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We evaluated the titers of anti-cefotiam antibodies in the sera of 44 patients before and after the intravenous administration of cefotiam. The anti-cephalosporin antibodies were detected using the passive hemagglutination inhibition test. Only three of 44 patients became positive for the antibody after the administration of cefotiam, though none of the patients showed no symptoms. It is possible that cephalosporin can induce immunological reactions based on the hapten mechanism.

To determine the intrarenal localization of receptors for atrial natriuretic polypeptide (ANP) in the rat, we performed autoradiography and binding assay by using 125I-labeled alpha-rat ANP (alpha-rANP). Autoradiography at the slice and microscopic level in the kidney and binding assay in isolated glomeruli demonstrated that receptors in the renal cortex were distributed mainly in glomeruli. Although dense silver grains were distributed diffusely both in inner medulla and outer stripe of outer medulla, a marked displacement of the grains was observed only in the inner medulla. Autoradiography at the microscopic level also showed that silver grains were distributed in the renal artery, renal pelvis, and inner medullary collecting tubule (IMCT) prepared by the microdissection method, but not in the arcuate artery, interlobular artery, and afferent or efferent arterioles. Specific binding was demonstrated in the isolated glomeruli and the preparation was rich in fragments of IMCT. Apparent binding affinity (Kd) and receptor density (R) for 125I-labeled alpha-rANP in isolated glomeruli and IMCT were Kd = 3.2 and 21 X 10(-9) M, and R = 320 and 420 fmol/mg protein, respectively. These observations suggest that alpha-rANP has a physiological action on glomeruli and possibly on the inner medullary collecting tubules in addition to the renal artery.

The autocorrelation function of a binary relaxed Poisson process is derived. The process is defined as the following series of transformations of a nonhomogeneous Poisson process: 1) the process of energy bursts (a nonhomogeneous Poisson process), 2) relaxation process of the point process, and 3) its binary transformation.For a stationary BRP process, the autocorrelation function is reduced to a doubly exponential function. For a periodic BRP process with a dominant primal periodic component, it is also reduced to a simple expression in terms of the first kind modified Bessel's function of the 0-th order.The present theory is applicable to describe and analyze intermittent time series such as precipitation series, intermittent turbulence in flows, etc.

The rate of proliferation of porcine aortic endothelial cells (PAEC) in response to stimulation of fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) was largely retarded in media supplemented with 10% dialyzed fetal bovine serum (FBS) in place of nondialyzed FBS. This inhibition was overcome by supplement of dialyzable fraction, and hypoxanthine was purified from the dialyzable fraction as the active compound which stimulated the basal and FGF-dependent growth rates of dialyzed FBS-treated PAEC. Addition of hypoxanthine (5 μM) to media with 10% dialyzed FBS containing FGFs (10 ng/ml) markedly increased the rate of both cell proliferation and DNA synthesis of PAEC, and their maximal levels were comparable to those attained by cells in media with 10% nondialyzed FBS. Hypoxanthine changed the spindle-like morphology of dialyzed FBS-treated PAEC even in the presence of FGFs into the cobblestone-like morphology of regular PAEC in media with 10% FBS.

Growth of the developing chick liver from the 8th day of incubation to the 8th day after hatching was analyzed by three parameters, the contents of protein, DNA and RNA. Throughout the embryonic and post-embryonic periods investigated, proliferation and protein synthesis occur continuously, and approximately at comparable rates. The amino acid-activating system of the liver was localized in all the stages of organ development in the post-microsome fraction and a protein fraction of the soluble cytoplasm which did not precipitate at pH 5.2 (pH 5-supernatant fraction). The latter fraction contained about 80 per cent of the total activity of the original tissue extract. Both the post-microsome and pH 5-supernatant fractions contained only small amounts of RNA. The activation of glycine and of tyrosine by these two subcellular fractions represented the major part of the activation of the fifteen amino acids tested as a mixture under the experimental conditions employed. The glycine-activating and tyrosine-activating enzymes of the pH 5-supernatant fraction were partially separated and concentrated into separate protein subfractions by fractionation with ammonium sulfate. An effective inhibition by pyrophosphate of glycyl-hydroxamate formation catalyzed by the concentrated preparation of the glycine-activating enzyme suggested that glycine was activated through the formation of an enzyme-bound amino-adenylate and pyrophosphate in the chick liver.

