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Vanadium atoms in layered LiVO2 form in-plane periodic vanadium trimers at low temperatures, but the trimers appear randomly in the stacking direction because there are many trimer configurations with comparable lattice energy. We detailed an original modeling scheme to represent glassy states with a completely disordered trimer configuration in the stacking structure. Through PDF analysis using this model, we show that the synthesis method can yield two types of low-temperature stacking structures: a completely disordered stacking structure and a short-range order in the stacking structure. The phase transition temperature of the former sample is about 15 K lower than that of the latter. We discuss that this is due to the strong trimer frustration that appears in the sample without short-range order, which suppresses the phase transition temperature, similar to the frustration effect in conventional spin systems., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

We report a K

Synopsis For the quantitative investigation of the potential sputtering process on the surface of noble gas solid, we have performed the coincidence measurement of the ions desorbed and projectiles scattered from solid Ne surfaces, due to 3 keV Ar6+ impacts at grazing incidence angles. The dependence of Ne n + desorption on the charge state of the scattered Ar projectiles is found.

Current transport characteristics in a Y/sub 1/Ba/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// (YBCO) coated conductor fabricated by a trifluoroacetates-metal organic deposition (TFA-MOD) process were investigated over a wide range of temperature and magnetic field up to 25 T. Improved TFA-MOD process was successfully introduced for the better property of critical current density, J/sub c/, at high magnetic fields. The J/sub c/ and critical current, I/sub c/, values of multi-coated film with 1.2 /spl mu/m thickness and 1 cm width were 2.1 MA/cm/sup 2/ and 251 A at 77 K in self-field. Additionally, the superior J/sub c/ properties remained even at high magnetic fields over 20 T and lower temperature, e.g. J/sub c/ value at 30 K in 25 T was 1.0 MA/cm/sup 2/. The J/sub c/ value was about 2.5 times higher than those of previous TFA-MOD process at wide range of magnetic field. Moreover, the statistical distribution of J/sub c/ in the conductor was also estimated within a framework of the percolation model. The uniformity in the YBCO coated conductor was improved by optimizing the TFA-MOD process.

The E – J characteristics were measured for a YBCO coated-conductor by using AC inductive method of third-harmonic voltage. The results are compared with the measurements obtained by the four probe method and DC relaxation method of magnetization. The results by three kinds of measurements meet approximately on a single curve and E – J curve in a wide range of electric field is obtained. Hence, the third-harmonic voltage method is useful for a continuous measurement of J c property of long coated tape. The obtained E – J characteristics are argued.

Normal spinel ZnCr 2 O 4 undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition at T N =12.5 - 0.5 K. Dielectric constant makes a jump at T N , indicating that an abrupt change in the lattice structure is accompanied with the magnetic transition. X-ray powder diffraction shows that a probable symmetry below T N is an orthorhombic( Fddd ) or its subgroup.

We have investigated the dilute effect on a typical orbital ordering system KCuF 3 by partially substituting Zn for Cu. The crystal structure has been examined as a function of Cu concentration at room temperature by X-ray diffraction. It is found that the phase transition from a tetragonal structure to a cubic one occurs with decreasing Cu concentration. This structural phase transition is confirmed to be an orbital order–disorder transition by the resonant X-ray scattering (RXS) technique.

Two patients who underwent gamma knife radiosurgery for ruptured cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVM) developed cystic lesions at 78 and 111 months after undergoing treatment. Both patients presented initially with intracerebral hemorrhage. In one patient, the cystic lesion was discovered during routine follow-up imaging and clinical examination revealed homonymous hemianopsia; the second patient presented with seizure and the lesion was identified more than 9 years after radiosurgery. One patient underwent resection of the nidus and histologic analysis of the resected specimen showed vessels in various stages of obliteration. The present paper discusses the possible mechanism for the delayed development of cystic lesions, and the possibility that radiation-induced vascular changes may continue in a nidus even when angiography shows complete obliteration of the nidus.

Angle-dependent magnetoresistance measurements clarified the origin of the anomalous state of the organic quasi two-dimensional conductor (BEDT-TTF) 2KHg (SCN) 4 to be the Peierls instability on the one-dimensional part of the Fermi surface. Pressures higher than about 0. 5 GPa were found to increase the interlayer band-width to suppress the Peierls instability. With the help of the “chemical pressure effect” precise studies of (DMeDCNQI) 2Cu were made as functions of pressure to reveal the nature of the re-entered metallic state. Magnetoresistance and heat capacity measurements clarified the re-entered metallic state to be nothing but a normal metallic one.

