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From these findings, we confirmed that the tongue-like process formations of the cells which are still believed as the platelets formation by many investigators, would be nothing but the presentation of the cell degeneration and platelets are separated only from the tips of tentacles.

From the histochemical studies of succinic dehydrogenase on the striated muscle of the fish, frog, bird and mammal, the following results were obtained. (1) The red muscle fiber shows a higher succinic dehydrogenase activity, while the white muscle fiber a lower activity. The third type of muscle fiber "medium fiber", which is intermediate in the succinic dehydrogenase activity between the red and white muscle fiber, is observed practically in all of the striated muscle of mammals. (2) There is a good parallelism between succinic dehydrogenase activity and stainability to Sudan black B among the three types of muscle fibers. (3) From the nature of the constituent fibers, muscles can be divided into three groups, i. e., gastrocnemius type, soleus type and diaphragma type. (4) Those belonging to the gastrocnemius type are composed of three types of fibers, i. e., those of large size, low in activity of succinic dehydrogenase reaction and low in sudanophilicity; those of small size, high in enzymatic activity and in sudanophilicity; and those of medium size, moderate in enzymaticactivity and in sudanophilicity. (5) Those belonging to the soleus type, are composed of fibers almost equal in size which can be divided into two by the enzymatic activity and sudanophilicity, excepting the few with low enzymatic activity. (6) Those belonging to diaphragma type, are composed of three kinds of fibers showing different enzymatic activity as in the case of gastrocnemius type, but there is no correlation between the size and the enzymatic activity and sudanophilicity differing from the latter. (7) The difference in succinic dehydrogenase reaction as demonstrated among three types of fibers is due to the difference in number or in activity of mitochondria. (8) The pigeon breast muscle is composed mostly of red muscle fibers, and a few white muscle fibers, while the sparrow breast muscle is composed only of red muscle fibers. (9) The bloody colored muscle of the fish corresponds to the red muscle of the mammals. The white muscle of the fish is composed of three types of fibers. (10) The frog muscle is cmposed of three types of fibers.

In an attempt to pursue the relationship of the fine structure of a cell to the biochemical function, the author at first tried to demonstrate cytochemically the actual sites of activity of enzymes in the terminal electron transport system involved in energy production with the use of the electron microscope. Namely, cytochemical reactions were performed by using potassium tellurite, a heavy metal salt, and then the author succeeded in the electron microscopic detection of the enzymes by freezing-drying method and by means of formalin fixation, strong reducing agents and osmium tetroxide fixation. As the results the author has been able to verify that the reactions of the enzymes belonging to the terminal electron transport system are found localizing in the mitochondria being arranged fairly densely and continuously on the critae and partially on the membrane, although some differences in the grade of the activity are found in each mitochondria even in one cell and a marked difference between the mitocndria belonging to the different kinds of cells. Furthermore, it has been clarified that the activity of the endogenous dehydrogenase system (mainly DPNH- or TPNH-dehydrogenase and others) is chiefly strong in cristae, and that the succinoxidase system exists both in cristae and membrane.

With a view to study the blood vessel construction in cervical cancer the author prepared the reconstruction models and the results to be described below were obtained by three-dimensional observations carried on the models. 1. The arteries in the surrounding tissues of cancer are markedly proliferated, and in the surrounding tissues they present the formation of blood-vessel bands. 2. The spiral formation or corkscrew-like formation presented by blood vessels in the bands in the surrounding tissues of cancer seems to be the characteristic of arteries. 3. As for the direction of flow of arteries in the tissues surrounding cancer, the arteries in the normal case generally run slanting towards the surface of the cervix in the direction of the periphery, but the arteries in the surrounding tissues of cancer run towards the cancer tissue. 4. Apart from mother blood vessels, the blood vessels in the cancer tissue all present an imperfect capillary·like construction and there is none that possesses the normal arterial or venous con struction. Some part is dilatated and other part is narrow, suggesting an imcomplete blood supply. The direction of the flow is also irregular. Mother blood vessels grow rapidly large once they are taken into the cancer tissue. 5. All blood vessels other than the mother vessels reveal an imperfect capillary-like coustruction in the cancer tissue, and in places the walls of these blood. vessels are indistinct; and consequently it is but natural that they bleed so easily.

