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PURPOSE This study was undertaken to clarify the usefulness and problems involved in the clinical path of transurethral prostatectomy (TUR-P) in hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS The subjects consisted of 50 patients, for whom the Department of Urology, Jikei Medical University Hospital introduced its own clinical path and performed TUR-P during a period of 9 months from July 1999 to March 2000. The mean length of hospital stay, rate of postoperative complications, and the medical insurance claims made by these patients were clarified and compared with those of 73 patients before introduction of the clinical path. RESULTS With the introduction of the clinical path, the length of hospital stay decreased by an average of 3.4 days and the total medical insurance claims decreased by an average of 18.5%. The rate of postoperative complications before and after introduction was almost equal. CONCLUSION Our clinical path for TUR-P was well accepted by both patients and comedicals. However, the present medical treatment system in Japan is not as yet prepared to promote the introduction of this clinical path, and it will take some time before this clinical path is introduced on a full scale.

We study Anderson localization of non-interacting random hopping fermions on bipartite lattices in two dimensions, focusing our attention to strong disorder features of the model. We concentrate ourselves on specific models with a linear dispersion in the vicinity of the band center, which can be described by a Dirac fermion in the continuum limit. Based on the recent renormalization group method developed by Carpentier and Le Doussal for the XY gauge glass model, we calculate the density of states, inverse participation ratios, and their spatial correlations. It turns out that their behavior is quite different from those expected within naive weak disorder approaches., 8 pages

This manuscript describes a study of the evaluation of T2 and T2* changes in a hypervascular tumor model (hemodialyzer phantom) under conditions simulating dynamic perfusion study. The measured 1/T2* was strongly dependent on the compartmentalization of contrast material within the model, whereas the observed 1/T2 was not. Gradient-echo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging may be more suitable than a spin-echo MR imaging for the evaluation of tumor vascularity.

Uematsu H, Maeda M, Sadato N, et al. Measurement of the vascularity and vascular leakage of gliomas by double-echo dynamic magnetic resonance imaging: A preliminary study. Invest Radiol 2002;37:571-576. RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE. To evaluate the vascularity and vascular leakage of well-enhanced gliomas by double-echo dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Eight patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and two patients with juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma (JPA) were studied. Double-echo dynamic MR imaging was utilized to separate the T2* shortening effect and the T1 shortening effect. The former was represented by the vascularity index, and the latter was represented by the leakage index. These indexes were compared with histopathologic data. RESULTS. The mean vascularity index of the GBM was higher than that of the JPA (mean ′ SD, 3.48 ′ 1.57 [GBM] versus o.51 ′ 0.29 [JPA]), and the mean leakage index of the JPA was higher than that of the GBM (1.35 ′ 0.87 [JPA] versus 0.27 ′ 0.15 [GBM]). Abundant vascularity was noted in the tight interstitial space in the pathologic specimen of GBM. Conversely, sparse vasculature was observed in the wide interstitial space in the pathologic specimen of JPA. CONCLUSION. This method may enable better characterization of grade in well-enhanced glioma by providing the information on the vascularity and leakage indexes.

Human lesion or neuroimaging studies suggest that amygdala is involved in facial emotion recognition. Although impairments in recognition of facial and/or emotional expression have been reported in schizophrenia, there are few neuroimaging studies that have examined differential brain activation during facial recognition between patients with schizophrenia and normal controls. To investigate amygdala responses during facial recognition in schizophrenia, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study with 12 right-handed medicated patients with schizophrenia and 12 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The experiment task was a type of emotional intensity judgment task. During the task period, subjects were asked to view happy (or angry/disgusting/sad) and neutral faces simultaneously presented every 3 s and to judge which face was more emotional (positive or negative face discrimination). Imaging data were investigated in voxel-by-voxel basis for single-group analysis and for between-group analysis according to the random effect model using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). No significant difference in task accuracy was found between the schizophrenic and control groups. Positive face discrimination activated the bilateral amygdalae of both controls and schizophrenics, with more prominent activation of the right amygdala shown in the schizophrenic group. Negative face discrimination activated the bilateral amygdalae in the schizophrenic group whereas the right amygdala alone in the control group, although no significant group difference was found. Exaggerated amygdala activation during emotional intensity judgment found in the schizophrenic patients may reflect impaired gating of sensory input containing emotion.

