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Although the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) is one of the centers of parasympathetic nervous system, to date, there has been little reported regarding the role of the hypothalamus in directly changing the expression of neuron-related genes in visceral organs. Recently it has been reported that VMH lesions can directly change the expression of neuron-related genes families in visceral organs. The present review focuses on the relationships between the central nervous system, including the VMH, and the expressions of neuron-related genes in visceral organs., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.)

Aims: To report the changes in survival over 20 years of 775 breast cancer women operated between 1982 and 2003 at the Kyoto University Hospital in Japan, reflecting changes in clinical practice over that period., Results: Survival curves have significantly improved between the periods 1982-1989 and 1990-2003. The 5- and 10-year survival rates between these periods were 80.3% and 85.1%, and 67.5% and 75.0%, respectively. Moreover, there was a difference in overall survival curves of patients of stages II and III, of 35-54 ages, or of positive estrogen receptor (ER) status between these periods., Conclusion: The present study presented the recent advance of the survival rates might be due to the rational development of breast cancer treatment, and suggested the possibility that the patients of stages II and III, of 35-54 ages, or of positive ER status were received benefits by these treatments.

We assessed a possible correlation between the hepatic tumor index (as the ratio of the tumoral peak systolic velocity to the peak systolic velocity of the right or left hepatic artery) and grade of tumor vessel in large hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). Color Doppler sonographic findings were evaluated and compared with selective hepatic arteriographic findings in 78 patients with 93 hepatocellular carcinomas larger than 2.0 cm in diameter. Pulsatile color flow images were obtained in 78 of 93 lesions. The hepatic tumor index was equal to or greater than 1.0 in 57 of 78 lesions. These lesions were revealed arteriographically to have distinct tumor vessels and/or arteriovenous shunting. When this index was 1.0 or greater, we calculated 90% accuracy in distinguishing HCCs with distinct tumor vessels from those without distinct tumor vessels. The hepatic tumor index correlated with the grade of tumor vessels and the presence of arteriovenous shunting.

In this study we investigated whether or not liver regeneration is facilitated by dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) after partial (70%) hepatectomy in rats. Treatment with DHEA (300 mg/kg body weight) did not cause any significant increase in the expression ratio of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in sham-operated controls; however, in partially hepatectomized rats it caused a significant increase in the ratio in hepatocytes 24 and 36 hr after hepatectomy. In partially hepatectomized rats, DHEA treatment significantly accelerated the restoration of liver 48, 60, and 72 hr after partial hepatectomy. The restoration rate in DHEA-treated hepatectomized rats at 72 hr was 1.3-fold greater than in partially hepatectomized controls. Treatment with androstenedione (300 mg/kg body weight), the first metabolite of DHEA, did not cause any significant increase in the expression of PCNA in either sham-operated controls or partially hepatectomized rats. These results indicate that DHEA itself promotes the liver regenerative process after partial hepatectomy in rats.

Hepatitis G virus (HGV), which was recently identified, is a single, plus-stranded RNA virus that is thought to replicate via minus-stranded RNA, but no information is available about the distribution of either plus- (genomic) or minus- (replicative) stranded HGV RNAs in HGV infected patients. We, therefore, tested the serum, liver tissue, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of six hepatitis patients with HGV infection for the presence of plus- and minus-stranded HGV RNA. The RT-nested PCR was used with primers derived from 5'-noncoding region of the genome. Before RT-PCR analysis, the 3'-termini of RNA specimens were chemically modified to discriminate between plus- and minus-stranded HGV RNA. Plus-stranded HGV RNA was detected in the serum and liver tissue of all six patients and in the PBMCs of five patients. Minus-stranded RNA was detected in the liver tissue of all six patients, in the serum of two patients, and in the PBMCs of one patient. In summary, the detection of minus-stranded HGV RNA in liver tissue may indicate that HGV replicates in the liver.

We reported recently that ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) lesions increased the synthesis of DNA in the gastrointestinal tract of rats by the firing of vagus nerve activity, mainly via cholinergic receptor mechanisms. In the present study, we examined whether the mitotic response is due to proliferation of a cell population--mucosal, submucosal, or muscular layer. A monoclonal antibody to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) has previously been shown to be capable of identifying proliferating cells. Samples of formalin-fixed gastrointestinal epithelium, taken before and after VMH lesioning, were immunostained with the anti-PCNA monoclonal antibody, and the labeling index (LI) was determined. To discriminate the effect of hyperphagia in VMH lesioned rats, we utilized the method of pair-feeding. Cell proliferation was examined by the PCNA-labeling technique 0, 1, 3, and 7 days after VMH lesioning. The increase in proliferation was confined to cells in the mucosa and did not involve the muscularis and serosa. Studies in control animals showed that the LI was higher in the small intestine than in other gut segments, and higher in the large intestine than in the stomach. The mean PCNA-LI began to increase at 1 day and continued to increase for 3 days, then decreased 7 days following the lesioning. Results indicate that the gastrointestinal mucosa is in a state of hyperproliferation after VMH lesioning.

