The amino acid sequence of plastocyanin from rice (Oryza sativa, subspecies japonica)

The amino acid sequence of plastocyanin from rice (subspecies japonica) was determined. It consists of a single polypeptide chain of 97 residues and has a molecular mass of 10,225 Da. The sequence shows 94.8% identity with barley plastocyanin.

A case of tubular apocrine adenoma with syringocystadenoma papilliferum

We report a new case of a Japanese man who developed a tubular apocrine adenoma in association with syringocystadenoma papilliferum. The differences in the histopathological and immunohistochemical findings in these 2 tumors are described. This is the first immunohistochemical study of tubular apocrine adenoma.

[Randomized controlled study on adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK in curatively resected colorectal cancer. The Cooperative Study Group of Surgical Adjuvant Immunochemotherapy for Cancer of Colon and Rectum]

To evaluate of adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK in curatively resected colorectal cancer, randomized controlled study by 35 institutions in Kanagawa prefecture was conducted. From March 1985 till February 1987, 462 patients were assigned one of two different regimens. 448 patients (97.0%) of them satisfied the eligibility criteria. Control group received mitomycin C intravenously on the day and the day after the operations respectively followed by 5-FU orally over for 6 months. PSK group received in addition to mitomycin C and 5-FU as in control group, PSK orally for over 3 years. By February 1989, follow up studies of the patients after their operations had been carried out for two years to four years. The disease free curve and the survival curve of PSK group were higher than those of control group, differences between the two groups were statistically significant (Disease free curve: P = 0.0096, survival curve: p = 0.0391). From these results, adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK was considered beneficial for curatively resected colorectal cancer.

Neonatal electroencephalography and neuropathology

One-hundred-eight EEGs from 47 newborn infants were compared with the postmortem neuropathological findings. The degree of EEG background abnormality had good correlation with the severity of the brain lesion; the more severe the EEG background abnormality, the more extensive and intensive the morphological change. Widespread encephalomalacia was demonstrated in six infants who manifested isoelectric tracings. In particular, cerebral cortex, corpus striatum, thalamus, midbrain, and pons were affected in all patients with this abnormal EEG pattern. Burst-suppression patterns, which were seen in seven infants, also correlated with multifocal severe brain damage, but there was no common structure that was consistently affected for all patients with this pattern. Positive rolandic sharp-wave transients (PRS) appeared highly specific for white matter lesions. All eight infants with PRS had white matter lesions. However, the sensitivity of PRS for white matter lesions was not high (32%), and the white matter lesions of PRS-positive patients were not necessarily composed of periventricular leukomalacia. The sensitivity of EEG asymmetry was also low (40%) for the focality of morphological change, although the specificity was relatively high (85%). The origin of seizure discharges, on the other hand, had poor correlation with the site of the brain lesion.

[Long-term follow-up of absence epilepsy]

This study dealt with 58 patients with absence, of whom 46 patients had started with absence and 12 with generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCs). Only those patients followed up for more than five years were included, and 30 patients (51.7%) were over eighteen years of age (up to 33). All patients received the present standard medication with ethosuximide and valproate in this study. In each case the diagnosis was confirmed by clinical observation and the typical EEG pattern. A seizure-free interval of at least 1 year was defined as seizure cessation for absence, and a seizure-free interval of at least 2 years for GTCs. Thirty-eight out of 43 patients (88.4%) with absence at onset (group A) and 18 out of 22 (81.8%) older than 18 years became seizure free. Only 8 of 15 (53.3%) patients with initial GTCs (group B) and 5 of 8 (62.5%) over 18 years became seizure free. In all, about 80% of the patients with absence seizures became seizure free as did those who were followed beyond 18 years of age. Out of 15 patients with initial GTCs, 8 of 10 (80%) patients who developed absence seizures later (group B-1) became seizure free, whereas none of 5 patients who had absence and GTC at the same time (group B-2) did. The social status was mainly favorable, even if seizures were uncontrolled. Adequate predictable factors for the development of GTCs were lacking, but the clinical courses in patients of group B-1 resembled those of group A and were rather benign.

The presumption of proteolytic enzymes related to the formation of intermediates during the terminal differentiation

The [14C]Gly-labelled keratin polypeptides extracted with 1% SDS and 10 mM DTT were made to undergo changes with an enzyme fraction (ammonium sulfate, 50-75% saturated fraction) prepared from a human epidermis in the presence of 1% Triton X-100. In particular, 69-67 kDa peptides were considerably decreased with the above enzyme fraction in the time course experiments, and the components strongly bound to the cell membrane had little effect on the above reaction. In addition, in the case of the [14C]Gly-labelled keratin filament assembly, 69 and 62 kDa peptides were decreased and 55, 52 and 50 kDa peptides were increased with the same enzyme fraction in the time course experiments. From these results, we estimated that the proteolytic enzyme(s) may exist in the human epidermis, and may be processed to keratin intermediates from prekeratin during the initial stage of terminal differentiation in the human epidermis.

Developmental changes of pattern reversal visual evoked potentials

Analysis of developmental changes in pattern reversal visual evoked potentials (PVEPs) was performed on 141 normal children ranging in age from 1 month to 19 years 4 months. The stimulus was a black and white checkerboard pattern on a television screen, and the check edge subtended 50 min of retinal arc. The major positive peak (P2) was observed in all subjects, and the incidence of other peaks tended to increase with age. The P2 latency decreased rapidly during the first six months of life and reached a constant value after the age of 2 years. The P2 latency with monocular stimulation was significantly longer than that with binocular stimulation in most age groups. Developmental changes of the N1-P2 or P2-N2 amplitudes were unclear, and the standard deviation of the amplitude in each age was too large for clinical application. The P2 latency with binocular stimulation was shorter for females than for males only at the age of 8-11 years.

