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Abstract Dopamine dysregulation syndrome (DDS) consists of a series of complications such as compulsive use of dopaminergic medications, aggressive or hypomanic behaviors during excessive use, and withdrawal states characterized by dysphoria and anxiety, caused by long-term dopaminergic treatment in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although several ways to manage DDS have been suggested, there has been no established treatment that can manage DDS without deterioration of motor symptoms. In this article, we present a case of PD in whom the administration of the dopamine D2 partial agonistic antipsychotic drug aripiprazole improved DDS symptoms such as craving and compulsive behavior without worsening of motor symptoms. Considering the profile of this drug as a partial agonist at D2 receptors, it is possible that it exerts its therapeutic effect on DDS by modulating the dysfunctional dopamine system.

The biomechanics of the rotational shot put technique have been demonstrated. However, the causal relationships among kinematics and kinetics for achieving higher release velocity remain poorly understood. This study investigated these causal relationships among biomechanical variables for achieving a higher release velocity in the rotational shot put technique. The study included 22 male shot putters whose 3-dimensional motion was captured during official competitions. Key kinematic and kinetic variables throughout the shot put motion were calculated, as suggested by previous studies. Path analysis was used to explore a hierarchical model that postulates both direct and indirect effects among variables. The findings revealed that the impulse of the shot, system angular momentum, and system linear momentum were critical kinetic variables contributing directly to release velocity. Additionally, 8 kinematic variables significantly affected the impulse of the shot, including shoulder rotation, shot path length, and trunk tilt, while movements such as swings and extensions of the lower extremities were related to system momentum. This model not only provides a detailed understanding of the mechanics involved in the rotational technique but also informs technical coaching strategies in the shot put.

Background: High-intensity sprint exercises (HIS) are central to sprinter training and require careful monitoring of athlete muscle fatigue to improve performance and prevent injury. While the countermovement jump (CMJ) may be used to monitor neuromuscular fatigue (NMF), little is known about the specific effects from HIS. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of HIS on the CMJ to assess its utility for assessing NMF following HIS., Methods: Ten male collegiate 400 m sprinters completed a 400 m sprint fatigue protocol and underwent five CMJ-testing sessions (baseline, 3 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour and 24 hours) over two days. Three CMJ trials, performed on a force plate, were completed each trial, with rating of perceived exertion (RPE) recorded as a subjective fatigue measure. Changes in RPE, CMJ variables, force-time and power-time curves at baseline and post fatigue were assessed., Results: Significant changes were observed in most variables following the fatigue protocol. In particular, concentric mean power remained significantly lower after 24 hours compared to baseline. In addition, the force-time curves exhibited a significant reduction in all conditions following the fatigue protocol. This decline was most pronounced within 50-75%of the concentric phase relative to baseline measurements. Conclusion. Results indicate that the CMJ may be a useful tool for monitoring fatigue in at least 400 m sprinters. These data also indicate that HIS may disproportionately reduce force output in during concentric movement. These insights may improve training prescriptions and injury prevention strategies for sprint athletes., Competing Interests: Takahiro Hasegawa is employed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency., (©2024 Hasegawa et al.)