In Schwann cells, the transmembrane glycoprotein beta-dystroglycan comprises the dystroglycan complex, together with the extracellular glycoprotein alpha-dystroglycan, which binds laminin-2 (alpha 2/beta 1/gamma 1), a major component of the Schwann cell basal lamina. To provide clues to the biological functions of the interaction of the dystroglycan complex with laminin-2 in peripheral nerves, we investigated the expression of beta-dystroglycan and the laminin-alpha 2 chain in rat sciatic nerve during development by immunoblot, immunofluorescence, and immunoelectron microscopic studies. The expression of beta-dystroglycan and the laminin-alpha 2 chain in the rat sciatic nerve was low and not confined to the Schwann cell outer membrane from embryonic day 18 to birth, when there was only an immature basal lamina assembly and no compact myelin formation by Schwann cells. However, the expression of these proteins increased markedly and became clearly localized to the Schwann cell outer membrane between birth and postnatal day 7, when both basal lamina assembly and compact myelin formation by Schwann cells progressed rapidly. From postnatal day 7 to adult, there was no remarkable change in the expression of these proteins. Our results support the hypothesis that the dystroglycan complex functions as an adhesion apparatus, binding the Schwann cell outer membrane with the basal lamina, and suggest that the dystroglycan complex plays a role in Schwann cell myelination through its interaction with laminin-2.

A Dirac fermion model with random axial-vector potential is proposed. At a special strength of randomness, the symmetry of the action is enhanced, which is due to the gauge symmetry \`a la Nishimori. Some exact scaling exponents of single-particle Green functions are computed. The relationship with the XY gauge glass model is discussed., Comment: 4 pages

A rare case of a nerve sheath tumor of the sigmoid colon is presented. The radiological appearance of this tumor is described. The diagnostic roles of ultrasound sonography (US) and the barium enema in differentiating submucosal colon tumors are emphasized.

Situs solitus refers to the normal arrangement of body organs. Situs inversus totalis is a complete mirror image or reverse isomeric form of the thoracic and abdominal viscera. Any arrangement of organs between these two extremes is designated by heterotaxia. Several patterns of vascular and visceral abnormalities are associated with heterotaxia, and two loosely defined syndromes of splenic anomalies (asplenia and polysplenia) are most common. We present the case of a 71-year-old woman with situs inversus totalis and polysplenia syndrome who developed synchronous double cancer originating from the stomach and rectum. Abdominal manifestations were situs inversus totalis combined with multiple lobulated spleen, azygous continuation of the interrupted inferior vena cava, direct drainage of hepatic vein to left atrium, preduodenal portal vein, short pancreas, incomplete rotation of the colon, and malrotation of the intestine. Histologically, gastric cancer was diagnosed as papillary adenocarcinoma and rectal cancer, as moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. The patient was successfully treated with total gastrectomy for gastric cancer and low-anterior resection of the rectum for rectal cancer.

