Effects of behavioural activation on the neural basis of other perspective self-referential processing in subthreshold depression: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

BACKGROUND: It has been demonstrated that negatively distorted self-referential processing, in which individuals evaluate one's own self, is a pathogenic mechanism in subthreshold depression that has a considerable impact on the quality of life and carries an elevated risk of developing major depression. Behavioural activation (BA) is an effective intervention for depression, including subthreshold depression. However, brain mechanisms underlying BA are not fully understood. We sought to examine the effect of BA on neural activation during other perspective self-referential processing in subthreshold depression. METHOD: A total of 56 subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scans during a self-referential task with two viewpoints (self/other) and two emotional valences (positive/negative) on two occasions. Between scans, while the intervention group (n = 27) received BA therapy, the control group (n = 29) did not. RESULTS: The intervention group showed improvement in depressive symptoms, increased activation in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), and increased reaction times during other perspective self-referential processing for positive words after the intervention. Also, there was a positive correlation between increased activation in the dmPFC and improvement of depressive symptoms. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between improvement of depressive symptoms and increased reaction times. CONCLUSIONS: BA increased dmPFC activation during other perspective self-referential processing with improvement of depressive symptoms and increased reaction times which were associated with improvement of self-monitoring function. Our results suggest that BA improved depressive symptoms and objective monitoring function for subthreshold depression.

Identification of Helicobacter pylori infection in symptomatic patients in Surabaya, Indonesia, using five diagnostic tests.

SUMMARY The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Indonesia is controversial. We examined the H. pylori infection rate in 78 patients in a hospital in Surabaya using five different tests, including culture, histology, immunohistochemistry, rapid urease test, and urine antibody test. Furthermore, we analysed virulence factors in H. pylori strains from Indonesia. The H. pylori infection rate was only 11.5% in all patients studied, and 2.3% of Javanese patients and 18.0% of Chinese patients were infected (P = 0.01). Although severe gastritis was not observed, activity and inflammation were significantly higher in patients positive for H. pylori than in patients negative for H. pylori. Among genotypes identified from five isolated strains, cagA was found in four; two were vacA s1m1. All cagA-positive strains were oipA 'on' and iceA1 positive. We confirmed both a low H. pylori infection rate and a low prevalence of precancerous lesions in dyspeptic patients in a Surabaya hospital, which may contribute to the low incidence of gastric cancer in Indonesia.

Induction of Porphyromonas gingivalis GroEL signaling via binding to Toll-like receptors 2 and 4.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) has been recognized as an important molecule in infectious and autoimmune diseases. Although Porphyromonas gingivalis GroEL, a homologue of HSP60, is a potent stimulator of inflammatory cytokines, its receptor and signaling mechanisms are not yet understood in detail. In this study, we investigated whether the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family plays a functional role as a P. gingivalis GroEL receptor. METHODS: Human macrophage-like THP-1 cells were used and the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activity of cells stimulated with a recombinant P. gingivalis GroEL was measured with a luciferase assay. Flow cytometry analysis was used to determine the binding to THP-1 cells of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled GroEL. In addition, anti-human TLR (anti-hTLR)2 and anti-hTLR4 monoclonal antibodies were used to assess the functional role of TLR2 and TLR4 as the receptors for GroEL. RESULTS: We observed by luciferase assay that the purified recombinant GroEL was able to stimulate NF-kappaB transcriptional activity in THP-1 cells. Flow cytometry analysis showed that the FITC-labeled GroEL bound to THP-1 cells in a dose-dependent fashion. Our binding competition analysis with FITC-labeled and unlabeled GroEL showed that it bound to the cells as a specific mode of action. On the other hand, GroEL-stimulated NF-kappaB transcriptional activity was significantly inhibited by anti-hTLR2 and anti-hTLR4 antibodies and was inhibited more strongly by a combination of both antibodies. CONCLUSION: Our present study demonstrates that P. gingivalis GroEL induces its intracellular signaling cascade in THP-1 cells via TLR2 or TLR4 and via a combination of both receptors.

Marked potentiation of activity of beta-lactams against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by corilagin.

We found that an extract of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi markedly reduced the MICs of beta-lactam antibiotics, such as oxacillin and cefmetazole, against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. We isolated the effective compound and identified it as corilagin. Corilagin reduced the MICs of various beta-lactams by 100- to 2,000-fold but not the MICs of other antimicrobial agents tested. The effect of corilagin and oxacillin was synergistic. Corilagin showed a bactericidal action when added to the growth medium in combination with oxacillin.

A 10-kda fragment of fibronectin type III domain is a neutrophil chemoattractant purified from conditioned medium of rat granulation tissue.