Objective: Although pneumonia is the leading cause of death among patients with dementia, the specific underlying causes remain unclear. In particular, the potential connection between pneumonia risk and dementia-related daily living difficulties, such as oral hygiene practice and mobility impairment, and the use of physical restraint as a management practice, has not been extensively studied., Methods: In our retrospective study, we included 454 admissions corresponding to 336 individual patients with dementia who were admitted to a neuropsychiatric unit due to behavioral and psychological symptoms. The admissions were divided into two groups: those who developed pneumonia while hospitalized (n=62) and those who did not (n=392). We investigated differences between the two groups in terms of dementia etiology, dementia severity, physical conditions, medical complications, medication, dementia-related difficulties in daily living, and physical restraint. To control potential confounding variables, we used mixed effects logistic regression analysis to identify risk factors for pneumonia in this cohort., Results: Our study found that the development of pneumonia in patients with dementia was associated with poor oral hygiene, dysphagia, and loss of consciousness. Physical restraint and mobility impairment showed a weaker, nonsignificant association with the development of pneumonia., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that pneumonia in this population may be caused by two primary factors: increased pathogenic microorganisms in the oral cavity due to poor hygiene, and an inability to clear aspirated contents due to dysphagia and loss of consciousness. Further investigation is needed to clarify the relationship between physical restraint, mobility impairment, and pneumonia in this population., (Copyright © 2023 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This article addresses citizens' psychological health disparities in pandemic-stricken Japan from the perspective of positive psychology with a collective/political perspective. Our analysis of three internet surveys in 2020 and 2021 in Japan indicates most people's well-being declined continuously during this period, while some people's well-being increased. As previous studies of health inequality proved about physical health, the objective income/assets level has influenced psychological inequality. This paper demonstrated this relation in Japan, although it is often mentioned as an egalitarian country with comparatively better health conditions. Moreover, psychological levels and changes have been associated with biological, natural environmental, cultural, and social factors. Social factors include economic, societal-community, and political factors, such as income/assets, stratification, general trust, and fairness/justice. Accordingly, multi-dimensional disparities are related to psychological health disparity; tackling the disparities along the multi-layered strata is desirable. Furthermore, subjective perception of fairness/justice is significantly associated with the level of psychological health and mitigating its decrease. Thus, fairness and justice are found to be dynamic and protective factors against the decline of psychological health. While relatively little literature on health inequality analyzes fairness/justice philosophically, this paper highlights these together with income/assets by clarifying the significance of multi-dimensional factors: natural environmental, cultural, socioeconomic, and political.

