Serum eosinophil cationic protein in infants during first wheezing episode

We measured serum ECP levels in infants during first wheezing episode. Serum ECP in these infants are significantly higher than in control infants, although much higher in children with asthma. Serum ECP in these infants with high serum IgE and/or positive RAST score are higher than in infants with normal serum IgE and negative RAST score. In children with bronchial asthma serum ECP is correlated with peripheral eosinophil counts, but in infants during first wheezing episode serum ECP is often elevated not associated with increased peripheral eosinophil counts. These suggest that activated eosinophils could be responsible for bronchoconstriction in wheezing patients with atopic diathesis even in very early phase and that these eosinophilic inflammations could contribute to formation of increased airway reactivity and bronchial asthma.     

Analysis of resistance behavior in Ti- and Ni-salicided polysiliconfilms

The sheet resistance of TiSi₂-polycide (TiSi₂-polysilicon) lines increases as they are made narrower. This phenomenon has been investigated in detail. It is found that the relationship between sheet resistance and line width (W) is characterized by three distinct regions according to the value of W. The abrupt increase in sheet resistance observed in the region W⩽0.2 μm cannot be explained in terms of the phase transition from C54 to C49, which we show to be the cause of the rising resistance at larger W. By adopting a new test pattern for sheet resistance measurements and using it in combination with TEM and EDX analysis we conclude that the cause of this abrupt increase is the presence of large inter-grain layers where silicide is very sparse. On the contrary, NiSi films have no such inter-grain layers, and good resistance values can be obtained even with 0.1 μm lines. The NiSi process appears to be a suitable candidate to replace TiSi₂ in future deep-sub-micron high-speed CMOS devices     

Cerebral blood flow measurement in patients with impaired consciousness: usefulness of 99mTc-HMPAO single-photon emission tomography in clinical practice

The relationship between impairment of consciousness and quantitative cerebral blood flow (CBF) was investigated. The mean CBF of the whole brain was measured by the Patlak-plot method using technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime single-photon emission tomography (99mTc-HMPAO SPET) in patients with the following diseases: cerebral infarction, intraparenchymal haemorrhage, subarachnoid haemorrhage, brain tumour and cerebral contusion. The clinical symptoms were evaluated according to the severity of impaired consciousness, aphasia and dementia. Four hundred and eighty-five CBF measurements were performed. Patients with alert consciousness showed an age-related decline in mean CBF. Patients with aphasia showed a significant reduction in mean CBF compared with those without aphasia. Impaired consciousness was proportional to reduction in mean CBF regardless of types of pathology, and the size of lesion did not influence the mean CBF. Patients with dementia showed a significant reduction in mean CBF proportional to the severity of dementia. The quantitative measurement of CBF using 99mTc-HMPAO SPET is reliable in clinical evaluations.     

Antihypertensive effects of CS-045 treatment in obese Zucker rats

A case of herpes zoster involving the ophthalmic and maxillary divisions of the trigeminal nerve is reported. It presented as a oral herpes zoster infection with prodromal odontalgia and progressed to spontaneous exfoliation and devitalization of teeth and osteonecrosis of the maxilla. The literature is reviewed and the pathophysiology of tooth exfoliation, tooth devitalization and osteonecrosis by V-Z viruses are discussed in addition to the management of herpes zoster and post-zoster complications.     

In vitro effects of CINC/gro, a member of the interleukin-8 family, on interleukin-6 secretion by rat posterior pituitary cells

We investigated the effects of CINC/gro on IL-6 secretion by rat posterior pituitary cells. CINC/gro immunoreactivity was already detected in 1-h conditioned medium of normal posterior pituitary cells, and it increased significantly in a time-dependent manner during the first 24 h of culture. This immunoreactivity could be induced by TNF-alpha in a dose-dependent manner. On the other hand, CINC/gro stimulated IL-6 secretion by posterior pituitary monolayer cultures in a concentration dependent manner. Thus, CINC/gro significantly (P < 0.01) increased the secretion of IL-6 within 13 h of incubation, and this effect continued throughout 24 h of incubation. The stimulatory effect of 100 ng/ml CINC/gro on IL-6 secretion was completely blocked by 24-h incubation with 100 ng/ml IAP. These data demonstrate a new biological activity for CINC/gro in the posterior pituitary system.     

Diffusion of disperse dye in atactic polystyrene

Sublimative desorption experiments were carried out on atactic polystyrene containing p-nitroaniline, p-aminoazobenzene, or C.I. Disperse Yellow 7 at 114°–170°C (above the T_g of the polymer). The diffusion coefficient of each dye in the polymer increased monotonically with rise in the desorption temperature. The mode of this change was exactly expressed by a WLF relation having the universal parameters given for amorphous polymers. The value of B_d, defined as the ratio of diffusional penetrant volume to that of a segment of the chain molecule, varied from 0.37 to 0.70 for the different dyes used. It is also shown that the B_d value is related to the logarithmic rotational volume of the dye molecule estimated from a molecular model.