The dystroglycan complex is a membrane-spanning complex composed of two subunits, alpha- and beta-dystroglycan. alpha-dystroglycan is a cell surface peripheral membrane protein which binds to the extracellular matrix (ECM), whereas beta-dystroglycan is an integral membrane protein which anchors alpha-dystroglycan to the cell membrane. The dystroglycan complex provides a tight link between the ECM and cell membrane. Dysfunction of the dystroglycan complex has commonly been implicated in the molecular pathogenesis of severe forms of hereditary neuromuscular diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Fukuyama-type congenital muscular dystrophy and sarcoglycanopathy (LGMD2C, -D, -E and -F). To begin to clarify the pathway by which the dysfunction of the dystroglycan complex could lead to muscle cell degeneration, we investigated the proteolytic processing of the dystroglycan complex in this study. We demonstrate that (i) a 30 kDa fragment of beta-dystroglycan is expressed in peripheral nerve, kidney, lung and smooth muscle, but not skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle or brain, and (ii) this fragment is the product of proteolytic processing of the extracellular domain of beta-dystroglycan by the membrane-associated matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity. Importantly, furthermore, we demonstrate that this processing disintegrates the dystroglycan complex. Our results indicate that the processing of beta-dystroglycan by MMP causes the disruption of the link between the ECM and cell membrane via the dystroglycan complex, which could have profound effects on cell viability. Based on these and previously reported findings, we propose a hypothesis that this processing may play a crucial role in the molecular pathogenesis of sarcoglycanopathy.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the time course of arterial hyperintensity (AH) in acute and subacute cerebral infarctions of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) distribution by using fast fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (FLAIR) imaging. A total of 40 FLAIR MR examinations were performed in 27 patients with MCA infarction within 13 days after ictus. Thirteen patients underwent two MR examinations during this period. Thrombotic or embolic infarctions were included in this study, but lacunar infarctions were excluded. The presence or absence of AH and the location of AH were analyzed. Overall, AH was found in 24 (60%) of 40 FLAIR examinations within 13 days after onset. AH was seen in 17 (100%) examinations less than 24 hours old, four (40%) of 10 examinations 1-4 days old, two (18%) of 11 examinations 5-9 days old, and one (50%) of two examinations 10-13 days old. AH was most frequently found at the sylvian fissure (87%), followed by the sulci (54%), and the horizontal segment of MCA (29%) in the affected MCA distribution. Although AH could be seen even at 13 days after ictus, the presence of AH declined over time. AH represented an early sign of acute embolic or thrombotic infarction. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2001;13:987-990.

A central nervous system germinoma is curable in most cases by radiotherapy, and most of the tumor mass disappears promptly after 20-30 doses. However, some germinomas take a longer period to vanish completely from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scans. In such cases, the tumor may contain components such as teratoma. The aim of this study was to clarify the nature of the persistence of some germinomas. Five cases of histologically verified germinoma in which radiotherapy was performed to treat residual tumor were selected. The doses of focal radiotherapy and whole brain radiotherapy were 10-20 Gy and 20-34 Gy, respectively. In these cases, correlation was made between the degree of persistence of the tumor when assessed by MRI and the amount of interstitial content, as determined by histology. The histological evaluation, using hematoxylin-eosin stain, silver impregnation and Azan staining was carried out independently of clinical information. The tumor vanished soon after radiotherapy in three cases, but 3-15 months passed before the tumor completely vanished from the MRI scans in the other two cases. The histology of the cases in which the tumor disappeared rapidly was predominantly of large tumor cells and only small amounts of reticulin. However, in the persistent tumors, large amounts of reticulin and vascular components were present. Thus, it is proposed that tumors with a large parenchymal component disappear soon after radiotherapy, whereas tumors composed mainly of interstitial component persist. Long-standing enhancement seen on MRI or CT scans of patients with an intracranial germinoma is indicative of a large amount of interstitial component in the tumor.

To depict the neural substrates for facial emotion recognition and to determine whether their activation is confounded by a verbal factor, we studied eight normal volunteers with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Verbal and non-verbal sample stimuli were used in a facial emotion matching task and a gender matching task (control condition). Compared with the gender tasks, the emotion tasks significantly activated the right ventral prefrontal cortex, the right lingual cortex, and the left lateral fusiform cortex, irrespective of sample stimuli. The visual association cortices showed a significant interaction between the task and the material presented, as the activation for verbal materials was higher than for non-verbal materials during the emotion matching tasks. By contrast, no significant interaction was found in the right ventral prefrontal cortex. These results suggest that the verbal factor has a different effect on the neural networks for facial emotion, processing.

An extremely rare case of the primary leiomyosarcoma of the cervical spine presenting as a compression fracture is reported. A 69-year-old man complained of dysesthesia of both hands. A plain radiograph, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine showed a compression fracture of the vertebral body at C7 without the formation of an obvious mass. From radiological findings, the fracture was considered to be caused by an infiltrative vertebral bone tumor. Biopsy of the tumor revealed a leiomyosarcoma, a metastatic tumor being ruled out by a systemic investigation. The patient died of pleural metastasis 6 months later, and an autopsy confirmed the primary site of the tumor as the cervical spine.

