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A practical method for universal evaluation of the astringency of green tea infusion by a taste sensor system was established. The use of EGCg aqueous solution as a standard enabled analysis with high accuracy and reproducibility. The sensor output was converted into taste-intensity on the basis of Weber's and Weber-Fechner laws, which was named the "EIT(ast)" value ("EIT" and "ast" are abbreviations for "Estimated Intensity of Taste" and "astringency" respectively). It was clarified that green tea infusion is to be classified into eight grades on the EIT(ast) scale. Furthermore, the high correlation of the EIT(ast) value with the human gustatory sense and the high stability of the taste sensor were proved.

Background: The majority of lymphomas in the ocular adnexa are low-grade B-cell lymphomas of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma). Although radiotherapy is the most frequently applied management, cataract and dry eye are problematic complications., Patients and Methods: Between 1973 and 2003, the clinical features of 36 patients with ocular adnexal MALT lymphoma with no symptoms who were managed with no initial therapy after biopsy or surgical resection were retrospectively analyzed., Results: The median patient age was 63 years (range 22-84) and all patients had stage I disease, consisting of 31 unilateral cases and five bilateral cases. With a median follow-up of 7.1 years, 25 (69%) did not require treatment. The median time until the initiation of treatment in the remaining 11 patients (31%) was 4.8 years. Six patients (17%) died, and among them only two (6%) died due to progressive lymphoma. Seventeen patients (47%) progressed, but histologic transformation was recognized in only one (3%). The estimated overall survival rates of the 36 patients after 5, 10 and 15 years were 94%, 94% and 71%, respectively., Conclusions: In selected patients with ocular adnexal MALT lymphoma, no initial therapy might be an acceptable approach, because 70% of patients remained untreated at a median of 8.6 years, and their survival was comparable to that of reports on immediate therapy.

Background: Callose (beta-1,3 glucan) separates developing pollen grains, preventing their underlying walls (exine) from fusing. The pollen tubes that transport sperm to female gametes also contain callose, both in their walls as well as in the plugs that segment growing tubes. Mutations in CalS5, one of several Arabidopsis beta-1,3 glucan synthases, were previously shown to disrupt callose formation around developing microspores, causing aberrations in exine patterning, degeneration of developing microspores, and pollen sterility., Results: Here, we describe three additional cals5 alleles that similarly alter exine patterns, but instead produce fertile pollen. Moreover, one of these alleles (cals5-3) resulted in the formation of pollen tubes that lacked callose walls and plugs. In self-pollinated plants, these tubes led to successful fertilization, but they were at a slight disadvantage when competing with wild type., Conclusion: Contrary to a previous report, these results demonstrate that a structured exine layer is not required for pollen development, viability or fertility. In addition, despite the presence of callose-enriched walls and callose plugs in pollen tubes, the results presented here indicate that callose is not required for pollen tube functions.

The management and outcome were retrospectively investigated in patients with chronic renal failure receiving maintenance blood purification who suffered intracranial hemorrhage. Patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH, n = 36) or subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH, n = 5) were evaluated. Both groups were initially managed using continuous hemofiltration (HF) after admission, except for two patients with SAH receiving maintenance peritoneal dialysis. Patients with ICH were managed with HF three times a week after computed tomography showed decreased peripheral edema. Nafamostat mesilate was used as the anticoagulant for both continuous HF and HF. Hemodialysis (HD) three times a week was initiated after confirming the absence of neurological deterioration using HF. Craniotomy was not performed in any patient with ICH, but if necessary, the hematoma was aspirated using burr-hole surgery. Angiography was performed on the day of admission in patients with SAH. Delayed neck-clipping surgery was performed after continuous HF for 2 weeks with lumbar cerebrospinal fluid drainage. In patients with ICH, continuous HF was continued for 2-9 days after admission (mean 5.2 +/- 2.2 days), followed by 2-9 courses of HF (mean 4.7 +/- 2.1 courses). HD was initiated 9-26 days after admission (mean 15.5 +/- 4.6 days). Favorable outcomes were achieved by 13 of the 36 patients with ICH and two of the five patients with SAH, whereas 22 patients with ICH and three patients with SAH died. Death occurred in 12 of 16 patients with ICH and diabetic nephropathy. In contrast, 10 of 20 non-diabetic patients with ICH had favorable outcomes. Ten of the 16 patients with initial GCS < or = 8 and six of the 20 with GCS > or = 9 were diabetic. Therefore, there were significant differences between diabetic and non-diabetic patients (p = 0.05). Poor outcomes in diabetic patients with ICH are caused by primary brain damage, reflected in the initial disturbance of consciousness.

