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Soluble Fas (sFas) blocks apoptosis induced by Fas ligand in vitro. The serum concentration of sFas is elevated in lympho-proliferative diseases. We hypothesized that higher levels of sFas worsen the clinical symptoms and outcome of patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). We prospectively measured the serum concentrations of sFas in 67 consecutive patients with aggressive NHL (59 with diffuse large cell lymphoma and 8 with diffuse small cleaved cell lymphoma). sFas was significantly elevated in patients with aggressive NHL compared to healthy controls (N = 36, P < 0.005), while sFas in patients with B symptoms (4.20 ± 2.12 µg/l) was significantly higher than in those without B symptoms (2.66 ± 1.08 µg/l, P < 0.005). No significant difference was observed between B-cell lymphoma and T-cell lymphoma or between patients with clinical stage I or II and those with clinical stage III or IV. Significant correlations were found between sFas concentration and both soluble interleukin-2 receptor (R = 0.400, P < 0.001) and C-reactive protein (R = 0.340, P < 0.01) levels in patients with aggressive NHL. No correlation was observed between sFas and either white blood cell count or lactate dehydrogenase. Generalized Wilcoxon analysis revealed that NHL patients with sFas less than 4 µg/l had better overall survival than those with sFas above 4 µg/l ( P < 0.001). The serum concentration of sFas might be associated with clinical symptoms and the prognosis of patients with aggressive NHL. Am. J. Hematol. 64:257‐261, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

We determined the electric-field distribution in organic light emitting diode LED structures fabricated with 4,4′-bis [N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]-biphenyl (α-NPD) as hole-transport material and tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq) as electron-transport and emissive material. The electric-field distribution was obtained from an investigation of the linear and the nonlinear Stark effect of the materials when employed in organic LEDs using electroabsorption spectroscopy. We measured the electric-field distribution as a function of the applied voltage in the forward and in the reverse direction. Whilst the average electric fields in the α-NPD and the Alq layers are equal in the reverse direction, the field in the Alq layer is considerably larger than that in the α-NPD layer in the forward direction, and the factor by which these fields differ changes with increasing voltage, in particular in the vicinity of the turn-on voltage. We discuss the electric-field distribution in terms of the charge injection...

By utilizing "multiinformation dyes (MIDs)", which have plural spectral change characteristics such as an absorption maximum wavelength (λ(max)) shift based on a polarity change and an absorbance change due to protonation, novel λ(max)-tunable ion-selective optodes were proposed and prepared by employing MIDs with membrane solvents having different polarities. For controlling the detecting λ(max) of the optode, the novel polar membrane solvent [2-[[6-(2-nitrophenoxy)hexyl]oxy]methyl]isobutane-1,3-diol was designed and synthesized, which was used together with a typical membrane solvent nitrophenyl octyl ether. By mixing these two membrane solvents, the λ(max) position of the optode detection wavelength can be shifted and controlled and was successfully applied to a λ(max)-tunable Li(+)-selective optode based on a highly Li(+)-selective ionophore TTD14C4. The λ(max) tuning technique is useful for preparing an optode system using a low-cost light source such as a light-emitting diode or a popular laser.

The molecular design of multi-functional dyes, called `multi-information dyes' (MIDs), and their application to several methods of optical chemical sensing were proposed. The concepts for the molecular design of the dyes were as follows: (1) the introduction of multiple (both positive and negative) charges on both ends of the large conjugated π -electron system of the dye molecule, so that the dye interacts with many chemical species or environments; (2) the introduction of different substitution (electron-donating or electron-accepting) groups in the conjugated π -electron system of the dye molecule, so that the dye has a different pK a and solvatochromic property; and (3) the introduction of an immobilization site in the dye molecule, so that the dye can be easily prepared as a sensing probe. Based on these concepts, sixteen kinds of dyes were synthesized, all being of the merocyanine type. The basic color-change characteristics of the MIDs were evaluated with a homogeneous system and a solvent extraction two-phase system. Some of these dyes (e.g., KD-M5) offered two-dimensional sensing information for sensing the water content in organic solvents, in which the absorbance maximum wavelength ( λ max ) shift and absorbance change were both utilized as the detecting signals. From these results, the MIDs developed in this study have several possibilities for analytical applications in optical chemical sensing such as pH sensing, ion sensing, neutral molecule sensing, and water content-sensing in organic solvents.

