Covariation of pupillary and auditory cortical activity in rats under isoflurane anesthesia.

Very slow fluctuations of spontaneous activities significantly influence not only behavioral performance in a conscious state, but also neural activities in an unconscious state. Covariation of pupil and cortical activities may lend important insights into the state-dependent modulation of stimulus encoding, yet this phenomenon has received little attention, especially with regard to non-visual cortices. In the present study, we investigated co-fluctuation of pupil size and neural activity in the auditory cortex of rats under isoflurane anesthesia. Pupil fluctuation consisted of longitudinal irregular shifts, and 1-min cyclic modulations. Both spontaneous and auditory-evoked potentials (AEPs) covaried with the longitudinal fluctuation of pupil size, but not with the 1-min cycle. Pupil size exhibited a positive correlation with spontaneous activity and negative correlation with AEP amplitude, particularly when the pupil size was beyond the normal range. Stimulus-specific adaptation characterized using an oddball paradigm was less dependent on pupil size than AEP. In contrast to the cortical activity, heart rate covaried with pupil size with the 1-min oscillatory component, but not the non-oscillatory component. Furthermore, light exposure induced the pupil reflex through the autonomic system, but did not modify cortical activity, indicating that autonomic activity was not causing the cortical modulation. These results together suggest that cortical activities spontaneously covary with pupillary activity through central cholinergic modulation that triggers sympathetic nerve activation. Such a state-dependent property may be a confounding factor in cortical electrophysiology studies.

Exploratory aspirin resistance trial in healthy Japanese volunteers (J-ART) using platelet aggregation as a measure of thrombogenicity.

Aspirin prevents the production of thromboxane A2 (TXA2) by irreversibly inhibiting platelet cyclooxygenase, exhibiting antiplatelet actions. This agent has been reported to prevent relapse in patients with ischemic heart disease or cerebral infarction via this action mechanism. However, there are individual differences in this action, and aspirin is not effective in some patients, which is referred to as 'aspirin resistance'. In this study, we analyzed laboratory aspirin resistance by platelet aggregation in 110 healthy adult Japanese males using 24 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of nine genes involved in platelet aggregation/hemorrhage. Among SNPs involved in platelet aggregation, aspirin was less effective for 924T homozygote of a TXA2 receptor, 924T>C, and 1018C homozygote of a platelet membrane glycoprotein GPIbalpha, 1018C>T, suggesting that 924T and 1018C alleles are involved in aspirin resistance.

Sialic acid in normal human tear fluid.

PURPOSE: We measured the concentration of sialic acid, the terminal component of mucin, in normal diluted human tears. METHODS: Twenty-microliter tear samples were collected from 31 healthy volunteers (average age = 50.7 years) using micropipette after 50 microL instillation of saline. We investigated the correlation of concentration between glycoprotein and sialic acid and the difference between the right and the left eyes, as well as the reproducibility of the sampling procedure. RESULTS: There was significant correlation of the concentration between glycoprotein and sialic acid (right eye: r = 0.952, P <.0001; left eye: r = 0.976, P <.001). There was no significant difference in concentration between the right and the left eyes. Also, the reproducibility was considered acceptable in three measurements of sialic acid using the present procedure. The sialic acid concentration in normal diluted tears was 37.1 microg/mL on average. CONCLUSION: Our data indicates that sialic acid concentration is an indicator for the concentration of glycoprotein and that this method of measurement is applicable to the analysis of mucin-deficient disorders.

Xeroderma pigmentosum variant heterozygotes show reduced levels of recovery of replicative DNA synthesis in the presence of caffeine after ultraviolet irradiation.

Patients with xeroderma pigmentosum variant show clinical photosensitivity, skin neoplasias induced by ultraviolet light, and defective postreplication repair, but normal nucleotide excision repair. We recently reported an alternative, simple method for the diagnosis of xeroderma pigmentosum variant that measures by autoradiography three cellular markers for DNA repair after ultraviolet irradiation: unscheduled DNA synthesis, recovery of RNA synthesis, and recovery of replicative DNA synthesis. Among hereditary photosensitive disorders, including other xeroderma pigmentosum groups, Cockayne syndrome, and a newly established ultraviolet-sensitive syndrome, only xeroderma pigmentosum variant cells exhibited normal unscheduled DNA synthesis, normal recovery of RNA synthesis, but reduced recovery of replicative DNA synthesis (51 +/- 6% the rate relative to normal controls). This reduction of recovery of replicative DNA synthesis was enhanced in the presence of a nontoxic level of caffeine to 36 +/- 5%. In this study we assess the cellular markers in two independent families that included two photosensitive patients that were identified as xeroderma pigmentosum variant. Cells from heterozygotic parents showed normal levels of unscheduled DNA synthesis, recovery of RNA synthesis, and recovery of replicative DNA synthesis, but reduced rates of recovery of replicative DNA synthesis in the presence of 1 mM caffeine (53 +/- 8% relative to the normal control). Furthermore, with a colony-forming assay, the cells showed normal survival by ultraviolet without caffeine, but slightly reduced survival by ultraviolet with 1 mM caffeine present. In one family, we confirmed inheritance of two heterozygous mis-sense mutations. One mutation is an A-->G transition at nucleotide 1840 that generates a K535E mis-sense mutation. Another mutation is an A-->C transversion at nucleotide 2003 that generates a K589 mis-sense mutation. Each of these mutations were absent in 52 unrelated Japanese individuals. These results suggest that xeroderma pigmentosum variant heterozygotes can be identified by their sensitivity to ultraviolet irradiation in the presence of nontoxic levels of caffeine.