The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a powerful tool for imaging individual biological molecules attached to a substrate and placed in aqueous solution. At present, however, it is limited by the speed at which it can successively record highly resolved images. We sought to increase markedly the scan speed of the AFM, so that in the future it can be used to study the dynamic behavior of biomolecules. For this purpose, we have developed a high-speed scanner, free of resonant vibrations up to 60 kHz, small cantilevers with high resonance frequencies (450-650 kHz) and small spring constants (150-280 pN/nm), an objective-lens type of deflection detection device, and several electronic devices of wide bandwidth. Integration of these various devices has produced an AFM that can capture a 100 x 100 pixel(2) image within 80 ms and therefore can generate a movie consisting of many successive images (80-ms intervals) of a sample in aqueous solution. This is demonstrated by imaging myosin V molecules moving on mica (see http://www.s.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/phys/biophys/bmv&#95;movie.htm).

We studied by immunohistochemistry the distribution of differentiation-associated sodium-dependent inorganic phosphate (Pi) cotransporter (DNPI) in the rat forebrain, in comparison with brain-specific cotransporter (BNPI). DNPI-staining was principally seen in axonal synaptic terminals which showed a widespread but discrete pattern of distribution different from that of the BNPI-staining. In the diencephalon, marked DNPI-staining was seen in the dorsal lateral geniculate, medial geniculate, ventral posterolateral, ventral posteromedial, anterior, and reticular thalamic nuclei without the colocalization with BNPI-staining. DNPI-staining showed a strong mosaical pattern and overlapped well the BNPI-staining in the medial habenular nucleus. DNPI-staining was moderate over the hypothalamus and notably localized in neurosecretory terminals containing corticotropin-releasing hormone in the median eminence. In contrast, the BNPI-staining was region-related and strong in the ventromedial and mammillary nuclei. In the telencephalon, laminar DNPI-staining was seen over the neocortex, corresponding to the thalamocortical termination, and also found in the retrosplenial cortex and the striatum, with the highest intensity in the accumbens nucleus shell. The present results suggest that DNPI serves as a dominant Pi transport system in synaptic terminals of diencephalic neurons including thalamocortical and thalamostriatal pathways as well as the hypothalamic neuroendocrine system in the rat forebrain.

We have analyzed expression of a gene encoding a brain-specific Na(+)-dependent inorganic phosphate cotransporter (DNPI), which was recently cloned from human brain, in rat forebrain using in situ hybridization. The expression of DNPI mRNA showed a widespread but highly heterogeneous pattern of distribution in the forebrain, where hybridization signals were observed in neurons but not in any other types of cells. Neurons expressing the mRNA were far more numerous in the diencephalon than in the telencephalon. In the thalamus, a number of neurons with high levels of signals were localized to all nuclei of the dorsal thalamus, habenular nuclei and subthalamic nucleus, but not the reticular nucleus and zona incerta. Moderate signal levels were seen in many neurons throughout the hypothalamus, particularly the ventromedial, paraventricular, supraoptic and arcuate nuclei, lateral hypothalamic area and mammillary complex. In contrast, expression of DNPI mRNA in the telencephalon was generally at a low level and occurred locally in some restricted regions within the neocortex, retrosplenial cortex, piriform cortex, olfactory regions, hippocampal formation and medial amygdaloid nucleus. The present results suggest that DNPI functions in heterogeneous neuron populations as a neuron-specific Na(+)-dependent inorganic phosphate cotransport system predominantly expressed in the diencephalon of the rat.

