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Fifteen cases of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) of unknown etiology were treated with soft contact lenses for the purpose of their bandage effects and moisuture supply. A soft contact lens was worn on one of the eyes of each case but not on the other to compare its effectiveness. New opthalmic drops or contact lens wearers were dropped in both eyes. Furthermore, the KCS-index was worked out on the basis of the complaints of 23 patients of KCS of unknouwn etiology. The indexes before and after treatment were compared. Corneal objective findings were improved in all the eyes wearing soft contact lensen for along period, and seven stopped wearing them although corneal objective findings were much better, because they had some troubles with handlings were much better, because they had some troubles with handling the lenses, because they had lost rhem, or because their visual acuity decreased while wearing the lenses. Forlong term wearing the flattest lenses should be used in the beginning and changed gradually to lenses of greater curvature which are better able to keep their centering. Then immediately after successful fitting, the lenses should be given appropriate refractive power. The new ophthalmic drops for soft contact lens wearers were very much effective as artificial tears to both eyes with and without sofy contact lenses. KCS-indexes were numerical values relating to patients subjective symptoms. KSC-indexes improves by an average of +6.4±7.5 after treatment. On the other hand, KCS-indexes improved by +10.7±7.9 in the group that succeeded in wearing SCL for a long period, and by +7.6±2.1 even in the group that failed.

Human leukemic B-cell (BALL-1), T-cell (TALL-1) and null-cell (NALL-1) lines have been established from three patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). To study the heterotransplantability and in vivo growth characteristics, attempts were made to transplant these ALL cell lines into newborn Syrian hamsters treated with rabbit anti-hamster thymocyte serum. Intraperitoneal implantation of 1.8-3.5 x 10(7) cells gave rise to invasive tumors in all recipients after 15 to 41 days. In addition to a common in vivo feature of mesenteric and retroperitoneal tumors, BALL-1 line was characterized by infiltration of the skin, massive ascites and bone marrow invasion. TALL-1 cells infiltrated various organs including the lymph nodes, liver, gallbladder, spleen, bone marrow, central nervous system and eyes. NALL-1 line grew slowly, producing the least tumors, although there were distant metastases in the lungs. Tumor cells were detected in the blood of 2 of 3 BALL-1-bearing hamsters and in the blood of 4 of 5 TALL-1-bearing hamsters. Thus, these three ALL cell lines were found to exhibit a characteristic biological behavior in hamsters, which might be related to the different cell lineage.

Sprague-Dawley rats given azathioprine in the diet for 3 to 4 weeks developed severe liver damage. Elevations of serum alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activities were associated with increased hepatic glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase levels and decreased liver glucose 6-phosphatase activities, i.e., conditions which were commonly observed in various hepatotoxin-induced liver injuries. Light and electron microscopic observations revealed centrolobular necrosis with large scars and the proliferation of the mitochondria and rough endoplasmic reticulum. This model could be used to study the mechanisms of azathioprine-induced liver damage and its prevention.

A permeable cell system for studying RNA synthesis was established. Mouse ascites sarcoma cells were made permeable to nucleoside triphosphates and alpha-amanitin by treating with a hypotonic buffer. Separate determinations of endogenous RNA polymerase I, II and III activities in permeable cells were conducted using the different sensitivities of these enzymes to alpha-amanitin. The endogenous activity of RNA polymerase II under optimal conditions was one tenth of total RNA synthetic activity in isolated nuclei, and one third of that in permeable cells. The extremely low ratio of RNA polymerase II activity to total RNA synthetic activity in isolated nuclei was thought to be caused by increase of RNA polymerase I activity and decrease of RNA polymerase II activity. These and other results suggested that RNA synthesis in permeable cells reflects more precisely the in vivo state of RNA synthesis than thatin isolated nuclei. The permeable cell system will provide a useful method for studying the separate activities of RNA polymerases I, II and III in situ.

Cellular stimulating factors on cell proliferation in the supernatants of chick embryo carcases and adult muscles were studied. There were plural stimulating factors in embryonic and adult muscular supernatants that promoted cell proliferation without any supplement of sera and other materials. Salting-out methods with ammonium sulfate, ethanol fractionation, and isoelectric precipitation were used to isolate the stimulating factors, and these three methods proved the presence of plural stimulants on cell proliferation in the supernatants of chick embryo and adult muscles. The stimulants had altered physico-chemical properties and biological activities due to embryological development. The embryonic stimulants enhanced the synthesis of DNA and protein remarkably, and RNA synthesis in whole cell systems slightly. The muscular stimulants enhanced protein synthesis without any stimulation of DNA and RNA synthesis. Partial purification of the stimulants from the ethanol fractions was performed by DEAE-cellulose chromatography and Sephadex gel chromatography.

