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Two-dimensional sample-spinning NMR techniques for separately obtaining heteronuclear dipolar powder patterns of chemically distinct nuclei are proposed, which involve switching the spinning axis on and off the magic angle. Procedures for the computation of dipolar spectra obtained by this method are described, and various features of such spectra are discussed using simulated spectra. Practical applications of this method are demonstrated with 13C spectra of calcium formate, β-quinol-methanol clathrate, and urea-trans-4-octene clathrate, providing information on the absolute sign and magnitude of the indirect dipolar couplings, 13C–1H distances, and dynamics of trapped molecules in clathrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dilute-spin spectra under decoupling between abundant spins and slow sample spinning at general angles are discussed, and experimentally observed with an example of calcium formate. Spectra obtained at off-magic angles break up into a train of characteristic patterns different in shape from each other. The center pattern was found to be especially sensitive to the mutual orientation between the chemical shift and dipolar coupling tensors. Each sideband observed at the magic angle shows splitting due to the 13C–1H indirect coupling. The absolute sign of the coupling constant is determined to be positive from the J-split sideband pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diluted magnetic semiconductor Ce doped Si films with p-type conduction by means of codoping of Al were fabricated with low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy. The uniformly distributed Ce as a magnetic ion is responsible for the disappearance of ferromagnetic nature. Therefore, the magnetotransport properties of the films were investigated if they have any p-f interaction between f electron in Ce and carrier in this DMS sample. The samples with lower carrier concentration (2 ×1019 cm-3 at 80 K) showed variable range hopping (VRH) conduction and VRH induced magnetoresistance (MR) was recognized. Samples with higher carrier concentration (7 ×1020 cm-3 at 80 K) showed a metallic conduction and a positive MR. The positive MR is attributed to the quantum correction on the conductivity due to the p-f exchange interaction induced spin splitting of the valence band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital gangrene often occurs in autoimmune diseases, Buerger's disease, and arteriosclerosis obliterans.[1] In addition, cold agglutinin disease may also be a rare cause of digital gangrene.[2] In this case, the onset of the digital gangrene and dark urine after cold exposure led us to suspect a cold agglutinin disease. A previously healthy 55-year-old woman presented to the emergency department in winter because of painful discoloration of the distal tip of her right middle, ring and little fingers (Figure 1A). Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS PubMed WorldCat 2 Koike Y, Akiyama Y, Utani A. Cold agglutinin disease-associated digital gangrene treated with plasmapheresis. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: Lamotrigine is one of several mood stabilizers and its effects for the treatment and prevention of depressive episodes, particularly in bipolar disorder, are generally accepted. Although the findings about a therapeutic window of lamotrigine are yet to be determined, it seems important to obtain information on individual pharmacokinetic peculiarities. This study was conducted to formulate the predictive model of plasma lamotrigine levels. Methods: Using the data of 47 patients whose lamotrigine levels, liver function, and renal function were measured, predictive models of lamotrigine levels were formulated by stepwise multiple regression analyses. The predictive power of the models was compared using another dataset of 25 patients. Results: Two models were created using stepwise multiple regression. The first model was: plasma lamotrigine level (µg/mL) = 2.308 + 0.019 × lamotrigine dose (mg/day). The second model was: plasma lamotrigine level (µg/mL) = 0.08 + 0.024 × lamotrigine dose (mg/day) + 4.088 × valproate combination (no = 0, yes = 1). The predictive power of the second model was better than that of the first model. Discussion: The present study proposes a prompt and relatively accurate equation to predict lamotrigine levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Bright light therapy is widely used as the treatment of choice for seasonal affective disorder. Nonetheless, our understanding of the mechanisms of bright light is limited and it is important to investigate the mechanisms. The purpose of this study is to examine the hypothesis that bright light exposure may increase [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose ( FDG) uptake in olfactory bulb and/or hippocampus which may be associated neurogenesis in the human brain. Method A randomized controlled trial comparing 5-day bright light exposure + environmental light (bright light exposure group) with environmental light alone (no intervention group) was performed for 55 participants in a university hospital. The uptake of [18F] FDG in olfactory bulb and hippocampus using FDG positron emission tomography was compared between two groups. Results There was a significant increase of uptake in both right and left olfactory bulb for bright light exposure group vs. no intervention group. After adjustment of log-transformed illuminance, there remained a significant increase of uptake in the right olfactory bulb. Conclusion The present findings suggest a possibility that 5-day bright light exposure may