Background: Although differential diagnosis between autoimmune encephalitis and schizophrenia spectrum disorders is crucial for a good outcome, the psychiatric symptoms that distinguish these two conditions have not been identified even though psychiatric symptoms are often the main manifestation of autoimmune encephalitis. Also, there are many situations in clinical psychiatry in which laboratory testing and imaging studies are not available. Because no comparative study of the psychiatric symptoms between these two conditions has been carried out, we explored diagnostically useful psychiatric symptoms in a retrospective case-control study., Methods: We recruited 187 inpatients with first-episode psychosis who were admitted to our psychiatric unit and categorized them into two groups: the autoimmune encephalitis group (n = 10) and the schizophrenia spectrum disorders group (n = 177). Differences in the symptoms and signs between the two groups were investigated., Results: Schneider's first-rank symptoms (e.g., verbal commenting hallucinations and delusional self-experience) were observed only in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders group, whereas altered perception was found more frequently in the autoimmune encephalitis group. Functional status was worse in the autoimmune encephalitis group, and neurological and neuropsychological signs were revealed almost exclusively in this group. A history of mental illness was more frequently reported in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders group than in the autoimmune encephalitis group., Conclusions: The psychiatric symptoms, i.e., Schneider's first-rank symptoms and altered perception, together with neurological and neuropsychological signs, functional status, and past history, may help clinicians accurately differentiate these two conditions among patients with first-episode psychosis., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The acute changes of running biomechanics in habitually shod children when running barefoot have been demonstrated. However, the long-term effects of barefoot running on sprinting biomechanics in children is not well understood., Research Question: How does four years of participation in a daily school barefoot running program influence sprint biomechanics and stretch-shortening cycle jump ability in children?, Methods: One hundred and one children from barefoot education school (age, 11.2 ± 0.7 years-old) and 93 children from a control school (age, 11.1 ± 0.7 years-old) performed 50 m maximal shod and barefoot sprints and counter movement jump and five repeated-rebound jumping. To analyse sprint kinematics, a high-speed camera (240 fps) was used. In addition, foot strike patterns were evaluated by using three high-speed cameras (300 fps). Jump heights for both jump types and the contact times for the rebound jump were measured using a contact mat system. Two-way mixed ANOVA was used to examine the effect of school factor (barefoot education school vs control school) and footwear factor (barefoot vs shod) on the sprinting biomechanics., Results: Sprinting biomechanics in barefoot education school children was characterised by significantly shorter contact times (p = 0.003) and longer flight times (p = 0.005) compared to control school children regardless of footwear condition. In shod sprinting, a greater proportion of barefoot education school children sprinted with a fore-foot or mid-foot strike compared to control school children (p < 0.001). Barefoot education school children also had a significantly higher rebound jump height (p = 0.002) and shorter contact time than control school children (p = 0.001)., Significance: The results suggest that school-based barefoot running programs may improve aspects of sprint biomechanics and develop the fast stretch-shortening cycle ability in children. In order to confirm this viewpoint, adequately powered randomised controlled trials should be conducted., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Tau deposits is a core feature of neurodegenerative disorder following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Despite ample evidence from post-mortem studies demonstrating exposure to both mild-repetitive and severe TBIs are linked to tau depositions, associations of topology of tau lesions with late-onset psychiatric symptoms due to TBI have not been explored. To address this issue, we assessed tau deposits in long-term survivors of TBI by PET with 11C-PBB3, and evaluated those associations with late-life neuropsychiatric outcomes. PET data were acquired from 27 subjects in the chronic stage following mild-repetitive or severe TBI and 15 healthy control subjects. Among the TBI patients, 14 were diagnosed as having late-onset symptoms based on the criteria of traumatic encephalopathy syndrome. For quantification of tau burden in TBI brains, we calculated 11C-PBB3 binding capacity (cm3), which is a summed voxel value of binding potentials (BP*ND) multiplied by voxel volume. Main outcomes of the present study were differences in 11C-PBB3 binding capacity between groups, and the association of regional 11C-PBB3 binding capacity with neuropsychiatric symptoms. To confirm 11C-PBB3 binding to tau deposits in TBI brains, we conducted in vitro PBB3 fluorescence and phospho-tau antibody immunofluorescence labelling of brain sections of chronic traumatic encephalopathy obtained from the Brain Bank. Our results showed that patients with TBI had higher 11C-PBB3 binding capacities in the neocortical grey and white matter segments than healthy control subjects. Furthermore, TBI patients with traumatic encephalopathy syndrome showed higher 11C-PBB3 binding capacity in the white matter segment than those without traumatic encephalopathy syndrome, and regional assessments revealed that subgroup difference was also significant in the frontal white matter. 11C-PBB3 binding capacity in the white matter segment correlated with the severity of psychosis. In vitro assays demonstrated PBB3-positive tau inclusions at the depth of neocortical sulci, confirming 11C-PBB3 binding to tau lesions. In conclusion, increased 11C-PBB3 binding capacity is associated with late-onset neuropsychiatric symptoms following TBI, and a close correlation was found between psychosis and 11C-PBB3 binding capacity in the white matter., (© The Author(s) (2019). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Most patients with N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis initially present with psychiatric symptoms. Although a delayed diagnosis may lead to a poor outcome, psychiatric symptoms that could differentiate anti-NMDAR encephalitis from other psychoses have not been fully investigated. We evaluated two patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis who were observed by psychiatrists from onset throughout the course of disease. Both patients exhibited disorientation, memory deficits, perceptual disturbances, hallucinations, and mood liability. Among those, altered perceptions were most prominent - in particular, altered time perceptions without disorganization syndrome. The information obtained for these patients may help clinicians differentiate anti-NMDAR encephalitis from other psychoses, e.g., schizophrenia.

Background: Anecdotally, a wide variety of benefits of barefoot running have been advocated by numerous individuals. The influence of the alterations in the properties of the shoe on the running movement has been demonstrated in adults at submaximal jogging speeds. However, the biomechanical differences between shod and barefoot running in children at sprinting speeds and the potential developmental implications of these differences are still less examined. The purpose was to determine the potential differences in habitually shod children's sprint kinematics between shod and barefoot conditions., Methods: Ninety-four children (51 boys and 43 girls; 6-12 years-old; height, 135.0 ± 0.12 m; body mass, 29.0 ± 6.9 kg) performed 30 m maximal sprints from standing position for each of two conditions (shod and barefoot). To analyze sprint kinematics within sagittal plane sprint kinematics, a high-speed camera (300 fps) was set perpendicular to the runway. In addition, sagittal foot landing and take-off images were recorded for multiple angles by using five high-speed cameras (300 fps). Spatio-temporal variables, the kinematics of the right leg (support leg) and the left leg (recovery leg), and foot strike patterns: rear-foot strike (RFS), mid-foot strike (MFS), and fore-foot strike (FFS) were investigated. The paired t -test was used to test difference between shod and barefoot condition., Results: Barefoot sprinting in habitually shod children was mainly characterized by significantly lower sprint speed, higher step frequency, shorter step length and stance time. In shod running, 82% of children showed RFS, whereas it decreased to 29% in barefoot condition. The touch down state and the subsequent joint movements of both support and recovery legs during stance phase were significantly altered when running in condition with barefoot., Discussion: The acute effects of barefoot sprinting was demonstrated by significantly slower sprinting speeds that appear to reflect changes in a variety of spatiotemporal parameters as well as lower limb kinematics. It is currently unknown whether such differences would be observed in children who typically run in bare feet and what developmental benefits and risks may emerge from increasing the proportion of barefoot running and sprinting in children. Future research should therefore investigate potential benefits that barefoot sprinting may have on the development of key physical fitness such as nerve conduction velocity, muscular speed, power, and sprinting technique and on ways to minimize the risk of any acute or chronic injuries associated with this activity., Competing Interests: Justin W.L. Keogh is an Academic Editor for PeerJ.

