department were studied during the period between September 1987 and August 1997. We changed the use of antibiotics to prevent postoperative infection. Cefazolin (CEZ) was employed for surgery of the upper digestive tract, including esophagus, stomach, duodenum, and gallbladder. Cefotiam (CTM) was employed for surgery of the lower digestive tract, liver, and pancreas. In esophageal resection, the tracheal tube was extracted during the early postoperative period, and for cervical esophagogastroanastomosis, the autosuture was changed to layer-to-layer anastomosis. We have achieved successful control of postoperative MRSA infection, the incidence having decreased to 0.3% (9/2703). In conclusion, our methods of control against postoperative MRSA infection implies that comprehensive measures of prevention, including the reviewed specification and usage of antibiotics and operation management, have been well implemented. This value is the lowest and the first of any domestic hospital or institute in Japan, suggesting a continued and significant decrease.

Altered N-glycosylation of glucose transporter-1 associated with radiation-induced tumorigenesis of human cell hybrids.

Studies on human cell hybrids between a cervical carcinoma cell line, HeLa, and normal fibroblasts have indicated that their tumorigenicity is under the control of a putative tumor suppressor on chromosome 11. We have previously demonstrated that a tumorigenic cell hybrid CGL4 expresses a larger glucose transporter, GLUT1, due to altered glycosylation when compared to the nontumorigenic counterpart CGL1. In this study, we demonstrated this glycosylation change in GLUT1 in gamma-ray-induced tumorigenic mutants (GIMs) isolated from CGL1 cells as expressing a tumor-associated surface antigen, intestinal alkaline phosphatase. In contrast, GLUT1 in the gamma-irradiated nontumorigenic control cells (CONs) did not show this alteration. In accordance with this glycosylation change, affinity to 2-deoxyglucose in these GIM clones was increased by about twofold when compared to the nontumorigenic CONs. These results suggest a close correlation between the glycosylation change in GLUT1 with increased affinity to D-glucose and tumorigenicity of these human cell hybrids.

Stent endoprosthesis for obstructing colorectal cancers.

PURPOSE: Purpose of this study was to assess stent endoprosthesis for colorectal cancer (SECC) as an adjuvant to operative preparation in patients with obstructing colorectal cancers. METHODS: A self-expanding stainless steel stent was inserted in 15 patients with obstructing colorectal cancers under colonoscopic observation and fluoroscopic control. Following successful SECC, the colon was mechanically prepared using polyethylene glycol. Definitive surgical treatment then was undertaken. RESULTS: All 12 patients in whom the stent had been successfully placed recovered intestinal transit and tolerated mechanical preparation. A satisfactory preparation was confirmed during the operation. Two perforations and one dislocation were encountered. CONCLUSION: SECC is a new method for operative preparation of patients with obstructing colorectal cancers, which may reduce morbidity and mortality associated with this difficult problem.

Antibody dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity on human cervical carcinoma cell line, ME-180, with human monoclonal antibody.

A human monoclonal antibody (MCA), CLN-IgG, showed cytotoxic effect in vitro against the cervical carcinoma cell line, ME-180, by antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). To determine which fractions of cells in peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) mediate ADCC, PBL were separated with nylon wool column and sheep red blood cells (SRBC). Both adherent cells (monocyte) and non-T, non-B cells showed cytotoxicity by ADCC. Human non-T, non-B cells showed higher cytotoxic activity against ME-180 cells than monocytes. Furthermore murine effector cells were less effective in ADCC than human effector cells with human MCA.

Preferential generation of IgG-producing human hybridomas against human tumor cells.

By pre-stimulating the lymphocytes of cancer patients with BCGF plus anti-mu chain specific antibody, we have generated human X human hybridomas. The resulting hybridomas preferentially produced IgG class antibody compared with those obtained from non-stimulated lymphocytes. With non-stimulated lymph-node lymphocytes, from stomach cancer patients we selected a hybrid (TOS/H8) producing IgM with broad reactivity against human tumor cells. In contrast, with pre-stimulated lymph-node lymphocytes from hepatoma patients we selected a hybrid (TOH/D5) producing IgG having a specific reactivity with HuTu80 (duodenum carcinoma).