increase [18F] FDG in the right olfactory bulb of the human brain, suggesting a possibility of neurogenesis. Further studies are warranted to directly confirm this possibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Lamotrigine is widely used for mood disorders including bipolar disorder and major depression, but its therapeutic levels have yet to be determined. This study was conducted to investigate the hypothesis that lamotrigine may have a therapeutic window for mood disorders. Methods: 25 patients with mood disorders received lamotrigine for more than one year during which time plasma lamotrigine levels were measured at least once. Their mental state was retrospectively and regularly but blindly assessed using the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale. In order to investigate our hypothesis, we depicted the relationship between the last lamotrigine levels and the last CGI scores in 25 patients. If any, the potential therapeutic window was further investigated. Results: The relationship between the last lamotrigine levels and the last CGI scores in the 25 patients indicated the presence of a therapeutic window of lamotrigine from 5 to 11 μg/mL. The repeated measures of ANOVA reached a significant tendency of the effects of lamotrigine levels within 5-11 μg/mL on better CGI-S scores, and the CGI-S scores at the last observation of the 15 patients whose lamotrigine levels were within 5-11 μg/mL were significantly better than those of 10 patients whose lamotrigine levels were not within 5-11 μg/mL. Conclusion: These findings suggest that lamotrigine may have a therapeutic window for patients with mood disorder from 5 to 11 μg/mL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adding pindolol to serotonergic antidepressant treatment offers a potential strategy for producing a more rapid onset of action and an enhanced antidepressant effect. This review investigated whether pindolol enhances the efficacy of serotonergic antidepressant treatment in adult patients with depressive disorders at sequential time points up to 6 weeks. Search strategy: Cochrane Collaboration Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis- Controlled Trials Register plus unpublished trial data. Study selection: Randomised trials including depressed patients, comparing serotonergic antidepressants + pindolol with serotonergic antidepressants + placebo and using depressive symptom clinical outcomes scales. Data extraction: Clinical response at time points up to 6 weeks as defined by >50% depression scale score reduction was extracted for each trial as possible. Eleven studies were identified including unpublished data. The pooled odds ratios for dichotomous response to treatment at time points from 1 to 6 weeks were 2.39 (95% CI 1.40-4.06), 2.39 (1.74-3.29), 1.94 (1.46-2.58), 1.59 (1.16-2.18), 1.42 (0.87-2.31) and 1.28 (0.91-1.81). Time-to-event analysis showed a greater response with pindolol augmentation versus placebo (P = 0.04). There was significant heterogeneity between studies at some time points. Dropout rates did not significantly differ between treatment arms. This review suggests an overall beneficial clinical effect of pindolol augmentation, most clearly up to 4 weeks of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Pr‐doped double‐clad structured waterproof fluoride glass fibre (Pr:DC‐WPFGF) was successfully drawn, and the laser oscillation was demonstrated. The maximum output power was measured as 251.7 mW at 639.0 nm. The Pr:DC‐WPFGF was designed to be single‐mode fibre, with 0.08 of numerical aperture and 5.2 µm of core diameter. The beam‐quality factor, M2, was measured and evaluated to be 1.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-equilibrium relaxation of Coulomb glass in disordered thin films is investigated by kinetic Monte Carlo simulation. We numerically confirm aging phenomena in the autocorrelation function C(t, tW) in a quasi-two-dimensional system with finite thickness and clarify the effect of an external electric field on the elongated relaxation time due to aging. We also study the statistical properties of electron states belonging to local energy minima in random site models. Our results highlight the difference in the properties of energy landscape between two different models to describe Coulomb glass, called the random site model and the lattice model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 64-year-old woman with Parkinson is disease had a severe resting tremor that was not completely relieved by right-sided gamma knife thalamotomy (GKT). We performed bilateral staged thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) and compared the right and left ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim) of the thalamus including the frequency of single units recorded with microelectrodes, and also the somatotopical distribution of kinaesthetic cells (Ki). The average frequency of units for the presumed left Vim exceeded that of the right (22.6 ± 19.2 Hz vs. 14.3 ± 8.8 Hz). Regarding the somatotopic distribution of Ki, the receptive field for the leg, which is usually situated in the dorsolateral Vim, was more widely scattered in the right Vim than the non-lesioned left side. Our findings raise the possibility that the specific properties of the neurons changed due to partial coagulation by GKT within both the coagulated and the surrounding thalamic lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Little is known about the natural history of ovarian cancer with respect to the change of serum CA125 level. Methods: The Shizuoka Cohort Study on Ovarian Cancer Screening (SCSOCS) Trial contains approximately 100,000 data on serum tumor marker CA125 prospectively obtained from more than 70,000 women. We reviewed the clinical charts and collected serum samples 2 months to 9.4 years prior to the surgery were available. Results: In 396 (95%) of the 419 patients with ovarian cancer, one serum sample was present before the diagnosis (mean, 4.1 years). The change of CA125 level before the diagnosis of ovarian cancer could be clearly separated into two groups according to the length of the following intervals: 47% (107/228) of patients with non-serous-type ovarian cancers develop secondarily from slightly elevated CA125 level (35