We have observed second-harmonic generation (SHG) spectra in polydiacetylene (poly [5,7-dodecadiyne-1,12-diyl-bis-ethylurethane], PDA-4U2 for short) films of red and blue forms. In addition to resonant peaks located at the high-energy side of the main absorption peak, a new resonant peak was observed at the lower-energy side of the absorption peak in blue-form PDA-4U2. In contrast, in red-form PDA-4U2, the SHG resonance peak position in the lower-energy side coincides with the absorption peak position. The resonance enhancement of SHG originates from the electric-quadrupole transition to the dipole-forbidden state. The lowest resonance peak observed in the blue-form PDA-4U2 strongly suggests the existence of the lowest A g excited state lying below the lowest B u excited state.

We have observed fairly strong second-harmonic generation (SHG) in vacuum-deposited thin films of phthalocyanines (Pc) having central metal atoms; Co , Cu , Zn , VO , TiO , Pb , Sn and a metal-free Pc. Based on the remarkable spectral dependences, the SHG was concluded to be due to higher-order mechanisms: in all the films, a resonance peak due to an electric quadrupole transition was observed at the SH wavelength corresponding to the higher-energy side of the Q band. The spectral structures in the molecules with a similar shape are similar to each other, indicating that the electronic states responsible for the spectra are ascribed to Pc macrocycles. The χ(2) values corresponding to [Formula: see text] in C ∞v symmetry and the conventional electric dipole mechanism are in the range of 1.4 ∼ 10 × 10−9 esu for these Pc films.

Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) is a promising biomaterial for several applications. Optical excitation of bR at an electrode-electrolyte interface generates differential photocurrents while an incident light is turned on and off. This unique functional response is similar to that seen in retinal neurons. The bR-based bipolar photosensor consists of the bR dip-coated thin films patterned on two ITO plates and the electrolyte solution. This bipolar photocell will function as a biomimetic photoreceptor cell. The bipolar structure, due to the photocurrent being generated in alignment with the cathodic direction, makes the excitatory and inhibitory regions possible. This scheme shows our bipolar cell can act as a basic unit of edge detection and forms the artificial visual receptive field.

All-polymer electro-optic (EO) waveguides were fabricated by using cross-linkable EO polymers for both core and clad layers. Such formation has advantages in making multilayered integration of EO devices for the multicore fiber communication system.

CLH-3b is a CLC-1/2/Ka/Kb channel homolog activated by meiotic cell cycle progression and cell swelling. Channel inhibition occurs by GCK-3 kinase-mediated phosphorylation of serine residues on the cytoplasmic C-terminus linker connecting CBS1 and CBS2. Two conserved aromatic amino acid residues located on the intracellular loop connecting membrane helices H and I and α1 of CBS2 are required for transducing phosphorylation changes into changes in channel activity. Helices H and I form part of the interface between the two subunits that comprise functional CLC channels. Using a cysteine-less CLH-3b mutant, we demonstrate that the sulfhydryl reagent reactivity of substituted cysteines at the subunit interface changes dramatically during GCK-3-mediated channel inhibition and that these changes are prevented by mutation of the H-I loop/CBS2 α1 signal transduction domain. We also show that GCK-3 modifies Zn2+ inhibition, which is thought to be mediated by the common gating process. These and other results suggest that phosphorylation of the cytoplasmic C-terminus inhibits CLH-3b by inducing subunit interface conformation changes that activate the common gate. Our findings have important implications for understanding CLC regulation by diverse signaling mechanisms and for understanding the structure/function relationships that mediate intraprotein communication in this important family of Cl− transport proteins.

Second-harmonic-generation (SHG) resonance spectra were measured in thin films of centrosymmetric copper phthalocyanine and metal-free phthalocyanine. A sharp peak was observed at the high-energy edge of the $Q$-absorption band using 1100-nm fundamental light, and was attributed to the resonant enhancement of the electric-quadrupole transition based on an orientation gas model. The SHG resonance spectra provide us with a useful tool for studying electric-dipole-forbidden states.

