Subchronic (13-week) oral toxicity study, preceded by an in utero exposure phase, with arachidonate-enriched triglyceride oil (SUNTGA40S) in rats

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), such as arachidonic acid (ARA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are natural constituents found in human milk, fish oil or egg yolk. Until recently, infant formulas, though providing the essential fatty acid precursors for these PUFAs, did not contain preformed ARA or DHA. In this study the safety of SUNTGA40S as source of ARA, not only for use in infant formulas but also for nutritional products or food supplements, was evaluated in a subchronic study in Wistar rats, preceded by a 4-week pretreatment period of parental (F(0)) rats and exposure of the F(0) dams throughout mating, gestation and lactation. SUNTGA40S was administered at dietary levels of 0.5%, 1.5% and 5% (wt/wt) adjusted with corn oil to 5.76% added fat. An additional group received 3.65% (wt/wt) SUNTGA40S in conjunction with 2.11% (wt/wt) high DHA Tuna oil, providing an ARA:DHA ratio of 2.7:1. High-fat and low-fat controls received basal diet with or without 5.76% corn-oil supplement. The content, stability and homogeneous distribution of the test substances in the diet were confirmed under study conditions. The administration of SUNTGA40S, with or without DHA oil, did not affect health, growth, fertility or reproductive performance of the parental rats, nor pup characteristics (condition, weight gain, viability, number per litter or sex ratio). In the subchronic study with the offspring (F(1)) rats, no significant differences were found in condition, neurobehavioural observations, ophthalmoscopy, growth, urinalysis or macroscopic and microscopic findings between the test groups and the low-fat or the high-fat controls. In males of the 5% SUNTGA40S and the SUNTGA40S/DHA group, red blood cell counts, haemoglobin concentration and packed cell volume were lower and reticulocytes were slightly higher than in the high-fat and low-fat control groups. Cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipids in plasma were lower than in the high-fat controls in both sexes in the 5% SUNTGA40S and the SUNTGA40S/DHA group and (for triglycerides only) in the 1.5% SUNTGA group. Due to the administration of extra dietary fat, food intake and prothrombin time (males only) were lower and alkaline phosphatase activity was higher in all the high-fat groups, including the corn-oil controls, as compared to the low-fat controls. The weight of the spleen was higher in males of the 5% SUNTGA40S and the SUNTGA40S/DHA group compared to both the low-fat and the high-fat controls. The effects noted in this study at high dose levels of SUNTGA40S are consistent with previously reported physiological responses to dietary intake of high PUFA containing oils. The present results provide evidence that SUNTGA40S is a safe source of arachidonic acid. Except during lactation when the intake in dams doubled, 5% Suntga40S in the diet was equivalent to an overall intake of approximately 3g/kg body weight/day in F(0) and F(1) animals.

Bulk- and surface-sensitive high-resolution photoemission study of two mott-hubbard systems: SrVO3 and CaVO3

We study the electronic structure of Mott-Hubbard systems SrVO3 and CaVO3 with bulk and surface-sensitive high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy, using a vacuum ultraviolet laser, synchrotron radiation, and a discharge lamp (hv = 7-21 eV). A systematic suppression of the density of states (DOS) within approximately 0.2 eV of the Fermi level (EF) is found on decreasing photon energy, i.e., on increasing bulk sensitivity. The coherent band in SrVO3 and CaVO3 is shown to consist of surface and bulk-derived features, separated in energy. The stronger distortion on surface of CaVO3 compared to SrVO3 leads to a higher surface metallicity in the coherent DOS at EF, consistent with recent theory.

Heavy-fermion-like state in a transition metal oxide LiV2O4 single crystal: indication of Kondo resonance in the photoemission spectrum

We have performed a vacuum ultraviolet laser excited photoemission spectroscopy on a d-electron heavy-fermion-like material LiV2O4 single crystal. We observed a sharp peak structure in the density of states at approximately 4 meV above the Fermi level (E(F)). The evolution of the peak height corresponds well with the crossover behavior to the heavy-fermion-like state as observed in the thermal and transport properties. The position, shape, and temperature (T) dependence of the peak structure is quite similar to the Kondo resonance observed in conventional f-electron heavy Fermion compounds.