[Canine orthotopic liver transplantation]

For the purpose of increasing long-term survival in canine orthotopic hepatic allotransplantation, immunosuppression by mizoribine and/or cyclosporin was instituted with the following results: 1) The survival of control dogs without treatment (n = 5) was 10.0 +/- 2.9 days (Mean +/- S.E.), and the survival of dogs treated with mizoribine (n = 15) was 44.6 +/- 31.8 days. There was no statistical difference between the two groups. On the other hand, the mean survival of dogs that were initially treated with cyclosporin and were then switched to mizoribine at one to three months after transplantation reached 145.4 +/- 70.8 days. The survival rate of dogs in the cyclosporin-mizoribine group was significantly greater than that of control group (p less than 0.02); and the survival rate of the former group proved also significantly better than that of the mizoribine group at 20 days after transplantation (X2, p less than 0.05); 2) in cases of acute rejection of the allograft, a gradual increase of the serum bilirubin level with a concomitant rise of S-GPT and alkaline phosphatase was generally observed. For an accurate diagnosis, however, an assessment of the biopsy findings of the allograft is important; 3) in chronic rejection, one animal developed the selective disappearance of interlobular bile ducts, often referred to as the "vanishing bile duct syndrome"; and 4) for differential diagnosis of vascular and/or biliary tract complications, specific morphological diagnostic procedures such as vascular and/or biliary tract angiographies are needed.

A consideration on the new classification of latest lung ventilators

Concerning the classification of ventilators, Elam (1958), Faireley (1959), and Hunter (1961) reported some simple ones such as pressure limited, volume limited, pressure preset, or volume preset models. Mapleson (1969) also classified them by the generating force or cycling together with the above-mentioned types. The latest ventilators applicable to patients with respiratory failure usually have some cut-off function at high airway pressures as a safety measure. Therefore, all of them belong to the pressure limited type. Some ventilators are of two types such as the time cycled and pressure cycled type. Therefore, we attempted to classify ventilators into four groups, i.e. the time cycled, volume cycled, pressure cycled and selective time-pressure cycled types according to the fundamental mode of ventilator function, the so-called change of cycling from inspiration to expiration. Each group was further divided into subgroups according to preset dials such as respiratory rate, I/E ratio, inspiration time, expiration time, tidal volume, flow rate and airway pressure. By this method, fifty one ventilators on the market in Japan can be classified without overlapping. Although this classification seems complex, it will be of use in selecting ventilators by emphasizing preset dials according to the user's needs, ability or both.

Complex partial seizures in children: ictal manifestations and their relation to clinical course

We analyzed complex partial seizures in 38 children aged 0 to 13 years, using simultaneous EEG-VTR recording. In infants, seizure duration was longer, automatisms were less purposeful and more common in the oral area, and convulsive movements were frequently seen and more extensive in comparison with older children. In ictal EEG, spiky components frequently appeared in infants. Parietal or occipital ictal foci were more often associated with mental or physical abnormalities than were frontal or central foci. Extensive convulsive movements were inversely proportional to seizure prognosis in older children. Interictal paroxysmal discharges were observed less frequently in infants.

Visual seizures in children

Twenty-one children (11 boys, 10 girls) suffering from visual seizures were studied. The visual seizures manifested as loss of vision, flickering light, blurring or figurative hallucinations. Ictal EEGs during visual seizures were recorded in 4 cases; the ictal discharges all originated in the occipital area. Visual seizures appeared in association with two or more non-visual ictal signs. In 18 cases, interictal EEGs revealed epileptiform discharges in the occipital area. In 3 cases, all girls, interictal EEGs showed photoconvulsive responses and focal spikes outside the occipital areas. They experienced clinical seizures when watching television and were thought to have photosensitive partial seizures.

Fz theta/alpha bursts: a transient EEG pattern in healthy newborns

We named transient activity recorded from midline frontal area 'Fz theta/alpha bursts' and investigated their characteristics and clinical significance. Polygraphic examinations were carried out on a total of 155 infants from 35 to 46 weeks of postconceptional age. Fz theta/alpha bursts were recorded in 40 (36%) of 111 infants without neurological problems. Especially these bursts were found in 33 (55%) of 60 infants at 38-42 weeks of postconceptional age. They occurred in pre-term as well as in full-term newborns. Three hundred and sixty-two Fz theta/alpha bursts were recorded from 40 infants without neurological problems. Ninety-one percent of them were found in quiet sleep, and others in indeterminate sleep. None of them were recorded in active sleep. Fz theta/alpha bursts did not occur synchronously with frontal or temporal sharp transients. The incidence of Fz theta/alpha bursts in infants with abnormal neurological signs was lower than in control infants (4/44 vs. 37/73; P less than 0.01). The bursts were not detected in EEGs with moderately or more severely depressed background. One hundred and thirty-five infants were followed up for more than 12 months. Fz theta/alpha bursts were recorded in 38 (35%) of 109 infants with normal outcome, and in only 1 (4%) of 26 infants with abnormal outcome. Our results indicated that Fz theta/alpha bursts were of normal EEG components without pathological significance.

Benign complex partial epilepsies in infancy

Nine infants with benign complex partial seizures, diagnosed by simultaneous electroencephalogram and video recordings, are described. At mostly 3-10 months of age, these infants demonstrated clusters of seizures which consisted of motion arrest, decreased responsiveness, staring or blank eyes mostly with simple automatisms, and mild convulsive movements associated with focal paroxysmal discharges. The seizures were controlled easily with carbamazepine or phenobarbital and all patients remained seizure-free for more than 3 years. Four patients had family histories of benign types of infantile convulsions. Interictal electroencephalogram and psychomotor development were normal in all patients.