Electron microscopy study of L1(0)-FePtCu nanoparticles synthesized at 613K.

Finely dispersed hard magnetic L1o-FePtCu nanoparticles with 100 orientation were directly synthesized by RF-sputtering on NaCl substrate at a temperature of 613 K. The maximum coercivity of the particles was 1.4 kOe (at RT). Degrees of atomic long-range order (LRO) for the L1o-FePtCu nanoparticles with different sizes were obtained using nanobeam electron diffraction technique. The decrease of LRO parameter became remarkable when the size became below 8 nm. The coercivity value also decreased with decreasing the particle size. The relation between the LRO parameter decrease and the coercivity decrease with particle size was discussed.

Local structure studies of Fe-Nb-B metallic glasses using electron diffraction.

Local atomic structures in Fe(84)Nb(7)B(9) and Fe(70)Nb(10)B(20) amorphous alloys were examined by means of electron diffraction with the help of computer calculation. Electron diffraction patterns were taken by using energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to eliminate inelastic scattering. We constructed structure models with 5000 atoms fitting to experimental interference functions. Voronoi polyhedral analyses were performed for the obtained final structure models. Local atomic structures of the alloys were closely related to those of the crystalline phases that appeared on annealing. A difference of stability of two amorphous phases was discussed on the basis of structure models.

Combined status of MUC1 mucin and surfactant apoprotein A expression can predict the outcome of patients with small-size lung adenocarcinoma.

AIM: Lung cancer is still a disease of high mortality, despite advanced diagnostic techniques. Here, we aim to report a unique method to predict the recurrence and outcome of patients with pulmonary adenocarcinomas. METHODS AND RESULTS: Immunohistochemical expression of MUC1 mucin and surfactant apoprotein A (SP-A) was examined in 185 cases of surgically removed lung adenocarcinomas of non-bronchioloalveolar type smaller than 30 mm. Staining results were evaluated semiquantitatively, and the expression of MUC1 and SP-A was compared in each case. There were 140/185 (76%) cases showing MUC1 expression higher than SP-A expression (MUC1>SP-A), and 45/185 (24%) cases showing MUC1 expression lower than or equal to SP-A expression (MUC1SP-A pattern, but in 7% (3/45) of the patients with a MUC1< or =SP-A pattern after the median observation period of 41 months (1-99 months) (P < 0.01). The MUC1>SP-A group showed higher recurrence and worse survival than the MUC1

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in pulmonary aspergilloma.

OBJECTIVE: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a cytokine associated with malignant neoplasms, is increased in a number of inflammatory and infectious disorders. But little is known about VEGF in pulmonary aspergilloma (PA). In order to clarify the predictive value of VEGF in PA, we examined serum VEGF levels in PA patients as well as expression of VEGF in the PA lesion. Patients Twenty-one patients with PA (6 with hemoptysis and the rest without hemoptysis) were investigated. METHODS: In all patients, serum VEGF levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We examined the statistical correlations of serum VEGF levels with the ratio of affected area to total lung volume and VEGF with PaO2 levels. In patients with hemoptysis, we measured the serum VEGF levels three months after the initiation of therapy. We examined the expression of VEGF in the resected lung tissue of 4 patients with PA using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Serum VEGF levels showed a significant positive correlation with the ratio of affected to total lung area and a significant negative correlation with PaO2 levels. Serum VEGF levels in patients with hemoptysis were significantly higher than in those without hemoptysis. The serum levels of VEGF in patients with hemoptysis decreased significantly in parallel with the alleviation of hemoptysis. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated the expression of VEGF in alveolar macrophages in the lesion of PA patients. CONCLUSION: We suggest that VEGF can be used as a serum marker to determine the extent of the lesion, hypoxia and hemoptysis in PA.

Application of nano-diffraction to local atomic distribution function analysis of amorphous materials.

A method is proposed for the local atomic distribution function analysis of amorphous materials. This method is based on local halo-electron diffraction intensity analysis with nano-sized electron probes as small as 25 to approximately 3 nm, taking advantage of the intensity recording with imaging plate. Nanodiffraction and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns from an amorphous SiNx (x approximately 4/3) thin film were taken using a conventional transmission electron microscope operated at 200 kV and recorded on imaging plates. An intensity correction to omit inelastic intensity was made using electron energy-loss spectroscopy. When a beam-convergence angle is larger than 1 x 10(-3) rad, the Wiener-filter deconvolution method becomes helpful in producing atomic pair distribution functions (PDFs) from the nano-diffraction intensity profiles that are more similar to the PDF from the SAED intensity. This technique was applied to the analysis of local amorphous structures of SiO2 layers formed by an oxygen-ion implantation into single crystal SiC.

