Increased hepatic β-oxidation of docosahexaenoic acid, elongation of eicosapentaenoic acid, and acylation of lysophosphatidate in rats fed a docosahexaenoic acid-enriched diet

Rats were fed a diet supplemented with corn oil (n-3 deficient), soy oil, or a mixture containing 8% 22∶6n-3 ethyl ester for 6 wk. The hepatic capacities for the β-oxidation and synthesis of 22∶6n-3, in addition to the acylation of lysophosphatidate, were tested in vitro. In rats that were fed a 22∶6n-3-enriched diet, both the β-oxidation of 22∶6n-3 and elongation of 20∶5n-3 were enhanced compared to those in rats fed the other diets. Acylation of lysophosphatidate was also enhanced in rats fed a 22∶6n-3-enriched diet, while the rate of dephosphorylation of phosphatidate was not changed. The amount of 22∶6n-3 in the liver was much less than that consumed in a docosahexaenoic acid-enriched diet. These results suggest that a significant amount of dietary 22∶6n-3 was degraded via β-oxidation, and that a portion of the retroconverted 20∶5n-3 was recycled for the synthesis of 22∶6n-3. The recycling of 20∶5n-3 might contribute to the low level of 22∶6n-3 in rats fed an n-3-deficient diet.     

LC GRIN lens mode with wide viewing angle for rotatable 2D/3D tablet

To widen the vertical and horizontal angular ranges where the lens performs well, the off‐axis performance of a liquid crystal gradient index (LC GRIN) lens is analyzed by the combined simulation system of an LC director simulator and a ray‐tracing simulator. We found that the angular difference between an LC alignment direction and an electrode array direction of the LC GRIN lens is one of significant parameters, and detailed conditions of structure are established. The measurement result shows that the developed structure reduces the degradation ratio in a luminance profile from 61% to 3.2%. We have applied a user tracking system for the rotatable 3D display, equipped with a detection of a panel orientation and a face position. As a result, we have developed a rotatable 2D/3D tablet whose 3D viewing azimuth angle is over 30° in both landscape and portrait orientations.     

An early phase II trial combining cisplatin and carboplatin in advanced non-small cell lung cancer

We conducted an early phase II trial in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to evaluate response efficacy of a combination of Cisplatin (CDDP) and Carboplatin (CBDCA). The twenty-six patients in the study had had no previous treatment. They received a sequential administration of 300 mg/m2 CBDCA and 80 mg/m2 CDDP with approximately 3,500 ml of hydration on day 1 every 4 weeks. All patients were evaluable for response and toxicity. Ten (38.5%) of all assessable patients achieved a partial response (95% confidence interval, 19.8-57.2%). Response rates for patients with stage III A, III B and IV- disease were 40.0 (2/5), 70.0 (7/10) and 9.1% (1/11), respectively. Response rates for patients with squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma were 35.7 (5/14), 45.5 (5/11) and 0.0% (0/1), respectively. The median survival time (MST) of all patients was 11 months. The MST for patients with stage III disease was 14 months; for those with stage IV disease it was 7 months. The MST for responding patients was 15 months and for not responding patients 5 months. Major toxicities were hematologic and gastrointestinal, and the dose-limiting factor was thrombocytopenia. This combination chemotherapy was effective against NSCLC with tolerable toxicities. Further trials are warranted to determine the efficacy of the combination chemotherapy.     

Fine two-phase routing over shortest paths with traffic matrix

This paper presents an IP finely-distributed load-balanced routing scheme based on two-phase routing over shortest paths, where the traffic matrix is given. It is called the fine two-phase routing (F-TPR) scheme. F-TPR more finely distributes traffic from a source node to intermediate nodes than the original TPR. F-TPR determines the distribution ratios to intermediate nodes for each source–destination node pair independently. To determine an optimum set of distribution ratios, a linear programming (LP) formulation is derived. We compare the F-TPR scheme against the TPR scheme and the sophisticated traffic engineering (TE) scheme of Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS-TE). Numerical results show that F-TPR greatly reduces the network congestion ratio compared to TPR. In addition, F-TPR provides almost the same network congestion ratios as MPLS-TE, the difference is surprisingly less than 0.1% for the various network topologies examined. In addition, considering the practical implementation of F-TPR for routers, we also investigate the case that traffic from a source node to a destination node is not allowed to be split over multiple routes. The non-split problem is formulated as an integer linear programming (ILP) problem. As it is difficult to solve the ILP problem within practical time, two heuristic algorithms are presented: Largest Traffic Demand First (LTDF) and a Random Selection (RS). The applicability of LTDF and RS are presented in terms of network size. We find that non-split F-TPR also matches the routing performance of MPLS-TE within an error of 1%, when network size is large enough.     

The objective measurement of pain using a motor-performance task.

