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Aim: In patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated chronic liver diseases, especially in those with liver cirrhosis, accurate evaluation of their protein nutrition status is very important to improve their quality of life. Whereas the serum albumin level is commonly used to evaluate patients' protein nutrition status, in the present study, the serum amino acid levels were measured, as they also provide valuable information. Methods: Serum albumin levels and branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) to tyrosine ratio (BTR) were determined in 447 patients with HCV-associated chronic liver diseases (313 with chronic hepatitis and 134 with liver cirrhosis). Results: Chronic hepatitis progressed to liver cirrhosis, serum albumin and serum BTR levels decreased significantlyas chronic hepatitis progressed to liver cirrhosis. Hypoalbuminemia was significantly more common in patients with liver cirrhosis than in those with chronic hepatitis; however, the incidence of an amino acid imbalance was significantly higher than that of hypoalbuminemia in patients with liver cirrhosis. The presence of an amino acid imbalance was associated with a reduction in the serum albumin level 1 year later. Conclusions: It is important to evaluate serum albumin levels and the BTR in patients with HCV-associated chronic liver diseases.

Summary Background: There is compelling evidence for the pivotal role of Helicobacter pylori in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal ulcer disease. However, despite the bacterium's toxicity, the majority of H. pylori infections are not accompanied by gastric ulcers. This implies the existence of a host mechanism offsetting H. pylori toxicity. Aims: To evaluate gastric fibroblasts' expression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), which is known to facilitate gastric ulcer healing, in the presence of H. pylori; to compare the effect on H. pylori-induced HGF expression of a COX-2 selective inhibitor with that of nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Methods: Human gastric fibroblasts were cultured from human gastric mucosa obtained at surgery. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and HGF were measured by EIA. The expression of COX-2 mRNA was assessed by the TaqMan quantitative RT-PCR system. Results: H. pylori increased PGE2 release in gastric fibroblasts. H. pylori induced expression of COX-2 mRNA, which indicates that PG induction by H. pylori is through COX-2. Sulindac sulphide, etodolac and NS 398 all inhibited H. pylori-induced PGE2 release to the same extent. These agents also inhibited H. pylori-induced HGF release. Conclusion: Gastric fibroblasts produce PG and HGF in response to the presence of H. pylori, which may be considered part of the human body's defensive reaction to H. pylori toxicity. This defensive mechanism is inhibited not only by COX-2 nonselective NSAIDs but also by a COX-2 selective inhibitor. These findings indicate the importance of COX-2 in chronic H. pylori infection.

This paper describes the LIGA process using a 600-MeV superconducting compact synchrotron light source. Deep-etch X-ray lithography is conducted using a new resist and mask. The resist is composed of a copolymer of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA). Its main benefit is its high sensitivity, which is one order of magnitude greater than that of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) conventionally used in the LIGA process. The mask is composed of a 2-μm-thick silicon nitride membrane with high transparency, supporting a 5-μm-thick tungsten absorber. Experimental results for deep-etch X-ray lithography, electroplating, and molding techniques are presented. A micro-ultrasonic transmitter obtained using these techniques is also described. The purpose of this study is the realization of low-cost microcomponents for a variety of industrial applications. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 120(1): 40–48, 1997

We have been following a male case of congenital sodium diarrhea (CNaD), who had a distended abdomen, passed watery stools with high sodium concentration, and showed metabolic acidosis in the first week of life. He also showed hyponatremia, low urine sodium, high serum aldosterone and high renin activity. Other possible causes of secretory diarrhea were ruled out. The initial effective treatment was oral supplements of water and electrolytes lost in the fecal fluid: with this he gained weight, and hyponatremia and metabolic acidosis were corrected. Loperamide hydrochloride was administered to increase intestinal absorption of sodium, as the serum prostaglandin was high. Watery diarrhea then improved, but as he passed acholic stools, we stopped and postponed the treatment for a while; the stools then became watery again. Although diarrhea has persisted, he has not shown any abnormalities in growth or psychomotor development for the first two years of life.

A superconducting compact synchrotron light source, the NIJI-III, has been completed. The development of the NIJI-III was assigned to Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. by the Research Development Corporation of Japan and was deemed successful in October 1991 with the attainment of the design goal of the stored beam current of 200 mA at the final beam energy of 600 MeV. The lattice has a four-sector configuration: four superconducting bending magnets and eight quadrupole magnets, achieving the optimum beam characteristics for lithography. The world's first superconducting bending magnet was developed and adapted, and was characterized by a cosθ type without an iron, a large bore of 200 mm, and a strong curvature of 0.5 m. Furthermore, a newly developed vacuum system and an rf system were installed. The high-speed electron-beam wobbling method was investigated at a 20-Hz triangular wave for the exposure of the vertical field of synchrotron light. It was demonstrated that the expansion of the vertical exposure area agreed with the theoretical calculation, and that there was no effect on the beam lifetime. The achievement of the NIJI-III can be expected to contribute much to the development of various research applications of synchrotron light.

A partir de derives de malonates de diallyle ou d'allyle et d'ethyle, synthese d'acides carboxyliques et de monoesters

Stereoregular polymethacrylates containing adenine, uracil, or theophylline residues in the side chains (4a–c), were prepared starting from isotactic and syndiotactic poly[1-(2-bromoethoxycarbonyl)-1-methylethylene] (2) by reaction with the sodium salts of the corresponding nucleic bases. NMR- and UV-spectroscopic studies of the polymers were carried out.

In the polymerization of acrylonitrile initiated with α,α′-azobisisobutyronitrile, triphenylphosphite exhibited two different effects on the rate of polymerization, a decreasing effect and an increasing effect. The decrease is due to the phosphoranyl radical formed by the addition of a 2-cyanopropyl radical to triphenylphosphite. The increase is due to the formation of a weak n-π complex between triphenylphosphite and acrylonitrile, which was confirmed from the UV absorption spectra. Triphenylphosphite had no significant effect on the molecular weight of the polymer. The phosphorus content in the polymer was small (0.02–0.06%), the number of phosphorus units in one polymer chain being 1–4. Bei der radikalischen, durch Azoisobuttersauredinitril initiierten Polymerisation von Acrylnitril (AN) bewirkt zugesetztes Triphenylphosphit (TPP) je nach der angewendeten Menge entweder eine Verlangsamung oder eine Beschleunigung der Reaktion. Es wird angenommen, das die Verlangsammung auf der Bildung relativ reaktionstrager Phosphoranylradikale aus TPP und 2-Cyanoisopropylradikalen beruht. Die Beschleunigung der Reaktion bei groperem Zusatz von TPP wird mit der Bildung eines lockeren Komplexes aus AN und TPP erklart, der durch UV-Spektren nachgewiesen wurde und der schneller polymerisiert als das reine AN. TPP hat keinen signifikanten Einflus auf die Molekulargewichte der Polymeren. Der sehr geringe Phosphorgehalt (0,02–0,06%) entspricht einer Menge von nur 1–4 Atomen P pro Makromolekul.