The effects of various compounds on replicative DNA synthesis in permeable mouse ascites sarcoma cells and on unscheduled DNA synthesis in permeable cells or in isolated rat liver nuclei were studied. Polyamines such as spermidine, putrescine and cadaverine inhibited replicative DNA synthesis. Unscheduled DNA synthesis was inhibited by spermidine and cadaverine, but slightly stimulated by putrescine at low concentrations. Aurintricarboxylic acid, a low molecular weight polyanion, inhibited both replicative DNA synthesis and unscheduled DNA synthesis. Replicative DNA synthesis was inhibited by heparin, a high molecular weight polyanion, whereas unscheduled DNA synthesis was stimulated at low heparin concentrations. Antitumor drugs such as daunomycin, neocarzinostatin and bleomycin inhibited replicative DNA synthesis. Unscheduled DNA synthesis was inhibited by daunomycin, slightly induced by neocarzinostatin and highly induced by bleomycin. The present system was thought to be useful for studying the separate effects of various drugs on either replicative DNA synthesis or unscheduled DNA synthesis in vitro.

The alterations of lipid composition in sera of patients with liver diseases, particularly intrahepatic cholestasis and biliary obstruction, were studied by ultracentrifugation and polyacrylamide-gel disc-electrophoresis of lipoproteins and apoproteins. The elevation of serum cholesterol in intrahepatic cholestasis was greater than in biliary obstruction. The appearance of lipoprotein X in obstructive disease accounted for most of the increased cholesterol. The level of non-lipoprotein X cholesterol in intrahepatic cholestasis was significantly elevated, this being in part ascribed to the appearance of a new class of cholestatic lipoprotein, Slow-migrating HDL. The electrophoretic pattern of lipoprotein in cholestasis was generally characterized by a decrease in alpha band intensity and, in some types of cholestasis, by the appearance of Slow-migrating HDL. In addition, other abnormal lipoproteins exhibiting the characteristics of triglyceride-rich LDL (LP-Y), LP-X-like HDL and LDL-like HDL were found in some cases of intrahepatic cholestasis and biliary obstruction.

The effect of subdiaphragmatic vagotomy on food intake and defecation was studied in guinea pigs. Weights of food and feces were measured for at least three weeks after vagotomy. The weight of daily food intake and feces evacuated increased about 15 and 30% after vagotomy compared with controls whereas it did not change in sham operated animals. The weight of scybalum decreased after vagotomy although the number increased markedly. It was considered that an increase in food intake after vagotomy may result from blocking of satiety signals mediated by the vagus; moreover, that the increase in feces may depend on the enhancement of scybalum formation in the proximal colon resulting from increasing food intake and transportation of the larger amount of the contents after vagotomy.

Vectorcardiogram (VCG) recorded by both the Frank and Kimura systems were examined in 45 patients with complete right bundle branch block (RBBB) and left axis deviation (LAD) to investigate the relationship seen on electrocardiogram (ECG) between RBBB with LAD and bilateral bundle. The sample included: 13 cases of type SI, SII, SIII, SaVF; 21 cases of type SI, SII, SIII, aVF; and 11 cases of types SI, SII, SIII. VCG recorded by the Frank system were classified into seven types according to the QRS loop pattern on the frontal plane and into three types according to the horizontal plane. The main findings were: (a) In the Frank system the QRS loop in the frontal plane showed a variety of patterns in RBBB with LAD. (b) On VCG of complete RBBB judged complicated by a left anterior hemiblock by the Frank system, the main portion of the QRS loop extended to the left superior or merely to the left in the frontal plane. The direction of rotation and position on the horizontal plane were not consistent. (c) The results of this study suggest the usefulness of the Kimura system as an auxiliary diagnostic technique.

A hard fibroma of the urinary bladder was found in an autopsy case of a 69 year-old female. The tumor, 10x9x6 cm, occurred in the superior wall of the bladder. Ultrastructurally, the principal cells of the tumor were myofibroblasts. Fibroblasts and fibrocytes were also present. Including our case, the number of reported cases of pure fibroma of the urinary bladder in Japan is 12. These are reviewed briefly.