Objective: The aim of this post hoc analysis was to evaluate which specific depressive items could predict subsequent durable recovery in patients with bipolar depression., Methods: The study population was at least 18 years old and met DSM-IV criteria for a major depressive episode associated with either bipolar I or II disorder. The data were derived from the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD), in which patients with bipolar depression were randomly assigned to treatment for acute depression with a mood stabilizer plus an adjunctive antidepressant drug or placebo. The primary and secondary outcomes were durable recovery (ie, 8 consecutive weeks of euthymia) and treatment-emergent affective switch (ie, transition to mania or hypomania), respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify specific symptoms whose improvement during the first 2 weeks predicted those outcomes; the score change of each individual symptom in the continuous symptom subscales for depression (SUM-D) from week 0 to week 2 was used as an independent variable., Results: In the evaluable 188 participants who took placebo and active drugs, the improvement in loss of self-esteem (P = .037) or loss of energy (P = .040) at week 2 was significantly associated with higher chances of subsequent durable recovery. For participants taking active drugs (n = 91), solely the improvement in loss of energy at week 2 was significantly associated with subsequent durable recovery (P = .027). There was a significant association between the improvement of psychomotor retardation at week 2 and subsequent affective switch (P = .008)., Conclusions: These findings imply that focusing on individual symptoms is important in bipolar depression, rather than relying solely on a summed score in rating scales., Trial Registration: The original STEP-BD dataset is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT00012558)., (© Copyright 2017 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.)

When mixed solvent solutions, such as ternary water-hydrophilic/hydrophobic organic solvents, water-surfactant, and water-ionic liquid, are delivered into a microspace under laminar flow conditions, the solvent molecules radially distribute in the microspace, generating inner and outer phases. This specific fluidic behavior is termed "tube radial distribution phenomenon", and has been used in separation technologies such as chromatography and extraction. The factors influencing the configuration of the inner and outer phases in "tube radial distribution phenomenon" using the above-mentioned mixed solvent solutions were considered from the viewpoint of viscous dissipation in fluidic flows. When the difference in the viscosity between the two phases was large (approximately >0.73 mPa·s), the phase with the higher viscosity formed as an inner phase regardless of the volume ratio. The distribution pattern of the solvents was supported by the viscous dissipation principle. Contrarily, when the difference was small (approximately <0.49 mPa·s), the phase with the larger volume formed as the inner phase. The distribution pattern of the solvents did not always correspond to the viscous dissipation principle. The current findings are expected to be useful in analytical science including microflow analysis research.

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether an adjunct antidepressant therapy at a higher dose to a mood stabilizer would make a difference in the treatment of bipolar depression. This is a post-hoc analysis of the data from the randomized treatment for acute depression of the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD), in which patients with bipolar depression were randomly assigned to treatment with a mood stabilizer plus adjunctive antidepressant drugs or placebo. According to the highest dose received in the course of treatment, the subjects were divided into one of the following three groups: high-dose, low-dose and placebo groups. The primary and secondary outcomes were durable recovery (which was operationally defined as eight consecutive weeks with

The driving mechanism and the swirl direction of the bathtub vortex are investigated by the linear stability analysis of the no-vortex flow as well as numerical simulations. We find that only systems having plane symmetries with respect to vertical planes deserve research for the swirl direction. The bathtub vortex appearing in a vessel with a rectangular cross section having a drain hole at the center of the bottom is proved to be induced by instability when the flow rate exceeds a threshold. The Coriolis force is capable of determining the swirl direction to be cyclonic.