Increased serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor in pulmonary tuberculosis.

Pulmonary tuberculosis, one of the granulomatous diseases, has few serological markers for its activity. Recently, an increased serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was detected in patients with Crohn's disease, also a granulomatous disease. We hypothesized that VEGF might be associated with the pathogenesis of pulmonary tuberculosis. We investigated the serum level of VEGF in 43 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis, 29 patients with old tuberculosis, and 25 patients with acute bronchitis. We were able to examine the serum VEGF levels every 3 mo for a period of 6 mo in seven patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis. We examined the presence of VEGF in the resected lungs of three patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis by immunohistochemistry. The serum levels of VEGF were significantly higher in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis than in patients with old tuberculosis and acute bronchitis. The decrease in titer of serum VEGF paralleled the clinical improvement of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Immunohistochemical staining of the resected lungs demonstrated the presence of VEGF in alveolar macrophages surrounding the lesion. Therefore, VEGF may be associated with the pathogenesis of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Bronchiectasis with myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody and bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody.

A 56-year-old woman was hospitalized for recurrent hemoptysis. She had been suffering from bronchiectasis for 4 years. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was persistently detected in her sputum. Serum was positive for Myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA) and bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (BPI-ANCA). She underwent lung resection. Histopathologically, the resected lung showed bronchiectasis with pulmonary fibrosis but did not show vasculitis. Her serum became negative for the ANCAs after the operation. To date, she has no recurrence of hemoptysis. We discuss this case of bronchiectasis with MPO-ANCA and BPI-ANCA and suggest a possible role for ANCAs in chronic airway infection.

[Clinical investigation of 15 patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis--clinical comparison of HTLV-I carriers and non-carriers].

We investigated 15 pulmonary cryptococcosis patients. The group had a mean age of 51.7 years, and 6 (40%) of the patients were women. Cryptococcosis was primary in 13 patients and secondary in 2 (diabetes mellitus and smoldering adult T-cell leukemia). Eight patients were asymptomatic and 9 patients were detected by medical examinations. Dry cough was the most common symptoms. On chest radiographs, 5 patients showed solitary nodules, 4 patients showed infiltrative shadows, and 4 patients showed multiple nodules. The right lower lobe was the predominant location of solitary nodules, and the left upper and middle lung fields were the predominant locations of infiltrative shadows. Transbronchial lung biopsy was the method of diagnosis for 9 patients, and open lung biopsy for the others. Eleven patients were treated with fluconazole, and the mean treatment period was 7 months. Four patients underwent, resection procedures only, and experienced no recurrence. Five patients were positive for HTLV-I (one had smoldering ATL) and 5 were negative. Eighty percent of the HTLV-I positive patients had some symptoms and 80% of the HTLV-I negative patients were asymptomatic. HTLV-I positive patients showed various pulmonary shadows and 80% of the HTLV-I negative patients showed solitary nodules. The pulmonary lesions in HTLV-I positive patients were more extensive than those in HTLV-I negative patients (p < 0.05). We postulate the possible existence of subtle immunological abnormalities, including abnormalities of cellular immunity, in HTLV-I carriers.

[Pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma with specific CT findings].

A 44-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of an abnormal lung shadow. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed a tumor surrounded by air-space and an infiltrative shadow in the right S2. Right upper lobectomy was performed and pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma was diagnosed. Usually, pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma shows a solitary round nodule on a chest CT scan. We report a case of pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma with an unusual shadow on a chest CT scan, and review the literature.

Study of amorphous alloy structures with medium range atomic ordering.

Structures with atomic medium range order (MRO) extending as small as approximately 2 nm in amorphous alloys can be observed under suitable defocus conditions as clear lattice fringe images by means of axial-beam high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). In this article, our studies of local structure observation in some metal-metalloid amorphous alloys with the "selected-defocus method" are introduced. Also introduced are an HREM image simulation study of amorphous alloy structures and a nano-probe (1-1.5 nm) electron diffraction analysis of MRO structure. A multislice image simulation study for suitable structure models (1) with a random atomic distribution, (2) with MRO regions having different sizes, distributions, and specimen thicknesses, is a necessary step to verify the MRO observation in amorphous alloys. It was demonstrated that not only HREM information but also nano-diffraction information are necessary in order to understand local structures of amorphous alloys.