Single crystals of YbTX (T=Cu, Ag, Pt, Au: X=Sn, Sb) have been synthesized by the Bridgeman method. We found that the compounds YbCuSn, YbPtSn and YbAuSn crystallize in the TiNiSi-, ZrNiAl- and TiNiSi-type structure, respectively. The electrical resistivity ρ, magnetic susceptibility χ and magnetization M were measured. The results of χ( T ) revealed that the valence of the Yb ions is divalent in all the compounds except for YbPtSn. By contrast, YbPtSn with trivalent Yb ions orders antiferromagnetically at T m = 3.5 K and exhibits a metamagnetic transition at 4.5 kOe. As the magnetic field is increased to 150 kOe, M(H) of YbPtSn saturates at a value of 2.31 μ B f.u. 1 , whereas M(H) for other compounds gradually increases to values less than 0.02 μ B f.u 1 . All the compounds are metallic and the analysis of ρ( T ) by using the Bloch-Gruneisen law leads to the characteristic temperatures ranging from 90 to 170 K.

Summary Background and objective: Hyperinsulinemia attributable to augmented concentrations of insulin and proinsulin in plasma increases plasma PAI-1 activity in vivo and may contribute to acceleration of atherogenesis in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). The present study is designed to verify that the increase in PAI-1 activity is specifically attributable to insulin and proinsulin and not to an acute phase reaction possibly triggered by endotoxins. Methods and results: To simulate hyper(pro)insulinemia seen with NIDDM, equimolar concentrations of insulin (1 IU/kg, n = 17), proinsulin (n = 16), C-peptide (n = 4), and placebo (n = 16) were infused intravenously over 1 h in 53 conscious rabbits maintained euglycemic. At 3 h plasma PAI-1 activity was significantly higher with insulin (15.8 ± 1.4 AU/ml, ±SEM) and proinsulin (17.2 ± 1.5 AU/ml) than with C-peptide (7.4 ± 0.6 AU/ml) and placebo (6.2 ± 0.6 AU/ml, p Conclusions: With the exclusion of endotoxin contamination and the comparable time courses of plasma fibrinogen concentration and t-PA activity among all treatment groups, induction of PAI-1 activity in plasma can be attributed to specific action by insulin and proinsulin rather than manifestation of an acute phase reaction.

Mine fill is the material placed underground to fill the voids created by mining excavations. It provides overall large scale ground stabilization while allowing localized pillar recovery. In addition to providing a working floor or back, mine fill has the potential to reduce subsidence and minimize dilution. Mine fill is essential to cut and fill, benching and sublevel stoping mining methods. This paper describes mine fill research carried out at the Western Australian School of Mines (WASM) over the last 10 years or so. The research included cemented paste fill (CPF), cemented hydraulic fill (CHF) and cemented aggregates/rock fill (CAF/CRF) optimization projects for a number of mines throughout Australia and overseas.

A wire matrix has been developed for mounting LED dot matrix displays whereby insulated wires are ‘woven’ to produce a matrix that is fixed on an aluminium board with epoxy adhesive. This monolayer woven wire board simplifies the fabrication process of the display board while at the same time showing more than double the heat dissipation of conventional insulated aluminium printed circuit boards and five times that of conventional glass epoxy printed circuit boards when mounted with bare LED chips. In addition, it is suitable for high‐density and high‐brightness LED dot matrix displays.

Mice carrying ablated coding regions of the bcl-2 alpha and bcl-2 beta transcripts have been made. bcl-2-/- mutants are smaller but viable, although about half of them die by 6 weeks of age. As shown earlier with somatic bcl-2 gene-targeted mice, the number of lymphocytes markedly decreased within few weeks after birth while other hematopoietic lineages remained unaffected. Among lymphocytes, CD8+ T cells disappeared most quickly followed by CD4+ T cells, whereas B cells were least affected. bcl-2-/- lymphocytes, however, could respond normally to various stimuli including anti-CD3, Con A, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate plus ionomycin, interleukin 2, lipopolysaccharide, and anti-IgM antibody. Abnormalities among nonlymphoid organs include smaller auricles, hair color turning gray at 4-5 weeks of age, and polycystic kidney disease-like change of renal tubules. These results suggest that Bcl-2 may be involved during morphogenesis where inductive interactions between epithelium and mesenchyme are important such as in the kidneys, hair follicles, and perichondrium of auricles. Surprisingly, the nervous system, intestines, and skin appear normal despite the fact that these organs show high levels of endogenous Bcl-2 expression in normal mice.

