Selective decrease in lysis of old thrombi after rapid administration of tissue-type plasminogen activator

The safety of thrombolytic therapy of acute myocardial infarction could be improved if a method were developed to dissolve fresh occlusive coronary thrombus without simultaneously dissolving hemostatic thrombi outside the coronary arteries. This study is based on the assumption that, in a patient with evolving acute myocardial infarction, hemostatic thrombi are likely to be older than the thrombus responsible for occlusion of the coronary artery. It explored whether the relative rates of lysis of fresh and old thrombi could be influenced by the rapidity of recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) administration. In each of 17 dogs, two 1 h and two 24 h old thrombi were produced by inserting copper coils into both jugular and both femoral veins. After 24 h and 1 h, respectively, the coils with the thrombi were removed, weighed and inserted into the adjacent carotid and femoral arteries. A 1 mg/kg body weight dose of rt-PA was given either over 180 or over 30 min. The coils were removed and weights of the residual thrombi determined at the end of the 180 min infusion (Group I), at the end of the 30 min infusion (Group IIA) and 45 min after the 30 min infusion (Group IIB). The 24 h old thrombi were lysed significantly less than the 1 h old thrombi in all three experimental groups: 53.9 +/- 4.8% (mean +/- SE) versus 86.1 +/- 2.5% in Group I (p less than 0.001), 16.6 +/- 3.5% versus 65.2 +/- 6.0% in Group IIA (p less than 0.001) and 21.6 +/- 5.4% versus 91.7 +/- 1.7% in Group IIB (p less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Evaluation of mitochondrial function by measuring the heat production in state 3 and state 4 respiration

Using a microcalorimetric method, we have measured the heat production in states 3 and 4 respiration of a mitochondrial preparation from rat heart ventricle. Adenosine triphosphate production in state 3 respiration was also determined for the same preparation after heat production was measured. In Tris-buffered solution with pyruvate and malate used as substrates, the total heat production in states 3 and 4 respiration for a 10-min reaction period were about 709 and 207 mJ/mg of mitochondrial protein, respectively. 2,4-Dinitrophenol, an uncoupler of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, increased the heat production in both states 3 and 4 respiration. On the other hand, antimycin A1, an inhibitor of the electron transport system, decreased the heat production in both states. When ventricle mitochondrial dysfunction was induced by the in vivo administration of a high dose of isoproterenol, heat production was increased in state 4 respiration. These results indicate that the calorimetric method can be used to evaluate the mitochondrial function.

Novel antifungal antibiotics maniwamycins A and B. II. Structure determination

The structures of the new azoxy antibiotics maniwamycins A and B have been determined by means of spectral analyses and chemical studies.

Simultaneous measurement of cytosolic free calcium concentration and cell circumference during contraction, both in a single rat cardiomuscular cell, by digital imaging microscopy with indo-1

We have developed a novel system using digital imaging microscopy with indo-1 to measure the cytosolic free calcium concentration [( Ca2+]i). The method is particularly suitable for measuring the rapid change in [Ca2+]i in relation to the cell motion. With this system, we made the first successful simultaneous measurement of [Ca2+]i and cell circumference during contraction in an electrically stimulated single rat ventricular myocyte. It was found that the level of [Ca2+]i was elevated during contraction, and that the onset and peak time of the calcium transient preceded that of the decrease in circumference.

Intradiploic arachnoid cysts. Report of two cases

Two patients are presented in whom cranial arachnoid cysts developed as diverticuli of the arachnoid membrane through small defects in the dura mater, eroded through the inner table, expanded within the diploe, and eroded the outer table of the skull. Based on observations at the time of surgery and the histological examination of these lesions, it is proposed that they are congenital in origin. Previously reported cases of "traumatic arachnoid cyst without fracture," "intradiploic cerebrospinal fluid fistula," and "middle fossa pitholes" appear to represent the same pathological process as the lesions reported in this paper. It is proposed that "intradiploic arachnoid cyst" is the most appropriate term by which these lesions should be described.

Blood pressure and cochlear blood flow in the guinea pig

The relationship between blood pressure and cochlear blood flow was investigated in 68 guinea pigs, using the vasoactive drugs angiotensin II, norepinephrine, phentolamine, isoproterenol, dobutamine, salbutamol, propranolol, bradykinin, papaverine, vinpocetine dilazep, and brovincamine. Cochlear blood flow increases markedly and proportionately to increases in blood pressure. By contrast, cochlear blood flow shows various responses toward a fall in blood pressure. In general, cochlear blood flow appears relatively resistant to blood pressure decrease.

