EM574, an erythromycin derivative, is a potent motilin receptor agonist in human gastric antrum

Erythromycin and its derivatives are known to induce phase III-like contractions, which are similar to those induced by motilin, in the human gastrointestinal tract during the interdigestive state, but few detailed in vitro studies have been reported. We evaluated EM574, an erythromycin derivative, as a motilin receptor agonist in the human gastric antrum in vitro, using contraction studies of muscle strips and isolated myocytes, receptor binding assay and tissue section autoradiography. EM574 stimulated contractions of muscle strips in a concentration-dependent manner (10(-7)-10(-5) M), and this contractile effect was unaffected by pretreatment with atropine or tetrodotoxin. Isolated myocytes contracted in response to EM574 with a peak shortening at 10(-7) M, which was comparable to the response to motilin. EM574 displaced specifically 125I-motilin bound to smooth muscle homogenates with a Kd value of 7.8 x 10(-9) M, compared with 4.5 x 10(-9) M for motilin. Film autoradiograms showed that 125I-motilin-binding sites were localized in the muscle layers, and that the labeling disappeared in the presence of a 1000 times molar concentration of EM574. We conclude that EM574 directly stimulates smooth muscle cell contraction by acting on motilin receptors in the human gastric antrum in vitro.     

Early hemodynamic effects of olprinone hydrochloride after coronary artery bypass grafting

Our purpose was to evaluate the hemodynamic effects of olprinone hydrochloride early after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Fifteen patients undergoing CABG were administered a constant infusion of 0.1 microgram/kg/min of olprinone and continued for 4 hours. No bolus infusion of olprinone was administered before continuous infusion. Systolic systemic arterial pressure, systolic pulmonary arterial pressure, systemic vascular resistance and pulmonary vascular resistance were significantly decreased. There were no significant changes in heart rate, mean central venous pressure, mean left atrial pressure and left ventricular stroke work index. Cardiac index was significantly increased, but a correlation between cardiac index and mixed venous blood oxygen saturation was not found. Double product was significantly decreased, which described above suggest that olprinone achieved improvement of left cardiac function without more myocardial oxygen consumption. Severe transient hypotension (systolic arterial pressure < 80 mmHg) after infusion of olprinone was observed in three patients. Olprinone administered soon after CABG surgery had beneficial effects in terms of improvement of hemodynamic status without more oxygen consumption and reduction of pulmonary vascular resistance. However transient hypotension was a serious clinical problem in patients after open heart surgery, especially in CABG patients who need suitable systolic arterial pressure to keep enough blood perfusion of arterial bypass grafts.     

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is recruited to a specific site in the activated IL-1 receptor I

We have developed an on-line archive of neuronal geometry to encourage the use of realistic dendritic structures in morphometry and for neuronal modeling, located at web address www.neuro.soton.ac.uk. Initially we have included full three-dimensional representations of 87 neurons from the hippocampus, obtained following intracellular staining with biocytin and reconstruction using Neurolucida. The archive system includes a structure editor for correcting any departures from valid branching geometry and which allows simple errors in the digitisation to be corrected. The editor employs a platform-independent file format which enforces the constraints that there should be no isolated branches and no closed loops. It also incorporates software for interconversion between the archive format and those used by various neuronal reconstruction and modelling packages. The raw data from digitisation software can be included in the archive as well as edited reconstructions and any further information available. Cross-referenced tables and indexes are updated automatically and are sorted according to a number of fields including the cell type, contributor, submission date and published reference. Both the archive and the structure editor should facilitate the quantitative use of full three-dimensional reconstructions of neurons from the hippocampus and other brain regions.     

Gastrointestinal bleeding (introduction)

Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a common and important problem for all clinicians. Patients may present with signs of bleeding, such as hematemesis, melena, or hematochezia. The patient must first be hemodynamically stabilized. Initial assessment of patients with GI bleeding includes thorough history taking and physical examination. Patients with acute bleeding or an unstable condition must be resuscitated immediately and the source of bleeding must be localized to the upper or lower GI tract. Panendoscopy is often the initial diagnostic test and is useful to stop GI bleeding, at the same time.     