When mixed solvent solutions, such as ternary water-hydrophilic/hydrophobic organic solvents, water-surfactant, water-ionic liquid, and fluorous-organic solvents are delivered into a microspace under laminar flow conditions, the solvent molecules are radially distributed in the microspace, generating inner and outer phases. This specific fluidic behavior is termed "tube radial distribution phenomenon" (TRDP). In this study, the factors influencing the formation of inner and outer phases in the TRDP using the above-mentioned mixed solvent solutions were investigated. We examined phase diagrams, viscosities of the two phases (upper and lower phases in a batch vessel), volume ratios of the phases, and bright-light or fluorescence photographs of the TRDP. When the difference in viscosities between the two phases was large (> approximately 0.73 mPa·s), the phase with the larger viscosity formed an inner phase regardless of the volume ratios, whereas when the difference was small (< approximately 0.42 mPa·s), the phase with the larger volume formed an inner phase. The TRDP using a water-surfactant mixed solution was also investigated in capillary chromatography based on TRDP.

Background: The dominant diagnostic model of the classification of depression today is unitarian; however, since Kurt Schneider (1920) introduced the concept of endogenous depression and reactive depression, the binary model has still often been used on a clinical basis. Notwithstanding this, to our knowledge, there have been no collective data on how psychiatrists differentiate these two conditions. We therefore conducted a survey to examine how psychiatrists in Japan differentiate patients with major depressive disorder who present mainly with melancholic features and those with reactive features., Methods: Three case scenarios of melancholic and reactive depression, and one-in-between were prepared. These cases were designed to present with at least 5 symptoms listed in the DSM-IV-TR with severity being mild. We have sent the questionnaires regarding treatment options and diagnosis for those three cases on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = "not appropriate", 4 = "cannot tell", and 7 = "appropriate"). Five hundred and two psychiatrists from over one hundred hospitals and community clinics throughout Japan have participated in this survey., Results: The melancholic case resulted significantly higher than the reactive case on either antidepressants (mean ± SD: 5.9 ± 1.2 vs. 3.6 ± 1.7, p < 0.001), hypnotics (mean ± SD: 5.5 ± 1.1 vs. 5.0 ± 1.3, p < 0.001), and electroconvulsive therapy (mean ± SD: 1.5 ± 0.9 vs. 1.2 ± 0.6, p < 0.001). On the other hand, the reactive case resulted in significantly higher scores compared to the melancholic case and the one- in-between cases in regards to psychotherapy (mean ± SD: 4.9 ± 1.4 vs. 4.3 ± 1.4 vs. 4.7 ± 1.5, p < 0.001, respectively). Scores for informing patients that they suffered from "depression" were significantly higher in the melancholic case, compared to the reactive case (mean ± SD: 4.7 ± 1.7 vs. 2.2 ± 1.4, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Japanese psychiatrists distinguish between major depressive disorder with melancholic and reactive features, and thus choose different treatment strategies regarding pharmacological treatment and psychotherapy.

