99Tcm-MAG3: a sensitive indicator for evaluating perfusion and rejection of renal transplants

Radionuclide renography has a role in evaluating perfusion of transplanted kidneys. In the course of rejection, cortical perfusion decreases before urinary excretion changes. Based on the facts that 99Tcm-MAG3 has different pharmacokinetics and shows a higher kidney-to-background count ratio than 99Tcm-DTPA, we postulated that 99Tcm-MAG3 was a sensitive and reproducible agent to measure cortical perfusion of transplanted kidneys. To clarify the feasibility of using 99Tcm-MAG3 to measure the cortical perfusion index (CPI), sequential renography was performed using 99Tcm-DTPA and 99Tcm-MAG3 in 14 patients with stable renal transplants, who had changes in serum creatinine concentration of less than 50% between the two studies. The CPI was calculated with 99Tcm-DTPA and 99Tcm-MAG3 and these were then compared and correlated with concurrent serum creatinine concentration. The CPI with 99Tcm-MAG3 was 1.43 times that with 99Tcm-DTPA in patients with changes in serum creatinine concentration equal to or less than 20%, and regression analysis revealed that the difference in CPI was larger in patients with more severely decreased renal perfusion than in patients with normal or mildly decreased renal perfusion. This preliminary study has indicated that the CPI with 99Tcm-MAG3 is a sensitive index for detecting changes in renal function, and thus is a feasible indicator of cortical perfusion when evaluating the rejection of transplanted kidneys.     

Mesh-connected parallel computer PAX for scientific applications

Nearest-neighbor-mesh connection plus global broadcasting/control bus characterizes the architecture of the processor array PAX, that was constructed for and is now operating in many typical scientific applications. Not only these inter-processor connections, but also an MIMD structure of the machine were found effective in the particle transport problems, that require asynchronous operation.

The paper describes the bases of architecture of two recent versions of the PAX computer, their hardware and software systems, and, based on the implementation of scientific applications, the effectiveness of the PAX type architecture is presented.     

Intermediate-term results of meniscal repair in anterior cruciate ligament-reconstructed knees

We investigated the incidence of and risk factors for recurrent tears of repaired menisci in anterior cruciate ligament-reconstructed knees. We observed 63 patients whose menisci had been evaluated at second-look arthroscopy as healed (N = 50) or incompletely healed (N = 13) for an average of 4 years (range, 2 to 9.5). Of the 13 patients with incompletely healed menisci, 6 (46%) required additional meniscal surgery and 2 (15%) had recurrence of meniscal symptoms such as catching or locking. Among the 50 patients with healed menisci, 5 (10%) required additional meniscal surgery and 9 (18%) had recurrence of meniscal symptoms after second-look arthroscopy. The timing of the recurrence of these symptoms was from 12 to 28 months after surgical repair. Of the 11 patients who had undergone additional surgery, 6 had sustained second injuries during sports activities and the other 5 had no identifiable cause of injury. When comparing age, tear sites, rim width, side-to-side differences with KT-1000 arthrometer testing, and the pivot shift test, there were no differences between the group requiring additional surgery, the symptomatic group, and the asymptomatic group. However, the postoperative Tegner activity score of the group requiring additional surgery was statistically significantly higher than the others.     

Genetic diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases and the therapeutic application

We have examined the effect of neutralizing TGF-beta antibodies on cisplatin-mediated cytotoxicity against MDA-231 human breast tumor cell spheroids. These tridimensional in vitro systems have been shown to recapitulate the drug sensitivity pattern of tumor cells in vivo. MDA-231 tumor cell spheroids exhibit higher protein levels of the cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitors p21 and p27 and >10-fold lower Cdk2 activity compared to adherent cell monolayers, as well as pRb hypophosphorylation, a predominant G1 population, and a cisplatin 1-h IC50 of approximately 100 microM. Treatment of MDA-231 cells in monolayer with cisplatin for 1 h, subsequently grown as spheroids, increased steady-state TGF-beta1 mRNA levels, secretion of active TGF-beta, cellular Cdk2 activity, pRb phosphorylation, and p21 protein levels, while downregulating p27. Accumulation of cells in G2M and progression into S were noted 48 h after treatment with 100 microM cisplatin. We tested whether drug-induced upregulation of TGF-beta1 and p21, perhaps by preventing cell cycle progression, were protective mechanisms against drug-mediated toxicity by using neutralizing anti-TGF-beta antibodies. Anti-TGF-beta antibodies diminished the induction of p21, enhanced the activation of Cdk2, and facilitated progression into S and G2M following cisplatin treatment. This resulted in a >twofold enhancement of drug-induced DNA fragmentation and a shift in the cisplatin 1-h IC50 from 100 to <10 microM. These data suggest that tumor cell TGF-beta1 may protect from DNA damage and that postchemotherapy administration of TGF-beta inhibitors may facilitate progression beyond G1/S, potentially increasing the efficacy of cytotoxic chemotherapy.     

