Oxygen torus and its coincidence with EMIC wave in the deep inner magnetosphere: Van Allen Probe B and Arase observations.

We investigate the longitudinal structure of the oxygen torus in the inner magnetosphere for a specific event found on 12 September 2017, using simultaneous observations from the Van Allen Probe B and Arase satellites. It is found that Probe B observed a clear enhancement in the average plasma mass (M) up to 3-4 amu at L = 3.3-3.6 and magnetic local time (MLT) = 9.0 h. In the afternoon sector at MLT ~ 16.0 h, both Probe B and Arase found no clear enhancements in M. This result suggests that the oxygen torus does not extend over all MLT but is skewed toward the dawn. Since a similar result has been reported for another event of the oxygen torus in a previous study, a crescent-shaped torus or a pinched torus centered around dawn may be a general feature of the O+ density enhancement in the inner magnetosphere. We newly find that an electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave in the H+ band appeared coincidently with the oxygen torus. From the lower cutoff frequency of the EMIC wave, the ion composition of the oxygen torus is estimated to be 80.6% H+, 3.4% He+, and 16.0% O+. According to the linearized dispersion relation for EMIC waves, both He+ and O+ ions inhibit EMIC wave growth and the stabilizing effect is stronger for He+ than O+. Therefore, when the H+ fraction or M is constant, the denser O+ ions are naturally accompanied by the more tenuous He+ ions, resulting in a weaker stabilizing effect (i.e., larger growth rate). From the Probe B observations, we find that the growth rate becomes larger in the oxygen torus than in the adjacent regions in the plasma trough and the plasmasphere.

Coexpression of an unusual form of the EWS-WT1 fusion transcript and interleukin 2/15 receptor betamRNA in a desmoplastic small round cell tumour.

BACKGROUND: The beta chain of the interleukin 2/15 receptor (IL-2/15Rbeta) is induced by the expression of the EWS-WT1. A case of desmoplastic small round cell tumour (DSRCT) expressing only an unusual EWS-WT1 treated by us is reported here. AIM: To characterise an unusual form of EWS-WT1. METHODS: Frozen tissue sections of the axillary tumour were examined using a laser-assisted microdissection technique and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The novel fusion of exon 8 of EWS and the defective exon 10 of WT1 (-KTS) was detected. Although it was an unusual form, the coexpression of the present EWS-WT1, IL-2/15Rbeta and Janus kinase (JAK1) mRNA was detected in the tumour cells. IL-2 and signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT5) mRNA were detected in both tumour and stromal cells. CONCLUSION: The induction of the IL-2/15 receptor signalling pathway may contribute to tumorigenesis in DSRCT through a paracrine or an autocrine system, even though the EWS-WT1 was an unusual form.

Overexpression of anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 in testicular germ cell tumours.

AIMS: To determine the expression of Mcl-1 in testicular germ cell tumours in order to clarify the role of this anti-apoptotic factor in these tumours. Various members of the Bcl-2 family have been implicated in the apoptotic mechanisms regulating germ cell apoptosis. Mcl-1 is an anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member and has recently been reported to be related to the progression of malignancy; however, the involvement of Mcl-1 in the development of germ cell tumours is still unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: Mcl-1 expression in testicular germ cell tumours was investigated by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). By immunohistochemistry, overexpression of Mcl-1 was present in all germ cell tumours that were studied, including embryonal carcinoma and yolk sac tumour, as well as choriocarcinoma and teratoma. In teratomas, Mcl-1 was widely distributed in the epithelial, myogenic, neural and mesenchymal components. RT-PCR analysis after microdissection revealed high levels of Mcl-1 mRNA in all tumour variants compared with non-neoplastic germ cells. CONCLUSION: Overexpression of anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 may function to enhance the viability of testicular germ cells, thereby leading to tumorigenesis.

Preparation, structure, and amphoteric redox properties of p-phenylenediamine-type dyes fused with a chalcogenadiazole unit.

4,7-Bis(dialkylamino)benzo[c][1,2,5]chalcogenadiazoles are a novel class of organic dyes that undergo reversible two-stage one-electron oxidation as well as one-electron reduction. They exhibit absorption maxima in the long-wavelength region, which are assigned as intramolecular charge transfer bands from the phenylenediamine moiety to the electron-accepting heterocycle. Their redox properties as well as molecular and crystal structures are affected by the alkyl substituents on the amino nitrogen and/or by the chalcogen atom (O, S, Se) in the heterocycle.

[Quantitative determination of lipoprotein by agarose gel electrophoresis and enzymatic staining of cholesterol and triglyceride: effects of age and gender].

