Genetic variation and population structure of the Japanese sika deer (Cervus nippon) in Hokkaido Island, based on mitochondrial D-loop sequences

The purpose of this 30-month study was to explore the effectiveness of a caries-preventive regimen in lowering the salivary mutans streptococci level in pregnant women and, subsequently, in inhibiting the growth of these bacteria in their young children. Beginning at the end of the sixth month of pregnancy and continuing until delivery, subjects rinsed daily with 0.05 percent sodium fluoride and 0.12 percent chlorhexidine. The authors monitored the salivary mutans streptococci levels during the last six months of pregnancy and every six months thereafter for 24 months. They also measured bacterial levels in the children every six months until they reached age 24 months. The results show that treatment significantly reduced salivary mutans streptococci levels in mothers and delayed the colonization of bacteria in their children for about four months.     

Super-dense WDM transmission technology in the zero-dispersion region employing distributed Raman amplification

This paper describes a practical system design and the transmission performance of high-capacity super-dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing (SD-WDM) transmission in the zero-dispersion region employing distributed Raman amplification (DRA). By combining several semiconductor laser diodes (LDs) of different wavelengths, gain-flattened DRA can be achieved. We quantitatively clarify the relation between the pump power and the maximum input signal power that can be injected into a transmission fiber by taking into account gain saturation due to pump depletion. Based on these analytical results and computer simulations on transmission performance, an SD-WDM transmission experiment is conducted. By employing four-wavelength, backward-pumped DRA and forward-error correction, we successfully demonstrate 1-Tb/s (100 /spl times/ 10 Gb/s) SD-WDM transmission with 25-GHz channel spacing (0.4-b/s/Hz spectral efficiency) in the C-band (zero-dispersion region) over 4 /spl times/ 80 km of dispersion-shifted fiber. These results show that DRA is a powerful technology in realizing high-capacity SD-WDM transmission, particularly in the zero-dispersion region.     

Ectopic prostatic tissue outside the urinary tract: a case report

A 64-year-old man with a 4-month history of dysuria and urinary frequency had a mass behind the bladder. The preoperative diagnosis was a tumor of the left seminal vesicle, but a histologic examination revealed benign prostatic tissue. This is the seventh reported case of ectopic prostatic tissue situated outside the urinary tract.     

EGG phosphatidylcholine combined with vitamin B12 improved memory impairment following lesioning of nucleus basalis in rats

We investigated the effects of egg phosphatidylcholine (PC) combined with vitamin B12 on memory in the Morris water maze task, and on choline and acetylcholine (ACh) concentrations in the brain of rats. Animals with nucleus basalis Magnocellularis (NBM) lesion received intragastric administration of egg PC or vitamin B12, or both for 18 days. Memory acquisition and retention were remarkably impaired in NBM lesioned rats compared with in sham-operated control. NBM lesioned group had lower choline and ACh concentrations than control group in the frontal cortex. High dose of egg PC alone significantly increased choline concentration, but did not change ACh concentration in the frontal cortex. High dose of vitamin B12 alone did not change choline and ACh concentrations in the brain. Either egg PC or vitamin B12 did not improve memory acquisition and retention. However, low dose of egg PC combined with vitamin B12 significantly increased ACh concentration and improved memory acquisition and retention in the NBM lesioned rats. We concluded that egg PC combined with vitamin B12 improved the memory impairment of NBM lesioned rats through the action on the cholinergic neurons.     

Selective complement C1s deficiency caused by homozygous four-base deletion in the C1s gene

The authors report the case of a 50 year old man with pseudowanthoma elastica with a history of myocardial infarction and severe aortic regurgitation. Angiography showed multiple coronary artery aneurysms and aneurysmal dilatation of the aortic annulus. The outcome after triple coronary bypass surgery with aortic valve replacement in a valved Bentall conduit was favourable. Pseudoxanthoma elastica is a rare condition in which the prognosis depends on the degree of vascular involvement. In this context, coronary artery aneurysms and aneurysmal dilatation of the aorta are rare complications.     

Autoimmune pancreatitis: CT and MR characteristics

OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to elucidate the CT and MR imaging characteristics in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis, which is a reversible chronic pancreatitis with an autoimmune cause. CONCLUSION: On CT and MR imaging, a capsulelike rim, which is thought to correspond to an inflammatory process involving peripancreatic tissues, appears to be a characteristic finding of autoimmune pancreatitis. Also, diffuse pancreatic enlargement along with hypointensity on T1-weighted MR images and delayed enhancement on dynamic CT and MR studies are other features of this disorder.     

On the nature of the electrochemically synthesized hard Fe-0.96 mass pct C alloy film

A hard Fe-0.96 mass pct C alloy with a hardness value of 810 HV has been electrochemically synthesized from a ferrous sulfate bath containing a small amount of citric acid and L-ascorbic acid The nature of the alloy has been investigated by a number of techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), M?ssbauer spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and magnetic measurements. The decomposition behavior of the alloy is also studied and compared with that of thermally prepared martensite. It has been found that the electrochemically deposited Fe-C alloy exists in a state that is ahead of the freshly quenched state of martensite. It is suggested that the state of the electrochemically deposited Fe-0.96 mass pct C alloy corresponds to the state of thermal martensite, which had been heated to stage I of tempering.     

Cre-loxP-mediated DNA flip-flop in mammalian cells leading to alternate expression of retrovirally transduced genes

Cultured mesangial cells constitutively express alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), a marker of cellular activation. We unexpectedly found that tyrosine kinase pp60v-src, a known activator for a wide range of signalling cascades, suppressed the alpha-SMA expression in mesangial cells. The present study was conducted to elucidate molecular events involved in this phenomenon. Transfection with a reporter plasmid revealed that the serum response element (SRE), the cis-element required for alpha-SMA expression, was constitutively active in mesangial cells. When mesangial cells were transfected with pp60v-src, activity of both SRE and the alpha-SMA promoter was down-regulated. This was associated with depressed levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), but not c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Selective inhibition of ERKs by PD098059 abrogated constitutive SRE activity, leading to suppressed alpha-SMA expression. These results uncovered a novel potential of pp60v-src for suppression of alpha-SMA via intervention in the ERK-SRE signalling pathway.     

Studies on syntheses and physical characterization of biodegradable aliphatic poly(butylene succinate-co-ε-caprolactone)s

Biodegradable aliphatic poly(butylene succinate-co-ε-caprolactone) (PBSCs) were synthesized through a polycondensation with titanium tetraisoproxide (TTP), diphenylphosphinic acid (DPPA) and stannous octoate (Sn(Oct)₂) as the novel co-catalysts. By means of gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR), it was revealed that the PBSC copolyesters had number average molecular weights M_n higher than 5.0×10⁴, and that the polycondensations were in well agreement with a random copolymerization model. With respect to thermal properties, melting point, heat of fusion and glass transition temperature were found to decrease with increasing the CL/BS unit molar ratio up to 0.92, while thermal stability monotonously decreased with increasing the CL unit population spanning the whole CL unit composition. X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that the BS-rich/CL-rich PBSC organized the corresponding PBS/PCL-type of crystal structure. Moreover, it is worth to note that the PBS copolymerized with an appropriate amount of the minor CL component could significantly increase the fracture elongation of the resultant PBSC, and that mechanical properties of PBSC strongly depended on its CL unit population. In addition, biodegradabilities of PBSCs as well as PBS and PCL were tentatively assessed in a kind of compost soil, and the results suggest that chain flexibility may play an important role in the biodegradation as another factor besides the specificity of unit chemical structure and morphology.