The waffle procedure (multiple incision of epicardium) with pericardiectomy for constrictive pericarditis

Tea catechins, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCg) and (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), have been reported to suppress oxidation of plasma low density lipoprotein (LDL) in vitro. If dietary catechins can be efficiently incorporated into human blood plasma, anti-atherosclerotic effects in preventing oxidative modification of LDL would be expected. In this study, a newly developed chemiluminescence detection-high pressure liquid chromatography (CL-HPLC) method for measuring plasma catechins was used and the incorporation of EGCg and EGC into human plasma was investigated. Healthy subjects orally ingested 3, 5, or 7 capsules of green tea extract (corresponding to 225, 375, and 525 mg EGCg and 7.5, 12.5, and 17.5 mg EGC, respectively). The plasma EGCg and EGC concentrations before the administration were all below the detection limit (< 2 pmol/ml), but 90 min after, significantly and dose-dependently increased to 657, 4300, and 4410 pmol EGCg/ml, and 35, 144, and 255 pmol EGC/ml, in the subjects who received 3, 5, and 7 capsules, respectively. Both EGCg and EGC levels detected in plasma corresponded to 0.2-2.0% of the ingested amount. Catechin intake had no effect on the basal level of endogenous antioxidants (alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene, and lycopene) or of lipids in plasma. These results suggested that drinking green tea daily would contribute to maintain plasma catechin levels sufficient to exert antioxidant activity against oxidative modification of lipoproteins in blood circulation systems.     

Neurofilament deficiency in quail caused by nonsense mutation in neurofilament-L gene

The existence of a neurofilament-deficient mutant of Japanese quail was recently documented (Yamasaki, H., C. Itakura, and M. Mizutani. 1991. Acta Neuropathol. 82:427-434), but the genetic events leading to the neurofilament deficiency have yet to be determined. Our molecular biological analyses revealed that the expression of neurofilament-L (NF-L) gene was specifically repressed in neurons of this mutant. To search for mutation(s) responsible for the shutdown of this gene expression, we cloned and sequenced the NF-L genes in the wild-type and mutant quails. It is eventually found that the NF-L gene in the mutant includes a nonsense mutation at the deduced amino acid residue 114, indicating that the mutant is incapable of producing even a trace amount of polymerization-competent NF-L protein at any situation. The identification of this nonsense mutation provides us with a solid basis on which molecular mechanisms underlying the alteration in the neuronal cytoskeletal architecture in the mutant should be interpreted.     

Structural analysis of β-form poly(p-xylyene) starting from a high-resolution image

The crystal structure of β-form poly(p-xylylene) is analysed starting from a high-resolution image of a single crystal of this polymer. The high-resolution image corresponding to the projection of molecules onto the ab-plane along the chain axis shows clearly the mutual position of each molecule in a unit cell. The molecules are aligned wavily in the direction along the a-axis and the rough positions of their centres in a unit cell can be determined from the image. The refinement of the structure is carried out by the usual least-squares method using the intensities of electron and X-ray diffractions. The space group of the β-form is trigonal, P3, and the lattice dimensions are a=2.052 nm, c=0.655 nm and γ=120°. The unit cell contains 16 molecules and one of them is considered to occupy statistically one of three equivalent orientations so as to satisfy the P3 symmetry.     

Single application extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is the first choice for patients with pancreatic duct stones

OBJECTIVES: We performed extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) as the treatment of first choice on 32 chronic pancreatitis patients with main pancreatic duct (MPD) stones prospectively to establish more convenient and safer treatment. METHODS: All patients were treated in a prone position, and shock waves were discharged from the ventral side. ESWL was performed once or twice a week, and no other treatments before ESWL had been applied. RESULTS: Disintegration of all MPD stones to 3 mm or less in diameter could be achieved in all treated patients. Complete clearance of the stones was obtained in 24 patients (75%) without the necessity of endoscopic extraction of fragments. Reduction of MPD diameters after ESWL was statistically significant (p < 0.01). Epigastric and/or back pain complaints before ESWL were completely alleviated in 79% (periods of follow-up: 16-63 months, mean 44), and the pancreatic exocrine function also improved in 61%. No severe complications occurred in any of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: ESWL, which is comparatively easy to perform, is a safe and efficient approach that changes endoscopy's status as an indispensable pretreatment. Therefore, ESWL can be recommended as the first choice treatment for patients with chronic pancreatitis accompanied by MPD stones that should be tried before consideration of either surgical or endoscopic procedures.     

Successful management of primary left ventricular aneurysm (of the apex) in a child

A technique has been worked out for determining amino alkyl phosphonic acids in ruminal fluid by using methods of hydrolysis, partition of the phosphonic acid on a cation exchange column and ashing of the eluate. After evaporation to total dryness the phosphonic acids were determined as phosphates. The amounts of acid found in the ruminal fluid of goats varied between 0.4 and 1.1 muMol/ml. In view of the fact that these acids are microbial compounds it will appear that any change in the amount of compounds produced in the rumen would indicate changes in the concentration of the microbial mass in the rumen.     

