Prostaglandins E and F in amniotic fluid during stretch-induced cervical softening and labor at term

An unspecified region of the uterus of 7 healthy pregnant patients at term, not yet in labor, was mechanically distended by extraamniotic application of rubber bougies. In all cases, significant onset of labor was noted within 20 min to 5 h, cervical softening progressed with time, and delivery was achieved within 21 h. Significant elevation of prostaglandin E (PGE) and F (PGF) levels in amniotic fluid was noted with the progress of cervical dilatation. It appears that the release of PGE and PGF is dependent on uterine stretching and/or the subsequently induced uterine contractions. A possible source of the release of PG in the present study was discussed.

Numerical judgments with Kanji and Kana

Native Japanese speakers were timed to judge the numerically larger of two numbers, written either in Kanji (an ideographic script) or in Kana (a syllabic script). For Kanji, irrelevant variations in the physical size of the numbers speeded reaction time in one condition and slowed it in another. Such variations only slowed processing for Kana, except when subjects had previously performed with Kanji. For both scripts, reaction time varied with the numerical difference between the two numbers but not in an identical manner. The implications of the findings are considered.

[Clinical evaluation of cefsulodin in Pseudomonas infections in children]

Cefsulodin (CFS) was evaluated for its safety and efficacy in 14 children with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. The diagnoses included pneumonia (4), sepsis (1), presumed sepsis (4), acute postoperative ascending cholangitis (1), acute postoperative peritonitis with wandering pneumonia (1), acute enterocolitis with acute UTI (1), recurrent UTI (1), and acute cystitis (1). CFS was administered intravenously with a daily dose of 93 to 299 mg/kg in the cases with normal renal functions. CFS was effective in all but one case both clinically and bacteriologically. A case of pneumonia whose isolate was resistant to CFS responded poorly. Mild transient eosinophilia was observed in 3 cases, but no severe adverse reactions were encountered. Peak MIC values of 18 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa were 1.56 mcg/ml, 0.39 to 0.78 mcg/ml and 12.5 mcg/ml for CFS, gentamicin, and sulbenicillin, respectively. A half life of the serum CFS levels was 1.09 hours after intravenous bolus injection of 20 to 25 mg/kg of CFS (n = 2). A cerebrospinal-fluid level and biliary levels measured in cases with inflamed meninges or with cholangitis were well above the MIC value. From the present study, CFS appeared to be a safe and effective antibiotic when used in children with susceptible Pseudomonas infections. Combined use of another antibiotic should be considered in the case with polymicrobial infections because of the CFS's very narrow spectrum.

A simple and rapid method to detect platelet associated IgG

In order to measure platelet associated IgG (PAIgG), a semiquantitative method was devised, utilizing the ability of staphylococcal protein A (SpA) to bind human IgG specifically. Platelets bound to sheep red blood cells coated with SpA were separated from non-bound platelets by centrifugation through Ficol-paque solution and an adhesive percentage (Binding Rate) was calculated by enumeration of platelets remaining in an upper phase. In a total of 72 cases including 15 cases of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), PAIgG was studied, using this new method and quantitative Fab, anti-Fab assay. Binding Rate was 9.3 +/- 3.8% in normal subjects and 26.5 +/- 10% in ITP patients, which difference was statistically significant (p less than 0.01). A good correlation was observed between Binding Rate and peripheral platelet count in ITP (r = 0.7299, p less than 0.01) and also between Binding Rate and values of PAIgG by Fab, anti-Fab assay (r = 0.8309, p less than 0.01). These results indicate that this new method is reliable to detect PAIgG in addition to its simplicity and rapidity.

Hypothalamic regulation of lipid metabolism in the rat: effect of hypothalamic stimulation on lipogenesis

The rates of fatty acid synthesis and syntheses of other lipids were measured in vivo by determining 3H-incorporation from tritiated water or 14C-incorporation from [U-14C]glucose into white adipose tissues (WAT), brown adipose tissue (BAT) and liver, during electrical stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) and the lateral hypothalamic nucleus (LH) of female rats. Electrical stimulation of the VMH markedly increased the rate of fatty acid synthesis and the conversion of glucose to total lipids, glyceride glycerol and phospholipids in interscapular BAT, but not in parametrial or retroperitoneal WAT. Conversely, on VMH stimulation, the syntheses of total lipids, glyceride glycerol and phospholipids from glucose in the liver decreased slightly, though not significantly. Electrical stimulation of the LH had no such effect. Administration of insulin increased the rate of fatty acid synthesis in both brown and white adipose tissues and in the liver. The rate of disappearance of [14C]glucose and the concentration of insulin in the blood were not changed significantly by stimulation of the VMH. These data indicate that electrical stimulation of the VMH, but not the LH, enhances lipogenesis in BAT preferentially through a mechanism not involving insulin, but probably through activation of sympathetic innervation of BAT. The physiological significance of the findings is discussed in relation to hypothalamic function in controlling non-shivering thermogenesis and obesity.