Double-echo dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was used to evaluate both vascularity and permeability of tissues simultaneously. Vascularity was evaluated on the basis of the T2*-shortening effect due to the intravascular fraction of the contrast agent and permeability on the basis of the T1-shortening effect due to the extravascular fraction. Meningioma was characterized on the basis of higher vascularity and neurinoma on the basis of higher permeability. The proposed method enables better tissue characterization.

A 48-year-old female was stabbed by her husband with a chopstick made of wood in the left temporal region during a quarrel. She suffered laceration of the left temporal scalp. At initial examination, she concealed the assault with a chopstick. Radiography showed no abnormality, so the wound was sutured. One month after the injury, a painless subcutaneous mass appeared in the left temporal region which grew rapidly for 3 months. She was then admitted to our department. Computed tomography (CT) on admission showed a hyperdense area at the center of the mass. This area was hypointense on both T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images. Temporalis muscle tumor with accompanying central necrosis, old hematoma, and inflammatory granuloma was considered. The mass was totally resected for cosmetic purposes and was found to be wooden foreign body granuloma. High density on CT and hypointensity on both T1- and T2-weighted MR images are characteristic of a chronically retained wooden foreign body in the living body and are useful for detecting wooden foreign bodies in the chronic granulomatous phase.

To investigate the neuronal substrates participating in attentional set-shifting for motor selection rules, a functional magnetic resonance imaging study was performed during hand-shape selection tasks. During the session, six right-handed subjects were required to make one of three hand-shapes using their right hands, in response to the hand-shape images on a video screen, following one of the three predefined rules of win, lose, and tie. The selection rules were consistently applied in three conditions (win, tie, and lose), and changed alternately in one condition (alternate win-lose). Thus the alternate win-lose condition requires the shift of rules for motor selection. This alternate condition compared with the win, tie, and lose conditions showed activation in the left middle frontal gyrus, the bilateral inferior frontal gyri, and the left posterior fusiform and lingual gyri. These activation patterns in the prefrontal cortex were similar to those observed during the performance of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), which requires a typical set-shifting ability from one perceptual dimension to another (Berman et al., 1995. Neuropsychologia 33, 1027-1046; Nagahama et al., 1996. Brain 119, 1667-1675; Konishi et al., 1998. Nature Neuroscience 1, 80-84.). Our data may indicate that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex including the middle and inferior frontal gyri are important in attentional set-shifting of both perceptual and non-perceptual characteristics. Another activation in the fusiform and lingual gyri may have reflected the increased attentional demand for visual processing in the light of a current rule for motor selection.

The authors investigated the feasibility of using T2-weighted, half-Fourier rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement, or RARE, dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to depict crossed cerebellar diaschisis. In 10 patients after unilateral supratentorial stroke, crossed cerebellar diaschisis was demonstrated in the relative regional cerebellar blood volume maps obtained with MR imaging. Cerebellar blood volume values for the nonaffected cerebellar hemisphere were significantly larger than those for the affected side (P = .0003).

The purpose of this study was to quantify cerebral microvascular hemodynamics with T2-weighted dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DSC-MRI) using a half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE) sequence. We performed T2-weighted DSC-MRI with HASTE sequence in 19 normal subjects. After bolus injection of gadopentetate dimeglumine, HASTE images of two sections were acquired for the simultaneous creation of concentration-time curves in the internal carotid artery and in brain tissue. Absolute regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV), regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), and mean transit time (MTT) values of brain tissue were calculated on a base of the indicator dilution theory, and all values were corrected on the assumption that rCBF of white matter is constant in 22 mL/100 g tissue/min without age-dependent alteration. A decrease in rCBV and rCBF of gray matter was age dependent, while rCBV of white matter did not show significant change with aging. The mean rCBF value in gray matter was 37.3 +/- 8.4 mL/100 g tissue/min. The mean rCBV value was 4.1 +/- 0.8 mL/100 g tissue in gray matter and 2.9 + 0.4 mL/100 g tissue in white matter. The rCBV and rCBF values of gray and white matter obtained from T2-weighted DSC-MRI with HASTE sequence were slightly lower than the published data calculated by gradient-echo sequence. We were able to perform absolute quantifications of the capillary blood volume and flow, using a HASTE sequence, which would not have been possible with a gradient-echo sequence. This technique provides a new method for estimating cerebral microvascular hemodynamics.