For the purpose of producing experimental hypertension, the ATP-ase fraction of the house-rar's kidney were administered in albino rats pretreated with DCA and salt or salt alone. The blood pressure of albino rats was elevated early after the beginning of administration of the ATP-ase fraction of the house-rat's kidney and this hypertension was irreversible even after stopping loading of salt. But in albino rats not treated with the ATP-ase fraction of kidney, while blood pressure was elevated slowly by virture of DCA, it came down after the cessation of loading of salt. The histological changes in albino rats treated with the ATP-ase fraction of kidney were degenerative and of various type in tubules, glomeruli and there were changes similar to necrotizing arteritis in arteries or arterioles in kidneys. But, in albino rats not treated with the ATP-ase fraction of kidney, only proliferation of endothelial cells of glomerular tufts were revealed.

The author attempted to produce the arteriosclerosis in various organs in albino rats. Cholesterol, methyl-thiouracil or butter were additionally administered in the albino rats previously loaded with the ATP-ase fraction of the house-rat's kidney and DCA. Besides the vascular lesions in renal arteries as shown in the previous paper, arteriosclerotic changes were produced in the coronary, mesenteric or cerebral arteries, and, in some animals, myocardial fibrosis or cerebral demyelinating lesion were observed. Myocardium ATP-ase fraction was administered in normotensive albino rats, in combination with the loading of cholesterol, methyl-thiouracil or butter. Coronary sclerosis was produced in normotensive albino rats, but no marked vascular lesions were observed in kidney or other organs.

Although it has been well established that atrial natriuretic polypeptide (ANP) causes natriuresis by directly acting on the kidney, the detailed intrarenal distribution and characterization of ANP receptors are unknown. We examined intrarenal localization of receptors for α-rat ANP (α-rANP) in the rat kidney by in vivo (1) or in vitro (2) autoradiography, using 125I-labeled ligand. In order to identify the receptors for α-rANP, [125I]α-rANP was directly cross-linked to its receptors in isolated glomerulus, inner medullary collecting tubule (IMCT) rich fraction, adrenel gland, and aorta by direct UV-photoaffinity labeling (3). The purpose of this communication is to summarize the results of these recently reported studies.

Though it is well known that pustulosis palmaris et plantaris (PPP) is one of skin diseases caused by focal infection of the tonsils, its etiology remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the role of the tonsils in the pathogenesis of PPP, by using histological and immunological techniques. Our findings were as follows: The common histological findings in tonsillar lacunae of patients with PPP were pus plugs, pronounced infiltration of polymorphonuclear cells and mononuclear cells, desquamation of keratinized squamous cells, uneven thickness of the epithelium, and inflammation of the subepithelial area. By applying Arthur's method, skin extracts of sole (S) and epithelial extracts of tonsillar lacunae (T) were prepared as antigens for rabbit immunization. Cross-reactivity between skin extract of sole and epithelial extract of tonsils was tested using the Ouchterlony technique. Anti-T antisera reacted to both T and S. Anti-S antisera reacted similarly to T and S. Direct and indirect immunofluorescence studies using anti-T and anti-S antisera revealed positive staining either in the lacunal epithelium of tonsil or in the corneous, granular and papillary layers of sole. As regards the pathogenesis, it is suggested that the antigenic modification of tonsillar epithelium caused by various stimuli produces cells and/or antibodies so as to challenge against skins.

It is reported that the levels of serum IAP and IS are useful parameters to evaluate the prognosis along with the clinical course of tumor bearing patients. Serum IAP and IS were examined in 149 patients with head and neck cancer. The level of serum IAP and IS increased in patients with not only advanced stages, but also poor prognosis. In general, the patients with death or recurrence had higher levels of serum IAP and IS than those with good prognosis. It is concluded that serum IAP and IS well reflect the immunological condition and clinical course of patients with cancer and may be one of the useful parameter for them.

Inflammatory reactions induced by TPA (12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate)-type tumor promoters, including TPA, teleocidin and aplysiatoxin, and chemical mediators responsible for such inflammatory reactions were analyzed. The tumor promoter dissolved in a 0.8% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose solution was injected into a subcutaneous air pouch preformed on the dorsum of rats. Within 30 min after the injection, vascular permeability as measured by the leakage of labeled albumin into the pouch fluid was increased, with a concomitant increase in histamine level. This increase in vascular permeability was inhibited by a histamine antagonist, pyrilamine, and a serotonin antagonist, methysergide. Vascular permeability at 4 h was not inhibited by pyrilamine or methysergide but was inhibited by a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin, with a parallel decrease in the prostaglandin E 2 level in the pouch fluid. These results suggest that the TPA-type tumor promoters induce inflammation by the mechanism of mast cell degranulation within a short period, this being followed by the stimulation of arachidonic acid metabolism. The mechanism of the in vivo effect of the TPA-type tumor promoters is discussed and compared with in vitro effects that we have previously reported.

