Clinical statistics of endogenous uveitis: comparison between general eye clinic and university hospital.

We compared uveitis patients who attended a general eye clinic (n = 183) with those who attended the ophthalmology department of a university hospital (n = 550) to examine factors that affect the clinical statistics of uveitis outpatients. We observed that diabetic iritis and herpetic iritis were significantly more frequent in the clinic whereas Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease and Behcet's disease were significantly more common in the university hospital. Among the so-called three leading uveitis, Behcet's disease and Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease were relatively rare in the general clinic; they might be concentrated in the university hospital setting because these diseases require treatment at specialist hospitals. In addition, uveitis secondary to underlying diseases such as diabetic iritis and transient non-granulomatous iridocyclitis was generally not referred to specialist hospitals. These factors may account for the differences in disease frequencies observed between the two facilities.

Supplementation of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells suppresses experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis.

AIMS: To investigate whether supplementation of natural CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells ameliorates mouse experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) induced by CD4+ T cell-dependent interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP). METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were immunised with human interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein peptide 1-20 (IRBP(1-20)), and IRBP(1-20)-sensitised T cells were obtained. CD4+CD25+ T cells derived from naive mice were cocultured with IRBP(1-20)-sensitised T cells, and their proliferation responses and cytokine production were measured. In addition, CD4+CD25+ T cells were transferred intravenously into mice 7 or 15 days after immunisation with IRBP(1-20), and the severity of EAU and T cell proliferation responses were evaluated. RESULTS: CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells effectively inhibited both the proliferation of, and interleukin (IL)2, IL5 and interferon (IFN)gamma production by, IRBP(1-20)-sensitised T cells. Adoptive transfer of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells to IRBP(1-20)-immunised mice conferred considerable protection from EAU development and inhibition of T cell proliferation responses to IRBP(1-20). CONCLUSION: These findings show that natural CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells possess the ability to inhibit activation of IRBP-reactive T cells that have been already sensitised in vivo, and adoptive transfer of these cells ameliorates EAU even in the effector phase. Supplementation of natural CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells may have therapeutic potential for effective treatment of uveitis.

Biotransformation of alpha- and 6beta-santonin by fungus and plant cell cultures.

One fungus, Abisidia coerulea IFO 4011, and suspended cell cultures of one plant, Asparagus officinalis, were employed to bioconvert alpha- and 6beta-santonin. Incubation of alpha-santonin with the cell cultures of the fungus afforded two products, 11beta-hydroxy-alpha-santonin (1, in 76.5% yield) and 8alpha-hydroxy-alpha-santonin (2, in 2.0% yield). And from 6beta-santonin, four major products (3, 4, 5 and 6) and four minor products (7, 8, 9 and 10) were obtained, including 8alpha-hydroxylated products in trace yields. Very interestingly, a skeletal rearrangement occurred and a guaiane product (13) formed in a very low yield when alpha-santonin incubating with A.officinalis cell cultures, while not in the case of 6beta-santonin as substrate. Among the obtained 15 products, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 are new compounds. The fact of 8alpha hydroxylation of santonin enables the formation of 8,12-eudesmanolide instead of 6,12-eudesmanolide and some useful modification at C-8 position. In addition, these reactions would provide evidence for the biogenesis between different types of eudesmane and/or guaiane compounds in the plants in nature.

Simulations of a hydrogen-filled capillary discharge waveguide.

A one-dimensional dissipative magnetohydrodynamics code is used to investigate the discharge dynamics of a waveguide for high-intensity laser pulses: the gas-filled capillary discharge waveguide. Simulations are performed for the conditions of a recent experimental measurement of the electron density profile in hydrogen-filled capillaries [D. J. Spence et al., Phys. Rev. E 63, 015401 (R) (2001)], and are found to be in good agreement with those results. The evolution of the discharge in this device is found to be substantially different to that found in Z-pinch capillary discharges, owing to the fact that the plasma pressure is always much higher than the magnetic pressure. Three stages of the capillary discharge are identified. During the last of these the distribution of plasma inside the capillary is determined by the balance between ohmic heating, and cooling due to electron heat conduction. A simple analytical model of the discharge during the final stage is presented, and shown to be in good agreement with the magnetohydrodynamic simulations.