The structure of polymeric Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films was studied by scanning force microscopy (SFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy, and second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements. Polyamic acid alkylamine salt LB films, having an azobenzene pendant unit, were prepared by mixing the polyamic acids with single-chain alkylamines or multichain alkylamines. When the single-chain alkylamine was used, the SFM image of the LB film showed an island-like structure. The formation of the islands was attributed to a self-aggregation of the alkylamines in the LB film. FTIR and SHG measurements suggested that the single-chain alkylamines in the LB film had a poor orientation, and the azobenzene units had a tilt angle of 45.3° from the surface normal. On the other hand, the LB films having multichain alkylamines exhibited a well-ordered orientation. The surface structure was observed uniform and there existed few defects in the SFM images. The multichain alkylamines were oriented approximately perpendicular to the surface plane, and the azobenzene unit had a tilt angle of 39.8°.

In order to interpret relatively strong second-harmonic generation (SHG) in centrosymmetric molecular films such as ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ and copper phthalocyanine (CuPc), higher-order contributions to bulk SHG have been considered. The contributions examined were of electric quadrupole, magnetic dipole, electric quadrupole coupling, and magnetic dipole coupling mechanisms, in addition to an electric dipole one in ${\mathit{K}}_{\mathit{h}}$, ${\mathit{D}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\infty}}\mathit{h}}$ and ${\mathit{C}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\infty}}\mathit{v}}$ point-group symmetries. Analytical expressions of the SHG intensities were obtained under a three-layer model. Using these expressions, we analyzed the experimental results on the thickness dependence of SHG in CuPc films evaporated on a glass substrate in various polarization combinations, and demonstrated that the dominant origin of SHG is attributed to the magnetic dipole coupling mechanism.

We report the design, synthesis and characterization of a series of electro-optic chromophores comprised of amino-benzene with a benzyloxy group as the donor units, thienyl-di-vinylene with ethylenedioxy as the π-conjugation bridge, and tricyanofuran derivatives as the acceptor units. The improvement of linear and nonlinear optical properties was found in electro-optic chromophores with ethylenedioxy compared with the chromophores without ethylenedioxy. The data obtained from hyper-Rayleigh scattering, absorption spectrum, and 1H-NMR measurements indicate the improved structural stability of π-conjugation unit, which may be induced by the steric effect and partial intra-molecular hydrogen bonding related to ethylenedioxy.

In situ observation system of second harmonic generation (SHG) during vacuum deposition has been constructed. It allows us to observe SHG from transmitted and reflected directions. The advantages of the system is summarized in the following two points: (1) Detailed dependence of SHG on film-thickness can be easily obtained. (2) The measurement can be achieved without exposing films to the atmosphere. This system was applied to vacuum evaporated films of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) to clarify the origin of SH activity in such a centrosymmetric molecule. We suggest the importance of quadrupolar contribution on the basis of the thickness dependence of SHG and the comparison with the theoretical analysis.

We investigated the dielectric properties of side-chain electro-optic polymers in a broad THz frequency region (90 GHz to 7 THz). For this investigation, we used terahertz time domain spectroscopy and the absorption coefficient in a broader frequency region of up to 20 THz that was obtained by far-infrared spectroscopy. The polymers studied were a new methacrylate polymer with a high-hyperpolarizability chromophore as the sidechain, a side-chain copolymer Disperse Red 1 polymethylmethacrylate, and pure polymethylmethacrylate. The dielectric properties in the low THz frequency region (∼0.1 THz) provide us with important information about the intrinsic refractive index for ultrahigh-speed electro-optic modulation (∼100 GHz), as well as versatile information such as the absorption coefficient and dielectric loss. The THz and far-infrared spectroscopic data in the wide frequency region provide us with the fundamental data for applications of side-chain electro-optic polymers within THz generation and detection.

A 25-year-old male developed lymphoid blast crisis (BC) of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) more than 11 years after receiving an allogeneic bone marrow transplant (alloBMT) for CML with myeloid BC at presentation from his HLA-identical brother. The lymphoid BC of CML probably occurred without a preceding chronic phase of CML. This case illustrates the difficulties involved in determining the appropriate length of follow-up after alloBMT.