An objective method for measuring endogenous pain in the wrist which originates in cervicobrachial disorders was improved. The method employed the plate-pushing task, which was reported previously (Taniguchi and Satow 1988a, b). The first improvement was achieved by introducing a load to be placed on the wrist while subjects were pushing the plate. In this way, it became easier to induce pain caused by disorders in the wrist. Another improvement was a new procedure by which a subject was told to change her pressure against a balance as instructed. This made it possible to identify the degree of pressure exerted which produce pain. Effects of dominance of hands, and of ordering the trials so as to begin with the dominant hand and switch to non-dominant, or vice versa in the tests were also examined, but were found to be not significant. Finally, the new method proved to be highly useful as an objective method for measuring pain of this sort because the method could produce very similar conditions to those associated with ordinary pain causing motion.     

The role of microglia and tumor-primed lymphocytes in the interaction between T lymphocytes and brain endothelial cells

We investigated the role of IFN-gamma activated microglia in the passage of T lymphocytes across a monolayer of brain endothelial cells (EC) in vitro. Microglia isolated from Fisher 344 (F344) newborn rats were stimulated with IFN-gamma (100 U/ml) for 48 h. T lymphocytes primed with glioma cells were 51Cr-labeled, and added to the monolayer of F344 brain EC. In the adhesion assay, when EC were cultured in medium containing the supernatant of reactive microglia before the assay was carried out, the number of T lymphocytes adhering was increased. In addition, this adhesion was blocked by the addition of anti-ICAM-1 mAb to the EC. In the migration assay, performed using the double chamber system, when reactive microglia adhered to the other side of EC, the number of T lymphocytes migrating to the underwell was also increased. When T lymphocytes were primed to tumor cells in vivo, both their adhesion and migration were enhanced. These results suggest that some soluble factors from reactive microglia are capable of enhancing the expression of ICAM-1 on the brain EC. As a consequence, large numbers of tumor-primed T lymphocytes can adhere to EC and migrate across the EC monolayer.     

Functional cooperation of cyclin C and c-Myc in mediating homotypic cell adhesion via very late antigen-4 activation and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 induction

Very late antigen-4 (VLA-4)/vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) are a pair of adhesion molecules mediating cell-cell interaction. The binding activity of each depends on its surface expression, yet integrin activity can also be modulated through inside-out signaling. However, the specific intracellular molecules involved in modulating integrin VLA-4 activation via inside-out signaling or in regulating VCAM-1 expression are poorly understood. We show here that constitutive coexpression of cyclin C and c-Myc in hematopoietic BAF-B03 cells induces homotypic cell adhesion, which results from enhanced VLA-4 ligand-binding activity and induced expression of VCAM-1. Furthermore, regulation of cell adhesion appears to be a feature unique to cyclin C, but not other G1 cyclins, E and D3, and its regulatory function is independent of CDK8 kinase activity. Our results provide a novel role for cyclin C and c-Myc in the regulation of cell adhesion through distinct mechanisms.     

Mammalian Polycomb group genes are categorized as a new type of early response gene induced by B-cell receptor cross-linking

Polycomb group (PcG) genes were initially described in Drosophila melanogaster as regulators of the homeobox gene. Four mammalian homologues, mel-18, bmi-1, M33 and rae-28, are analyzed in this study. They not only regulate mammalian homeotic genes by analogy with their Drosophila counterparts, but also have some influence on the growth and differentiation of B lymphocytes. Here we report that these four mammalian PcG genes are rapidly induced after antigen-receptor cross-linking in B cells. Thus we would like to propose that mammalian PcG genes can be categorized as a new type of immediate early gene.     

Detection of nivalenol genotoxicity in cultured cells and multiple mouse organs by the alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis assay

The effects of upper airway (UAW) flows and pressures on breathing pattern and respiratory muscle activities were studied in anesthetized rats breathing through a tracheostomy. A steady flow (approximately 1000 ml/kg/min) of cold dry air, or cold wet air, or warm wet air was passed through the UAW, in the expiratory direction for approximately 20 sec (20-40 sec). In other trials positive or negative pressure was applied to the isolated UAW for a similar duration. There was a marked prolongation of the expiratory duration and decreases in peak inspiratory flow, tidal volume, and peak diaphragm electromyogram (EMG) activity in response to cold dry airflow. The responses to cold wet air were reduced but still significant. Warm wet air had no effect on breathing. These responses show that UAW cooling and drying depress breathing in the rat and that cooling itself could cause the inhibition of breathing. Negative pressure induced substantial increases in genioglossus and laryngeal inspiratory activity while positive pressure caused a decrease in genioglossus activity. Positive pressure also increased expiratory time while negative pressure increased inspiratory time. These results confirm the functional role of the UAW dilating muscles in preventing UAW from collapse in rats.