Decrease of 4,5,6,7-tetrachlorophthalide in paddy field soil after aerial application

Variation in the fungicide, 4,5,6,7-tetrachlorophthalide (phthalide), in paddy field soil was investigated in order to evaluate its decrease after aerial application by a radio-controlled helicopter. The maximum concentrations of phthalide were 309-320 microg/kg dry, which were 83%-96% of the applied phthalide. The organic carbon normalized soil sorption coefficient (K(oc)) was calculated to be 94-96 mL/g at 1 h after the application. The calculated K(oc) values increased to 620-1,300 mL/g from 1 through 9 days after the application and then 4,700-7,200 mL/g 14 days after the application. The half-life of the phthalide was calculated to be 20-31 days.

Peak VO(2) is more potent than B-type natriuretic peptide as a prognostic parameter in cardiac patients

BACKGROUND

It is well-known that both B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and peak oxygen uptake (VO(2)) are independent predictors of mortality in patients with heart failure. This study investigates the predictive power of BNP and peak VO(2) for survival in cardiac patients.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 609 patients with cardiac disease participated in the study. They underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing to determine peak VO(2), with BNP being measured before exercise testing During 502.5 median follow-up days, 29 patients died of cardiovascular disease. In the univariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, peak VO(2) and BNP were both found to be significant prognostic indices for survival. The time-dependent ROC curve analysis (Heagerty 2006) was applied to 3 predictors: peak VO(2), BNP, and then both, with gender and age as adjusted variables. The area under the curve (AUC) compared with the follow-up period curves of peak VO(2) and the 2 combined variables (ie, BNP and peak VO(2)) were consistently over that of BNP. The integrated AUC indices were 0.80 (peak VO(2)), 0.81 (peak VO(2) and BNP) and 0.70 (BNP), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that peak VO(2) is more potent than BNP for predicting the mortality in patients with mixed cardiac disease.

Variation of 4,5,6,7-tetrachlorophthalide in water after aerial application to rice cultivation area

Variation in the fungicide, 4,5,6,7-phthalide, in water was investigated in order to evaluate the runoff of the fungicide after aerial application to paddy fields by a radio-controlled helicopter. The survey was conducted for 4 months after the application. The average and maximum concentrations of phthalide were 3.7-4.4 microg/L and 30.5-33.8 microg/L in the paddy fields, 0.37-0.64 microg/L and 2.7-7.5 microg/L in the drainage channels, and 0.18 and 0.83 microg/L in a river, respectively. The runoff ratios of the aerially applied phthalide from the paddy fields into the drainage channels were calculated to be 1.7-2.4%.

Prognostic value of heart rate variability in patients with renal failure on hemodialysis

BACKGROUND

In patients with renal failure on hemodialysis cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death. It has been reported that diminished heart rate variability (HRV) relates to the unfavorable prognosis in post-infarction and/or heart failure patients. However, the prognostic value of HRV in hemodialysis patients has not been fully established.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Time- and frequency-domain analysis of HRV on 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography recording was assessed prospectively in 383 chronic hemodialysis patients (220 men and 163 women, mean age 57+/-13 years, ejection fraction 65+/-12%). During 2110+/-903 days of follow up, 146 patients died (31 congestive heart failure, 13 fatal myocardial infarction, 13 sudden deaths, 26 stroke, and 63 non-cardiovascular deaths). A Cox univariate analysis identified the following factors as predictors of both all-cause and cardiovascular death: age, gender, ejection fraction, presence of diabetes, and HRV parameters calculated in the time- and frequency-domain. In multivariate analysis, a low standard deviation of all normal RR intervals (SDNN) value was the strongly associated with both all-cause and cardiovascular death (hazard ratios [95% confidence intervals] 0.988 [0.982-0.994] and 0.984 [0.974-0.993], respectively). From Kaplan-Meier survival curves, the incidence of all-cause and cardiovascular death was much greater in patients with a low SDNN (<75 msec), even after adjusting for the presence of diabetes (P<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Decreased HRV on 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography is an independent predictor of mortality in chronic hemodialysis patients.

Relationship between plasma norepinephrine at peak exercise and 123I-MIBG imaging of the heart and lower limbs in heart failure

BACKGROUND

Past studies suggested that plasma norepinephrine during exercise originates in sympathetic nerve endings and that the main origin differs among pathophysiological conditions.

AIMS

This study investigated the most important site of sympathetic terminals as an origin of plasma norepinephrine during exercise in patients with heart failure using (123)I- metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Twenty patients with organic heart disease underwent exercise testing and (123)I-MIBG scintigraphy. Systemic (123)I-MIBG uptake was measured 4 hours after (123)I-MIBG injection, and the heart-to-brain (H/B) and lower limb-to-brain ratios (L/B) were calculated. Plasma norepinephrine concentration was measured at rest and at peak exercise. Subjects were divided into two groups: those with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF> or =45%, n=8) and those with reduced LVEF (<45%, n=12). Plasma norepinephrine at rest did not correlate with H/B or L/B. In the preserved LVEF group, plasma norepinephrine at peak exercise was correlated with H/B (r=0.722), but not with L/B. In the reduced LVEF group, the norepinephrine response to peak exercise correlated with L/B (r=0.642), but not with H/B.

