Recurrent pneumomediastinum in the course of interstitial pneumonia associated with dermatomyositis

A 59-year-old woman with dermatomyositis suffered pneumomediastinum twice during steroid therapy for aggravated myositis. In both instances, pneumomediastinum occurred when the patient's aggravated myositis was in remission. Plain chest X-ray films showed a slit-like air lucency around the left pulmonary artery. This indicated that air entered the mediastinum through the left hilum. Although pneumomediastinum associated with dermatomyositis is considered to be fatal, in our patient each instance of pneumomediastinum spontaneously disappeared very quickly. The favorable course of our patient seemed to be associated with her high elevated levels of serum creatine kinase and seropositive results for anti-Jo-1 antibody.     

Attenuated glutamate release during ischemia in ethanol-administered gerbils

Previous studies have found an association between prior ethanol consumption and aggravated stroke outcome. Gerbils were intermittently given ethanol injections (s.c.) for 21 days at doses of 1 and 4 g/kg. After cessation of injections and appropriate weight gain, subjects underwent bilateral carotid occlusion while amino acid neurotransmitter levels in the hippocampus were monitored. Both the low and high dose ethanol groups demonstrated significantly decreased glutamate release compared with saline-treated controls during ischemia (p < 0.05). These results are consistent with a long-lasting ethanol-induced decrease in synaptic density in the hippocampus. That no intergroup differences on histological or neurobehavioral measures was found may suggest a functional dissociation of glutaminergic involvement in the pathogenesis of aggravated stroke outcome with alcoholism.     

Formation of conjugated diene and triene products in lipoxygenase oxidation of C18, C20, C22 PUFAs

The determination of conjugated diene formation revealed that the mol % conversions of allcis-6,9,12-octadecatrienoic acid [γ-linolenic, 18:3(n-6)], allcis-5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid [arachidonic, 20:4(n-6)], allcis-5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid [20:5(n-3)], and allcis-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid [22:6(n-3)] into conjugated diene products by soybean lipoxygenase-1 at pH 9.0 were 84, 86, 60 and 40% of that of allcis-9,12-octadecadienoic acid [linoleic, 18:2(n-6)], respectively. On the other hand, the conversions of allcis-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid [α-linolenic, 18:3(n-3)], allcis-5,9,12-octadecatrienoic acid (c5,c9,c12-18:3), andtrans-5,cis-9,cis-12-octadecatrienoic acid (t5,c9,c12-18:3) were equal to that of 18:2(n-6). The lowering of the conjugated diene formation in the oxidation of 18:3(n-6), 20:4(n-6), 20:5(n-3), and 22:6(n-3) by the lipoxygenase was thought to be caused by the further oxidation of conjugated diene monohydroperoxides to yield conjugated triene products. For this reason, the conventional lipoxygenase method gave erroneous values forcis,cis-methylene interrupted polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in oils containing a large amount of 20:5(n-3) and 22:6(n-3) such as fish oils. However, by changing the pH of reaction mixtures from 9.0 to 11.0, the secondary oxidation of conjugated diene monohydroperoxides was completely inhibited, and the PUFA values in fish oils obtained by this improved method were in good agreement with those obtained by a GLC method.     

Epstein-Barr virus and the B cell: that's all it takes

Recent experiments demonstrate that a much broader range of B cells harbor Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in vivo than was previously expected from in vitro studies. In this review it is argued that EBV persists in vivo by integrating its biology with that of the normal B cells within which it resides, and that the B cell provides all the environments necessary for EBV to maintain its life cycle.     

Suitable parameters of single-mode optical fibre

A new method for determining suitable single-mode fibre parameters is examined. Suitable fibre parameters are determinable by minimising cabling- and splicing-loss increases. An eight-fibre cable was manufactured and the loss increases were measured. ? = 0.2% and V = 2.2 are the values selected using this method and for the experimental results.     

Memory and imagery in the temporal lobe

Experimental and clinical studies in primates indicate that visual information is stored and retrieved by interactions between the temporal association area and the medial temporal lobe structures. Recent findings from single-neuron recordings have provided new evidence that perceptual aspects of the temporal neocortex are closely related to its memory function based on association. They further suggest that imagery is also implemented by the same neural mechanism that subserves memory retrieval.