Vasopressin reduces taurochenodeoxycholate-induced hepatotoxicity by lowering the hepatocyte taurochenodeoxycholate content

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Vasopressin has been reported to reduce bile flow, but its effects on bile acid secretion and bile acid-related hepatotoxicity are still unclear. We therefore investigated the influence of vasopressin on the hepatotoxicity and biliary excretion of taurochenodeoxycholic acid in primary cultured rat hepatocytes and isolated perfused rat liver models. METHODS/RESULTS: 1) Addition of vasopressin to hepatocyte cultures significantly decreased lactate dehydrogenase release as compared to cultures exposed to 1 mM taurochenodeoxycholic acid alone, and also reduced intracellular taurochenodeoxycholic acid content from 19.3 +/- 2.2 to 13.0 +/- 1.6 nmol/mg protein. After 30 min of preincubation with 1 mM taurochenodeoxycholic acid, rinsing and reculture of hepatocytes in bile acid-free medium resulted in gradual decrease in the intracellular level of the bile acid, and addition of vasopressin (10(-9) M) to the reculture medium accelerated this process. 2) Superimposition of vasopressin (330 pmol/l) for 10 min on taurochenodeoxycholic acid infusion (1.0 mumol/min: 25 mumol/l) caused a rapid increase in bile flow and biliary excretion of taurochenodeoxycholic acid (697 +/- 42 vs 584 +/- 27 nmol/10 min per g liver) from perfused rat livers, and significantly reduced lactate dehydrogenase release. 3) Superimposition of the PKC blocker H-7 (5 mumol/l) on taurochenodeoxycholic acid infusion (1.0 mumol/min: 25 mumol/l) caused a gradual increase in bile flow and biliary excretion of taurochenodeoxycholic acid. Furthermore, an additional infusion of vasopressin (100 pmol/l) for 10 min in the presence of H-7 produced a greater increase in bile flow and biliary excretion of taurochenodeoxycholic acid as compared with H-7 alone (754 +/- 71 vs. 657 +/- 26 nmol/g liver). 4) Continuous infusion of vasopressin (330 pmol/l) significantly increased the late peak (10-50 min) of horseradish peroxidase excretion from perfused livers (from 8.48 +/- 1.02 to 21.7 +/- 6.02 ng/g liver). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that vasopressin exerts a protective effect against taurochenodeoxycholic acid-induced hepatotoxicity by stimulating the secretion of this bile acid via intracellular vesicular transport systems.     

Simulation of mesophase formation of rodlike molecule,imogolite

Summary The process of mesophase formation of rodlike molecule, imogolite, was simulated by comparing the distance distribution function computed from models with that obtained by the Fourier-transformation of small angle X-ray scattering data. In the initial state below A-point (defined as a starting point of mesophase formation), imogolite molecules assemble into loosely packed hexagonal shape with their ends aligned in a line. The columns composed of hexagonal packing are arrnaged side by side to form raft-like sheets near the A-point and finally form mesophase above A-point.     

An approach for quantum mechanical modeling and simulation for MOS devices, covering the whole operation region

A quantum mechanical (QM) approach for modeling and simulation of MOS devices, covering the whole operation region, was proposed. This formulation is applicable continuously from the subthreshold to the saturation regions, since it exactly treats the QM effects on the in-depth distribution of the gate induced carriers in the channel by solving one dimensional Poisson equation and Schrödinger equation self-consistently and it treats the lateral drift–diffusion transport using quasi-Fermi potential. A QM simulator was implemented using this QM approach. This QM simulator was verified by classical three-dimensional device simulator, CADDETH, in the whole range of operation of bulk MOSFET with low dopant density where QM effect is negligible. The QM simulation elucidated that the threshold voltage shift in thin SOI MOSFETs in saturation region as well as in linear region results from energy shift of the lowest conduction electron level and effective increase of gate oxide thickness.     

Dynamic interaction of attractors across multiple cortical networks as a neural basis for intersensory facilitation

I propose a neural network model for intersensory facilitation and investigate its essential neuronal mechanisms. The model consists of sensory networks (SI, SII) and an integration network (IT). The integration network binds information derived from the sensory networks and sends feedback signals to them. Through a Hebbian learning process, point attractors representing individual features and objects are created in the dynamics of the sensory networks and integration network, respectively. The ongoing state of each network is a randomly itinerant state among these point attractors. When the SI network is stimulated with a feature (I_ n ) belonging to an object (O_ n ) with suprathreshold intensity, the point attractor corresponding to I_ n emerges in the SI network, but does not when stimulated with subthreshold intensity. Intersensory facilitation occurs when associate feature II_ n derived from the other modality belonging to the same object (O_ n ) is simultaneously presented to other sensory network SII, where the point attractor corresponding to feature I_ n emerges even when the sensory networks are stimulated with subthreshold intensity. I suggest here that the dynamic interaction of relevant point attractors across multiple neural networks is essential for intersensory facilitation, and that self-organized synaptic modulation effectively contributes to intersensory facilitation when crossmodal stimuli are separated in time.     

PFC emission‐reduction strategy for the LCD industry

Abstract— The perfluorocarbons (PFCs) used as etching‐process and chamber‐cleaning gases in the manufacture of LCD devices have a high global‐warming potential and a long atmospheric lifetime. Thus, to voluntarily reduce these environmentally harmful PFCs, in 2001 the Japanese LCD association established the World LCD Industry Cooperation Committee (WLICC), together with its counterpart associations in the Republic of Korea and Taiwan. Since that time involving many discussions, the WLICC reached a consensus on reducing the aggregate absolute PFC emissions to the equivalent of less than 0.82 million metric tons of carbon by 2010. Each association has been taking whatever emission reduction steps it considers best to achieve this goal. Thanks to these measures, the PFC emissions from the Japanese LCD industry have remained at the same level, or less, than those of the year 2000, in spite of the fact that PFC purchases have continually increased. In the interim, the Japanese LCD association has been obtaining experimental data for the 2006 IPCC Inventory Guidelines, which will give the emission factors needed to estimate the PFC emissions. As a result, some data are quite different from emission factors given in the current 2000 Inventory Guidelines. All the data obtained have been submitted to the IPCC to be adopted in the new 2006 Guidelines.