A new method is presented for the quantitative separation and determination of selenium by direct evolution with the bromide-condensed phosphoric acid reagent (Br(-)-CPA) from rocks, marine sediments and plankton. In the reaction with the Br(-1)-CPA, selenium(IV) and (VI) in the solid samples are evolved as selenium tetrabromide, and can be collected in an absorbing solution of 0.3M hydrochloric acid and 06M perchloric add (1:1), and then determined spectrophotometrically with 4-substituted o-phenylenediamines followed by the extraction of the resulting 5-substituted piazselenol into toluene. Elemental selenium and selenide do not react with the Br(-)-CPA, but can be determined after oxidation to selenite with potassium iodate. Therefore, successive distillations, the first with Br(-)-CPA and the second with IO(3)(-)-Br(-)-CPA, give a satisfactory means of diflerential determination of selenium(IV) and (VI), and elemental selenium and selenide. This method can be successfully applied for the separation of selenium in the neutron-activation analysis of standard rock samples, marine sediments and plankton, giving good and reliable results.

The extraction of the ion-association complexes formed by Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II)-4,7-diphenyl-1, 10-phenanthroline (BP) chelates and perchlorate ions into 1,2-dichloroethane has been investigated. Extraction equilibrium for Mn(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) is reached within 1 hr, but equilibration for Fe(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) is very slow; the equilibration rate depends on the structure of the chelating agent, the nature of the organic solvent, and pH. In the extraction equilibrium of Co(II) the rate-determining step seems to be the complexation of hydrated Co(II) by BP in the aqueous phase.

A method is described for separating technetium from rhenium in hydrochloric acid medium by liquid-liquid extraction with potassium xanthate and carbon tetrachloride. The effects of the concentration of various acids, concentration of xanthate, different solvents and diverse ions have been investigated.

The preparation and characteristics of ammonium molybdophosphate and potassium or ammonium hexacyanocobalt ferrate supported in silica gel, and their application to the determination of (137)Cs in natural waters are described. Use of columns of these materials gives better recovery of (137)Cs from natural waters (in comparison with co-precipitation with ammonium molybdophosphate), requires less exchanger, so raising the gamma-counting efficiency of (137)Cs, and permits elimination of other radionuclides by washing with hydrofluoric acid.

End-point detection in some precipitation titrations is achieved by measurement of the surface tension between mercury and the solution ("stalagmometric" titration). The drop-time of a polarographic dropping mercury electrode in open circuit is plotted against volume of surface-active titrant added, and shows a break or a peak at the end-point. The stalagmometric titration of sodium tetraphenylborate with Zephiramine (tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride) was satisfactory and made possible the determination of potassium by back-titration. Potassium was also titrated directly with tetraphenylborate and with calcium dipicrylaminate. Sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate was titrated directly with Zephiramine and the results were compared with those obtained by the p-toluidine method and Epton's method.

Ruthenium in various chemical forms can be evolved as the tetroxide from insoluble matrix materials by heating the sample with chromium(VI)-condensed phosphoric acid reagent (abbreviated as Cr(VI)-CPA). Because of its excellent decomposing power for various solid samples, condensed phosphoric acid is very useful in the chemical analysis of various insoluble materials, and when an oxidizing agent such as potassium dichromate is added in the CPA medium, drastic oxidation proceeds on heating. This method is now extended to the separation of ruthenium from marine sediments. During the reaction with Cr(VI)-CPA ruthenium tetroxide is evolved and collected in an absorbent solution of 6M hydrochloric acid and ethanol (1:1), and the ruthenium is then determined spectrophotometrically with thiourea or radiometrically by counting the beta or gamma-activity. Osmium, which can be evolved as the tetroxide by the same treatment, can be eliminated beforehand by heating the sample with Ce(IV)-CPA, which removes osmium but not ruthenium. The successive distillations by means of Ce(IV)-CPA and Cr(VI)-CPA give satisfactory results for the separation between osmium and ruthenium. This method might be useful for the separation of ruthenium in geochemical or neutron-activation analysis.

A neutron-activation method is described for the determination of rhenium in molybdenite. Radiochemical separation by a carrier technique was carried out very rapidly by means of successive liquid-liquid extraction processes. The recovery of rhenium, which was determined by a spectrophotometric method, was about 93%. About 10 samples could be analysed within 6 hr in parallel runs.