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) has been assumed to be a subtype of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) with depressive symptoms, such as depressive mood, tension, anxiety, and mood liability during luteal phase. At present, no conclusion has been established about serotonergic function in PMDD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the serotonergic function of PMDD subjects in comparison to PMS without PMDD subjects and normal controls via neuroendocrine challenge tests. Twenty-four women (seven with PMDD, eight with PMS without PMDD, and nine normal controls) were tested on three occasions (follicular phase, early luteal phase, and late luteal phase) receiving paroxetine 20 mg orally as a serotonergic probe at 8:00 a. m. Plasma ACTH and cortisol were measured prior to the administration and every hour for 6 h thereafter. As a whole, there were significant differences in serotonergic function measured by ACTH and cortisol responses to paroxetine challenge across these three groups. PMDD subjects showed higher serotonergic function in follicular phase but lower serotonergic function in luteal phase, compared with women with PMS without PMDD and normal controls. The present findings suggest that PMDD women have fluctuating serotonergic function across their menstrual cycles and that the pattern may be different from PMS without PMDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the dendritic cell (DC) differentiation in embryonic rat liver utilizingin situultrastructural characterization and immunohistochemistry. The study revealed the existence of DCs early in hepatic ontogeny with positive immune staining to the OX-62 monoclonal antibody. DCs existed in three differentiating stages: immature, mature and transitional forms in between. At 14 and 16 days of gestation, immature and transitional forms of DCs dominated. Mature cells increased significantly in number through late gestational days (18 days onwards). DCs (particularly mature and moderate mature forms) revealed signs of active phagocytosis manifested by the existence of cytoplasmic phagosomes and heterophagosomes. At 18 days of gestation as well as newborn liver mature DCs displayed two distinct morphological phenotypes according to the degree of development of either the smooth endoplasmic reticulum or the lysosomal compartment. Mature DCs delineated close appositions to other DCs, hepatocytes, and clustering with lymphocytes especially through their cellular processes. The features of phagocytosis and DC–T-cell contacts may signify a role of DCs in immune surveillance in the embryonic liver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an analysis of the experimental data obtained by means of inelastic neutron scattering (INS) experiments for diluted Heisenberg antiferromagnet RbMn 0.39 Mg 0.61 F 3 (H. Ikeda et al. , J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 67 , 3376 (1998)). Calculated results recover well INS results. These results confirm the observation of antiferromagnetic fractons in RbMn 0.39 Mg 0.61 F 3 by Ikeda et al. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Perospirone is a new antipsychotic drug in which dopamine D2 antagonist and serotonin 5-HT2 antagonist effects have been found in animal studies. It was developed by a Japanese pharmaceutical company and launched in 2001. Perospirone's receptor binding profile may resemble that of atypical antipsychotic drugs, but to date there has been no evidence relating to its receptor binding affinity in the human brain. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the receptor binding profile of perospirone via neuroendocrine challenge tests. Methods: Twenty subjects (ten females and ten males) were tested on four occasions in a double-blind, cross-over design receiving: (a) placebo, (b) perospirone 4 mg, (c) paroxetine 20 mg, and (d) paroxetine 20 mg plus perospirone 4 mg, administered orally at 8.00 a.m. Plasma cortisol and prolactin levels were measured prior to administration and every hour for 6 h thereafter. In addition, psychological responses rated by visual analog scales and vital signs such as body temperature, pulse, and blood pressure were assessed in combination with blood sampling. Results: Perospirone 4 mg increased prolactin levels significantly higher than placebo, whereas paroxetine 20 mg plus perospirone 4 mg significantly attenuated cortisol responses induced by paroxetine 20 mg. Conclusions: The present findings suggest that perospirone has the characteristics of both D2 and 5-HT2 antagonist in the human brain. Further PET studies in the human brain are required in order to directly investigate these effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates a dose-response relationship for paroxetine administration and to determine whether a lower dose of paroxetine is sufficient to increase plasma ACTH and cortisol. Effect of paroxetine in increasing plasma cortisol in human subjects; Implications for probing brain serotonin function; Recommended dosage to obtain optimal effect.