Since the introduction of rituximab (R), the prognosis for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has markedly improved. We evaluated the prognostic significance of serum soluble CD27 (sCD27) in 143 patients with DLBCL treated with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone plus rituximab (R-CHOP). Five-year overall survival rates for patients with sCD27≥213 U/mL or

A new technique for preparing hybrid monolayers composed of azobenzene pendant type polyimide LB films and self-assembled alkyl polysiloxane monolayers is reported. The hybrid monolayers were prepared by octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) adsorption onto the azobenzene containing LB films. Contact angle measurements suggest a stable formation of the hybrid monolayers after the chemical adsorption of OTS molecules onto the LB films. The molecular orientation was determined by FTIR reflection-adsorption (RA) spectroscopy and second harmonic generation (SHG) technique. In the hybrid monolayers, the molecular orientation of the azobenzene units is sustained by the tightly packed structure of the self-assembled monolayers

Differential Pulse Voltammetry was applied to measure the redox potential of the Cr 6+ /Cr 3+ pair in alkali silicates. After it was carried out in the Na 2 O-SiO 2 system, where Na 2 O activity had been previously measured and the basicity was defined in such terms, it was extended to the xNa 2 O(1−x)K 2 O 2SiO 2 quasi-binary and M 2 O 2SiO 2 (M = Li, Rb and Cs) systems. The redox significantly depends on the basicity and it seems promising that a basicity scale based on this redox potential may be applicable to alkali silicate melts in general

We have previously reported that serum interleukin-18 (IL-18) concentration predicted the clinical outcome of patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (CHOP). When rituximab (R) was added to this regimen, the prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) was markedly improved.In this study, we re-evaluated the prognostic significance of serum IL-18 in 227 DLBCL patients. Seventy-three patients received CHOP before R-era, and 154 patients received rituximab-cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (R-CHOP) recently.Four-year overall survival (4-yr OS) rates for patients in CHOP group with IL-18 ≥720 pg/mL and720 pg/mL were 8.2% and 67.3% (P0.0001), respectively, and 4-yr OS rates with IL-18 ≥590 and590 pg/mL in R-CHOP group were 53.4% and 77.8% (P=0.0008), respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that serum IL-18 correlated most significantly with OS and progression-free survival (PFS) in both groups (OS: P0.0001, PFS: P0.0001, in CHOP group; OS: P=0.0147, PFS: P=0.0084 in R-CHOP group). The high serum IL-18 patients with poor prognostic group in revised IPI or with non-germinal center B-cell phenotype had a very poor prognosis.Serum IL-18 might be a powerful prognostic factor for DLBCL in R-era.

The anthracycline drug pirarubicin (tetrahydropyranyl adriamycin; THP) apparently has fewer cardiotoxic effects than doxorubicin. We previously described the benefit of the THP-COP regimen comprising cyclophosphamide, THP, vincristine, and prednisolone for elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, that study was completed before rituximab (R) was introduced into clinical practice. Here we report a phase II study of the THP-COP regimen combined with R (R-THP-COP) every 3 weeks. The complete response and 3-year overall survival rates was 63% and 53%, respectively, and no deaths were related to the regimen. We conclude that the R-THP-COP regimen is safe and effective for patients with DLBCL. Based on these results, a randomized controlled trial of rituximab-cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (R-CHOP) and R-THP-COP as a phase III study is ongoing.

The two-photon excited fluorescence spectra from CdSe quantum dots on SiN film with two-dimensional photonic crystal are studied. The fluorescence and decay process from quantum dots in solvent are compared. Two-photon excited fluorescence is enhanced by photonic crystal in vertical direction, and the blue shift of the spectrum is found on photonic crystal. The mechanism of the enhancement and the blue shift of spectrum are explained.

Caveolae are small invaginated microdomains located with a variety of signal transduction molecules on the plasma membrane. Recent reports showed that the knockout mice of a muscle-specific protein caveolin-3 (Cav-3 KO), a principal component of the caveolae in heart, displayed an enlargement of ventricular cells. Volume-regulated outwardly rectifying anion channel (VRAC) is activated by membrane stretch, and play a significant role in cell volume regulation in cardiac cells. However, it is unknown the properties of VRAC in the enlarged cardiac cells from Cav-3 KO mice. In this study, we examined that VRAC current and the cell volume regulation in freshly isolated single ventricular cells from Cav-3 KO mice (Hagiwara et al. 2000). Whole-cell current recording showed that the density of VRAC current induced by extracellular hypotonic solution (HYPO) is markedly reduced in the cells from Cav-3 KO mice, compared to that from wild-type (WT) mice. Video-image analysis revealed that the degree of HYPO-induced cell swelling in Cav-3 KO mice is significantly bigger than that in WT mice, and the regulatory volume decrease, which was seen in WT cells after osmotic swelling, is almost lost in cells from Cav-3 KO mice. This result is in parallel with the VRAC inhibition. In contrast, acidic extracellular pH-activated chloride current and extracellular UTP-activated CFTR current were affected less by the deficiency of caveoline-3. The attenuated VRAC current was restored by intracellular application of a VRAC modulator, phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3). These findings suggested that the attenuation of cardiac VRAC current is due to the PIP3 depletion in Cav-3 KO mice.

