Phonological similarity effect is abolished by a silent mouthing task

This experiment was designed to examine the effect of silent mouthing on the phonological similarity effect. 16 undergraduates were tested for serial recall of visually presented letter sequences that were either phonologically similar or dissimilar. The letter sequences had to be remembered under two conditions, a control condition and a silent mouthing condition in which subjects had to articulate irrelevant words silently during the study period. Analysis showed the clear advantage of the dissimilar sequence over the similar one in the control condition. In contrast, this phonological similarity effect disappeared in the silent mouthing condition. This result is consistent with the working memory model.     

Influence of methylprednisolone on the intracellular antimicrobial activity of erythromycin and clindamycin against Legionella pneumophila

We have investigated the effect of methylprednisolone on the intracellular activity of erythromycin and clindamycin in vitro. An assay system was developed for the determination of intracellular activity of antibiotics against Legionella pneumophila using guinea pig resident alveolar macrophages. Erythromycin at a concentration of 0.625 mg/L (5 x MIC) and clindamycin at a concentration of 8 mg/L (MIC) inhibited the growth of a single strain of L. pneumophila in macrophages, whilst ceftizoxime at a concentration of 0.625 mg/L (5 x MIC) did not. Methylprednisolone at therapeutic concentrations did not affect the intracellular antibacterial activity of either erythromycin or clindamycin against L. pneumophila. We found no direct effect of methylprednisolone on the intracellular antibacterial activity of either erythromycin or clindamycin.     

Intracoronary infusion of E6010 has more potent thrombolytic activity than tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) in dogs: a higher plasma level of E6010 than t-PA causes potent thrombolytic activity

We examined the thrombolytic properties of a novel modified human tissue plasminogen activator (PA) (E6010), in which cysteine 84 is replaced by serine, and which has a prolonged biologic half-life (t1/2). We compared the thrombolytic efficacy of continuous intracoronary (i.c.) infusion of E6010 with that of recombinant human tissue PA (rt-PA) in a canine model with copper coil-induced 1-h-old coronary artery thrombi and also compared the relation between thrombolytic efficacy and plasma clearance represented by pharmacokinetic parameters of i.c.-infused E6010 and rt-PA. Sixty-minute E6010 and rt-PA i.c. infusions were compared. The thrombolytic effects of i.c.-infused E6010 and rt-PA, represented by time to reperfusion (TR), reperfusion rate at 60 min (RR), and reocclusion rates at 60 min after reperfusion (OR) were as follows. E6010: Dose 0.06, 0.15, 0.3 (mg/kg/h); TR 25 +/- 10, 15 +/- 10, 13 +/- 5 (min); RR 100, 100, 100 (%); and OR 0, 0, 17 (%), respectively. Recombinant t-PA: Dose 0.06, 0.15, 0.3 (mg/kg/h); TR 47 +/- 12, 18 +/- 17, 14 +/- 4 (min); RR 50, 75, 100 (%); and OR 100, 33, 33 (%), respectively. These findings indicate that E6010 has more potent thrombolytic activity than rt-PA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A new non-random chromosomal translocation t(3;6)(q27;p21.3) associated with BCL6 rearrangement in two patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

We describe two cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma associated with t(3;6)(q27;p21.3) and BCL6 rearrangement. The first case was in a 78-year old woman, whose performance status (PS) was 1, the serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level was elevated, and the Ann Arbor stage was IIIA with no extra nodal lymphomatous site. The pathological diagnosis from a biopsy of the inguinal lymph node was 'malignant lymphoma (ML), follicular, small cleaved' according to the Working Formulation. Complete remission was achieved. Although she had relapse in 1992, remission was obtained again. The second case was in a 62-year old man, whose PS was 1, the serum LDH was normal, and Ann Arbor stage was IVA with the involvement of the small intestine. Histological diagnosis of the cervical lymph node was 'ML, diffuse, large cell'. Complete remission was obtained without relapse. The 3q27 translocations, found in 20-30% of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, are unique in having multiple chromosomal translocation partners. Chromosome band 6p21.3 is one of these partner sites that may be the site of a novel gene. The two cases presented here show that this translocation is a non-random chromosomal change involving 3q27 and BCL6. Since t(3;6) was the sole karyotypic abnormality in one case, this translocation may play a role in lymphomagenesis.     