Purpose: The aim of our study was to compare the activation patterns of higher cognitive function detected by functional MRI (fMRI) with those by H215O positron emission tomography (PET). Method: Activation studies with both modalities were performed in six normal volunteers with identical covert word generation tasks and statistical analysis. For PET, each subject had five rest scans and five task scans at 10 min intervals. fMRI was performed with a 1.5 T magnet using T2*-weighted echo planar sequences. Each scanning session consisted of two rest and two task periods of 30 s each, alternating rest and task. Results: In group analysis, the activation patterns on both PET and fMRI were similar, whereas the deactivation patterns differed, presumably due to the noise of fMRI. In single-subject analysis, PET showed fewer activated areas and fMRI showed more areas of activation than in group analysis. Conclusion: fMRI has an advantage over 3D PET in its better signal-to-noise ratio for detecting change in neuronal activity for higher brain function.

alpha-Dystroglycan, which is a cell surface component of dystroglycan complex, is known to bind laminin in basal lamina of muscle cells and Schwann cells. We found previously that a novel O-glycan, Siaalpha2-3Galbeta1-4GlcNAcbeta1-2Man, is the major oligosaccharide in bovine peripheral nerve alpha-dystroglycan, and that this structure might mediate the binding of laminin. In order to determine whether this structure is specific for peripheral nerve alpha-dystroglycan or present on different forms of alpha-dystroglycan, we analyzed the structures of the sialylated O-glycans of rabbit skeletal muscle alpha-dystroglycan. Their structures were elucidated to be a mixture of a core 1 O-glycan and the same O-mannosyl glycan that we found in bovine peripheral nerve. These results indicate that alpha-dystroglycan in different species and tissues share a common structure of its major O-linked acidic carbohydrate, suggesting its relevance to the basic functional role of alpha-dystroglycan.

Recently, perfusion imaging has been of increasing interest in MRI. We applied this method for semiquantitative evaluation of hepatic parenchymal portal blood flow in patients with diffuse liver damage. Twenty patients with diffuse hepatic damage were divided according to the Child's Classification and studied. Gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) was administered into the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), and a dynamic series of T2*-weighted fast low angle shot (FLASH) images was obtained. We evaluated relative regional portal blood volume (rrPBV), mean transit time (MTT), and relative regional portal blood flow (rrPBF). The relationship between the rrPBV, rrPBF, and plasma indocyanine green retention rate test at 15 minutes (ICGR15) was also evaluated in 12 patients. Both rrPBF and rrPBV are significantly decreased in Child B & C patients compared with Child A patients. On the other hand, the MTT is significantly prolonged in Child B & C patients compared with Child A patients. Significant correlations were also noted between rrPBV and ICGR15 and between rrPBF and ICGR15. By means of selective catheterization into the SMA, we were able to estimate rrPBV, rrPBF, and MTT. This method may play a clinical role for assessment of regional portal perfusion in various diseases with diffuse liver damage.

To obtain a better understanding of the cortical representation of bimanual coordination, we measured regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) with15O-labeled water and positron emission tomography (PET). To detect areas with changes of rCBF during bimanual finger movements of different characteristics, we studied 12 right-handed normal volunteers. A complete session consisted of three rest scans and six scans with acoustically paced (1 Hz) bimanual, mirror, or parallel sequential finger movements. Activation of the right dorsal premotor area (PMd) extending to the posterior supplementary motor area (SMA) was significantly stronger during the parallel movements than during the mirror sequential movements (p< 0.05, at cluster level with correction for multiple comparisons). To determine whether these cortical areas truly represented bimanual coordination, a different group of nine normal volunteers was studied with a different task. Subjects performed acoustically paced (2 Hz) abduction–adduction movements of the index finger, making right only, left only, and bimanual mirror and parallel movements. Activation of the posterior SMA and right PMd was significantly greater during the parallel movements than during the bimanual mirror movements or the unimanual movements of either hand (p< 0.01, with anatomical constraint). Thus, the posterior SMA and right PMd appear to be related to the bimanual coordination of finger movements.