Integration of mutations responsible for the attenuated phenotype of Pepper mild mottle virus strains results in a symptomless cross-protecting strain

An enhanced attenuated strain of Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) was constructed by incorporating mutations that affect viral attenuation from three reported attenuated strains of PMMoV, which causes serious economic losses in the production of green pepper in Japan. The new strain caused no symptoms on pepper plants and protected them from infection by a wild-type strain. The mutations responsible for viral attenuation were located in the intervening region (IR) of the 126-kDa/183-kDa proteins. The mutations had synergistic effects in terms of the attenuation of symptoms and decreased the accumulation of the viral coat protein in infected pepper plants. In this paper, we propose an efficient method for the improvement of attenuated viruses by reverse genetics in plant viruses.

Immunological aspects of staphylococcal skin infection

Patients with staphylococcal infection of the skin were examined for immunological status. All cases examined in the present study had gamma-globulin levels within the normal range. The proliferative response of peripheral blood lymphocytes to staphylococcal antigen was significantly depressed in patients with furunculosis as compared with that in patients with common furuncle or in healthy controls. All patients with furunculosis showed higher titers of anti-Staphylococcus aureus antibody than did those with furuncle. The dissociation between cellular and humoral immunity in furunculosis seems to be explained in terms of immune deviation.

Results of kidney transplantation in patients receiving MMF- or MMF and basiliximab-containing immunosuppression

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is a more potent immunosuppressive drug than azathioprine or mizoribine in combination with cyclosporine (CsA) and steroids. Recently, basiliximab (BA), an interleukin-2 receptor antagonist, has become available in Japan. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of an extremely low CsA dose immunosuppressive protocol with MMF versus MMF plus BA after renal transplantation (RTx).

PATIENTS

Between September 2001 and March 2003, we performed 79 RTx with CsA-based immunosuppression, including nine from cadavers and 70 from living donors with 15 ABO-incompatible RTx. Immunosuppression consisted of methylprednisolone (MP), CsA and MMF (group 1; n = 24) versus added BA during the induction phase (group 2; n = 55). In group 2, MP was withdrawn on postoperative day 14. Supplementary MP, muromonab-CD3, or gusperimus was administered if rejection was suspected clinically or diagnosed by biopsy.

RESULTS

The incidence of biopsy-proven acute rejection (AR) was significantly higher among group 1 than group 2 patients (P < .05). CsA C2 levels in group 1 were significantly higher than group 2 at each time (P < .01). The incidence of infection was comparable. Patient and graft survival rates in group 1 were 100% and 100%; in group 2, they were 98% and 98%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The short-term results of RTx were favorable in both the MMF, and the MMF plus BA immunosuppression. In addition, BA significantly reduced the number of AR episodes. Early steroid withdrawal in recipients receiving BA induction was not associated with an increased risk of AR.

An Immunological System for the Detection of Pepper mild mottle virus in Soil from Green Pepper Fields

A reliable method, based on the double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA), was developed for the extraction of viruses from soil and optimized for the detection of Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) in soil taken from green pepper (Capsicum annuum) fields. When added to phosphate buffer, Tween 20 increases extraction efficiency and skim milk increases the specificity for PMMoV. Samples positive by DAS-ELISA were verified by inhibition testing using specific anti-PMMoV antibody, immuno-electron microscopy, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and inoculation tests on assay plants. Our system for detecting PMMoV in soil was successfully tested on samples from 22 infected and uninfected fields in Japan. When used before seedlings are planted, this method allows for the prediction of possible damage to cultivated plants by soil-borne PMMoV.

Value of virtual computed tomographic colonography for Crohn's colitis: comparison with endoscopy and barium enema

BACKGROUND

Crohn's colitis, frequently accompanied by stenosis or narrowing, can be difficult to assess through conventional methods. We evaluated the usefulness of virtual computed tomographic colonography (CTC) for the detection of colonic lesions due to Crohn's disease.

METHODS

Forty-two lesions in 33 patients with Crohn's disease were examined by CTC and barium enema (BE). Twenty-two patients also were examined by colonoscopy (CS). The visualization ability of CTC was compared with those of the other two methods.