The temperature dependence of the degree of order has been studied by X-ray diffractometry for the superlattice-type decagonal quasicrystal recently found in the Al-Ni-Co alloy system. On raising the temperature, all the superlattice peaks start to lose intensity at about 750[ddot]C, above which two different behaviours have been observed, the superlattice peaks of one group keep about 40% of the original intensity at 850[ddot]C, while those of the other vanish almost completely at the same temperature. The appearance of the two different behaviours of the superlattice peaks is attributable to the existence of two independent order parameters in this system. The superlattice peaks regain the lost intensity by subsequent low-temperature annealing, indicating that the intensity changes are reversible. A possibility of realization of a novel type of ordering is suggested for the present superlattice decagonal quasicrystal.

A surface‐mount in‐line light emitting diode (LED) array was developed for mounting an LED dot matrix display on a single‐sided insulated metal substrate (IMS). This LED array has heat dissipating cathode leads and an anode lead that works as a jumper wire. Good heat dissipation of the LED array was obtained on an aluminium IMS.

A copper-based insulated metal substrate (IMS) having an insulating layer with a high dielectric constant has been developed, using an epoxy compound filled with barium titanate filler. A wide variety of polymers and inorganic filters as well as coupling agents were tested for their ability to be fabricated into an insulating layer having a dielectric constant of 26 and a dielectric loss of 0.04 at 400 MHz. The temperature dependence of the cured dielectric was also studied. This copper-based IMS easily allowed for the addition of solder through holes. Reduction in the size of the microstrip line in an UHF power amplifier was attempted. An area less than 1/3 the original size of the conventional glass epoxy printed circuit is expected with this IMS. >

Recently, "low-dose and long-term" erythromycin treatment has been reported as effective on diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB), but its mechanism is still obscure. Patients with DPB were found to have significantly higher percentages of neutrophils in the pre-erythromycin treatment bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) than healthy nonsmoking volunteers (p < 0.001). They showed a significant reduction in BALF neutrophil percentages after erythromycin treatment (p < 0.01). The neutrophil chemotactic activity (NCA) was significantly elevated in BALF obtained from 19 patients with DPB compared with that from healthy volunteers (p < 0.001). A significant reduction in the NCA was observed in post-erythromycin treatment BALF of 11 patients with DPB (p < 0.001). Additionally, there was a significant correlation between the reduction of NCA and neutrophil percentage in pre- and post-erythromycin treatment BALF (r = 0.726, p < 0.05). Finally, we investigated the effect of erythromycin on the intrapulmonary influx of neutrophils by intratracheal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in mice. The intrapulmonary influx of neutrophils was significantly suppressed (p < 0.001) in mice intraperitoneally injected with erythromycin at 5 mg per animal 2 h before intratracheal injection of LPS (control group: 6.5 +/- 1.6 x 10(5) versus erythromycin-treated group: 1.7 +/- 0.5 x 10(5)), but not 10 h before lung challenge. This inhibition was observed at 6 h after lung challenge and became maximal with 84% suppression at 24 h. Week-long administration of erythromycin did not alter the intrapulmonary influx of neutrophils. The number of neutrophils in the peripheral blood was not affected by erythromycin, indicating that the drug was not toxic.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

1963年6月より1989年9月までに67例の大腸穿孔を経験した.予後に影響する因子として, 年齢, 原因疾患, 術式, 穿孔から手術までの時間, 検出菌をとりあげ, これらの予後との関係について検討した.全症例の死亡率は25.3%であり, 悪性疾患によるものでは45.8%と高く, とくに61歳以上の悪性疾患では55%の死亡率であった.特発性穿孔は5例中3例が死亡したが, その他の悪性以外の疾患では, 術式のいかんにかかわらずきわめて高い生存率 (92.3%) を得た.穿孔から手術までの時間と予後との関係は, 一般に発症より手術までの時間が短いほど生存率が高いといわれているが, 自験例ではそれらと一致せず, むしろ経過時間が長いほど死亡率が低かった.これは経過時間が短い症例の中に, 悪性疾患や特発性のものが多く含まれていたためと考えられ, 経過時間そのものよりも患者の基礎疾患や全身状態などが, 予後に大きく影響すると考えられる.

