Locoregional injection of OK-432/fibrinogen/thrombin for unresectable metastatic liver tumors

We performed the locoregional injection of OK-432/fibrinogen/thrombin to unresectable hepatic tumors metastasized from colorectal cancers, which were hardly controlled by arterial infusion chemotherapy. CEA was markedly decreased following this treatment, although abdominal CT did not show a significant reduction of tumor mass. This immuno-injection therapy may be a choice of treatment for metastatic liver tumors, refractory to treatment by conventional chemotherapy.     

Edema due to altered sweating function

We report a case with idiopathic edema accompanied with excessive sweating on bathing. The subject is a 26 year-old male. He was admitted to our hospital because of pretibial edema. He complained of excessive sweating only after daily bathing. Sweating on daily bathing reduced pretibial edema after long-term standing. Daily urine volume decreased by about 200 to 500 mL/day on bathing everyday. Plasma renin, aldosterone and bradykinin levels increased. Subcutaneous injection of pilocarpine increased sweating around the injection site. The cessation of daily bathing restored plasma renin, aldosterone and bradykinin levels; urine volumes increased. However, pretibial edema appeared and body weight increased by 8.5 Kg. Serum triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) levels and basal metabolic rate (BMR) decreased. Circulating plasma volume increased with the cessation of bathing. Alterations in the autonomic nervous system may be involved in the appearance of general edema through increased plasma volume due to altered sweating function.     

Identification of bile canalicular cell surface antigen HAM.4 as dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) and characterization of its role in hepatic regeneration after partial hepatectomy in rats

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) has been implicated in the control of cell growth and differentiation. A rat hepatocyte membrane antigen recognized by a monoclonal antibody (HAM.4) has now been shown to be identical to DPPIV by immunoblot analysis and amino acid sequencing. The amounts of DPPIV immunoreactive protein and enzymatic activity in serum increased in a manner independent of de novo protein synthesis, and without any biochemical or immunohistochemical changes in hepatic DPPIV, during liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in rats. DPPIV purified from serum by HAM.4 antibody-based affinity chromatography lacked the NH2-terminal 36 amino acids of the membrane-bound enzyme, suggesting that proteolytic cleavage may mediate the release of DPPIV into serum. No significant differences in the restoration of liver mass or in hepatic DNA synthesis were apparent between DPPIV-deficient and normal rats after partial hepatectomy, suggesting that DPPIV may not be essential for hepatic regeneration.     

Analysis on high-frequency characteristics of SOI lateral BJTs withself-aligned external base for 2-GHz RF applications

High-frequency characteristics of SOI lateral BJTs designed for 2-GHz radio frequency (RF) applications are measured and compared for various link-base length, emitter width, and collector structure. Based on experimental data and device simulation, degradation mechanism of cutoff frequency for shorter link-base is analyzed. By suppressing external base-induced effects, peak cutoff frequency is increased from 10 GHz to 15 GHz     

The release mechanism of platelet-activating factor during shear-stress induced platelet aggregation

Data on polymorphism of the control region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in Eastern Slavs were analyzed by the median network method. A bimodal distribution of pairwise nucleotide differences between types of the mtDNA control region was revealed; distribution was similar to that found in southern European populations. The nucleotide diversity of mtDNA types in Eastern Slavs corresponded to an evolutionary age of 10-40 thousand years. Characteristics of the mitochondrial portrait of Eastern Slavs are discussed in terms of formation of the European population in Neolith.     

Effects of β-lactam antibiotics on intestinal microflora and bile acid metabolism in rats

Wistar male rats were treated for six days with broad spectrum β-lactam antibiotics, latamoxef, and cefotaxime. On the seventh day, the number of fecal anaerobic microbes decreased, total fecal bile acids decreased, and bile acid pools increased. Secondary bile acids such as β-hyocholic, hyodeoxycholic, lithocholic, and deoxycholic acids decreased in the feces while the primary bile acids, cholic, β-muricholic, and chenodeoxycholic acids, became predominant. Coprostanol, a microbial metabolite of cholesterol, also disappeared from the feces during the treatment. The cecum enlarged to almost twice the size of that in control rats, whereas the liver weight was not significantly changed. After treatment was stopped, the number of fecal microbes returned to the initial counts within a week, but restoration of bile acid and cholesterol metabolism required at least three weeks.