A neutrophil chemoattractant has been purified from the conditioned medium of granulation tissue obtained from carrageenan-induced inflammation in rats. The purified chemoattractant was a basic protein with a molecular mass of 10 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) under reducing and non-reducing conditions. NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified 10-kDa protein was identical with the sequence of rat fibronectin starting from the residue Thr585, indicating that the purified 10-kDa chemoattractant is a fragment derived from the NH2-terminal type III domain of rat fibronectin.

NorM of vibrio parahaemolyticus is an Na(+)-driven multidrug efflux pump.

NorM of Vibrio parahaemolyticus apparently is a new type of multidrug efflux protein, with no significant sequence similarity to any known transport proteins. Based on the following experimental results, we conclude that NorM is an Na(+)-driven Na(+)/drug antiporter. (i) Energy-dependent ethidium efflux from cells possessing NorM was observed in the presence of Na(+) but not of K(+). (ii) An artificially imposed, inwardly directed Na(+) gradient elicited ethidium efflux from cells. (iii) The addition of ethidium to cells loaded with Na(+) elicited Na(+) efflux. Thus, NorM is an Na(+)/drug antiporting multidrug efflux pump, the first to be found in the biological world. Judging from the similarity of the NorM sequence to those of putative proteins in sequence databases, it seems that Na(+)/drug antiporters are present not only in V. parahaemolyticus but also in a wide range of other organisms.

Phenolic constituents of licorice. VIII. Structures of glicophenone and glicoisoflavanone, and effects of licorice phenolics on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Two new phenolic compounds, glicophenone (1) and glicoisoflavanone (2), were isolated from commercial licorice, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Antibacterial assays of licorice phenolics for Staphylococcus aureus, including four strains of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and also for Escherichia coli K12 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, were then examined. Two compounds among them, 8-(gamma,gamma-dimethylallyl)-wighteone (21) and 3'-(gamma,gamma-dimethylallyl)-kievitone (28), showed remarkable antibacterial effects [minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), 8 microg/ml on the MRSA strains and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus. Licochalcone A (14), gancaonin G (20), isoangustone A (24), glyasperins C (30) and D (31), glabridin, (32), licoricidin (33), glycycoumarin (34) and licocoumarone (40) showed antibacterial effects on the MRSA strains with MIC values of 16 microg/ml. Effects on the beta-lactam resistance of the MRSA strains were also examined, and licoricidin (33) noticeably decreased the resistance of the MRSA strains against oxacillin, as shown by the reduction in the MICs of oxacillin (lower than 1/128-1/1000 in the presence of 8 microg/ml of 33, and 1/8-1/32 in the presence of 4 microg/ml of 33). Mechanistic study suggested that 33 does not inhibit the formation of penicillin-binding protein 2' (PBP2'), but affects the enzymatic function of PBP2'.

A novel peroxiredoxin of the plant Sedum lineare is a homologue of Escherichia coli bacterioferritin co-migratory protein (Bcp).

We cloned a gene encoding a 17-kDa protein from a cDNA library of the plant Sedum lineare and found that its deduced amino acid sequence showed similarities to those of Escherichia coli bacterioferritin co-migratory protein (Bcp) and its homologues, which comprise a discrete group associated with the peroxiredoxin (Prx) family. Studies of the recombinant 17-kDa protein produced in E. coli cells revealed that it actually had a thioredoxin-dependent peroxidase activity, the hallmark of the Prx family. PrxQ, as we now designate the 17-kDa protein, had two cysteine residues (Cys-44 and Cys-49) well conserved among proteins of the Bcp group. These two cysteines were demonstrated to be essential for the thioredoxin-dependent peroxidase activity by analysis of mutant proteins, suggesting that these residues are involved in the formation of an intramolecular disulphide bond as an intermediate in the reaction cycle. Expression of PrxQ suppressed the hypersensitivity of an E. coli bcp mutant to peroxides, indicating that it might exert an antioxidant activity in vivo.

Restoration of effectiveness of beta-lactams on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by tellimagrandin I from rose red.

We found that extract from petals of Rosa canina L. (rose red) strikingly reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration of beta-lactams in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. We isolated two compounds that reduced the minimum inhibitory concentrations of beta-lactams from the extract, tellimagrandin I and rugosin B. Tellimagrandin I was very effective regarding the reduction of the minimum inhibitory concentration, and rugosin B showed some effect. Tellimagrandin I showed a weak bactericidal action when added together with oxacillin. Judging from the fractional inhibitory concentration index, the effect of tellimagrandin I and oxacillin was synergistic. Tellimagrandin I also significantly reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration of tetracycline in some strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Interactions of cyclodextrins with dipalmitoyl, distearoyl, and dimyristoyl phosphatidyl choline liposomes. A study by leakage of carboxyfluorescein in inner aqueous phase of unilamellar liposomes.