The low-temperature electronic structure of the quarter-filled, quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) system (DI-DCNQI)2Ag is revealed using synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction. In spite of the interchain frustration in the twofold superstructure along the 1D chain, the body-centered tetragonal "charge ordering" structure, which consists of 4k_{F} charge ordering columns and 4k_{F} bond order wave columns, is realized. This is the first example of the Q1D system having plural kinds of columns as its ground state. This charge ordered structure is regarded as a Wigner crystal caused by intercolumn Coulomb repulsion.

We describe a 40-month-old male infant with renal failure, treated with peritoneal dialysis, who developed massive calcification of soft tissues including the heart and lungs with subsequent cardiopulmonary insufficiency. A diagnosis of Jeune syndrome was made. After starting peritoneal dialysis, the patient exhibited an intractable metabolic acidosis of unknown etiology necessitating treatment with intravenous or oral sodium bicarbonate. Myocardial calcification was first detected by 2-dimensional echocardiography performed 3 months after starting dialysis. The patient was not suitable for renal transplantation because of his cardiac dysfunction and died of cardiac and respiratory failure at the age of 6 years. Although the patient exhibited a variety of risk factors for ectopic calcification including hyperphosphatemia, hyperparathyroidism, high calcium-phosphate product and treatment with vitamin D, the early and massive soft tissue calcification may have been accelerated by correction of the metabolic acidosis. Therefore, the use of sodium bicarbonate may be involved in the etiology of the myocardial calcification.

In this study, we propose a novel modulation level information (MLI) transmission scheme for adaptive multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) systems, in which adaptive modulation scheme (AMS) is applied to MC-CDMA. In general, AMS requires to transmit MLI, which informs a receiver about modulation parameters used in a transmitter. In the proposed MLI transmission scheme, MLI is expressed by spreading code selection patterns. To transmit MLI, data symbols are spread using the selected codes. To evaluate the proposed scheme, we compared it with a conventional scheme. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves a lower MLI error rate.

The aim of this work was to examine factors that could be involved in the occurrence of apoptosis in rat hearts subjected to coronary occlusion followed by reperfusion. To this end, we studied the expression of the pro- and anti-apoptotic factors, bax and bcl-2, respectively, in reperfused ischemic hearts and in hearts injected with bFGF or saline. In anesthetized rats the left coronary artery was occluded for 45 min, the anesthesia withdrawn and the occlusion removed to allow reperfusion; in sham-operated rats the occlusion was omitted. After 4 hours the rats were decapitated and the heart excised. Sections from the left ventricle were stained with anti-bcl-2-antibody and anti-bax-antibody using the TUNEL method which detects apoptosis. Fragmentation of DNA isolated from reperfused ventricles was examined by agarose electrophoresis. In reperfused hearts no bcl-2 staining was observed in the discrete area in which many cardiomyocyte nuclei were stained by the TUNEL method; outside this area staining for bcl-2 was more marked than in sham-operated rats. Sections from reperfused hearts were stained for bax protein over a wide area including the apoptotic region; sham-operated hearts showed little reaction. Staining for bcl-2 was demonstrable in some nuclei in hearts from saline-injected rats; the numbers were unaffected by i. v. bFGF. Ischemia/reperfusion increases the overall expression of both bcl-2 and bax proteins, but bcl-2 is lost from the reperfused area as indicated by TUNEL staining. Accordingly, the ratio of bcl-2 to bax was reduced in the reperfused area, indicating a pro-apoptotic trend. The marked increase in bcl-2 outside the reperfused area could be a mechanism with which to salvage surviving cardiomyocytes.

In a strain of the Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats, we found spontaneously hyperactive animals designated as "wiggling," and established a congenic wiggling (Wig) rat by transferring the gene from the LEC to the Wistar King-Aptekman/Hokkaido (WKAH) strain. We evaluated the feasibility of the Wig rat for an animal model of human attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD).Mode of inheritance was examined by use of linkage analyses. Motor activity, behavior, and working memory were assessed by use of electric digital counters, open field test, and Y-maze and water-maze tests.The abnormal behavior, including hyperactivity, was transmitted in autosomal recessive mode. Diurnal and nocturnal motor activity of 12- to 14-week-old Wig rats was markedly higher than that of controls, and this hyperactivity was more prominent during nighttime than daytime. Ambulation in the open-field test was significantly increased in Wig rats, but rearing was decreased in Wig rats, compared with controls. Results of the Y-maze tests indicated that spontaneous alternation behavior was significantly impaired in Wig rats, although there was no difference in the total arm entries. The water-maze test could not be performed because, when exposed to water, Wig rats panicked and almost drowned.Wig rats are hyperactive and have impaired working memory and impulsive behavior, as assessed by the motor activity and open-field tests and the Y-maze test, and these abnormalities are transmitted by a single gene with Mendelian pattern. Wig rats represent an excellent animal model of human ADHD.