A study of 52 liver biopsies (47 hepatitis type B and 5 asymptomatic carriers) was performed to clarify the roles of HBe antigen (HBeAg), HB surface antigen (HBsAg) and HB core antigen (HBcAg). In this study, the Gudat classification was modified so as to classify the patterns of HB antigens into six reaction types including: type O (negative for both liver HBsAg and liver HBcAg), type III-A (characterized by a spotty HBsAg pattern) and type III-B (characterized from a sub-lobular to lobular HBsAg localization pattern). This classification enabled accurate prediction of the prognosis of hepatitis. Patients with positive serum HBeAg had either minimal hepatitis with mild clinical features or chronic aggressive hepatitis with severe clinical features. Ten patients negative for both HBeAg and HBeAb were all positive for liver HBcAg. In all 3 patients on corticosteroid administrations liver tissue was markedly positive for HBcAg and serum was usually positive for HBeAb.

Differences in urinary excretion of trichloroethylene were studied in rabbits, rats and mice. Trichloretylene (1 m mole/kg) was injected intra-peritoneally, then urinary trichloroacetic acid and trichloroethanol glucuronide were measured. The results were: 1. The ratio of total excretion of trichloroethylene metabolites to the administered trichloroethylene decreased in the order of mice, rats and rabbits. 2. The ratio of total trichloroethanol to trichloroacetic acid in urine decreased in the order of rabbits (69.2), mice (12.8) and rats (2.3). The high ratio in rabbits was due to the extremely small amount of trichloroacetic acid in the urine. 3. Differences in these two urinary metabolites in the three kinds of animals and in human subjects were discussed.

A reproducible animal model of fulminant hepatic failure was developed by intraperitoneal administration of D-galactosamine hydrochloride to Sprague-Dawley rats. Biochemical and morphological hepatic injury and brain edema resembled human fulminant hepatic failure. This model would facilitate further studies of the pathogenesis of brain dysfunction and evaluation of treatment in fulminant hepatic failure.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes and the various lymphocyte fractions from patients with cancer of the colon were cultivated with target cells (P-4788) derived from the colon cancer. Changes in the surface ultrastructure during tumor cell destruction were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). P-4788 cells adhering to the coverslip showed various surface activity. The surfaces of some cells were relatively flat; others were smooth or had fine granules. Still other cells were villous, round or had marked blebs. When host lymphocytes were added to the target cells, adhesion of the two cell groups began by many fine projections. After incubation for 6 h, some lymphocytes had adhered to the target cells. Many lymphocytes had adhered to the target tumor cells by 24--48 h incubation. Ultimately the tumor cells became swollen and disrupted. Most lymphocytes adherent to the target cells had few microvilli. Lymphocytes after elimination of phagocytes by carbonyl iron treatment also adhered readily. Some target cells showed adhesion with lymphocytes passed through nylon-wool columns, although the number of lymphocytes adhering was fewer than in the case of lymphocytes not passed through nylon-wool columns. T cells were collected from lymphocytes that form rosettes with SRBC by isolation with NH4Cl. They had markedly elongated microvilli which in places were sparsely scattered and tended to be localized on the side, a finding which suggests loss of cell activity by the time of SEM. Only a few T cells adhered to target cells and they seemed to be T cells without activity. It was thought that there are cytotoxic cells among T cells and that the co-existence of T cells, non-T cells and monocytes caused target cell destruction.

The alterations of lipid composition in sera of patients with liver diseases, particularly intrahepatic cholestasis and biliary obstruction, were studied by ultracentrifugation and polyacrylamide-gel disc-electrophoresis of lipoproteins and apoproteins. The elevation of serum cholesterol in intrahepatic cholestasis was greater than in biliary obstruction. The appearance of lipoprotein X in obstructive disease accounted for most of the increased cholesterol. The level of non-lipoprotein X cholesterol in intrahepatic cholestasis was significantly elevated, this being in part ascribed to the appearance of a new class of cholestatic lipoprotein, Slow-migrating HDL. The electrophoretic pattern of lipoprotein in cholestasis was generally characterized by a decrease in alpha band intensity and, in some types of cholestasis, by the appearance of Slow-migrating HDL. In addition, other abnormal lipoproteins exhibiting the characteristics of triglyceride-rich LDL (LP-Y), LP-X-like HDL and LDL-like HDL were found in some cases of intrahepatic cholestasis and biliary obstruction.