Effects of verapamil and propranolol on changes in extracellular K+, pH, and local activation during graded coronary flow in the pig

The beta-adrenergic and calcium channel blocking agents are known to reduce heart rate and alter myocardial contractility. More recent evidence suggests that both agents affect the metabolic consequences of ischemia, independent of their effects on heart rate and contractility. We used a low-flow model of ischemia in swine with heart rate held constant by atrial pacing. Blood was shunted from the carotid artery to the left anterior descending coronary artery through a controlled-flow roller pump to assess the threshold flow for the rise in extracellular potassium ([K+]e) and fall in extracellular pH (pHe) associated with ischemia during control situations and after the administration of either propranolol or verapamil. We also measured the changes in activation delay and contractility associated with graded flow reductions in the presence and absence of these drugs. We found that when heart rate is held constant, 1) verapamil shifts the threshold flow for [K+]e and pHe to lower levels, but propranolol does not; 2) verapamil lessens activation delay, while propranolol aggravates the delay; and 3) verapamil reduces afterload and selectively depresses contractility in the reperfused ischemic zone. We conclude that the calcium channel blockers and the beta-adrenergic-blocking agents have different effects and possibly different modes of action and should not be considered interchangeable when evaluating therapeutic options for patients with ischemic heart disease.

Responses to high temperature of the Azolla-Anabaena association, determined in both the fern and in the cyanobacterium

The responses to high temperature of the cyanobacterial symbiont and the host fern in tile Azolla-Anabaena symbiosis were studied by using Azolla strains with heterologous Anabaena azollae Strasburger of without Anabaena. At 26/18°C, symbiotic Azolla grew better than the corresponding Anabaena-free Azolla. A high temperature-sensitive species Azolla filiculoides Lamarck, produced smaller biomass under conditions of 37 °C (day)/29 °C (night) than the corresponding Anabaena-free Azolla grown in N-containing medium. A. filiculoides with Anabaena from temperature tolerant Azolla microphylla Kaulfuss was more effective at N₂ fixation than A. filiculoides with homologous Anabaena. A microphylla with Anabaena from A. filiculoides grew more slowly and fixed less N₂ than the strains with homologous Anabaena. In the presence of combined N at 37°/29 °C, A. microphylla grew better than A. filiculoides with Anabaena from A. microphylla. Tolerance of the Azolla-Anabaena association to high temperature is, therefore, determined both in the host fern and symbiont Anabaena.

Effect of polyethylene glycol-electrolyte lavage solution on intestinal microflora

The bacterial flora of colonic aspirates taken after oral administration of a polyethylene glycol-electrolyte lavage solution to patients undergoing colonoscopy was analyzed by standard bacteriological methods and DNA hybridization techniques. The data were compared with those for normal feces collected from the same patients the day before treatment. The results indicate that the bacterial composition of feces differs from individual to individual but is not altered by the oral intake of a polyethylene glycol-electrolyte lavage solution. This pilot study demonstrates that routine colonoscopy aspirates taken after standard colonoscopy preparation accurately reflect the microflora of feces and therefore may be used in large-scale epidemiological studies.

[Inputs to cerebellar dentate nucleus from the pontine nucleus in the cat]

We have reported before that there are excitatory inputs to the cerebellar dentate nucleus (DN) from the cerebral cortex. This study was performed to examine whether the pontine nucleus (PN) and the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP), which are among the precerebellar nuclei that relay inputs to the cerebellar cortex, also play a role as the relay nucleus of the excitatory input to the DN. In anesthetized cats, we stimulated the PN and the NRTP, and recorded intracellular potentials from DN neurons. Short-latency EPSPs were evoked from these nuclei and their latencies ranged from 1.1 to 3.6 msec, which are compatible with monosynaptic latencies. Systematic stimulation of the PN and the NRTP with weak stimulus intensities revealed that low-threshold foci for monosynaptic EPSPs in each cell were localized in the PN or the NRTP or both. We could not find monosynaptic inputs from the red nucleus and by recurrent collaterals of the dentate output neurons. Accordingly, the possibility was excluded that the monosynaptic EPSPs evoked from the PN and the NRTP were evoked by inadvertent current spread to the descending axons of DN neurons in the brain stem. The conditioning-testing stimuli of the cerebral peduncle and the PN or the NRTP yielded spatial facilitation. This result showed that the input from the cerebral cortex to the DN was relayed by way of the PN or the NRTP.