A quality control study to assess the inter-laboratory variability of routine estrogen and progesterone receptor assays

The steroid hormone receptor laboratories of Bern, Basel, Zürich, Locarno, Lausanne and Geneva have participated in a quality control study to assess potential inter-laboratory variability in results of tests for determination of steroid hormone receptor status in human breast tumor biopsies. Homogeneous breast tumor powders containing low, medium and high concentrations of estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) were prepared in Bern and dispatched on solid CO2 to each laboratory within 1 day of preparation. Each laboratory was requested to assay each powder for ER and PR by their usual procedures. The results revealed that the quantitative discrepancies in ER and PR binding values among the participants could be attributed in part to variations in the methods used for measuring cytosol protein content and also to the differences in hormone receptor assay methods. Nevertheless, all of the laboratories were able to identify the samples containing low, medium and high concentrations of ER and PR.

A new device for the determination of microsomal cytochrome P-450 in renal tissue preparations from various species contaminated with mitochondria and hemoglobin

Using a spectrophotometer connected to a microcomputer, the carbon monoxide difference spectrum of renal microsomal dithionite-reduced cytochrome P-450 was measured avoiding the effects of the contaminating mitochondrial cytochromes and hemoglobin by subtracting the CO difference spectrum of a succinate-treated microsomal suspension from that of a dithionite-treated one. By this method, we quantitatively determined the microsomal cytochrome P-450 in kidneys from various species. The absorption peak of the renal microsomal cytochrome P-450 was about 452 nm in rats and about 450 nm in mice, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, and pigs. Compared with the renal cytochrome P-450 contents in rats, the contents on a g tissue basis were greater in pigs, dogs, and mice and were about the same in hamsters and rabbits. The renal cytochrome P-450 contents in guinea pigs were less than those in rats.

F prostaglandin levels in amniotic fluid during balloon-induced cervical softening and labor at term

Mechanical stretching of the uterus was applied to seven term patients not in labor with unripe cervix by means of intra-uterine application of a rubber balloon. Significant cervical softening, and initiation and progress of labor was achieved in all cases. Serial analyses of the F prostaglandins (PGF) in amniotic fluid were performed before and at given intervals of cervical dilatation. Before the application of stretch, the levels of PGF varied greatly: the values in 5 cases were measureable but low (less than 645 pg/ml) and in two cases the levels were below the sensitivity of the assay (less than 50 pg/ml). Large fluctuations of the levels were noted in many cases during the treatment. However, the rise of the PGF values was significant with the progress of cervical dilatation compared to the pre-treatment values (P less than 0.05 at both 3-4 and 5-6 cm, and P less than 0.01 at 9-10 cm). It was concluded that the increased release of PGF in amniotic fluid is mediated by uterine stretching, and that upon being released PGF is probably involved in the cervical softening an progress of labor.

Autoradiographic studies on the proliferation of glomerular and tubular cells of the rat kidney in early diabetes

Although Osterby and coworkers have shown that the onset of diabetes is associated with glomerular hypertrophy and enlargement of the filtration surface, the pathogenesis of this lesion and the behaviour of the glomerular tuft cells during the increase in glomerular filtration surface area remain unclear. Autoradiography and electron microscopic morphometry in kidneys of male Sprague-Dawley rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes indicate that glomerular enlargement is combined with glomerular cell hyperplasia. 6 days after continuous 3H-thymidine infusion there is a significant increase in DNA-synthesis in tuft cells indicating cell proliferation. Since podocyte volume only increases in acute diabetes (as shown by Osterby and Gundersen in 1980), and the mean podocyte nuclear area remains unchanged, we conclude that the increased DNA-synthesis results in podocyte hypercellularity so that an increased glomerular filtration surface area can be covered by a greater number of cells.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid associated with marked leukocytosis and hypercalcemia

In a 71-year-old woman with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid, marked leukocytosis (26,000 to 87,000/mm3), in which about 90% were mature neutrophils, was observed. Hypercalcemia (about 12 mg/100 ml) was also observed with the serum inorganic phosphate within normal limits. The serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) was undetectable. The thyroid tumor was successfully transplanted to athymic nude mice at autopsy. Marked leukocytosis and hypercalcemia was reproduced in the tumor-bearing nude mice. The result indicates that the thyroid cancer was secreting humoral factors(s) producing leukocytosis and hypercalcemia. The association of leukocytosis and hypercalcemia has been reported in the two similar cases of squamous cell carcinoma, in which the tumor was proven to secrete colony-stimulating factor (CSF). Leukocytosis and hypercalcemia may thus form a new paraneoplastic syndrome.