In order to determine the steps with which the reaction of neotetrazolium chloride reduction conjugates in the terminal electron transport system, an analytical study on the neotetrazolium reduction by tissue homogenates was carried out using various substrates such as sodium succinate, p-phenylenediamine, sodium malate, sodium α-glutamate and DPN, and inhibitors such as sodium malonate, potassium cyanide and antimycin A, as the results the following conclusions were drawn. 1. The reaction of neotetrazolium reduction by tissue homogenate using sodium succinate as substrate is mainly the succinoxidase system reaction; and the reaction takes place conjugating about 50 per cent in the step of the succinic dehydrogenase system (succinic dehydrogease, cytochrome b and cytochrome C1), of these about 15 per cent conjugates in the step prior to the antimycin A sensitive step and 35 per cent in the step itself; and about 50 per cent in the step of cytochrome c oxidase. 2. In the case using p-phenylenediamine as substrate the reaction of neotetrazolium reduction is the reaction due to the activity of cytochrome c-cytochrome oxidase system; and when p-phenylenediamine is used with the sufficient amount of cytochrome c, the reaction appears to be dependent on cytochrome c oxidase activity. Neotetrazolium reduction in all these reactions takes place conjugating in the step of cytochrome c oxidase. 3. In the case where DPN and substrates taking DPN as a coenzyme are used, the reaction of neotetrazolium reduction is mainly the reaction conjugating at the step below antimycin A sensitive step in the DPNHcytochrome c reductase system (flavoprotein, cytochrome b and cytochrome c;), probably with the flavoprotein of DPNH-dehydrogenase. 4. Endogenous dehydrogenase reactions are the sum total reactions conjugating at the steps prior to the antimycin A sensitive step in the terminal electron transport system and with other various reduction systems which are not inhibited by antimycin A.

Die Autoren haben festgestellt, daβ man mit Hilfe des Myotonometers auf Grund von Kau- bzw. Masseterfunktionsmessung auf verschiedene stomatologische Krankheiten, bzw. auf verschiedene Veranderungen schliessen kann. Man kann feststellen, ob die Muskeln atrophisch sind oder nicht, was fur eine Prothese bei einzelnen Individuen der Funktion der Muskeln entspricht, ob eine Prothese schlecht ist, welche Verfahren fur die Orthodontie bzw. Prognathie notwendig sind und welche Medikamente eine gute stomatologische Wirkung haben. Auch die verschiedenen orthopadischen Fragen sind erleichtert.

From the histochemical study of DPN and TPN diaphorase on the striated muscles of the cats, the following results were obtained. 1. M. gastrocnemius, which belongs to the white muscle by naked eye, consists of three types of muscle fibers distinguished by the DPN diaphorase staining: namely, the small muscle fibers, i. e., the red muscle fibers show a moderate activity, being stained pink, while the large muscle fibers, i. e., the white muscle fibers show a low activity, being stained faint pink. The. third type of muscle fibers: namely, the medium fibers are stained pale pink and show the enzymatic activity intermediate between the red and white muscle fibers. 2. M. soleus, belonging to the red muscle by naked eye, consists of three types of fibers distinguished by the DPN-diaphorase staining, i. e., the red muscle fibers are stained pink, medium fibers pale pink, and a few white muscle fibers faint pink. The diameters of these three types of muscle fibers in M. soleus are almost the same. 3. From the staining pattern of TPN-diaphorase in M. gastrocnemius and M. soleus, the three types of muscle fibers can be distinguished by TPN-diaphorase activity, namely, the red muscle fibers show a high TPN-diaphorase activity, being stained purple, while, the white muscle fibers a low activity, being stained pale pink. The medium fibers are stained pink and show a moderate enzymatic activity intermediate between the red and white muscle fibers. 4. The TPN-diaphorase activity is higher than the DPN-diaphorase activity in the striated muscle, but it is less active than the TPN-diapborase activity in the kidney. However, the activity of DPN-diaphorase in the striated muscle is quite lower than that of the kidney.

An abnormal glucose tolerance is often found in patients with psychiatric or neurologic diseases, and the problem is then, what does this abnormal glucose tolerance mean and what is the relation between this and the patient's psychic state.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in the stomach is etiologically closely associated with chronic active gastritis, peptic ulcer, gastric cancer and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. In this study, we examined the antibody responses and cytokine profiles of three strains of mice (BALB/c, C3H/He, and C57BL/6) infected with H. pylori. Following this, correlations between host-immune reactions and intensity of inflammation were analyzed. H. pylori (ATCC43504) was intragastrically administered once a week to the mice from 4 weeks of age, and they were sacrificed at the ages of 4 and 7 months. In these mice, we examined the histology of the stomach, antibody titers against H. pylori, and serum levels of cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, TNF-alpha, IL-2 and Interferon-gamma). In BALB/c mice, inflammation of the stomach was minimal. Inflammation was observed in 63.6% of C57BL/6 mice and 33.3% of C3h/He mice. In C57BL/6 and C3H/He mice, all the cytokines tended to increase. In contrast, BALB/c mice were inactive in cytokine production except for IL-2. Two C3H/He mice developed severe inflammation with lymph follicles; one showed a response largely typical of Th-1, and the other showed a response largely typical of Th-2. Although a definite correlation was not shown between Th-1/Th-2 response evaluated by cytokine production and intensity of inflammation, it appears that in H. pylori-induced inflammation both cell-mediated (Th-1) and humoral (Th-2) immunity play a role in pathogenesis.