Optical preamplifier using antireflection-coating-free semiconductor optical amplifier with signal-inverted ASE

We fabricated an antireflection (AR)-coating-free semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) with an absorbing region for an optical preamplifier. In the fabricated SOA, the resonance of light was fully suppressed so that the amplitude of the ripple of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) spectra was as small as 0.36 dB, which is comparable to conventional SOAs with AR coating at both facets. We formed an optical preamplifier using the AR-coating-free SOA. The gain saturation of the SOA gives us the signal conversion to ASE and the amplification of the signal. The small-signal fiber-to-fiber and chip gain of the preamplifier were 11.4 and 20.0 dB, respectively. The 3-dB optical gain bandwidth of the preamplifier was about 30 nm.     

Effect of wall slip on blown film thickness distribution

One of the most important materials for blown film is high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) with wide molecular weight distribution. First, we computed a wall stress at the entrance of a spiral groove in a particular die during blown film processing on a particular condition, to which a similar condition is widely utilized in a film works. The computed value is about 170 kPa, while the HDPE melt slips at die wall at stresses above approximately 50 kPa. The stress of 170 kPa is sufficiently large for the slip occurrence of the melt. Then, we investigated the effects of wall slip and melt visosity on film thickness distribution in the circumferential direction; the distribution tends to decrease with decreasing wall slip and melt viscosity. This tendency is explained by considering flow distribution in a spiral mandrel die and polymer melt flow characteristics.     

Patterning characteristics under small vibrations of the mask and wafer in SR lithography

Patterning characteristics under mechanical vibrations between mask and wafer are investigated in terms of pattern profile deformation, linewidth change, and exposure dose margin by performing exposure experiments and using a Fresnel diffraction simulation. A small vibration works as a smoothing filter and provides a smooth profile in patterning. Stronger vibrations, generally, make the linewidth bigger, thereby reducing the dose margin. However, given vibrations of a particular amplitude, there is a certain range of doses in which the vibrations donot significantly affect the linewidth. Below the range, the linewidth becomes smaller; and above, it becomes larger. And it is possible to obtain the desired dimensions of delineated pattern even when the amplitude of the vibrations was a quarter of the minimum feature size.     

Association between Ala54Thr substitution of the fatty acid-binding protein 2 gene with insulin resistance and intra-abdominal fat thickness in Japanese men

In insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), inappropriate growth hormone (GH) responses to several stimuli, including GH-releasing hormone (GHRH), have been described. A decreased hypothalamic somatostatinergic tone is one of the most likely explanations for these findings. His-DTrp-Ala-Trp-DPhe-Lys-NH2 [GH-releasing peptide-6 [GHRP-6]] is a synthetic hexapeptide that stimulates GH release in vitro and in vivo. The mechanism of action of GHRP-6 is unknown, but it probably does not inhibit hypothalamic somatostatin secretion. Also, GHRH and GHRP-6 apparently activate different intracellular pathways to release GH. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is a differential effect of IDDM on GHRP-6- and GHRH-induced GH secretion. Six patients with IDDM and seven control subjects were studied. Each subject received GHRP-6 (1 microgram/kg intravenously [IV]), GHRH (100 micrograms IV), and GHRP-6 + GHRH on 3 separate days. GH peak values (mean +/- SE in micrograms per liter) were similar in controls and diabetics after GHRH (22.5 +/- 7.8 v 24.0 +/- 9.7) and after GHRP-5 (20.5 +/- 5.3 v 24.4 +/- 6.3). The association of GHRP-6 and GHRH induced a significantly higher GH release than administration of the isolated peptides in both groups. The synergistic GH response to combined administration of GHRP-6 and GHRH was not different in controls (70.5 +/- 20.0) and diabetics (119.0 +/- 22.2). In summary, the effectiveness of GHRP-6 in IDDM could reinforce the evidence that this peptide probably does not release GH through a decrease in hypothalamic somatostatin secretion. Moreover, our data suggest that both GHRH and GHRP-6 releasing mechanisms are unaltered in IDDM.