290 normal duplicate samples (152 males and 138 females), were subjected to lipoprotein analysis by agarose gel electrophoresis to yield HDL, VLDL and LDL fractions which were respectively stained with Cholesterol and Triglyceride reagents. HDL-Cholesterol were significantly higher in female than male, and VLDL-TG were significantly higher in male than female. Assay C.V.'s varied from 0.96 to 5.75 for cholesterol fractions and 2.00 to 4.34 for triglyceride fractions. Comparison of electrophoretic HDL-Cholesterol and LDL-Cholesterol concentrations with the results of a direct method (HDL-EX and LDL-EX, Denka Seiken) gave correlation coefficients of 0.967 and 0.952 respectively. This method is simple, rapid and can provide the simultaneous assessment of the cholesterol and triglyceride component in each Lipoprotein fraction. Additionally, the method is useful for evaluating lipoprotein assays.

[A case of glomangioma of the stomach].

Glomus tumor of the stomach is still a rare disease. In Japan, till now, only 78 cases have been reported as far as we look over the literatures. We report a case of glomangioma of the stomach. The patient is a 44-years old female who underwent a medical examination and pointed out a gastric submucosal tumor, but she had no symptoms and admitted for operation. The endoscopical finding was a submucosal tumor as large as 4 cm, and the result of biopsy was chronic atrophic gastritis. So typical gastrectomy was performed without a definite diagnosis. In the cross section, the tumor was clearly bounded gastric mucosa by a white membrane, and the center of the tumor was spongy. By patho-histological and electro-microscopic study, we diagnosed that the tumor was glomangioma in the classification of Weiss & Enzinger. The patient was getting on well after the operation and left the hospital on the 29th day.

[Antifungal susceptibility of clinically isolated Candida albicans by broth microdilution method].

In this study we investigated the antifungal susceptibility of 285 strains of Candida albicans isolates at Kinki University Hospital from March 1995 to December 1996. The antifungal agents tested were fluconazole, miconazole, intraconazole, amphotericin B and flucytosine. The susceptibility testing were performed according to the broth microdilution method standardized by National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (M27-T). Most isolates of C. albicans showed relatively a low MIC value and the MIC90S were calculated at 1 microgram/ml; fluconazole, 0.125 microgram/mg; miconazole, 0.06 microgram/ml; itraconazole, 1 microgram/ml; amphotericin B, 0.25 microgram/ml; flucytosine. There was only one strain that showed high resistance against fluconazole and it showed cross-resistance against miconazole and itraconazole. There were two flucytosine resistant strains. The MICs of amphotericin B were tightly clustered and resistant strain were not observed.

Studies on Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia Due to Laboratory Medical Analysis.

We encountered 64 patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia between April 1993 and March 1994. Mean patient age was 54 years. There were 46 males and 18 females. Underlying diseases mainly consisted of traffic accident (10 patients), valvular heart disease (5 patients), chronic renal failure (5 patients), leukemia (5 patients), pneumonia (3 patients), and malignant lymphoma (3 patients). The common clinical laboratory findings of MRSA bacteremia included decreses in total protein, albumin and hemoglobin as well as increases in white blood cells (neutrophils) and C reactive protein. In particular, an increase in C reactive protein by 10 mg/dl or more may be useful for diagnosing bacteremia. Laboratory findings were compared between surviving and non-surviving patients. There were significant differences in albumin, cholesterol, bilirubin, creatinine, and CRP. In 18 patients (28.1%), bacteremia was caused by infection due to contamination of central venous catheters. Since medical treatment with intra-vascular devices may cause bacteremia, sufficient caution is needed.

[Future prospects of emergency laboratory tests--problems of immunoserologic tests].

Regarding problems in emergency and urgent immunoserologic tests, I mainly focused on infectious diseases and CPR and discussed the correspondence of dangerous needle stick injuries, and the significance of emergency CRP measurement in various body fluids using highly sensitive determination methods. The actual conditions and correspondence of infections due to dangerous needle stick injuries (accidental pricking with used needles) such as hepatitis, syphilis, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), herpes simplex, falciparum malaria, tuberculosis, Rocky mountain spotted fever, and human colonic adenocarcinoma are discussed. With regard to emergency CRP measurement, application of highly sensitive determination methods and the significance of CRP measurement of various body fluids (healthy adult blood, cord blood, cerebrospinal fluid, urine and puncture fluid) are described. The reference values for CRP concentrations in various body fluids were established at 15 to 3,063 ng/ml for serum (male; 26 to 3.992 ng/ml, female; 11 to 1,672 ng/ml), 9 to 73 ng/ml for cord blood, 2 to 10 ng/ml for cerebrospinal fluid and less than 2 ng/ml for urine.

[A case of leiomyomatosis in pelvic lymph nodes].