[A case of tuberculous abscess in the chest wall close to the thickening pleural lesion following tuberculous pleuritis].

A 33-year-old woman with a history of right tuberculous pleuritis was successfully treated in December 1992 by administration of anti-tuberculous drugs, she demonstrated residual localized pleural thickening on chest computed tomography (CT) and gradually developed a subcutaneous mass in the right chest which became apparent in March 1993. In September, chest CT revealed a periocostal abscess in the right anterior chest wall close to the localized pleural thickening. The patient was diagnosed with tuberculous abscess in the right chest wall on confirmation of acid-fast bacilli in a needle aspiration material of the abscess, and was referred to our hospital. Anti-tuberculous chemotherapy was continued but the chest abscess grew, so on January 28, 1994 she underwent a resection of the abscess, the third costal cartilage and bone, and the parietal pleural lesion connected to the abscess. Histopathological examination showed that the abscess and parietal pleural lesion were compatible with tuberculosis, i.e. both lesions consisted of caseous necrosis and epitheloid cell granuloma, but acid-fast bacilli were not demonstrated in both lesions. After one year of postoperative anti-tuberculous chemotherapy, she was followed without any therapy for 3 years and there has been no recurrence to date. When a localized thickening pleural lesion remains after tuberculous pleuritis, complication of tuberculous abscess in the chest wall should be considered.

[Clinical investigation of three cases of pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma].

Patient 1: An 18-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with pneumothorax. She had no history of smoking. Chest CT showed multiple cysts, and pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma was diagnosed by open lung biopsy. She recovered without therapy 3 months later and a chest CT taken at that time was normal. She began smoking, 3 years later, and bore two children. She is without recurrence after 8 years. Patient 2: A 23-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with pneumothorax. He had a smoking history (index = 180). Chest CT showed multiple cysts, and pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma was diagnosed by open lung biopsy. He stopped smoking and recovered without therapy one month later, and subsequently, his CT findings returned to normal. Two years later, he began smoking again, but has no relapse. Patient 3: A 21-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with pneumothorax. He had no history of smoking. A chest CT showed multiple cysts, and pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma was diagnosed by open lung biopsy. Diabetes insipidus was subsequently noted. Dyspnea persisted, and he recovered 4 months later after steroid treatment. He was without relapse 2 years later but the multiple cysts remained. We report three cases of pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma, and discuss their pertinent clinical features.

[Idiopathic interstitial pneumonia that responded to intermittent intravenous administration of high-dose cyclophosphamide].

A 78-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with exertional dyspnea and fever. Chronic idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) had been diagnosed a year before. Follow-up chest X-ray examination showed diffuse reticular shadows and progressive shrinkage of both lower lobes. Chest CT scan revealed honeycomb appearance of both lower lung fields. Moderate hypoxemia was found by arterial blood gas analysis. The patient responded to an orally administered corticosteroid. Because tapering of the medicine caused exacerbation of the hypoxemia, methylprednisolone pulse therapy was given with poor response. Then high-dose (750 mg) of cyclophosphamide (CPM) were given intravenously 6 times, every 3 or 4 weeks. After the second administration of CPM, decreases in hypoxemia and in blood LDH levels were observed. This treatment allowed as to taper the dose of oral corticosteroid from 60 mg/day to 15 mg/day. This case suggests that intravenous administration of high-dose CPM may be effective against IIP.

[Detection of HTLV-I proviral DNA by PCR method from bronchoalveolar lavage cells of HTLV-I carriers].

To elucidate whether or not human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infected cells exist in the lungs of HTLV-I carriers, we examined bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells for the presence of HTLV-I proviral DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The cells were harvested from HTLV-I seropositive individuals with or without various respiratory diseases. The HTLV-I pX region was detected from separated BAL cells by dot blot hybridization after PCR in all 14 HTLV-I seropositive individuals tested. Four out of these 14 individuals were asymptomatic HTLV-I carriers, while the other ten had symptoms, including those of bacterial pneumonia, chronic respiratory tract infection, interstitial pneumonia, atypical mycobacterial infection, bronchitis, mediastinal lymphadenitis and bronchial asthma. HTLV-I proviral DAN was detected in BAL cells from patients with a normal proportion of lavage lymphocytes and a normal CD4/CD8 ratio. These findings suggest that HTLV-I infected cells may commonly exist in the lower respiratory tract and alveolar space without producing characteristic symptoms/signs, and that any causal relation to the pulmonary lesion must therefore be carefully elucidated, in HTLV-I carriers.