A 63-year-old woman presented with leukocytosis (278 × 10(9)/L) with 72% blasts. Bone marrow blast cells showed cytogenetic abnormality with 46,XX, t(9;22), inv(16). Despite achievement of hematological remission by induction chemotherapy, Philadelphia chromosome did not disappear; chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in blast crisis (BC) was thus diagnosed. The P190 BCR/ABL fusion transcript was detected. Imatinib mesylate introduced a hematological remission of short duration; however, infiltration into the central nervous system occurred, and the patient died 7 months after presentation. Coexistence of inv(16) and t(9:22) has been described in CML-BC and de novo AML, and CML-BC patients always carry P210 BCR/ABL, while de novo AML patients usually have P190 BCR/ABL. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of CML-BC with inv(16) and P190 BCR/ABL. We discuss this case with reference to the literature.

A two-dimensional tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) photonic crystal (PC) slab with low-background emission was fabricated and a 12-fold enhancement of fluorescence from the organic dyes of perylene diimide adsorbed on the surface of the PCs was observed. The background emissions of the Ta2O5 substrates with and without the PCs after thermal annealing at 600°C with oxygen gas were comparable to that of a well-cleaned cover glass. This is to date the lowest level of background emissions of two-dimensional PCs using materials with a high refractive index (>2). The results reported here provide new insights into the fabrication of the photonic devices that enable highly sensitive fluorescence microscopy or optical detections.

We have studied the dissociation of merocyanine J-aggregates in Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films upon irradiation with polarized pulsed laser light. Optical second harmonic generation (SHG) as well as optical absorption measurements indicate the selective dissociation of the domains with the transition dipole moment parallel to the polarization direction of the bleaching beam. The LB film with no J-aggregates after irradiation with circularly polarized light maintains its second harmonic activity, though it is weaker, indicating that the in-plane non-centrosymmetric structure of each domain remains to some extent after dissociation to the monomers. Conversely, thermal treatment brings about centrosymmetric distribution of the monomers, resulting in no SHG.

Second harmonic generation experiments were carried out with a Langmuir film of the new amphiphilic coordination compound pentacyano(4-octadecylaminopyridine)ferrate(III) (POF), whose push-pull hydrophilic structure presents a visible-range ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (LMCT) transition. No significant variations of the molecular tilt angle were observed during the compression process; the hyperpolarizability is determined to be β z′z′z′ =172×10−30 esu. A qualitative analysis based on a two level model suggests that this large value originates from a large difference between excited state and ground state dipole moments and from a small transition energy close to resonance conditions.

Less toxic antifungal drugs are required for empirical antifungal therapy. Micafungin is an echinocandin drug that is effective against both Candida and Aspergillus, and preliminary clinical studies have shown good antifungal activity. We prospectively examined the effect and safety of micafungin against febrile neutropenia with suspected fungal infection in 53 patients (median age, 56 years) who had undergone chemotherapy. The administered dose of micafungin was 150 mg/day, and its effect was evaluated as fever resolution as well as the results of chest imaging and serum fungal tests. Micafungin levels were measured on day 4 after the first administration using high-performance liquid chromatography. We also measured trough levels of micafungin. Underlying diseases comprised acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 4), acute myeloid leukemia (n = 20), multiple myeloma (n = 3), and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (n = 26). The overall efficacy of micafungin was 70%. Breakthrough fungal infections were documented in two (3.8%) patients, both of whom died of invasive mycosis. None of the patients were switched to other antifungal drugs due to events unrelated to adverse effects. Plasma levels of micafungin and the degree of hepatic or renal dysfunction did not correlate. Micafungin is safe and effective for the empirical antifungal therapy of febrile neutropenia in patients with hematological malignancies.