Three-dimensional singularities of a thin plasma slab.

The three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear development of the interchange-like (Rayleigh-Taylor) instability of a thin slab of plasma exhibits interesting features with respect to its two-dimensional (2D) limit investigated by Bulanov, Pegoraro, and Sakai [Phys. Rev. E 59, 2292 (1999)]. We show that, contrary to the 2D case, the 3D evolution equations remain nonlinear when Lagrangian variables are adopted. Explicit solutions are found by the use of a generalized hodograph transformation. Both compression and rarefaction singularities are formed. Local solutions in the neighborhood of the singular points have a generic 2D character.

Typing of Herpes Simplex Virus in Patients with Uveitis.

Aim: To examine the type of herpes simplex virus (HSV) in cases with uveitis.Materials and Methods: Intraocular fluid specimens obtained from 3 cases with herpetic iridocyclitis and 6 cases with acute retinal necrosis (ARN) were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). HSV typing was performed by the restriction patterns of the PCR products. Serum samples obtained from these cases and 33 cases with uveitis were examined by neutralization test (NT) for the availability of the typing of HSV.Results: The restriction patterns of the PCR products amplified from 3 specimens of iridocyclitis revealed HSV type 1 DNA. HSV type 2 DNA was identified in 5 of 6 cases of ARN and HSV type 1 DNA was found in only one case. The results of serum NT titers correlated with the typing of the amplicons.Conclusions: In the cases studied, HSV type 1 was the dominant etiological agent in herpetic iridocyclitis, while HSV type 2 plated a similar role in HSV-associated ARN. The examination of the serum NT may be helpful for the identification of the etiological types of HSV in patients with uveitis.

Magnetic field energy dissipation due to particle trapping in a force-free configuration of collisionless pair plasmas.

It is shown by using a two-dimensional, fully relativistic, electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation code that a force-free magnetic configuration in collisionless, electron-positron (pair) plasmas becomes unstable against current-driven Buneman instability and subsequently there occurs a strong magnetic field energy dissipation associated with collisionless magnetic reconnection, which can be driven by particle trapping due to two-dimensional electric potentials remaining in the nonlinear stage of the initial current-driven Buneman instability. About 43% of the initial magnetic field energy dissipates and is transformed to plasma heating as well as high-energy particle production. The energy spectrum in the high-energy region is given by an exponential type with two temperatures. We also show the simulation results for the electron-ion plasma to compare the effect of the mass ratio of the electron and proton.

Magnetic flux generation and wave emissions during coalescence of magnetic islands in pair plasmas.

It is shown by using a two-dimensional fully relativistic electromagnetic particle-in-cell code that the tearing instability in a current sheet of pair plasmas is caused by Landau resonances of both electrons and positrons. Strong magnetic flux can be generated during coalescence of magnetic islands in the nonlinear phase of the tearing instability. The magnetic flux produced in an O-type magnetic island is caused by the counterstreaming instability found by Kazimura et al. [Astrophys. J. Lett. 498, L183 (1998); J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 67, 1079 (1998)]. It is also shown that charge separation with a quadrupole-like structure is generated from the localized strong magnetic flux. During the decay of the quadrupole-like charge structure as well as the magnetic flux, there appear wave emissions with high-frequency electromagnetic waves and Alfvén waves as well as Langmuir waves.

Leustroduscin B, a new cytokine inducer derived from an actinomycetes, induces thrombocytosis in mice.

Leustroduscin B (LSN-B), a novel colony-stimulating factor (CSF) inducer produced by an actinomycetes, has previously been shown to induce CSF production in bone marrow stromal cells. To determine the biological activity of LSN-B on hematopoiesis in vivo, LSN-B was administered intraperitoneally to mice every day for three to six days. Peripheral platelet counts were markedly elevated on days 4 through 6 compared with the control mice injected with vehicle. Serum II/6 levels were low (0.8 ng/ml) or virtually undetectable in the drug treated groups. This cytokine profile suggests that LSN-B induction of thrombocytosis is mechanistically distinct from other cytokine inducers such as IL-1 or FK-565.