We describe a family with an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder, three siblings of which were verified by autopsy as having sudanophilic leukodystrophy (SLD). The clinical picture of the family is one of progressive dementia and spastic paralysis. Pathological examinations detected diffuse and patchy white matter lesions and the widespread presence of axonal spheroids in the lesions of all three autopsy patients. Because change was found selectively in the pyramidal tracts and optic radiations, this disease is considered to affect the long tracts systematically. The SLD in the family we studied is distinguished from other leukodystrophies by its clinical and pathological features, indicative that it may be a special type of SLD.

Hideyuki Shimizu,1 Minoru Takebayashi,2 Masayuki Tani,1 Hiroaki Tanaka,1 Bun Yamagata,1 Kenzo Kurosawa,1 Hiroki Yamada,1 Mitsugu Hachisu,3 Kazue Hisaoka-Nakashima,2 Mami Okada-Tsuchioka,2 Masaru Mimura,4 Akira Iwanami11Department of Neuropsychiatry, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; 2Department of Psychiatry and Institute for Clinical Research, National Hospital Organization Kure Medical Center, Kure, Japan; 3Department of Clinical Psychopharmacy, Pharmacy School, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan; 4Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, JapanBackground: Recently, the sigma-1 receptor has been shown to play a significant role in the neural transmission of mood by regulating N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. Additionally, the sigma-1 receptor has been reported to influence cognitive functions including learning and memory. In this study, we measured plasma sigma-1 receptor concentrations before and after antidepressant treatment in patients with late-life major depressive disorder (MDD) and explored whether changes in depressive status are related to sigma-1 receptor concentrations.Methods: The study participants were 12 subjects with late-life MDD diagnosed according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. All of the participants were over 60 years old. Immediately prior to and 8 weeks after the start of treatment, sigma-1 receptor concentration and mental status, including depressive symptoms (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; HAM-D), were measured. Treatment for depression was performed according to a developed algorithm based on the choice of treatments. We examined the association between changes in sigma-1 receptor concentration and HAM-D scores during antidepressant treatment. For the measurement of plasma sigma-1 receptor concentration, blood plasma samples were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Western blots were performed using a specific antibody that acts against the sigma-1 receptor, and the net densities of each band were quantified.Results: All participants showed improvement in depressive symptoms, which was indicated by a significant decrease in the HAM-D scores. The mean plasma sigma-1 receptor concentration also increased significantly following antidepressant treatment. However, no significant correlations were found between changes in plasma sigma-1 receptor concentration and changes in HAM-D scores.Conclusion: In this preliminary study, we demonstrated that the sigma-1 receptor concentration in plasma increases following antidepressant treatment in patients with late-life MDD. Further studies are warranted to confirm this finding with a larger number of patients.Keywords: sigma-1 receptor, late-life depression, depressive symptoms, antidepressant treatment

We have shown previously that alpha-dystroglycan with a molecular mass of 120 kDa is a Schwann cell receptor of laminin-2, the endoneurial isoform of laminin comprised of the alpha2, beta1, and gamma1 chains. In this paper, we show that Schwann cell alpha-dystroglycan is also a receptor of agrin, an acetylcholine receptor-aggregating molecule having partial homology to laminin alpha chains in the C terminus. Immunochemical analysis demonstrates that the peripheral nerve isoform of agrin is a 400-kDa component of the endoneurial basal lamina and is co-localized with alpha-dystroglycan surrounding the outermost layer of myelin sheath of peripheral nerve fibers. Blot overlay analysis demonstrates that both endogenous peripheral nerve agrin and laminin-2 bind to Schwann cell alpha-dystroglycan. Recombinant C-terminal fragment of the peripheral nerve isoform of agrin also binds to Schwann cell alpha-dystroglycan, confirming that the binding site for Schwann cell alpha-dystroglycan resides in the C terminus of agrin molecule. Furthermore, the binding of recombinant agrin C-terminal fragment to Schwann cell alpha-dystroglycan competes with that of laminin-2. All together, these results indicate that alpha-dystroglycan is a dual receptor for agrin and laminin-2 in the Schwann cell membrane.