The objective of this study was to evaluate fast and ultrafast T2-weighted images (T2WI), including echo planar imaging (EPI), using an AMI-25 agar phantom. Image quality for conventional spin echo (CSE) and turbo spin echo (TSE) was almost equivalent. In high-resolution TSE, image quality was highest due to the use of a 512 x 256 matrix. Half-Fourier single-shot turbo SE (HASTE) was associated with blurring of images, and turbo-gradient SE (TGSE) showed a deterioration of image quality. EPI also suffered from poor image quality because this method is very sensitive to magnetic field inhomogeneity. CSE showed good signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and contrast ratio (CR), but also required the longest imaging times. Among the TSE sequences, TSE with a short echo train length (ETL) was superior in terms of S/N. The CR of EPI and fast low angle shot (FLASH) images were improved in proportion to the effective echo time (TE). At present, TSE is inferior to CSE in terms of S/N and CR. However, taking into consideration scanning time, TSE with a short ETL is thought to be suitable for routine examinations. Effective TE is an important factor in gradient echo (GRE) examinations.</P>

Nephrin, a gene product of the congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type (NPHS1), is a 1242-residue putative transmembrane protein of the immunoglobulin family of cell adhesion molecules. The expression of this gene is localized in rat and human glomerular epithelial cells. Here we report the expression of nephrin in various tissues other than the kidneys in mice. The expression of nephrin mRNA in various tissues of mice, including the kidneys, testes, spleen, thymus and brain, were first investigated by the RT-PCR method, and it was shown that a high level of nephrin mRNA could be detected in the testes of mice 1-6 weeks old. In situ hybridization revealed the expression of the nephrin gene in the Sertoli cells. Additionally, immunofluorescent staining studies indicated that nephrin was colocalized with anchoring protein ZO-1 in the mouse testis. From these results, it is inferred that nephrin is an important component of the barrier system in testes.

Eighty-eight cases of cutaneous melanoma (CM) were analyzed in order to elucidate the relationship between thickness, angiogenesis, and prognosis. The thickness of the tumor was measured according to the Breslow method, and the microvessels were identified by an immunohistochemical study using anti-factor VIII monoclonal antibody on specimens from 40 patients with superficial spreading melanoma (SSM), and 48 with nodular type (NM). Microvessels were counted in the area of highest density. The overall survival and disease-free period were analyzed retrospectively. The proportion of patients with thicker CMs (> 1.5 mm) increased with age in both sexes. Mean vascular count was statistically significant different only between thinner and thicker tumors in the SSM group (P < 0.05). Prognosis was correlated with the thickness of CM (P = 0.0002), mean vascular count alone (P = 0.004), mean vascular count in association with CM thickness less than 1.5 mm (P = 0.0005), and with mean vascular count in NM (P = 0.02). These findings suggest that increasing microvessel density indicates a worsening prognosis.

A prospective study was performed to determine the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compared with operative findings in the evaluation of patients associated with rotator cuff tears. Fifty-four of 60 shoulders (58 patients) examined by MRI were confirmed as full-thickness tears and 6 as partial-thickness tears at the time of surgery. The oblique coronal, oblique sagittal, and axial planes of T2-weighted images with the 0.5 tesla MRI system were obtained preoperatively and compared with operative findings. MRI correctly identified 46 of 54 full-thickness rotator cuff tears and 5 of 6 partial-thickness tears. A comparison of MRI and operative findings in full-thickness cuff tears showed a sensitivity of 85%, a specificity of 83%, and a positive prospective value (PPV) of 99%. A comparison of partial-thickness tears showed a sensitivity of 83%, a specificity of 85%, and PPV of 39%. Linear regression analysis showed an excellent correlation between the MRI assessment and measurement at the time of surgery (r = 0.90, P < 0.01). MRI was useful in evaluating large and medium-sized rotator cuff tears, but less useful in distinguishing small full-thickness tears from partial-thickness tears.

Continuous caudal anesthesia has been commonly used for intra- and post-operative analgesia in infants and children. However, it has a potential risk of bacterial infection, especially in infants in whom the catheter site is easily contaminated with loose stool. To avoid infection, the authors applied a new procedure using subcutaneous tunneling for continuous caudal anesthesia. In the 18 cases studied with subcutaneous tunneling, clinical signs of infection were absent and bacterial colonization was not found on the catheter tip after 3.9 +/- 1.4 days of catheterization. The incidence of catheter colonization after continuous caudal anesthesia without tunneling had been reported. In their reports, the incidence of catheter colonization ranged from 20% to 37%. Therefore, caudal catheterization with subcutaneous tunneling is a simple and safe method, and has proved very effective to reduce the risk of epidural infection.