To establish a method for estimating the time between the last consumption of alcohol and death, we examined the ethanol levels in body fluids and tissues of rats that had been orally administered 1 g/kg ethanol. We observed the following relationships between ethanol levels in the cardiac blood (blood in the heart itself), vitreous humor, and urine: cardiac blood > vitreous humor > urine at 10 min (early absorption stage); vitreous humor > cardiac blood > urine from 20 to 50 min (late absorption stage); vitreous humor > urine > cardiac blood from 60 to 120 min (distribution stage); and urine > vitreous humor > cardiac blood at 180 min (excretion stage). It was also observed that, in cases of death immediately following drinking, ethanol levels in the stomach contents are very high, and the following ratios of ethanol levels were observed: skeletal muscle to cardiac blood--less than 1; liver to cardiac blood--around 1. buccal mucosa to cardiac blood-greater than 1. These ratios at equilibrium after drinking were around 1, lower than 1 and around 1, respectively. We also measured alcohol levels in the cardiac blood, urine, vitreous humor and stomach contents of nine cadavers who had consumed alcohol prior to death. The relationships between the time since last consumption of alcohol and relative ethanol levels in these specimens were in good accordance with the results of the animal experiments.

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effects of 5-fluorouracil antineoplastics, cephem antibiotics containing the methyltetrazolylthiol (MTT) group and antidiabetics on aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity in vivo and in vitro. In in vivo experiments, rats were given a 100 mg/kg dose of drugs (10 mg/kg for glibenclamide) orally or intraperitoneally. When each drug was administered singly immediately after an oral administration of 1.5 g/kg ethanol, only carmofur, an antineoplastic, produced marked increases in blood acetaldehyde concentrations. This action was also noted when ethanol was ingested 15 h after administration. The remaining drugs did not increase blood acetaldehyde concentrations. When rats were treated with carmofur at 12 h intervals for 3 consecutive days and were given 1.5 g/kg ethanol after the final treatment, blood acetaldehyde concentrations were elevated more significantly than with a single administration of carmofur. Furthermore, daily administration of cephem antibiotics containing the MTT group, latamoxef, cefamandole, cefoperazone and cefbuperazone, significantly increased blood acetaldehyde concentrations. Daily administration of sulfonylurea antidiabetics, chlorpropamide and acetohexamide, slightly increased blood acetaldehyde concentrations. Drugs causing increases in blood acetaldehyde concentrations when administration was combined with ethanol ingestion also inhibited ALDH activity in vitro. The results of the in vitro experiments roughly correlated with those of the in vivo experiments. The inhibitory effects of drugs on ALDH activity were in the following order: carmofur >> cephem antibiotics containing the MTT group > sulfonylurea antidiabetics.

With advances in lectin affinity electrophoresis of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), the detection of significant changes in serum AFP at low levels in cirrhotics has become important for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Serum AFP levels of 616 healthy individuals without abnormal liver function tests or virus markers of hepatitis B and C were determined by enzyme immunoassay with IMx-AFP Dainapack using automated IMx apparatus set at twice the ordinary sensitivity and compared with those of 241 individuals with abnormal liver function tests and/or positive hepatitis virus markers. The coefficient of variation in this assay was less than 10% at AFP levels as low as 0.2 ng/ml with a lower detection limit of 0.1 ng/ml. The AFP level of healthy population showed a Gaussian distribution curve after logarithmic transformation with a median and 2.5-97.5 percentile reference range of 2.2 (0.6-5.6) ng/ml. There was no significant difference in the AFP level between males and females. Individuals with abnormal liver function tests alone showed no significant increase in serum AFP unless they were associated with positive hepatitis virus markers.