Direct growth of CdTe on (100), (211), and (111) Si by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

CdTe epilayers were grown directly on (100), (211), and (111) silicon substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The crystallinity and the growth orientation of the CdTe film were dependent on the surface treatment of the Si substrate. The surface treatment consisted of exposure of the Si surface to diethyltelluride (DETe) at temperatures over 600°C prior to CdTe growth. Direct growth of CdTe on (100) Si produced polycrystalline films whereas (lll)B single crystals grew when Si was exposed to DETe prior to CdTe growth. On (211) Si, single crystal films with (133)A orientation was obtained when grown directly; but produced films with (211)A orientation when the Si surface was exposed to DETe. On the other hand, only (lll)A CdTe films were possible on (111) Si, both with and without Te source exposure, although twinning was increased after exposure. The results indicate that the exposure to a Te-source changes the initial growth stage significantly, except for the growth on (111) Si. We propose a model in which a Te atom replaces a Si atom that is bound to two Si atoms.     

Antitumor activity of 1 M tegafur-0.4 M 5-chloro-2,4-dihydroxypyridine-1 M potassium oxonate (S-1) against human colon carcinoma orthotopically implanted into nude rats

The purpose of this study was to establish a nude rat orthotopic (organ-specific) human colorectal cancer model as an in vivo secondary screen for general evaluation of new anticancer agents against colorectal cancer and to evaluate practically the antitumor activity of 1 M tegafur-0.4 M 5-chloro-2,4-dihydroxypyridine-1 M potassium oxonate (S-1), a new p.o. fluoropyrimidine, in comparison to 1 M tegafur-4 M uracil [(UFT) effective on colorectal tumor in clinical]. After implantation of KM12C, a human colorectal cancer cell line, into the subserosal layer of the colon as a single-cell suspension, extensive local tumor growth and invasion to both the mucosal and the serosal sides were observed in all rats. Metastatic foci were also formed in both lymph nodes and lungs following local tumor growth in all of them. Using this method, an equitoxic dose of S-1 (15 mg/kg/day) and UFT (30 mg/kg/day) was administered p.o. for 14 consecutive days from 7 days after tumor cell implantation. S-1 showed a higher tumor growth inhibition than UFT did [S-1, 57% (significantly different from the tumor weight of the untreated group at P < 0.05) and UFT, 18% (P > 0.05)]. When both drugs were administered to nude rats bearing KM12C injected into the cecal wall for 28 consecutive days at equitoxic doses, the mean survival in the S-1 group was 16 days longer than that in the untreated group (P < 0.01) but that in the UFT group was only 8 days longer (P > 0.05). After the administration of an equitoxic dose of both drugs, S-1 gave the higher levels than UFT in various pharmacokinetic parameters as follows: area under the curve 0-24 h of 5-fluorouracil in plasma (3.5-fold), area under the curve 0-24 h of 5-fluorouracil incorporated into RNA in the tumor (1.3-fold), and thymidylate synthase inhibition rate (percentage) in the tumor (about 20%). Collectively, these findings suggested that this orthotopic human colorectal tumor model in nude rats is useful to evaluate the clinical therapeutic efficacy of drugs or therapies for colorectal cancer, and that S-1 had a higher therapeutic effect on human colorectal tumor than UFT did.     

Determination of erythema-effective solar radiation in Japan and Germany with a spore monolayer film optimized for the detection of UVB and UVA--results of a field campaign

A centrifugation method was used to investigate the accumulation of 14C-rifampicin by Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, and to characterize the mechanism of rifampicin transport into S. aureus. For both species, drug accumulation was rapid with the steady-state concentration (SSC) reached within 40 s of drug exposure. Rifampicin accumulation by S. aureus was temperature and pH dependent; the lower the experimental temperature and the lower the experimental pH, the lower was the concentration of rifampicin accumulated. Accumulation was unaffected by the presence of inhibitors of antibiotic efflux, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), dinitrophenol (DNP), or reserpine. Exposure to increasing concentrations of rifampicin suggested that the accumulation process was saturable above a rifampicin concentration of 0.2 mg/L. Michaelis-Menten kinetics gave an apparent Km and Vmax for rifampicin, calculated from a Lineweaver-Burk plot, of 0.05 mg/L (0.06 microM) and 3.8 ng rifampicin per second, respectively. However, calculations suggest that these values reflect those for binding of rifampicin to its target, RNA polymerase.