JC virus (JCV) together with Simian virus 40 (SV40) and BK virus (BKV), belong to the polyomavirus group and these viruses are neuro-oncogenic to rodents by expression of large T antigen (LT), which binds to cellular p53 and pRB thus reducing the anticancer potential of the cell. The function of LT has not been clarified because small t antigen (st) is transcribed from the same start codon as the overlapping reading frame of LT, and is translated as a different protein with the same N-terminal residues (1-81 amino acids) by a splice-site variant of mRNA. To elucidate the function of LT without st, we constructed plasmids that express LT only by deleting the splicing region including the C-terminus of st, and consequently stable cell lines were established that express only JCLT, SV40LT and BKLT. The growth rates of these cells were examined in colonies on soft agar and it was found that LT alone has a transforming capacity; the order of efficiency being SV40LT, BKLT and JCLT. In addition, to verify the involvement of JCV in human medulloblastoma, eight cases of medulloblastoma, six cases of frozen material and five cases of paraffin-embedded tissues which included three cases of frozen tissues, were examined. PCR assay, genomic Southern blotting, and in situ hybridization were applied to detect the JCV genome, and LT and st were examined by immunohistochemistry; the results were compared with JCV-infected tissues as a positive control. All methods failed to detect not only JCV genome but also LT protein in medulloblastoma and it was concluded that JCV LT has transforming activities in rodent cells, but is not related to human medulloblastoma.

Neural RNA-binding proteins are thought to play important roles in neural development and the functional regulation of postmitotic neurones by mediating post-transcriptional gene regulation. RNA-binding proteins belonging to the Musashi family are highly expressed in the nervous system; however, their roles are poorly understood.We identified a Caenorhabditis elegans Musashi homologue, MSI-1, whose RNA-recognition motifs show extensive similarity to those of Drosophila and vertebrate Musashi proteins. We isolated a msi-1 mutant and found males with this mutation to have a mating defect. C. elegans male mating behaviour includes a distinct series of steps: response to contact, backing, turning, vulva location, spicule insertion, and sperm transfer. msi-1 is required for the turning and vulva location steps. Like other Musashi family members, MSI-1 is expressed specifically in neural cells, including male-specific neurones required for turning and vulva location. However, msi-1 was not expressed in proliferating neural progenitors in C. elegans, unlike the Musashi family genes in other systems.Our results suggest that msi-1 is expressed specifically in postmitotic neurones in C. elegans. msi-1 is required for full development of male mating behaviour, possibly through regulation of msi-1 expressing neurones.

This paper is the result of a collaborative project of Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian scientists gathered to reveal the current extent of substance abuse and efforts at prevention among Arabs in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority territories, in order to identify needs and suggest future collaborative activities and directions for regional cooperation. The article provides data and covers the current state of substance abuse prevention and research among Moslems, Christians and Druze in the trilateral region in the 1990s by reviewing prevention materials and studies published in the professional literature, as well as in reports and Doctoral and Master's theses in Arabic, which have been located in academic libraries and other institutions, in the framework of a comprehensive search. This manuscript is the first to summarize Jordanian and Palestinian findings in the substance abuse domain. The review shows that most of the Israeli research in the Arab sector deals with alcohol use among youth, that the majority of Jordanian studies focus on illicit drug use, that the research among Palestinians is in its infancy, and that comprehensive prevention programs are lacking in the trilateral region. It describes the key results of most of the 12 Israeli studies among Arabs, 11 Jordanian studies and four Palestinian studies. It reveals that drug abuse among Israeli Arab students is probably more prevalent than among Jewish adolescents, that the typical Jordanian drug addict has a higher level of education than the typical Palestinian drug addict, and that the Palestinian is more likely to be a multiple drug user. Recommendations for future activities include organization of a regional collaborative workshop in order to establish data collection systems for basic statistics relevant to drug abuse and development of comprehensive prevention programs, as well as studies in the substance abuse domain concerning knowledge, attitudes and behavior among the general Arab population.