The apparent viscosity of alginate impression paste prepared by three mixing methods (hand-mixing technique (HM), semiautomatic instrument (SM) and automatic mixing instrument (AM)), and the gel strength and surface depression of the respective set materials were measured. The materials used were eight commercially available products mixed at a temperature of 23 ± 0.5 °C and allowed to set. The AM had a high mixing speed, which reduced the working time 4.4–31.5%, compared with HM. This was the result of an increase in paste temperature during mixing. In the case of impression materials mixed with the AM, the gel strength and the surface depression at the gel fracture increased significantly, in accordance with Fisher's protected least significant difference (PLSD) analysis. This phenomenon is caused by a decrease of air bubbles in the set material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summery. Cholesterol granuloma in the petrous apex presents with various symptoms of cranial nerve dysfunction, so the selection for surgical treatment remains controversial. We report a 41-year-old woman with a cholesterol granuloma at the left petrous apex, which was totally resected via a combined middle fossa and posterior transpetrosal approach. In a review of 92 cases, including our case, treated for petrous apex cholesterol granuloma between 1990 and 2001, 38 were men (41.3%) and 54 were women (58.7%). The mean age of these patients was 37.4 years (males were 35.2 years, females were 39.4 years). The most common presenting clinical symptom was hearing loss due to dysfunction of cranial nerve VIII. Seventy-nine patients, including our case, underwent operation, and 13 patients were managed without surgery. The most frequently selected surgical approach was middle cranial fossa approach. Revision surgery (including the 2 cases who underwent revision twice and three times) was performed in 12 patients (15.2%). In 92 cases, all of those who underwent total removal have not shown re-accumulation of cyst contents. On the other hand, 11.4% of the patients with or without permanent drainage route proceeded by subtotal removal of the cyst wall needed revision surgery because of stenosis of the drainage route. Therefore we conclude that the most important treatment for the prevention of re-accumulation of cyst contents may be the extent of the cyst wall resection rather than the establishment of permanent drainage route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Rationale: Intravenous administration of the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor, citalopram (20 mg), is known to increase plasma prolactin (PRL) and cortisol in human subjects. This suggests that citalopram may be a useful tool to probe brain serotonin function. Objective: To find out whether lower doses of intravenous citalopram would be sufficient to increase plasma prolactin and cortisol. Methods: Eleven subjects were tested on three occasions in a double-blind, cross-over design receiving: (a) placebo, (b) citalopram 5 mg and (c) citalopram 10 mg infused intravenously over a 30-min period. A further six subjects received intravenous citalopram (10 mg) on two occasions receiving in addition the 5-HT[sub 2A/2C] receptor antagonist, cyproheptadine (4 mg orally) or placebo, 6 h before each infusion in a double-blind, randomised, cross-over design. Plasma PRL and cortisol levels were measured before and for 150 min after the infusion. Results: Citalopram increased plasma PRL and cortisol in a dose-related manner. Cyproheptadine lowered baseline PRL and cortisol but did not attenuate the endocrine responses to citalopram. Citalopram infusions were well-tolerated. Conclusions: Low-dose citalopram has potential utility as a neuroendocrine challenge test. The endocrine responses to citalopram are probably not mediated predominantly by 5-HT[sub 2A/2C] receptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The effects of clozapine and other antipsychotic drugs on noradrenaline (NA) transport were examined in cultured bovine adrenal medullary cells and in transfected Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing the bovine NA transporter. Incubation of adrenal medullary cells with clozapine (30-1000 ng/ml) inhibited desipramine (DMI)-sensitive uptake of [[sup 3]H]NA in a concentration-dependent manner (IC[sub 50]=110 ng/ml or 336 nM). Other antipsychotic drugs such as haloperidol, chlorpromazine, and risperidone also decreased [[sup 3]H]NA uptake (IC[sub 50]= 144, 220, and 210 ng/ml or 383, 690, and 512 nM, respectively). Eadie-Hofstee analysis showed that clozapine reduced V[sub max] of uptake of [[sup 3]H]NA and increased K[sub m]. Furthermore, clozapine inhibited specific