The absence of laminin alpha 2 chain causes muscle cell degeneration and peripheral dysmyelination in congenital muscular dystrophy patients and dy mice, suggesting its role in the maintenance of sarcolemmal architecture and peripheral myelinogenesis. Here we demonstrate the secretion of laminin alpha 2 chain in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Laminin alpha 2 chain was detected as a minor component of the total CSF proteins or glycoproteins. Laminin alpha 2 chain was localized in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells of choroid plexus, suggesting active secretion. Our results suggest that immunochemical analysis of CSF laminin alpha 2 chain could be useful as an aid for the diagnosis of congenital muscular dystrophy.

We have investigated the thermoelectric properties of clathrate samples with a nominal Ba8Ga16Si30 composition, prepared by combining arc melting and spark plasma sintering methods under different conditions. The carrier concentration of the samples greatly decreases from the order of 1021 cm−3 to 1020 cm−3 due to an increase in Ga content by changing the arc melting conditions. Consequently, the Seebeck coefficient increases and the thermal conductivity decreases while the electrical conductivity decreases. The effective mass, carrier mobility and lattice thermal conductivity are determined from an analysis using a single parabolic band model with alloy disorder and phonon scattering mechanisms. The thermoelectric figure of merit ZT significantly increases up to about 0.55 (900 K) for a carrier concentration of about 6×1020 cm−3 (RT). The simulation predicts that ZT can reach 0.8 (900 K) at the optimum carrier concentration (about 2×1020 cm−3) in the Ba8Ga16Si30 system.

91 Background: To present outcome and morbidity of high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for localized high risk prostate cancer. Methods: Between May 2005 and April 2009, 122 patients underwent Ir-192 HDR brachytherapy with EBRT and passed after HDR bachytherapy more than one year. The median follow-up was 46 months (range 2-76 months). All patients were high risk and localized prostate cancer. Median PSA was 40.2ng/ml (range 4.1-366ng/ml). Median Gleason Score was 8 (range 6-10). All patients were treated over six months neo-adjuvant hormonal therapy and over twenty-four months adjuvant hormonal therapy. Results: Only one patient had died of lung small cell carcinoma. 14 patients had revealed biochemical failure(BCF) by Phoenix definition. 5-year biochemical free rate was 78%. Clinical T3 group is significant worse than clinical T1-T2 group(5-y BCF 73% vs 81%, p Conclusions: HDR brachytherapy for localized high risk prostate cancer resulted in good outcomes and had comparatively minor toxicity. Clinical T3 patients was poor outcome than clinical T1-2.

GaP was grown on 2°- or 4°-misoriented Si substrates at 800 or 830 °C using metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. Single-domain GaP layers were obtained on the 4°-misoriented substrates at both temperatures. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that the GaP surface feature was perpendicular to the misorientation direction. A single-domain GaP layer was achieved on the 2°-misoriented substrate only at 800 °C. The GaP surface feature on the 2°-misoriented substrate rotated 90° with respect to that on the 4°-misoriented substrate, which indicates sublattice rotation. AFM revealed that domains elongating along the misorientation direction were found more in the initial growth stage on the 2°-misoriented substrate at 800 °C than on the 4°-misoriented substrate. The Si surface with double domains is responsible for the sublattice rotation. Transmission electron microscopy observation showed neither stacking faults nor threading dislocations in the GaP layer grown on the 2°-misoriented substrate at 800 °C.