RESULTS

In the visualization of elevated lesions, there was no significant difference between CTC and BE (18 of 20, p = 0.487) or between CTC and CS (15 of 16, p = 0.99); however, ulcerative lesions were less often visualized by CTC. However, CTC enabled identification of serious lesions in the colon proximal to the stenosis in nine patients and was superior to BE and CS in terms of its ability to visualize the proximal site of the stenosis (p = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

CTC is clinically useful for the evaluation of Crohn's colitis, especially those with stenotic lesions.

Definitive experimental evidence for two-band superconductivity in MgB2

The superconducting-gap of MgB2 has been studied by high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The results show that superconducting gaps with values of 5.5 and 2.2 meV open on the sigma band and the pi band, respectively, but both the gaps close at the bulk transition temperature, providing a definitive experimental evidence for the two-band superconductivity with strong interband pairing interaction in MgB2. The experiments validate the role of k-dependent electron-phonon coupling as the origin of multiple-gap superconductivity as well as the high transition temperature of MgB2.

Analysis of dose-LET distribution in the human body irradiated by high energy hadrons

For the purposes of radiological protection, it is important to analyse profiles of the particle field inside a human body irradiated by high energy hadrons, since they can produce a variety of secondary particles which play an important role in the energy deposition process, and characterise their radiation qualities. Therefore Monte Carlo calculations were performed to evaluate dose distributions in terms of the linear energy transfer of ionising particles (dose-LET distribution) using a newly developed particle transport code (Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System, PHITS) for incidences of neutrons, protons and pions with energies from 100 MeV to 200 GeV. Based on these calculations, it was found that more than 80% and 90% of the total deposition energies are attributed to ionisation by particles with LET below 10 keV microm(-1) for the irradiations of neutrons and the charged particles, respectively.

Conversion coefficients from fluence to effective dose for heavy ions with energies up to 3 GeV/A

Radiological protection against high-energy heavy ions has been an essential issue in the planning of long-term space missions. The fluence to effective dose conversion coefficients have been calculated for heavy ions using the particle and heavy ion transport code system PHITS coupled with an anthropomorphic phantom of the MIRD5 type. The calculations were performed for incidences of protons and typical space heavy ions--deuterons, tritons, 3He, alpha particles, 12C, 20Ne, 40Ar, 40Ca and 56Fe--with energies up to 3 GeV/A in the isotropic and anterior-posterior irradiation geometries. A simple fitting formula that can predict the effective dose from almost all kinds of space heavy ions below 3 GeV/A within an accuracy of 30% is deduced from the results.

Flat and depressed colorectal tumours in a southern Swedish population: a prospective chromoendoscopic and histopathological study

BACKGROUND

Flat and depressed colorectal tumours are common in Japan but are very rare or non-existent in Western countries.

AIMS

To study the occurrence of flat colorectal tumours in a southern Swedish population.

METHODS

In this prospective study, 371 consecutive European patients were examined by high resolution video colonoscopy combined with chromoendoscopy. The nature of the lesions was determined by histopathological examination.

RESULTS

A total of 973 tumours were found; 907 (93.2%) were protruding and 66 (6.8%) were flat or depressed. Of the flat/depressed tumours, five (7.7%) were early adenocarcinomas infiltrating the submucosa. Eleven carcinomas (1.2%) were found among protruding tumours. High grade dysplasia was observed in 18% (n=11) of flat/depressed adenomas in contrast with 7.3% (n=65) of protruding adenomas, and occurred in smaller flat/depressed tumours compared with protruding ones (mean diameter 8 mm v 23 mm, respectively). Furthermore, high grade dysplasia was significantly more common in flat elevated tumours with central depression or in depressed adenomas (35.7%; 5/14) than in flat elevated adenomas (12.8%; 6/47).

CONCLUSION

Flat and depressed tumours exist in a Western population. Future studies should address whether or not chromoendoscopy with video colonoscopy is necessary in the search for flat colorectal neoplasms.

A single amino acid substitution in 126-kDa protein of Pepper mild mottle virus associates with symptom attenuation in pepper; the complete nucleotide sequence of an attenuated strain, C-1421

The complete nucleotide sequence of an attenuated Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV C-1421) RNA genome has been determined. There were two differences from the type isolate in Japan (PMMoV-J). The mutations were located in the middle of the 126-kDa protein (126 K) gene; one mutation influenced amino acid substitution at 649th Val to Ala (V649A), and the other was silent. The analyses using the reverse genetic system of PMMoV-J revealed that symptom attenuation on pepper related to V649A. Accumulations of 126 K and coat protein (CP) in V649A mutant-infected pepper were lower than those of PMMoV-J in immunoblotting. These results suggest that V649A substitution in 126 K affects the accumulation of 126 K leading to a limitation of CP accumulation.