We report a case of a patient with primary cerebral neuroblastoma who has survived for 8 years. A 10-year-old boy was admitted to our hospital because of headache and nausea. CT scan on admission revealed a large cystic tumor on the right frontal lobe. Subtotal tumor resection was carried out. A second operation was performed for the residual tumors which were removed meticulously with confirmation of the absence of tumor cells on each frozen section. After tumor removal, YAG laser was applied at each local area. Histological diagnosis disclosed primary cerebral neuroblastoma. Because of postsurgical meningitis and parent's refusal, neither chemotherapy nor radiation therapy was performed. There have been no findings of the tumor recurrence during the last eight years, and now the patient is enjoying high school life to the full, without any neurological deficits. In reviewing the literature, outcomes of neuroblastoma cases are very poor. Our case seems to be one of the rare long-survival cases.

In this study, gene transfection was used to determine whether the exogenous expression of p16INK4a modulated the biological characteristics of glioblastoma cells. The human glioblastoma cell line U87MG was doubly transfected with the plasmids pVgRXR and pIND harboring the wild-type p16 gene. The expression of p16INK4a in the resulting transfectants was regulated by the addition of the ecdysone homologue, muristerone A. When the cells expressed p16INK4a, their growth capacity was reduced and morphological changes such as an increase in cell size and cellular flattening were observed. The analysis of cell cycle regulation provided evidence that cells expressing p16INK4a were inhibited from entry into the cell cycle, as assessed by Ki-67 antigen expression. In addition, it was observed that the exogenous expression of p16INK4a was associated with decrease in telomerase activity.

Amino acid residues 140-164 of integrin beta1 comprise an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) cross-linking region. The present study was undertaken to study the role of the RGD cross-linking region of integrin beta1 subunit in embryo implantation. Decidual cells attached to fibronectin (FN)-coated dishes. A peptide corresponding to integrin beta1[140-164] (DDL; DYPIDLYYLMDLSYSMKDDLENVKS) inhibited decidual cell attachment to FN-coated dishes in a dose-dependent manner. A variant integrin peptide in which Asp 157 and Asp 158 were replaced by Ala (AAL; DYPIDLYYLMDLSYSMKAALENVKS) did not affect decidual cell attachment to FN. Inhibition by DDL peptide was reversed by prior treatment with an RGD-containing peptide but not by prior treatment with an RGE-containing peptide. Mouse blastocysts became attached to cultured human decidual cells after embryos hatched from the zona pellucida. The majority of hatched blastocysts attached to human decidual cells within 24 h of culture. Blastocysts that attached to decidual cells exhibited extensive outgrowth after 48 h. Treatment of decidual cells with synthetic peptides did not affect the rates of hatching and attachment of blastocysts. The outgrowth of embryos on decidual cells was inhibited by DDL peptide in a dose-dependent manner, but not by AAL peptide. These findings suggest that integrin beta1[140-164] on decidual cells may be important in embryonic development and differentiation following attachment.

Vitreous hemorrhage recurred in 11 eyes out of a series of 120 eyes treated by vitrectomy for proliferative diabetic retinopathy during a 10-month period. Neovascularization from the scleral wound, or fibrovascular proliferation, was identified as the cause of rebleeding in 4 eyes from findings during revitrectomy. None of the 4 eyes showed retinal disorders attributable as the cause of rebleeding. Rebleeding in these 4 eyes developed after an average of 9.0 weeks after initial surgery. The proliferative membrane was oval in shape and expanded from the residual vitreous which had been incarcerated in the scleral wound. The proliferative membrane obtained during revitrectomy was poor in cellular components and contained extracellular matrix. Blood vessels of various sizes were also present. Electron microscopically, the membrane was rich in extracellular components. It contained two types of cells, i.e., high and low electron density cells. These cells often had microvilli and seemed to be of epithelial origin. The findings show that vitreous rebleeding may develop from fibrovascular proliferation from the scleral wound after diabetic vitrectomy. The proliferated membrane showed histological similarities with the fibrovascular proliferation usually seen in the diabetic retina and may represent a type of anterior proliferation secondary to retinal ischemia.