Survival of Azorhizobium caulinodans in the Soil and Rhizosphere of Wetland Rice under Sesbania rostrata -Rice Rotation

The survival of indigenous and introduced strains of Azorhizobium caulinodans in flooded soil and in the rice rhizosphere, where in situ Sesbania rostrata was incorporated before the rice crop, is reported. The azorhizobia studied were both root and stem nodulating. In a pot experiment, two crop cycles each of inoculated and noninoculated Sesbania -rice were compared with two crop cycles of flooded fallow-rice. In a field experiment, the effect of repeated incorporation of in situ S. rostrata in the Sesbania -rice sequence was studied. Soils in which inoculated S. rostrata was incorporated contained about 3,000 times more azorhizobia than did soils in the flooded fallow treatment and about 50 times more azorhizobia than did soils in the noninoculated Sesbania treatment. Azorhizobial numbers in the inoculated Sesbania treatment declined toward rice harvest but remained much higher than in the flooded fallow-rice treatment. Repeated incorporation of S. rostrata increased the population density of indigenous soil azorhizobia, whereas the population of inoculated strain ORS571 (Str r Spc r ) declined to an undetectable level; this finding suggested low competitiveness by the introduced strain. In the incorporated Sesbania treatment, the rice rhizosphere harbored significantly more A. caulinodans and supported higher nitrogenase activity per plant than did the rhizosphere of the flooded fallow-rice treatment. Sterile rice seedlings inoculated with A. caulinodans showed nitrogenase activity comparable to that of seedlings inoculated with Azospirillum lipoferum 34H, a rice root isolate. Rhizobia from Sesbania aculeata, Sesbania sesban , a Trifolium sp., and Vigna unguiculata did not support appreciable nitrogenase activity.

The pattern electroretinogram in glaucoma: an evaluation by relative amplitude from the Bjerrum area

A new concept for evaluating the pattern electroretinogram (PERG) in glaucoma and its clinical application are described. The PERG was elicited by two different stimulus fields, namely, the whole central retinal area with a radius of 18 degrees and the paracentral ring area between the radius of 10 degrees and 18 degrees. The amplitude of the PERG for each stimulus field and the ratio of them were analysed for 30 patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Among these only a small number of eyes were detected as abnormal when we evaluated the amplitude itself either with the central stimulus or the paracentral ring stimulus, whereas the ratio of the two values was below normal in some cases of advanced glaucoma. We conclude that the ratio of the paracentral to central PERG is useful for detecting glaucoma.

[Associations of HLA-DR 4, DR 2, DRw 9 with clinical findings in rheumatoid arthritis]

HLA-DR antigens were determined in 128 patients with classical or definite rheumatoid arthritis (RA) according to American Rheumatism Association criteria (1957). HLA-DR 4 was significantly (p less than 0.01) increased in patients with RA (60%) compared with Japanese control (40%). In radiological changes, the frequency of stage II to IV were significantly greater in DR 4 positive patients (87.1% (67/77)) than in negative patients (70.6%) (36/51)). An early onset of disease was significantly (p less than 0.05) associated with DR 4 positive patients with duration of 4 years or more. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was significantly (p less than 0.05) less in DR 2 positive patients (8.0% +/- 8.6 (39)) than DR 2 negative patients (12.2 +/- 11.9 (84)). Frequency of Sjogren's syndrome was more in DR 2 positive patients (41.3% (12/29)) than in DR 2 negative (29.2% (19/65)), and less in DR 4 positive (25.4% (15/59)) than in DR 4 negative (45.7% (16/35)), so the complication of Sjogren's syndrome showed a trend against the severity of RA. There were no associations between rheumatoid factor and HLA-DR phenotypes, but the frequency of anti-nuclear anti-nuclear antibody was significantly (p less than 0.01) lower in DRw 9 positive patients (38.4% (15/39)) than in DRw 9 negative (62.7% (54/86)). In both DR 4 and DRw 9 positive patients (16 cases), onset of disease (38.9 years-old +/- 15.9 (16)) was significantly earlier and frequency of Sjogren's syndrome (10.0% (1/10)) was significantly lower than those in DR 4 negative patients (48.5 years-old +/- 12.5 (51): 45.7% (15/35) respectively). The frequency of HLA-DRw 9 was greater in Japanese than people in the other countries and there was the close association between pathogenesis of RA and HLA-DRw 9 as well as DR 4 and DR 2 in Japan.