We report a rare case of leiomyomatosis in iliac lymph nodes, which was found in a woman operated with a diagnosis as keratinizing epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix. A 39-year-old Japanese female, married, who had received hormonal therapy in her past history, visited the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Kinki University Hospital, with a chief complaint of bloody discharge. Colposcopy and biopsy suggested a diagnosis of keratinizing epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix. A radical hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with pelvic lymph nodes dissection was performed. Histopathological examination showed a keratinizing epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix. An intramural leiomyoma nodule (0.5cm in diameter) was detected in the fundus of the uterus. Histopathologically, this was a typical benign leiomyoma. The lymph nodes were free of neoplasms. But bilateral iliac lymph nodes were enlarged up to soybean size. Microscopically, the iliac lymph nodes contained a large amount of well differentiated smooth muscle tissue (11/30). Immunohistochemical investigation showed a positive reaction for smooth muscle actin and desmins in the spindle cells proliferated in the lymph nodes; no cytokeratin positivity was detected. Leiomyomatosis of lymph node may rise through metaplasia of intranodal decidua or endometriosis by myofibroblasts or smooth muscle cells, reflecting the multipotentiality of the pelvic subcoelomic mesenchyme that can be found in the peripheral sinus of lymph nodes.

Therapeutic efficacy of intravenous and oral ciprofloxacin in experimental murine infections.

The therapeutic efficacy of intravenous ciprofloxacin against experimentally induced systemic, respiratory tract and urinary tract infections was investigated in mice. The 50% effective dose (ED50) of intravenous ciprofloxacin against experimental systemic infections with Staphylococcus aureus Smith, Escherichia coli 444, Klebsiella pneumoniae KC-1, Serratia marcescens T-55 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 15846 in mice, were 0.538, 0.0625, 0.0941, 0.294 and 7.76 mg/kg, respectively. These excellent results are equal to 6- to 17-fold the potency following oral administration. In murine respiratory tract infections with K. pneumoniae DT-S, the ED50 of intravenous ciprofloxacin was 20.1 mg/kg, and 26.2 mg/kg after oral administration. A marked decrease of viable bacteria count in lung was noted at doses above 7.4 mg/kg with intravenous administration. On the other hand, after oral dosing, although a marked decrease in viable bacteria count was observed with doses above 29 mg/kg, no decrease in counts was seen at 118 mg/kg and only a bacteriostatic effect could be noted. The therapeutic efficacy of intravenous ciprofloxacin against experimentally induced urinary tract infections in mice was compared to that after oral dosing by determining viable bacteria count in kidney 24h after inoculation. A dose-proportional decrease in counts was observed with both routes of administration at doses of 1.7, 5.6, 17 and 56 mg/kg. Based on these results, intravenous ciprofloxacin was found to have effects superior to those after oral administration in all infection models studied.

A case of malignant transformation in thoracic vertebral hemangioma following repetitive irradiation and extraction.

We report a rare case of thoracic vertebral hemangioma which developed into angiosarcoma during the course of repetitive operations and irradiation. A 44 year old female was operated on for hemangioma of the first thoracic vertebra. The diagnosis of hemangioma was confirmed histopathologically with the specimen from the first operation. The tumor developed multiple lesions later in the clinical course after the first operation, these lesions were removed in four consecutive operations and each histological diagnosis was that of hemangioma. Throughout the period of these operations, the patient was treated with steroid, and with radiotherapy simultaneously. The patient underwent the fifth operation for the recurrence of the tumor on 26 March 1990, and the histopathological diagnosis was not hemangioma but hemangiosarcoma which was considered a malignant transformation. The tumor cells immunohistochemically revealed positive staining with UEA-I, Factor-VIII, as the tumor immunohistochemically showed a vascular endothelioid nature.

[Advertisements in newspapers and magazines about patent medicines in the Meji era (The first dissertation) (Part 1)].

In February 1869, the government first permitted newspapers to be published. The Yokohama-mainichi, the Tokyo-nichi-nichi, the Nisshin-shinjishi and so on were published. The traders of medicine quickly turned their attention to the newspapers. Jihei Morita put an advertisement about "Houtan" in the newspaper issued in July in the 4th year of the Meiji era (1871) and Ginko Kishida put an advertisement about "Seikisui" in the Mainichi in Yokohama dated August 18th in the 4th year of the Meiji era. After that, the traders of medicine advertised in newspapers one after another, and the contents of advertisements were expressly the efficacy of medicine. As Yukichi Fukuzawa doubted if the trend was really desirable, he carried his comment against the trend in the Katei Sodan published by Keio-Gijuku, but the contents of advertisements were not changed. Advertisements emphasising the efficacy of medicine were prominent.

[Advertisements in newspapers and magazines about patent medicines in the Meiji era (The first dissertation) (Part 2)].