The interaction of cyclodextrins (CDs) with L-alpha-dipalmitoyl phopsatidyl choline (DPPC), L-alpha-distearoyl phosphatidyl choline (DSPC), and L-alpha-dimyristoyl phosphatidyl choline (DMPC) unilamellar liposomes was investigated by the leakage of carboxylfluorescein (CF) entrapped in the inner aqueous phase of liposomes, at 25 degrees C (DPPC and DSPC liposomes) and at 5 degrees C (DMPC liposomes). The efficiency of CDs for CF leakage was remarkable in the order of heptakis (2,6-di-O-methyl)-beta-CD (DOM-beta-CD) > alpha-CD > heptakis (2,3,6-tri-O-methy)-beta-CD (TOM-beta-CD) from DPPC liposomes, in the order of DOM-beta-CD > TOM-beta-CD > alpha-CD from DSPC liposomes and in the order of alpha-CD > DOM-beta-CD > TOM-beta-CD from DMPC liposomes. The other CDs used in the present studies, beta-CD, 2-hydroxylpropyl beta-CD, and gamma-CD scarcely induced the CF leakage from above the three liposomes. From the profiles of % CF leakage, together with measurements of differential scanning calorimetry, it was found that hydrophobic DOM-beta-CD penetrates the matrix of the liposomes to interact with them as well as TOM-beta-CD, and that less hydrophobic alpha-CD exists at the surface of the membrane to interact with the liposomes. Further, it was found that the interaction of CDs with liposomes changes depending not only on the length of fatty acid chain of phospholipid (condensation force and hydrophobicity) but also the hydrophobicity and the cavity size of CD.

Susceptibilities of oral and nasal isolates of Streptococcus mitis and Streptococcus oralis to macrolides and PCR detection of resistance genes.

The susceptibility of viridans group streptococci to macrolides was determined. Thirteen isolates (17%) were resistant to erythromycin. Five strains carried an erm gene that was highly homologous to that in Tn917. Four strains had mefE genes that coded erythromycin efflux ability.

Phenolic constituents of Cassia seeds and antibacterial effect of some naphthalenes and anthraquinones on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Thirteen phenolic glycosides including six new compounds were isolated from seeds of Cassia tora (Leguminosae). The structures of the new compounds, rubrofusarin triglucoside (7), nor-rubrofusarin gentiobioside (9), demethylflavasperone gentiobioside (10), torachrysone gentiobioside (11), torachrysone tetraglucoside (12) and torachrysone apioglucoside (13), were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical evidence. The effects of the phenolic glycosides, their aglycones and several other compounds structurally related to them on Escherichia coli K12, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and some strains of Staphylococcus aureus were then examined. Among them, torachrysone (15), toralactone (16), aloe-emodin (18), rhein (19) and emodin (20) showed noticeable antibacterial effects on four strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 2-64 micrograms/ml. On the other hand, the phenolic compounds tested did not show strong antibacterial effects on E. coli and P. aeruginosa.

Spontaneous hemothorax secondary to immature teratoma of the mediastinum.

Spontaneous hemothorax in a 20-year-old boy was caused by rupture of an immature teratoma of the mediastinum. The tumor bled spontaneously into the right pleural space. This life-threatening complication necessitated emergency surgery. The unusual cause and the interesting clinical course of spontaneous hemothorax are described.

[Seven cases of marked pulmonary fibrosis in the upper lobe].

We report on 7 patients with marked idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in the upper lung lobes. The patients were generally characterized by the following pathological and clinical features: (1) marked subpleural pulmonary opacities and reticular shadows mainly in the upper lobes, with a progressive reduction in lung volume; (2) nonspecific fibrosis (subpleural, zonal, rather well-defined fibrosis with small cysts and honeycomb lesions) in 5 patients and interstitial pneumonia in 2, mainly in the upper lobes; and (3) a slender build, and a family history of recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax. Clinically, all 7 cases resembled idiopathic upper-lobe fibrosis as described by Amitani in 1992. Further clinical and experimental research will be required to delineate the characteristics of idiopathic fibrosis affecting primarily the upper lobes.

Marked reduction in the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of beta-lactams in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus produced by epicatechin gallate, an ingredient of green tea (Camellia sinensis).