The cross-sensitization to stereotyped behavior between mazindol (MZD) and methamphetamine (MAP) was investigated in rats. MZD (5 and 10 mg/kg/day, p.o.), MAP (5 and 10 mg/kg/day, p.o.) and saline (1 ml/kg, p.o.) were administered once daily for a week. Challenge with MZD (10 mg/kg, p.o.) on the 8th day caused markedly stereotyped behavior in MAP-pretreated group compared with the saline-pretreated control group. MAP (10 mg/kg, p.o.)-induced stereotyped behavior on the 8th day was also greater in MZD-pretreated group rather than the saline-pretreated control group. These results suggest that repeated MZD and MAP administration cross-sensitizes to their stereotype-producing effects.

To test transdifferentiation of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in suspension culture, chick embryonic RPE sheets and dissociated RPE cells were cultured for two months in a non-adherent dish for suspension culture. RPE cells, isolated as a sheet, aggregated immediately and remained the same size with their differentiated characteristics for two months. The presence of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) at concentrations of 10 ng/ml or higher induced the formation of a spherical lentoid structure which was positive for crystallin and bFGF receptor. In contrast, dissociated RPE cells did reaggregate but did not develop the lentoid structure even in the presence of bFGF. The transdifferentiation of RPE cells to the lentoid structure in this study was in contrast to their transdifferentiation to the retina, as reported in a previous study.

A new method for the determination of glutathione peroxidase activity in erythrocytes was developed. The present method was applied to the measurement of hydrogen peroxide removal rates by glutathione peroxidase in erythrocytes at 70 microM hydrogen peroxide under simulated in vivo conditions. The removal rates by glutathione peroxidase in mouse erythrocytes were twenty-times faster than those in human ones and were 5.2 mumol/sec/g of Hb. The removal rates in acatalasemic mouse erythrocytes indicate that glutathione peroxidase is the main means of hydrogen peroxide removal in acatalasemic mouse erythrocytes. Based on these results, we concluded that glutathione peroxidase in mouse erythrocytes had sufficient ability to remove hydrogen peroxide at even relatively high concentrations. This may be one of the reasons why acatalasemic mice suffer no health problems while Japanese acatalasemic patients suffer from Takahara disease when infected with hydrogen peroxide-generating bacteria.

Percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy (PMCT) is a new technique for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, it is difficult to distinguish those lesions in which necrosis has been induced from the viable residual lesions during the procedure, because the margin of the tumor becomes unclear during PMCT. We determined the area of necrotic lesions during the procedure using color Doppler imaging. PMCT was performed on 10 patients (17 lesions) with recurrent HCC. The electrode of the microwave delivery system was moved around the tumor and the surrounding area until color mosaic images disappeared from the entire area of the tumor. The areas in which necrotic tissue was indicated by color Doppler imaging were later confirmed by other modalities such as angiography or contrast-enhanced computed tomography. This leads us to believe that real-time, effective evaluation of PMCT is possible with color Doppler imaging.

We studied the seated buttock pressure distribution in six paraplegic patients by means of computerized pressure mapping. They were all male and their age ranged from 18 to 48 years old. Their level of paralysis varied from Th5 to L1. Five kinds of wheelchair cushions were studied: an air cushion, a contour cushion, a polyurethane foam cushion, a Cubicushion (which is made of polyurethane foams) and a silicone gel cushion. A tactile sensor consisting of 2064 matrices was used for measuring the buttock pressure distribution and the data was analyzed on a personal computer. Peak pressures measured for each cushion were as follows (in descending order): the Cubicushion, the polyurethane foam cushion, the contour cushion, the silicone gel cushion, and the air cushion. The areas of total contact measured for each cushion were as follows (in descending order): the air cushion, the silicone gel cushion, the polyurethane foam cushion, the contour cushion and the Cubicushion. Based on these findings, we conclude that the most advantageous cushion is the air cushion or the silicone gel cushion. Likewise, we conclude that the Cubicushion is not practical for pressure sore prevention.

Some rare anomalies of the celiaco-mesenteric system were observed postmortem in a Japanese adult male: a) The left gastric, common hepatic, splenic and superior mesenteric arteries arose independently from the abdominal aorta. b) The anterior inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery of the superior mesenteric artery issued a hepatic artery which ascended along the anterior surface of the pancreas and gave off the right gastroepiploic, right gastric and cystic arteries. c) The common hepatic artery gave off an anastomosing branch to the superior mesenteric artery. d) The left gastric artery gave off the left accessory hepatic artery. e) The splenic artery issued the accessory middle colic artery. f) The left inferior phrenic artery gave off the esophageal branch. These anomalies are discussed in light of a typological system which we proposed in a previous paper for the celiaco-mesenteric system.