Differentiation of bronchogenic carcinoma from secondary changes, obstructive pneumonitis and/or collapse by I-123 IMP lung imaging.

Serial lung images with N-isopropyl-p-[I-123]-iodoamphetamine (I-123 IMP) were obtained to assess the imaging findings and to clarify the lesion to uptake relationships in 74 lesions in 73 patients with various histological types of bronchogenic carcinoma. A decreased uptake area was observed in all 74 lesions in the initial one or two-min I-123 IMP image. The initial image was analogous to a Tc-99m MAA lung perfusion image in 70 patients in whom both lung imaging procedures were performed. The imaging findings changed following this initial phase. At 4 hr, the lesion was depicted as either areas of decreased uptake or increased uptake or a combination of the two. Comparison between the lesion findings in the 4-hr I-123 IMP images, radiograms and removed specimens revealed that areas of decreased uptake corresponded to the cancerous portions of the lung mass or pleural effusion and areas of increased uptake corresponded to inflammatory portions including obstructive pneumonitis and/or collapse. Thus, the 4-hr I-123 IMP lung images can be used to discriminate the cancerous portion from associated secondary changes, obstructive pneumonitis and/or collapse.

Increased accumulation of iodine-123-IMP in the pulmonary inflammatory lesion surrounding a lung cancer.

In a patient with primary lung cancer, increased accumulation of I-123-IMP was observed in a pulmonary inflammatory lesion surrounding a lung cancer which was delineated as a photon deficient area. Ga-67-citrate uptake was observed in both the inflammatory and cancerous areas. These findings suggest that I-123-IMP may have the potential to accumulate differently in a variety of pathological conditions of the lung and thus may be a clinically useful lung imaging agent.

The mediation of tissue eosinophilia in hypersensitivity reactions. V. Comparative study of tissue eosinophilia in the skin lesions of local and systemic passive cutaneous anaphylactic reactions.

Tissue eosinophilia in active cutaneous anaphylaxis reactions is biphasic: the early phase (6 hr) is induced by a low molecular (mol. wt. 300) factor (early ECF), and the delayed phase (24 hr) is mediated by synergy of two different factors (delayed ECF-a and -b). In this study, we report the mediation of tissue eosinophilia in passive cutaneous anaphylactic (PCA) reaction sites. Tissue eosinophilia in systemic PCA showed two phases with peaks at 6 hr and 24 hr, while that in local PCA was monophasic and peaked at 12 hr. A dialysable eosinophil chemotactic factor was isolated from the early stage (0-6 hr) of local PCA skin sites, and another chemotactic factor (mol. wt. 15,000), sharing a common antigenicity with guinea-pig serum C5, from 12-hr-old local PCA skin sites. On the other hand, a different chemotactic factor with a mol. wt. of about 70,000, sharing a common antigenicity with delayed ECF-b isolated from active cutaneous anaphylactic skin lesions, was isolated from 24-hr-old systemic PCA skin lesions. Although the dialysable factor was also isolated from systemic PCA skin sites, the factor from systemic PCA delayed skin sites may not contribute to delayed tissue eosinophilia, since the activity paralleled the intensity of basophil accumulation but not to that of eosinophils. It is thus suggested that tissue eosinophilia in systemic and local PCA reactions is mediated by different chemotactic factors.

The mediation of tissue eosinophilia in hypersensitivity reactions. III. Separation of two different delayed eosinophil chemotactic factors and transfer of these factors by serum or cells from sensitized guinea-pigs.

Two different eosinophil chemotactic factors (delayed ECF-a and ECF-b) were isolated from the delayed phase (24 hr old) of eosinophil-rich inflammatory reaction sites induced by DNP-ascaris extract, which could be separated by DEAE-Sephadex. Both the factors were thermolabile (56 degrees, 30 min) and had a mol. wt of about 70,000, whereas they were clearly different in antigenicity. Delayed tissue eosinophilia was shown to be mediated by peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) and serum from immunized donors to recipients. A chemotactic factor, closely resembling a delayed ECF-a, was isolated from the skin lesions of recipients transferred by sensitized PEC and challenged. Another factor, closely resembling a delayed ECF-b, was isolated from those of recipients transferred by immune serum and challenged. Furthermore, we have shown that delayed ECF-b, but not delayed ECF-a, shared a common antigenicity with some guinea-pig serum component. Thus we concluded that delayed tissue eosinophilia was mediated by the combined actions of two different factors, delayed ECF-a and ECF-b.