CONCLUSION

The present findings suggest that norepinephrine concentration is regulated by sympathetic terminal function of working muscles in patients with impaired LVEF and by that of the heart in patients with preserved LVEF.

Synchronous unilateral parotid gland neoplasms of three different histological types

A 67-year-old male with three synchronous tumors in the unilateral parotid gland is reported. Postoperative histological examinations confirmed the presence of three synchronous primary tumors, specifically pleomorphic adenoma, Warthin's tumor and salivary duct carcinoma, in the right parotid gland. To our knowledge, this is the first case report describing three different histological types in the unilateral parotid gland.

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary sinus: a report of two cases

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (BSCC) is a highly aggressive neoplasm and a histologically distinctive variant of squamous cell carcinoma. Since the first description by Wain et al. in 1986, only 18 cases with BSCC in the nasal cavity or in the paranasal cavity have been reported in the English literature. We report herein two cases of BSCC of the maxillary sinus. Case 1 was 78-year-old man, who received preoperative radiotherapy and operation. He was alive without disease for 25 months after the operation. Case 2 was a 60-year-old man who received radiotherapy without operation. He died of lung metastasis 6 months after the initial diagnosis. We reviewed the clinical features of BSCC from the literature.

The effects of the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU486 and phospholipase A2 inhibitor quinacrine on acoustic injury of the mouse cochlea

Glucocorticoids are used clinically for the treatment of acoustic injury. However, the protective mechanism of glucocorticoid in acoustic injury has not been completely clarified. Also, the effects of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) on acoustic injury have not been examined to the best of our knowledge. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of methylprednisolone, a glucocorticoid receptor inhibitor (RU486) and a phospholipase A2 inhibitor (quinacrine) on cochlear injury induced by acoustic overexposure. Seventy-eight mice were exposed to a 4kHz pure tone at 128dB SPL for 4h. The auditory brainstem response (ABR) was used to examine the hearing thresholds. Cochlear morphology was examined to estimate the outer hair cell loss induced by acoustic overexposure. Methylprednisolone and quinacrine significantly alleviated the hearing threshold shift and hair cell loss induced by acoustic overexposure. RU486 antagonized the protective effect of methylprednisolone. The present findings suggest firstly that glucocorticoids exert protective effects against acoustic injury; secondly, that the protective effect of methylprednisolone was exerted by binding glucocorticoid receptors, and finally that activation of PLA2 may be involved in acoustic injury.

Protective effects of glucocorticoids on ischemia-reperfusion injury of outer hair cells

OBJECTIVE

This animal study aimed to investigate effects of glucocorticoids on the functional recovery of outer hair cells (OHCs) after transient ischemia.

METHODS

Distortion-product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) was examined before, during, and after transient cochlear ischemia of 30 minutes using albino guinea pigs.

RESULTS

DPOAE decreased to noise level during ischemia. On recirculation, DPOAE initially recovered with time until 20 minutes after the onset of reperfusion, but thereafter, the DPOAE level gradually decreased toward the noise level in the control animals. Prednisolone and methylprednisolone significantly improved the DPOAE level 60 minutes after the onset of reperfusion.

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings suggest that glucocorticoids possess protective effects against ischemia-reperfusion injury of OHCs.

Cobalt-base high-temperature alloys

We have identified cobalt-base superalloys showing a high-temperature strength greater than those of conventional nickel-base superalloys. The cobalt-base alloys are strengthened by a ternary compound with the L1(2) structure, gamma' Co3(Al,W), which precipitates in the disordered gamma face-centered cubic cobalt matrix with high coherency and with high melting points. We also identified a ternary compound, gamma' Ir3(Al,W), with the L1(2) structure, which suggests that the Co-Ir-Al-W-base systems with gamma+gamma' (Co,Ir)3(Al,W) structures offer great promise as candidates for next-generation high-temperature materials.

Magnetic-field-induced shape recovery by reverse phase transformation

Large magnetic-field-induced strains have been observed in Heusler alloys with a body-centred cubic ordered structure and have been explained by the rearrangement of martensite structural variants due to an external magnetic field. These materials have attracted considerable attention as potential magnetic actuator materials. Here we report the magnetic-field-induced shape recovery of a compressively deformed NiCoMnIn alloy. Stresses of over 100 MPa are generated in the material on the application of a magnetic field of 70 kOe; such stress levels are approximately 50 times larger than that generated in a previous ferromagnetic shape-memory alloy. We observed 3 per cent deformation and almost full recovery of the original shape of the alloy. We attribute this deformation behaviour to a reverse transformation from the antiferromagnetic (or paramagnetic) martensitic to the ferromagnetic parent phase at 298 K in the Ni45Co5Mn36.7In13.3 single crystal.

The human papillomavirus E6 and E7 inducible oncogene, hWAPL, exhibits potential as a therapeutic target

Here we show that human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 and E7 oncoproteins induce hWAPL expression. In addition, small interfering RNA (siRNA) of hWAPL suppressed the growth of tumours derived from SiHa cells in nude mice. Thus, hWAPL may be one of the effective targets of uterine cervical cancer therapy.