The dystrophin-glycoprotein complex is a novel laminin receptor in skeletal muscle. Dystrophin-associated proteins are comprised of an extracellular glycoprotein of 156 kDa (156DAG), transmembrane glycoproteins of 50 kDa (50DAG), 43 kDa (43DAG) and 35 kDa (35DAG), and a cytoskeletal protein of 59 kDa (59DAP). The laminin-binding 156DAG and 43DAG are encoded by a single gene and are now called alpha- and beta-dystroglycan, respectively. In neuromuscular junctions, utrophin, an autosomal homologue of dystrophin, is associated with sarcolemmal proteins identical or immunologically homologous to the dystrophin-associated proteins. Here we demonstrate the co-localization of Dp116 (a 116 kDa protein product of the DMD gene), full-size utrophin, alpha- and beta-dystroglycan, 59DAP and 35DAG in a thin rim surrounding the outermost layer of myelin sheath of peripheral nerve fibers. The alpha-dystroglycan in peripheral nerve had molecular weight of 120 kDa instead of 156 kDa, suggesting different levels of glycosylation between skeletal muscle and peripheral nerve. In sharp contrast to skeletal muscle, however, full-size dystrophin and 50DAG were undetectable in peripheral nerve. Our results demonstrate the varied expression of the components of the dystrophin/utrophin-glycoprotein complex between skeletal muscle and peripheral nerve suggesting the complex may exist in varied compositions and have varied functions in these two tissues.

We developed a metastability-exchange optical pumping technique for metastable triplet helium ( 3 He) atoms utilizing the 2 3 S 1 -3 3 P J transition at 389 nm with radiation generated by a frequency-doubled cw Ti:Sapphire laser and compared the results with our results obtained utilizing the 2 3 S 1 -2 3 P J transition at 1083 nm with a diode laser. We optically measured the nuclear polarization of 3 He in the hollow cathode discharge cell by monitoring the absorption of a weak longitudinal probe laser at 1083 nm. This provided, for the first time, nuclear polarization utilizing the 2 3 S 1 -3 3 P J transition at 389 nm.

We present the experimental visualization of covalent bonding, positional disorders and split anion sites in visible-light responsive photocatalyst (Ga(0.885)Zn(0.115))(N(0.885)O(0.115)). ZnO alloying into GaN reduces the band gap, leading to the visible-light response. DFT calculations indicated no significant difference in band gap between structural models with and without split sites.

Fig. 2. (A) Multi-slice computed tomography images showed extravasation of the contrast media into themediastinumwith surrounding hematoma, not only in the mediastinum but also into the left lung tissue. (B) Three dimensional volume-rendering images from the computed tomography scan clearly demonstrated leakage of the contrast media at the bifurcation of the ductus arteriosus and lesser curvature of the aortic arch. At operation, rupture of ductus arteriosus at the bifurcated point from aorta without any ductal aneurysm was seen. Biopsy specimens did not show any evidence of inflammation and/or infection.

Sign-language comprehension activates the auditory cortex in deaf subjects. It is not known whether this functional plasticity in the temporal cortex is age dependent. We conducted functional magnetic-resonance imaging in six deaf signers who lost their hearing before the age of 2 years, five deaf signers who were >5 years of age at the time of hearing loss and six signers with normal hearing. The task was sentence comprehension in Japanese sign language. The sign-comprehension tasks activated the planum temporale of both early- and late-deaf subjects, but not that of hearing signers. In early-deaf subjects, the middle superior temporal sulcus was more prominently activated than in late-deaf subjects. As the middle superior temporal sulcus is known to respond selectively to human voices, our findings suggest that this subregion of the auditory-association cortex, when deprived of its proper input, might make a functional shift from human voice processing to visual processing in an age-dependent manner.

This paper describes a facile and general synthesis of a new class of the hybrid compounds (4, 5 and 16), possessing 5-deazapteridine and steroid in the same ring system, by condensation of 6-(monosubstituted amino)uracils (9) or 6-(monosubstituted amino)-2-phenylpyrimidin-4(3H)-ones (14) with 2-hydroxy-methyleneandrostanolone (10) or 2-hydroxymethylenetestosterone (15) under heating in the presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate and their potential unti-coccidiosis activities.