Direct imaging of molecular chains in a poly(p-xylylene) single crystal

Individual chains comprising a β-form poly(p-xylylene) (PPX) single crystal were resolved with a high resolution electron microscope (JEM-500). In a polymer crystal the important limiting factor for resolution is radiation damage. The total end point dose of a PPX crystal is about 0.5 coulomb cm^?2 for 500 kV electron irradiation which is more than 20 times greater than that for a polyethylene crystal. The high resolution image obtained was processed by optical filtering to reduce noise due to the granularity of film. The processed image, which corresponds to the ab-plane projection of polymer chains, shows clearly the mutual arrangement of each molecule in the crystal. This high resolution image is sufficient to provide a starting point for determining the unknown crystal structure of the β-modification of PPX.     

Serological analysis of C-terminal region of alpha antigen from Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex and Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The alpha antigen, which is a 30 kDa protein secreted by mycobacterial species, is an immunodominant antigen. The C-terminal regions of alpha antigens are highly divergent, though there are regions where the amino acid sequence of alpha antigen is conserved. We investigated whether the C-terminal regions of the Mycobacterium avium alpha antigen, M. intracellulare alpha antigen and M. tuberculosis alpha antigen contain sequence-specific B-cell epitopes. The C-terminal regions of M. avium alpha antigen and M. intracelluare alpha antigen reacted to anti-M. avium alpha antigen but not to anti-M. tuberculosis alpha antigen derived from rabbits. Thus, M. avium and M. intracellulare have an antigenic determinant in common with rabbit. The C-terminal region of M. tuberculosis alpha antigen did not react to anti-M. avium alpha antigen or anti-M. tuberculosis alpha antigen. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that only the C-terminal region of M. avium alpha antigen reacted to the sera of two of six patients with M. avium-intracellulare (MAC) but not to the sera of patients with M. tuberculosis. In contrast, the C-terminal regions of M. intracellulare alpha antigen and M. tuberculosis alpha antigen were not recognized by the sera from patients with MAC or M. tuberculosis. This region of M. avium alpha antigen can produce a sequence-specific B-cell epitope in humans.     

Metal and Nonmetal Codoped 3D Nanoporous Graphene for Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalysis and Rechargeable Zn–Air Batteries

Developing bifunctional electrocatalysts with high activities and long durability for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial toward the practical implementation of rechargeable metal–air batteries. Here, a 3D nanoporous graphene (np‐graphene) doped with both N and Ni single atoms/clusters is reported. The predoping of N by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) dramatically increases the Ni doping amount and stability. The resulting N and Ni codoped np‐graphene has excellent electrocatalytic activities for both the ORR and the OER in alkaline aqueous solutions. The synergetic effects of N and Ni dopants are revealed by density functional theory calculations. The free‐standing Ni,N codoped 3D np‐graphene shows great potential as an economical catalyst/electrode for metal–air batteries.     

Critical Discourse Analysis and the ecological turn in intercultural communication

ABSTRACT

Intercultural communication and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) have formed a fruitful partnership over the last decade. However, both stand at a juncture with exciting possibilities and imperatives for growth as the fields reflect on their overwhelming emphasis on deconstructive critiques and largely anthropocentric inquiry. In a recent work, S. Lily Mendoza and I argued that (critical) intercultural communication must go beyond its exclusive attention to anthropocentric concerns and begin to approach identity, culture, and intercultural communication from an ecologically grounded perspective. One part of this move is the need for examining culture, communication, and interculturality with critical eyes on the ways anthropocentrism shapes and organizes them, and another part is engaging and exploring alternatives. Building on this argument, this essay will discuss the potential of CDA in playing an integral role in the ecological turn in the study of intercultural communication. With rapidly deteriorating ecological health as an urgent context, CDA has already begun to take an ecological turn as marked by the articulation of ecolingustics as CDA. This essay presents a discussion of ecolingustics as a promising lens through which to examine intercultural communication.     

Determination of surface selection rule of surface plasmon resonance near-infrared spectroscopy by using a Langmuir-Blodgett film

Near-infrared (NIR) absorption spectra of a cadmium arachidate Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film were measured by surface plasmon resonance near-infrared spectroscopy (SPR-NIRS) based on the Kretschmann configuration with a 18.8-nm gold film. An NIR spectrum enhanced severalfold was obtained as a top ridge of the SPR-NIR spectra measured at different incident angles by using the principle of absorption-sensitive SPR. In order to determine the surface selection rule of SPR-NIRS, the enhanced NIR absorption spectrum of the LB film was compared to an unenhanced one without the gold film and to a normal incidence transmission spectrum. Moreover, a pair of out-of-plane (OP) and in-plane (IP) spectra were obtained by multiangle infrared spectroscopy analysis from a series of oblique incidence transmission measurements in the NIR region. It became obvious that the salient feature of the enhanced NIR absorption spectrum, i.e., the top ridge of the SPR-NIR spectra is almost equivalent to that of the OP spectrum. On the other hand, the unenhanced spectrum showed IP modes. These experimental results were well explained by calculation of the mean-square electric field based on the Fresnel formula.