On January 20th of the 10th year of the Meiji era (1877) the government enforced the laws regulating patent medicines. Since then patent medicines were frequently attacked in the newspapers. Abuses of patent medicines became the target of criticism. Yukichi Fukuzawa had carried his comments against abusing patent medicines in "Minkanzasshi" for 4 days from March 24th in the 11th year of the Meiji era. Abuses of patent medicines prevented medical science from progressing. He pointed out the responsibility of newspapers which printed advertisement of ineffective patent medicines. "The kanayomi" which was a small newspaper company refuted his comments. Jihei Morita published the magazine "Houtan" in person, and he ran many advertisements about patent medicines. In October in the 15th year of the Meiji era, the law, which imposed a tax on patent medicines was enacted. In addition to the censure against patent medicines were an account in the newspaper successively. However, at the same time, these accounts had serious consequences the traders of medicine and they went to law by the reason which they led to serious interference with their business.

[Advertisements in newspapers and magazines about patent medicines in the Meiji era (the first dissertation) (Part 3)].

After the conclusion of the trial was carried out on december 25th in the 18th year of the Meiji era, write-ups decreased graduallly. Under these circumstances, the traders of medicine began their own publication at their convenience and they put advertisements in them. "Eisei-tebako" by "Kishida ginko" and "Houtan-keikenroku" by "Morita Jihei" were the typical of them. While patent medicines were extremely popular, pharmacists at that time never denied the necessity of patent medicines. Junichiro Shimoyama and Keizo Tanba, who were representatives of pharmacists in Japan, suggested that pharmacists had ought to manage patent medicines and pointed out that excessive write-ups exacerbated the situation.

[Retrospective analysis of deep-seated candidiasis among cases autopsied between 1982 to 1991].

Candida is present in the flora of the oral cavity, skin, intestinal tract and vagina, and is also known to be an opportunistic pathogen. Infection with this fungus has been increasing annually along with wide spread use of broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents. The subjects included 95 patients (48 males and 47 females) who had been diagnosed as having had deep-seated candidiasis, among patients autopsied between 1982 to 1991. In regard to annual changes in deep-seated candidiasis, the incidence reached a peak in the 1985 to 1988 period, and thereafter decreased. The number of cases with leukemia as the underlying disease was the largest, 36 (37.9%), followed by malignant lymphoma in 10, and aplastic anemia 5. The number of cases with infection of the stomach was largest, 42 (44.2%), followed by the esophagus in 33 (34.7%), the lung and kidney. The cases with deep-seated candidiasis showed low values of or level of lymphocyte, hemoglobin, CRP, total protein and cholesterol and high values or levels of LDH, urea N, creatinine and total bilirubin. Cases with marked decrease in neutrophils showed no regional infiltration of inflammatory cells in any of the organs infected with Candida. Cases with disseminated candidiasis showed vascular invasion by Candida. The laboratory findings also showed that most of the cases had been undernourished and had high values of CRP which supports the presence of inflammation. Common sites of infection are the esophagus, stomach, and intestinal tract. In the presence of granulocytopenia and immunodeficiency, tissue invasion become severe and associated with vascular invasion.

Synthetic approaches to 3-amino-1,4-naphthoquinone-2-carboxylic acid derivatives and photochemical synthesis of novel 1,4,5,10-tetrahydro-5,10-dioxo-2H-naphth[2,3-d][1,3]oxazine derivatives.

Synthesis of 3-alkylamino-1,4-naphthoquinone-2-carboxylic acid (2) was attempted. Although 3-(1-piperidinyl)-1,4-naphthoquinone-2-carboxylic acid (2a) was not obtained, probably because of its instability, the esters (18a, b) of 2a could be prepared. 2-Alkylamino-3-hydroxymethyl-1,4-naphthoquinones (9a-g) were photochemically cyclized to the 1,4,5,10-tetrahydro-5,10-2H-naphth[2,3-d][1,3]oxazines (19a-g), containing a novel heterocyclic ring system in moderate yields. Anti-bacterial activity of the prepared compounds was weak or insignificant.

[Intestinal flora of inpatients and isolation frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus].

The authors compared intestinal flora from 30 healthy volunteers and 128 inpatients. E. coli, B. fragilis, and Bifidobacterium were each detected in the stools of healthy subjects at a frequency of more than 90%, while the incidences of such flora were low in the stools of inpatients: A significant difference was observed between the two groups. E. faecium, P. aeruginosa, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), C. difficile, and Candida were detected at high frequencies in the stools of inpatients, as compared with healthy subjects. This finding is attributed to the administration of antimicrobial agents. It is also considered that microbial interaction in maintaining the balance among normal intestinal flora had been lost in patients from whom MRSA and/or C. difficile was isolated. The decrease or elimination of bacterial species antagonistic to such resistant strains must be guarded against, because this can lead to weakening of the defence mechanism against intestinal infection.