Basic and clinical studies of pazufloxacin on infectious enteritis research group of T-3761 on infectious enteritis

A clinical study was carried out on pazufloxacin (PZFX) in 137 patients including shigellosis, Salmonella enteritis, enteropathogenic Esherichia coli enteritis and cholera, and carriers of these pathogens. Antibacterial activity of PZFX against clinical isolates, fecal concentration of PZFX and effects of PZFX on fecal microflora were also investigated. The overall clinical efficacy rate was 97.2%. The bacteriological efficacy rates were 98.2% against Shigella spp., 81.8% against Salmonella spp., 50% against Vibrio cholerae O1, and 100% against E. coli, V. parahaemolyticus, Aeronomas spp., Plesionomas shigelloides and V. cholerae non-O1, respectively. Side effect (epigastralgia) was observed in 1 of 130 cases (0.8%). The rate of abnormal laboratory findings was 11.2% (11/98). These were mainly elevation of GOT and/or GPT and increased eosinophils. The clinical usefulness rate was 95.2%. The MIC90 values of PZFX against Shigella spp., Salmonella spp. and E. coli were 0.025, 0.025 and 0.025 micrograms/ml, respectively. The results of fecal drug concentration and the effects on fecal microflora in one patient were compatible with those obtained in healthy volunteers.     

Subclinical vestibulo-cerebellar, anterior cerebellar lobe and spinocerebellar effects in lead workers in relation to concurrent and past exposure

By computerized static posturography, the subclinical effects of past and concurrent lead absorption on the vestibulo-cerebellum (lower vermis), anterior cerebellar lobe and spinocerebellar afferent pathway were examined in 49 male chemical factory workers exposed to lead stearate (lead workers). Their concurrent blood lead (BPb) concentrations ranged from 7 to 36 (mean 18.0) microgram/100 g. In the past, their maximum BPb ranged from 11 to 113 (mean 47.7) micrograms/100 g; mean BPb was 7-52 (mean 23.5) micrograms/100 g; and cumulative BPb, defined as mean BPb x years of exposure, was 15-1268 (mean 390.6) micrograms.year/100 g. Control subjects were 23 healthy male workers who had never been occupationally exposed to lead. The postural sway of high (2-4 Hz) and low (1 Hz or less) frequencies with eyes open for lead workers was significantly greater than that for controls in the medio-lateral (right-left) and anterior-posterior directions. Similarly, the sway of high and low frequencies with eyes closed was significantly larger in lead workers than in controls in the medio-lateral direction. Results of stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that the sway with frequencies of 0.5-2 Hz with eyes open was related to concurrent BPb in the anterior-posterior direction. With eyes closed the sway of high frequency was significantly related to mean BPb in the past in the medio-lateral direction. The pattern of the changes suggests that the vestibulo-cerebellum, anterior cerebellar lobe and spinocerebellar pathway are asymptomatically affected by lead. It appears that the change in the vestibulo-cerebellum reflects concurrent lead absorption, while on the other hand, that in the anterior cerebellar lobe reflects past lead absorption.     

Features of the cytokines secreted by adult T cell leukemia (ATL) cells

Adult T cell leukemia (ATL) cells show a mature helper-inducer T cell phenotype and are thought to secrete many kinds of cytokines in vivo, complicating the clinical features in these patients. In an attempt to specify the cytokines produced by ATL cells, we measured the cytokine concentration in the culture supernatants of three ATL cell lines, all of which were confirmed to be true peripheral blood ATL cell in origin. All these cell lines showed the same cytokine production profile, secreting IL1-alpha, IL1-beta, LD78(MIP-l alpha), TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and GM-CSF, but not secreting IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1 Ra), IL-4, IFN-alpha, and G-CSF irrespective of the stimulatory agents used. Such limited cytokine production may indicate the specific origin of ATL cells within the helper-inducer T cell subtypes. Moreover, these results explain some of the unusual clinical features of ATL patients.     