We found that epicatechin gallate, a constituent of an extract of tea leaves (green tea) markedly lowered the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of oxacillin and other beta-lactams, but not of other antibacterial agents tested, in strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The antibacterial action of epicatechin gallate plus oxacillin was a bactericidal one.

[Significance of full-thickness chest wall resection as a local treatment for sternum metastasis of breast cancer].

Bone metastasis of breast cancer generally tends to be multiple. However, breast cancer frequently metastasizes to the sternum as solitary metastasis. Resection of the sternum was reported to be an effective surgical technique for sternum metastasis which could not be remarkably improved by chemo-endocrine therapy and locoregional recurrent breast cancer invading the skin. A first patient was diagnosed with sternum metastasis invading the skin 44 months after radical mastectomy for breast cancer of stage II. A second patient had breast cancer of stage IV simultaneously with metastases to the sternum and the lung. Only the lung metastasis was successfully controlled by chemo-endocrine therapy, but the sternum metastasis was progressive, following radical mastectomy. Both patients manifested solitary bone metastases and underwent full-thickness chest wall resection. The defect of the chest wall was reconstructed with the mucocutaneous flap using the dorsal latissimus muscle in case 1 and with the abdominal rectus muscle in case 2. Twenty months after the resection of the sternum, the first patient suffered from supraclavicular lymph node metastasis, and the multidisciplinary treatment including radiation therapy was indicated. This therapeutic procedure was effective, and the patient survived for 63 months after resection of the sternum. The second patient has made good progress for six months in maintaining complete remission with chemo-endocrine therapy. These findings suggested that surgical resection was a useful local treatment for solitary sternum metastasis.

NorM, a putative multidrug efflux protein, of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and its homolog in Escherichia coli.

We found that cells of Vibrio parahaemolyticus possess an energy-dependent efflux system for norfloxacin. We cloned a gene for a putative norfloxacin efflux protein from the chromosomal DNA of V. parahaemolyticus by using an Escherichia coli mutant lacking the major multidrug efflux system AcrAB as the host and sequenced the gene (norM). Cells of E. coli transformed with a plasmid carrying the norM gene showed elevated energy-dependent efflux of norfloxacin. The transformants showed elevated resistance not only to norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin but also to the structurally unrelated compounds ethidium, kanamycin, and streptomycin. These results suggest that this is a multidrug efflux system. The hydropathy pattern of the deduced amino acid sequence of NorM suggested the presence of 12 transmembrane domains. The deduced primary structure of NorM showed 57% identity and 88% similarity with that of a hypothetical E. coli membrane protein, YdhE. No reported drug efflux protein in the sequence databases showed significant sequence similarity with NorM. Thus, NorM seems to be a novel type of multidrug efflux protein. We cloned the ydhE gene from E. coli. Cells of E. coli transformed with the cloned ydhE gene showed elevated resistance to norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, acriflavine, and tetraphenylphosphonium ion, but not to ethidium, when MICs were measured. Thus, it seems that NorM and YdhE differ somehow in substrate specificity.

Double infection with Giardia lamblia and Salmonella paratyphi A associated with acute renal failure.

While traveling in India, a previously healthy twenty-year-old man had febrile diarrhea. The patient was prescribed medical therapy, and all symptoms were resolved. Fourteen days later, however, similar symptoms recurred. The patient was admitted to a local hospital, but was transferred to our department because of oliguria. Salmonella paratyphi A was isolated from blood and stool specimens, and Giardia lamblia was identified in his stool. The patient's condition was complicated by acute renal failure. The patient received tosufloxacin and metronidazole. Renal function recovered completely without hemodialysis. Paratyphoid fever and giardiasis were resolved. It is suggested that giardiasis exacerbated the paratyphoid fever.

[An autopsy case of severe tuberculosis associated with anal fistula and intestinal perforation].

A 55 year-old man was admitted to the department of the gastroenterology of the hospital because of severe weakness and appetite loss for the past one month. In the last two months, he has been suffering from recurrent fistula of the anus. He left his symptoms without therapy. A gastric ulcer was found out with gastric endoscopy. At the same time, chest X-ray film showed bilateral abnormal shadows, which were suspected of severe pulmonary tuberculosis by a chest physician. After the admission, the patient immediately developed respiratory failure. Both sputa and discharge from anal fistula were positive for acid fast bacillus. Despite of anti-tuberculosis therapy and mechanical ventilation, he died of respiratory failure. At the autopsy, severe pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculous fistula of the anus, intestinal tuberculosis with perforation, miliary tuberculosis and peptic ulcer of the stomach were defined. We suspected that the extensive disease caused by hematogeneous spread and the late diagnosis of tuberculosis was owing to patient's delay.