Particle size analysis of radioactive aerosols formed by irradiation of argon using 65 MeV quasi-monoenergetic neutrons

The size distributions of 38Cl and 39Cl aerosols formed from the irradiation of argon gas containing di-octyl phthalate (DOP) aerosols by 65 MeV quasi-monoenergetic neutrons were measured to study the formation mechanism of radioactive aerosols in high-energy radiation fields. Both the number size distribution and the activity-weighted size distribution were measured using an electrical low-pressure impactor. It was found that the 35Cl and 39Cl aerosols are formed by attachment of the radioactive atoms generated by the neutron-induced reaction to the DOP aerosol particles.

Replication of Tomato spotted wilt virus After Ingestion by Adult Thrips setosus is Restricted to Midgut Epithelial Cells

ABSTRACT If acquisition access feeding (AAF) is first given after adult eclosion, none of the nine thrips species able to serve as tospovirus vectors can become infective. The previous cellular investigations of this phenomenon, carried out only in Frankliniella occidentalis, suggested that infectivity was prevented because the type member of the tospoviruses, Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), was unable to enter the midgut of adult thrips. The present study extends a cellular view of tospovirus-thrips interactions to a species other than the western flower thrips, F. occidentalis. Our findings show that TSWV enters and replicates within the midgut of adult Thrips setosus, but does not infect cells beyond the midgut epithelia. After AAF as adult, TSWV replicated in T. setosus midgut cells as indicated by significant increases in nucleocapsid (N) protein detected by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the presence of inclusions containing the S RNA-encoded nonstructural and N proteins revealed by microscopic observations. Electron microscopic observations of adult insects showed that no infection occurred in cells beyond the midgut epithelia, and insects subsampled from the same cohorts could not transmit TSWV. In contrast, electron microscopy observations of larval T. setosus revealed that TSWV infected the midgut and muscle cells, and adult insects developing from these cohorts had infected salivary glands and were able to transmit TSWV. Mature virions were observed only in the salivary glands of adults developing from infected larvae. Our findings suggest that the barrier to infectivity in T. setosus adults differs from that shown for F. occidentalis adults.

The diagnostic value of bone scan in patients with renal cell carcinoma

PURPOSE

Bone scan is performed as part of the evaluation of bone metastasis. We assessed the diagnostic value of bone scan in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Bone scan was performed at presentation in 205 patients with confirmed renal cell carcinoma. Abnormal hot areas were further evaluated by x-ray, computerized tomography or surgery.

RESULTS

Of the 56 patients (27%) with an abnormal bone scan 32 (57%) had osseous metastatic lesions. Overall bone metastasis was present in 34 of the 205 patients (17%). Bone scan had 94% sensitivity and 86% specificity. Of the 124 patients with clinically localized, stages T1-2N0M0 disease exclusive of bone metastasis 6 (5%) had bone metastasis only, whereas 28 of 81 (35%) with locally advanced or metastatic disease had bone metastasis, including 12 (35%) who complained of bone pain and 19 (56%) who presented with other symptoms due to local tumor growth or metastasis at other sites. Three patients (9%) were asymptomatic. There was osseous metastasis without other metastasis, enlarged regional lymph nodes or bone pain in 7 patients, including 1 with stage T1b (2% of all with that stage), 2 with stage T2 (5%), 1 with stage T3a (4%), 1 with stage T3b (6%), 1 with stage T3c (14%) and 1 with stage T4 (6%) disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Bone scan may be omitted in patients with stages T1-3aN0M0 tumors and no bone pain because of the low proportion of missed cases with bone metastasis.

Evidence for a multiple superconducting gap in MgB(2) from high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy

We study the new binary intermetallic superconductor MgB(2) using high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy. The superconducting-state spectrum measured at 5.4 K shows a coherent peak with a shoulder structure, in sharp contrast to that expected from a simple isotropic-gap opening. The spectrum can be well reproduced using the weighted sum of two Dynes functions with the gap sizes of 1.7 and 5.6 meV. Temperature-dependent study shows that both gaps close at the bulk transition temperature. These results provide spectroscopic evidence for a multiple gap of MgB(2).