[Sialic acid in normal human tears].

PURPOSE: We measured the concentration of sialic acid, the terminal component of mucin, in normal human tears. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Tear samples were collected from 31 healthy volunteers(50.7 years old on average) using micropipett after instillation of saline. We investigated the correlation of concentration between glycoprotein and sialic acid, the difference between these in the right eye and left eye, and the reproducibility of the sampling procedure. RESULTS: There was significant correlation of concentration between glycoprotein and sialic acid(right eye: r = 0.989, p < 0.0001; left eye: r = 0.988, p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference between these in the right and left eye. Also, the reproducibility was considered acceptable in three measurements of sialic acid with the present procedure. The concentration of sialic acid in normal diluted tears was 37.1 micrograms/ml on average. CONCLUSION: Our data indicates that concentration of sialic acid reflects that of glycoprotein and this method of measurement is applicable to the analysis of disorders with mucin deficiency.

A mirror image of the first and second branchial arch syndrome associated with cleft lip and palate in monozygotic twins.

A rare case of monozygotic twins revealing a mirror image of the first and second branchial arch syndrome with accessory ear and hemifacial microsomia, associated with unilateral cleft lip and palate, is presented. Although the concordance and/or discordance rate of monozygotic or dizygotic twins with cleft lip and palate is well reported, that of twinning of the first and second branchial arch syndrome has been very rarely described. First and second branchial arch syndrome occurs sporadically but cleft lip and palate are strongly related to the influence of environmental factors with a considerable hereditary tendency. The study of twinning of congenital anomalies is important in the investigation of the pathogenesis of genetic and environmental effects. The twins were diagnosed as monozygotic with almost complete certainty by ABO blood typing, HLA typing, finger prints, and DNA typing. Concordance was noticed, which suggests a hereditary tendency. Since concordance in these monozygotic twins was exhibited by a precise mirror image of first and second branchial arch syndrome, spinal scoliosis and cleft lip and palate, it is possible that an environmental factor induced these complex anomalies.

The treatment of multiple angiolipomas by liposuction surgery.

BACKGROUND: Recently, liposuction surgery has been widely accepted for body contouring or other noncosmetic applications, including lipoma and angiolipomatosis. OBJECTIVE: We treated a case of multiple angiolipomas at 49 years of age to confirm the utility of liposuction. METHODS: Liposuction under general anesthesia was performed for angiolipomas distributed over the trunk. RESULTS: The patient has been followed for 2 years without recurrence. CONCLUSION: We believe that liposuction is a safe and easy method of removing multiple angiolipomas.

Carcass composition and meat quality of Chinese purebred and European × Chinese crossbred pigs.

Carcass composition and meat quality were compared in Chinese purebred native pigs (Meishan and Ming) and the same breeds crossed with Landrace. Duroc × Landrace were controls. The study was part of a programme to improve pig production in Japan by introducing Chinese native pigs. The loin meat from Chinese purebred pigs received higher sensory scores than that from crosses between Landrace and Duroc (abbreviated as LD). Separable fat percentage of the carcass from Chinese purebred pigs was about 2·5 times higher than that from LD pig. This separable fat was decreased by crossbreeding with Landrace. Water-holding capacity (WHC) of the meat from Chinese purebred and crossbred pigs was slightly higher than that from LD. Significant difference in the contents of amino acids and peptides was not observed among the species examined. Contents of inosinic acid (IMP), one of the flavour components, in the meat from Chinese purebred and crossbred pigs were higher than that from LD. From histochemical observation, an unusual distribution of fat in the muscle fibre was observed in the muscle from Chinese purebred pigs, especially Ming, as compared with other species.