We report a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) involving the central nervous system. A 55-year-old male was admitted to our hospital with dysarthria and incomplete right hemiplegia. A CT scan of the brain revealed a low density area in the left cerebrum. APL was diagnosed by bone marrow aspiration and chromosomal analysis. The patient received all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in combination with chemotherapy. Complete hematological remission (CR) was obtained, and the patient's neurological symptoms improved. However, a cytospin smear of the cerebrospinal fluid after CR showed immature myelocytes ("intermediate cells") that had possibly been derived from leukemic promyelocytes. Comprehensive intrathecal treatment as well as cranial irradiation, caused a further reduction in dysarthria and a complete disappearance of hemiplegia with no atypical cells in the cerebrospinal fluid. The patient has undergone maintenance chemotherapy as an out-patient.

The two-photon excited fluorescence from CdSe/ZnS quantum dots on the surface of a two-dimensional SiN photonic crystal was investigated. With photonic crystal, the enhancement and the blue shift of two-photon excited fluorescence was observed.

We previously described the effectiveness of the THP-COP regimen comprising cyclophosphamide, pirarubicin (tetrahydropyranyl adriamycin; THP), vincristine and prednisolone in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The anthracycline drug THP was apparently less cardiotoxic than doxorubicin. However, that study was completed before rituximab was introduced into clinical practice. We conducted a phase II study to determine the effectiveness of a regimen incorporating rituximab (R-THP-COP) against DLBCL.Six to 8 courses of the regimen were administered every 2 weeks in 48 patients who were younger than 70 years.The complete remission rate was 92%, the 3-year overall survival rate was 83% and 3-year progression free survival rate was 74%. No deaths were associated with the treatment regimen.We conclude that R-THP-COP regimen is very effective against DLBCL. The results of our study urge randomized trials of R-CHOP and R-THP-COP among patients with CD20+ DLBCL.

A 32-year-old female had been diagnosed as having relapsed breast cancer and liver metastasis. She underwent high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) with 5.8 × 106/kg CD34+ cells. She was supported by total parenteral nutrition (TPN) without vitamins throughout these therapies. Hematopoietic recovery was not observed by day 28 after PBSCT, necessitating a second PBSCT on day 29 using the back-up material of 4.4 × 106/kg CD34+ cells. On the next day, she suddenly developed severe metabolic acidosis, heart failure and deep coma. After immediate infusion of thiamine, heart failure and coma rapidly improved. The neutrophil count reached 0.5 × 109/l on day 9 and the platelet count 50 × 109/l on day 15 after the second PBSCT. This is a rare graft failure due to acute metabolic acidosis or thiamine deficiency associated with TPN.

Recent advances in the treatment of hematological malignancies often induce febrile neutropenia (FN) due to severe myelosuppression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of biapenem in such FN.Candidate patients were admitted to our hospital and were treat of their hematological malignancy from February 2005 to March 2006. They gave written informed consent to enter this study in advance. When the diagnosis of FN was established among them, those patients received intravenous biapenem 0.6 g every 12 hours. This trail was approved by our institutional review board.A total of 54 consecutive patients were registered and 49 patients were evaluable for response. The median age was 61. The underlying diseases were acute lymphocytic leukemia in 6 cases, acute myelocytic leukemia in 21, multiple myeloma in 3, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 19. The response rate was 78% (excellent response: 51%, good response: 27%, minor response: 6%, no response: 16%). In patients with neutrophil counts under 500/microl, the response rate was 73%. Infectious death or other serious adverse events were not observed.Biapenem is effective and safe for treating FN.

The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic factors of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, unspecified (PTCL-U).We retrospectively analyzed 30 cases fulfilling the criteria of PTCL-U defined by the World Health Organization classification. The patients were treated with 6-8 cycles of a CHOP or THP (pirarubicin)-COP regimen.A high serum sIL-2R level (or =2,000 U/ml) at onset was associated with a low complete remission rate. Patients with high sIL-2R had significantly lower survival rates (5 year, 15.1%) than those with low sIL-2R (2,000 U/ml) (100%) (P0.005). Factors associated with worse overall survival in a univariate analysis were high sIL-2R (P0.005), high age (60 years) (P0.05), poor performance status (P0.01) and poor international prognostic index (P0.05). No correlation was observed between sIL-2R and other markers. Multivariate analysis showed that only sIL-2R was a prognostic factor for overall survival (P0.01).The results suggest that a high serum sIL-2R level predicts a poor prognosis in PTCL-U.