Toward a scalable modular robotic system

In this article, we propose a simple docking method using an onboard camera module. It has two key ideas: one is image processing using a camera module and LEDs equipped on the modules, and the other is a special modular configuration designed for docking, which absorbs positional errors. We also designed a self-reconfiguration sequence to integrate a docked robot into a periodic structure. The effectiveness of the proposed method is examined by docking/integration experiments using 18 modules.     

Analysis of a discrete-time single-server queue with bursty inputsfor traffic control in ATM networks

The performance of an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network subject to admission control and traffic smoothing is analyzed. Basically, an ATM switch is modeled as a discrete-time single-server queuing system in which a new call joins existing calls. Cell arrivals from a new call are assumed to follow a general distribution. It is also assumed that aggregated arrivals of cells from existing calls form batch arrivals with a general batch size distribution and a geometric distribution of the interarrival times between batches. Both finite- and infinite-buffer cases are considered. An exact analysis yields the waiting time distribution and cell loss probability for a new call and for existing calls. Numerical examples are given to show how the network performance depends on the statistics of a new call (burstiness, time that a call stays in an active or inactive state, etc.) and to demonstrate the effectiveness of admission control and traffic smoothing     

Intracellular glucose metabolism after long term metabolic control with glyburide: improved glucose oxidation with unchanged glycogen synthase activity

To determine whether improved metabolic control with long term glyburide treatment alters intracellular glucose metabolism independent of effects on glucose uptake (GU), we studied eight obese patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus before and 7 months after glyburide therapy. Indirect calorimetry and skeletal muscle biopsies were performed in the basal state and during 300 pmol/m2.min insulin infusions, with glucose turnover rates determined by [3-3H]glucose turnover. During the glucose clamps, rates of GU were matched before and after treatment using equivalent hyperinsulinemia and variable levels of hyperglycemia. After glyburide treatment, rates of GU were decreased in the basal state [4.16 +/- 0.57 vs. 3.29 +/- 0.37 mg/kg fat free mass (FFM)/min; P < 0.05], but similar during glucose clamps (11.53 +/- 1.42 vs. 11.93 +/- 1.32 mg/kg FFM.min; P = NS) according to study design. In both the basal state and during glucose clamps after glyburide therapy, rates of glucose oxidative metabolism (Gox) increased by 68-78% [1.21 +/- 0.16 vs. 2.03 +/- 0.31 mg/kg FFM.min (P < 0.05) and 3.13 +/- 0.51 vs. 5.58 +/- 0.55 mg/kg FFM.min (P < 0.05), respectively], and rates of nonoxidative glucose metabolism decreased [2.96 +/- 0.68 vs. 1.25 +/- 0.21 mg/kg FFM.min (P < 0.05) and 8.40 +/- 1.50 to 6.30 +/- 1.40 mg/kg FFM.min (P < 0.01), respectively]. Circulating plasma FFA levels and rates of fat oxidation (Fox) remained unchanged in both the basal state and during clamp studies. Skeletal muscle glycogen synthase (GS) activity, expressed as fractional velocity, was unchanged by glyburide therapy (2.2 +/- 0.8 vs. 2.7 +/- 0.3% in the basal state and 7.3 +/- 1.8 vs. 6.1 +/- 0.9% during clamps; both P = NS). In summary, at both matched (during clamp studies) and unmatched (during basal studies) rates of GU, improved metabolic control with glyburide therapy resulted in marked improvement of Gox independent of the effects on GU. The improvement in Gox was not associated with changes in Fox, circulating FFA, or muscle GS activity. These data indicate that long term metabolic control achieved by glyburide therapy markedly improves Gox, but not skeletal muscle GS activity, in noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus independent of GU and Fox.     

In vitro ferredoxin-dependent desaturation of fatty acids in cyanobacterial thylakoid membranes

Thylakoid membranes isolated from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803 were capable of desaturating the acyl groups in monogalactosyl diacylglycerol. This desaturation reaction required the reduced form of ferredoxin.