Association of p53 gene abnormalities with tumor progression and prognosis of many neoplasms has been demonstrated, but little is known about the clinical significance of p53 abnormalities in meningiomas. The significance of p53 protein expression in recurrent meningiomas and its relationships with MDM2 protein and proliferation activity were investigated by analyzing 39 meningiomas immunohistochemically. p53 protein was expressed in 11 (35%) of 31 non-recurrent and 7 (88%) of 8 recurrent meningiomas. A high frequency of p53 expression was observed in recurrent meningiomas, which tended to have a high p53 positive index (p53 PI), indicating that p53 immunoreactivity may be a marker for predicting tumor recurrence. Four recurrent meningiomas with high p53 PIs were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism method to detect p53 gene mutations, but none were found in exons 4-8 of this gene. Fifteen (71%) of 21 MDM2-positive and 3 (17%) of 18 MDM2-negative tumors expressed p53 protein, showing that MDM2 expression was more common in meningiomas with p53 expression. p53 immunoreactivity in the absence of mutation may indicate stabilization of the wild type through interaction with the MDM2 protein. The Ki-67/MIB-1 proliferation index (MIB-1 PI) correlated well with recurrence. The p53-positive tumors had a significantly higher mean MIB-1 PI than p53-negative tumors, suggesting that wild-type p53 inactivation by the MDM2 protein may be involved in controlling the proliferative activity in meningiomas. In conclusion, immunohistochemical examination for p53 protein as well as proliferative activity may help predict the malignant potential of tumor recurrence.

This study was designed in order to examine the expression and functional role of syntaxin 2/epimorphin in pancreatic beta cells. Northern blot analysis revealed that syntaxin 2 mRNA was able to be detected in mouse beta TC3 cells, but not in isolated mouse islets. In agreement with this result, immunoblot analysis detected an appreciable amount of syntaxin 2 protein in beta TC3 cells, but not in mouse islets. Immunohistochemistry of the mouse pancreas demonstrated that syntaxin 2 was little evident in islet cells of Langerhans, and somewhat predominant in exocrine tissues. In order to examine whether syntaxin 2 is anchored to cell surfaces in beta TC3 cells, living cells were incubated with a monoclonal antibody against syntaxin 2 (MC-1). The antibody bound to their surfaces, indicating that syntaxin 2 was localized on cell surfaces. The addition of MC-1 to the culture medium of beta TC3 cells did not affect insulin release under the presence or absence of 11 mM glucose, indicating that syntaxin 2 is not associated with insulin exocytosis. Thus, the expression of syntaxin 2 in islets of Langerhans is very low and the function of this protein is probably unrelated to the insulin exocytosis pathway.

An anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted among persons who had undergone screening for AIDS at public health centers under the auspices of 7 local government bodies (Hokkaido, Metropolitan Tokyo, Aichi Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, Kobe City, Saga Prefecture, Okinawa Prefecture). There were 1,230 replies, for a response rate of 46.8%. Questions in the survey pertained to general knowledge of AIDS, information desired by the recipients, desired ways to foster awareness, and a desirable examination system. A comparison was made in terms of gender, marriage status (married, single) and age (less than 40 years of age, more than 40 years of age), respectively. The survey results were as follows. 1. Concerning the infection route, accurate response rate was low with regard to the mother-child infection, mosquito transmission, and use of contaminated needles. 2. Desired methods to promote AIDS awareness expressed among replies were given in the following order or frequency: "information via radio and TV," "spread of knowledge through telephone consultation," and "holding an AIDS Week or similar kinds of campaigns." 3. Information sought by respondents frequently included AIDS treatment, pathology, and spread. This trend was most obvious among those under 40 years of age. 4. As for the AIDS examination system, replies most often reflected the hope that the examination site would be the Public Health Center, the charge would be gratis, and that one could be examined at night during the week, and on days off. 5. For those undergoing examination where there was no actual concern of possibility of HIV infection, single persons, accounted for around 80% of the overall. 6. More than half of those who had been examined mentioned having experienced concerns about maintaining confidentiality at the time they were examined.

Syntaxin 1/HPC-1 is an integral membrane protein, which is thought to be implicated in the regulation of synaptic neurotransmitter release. We investigated syntaxin 1 expression in pancreatic beta cells and the functional role of syntaxin 1 in the insulin release mechanism. Expression of syntaxin 1A, but not 1B, was detected in mouse isolated islets by the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction procedure. An immunoprecipitation study of metabolically labeled islets with an anti-rat syntaxin 1/HPC-1 antibody demonstrated syntaxin 1A protein with an apparent molecular mass of approximately 35 kDa. Immunohistochemistry of the mouse pancreas demonstrated that syntaxin 1/HPC-1 was present in the plasma membranes of the islets of Langerhans. In order to determine the functional role of syntaxin 1 in pancreatic beta-cells, rat syntaxin 1A or 1B was overexpressed in mouse beta TC3 cells using the transient transfection procedure. Transfection of beta TC3 cells with either syntaxin 1 resulted in approximately 7-fold increases in their immunodetectable protein levels. Glucose-stimulated insulin release by syntaxin 1A-overexpressing cells was suppressed to about 50% of the level in control cells, whereas insulin release by syntaxin 1B-overexpressing and control cells did not differ. Next, we established stable beta TC3 cell lines that overexpressed syntaxin 1A and used them to evaluate the effect of syntaxin 1A on the regulatory insulin release pathway. Two insulin secretogogues, 4-beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate or forskolin, increased insulin release by untransfected beta TC3 cells markedly, but their effects were diminished in syntaxin 1A-overexpressing beta TC3 cells. Glucose-unstimulated insulin release and the proinsulin biosynthetic rate were not affected by syntaxin 1A overexpression, indicating a specific role of syntaxin 1A in the regulatory insulin release pathway. Finally, in vitro binding assays showed that syntaxin 1A binds to insulin secretory granules, indicating an inhibitory role of syntaxin 1A in insulin exocytosis via its interaction with vesicular proteins. These results demonstrate that syntaxin 1A is expressed in the islets of Langerhans and functions as a negative regulator in the regulatory insulin release pathway.

The expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and class II major histocompatibility complex antigens was studied in control lung tissue and preserved human donor lungs. The three controls were represented by wedge biopsy specimens taken from non-neoplastic lung surrounding bronchogenic carcinomas.Nine lungs were harvested from six brain-dead donors, flushed with Euro-Collins solution or low potassium-dextran-glucose solution, and stored at 1 degree C or 10 degrees C. Samples of the latter organs were taken at the time of surgical harvest (baseline) and after 2, 12, 24, and 48 hours of preservation time. Immunostains with monoclonal antibodies against intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and class II major histocompatibility complex molecules were performed on all samples, and the relative presence of these determinants was evaluated.In both the controls and preserved lungs, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression was intense in the septal capillary endothelium and alveolar pneumocytes, but essentially absent in bronchial epithelium. Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 was moderately to strongly labeled in the endothelia of large and small blood vessels of all types, and it was not seen in other cell types. Class II major histocompatibility complex antigens were variably observed in pulmonary epithelial cells, but they were not expressed by endothelia. There appeared to be no significant difference in the immunohistologic density of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 or vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 immunostaining in allografts at the specified time points of preservation; this conclusion was confirmed by Western blot analysis. Similar findings pertained to staining results for human leukocyte DR antigens. There was likewise no significant difference in the expression of the three analytes when donor lungs perfused with Euro-Collins solution versus low potassium-dextran-glucose solution were compared; this was also true of organs preserved at 1 degree C versus 10 degrees C.These results suggest that, in the immediate post-harvest period, modulations in the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, or class II major histocompatibility complex antigens in pulmonary allografts are not attributable to the influences of preservation conditions.

The apoptotic cells in situ of normal tissues and human brain tumors were analyzed by the modified method of TUNEL, and the relationship between the localization of apoptotic cells and the expression of bcl-2 protein was examined. The localization of apoptotic cells in normal tissue was situated at fast renewing tissues, and differed from the localization of the expression of bcl-2 protein. In the cases of medulloblastoma, 7 out of 8 cases (87.5%) showed apoptotic cells. In contrast to the results of high frequency of apoptotic cells in medulloblastoma and germinoma, the expression of bcl-2 protein was found very low incidence in those tumors, which were thought to be sensitive against radiation or chemotherapy. These results suggested that the detection of apoptosis in situ by this method could predict the sensitivity of radiation or chemotherapy of the tumor cells.

We have hypothesized that type-1 plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) may exacerbate accumulation of extracellular matrix in atheroma by inhibiting local generation of plasmin and intramural proteolysis. Thus, suppression of PAI-1 expression would decrease atherogenesis. To inhibit expression of PAI-1 in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial and aortic smooth muscle cells, a 20-base antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotide targeting specific sequences in the 3'-untranslated region of the PAI-1 gene was used. Studies with 32P-labeled oligomers verified stability in media. Secretion of PAI-1 protein assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay declined specifically and dose-dependently in cells exposed to the antisense oligonucleotide treated under basal conditions and after stimulation of PAI-1 expression with transforming growth factor beta (0.5 ng/ml for endothelial cell, 5 ng/ml for smooth muscle cell). Inhibition of expression was confirmed by immunoprecipitation of 35S-labeled PAI-1 and was paralleled by decreased steady-state levels of PAI-1 mRNA (Northern blots). Decreased PAI-1 synthesis was accompanied by augmentation of cell-associated plasmin activity. Thus, the antisense oligonucleotide down-regulated PAI-1 elaboration, an approach that may be useful in limiting obstructive vascular lesions.