We investigated the dynamics of spontaneous emission in photonic crystal etched into SiN slab. It was found that the spontaneous emission is largely enhanced by photonic crystal and the decay curves are non-single exponentials.

In our previous study, it was suggested that ANP and cGMP may increase Na(+) absorption in the urinary bladder of the Japanese tree frog, Hyla japonica. Thus, Na(+) transport activated by ANP was investigated electrophysiologically by using a cell-attached patch-clamp technique in freshly isolated cells from the urinary bladder. A predominant channel expressed was a low conductance Na(+) channel in the epithelial cells. The channel exhibited conductance for inward currents of 4.9 +/- 0.2 pS, long open and closed times (c.a. 190 ms), and positive reversal potential. The channel activity was decreased under the pipette solution including 10(-6) M amiloride. These characteristics were similar to those of amiloride-sensitive Na(+) channels (ENaC). Addition of 10(-9) M ANP activated and significantly increased the ENaC activity from 0.58 +/- 0.09 to 1.47 +/- 0.34. On the other hand, mean amplitudes and conductance of single channel did not change significantly after the addition of ANP. Addition of 10(-5) M 8-Br-cGMP also activated the ENaC and significantly increased the channel activity from 0.56 +/- 0.10 to 2.00 +/- 0.33. The addition of ANP failed to activate the ENaC in the presence of 10(-6) M amiloride. These results suggested that ANP and cGMP activate Na(+) transport via ENaC in the epithelial cells of frog urinary bladder.

We examined the mechanism of amiloride-sensitive Na(+) channels (ENaC) activated by fANP in epithelial cells of frog urinary bladder by using a cell-attached patch-clamp technique. ENaC activities in the epithelial cells were significantly increased following administration of both 10(-9)M fANP and 10(-5)M 8-Br-cGMP. Both fANP and 8-Br-cGMP, however, failed to activate the ENaC in the presence of 10(-6)M amiloride. In addition, 8-Br-cGMP failed to activate the ENaC in the presence of a PKA inhibitor, KT-5720. In the next experiment, we measured both cGMP and cAMP production levels after treatment of fANP on the frog urinary bladder cells. Frog ANP significantly increased cGMP production, but not the cAMP production. Taken together, these results suggest that fANP activates ENaC through increases in cGMP production and activation of PKA.

A porphyrin derivative (5,15-bis(4-ethynylphenyl)-10,20-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)porphyrin: trans-BETBPP) possessing chemically reactive substituents was successfully deposited on an Au(111) surface with a new molecular beam deposition system with use of a spray-jet technique (Spray-jet-MBD) without denaturing the molecules. The deposited molecular overlayers were observed at 77 K under ultrahigh vacuum condition by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). They form two different overlayer structures: a linear arrangement and a square lattice structure. In these overlayers, some molecules were accidentally moved by STM tip agitation, which indicates that the molecules were not polymerized during the deposition process.

Thyroid dysfunction is a common complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT). However, thyrotoxicosis as defined by elevated serum-free thyroxine (FT4) or free triiodothyronine (FT3) levels together with low thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels is rare after SCT. Here we describe 2 patients who developed thyrotoxicosis within the first 50 days after unrelated cord blood transplantation (CBT). Patient 1 is a 32-year-old woman with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)-M5a who underwent CBT. On day +41, she developed tachycardia. On day +48, FT4 increased to 2.2 ng/dL and TSH was suppressed to less than 0.1 microU/mL. Antithyroid peroxidase antibody was positive. On day +83, FT4 spontaneously decreased to 1.4 ng/dL. Patient 2 is a 42-year-old man with AML-M4 who underwent CBT. On day +42, he developed tachycardia. On day +48, FT3 increased to 4.75 pg/mL and TSH was suppressed to 0.02 microU/mL. Antithyroid peroxidase antibody was positive. Eight months after CBT, his thyroid function spontaneously returned to normal. The presence of antithyroid peroxidase antibody suggested that immune-mediated reactions might be associated with the development of thyrotoxicosis after CBT in our patients. The present study shows that thyrotoxicosis can occur during very early periods after CBT.