binding of [[sup 3]H]DMI to plasma membranes isolated from bovine adrenal medulla (IC[sub 50]=48 ng/ml or 146 nM). Scatchard plot analysis of [[sup 3]H]DMI binding revealed that clozapine decreased both B[sub max] and K[sub d]. Other antipsychotic drugs, including haloperidol, chlorpromazine, and risperidone, also reduced [[sup 3]H]DMI binding to the membranes. In transfccted Xenopus oocytes expressing the bovine NA transporter, clozapine inhibited [[sup 3]H]NA uptake in a concentration-dependent manner similar to that observed in adrenal medullary cells. These results suggest that clozapine and haloperidol directly inhibit transport of NA by acting on the site of an NA transporter that influences both substrate transport and binding of tricyclic antidepressants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate an association between serum cholesterol levels and depressive state. Method: Physical examinations and mental assessments were performed for 13 702 human dock visitors. We obtained 13 571 sets of complete data for serum total cholesterol, the scores for depressive state and possible confounders such as sex, age, body weight, body mass index (BMI), recent weight loss, total protein and concomitant medical diagnoses. Results: Their depressive state varied significantly across the serum cholesterol levels after adjusting age and gender. After controlling all the above confounding variables the significance still remained, not only in the categorical analysis but also in the continuous analysis. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that there is an association between cholesterol and depressive state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We hypothesised that long term epidural anaesthesia suppresses sympathetic overactivity in pre-eclampsia. Two equal groups of severe pre-eclamptic patients were treated either with long-term epidural anaesthesia (epidural group) or bed rest, diet control, and an antihy-pertensive drug (control group). After 7 days of epidural block, mean arterial blood pressures decreased, platelet count and serum total protein increased in all cases while proteinuria decreased in four cases. All patients treated with a long-term epidural therapy continued their pregnancies for more than 3 weeks after admission. The infants in the epidural group had 1-min Apgar scores above 8, a body weight of 2240 ± 310 g (mean ± s.d.) and normal neonatal progress. In contrast, the pregnancies of eight patients in the control group were terminated within 2 weeks of admission due to severe pre-eclampsia or foetal distress, the birth weight of the infants was 1590 ± 380 g (mean ± s.d.) and four had neonatal distress. Progressive worsening in the mean arterial pressure, proteinuria, platelet count and serum total protein was found in these patients. Long-term epidural anaesthesia suppresses the sympathetic hyperactivity and thus improves pre-eclamptic condition which may open a new treatment in case of progressive severe pre-eclampsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to study the effect of exogenous interleukin (IL)-8, IL-1 and IL-8 + IL-1 on uterine contractions in rabbits. Four equal groups of non-pregnant rabbits (n = 24) were investigated using either placebo or experimental drugs in the form of vaginal suppositories. The suppositories contained human recombinant IL-8 (200 ng), IL-1 (200 ng), IL-8 (200 ng) + IL-1 (200 ng) or vehicle Witepsol base, 500 microliters). Subsequently, the plasma concentration of prostaglandin (PG) E2 was estimated 3 h after the last dose of treatment. Neutrophil infiltration in the endometrial tissue was studied with anti-rabbit RT2 staining. Suppositories with IL-1 and IL-8 + IL-1 produced contractile responses with increased frequency (P < 0.003, P < 0.0005) and amplitude (P < 0.0001) in vivo, compared with vehicle. IL-1 and IL-8 + IL-1 also caused similar contractile effects with increased frequency (P < 0.01, P < 0.0007) and amplitude (P < 0.0001) in an in-vitro experiment than vehicle. The frequency and amplitude of uterine contractions were more significant with IL-8 + IL-1 than that of IL-1, both in vivo (P < 0.002, P < 0.05) and in vitro (P < 0.005, P < 0.01). IL-8 did not induce any contractions. Prostaglandin concentration was increased approximately 8-fold with IL-8 + IL-1 (P < 0.0001) and 2.5-fold with IL-1 treatment (P < 0.0001). Neutrophil numbers were significantly increased with IL-8 + IL-1 > IL-8 > IL-1 (P < 0.002, P < 0.0003 and P < 0.008) compared with vehicle. Our data suggest that IL-8 stimulates IL-1-induced uterine contractions through PGE2 production and could be an important process during labour and delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]