Nitrile hydratase of Rhodococcus sp. N-774. Purification and amino acid sequences

The nitrile hydratase of Rhodococcus sp. N-774 was purified and crystallized. The enzyme is composed of two different subunits (molecular masses: subunit alpha, 28,500 Da; subunit beta, 29,000 Da). The amino-terminal amino acid sequence of each subunit was determined. There is no sequence homology between the two subunits, suggesting that the peptides originate from different cistrons. The activity of the purified enzyme did not decrease during incubation in the dark, whereas it gradually decreased in intact cells.

Generation of monoclonal anti-dermatan sulphate antibodies cross-reacting to calf thymus DNA

Monoclonal anti-dermatan sulphate antibodies were produced with hybridization after immunizing BALB/c mice with dermatan sulphate (DS). These antibodies were tested for cross-reactivity to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and heat-denatured DNA (ssDNA). Five clones had binding activity to DS, dsDNA and ssDNA in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, but no clones binding to DS alone were produced. Two (2H8 and 3C4) of the five clones were selected for analysis. Their binding activity to DS, ssDNA and dsDNA were inhibited by DS, dsDNA and ssDNA. DNase I treatment abolished the binding activity to dsDNA and ssDNA, completely, but had no effect on the binding activity to DS. On the other hand, chondroitinase ABC treatment of the solid-phased DS augmented the binding to DS. The inhibition assay using digested fractions suggested that the epitope recognized by 2H8 and 3C4 clones could not be in delta Di-4S or delta Di-diSB but in the linkage regions of DS.

Nasal resistance and nasal blood flow in postural changes

Posture greatly influences nasal resistance. To investigate whether nasal blood flow synchronizes with nasal resistance during changes in posture, correlation coefficients were calculated based on findings from both nasal cavities in 14 normal subjects. There was no correlation between nasal resistance and nasal blood flow, except in the left nasal cavity of one subject. Nasal blood flow was measured by a laser Doppler flowmeter, which detects the blood flow in the superficial part of the nasal mucosa. Nasal resistance is regulated mainly by capacitance vessels located in the deeper part of the nasal mucosa. Therefore, the dissociation in nasal resistance and blood flow responses to postural changes noted in our study suggests that vessels in different parts of the nasal mucosa respond differently to this same stimulus.

Identification of collagen, elastic, elaunin and oxytalan fibres in ganglia of the myenteric plexus of the human oesophagus

The connective tissue associated with the myenteric plexus of the human oesophagus was studied by light and electron microscopy. Collagen fibres were identified by picrosirius staining with polarization microscopy and from their fine structural morphology. A capsule of connective tissue invests the ganglia while septa of connective tissue separate groups of ganglion neurons, surrounding each individual ganglion neuron and each nerve bundle. Collagen fibrils surround the ganglia, each ganglion neuron and each nerve bundle. The fibrils are disposed in various orientations forming networks. Elastic, elaunin and oxytalan fibres were identified by their staining characteristics and fine structural morphology. The bulk of the ganglion sheath consists of coarse elastic fibres and elaunin fibres. Elaunin and oxytalan fibres form the intraganglionic network. Oxytalan, elaunin and elastic fibres appear to be located in areas related to different stresses and deformation to which the ganglia of the myenteric plexus are exposed during the contraction of the esophageal wall. The ganglia of the myenteric plexus of the human oesophagus show structural organisation of the connective tissue component similar to that seen in sympathetic and parasympathetic ganglia.

Clinical evaluation of medical treatment for Menière's disease, using a double-blind controlled study

There are great variations in the clinical evaluations of the effectiveness of antivertiginous drugs for Meniere's disease. In our clinical evaluation, subjective and objective signs and symptoms of 128 patients with Meniere's disease and of 98 with other peripheral vestibular disorders were analyzed in a double-blind controlled study comparing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) (300 mg) and betahistine (36 mg) each given daily for 4 weeks. The method of administration was the matched-pair-group-method for this double-blind controlled trial. The attending physicians concluded that ATP was significantly more effective than betahistine in the treatment of Meniere's disease and other peripheral vestibular disorders.