Role of dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channels in the regulation of norepinephrine release in hypertension

In the present study, in order to elucidate the role of dihydropyridine (DHP)-sensitive calcium (Ca) channels in the regulation of neurotransmitter release in hypertension, we examined the effects of the DHP-sensitive Ca channel blocker nicardipine on norepinephrine (NE) release in blood vessels of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. The stimulation-evoked pressor responses and NE release were significantly greater in the mesenteric arteries of SHR than in the mesenteric arteries of WKY rats. Nicardipine significantly inhibited the stimulation-evoked NE release as well as vasoconstrictor responses in the mesenteric arteries to a greater extent in SHR than in WKY rats. These results demonstrated that nicardipine markedly reduced the stimulation-evoked NE release in blood vessels of SHR, which might suggest that the DHP-sensitive Ca channels could be involved, at least in part, in the regulation of NE release in hypertension.

Polarized absorption spectra of single-walled 4 A carbon nanotubes aligned in channels of an AlPO(4)-5 single crystal

We report the polarized optical absorption spectra of single-walled 4 A carbon nanotubes arrayed in the channels of an AlPO (4)-5 single crystal. When the light electric field (E) is polarized parallel to the tube direction (c), the spectra display a sharp peak at 1.37 eV, with two broadbands at 2.1 and 3.1 eV. In the E perpendicular c configuration, the tube is nearly transparent in the measured energy region 0.5-4.1 eV. The optical dipole selection rules are discussed, and the absorption bands are assigned to the dipole transitions between the Van Hove singularities. The measured absorption spectra agreed well with the ab initio calculations of band structure based on the local density function approximation.

A comparison of intraperitoneal and oral gavage administration in comet assay in mouse eight organs

One of the important advantages of the comet assay is its ability to detect genotoxicity in many different organs. Since the exposure route of the test compounds is likely to influence the genotoxicity detected in a given organ, it is an important factor to consider when conducting the assay. In this study, we compared the effects of numerous model compounds on eight organs when administered to mice by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection and oral (p.o.) gavage. Groups of four mice were treated once i.p. or p.o. at the identical proportion of LD50 for each route, and the stomach, colon, liver, kidney, bladder, lung, brain, and bone marrow were sampled 3, 8, and 24h after treatment. For 19 of the 20 tested mutagens with various modes of action, genotoxicity in some organs varied with treatment route; only the genotoxicity of methyl methane sulfonate was not affected. Treatment route, however, did not produce a qualitative difference in the genotoxicity of promutagens at the sites of conversion to ultimate mutagens, with aromatic hydrocarbons as the exception. When chemicals with positive responses in at least one organ were considered to be comet assay-positive, the administration route made no difference. Since azo reduction is mediated by azo reductase synthesized in the gastrointestinal wall and by gut microflora and i.p.-administered azo dyes bypass their activation site (colon), the administration route is expected to make a difference in their in vivo genotoxicity. Direct-acting mutagens are expected to affect the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract when given p.o. For those mutagens, however, the administration route did not make a qualitative difference in gastrointestinal tract genotoxicity. Moreover, although the gastrointestinal mucosa is the first site to be exposed to p.o. administered agents, the peak times in the stomach tended to be the same as in most other organs. Based on those results, we concluded that the genotoxicity at high exposures was due to a systemic effect, and that both routes are acceptable for the comet assay when the liver and gastrointestinal organs are sampled, so long as appropriate dose levels for systemic exposure are selected for each route.

[Long-term experience with renal transplantation in systemic amyloidosis: a case report]

Renal transplantation was performed on a 39-year old woman with secondary amyloidosis due to rheumatoid arthritis. She remains alive and renal function has been maintained satistfactorily with the exception of proteinuria ten years after transplantation. Recent renal biopsy showed no amyloid recurrence, but the presence of chronic rejection reaction and mild cyclosporin arteriolopathy. Symptoms related to systemic amyloidosis and rheumatoid arthritis improved after transplantation. Renal transplantation is the recommended therapy for the type AA systemic amyloidosis. This is the second report of long-term experience with renal transplantation in systemic amyloidosis in Japan.