Studies on nitrosamine formation by the interaction between drugs and nitrite. II. Hepatotoxicity by the simultaneous administration of several drugs and nitrite

The alterations of biochemical parameters, namely, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and glutamic pyruvic transaminase in serum, hepatic microsomal drug oxidation systems, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and lysozomal enzymes in hepatic soluble fraction were investigated for the purpose of semiquantitatively estimating the hepatotoxicity caused by the interaction of several drugs and sodium nitrite in rats. The simultaneous administration of aminopyrine and sodium nitrite induced the alterations of these parameters. However, these alterations were not induced by the administration of antipyrine and sodium nitrite. Therefore the alterations were thought to be mainly due to N-nitrosodimethylamine formed. The administration of 0.4 mmole/kg of aminopyrine and 1.0 mmole/kg of sodium nitrite was thought to induce the alterations to almost the same extent as induced by 0.15 mmole/kg of N-nitrosodimethylamine. The simultaneous administrations of sodium nitrite and several other drugs with tertiary amino groups, namely oxytetracycline, diphenhydramine, oleandomycin, erythromycin and minocycline induced small alterations of these parameters. However, these alterations were not thought to relate to the hepatic injury induced by N-nitrosodimethylamine. Therefore the amount of N-nitrosodimethylamine formed from these drugs in rats was thought to be rather small. We also investigated the effect of several antioxidants on the alterations of biochemical parameters induced by aminopyrine and sodium nitrite. Ascorbic acid, sodium erythorbate and propyl gallate inhibited these alterations. On the other hand, sorbic acid did not.

Studies on nitrosamine formation by the interaction between drugs and nitrite. I. Measurement of the amount of nitrosamine formed in rat and guinea pig stomachs

The amounts of nitrosamine formed by the interaction of several drugs and nitrite in rat and guinea pig stomachs were estimated. The nitrosamine formation from aminopyrine and nitrite was much more in guinea pig stomachs than in rat stomachs. It seemed that this result was due to the difference in gastric contents of these animals. As the nitrosamine formation was also indicated in the interaction of a clinically prescribed dose of aminopyrine and very low doses of nitrite in rat and guinea pig stomachs, there is a possibility that the nitrosation of aminopyrine takes place in human stomachs, too. Minocycline also interacted with nitrite and formed N-nitrosodimethylamine. However, the amount of nitrosamine formed was less in minocycline than in aminopyrine. Oxytetracycline was not found to form nitrosamine in the stomachs of these animals. The effects of several compounds on the nitrosamine formation by the interaction of aminopyrine and nitrite were also investigated. Ascorbic acid, sodium erythorbate, propyl gallate and butylated hydroxyanisole reduced the nitrosamine formation but the effect of alpha tocopherol, sorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene was not observed in the stomach.

Gamma-melanotropin is not present in an N-terminal peptide of salmon proopiocortin

The N-terminal peptide of salmon proopiocortin has been isolated and the primary structure including two disulfide bonds elucidated. The peptide consisted of 76 amino acid residues, which is 27 residues shorter than the bovine and human peptides. The N-terminal 44 residues of the teleost peptide exhibited significant sequence homology to those of the mammalian peptides. The salmon peptide, however, is lacking in the counterpart of gamma-MSH which is located between residues 51 and 64 in the mammalian peptides.

Hypothalamic regulation of lipid metabolism in the rat: effect of hypothalamic stimulation on lipolysis

In unanesthetized rats, electrical stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) induced a marked increase in plasma concentration of glycerol, but did not increase the plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentration, probably owing to a great elevation of plasma lactate which might inhibit the release of FFA from adipose tissue. In anesthetized rats, on stimulation of the VMH there was no remarkable increase in the plasma lactate, and the plasma glycerol and FFA concentrations were both elevated markedly. Electrical stimulation of the lateral hypothalamic nucleus (LH), on the other hand, had no significant effects on plasma glycerol and FFA levels. Bilateral adrenodemedullation did not prevent the lipolytic response to VMH stimulation, although it reduced slightly the increment of plasma glycerol and FFA. However, the lipolytic response was completely blocked by previous treatment of the animals with hexamethonium or propranolol, but not with phentolamine. These results suggest that sympathetic innervation of the adipose tissue is the dominant factor involved in VMH-induced lipolysis in the rat, while the role of the adrenal medulla is subdominant; the effect of VMH stimulation is mainly transmitted through the sympathetic nervous system to beta-adrenergic receptor of the adipose tissue.

Psychomotor status induced by temporal lobe encephalitis

A case report of psychomotor status was presented. A 51-year-old male caught a cold and had a high fever at the end of September, 1979. On October 7th, he had a visual hallucination followed by a generalized seizure. After hospitalization he went through several fits of automatism. On October 15th, he was seized with automatism status in which the seizures were repeated every 25 minutes and there was no recovery of consciousness between the seizures. Although an intravenous injection of diazepam interrupted this status, on October 17th he showed subclinical seizure status on the EEG during which automatism traces were rarely found. By the medication of carbamazepine and clonazepam, he improved gradually. CT-scan revealed the disappearance of the right sylvian fissure and CSF showed findings of viral encephalitis. Consequently, he was considered to have been suffering from temporal lobe encephalitis and shown an episode of psychomotor status with automatisms and automatism traces during which typical automatism status was observed as well.