Reports have described how psychiatric patients respond to disasters. However, previous reports on the response depending on diagnostic categories have provided no clear consensus. Here we analyzed response to the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, among psychiatric patients in light of severity of pre-existing psychiatric illness. We studied psychiatric change among a population of psychiatric outpatients in Tochigi prefecture, located ~160 km (~100 miles) southeast of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, in an area that suffered moderate damage from the earthquake and radiation. A total of 294 psychiatric outpatients was assessed using the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF-F). A change of ≥10 points in the GAF-F score was counted as a change in symptoms. The data were stratified by disease category, gender, and GAF-F score and analyzed using the Fisher's exact test. In the 2 months after the earthquake, 5.4% of patients showed evidence of a change in symptoms, with 4.1% worsening and 1.4% improving. Compared with patients having a GAF-F score ≤50, significantly more patients with a score >50 showed evidence of worsening symptoms. No significant difference was found with respect to gender or diagnostic category for patients with worsened or improved symptoms. Our findings reveal that a relatively small percent of patients with pre-existing psychiatric diseases showed evidence of a change in symptoms and that patients with mild-to-moderate psychiatric illness are potentially vulnerable to the impacts of a natural disaster., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The mechanism of sustained oscillation in the flow past a circular cylinder is investigated numerically, in which impulsive force is given at a certain point in the flow and subsequent spatiotemporal development of induced disturbance is observed. The impulsive force generates an intense localized disturbance at the point of forcing, which is transmitted immediately up to a region just behind the cylinder, and there it yields an transient and eigen modes of disturbance having a packet form. Extending the conventional notions of convective and absolute modes of instability established on the parallel flow approximation to nonparallel flows, we define "passive" and "active" modes of instability, respectively, and evaluate the growth rate of each mode. It was found that the entire flow field is stable to active mode below the critical Reynolds number for the global instability though some extent of the flow behind the cylinder is unstable to passive mode, while the flow becomes unstable to active mode everywhere simultaneously when the Reynolds number exceeds the critical value. The numerical analysis brought us a conclusion that the oscillation is sustained by superiority of the growth of disturbance due to instability over the decrease due to advection of the packet.

Desmoplastic trichoepithelioma is a rare tumor that usually exhibits the distinct clinical features of a solitary granuloma annulare-like growth on the face. We experienced two cases of desmoplastic trichoepithelioma, one of which showed unusual clinical features and the other of which was a typical case. The first case was a 20-year-old female who presented with a five year history of a solitary yellowish nodule, 5 mm in diameter, centrally between the eyebrows. There was no central dimple or elevated border. The other case was a 40-year-old female who presented with a ten year history of a solitary nodule, 6 mm in diameter on her left cheek. The latter lesion had a typical depressed area in the center of the nodule with elevated borders and could be clinically diagnosed as desmoplastic trichoepithelioma. The histopathological examination revealed that both of them were desmoplastic trichoepithelioma. Histopathological comparison of the two specimens suggested that the clinical dimple in the center of the first tumor might be the result of stromal dystrophic changes induced by the tumor.

A 59-year-old Japanese woman showed recurrent violaceous, indurated erythemas and papules on the buttocks and extremities for a period of 7 years. The lesions showed histologically epithelioid cell granulomas associated with lymphocytes. After 7 years, the patient developed adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), of the acute type, the course of which was fatal. Immunohistochemical staining of the skin sections of granulomatous lesions showed prominent infiltration of CD25-positive cells. Human T-lymphotropic virus type I proviral DNA and monoclonal T-cell receptor beta gene rearrangement were detected in the skin samples by a retrospectively performed gene analysis. We believe that the patient initially had an unusual cutaneous type of ATL in which granulomas occurred as a host-protective response against ATL progression., (Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel)

BACKGROUND/AIM: Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of nitroxide spin probes are useful for studying biological membranes, and chemical-membrane interaction. The objective of this study was to assess the fluidity of stripped stratum corneum (SC) of normal human skin with EPR. METHODS: We quantified the fluidity of stripped SC (S-SC) by a single stripping with cyanoacrylate onto quartz glass, cover glass or transparent film. Spectra were compared with those of the SC of cadaver skin (C-SC). RESULTS: All S-SC spectra were similar to those of C-SC. There were no statistical differences in the order parameters S between C-SC and those on quartz cell and cover glass, but those of transparent film were significantly higher. Spectra after a month storage at room temperature at 5 degrees C and at -20 degrees C were unchanged. The order parameter S had decreased after a 3-month storage in all conditions. CONCLUSION: This method is useful for the evaluation of the fluidity measurement utilizing EPR spectra of S-SC.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of nitroxide spin probes have been used for studying biological membranes and chemical-membrane interaction. We have investigated the influence of surfactants on the intercellular lipid structure of cadaver stratum corneum and the possibility of EPR spectral measurements on the stripped stratum corneum utilizing cyanoacrylate resin, which might reflect the actual skin lipid conditions. CONCLUSION: EPR spectra are useful in evaluating the fluidity measurement of stratum corneum of cadaver skin and stripped stratum corneum.

