The saliva of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma was subjected to reversed-phase HPLC, and a peak (P 14) was eluted with a linear gradient of acetonitrile. The molecular weight of P14 was ...3,442 daltons by mass spectrometry. The results of amino acid sequencing by Edman degradation and homology studies indicated that P14 was consistent with a peptide, human alpha-defensin 1 (HNP-1) which belongs to the defensin family. The concentration of HNP-1 in the saliva of 6 squamous cell carcinoma patients before surgery and 11 after surgery was 12.3 +/- 8.6 and 6.5 +/- 5.9 micrograms/ml (mean +/- S.D.), respectively. In contrast, minimal amounts of HNP-1 were found in the saliva of adenocarcinoma patients and healthy volunteers. The concentration of salivary HNP-1 correlated positively with serum squamous cell carcinoma related antigen (SCC-Ag)level (r = 0.879, p < 0.01).
We report a primary non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma of the urethra in a 78-year-old female. Serum antibodies for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) were negative, but there was a 40-fold increase in antibodies ...to EBV-associated nuclear antigen. Using PCR and in situ hybridization techniques, EBV genome was found in the tumour cell nuclei.
ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs), approximately 20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins, are involved in protein trafficking
and enhance cholera toxin ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. Expression of ...six ARF genes was examined in mammalian tissues;
only ARF 4 mRNA was detected in rat testis in forms considerably shorter than those in other tissues. Testis-specific expression
of short forms of ARF 4 mRNA was observed in several mammalian species. On Northern analysis of the developmental expression
of rat ARF 4 mRNA, appearance of the shorter species was consistent with its involvement in a late stage of spermatogenesis.
Sequences of products of rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE-polymerase chain reaction) of rat ARF 4 mRNA revealed that
different mRNAs resulted from the use of three polyadenylation signals, one AUUAAA and two AAUAAA. Sequences of 3'-untranslated
regions of rat and human ARF 4 mRNA were very similar with identical polyadenylation signals at similar positions. Of the
ARF 4 mRNAs identified by RACE-PCR, with sizes of 1.1, 1.3, and 1.8 kb, the 1.1-kb mRNA was predominant in adult testis. By
in situ hybridization, the 1.1-kb mRNA was identified primarily in mature sperm, consistent with the developmental studies.
Shorter mRNAs, thought to be more stable, may compensate for cessation of transcription at late stages of spermatogenesis.
Objective
To evaluate the motion of the face and jaw of patients with cleft lip and palate, facial palsy, and in patients after reconstruction, a motion-analyzing system was developed. The aim of ...this article was to investigate the accuracy of this system and the possibility of clinical application.
Methods
Markers of 1 to 2 mm were placed on the face, and motion images were obtained by three digital video cameras controlled by a synchronizer and recorded on digital video tape. The image was processed on a personal computer. The markers were automatically tracked across the image sequences, and their three-dimensional coordinates were then calculated.
Main Outcome Measures
System accuracy was investigated using a positioning actuator with high accuracy and a known object. In three patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate, lip pursing was analyzed using the aforesaid method.
Results and Conclusions
The mean differences from the known values to the distances between the tracked sample points and to the mobile distances of the sample points per frame were 0.24 to 0.36 mm and 0.02 to 0.05 mm, respectively. Both results were similar regardless of the mobile speed or direction. In five repeated measurements, the mean differences from the known values as for the distances and the mobile speed ranged from 0.19 to 0.38 mm and from 0.00 to 0.07 mm, respectively. Examination of three patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate indicated the possibility that lip movement could be successfully analyzed using the present system.
An improved fast neutron radiography quantitative measurement method Matsubayashi, Masahito; Hibiki, Takashi; Mishima, Kaichiro ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
11/2004, Letnik:
533, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The validity of a fast neutron radiography quantification method, the Σ-scaling method, which was originally proposed for thermal neutron radiography was examined with Monte Carlo calculations and ...experiments conducted at the YAYOI fast neutron source reactor. Water and copper were selected as comparative samples for a thermal neutron radiography case and a dense object, respectively. Although different characteristics on effective macroscopic cross-sections were implied by the simulation, the Σ-scaled experimental results with the fission neutron spectrum cross-sections were well fitted to the measurements for both the water and copper samples. This indicates that the Σ-scaling method could be successfully adopted for quantitative measurements in fast neutron radiography.
Our previous study (KURRI Progress Report 2000-2003) revealed that the surface wettability on oxidized metal pieces of titanium, Zircaloy No. 4, SUS-304, and copper was improved significantly by the ...Radiation Induced Surface Activity (RISA) phenomenon. To delineate the effect of RISA on heat transferring phenomena, the Leidenfrost condition and quenching of metal oxides irradiated by gamma-rays were investigated in this study.
Isoforms of the facilitated glucose transporter (GLUT) were identified in the iris-ciliary body. Western blot analysis showed that GLUT1 and GLUT4 proteins were expressed in the rat iris-ciliary ...body. In addition, the content of GLUT proteins in the rabbit iris-ciliary body was estimated by specific 3Hcytochalasin B binding assay. The content of GLUT proteins was found to be more abundant in the iris-ciliary body than in the cerebral cortex. The utilization of glucose in the iris-ciliary body and the transport of glucose into the aqueous humor are suggested to be mediated by GLUT1 and GLUT4 proteins.
The pineal hormone melatonin (MLT) is closely related to sleep initiation and maintenance in humans, and is now used as a potent therapeutic tool for some circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Acute and ...transient hypothermia induced by exogenously administered MLT (ex-MLT) may play a critical role in the circadian phase shifting and hypnogenic actions. Six healthy young male volunteers (mean age, 22.5 y; age range, 19-24 y), whose endogenous MLT secretion rhythms were previously assessed, took either 0.5 mg, 3 mg, or 9 mg of ex-MLT or a placebo at 0930 h (the average sleep onset time was 0000 h) on a randomized, single-blind, crossover basis. In comparison with placebo, ex-MLT significantly suppressed core body temperature at the 3-mg and 9-mg doses and slightly suppressed core body temperature at the 0.5-mg dose. There was significant positive correlation between the magnitude of core body temperature suppression and the area under the MLT concentration curve as well as the peak MLT concentration after ex-MLT administration. Our study showed that clinical doses of ex-MLT induce hypothermia in a dose-dependent manner. Results suggest that the therapeutic effect of larger doses of ex-MLT should be tested on patients who benefit little from typically lower clinical doses of ex-MLT.
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