Within density functional theory with the general gradient approximation for the exchange and correlation, the bimetallic clusters AuPt and Au(6)Pt have been studied for their structure and reactivity. The bond strength of AuPt lies between those of Au(2) and Pt(2), and it is closer to that of Au(2). The Pt atom is the reactive center in both AuPt and AuPt(+) according to electronic structure analysis. AuPt(+) is more stable than AuPt. Au(6)Pt prefers electronic states with low multiplicity. The most stable conformation of Au(6)Pt is a singlet and has quasi-planar hexagonal frame with Pt lying at the hexagonal center. The doping of Pt in Au cluster enhances the chemical regioselectivity of the Au cluster. The Pt atom essentially serves as electron donor and the Au atoms bonded to the Pt atom acts as electron acceptor in Au(6)Pt. The lowest triplet of edge-capped rhombus Au(6)Pt clusters is readily accessible with very small singlet-triplet energy gap (0.32 eV). O(2) prefers to adsorb on Au and CO prefers to adsorb on Pt. O(2) and CO have stronger adsorption on AuPt than they do on Au(6)Pt. CO has a much stronger adsorption on AuPt bimetallic cluster than O(2) does. The adsorption of CO on Pt modifies the geometry of AuPt bimetallic clusters.

To facilitate more economical medical care, we carried out a prospective study of whether a THP-COP regimen (cyclophosphamide, pirarubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone) with low-dose granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) would effectively treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). From April 2003 through March 2004, we enrolled 19 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed NHL treated at our hospital. The patients were divided into young and elderly groups. Each patient underwent chemotherapy with 8 courses of a THP-COP regimen with a 50-microg dose of lenograstim. Age- and sex-matched historical control patients (n = 141) received NHL diagnoses between 1998 and 2003. Each patient in the control group underwent the same chemotherapy and received a 100-microg dose of lenograstim. The mean (+/-SD) total amounts of G-CSF per cycle of chemotherapy were 332 +/- 103 microg (young patients) and 345 +/- 128 microg (elderly patients) in the low-dose group and 594 +/- 439 microg (young) and 730 +/- 551 microg (elderly) in the control group. The duration of fever in 1 cycle of chemotherapy was 0.3 +/- 1.0 days (young) and 0.1 +/- 0.8 days (elderly) in the low-dose group and 0.5 +/- 1.3 days (young) and 0.8 +/- 2.0 days (elderly) in the control group. A THP-COP regimen with low-dose G-CSF could be administered to NHL patients with safety. Administration of a 50-microg dose of lenograstim is sufficient and recommended for the treatment of NHL.

A 51-year-old man had been diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia (AA) at the age of 9 years. He was treated with occasional transfusions for the next 35 years. Following initiation of cyclosporin A (CsA), the patient became transfusion-independent at 44-years-old. Anemia improved after cessation of CsA and no therapy was required for the next 5 years. However, severe pancytopenia suddenly developed at the age of 51. Bone marrow aspiration revealed myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with der (1;7). The ineffectiveness of CsA for MDS led to resumed dependence on transfusion. This case suggests that the appearance of MDS clones might have contributed to transient hematological improvement. Bone marrow aspiration should be considered in patients with AA if unexpected hematological improvement appears.

The effects of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and cGMP on transepithelial ion transport were examined in the urinary bladder of the Japanese tree frog, Hyla japonica, using Ussing chamber voltage-clamp and whole-cell patch-clamp techniques. When the bladders were exposed to 4.4 x 10(-11) to 10(-6) M ANP or 10(-7) to 3 x 10(-4) M 8-Br-cGMP, both the transepithelial potential difference (PD) and the short-circuit current (Isc) were significantly increased in a concentration-response manner. The cGMP-dependent responses were inhibited in a Na+-free bath solution and in the presence of amiloride. The cGMP-dependent increases in Isc were significantly inhibited by specific PKA inhibitors (5 x 10(-7) M KT-5720 and10(-5) M H-89), but not by a specific PKG inhibitor (5 x 10(-7) M KT-5823). ANP-dependent increases in Isc were also significantly inhibited by KT-5720. In the patch-clamp study, ANP and cGMP significantly increased in inward currents involving Na+ uptake. These results suggest that a cross-talk mechanism exists between cAMP and cGMP signaling pathways, which leads to Na+ transport in the frog urinary bladder. In addition, the cGMP-dependent increases in Isc were partially inhibited by 10(-4) M l-cis-diltiazem, a specific inhibitor of cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels. These results also suggest a relation between CNG channels and the cGMP-dependent increases in Na+ absorption of the frog urinary bladder.