Distributed generators (DGs) such as fuel cells, solar cells, wind mills and micro gas turbines, etc. are going to be installed on the demand side of power systems. Such distributed generators can reduce distribution loss if they are placed appropriately in the distribution system. In this paper, a tabu search application for finding the optimal allocation of DGs from a viewpoint of loss minimization is illustrated. In other words, the authors discuss about an implementation method of tabu search to find how much distribution loss can be reduced if DGs are optimally allocated at the demand side of a power system. Namely, locations and discrete capacities of DGs to minimize the distribution loss are determined by nested use of the tabu search algorithm. Numerical examples are shown to demonstrate the method.

Background Splenic epidermoid cyst is a benign tumor-like lesion affecting the spleen and sometimes occurs in familial form. The causality of such rare diseases remain challenging, however recently, with the emergence of exome re-sequencing, the genetics of many diseases have been unveiled. In the present study, we performed a combinatorial approach of genome-wide parametric linkage and exome analyses for a moderate-sized Japanese family with frequent occurrence of splenic epidermoid cyst to identify the genetic causality of the disease. Methods Twelve individuals from the family were subject to SNP typing and exome re-sequencing was done for 8 family members and 4 unrelated patients from Kosovo. Linkage was estimated using multi-point parametric linkage analysis assuming a dominant mode of inheritance. All of the candidate variants from exome analysis were confirmed by direct sequencing. Results The parametric linkage analysis suggested two loci on 1q and 14q with a maximal LOD score of 2.5 . Exome generated variants were prioritized based on; impact on the protein coding sequence, novelty or rareness in public databases, and position within the linkage loci. This approach identified three variants; variants of HMCN1 and CNTN2 on 1q and a variant of DDHD1 on 14q. The variant of HMCN1 (p.R5205H) showed the best co-segregation in the family after validation with Sanger sequencing. Additionally, rare missense variants (p.A4704V, p.T5004I, and p.H5244Q) were detected in three unrelated Kosovo patients. The identified variants of HMCN1 are on conserved domains, particularly the two variants on calcium-binding epidermal growth factor domain. Conclusions The present study, by combining linkage and exome analyses, identified HMCN1 as a genetic causality of splenic epidermoid cyst. Understanding the biology of the disease is a key step toward developing innovative approaches of intervention. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12881-014-0115-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

We consider enhancing cyber security in voltage regulation of distribution systems in the presence of malicious attacks. Due to the increase in distributed generation, the regulation of voltage has become more complicated, requiring more sensor data to be used for control. Recently, we have developed an attack detection algorithm to find data falsification attacks on voltage measurements transmitted by sectionizing switches in the feeders to a centralized controller. In this paper, the security level of the system is further improved by introducing a controller that is capable of operating the regulation in the presence of attacks by utilizing the detection results. In particular, it identifies abnormal behavior in the sensor data and ignores measurements taking extreme values among those received. Through detailed simulation studies on a small scale distribution system, we show the effectiveness of the proposed control and analyze the relation between the number of attacks and the detectability of the attacks.

Background Hospital cleanliness in hospitals with a tendency toward long-term care in Japan remains unevaluated. We therefore visualized hospital cleanliness in Japan over a 2-month period by two distinct popular methods: ATP bioluminescence (ATP method) and the standard stamp agar method (stamp method). Methods The surfaces of 752 sites within nurse and patient areas in three hospitals located in a central area of Sapporo, Japan were evaluated by the ATP and stamp methods, and each surface was sampled 8 times in 2 months. These areas were located in different ward units (Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Obstetrics and Gynecology). Detection limits for the ATP and stamp methods were determined by spike experiments with a diluted bacterial solution and a wipe test on student tables not in use during winter vacation, respectively. Values were expressed as the fold change over the detection limit, and a sample with a value higher than the detection limit by either method was defined as positive. Results The detection limits were determined to be 127 relative light units (RLU) per 100 cm2 for the ATP method and 5.3 colony-forming units (CFU) per 10 cm2 for the stamp method. The positive frequency of the ATP and stamp methods was 59.8% (450/752) and 47.7% (359/752), respectively, although no significant difference in the positive frequency among the hospitals was seen. Both methods revealed the presence of a wide range of organic contamination spread via hand touching, including microbial contamination, with a preponderance on the entrance floor and in patient rooms. Interestingly, the data of both methods indicated considerable variability regardless of daily visual assessment with usual wiping, and positive surfaces were irregularly seen. Nurse areas were relatively cleaner than patient areas. Finally, there was no significant correlation between the number of patients or medical personnel in the hospital and organic or microbiological contamination. Conclusions Ongoing daily hospital cleanliness is not sufficient in Japanese hospitals with a tendency toward long-term care.