Two types of mitochondrial creatine kinase (Mi-CK), sarcomeric (sMi-) and ubiquitous (uMi-)CKs, were isolated from normal human cardiac muscle and brain tissue, respectively, and their heterogeneity was characterized by means of isoelectric focusing (IEF). Octameric sMi-CK and uMi-CK were electrophoresed cathodic to cytoplasmic muscle-type creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MM) and dimeric Mi-CKs were found at the position of CK-MM on a cellulose acetate membrane. The electrophoretic mobilities of sMi-CK were similar to those of uMi-CK. Octameric sMi-CK was focused at pI 7.1-8.0 and dimeric forms at pI 6.55, 6.75, 6.85, and 6.95. New bands appearing at pI 6.65 and 6.75 after treatment of sMi-CK with carboxypeptidase B were found to be delysined forms. sMi-CK reacted with anti-sMi-CK antibodies, and the immune complexes were focused at pI 5.8. The Km value of sMi-CK for creatine phosphate (PCr) was 1.19 +/-0.20 mmol/L (mean +/- standard error), the activation energy (Ea) was 108.3+/-1.2 kJ/ mol, and the residual enzyme activity after heating at 45 degrees C for 20 min was 79.6+/-1.9%. On the other hand, octameric uMi-CK was focused at pI 7.1-7.9 and the dimeric forms were focused at pI 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, and 7.0. Delysined forms were focused around pI 6.3, 6.4, 6.8, and 6.9. uMi-CK reacted with anti-sMi-CK antibodies, and the immune complexes were focused at pI 5.8. The Km value of uMi-CK for PCr was 1.07+/-0.03 mmol/L, Ea of uMi-CK was 110.0+/-0.9 kJ/mol, and the residual enzyme activity after heating at 45 degrees C for 20 min was 90.3+/-0.4%. The sMi-CK and uMi-CK were hybridized and the hybrid Mi-CK appeared at pI 6.78, 6.98, and 7.1-7.95. The pIs of the hybrid Mi-CK were between those of sMi-CK and uMi-CK. As described above, sMi-CK and uMi-CK were slightly different from each other with respect to the pI and some enzyme characteristics.

A 68-year-old woman developed large subcutaneous masses on her abdomen and thighs after a bruise sustained in a traffic accident. She had severe pain when sitting up straight. Histological examination revealed calcified tissues in the entire dermis of the injured areas. On electron microscopy, crystalline materials were observed in the dermis, which seemed to be formed by the deposition of hydroxyapatite on unusual proteoglycan. In a vessel wall, a thick, layered basement membrane was observed. This suggests that vascular injury and subsequent hypoxia play a role in the process of calcinosis. We performed a partial resection with good results in alleviating the patient's pain.

The aim of the present study was to find the cause of inter-laboratory differences in laboratory test data and to examine whether control assessment helps to reduce inter-laboratory differences. Blood and serum samples of one healthy subject and one subject with liver cirrhosis were analyzed by 11 laboratories in the Okayama City area. No differences were found in the assay units of 26 tests surveyed. However, considerable differences were observed in test data, reference interval, and clinical level (CL), though most laboratories pointed out that the test data for the normal subject was within the reference intervals and those for the patient with liver cirrhosis showed abnormalities in tests for liver function. The difference in reference intervals was serious in the tests of direct bilirubin (D-Bil), thymol turbidity test (TTT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGTP) and choline sterase. Marked differences in CLs were found in the tests of D-Bil, TTT, ALP, GGTP, creatine phosphokinase, amylase, heavy density lipoprotein cholesterol and white blood cell count. However, three hepatologists independently suggested that such inter-laboratory differences would not seriously affect a clinical decision on the disease status of the cirrhotic patient. Most tests that showed a trend error in a recent quality control survey appeared to have the same trend in the present study. These results indicate that inter-laboratory differences occur at various levels and control assessment are helpful in establishing, and therefore reducing, the level of inter-laboratory differences.

A gene encoding Xenopus laevis eIF-4E was cloned into a transfer vector, and its gene expression was attempted in cells of E. coli, yeast and insect. Effective expression of the active eIF-4E was achieved in the soluble fraction of the insect cell Sf9, which was infected with the recombinant baculovirus. Overexpression of the eIF-4E protein caused remarkable change in the shape of the cells.