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Background Skin rash often occurs upon oral administration of amoxicillin in children, due to non-immediate hypersensitivity. However, information on delayed hypersensitivity to amoxicillin is scarce. Moreover, the appropriate diagnostic method and actual diagnostic rate of delayed hypersensitivity to amoxicillin among Japanese children are unclear. We conducted intradermal tests (IDTs) and drug provocation tests (DPTs) and retrospectively investigated the proportion of children with a definitive diagnosis of non-immediate hypersensitivity to amoxicillin. We then evaluated the characteristics of patients with a positive allergic workup. Methods We enrolled children referred for suspected findings of mild or moderate non-immediate hypersensitivity to amoxicillin between August 2018 and March 2020. If the IDT in the delayed phase was negative, DPT with amoxicillin (60–90 mg/kg/day) was performed for 7 days. Non-immediate hypersensitivity to amoxicillin was defined when IDT or DPT was positive. We evaluated the potential of the drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test (DLST) to reveal hypersensitivity to amoxicillin. Results This study enrolled 27 children. Fourteen children (52%) had hypersensitivity to amoxicillin, of whom 12 had positive IDTs and two had positive DPTs. No differences in age, sex, history of allergic disease, days from oral use to symptom onset, type of rash at symptom onset, generalized rash, and DLST results were observed between the hypersensitivity and non-hypersensitivity groups. Conclusions Examination should be performed for children with mild or moderate reactions because positive cases have no significant features and half of the suspected cases are negative.

Trans fatty acids (TFA) are considered risk factors for cardiovascular disease. However, detailed information on total content of TFA and TFA isomers and distribution of trans-octadecenoic acid positional isomers in foods consumed in Japan is not available till date. In this study, 250 foods, 169 processed foods and 81 foods derived from ruminant meat or milk, were analyzed. According to the results, most foods contained less than 1.0 g TFA / 100 g food. However, almost all foods containing butter had more than 1.0 g TFA / 100 g food. TFA isomers in foods were classified into two categories, monoene-rich type and polyenerich type. We hypothesized that these differences were attributed to diverse TFA formation mechanisms. Furthermore, we observed that trans-10-18:1 was also the dominant trans-18:1 positional isomer in foods consumed in Japan. These results are valuable for future analysis of the role of TFA in epidemiological studies in Japan.

The case of a 34-year-old man with tuberculous otitis media is reported. He presented with a first chief complaint of deafness in the left ear. A simple central perforation without transdate and without granulation tissue was noted. A tympanoplasty was carried out under the diagnosis of simple otitis media, and it revealed that the cavity from the attic to the mastoid antrum was occupied by a mass of granulation tissue. Since this characteristic finding was found during surgery, tuberculous otitis media was strongly suspected. A tuberculin test, a smear test of the bacterial specimen of the ear transdate and a histopathological examination of the granulation tissue by Zeel-Neelsen stain yielded negative results. However acid fast bacilli were cultured from the sputa and aural discharge. Pulmonary tuberculosis with tuberculous otitis media was finally diagnosed and the patient was treated with adequate antituberculous medication. Most of the tuberculous examination showed negative results in the patient. The only one positive finding was the granulation tissue in the middle ear cavity, which was detected by surgery. It is necessary to repeated lyexamine the ear, and to keep in mind tuberculous otitis media if massive granulation tissue is detected in the middle ear cavity during surgery.

A 73-year-old man visited our hospital complaining of a headache, mild visual disturbance in the left eye, left oculomotor palsy and abducens palsy. X-ray, CT and MRI examinations suggested posterior paranasal sinusitis or a tumor, probably in the sphenoid sinusitis. Either a cystic change or bone defect was detected. We opened the left sphenoid sinus through the maxillary and ethmoid sinuses. No tumor was found. In the sphenoid sinus, there was mucosal thickening with pus. All ocular complications except for abducens palsy disappeared within a few day after the operation. It was concluded that sphenoid sinusitis without mucocele caused the ophthalmological complications.

Acetylcholine is said to be involved in the neuronal transmission of photic information in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The purpose of this study was to specify what subtypes of acetylcholine receptors play a major role using in vivo system and to examine the interaction of acetylcholine and excitatory amino acid receptors. To evaluate the effect of a selective agonist or antagonist for the nicotinic or muscarinic receptor on the neuronal transmission in the SCNT, N -acetyltransferase (NAT) activity in the pineal gland was measured after microinjection at this site. In the case of pretreatment with an antagonist, light stimulation was given after 20 min. Carbamilcholine chloride (carbachol) mimicked and only α-bungarotoxin (α-BTX) blocked the light effect; however, more selective agonists or antagonists were not effective. As for the interaction of these two cholinergic agents with an agonist or antagonist for N- methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) receptor, α-BTX or d -2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate ( d -APV) significantly blocked the suppressive effect of NMDA or carbachol, respectively. These data suggest that classical acetylcholine receptors do not play a direct role in neuronal transmission of photic information in the SCN in rats.

In order to clarify the neuronal transmission mechanism of photic stimulation in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the effects of agonists and antagonists for excitatory amino acid receptors on N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity in the pineal gland were observed following the microinjection of drugs into both sides of the nuclei. N- Methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA), α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate, and kainate (which are selective agonists for three different subtypes, i.e. NMDA, quisqualate and kainate receptors, respectively) significantly decreased NAT activity similarly to the suppressive effect of light. Moreover, compared with a control group, all the groups pretreated with a selective competitive antagonist for NMDA receptor ( d -2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate or 3-((±)-2-carboxypiperazine-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonate), or a selective non-competitive antagonist for non-NMDA receptors (Joro spider toxin-3 or 1-naphthylacetyl spermine) partially blocked the suppressive effect of photic stimulation on NAT activity. These results suggest that NMDA, quisqualate and kainate receptors are all involved in mediating photic stimulation in the SCN.

Acid phosphatase was extracted and partially purified from plasmodia of Physarum polycephalum KH 25. The enzyme was assayed by its ability to transfer the phosphate group from p-nitrophenyl-phosphate (pNPP) to n-butanol. It was suggested that the mechanism of transphosphorylation was the double displacement(replacement)mechanism.

Katoh, Y., Y. Takeuchi, K. Yamazaki and K. Takahashi. Effect of maternal deprivation on N-acetyltransferase activity rhythm in blinded rat pups. Physiol Behav 63(4) 529–535, 1998. It has been reported that the rhythms of infant rats synchronize with the mother’s rhythm until the light–dark cycle comes and has strong effects on their endogenous clocks. We found that periodic maternal deprivation (PMD) was able to cause a phase shift of serotonin N-acetyltransferase (NAT) in neonatal blinded rat pups. PMD in which contact with the mother was allowed for only 4 h caused a phase shift of NAT rhythm, irrespective of the timing of contact with the mother in a day. Acute single mother deprivation caused an excess of NAT activity for more hours than usual and contact with the mother prevented such an excessive response. Mother deprivation may act as a cold stress, since artificial warming of pups gave the same results as contact with the mother. When the pups were artificially warmed by a heater during a 1-week deprivation period, a flat 24-h pattern of NAT was observed. The mechanism causing a phase shift of NAT activity rhythm of rat pups may be complicated.