An immortal nonhormone-producing cell line with a characteristic star-shaped morphology, named Tpit/F1, was derived from an anterior pituitary gland of a temperature-sensitive large T antigen transgenic mouse. To characterize Tpit/F1 cells, we performed cytological studies, which revealed that Tpit/F1 cells express the messenger RNAs of neruonal nitric oxide (NO) synthase, S-100 protein, basic fibroblast growth factor, and pituitary-restricted transcription factor. The Tpit/F1 cells response to pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide comprised the stimulated secretion of interleukin-6. Furthermore, glucocorticoids stimulate glutamine synthase production by Tpit/F1 cells. Considering these cytological characteristics together with their morphology, we deduced that Tpit/F1 cells are derived from pituitary folliculo-stellate (FS) cells. Our cytophysiological analyses of Tpit/F1 cells revealed that intracellular Ca2+ increased dose dependently on ATP administration (0-100 microM), and that this effect did not require the presence of extracellular Ca2+ and was not abolished by treatment with gadolinium, a Ca2+ channel blocker. The ATP-induced increase in intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) was completely abolished by treatment with the Ca2+-adenosine triphosphatase (Ca2+-ATPase) inhibitor thapsigargin, which suggests that ATP increases [Ca2+]i by mobilizing internally stored Ca2+ followed by an influx of Ca2+. Moreover, UTP was equipotent with ATP in causing the [Ca2+]i increase in Tpit/F1 cells. Also, the Ca2+ response was prevented by the phospholipase C inhibitor, U-73122, but not by its inactive analog, U-73343. From these results we therefore concluded that ATP acts on Tpit/F1 cells via P2Y2-purinoceptors. Interestingly, both neuronal nitric oxide synthase messenger RNA and NO secretion were increased by ATP administration (10 and 100 microM). These results suggest the biological significance of the topological colocalization of FS cells and endocrine cells. Namely, ATP is cosecreted with hormones from endocrine cells and stimulates NO production by FS cells, and the released NO may regulate neighboring endocrine cell and blood vessels.

Imipenem/cilastatin sodium (IPM/CS) was administered to a total of 67 patients with severe infections complicating hematological disorders and solid tumors. Fifty patients are included in the present analysis of efficacy and 64 in that of safety. 1. Out of 31 patients with hematological disorders, responses were excellent in 10 patients, good in 10 patients, and the efficacy rate was 64.5%. Out of 19 patients with solid tumors, responses were excellent in 8 patients, good in 8 patients and the efficacy rate was 84.2%. 2. For patients whose responses to other antibiotics had been poor, the efficacy rate was 59.3% in the group with hematological disorders and 62.5% in the group with solid tumors. 3. The relationship between the neutrophil count and efficacy was studied in the patients with hematological disorders. The efficacy rate for 8 patients whose neutrophil counts were 500/mm3 or less was 75.0%. 4. For the patients with hematological disorders, the efficacy rate for patients from whom causative organisms were isolated was 70.0% and that for patients for whom they were unknown was 61.9%. 5. Adverse reactions were observed in 3 patients and abnormal laboratory test results in 2 patients. However, they were mild and disappeared after discontinuation of this drug. From these results, IPM/CS is considered to be a useful antibiotic for the treatment of severe infections complicating hematological disorders and solid tumors.

The presence of white blood cells in semen has been associated with male infertility. Previous studies indicate that pyospermia occurs in conjunction with decreases in sperm motility, number of normal sperm forms, and penetration rates in the zona-free hamster egg sperm penetration assay. We have evaluated the relationship of seminal white blood cells and sperm function, as reflected in the zona-free hamster egg penetration assay, and have investigated the possible mode of action of the white cells. Egg penetration rates decreased when white blood cells from fertile or potentially fertile donors were added to their sperm suspensions prior to preincubation and at insemination in the in vitro assay. Zona-free hamster egg penetration assay results were also inhibited when the supernatant from white blood cells incubated in Biggers, Whitten, and Whittingham (BWW) medium overnight were introduced to sperm-oocyte suspensions at insemination. Conversely, egg penetration rates were enhanced in samples from hypofertile individuals when white blood cell concentrations in the semen or WBC/sperm ratios were reduced, either by physical removal or as a result of antibiotic therapy. The physical presence of leukocytes, and possibly, the extracellular release of lysosomal enzymes may be responsible for the inhibitory effects in vitro. Although the mechanism(s) by which white blood cells interfere with the fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa are not clear, it is quite obvious that their presence in the in vitro environment is undesirable and can mask an individual's actual fertilizing potential.