Leukotriene (LT)C4, a potent chemical mediator in bronchial asthma, is metabolised to the less active LTE4 via LTD4 in two consecutive reactions catalysed by enzymes of the glutamyl transpeptidase ...and dipeptidase families. The activities of these catabolic enzymes may be influenced by glucocorticosteroids. This study was conducted to examine whether this inactivation of LTC4 is affected by dexamethasone (DEX) in transformed human bronchial epithelial cells and normal human bronchial epithelial cells. After incubation with DEX for 0-5 days, cells were resuspended in the presence of exogenous LTC4, and conversion of LTC4 to LTE4 was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and GGT-related enzyme (GGTRE) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression were examined using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis, and GGT activity by enzyme assay. Conversion to LTE4 was accelerated by DEX pretreatment. GGTRE but not GGT mRNA expression was enhanced after incubation with DEX. The results indicate that dexamethasone transcriptionally upregulates the activity of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-related enzyme in human bronchial epithelial cells, which accelerates inactivation of leukotriene C4 via conversion to leukotriene E4. This is a novel mechanism of glucocorticosteroids in human bronchial epithelial cells.
We randomly assigned 208 patients who underwent brain biopsy for presumptive herpes simplex encephalitis to receive either vidarabine (15 mg per kilogram of body weight per day) or acyclovir (30 mg ...per kilogram per day) for 10 days. Sixty-nine patients (33 percent) had biopsy-proved disease; 37 received vidarabine, and 32 acyclovir. The mortality in the vidarabine recipients was 54 percent, as compared with 28 percent in the acyclovir recipients (P = 0.008). Six-month mortality varied according to the Glasgow coma score at the onset of therapy. For scores of greater than 10, 7 to 10, and less than or equal to 6, mortality was 42, 46, and 67 percent in the patients treated with vidarabine, as compared with 0, 25, and 25 percent in those treated with acyclovir. A six-month morbidity assessment using an adapted scoring system revealed that 5 of 37 patients receiving vidarabine (14 percent) as compared with 12 of 32 receiving acyclovir (38 percent) were functioning normally (P = 0.021). Eight vidarabine-treated patients (22 percent) and three acyclovir-treated patients (9 percent) had moderate debility. Patients under 30 years of age and with a Glasgow coma score above 10 had the best outcome with acyclovir treatment. We conclude that acyclovir is currently the treatment of choice for biopsy-proved herpes simplex encephalitis.
When clomiphene citrate is ineffective in the treatment of anovulation, hMG administration is typically selected. However, high-dose hMG therapy is associated with a variety of adverse events. We ...describe the use of a modified clomiphene citrate regimen that was successful in increasing the effectiveness of ovulation induction.
A patient who did not initially respond to clomiphene citrate therapy required a total dose of 2400 IU hMG to prodeuce mature follicles. However, because of the physical and emotional burdens on the patient, and the possibility of multiple pregnancy and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, re-treatment with clomiphene citrate was then selected. Two courses of clomiphene citrate administered at a fixed interval during the same cycle safely induced ovulation. After initial induction of ovulation, her ovulatory failure improved and natural ovulation occurred.
Repeated intracycle clomiphene cirate therapy may be more effective than hMG therapy in inducing ovulation in some patients.
The macrofilaricidal activity of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) was confirmed in jirds infected with Brugia pahangi. Seventy jirds were inoculated subcutaneously with 100 infective larvae. At 20 weeks ...post-infection, the microfilaraemic jirds were divided into two groups, untreated and treated. For the treated group, 200 mg kg(-1) of DEC was injected intraperitoneally for 5 consecutive days. One, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 27 weeks after the final treatment, 4-7 jirds in each group were sacrificed to measure adult worm burdens. The number of adult worms recovered from treated jirds was comparable to controls at earlier necropsy (1 and 4 weeks post-treatment). However, at late necropsy (8 weeks and later) the recovery rate of adult worms in treated jirds was significantly lower than that in untreated controls, indicating an adultcidal effect of DEC. The present study demonstrates that DEC requires 8 weeks to kill B. pahangi adult worms in jirds and that the Mongolian jird is a useful model for screening antifilarial activity.
Solution-based fabrication of a high-quality metal oxide nano-film (∼10-nm thickness) by the surface sol−gel process and postannealing is reported. Hafnium(IV) n-butoxide in toluene−ethanol was ...chemisorbed onto hydroxylated Si wafer to give a uniform gel layer, of which alkoxide group was then hydrolyzed and subjected to a second cycle of chemisorption/hydrolysis. Annealing of a 10-cycle film at 500 °C produced uniform, void-free HfO2 layer of 5.7-nm thickness. Its electrical properties, dielectric constant, leakage current, and dielectric breakdown were comparable to the HfO2 film as prepared by the conventional vapor deposition method. On the other hand, a similar HfO2 nano-film prepared by spin-coating provided a less homogeneous layer in a high-resolution TEM image. The electrical properties of the latter film were much inferior to those of the surface sol−gel film. We concluded that the solution-based method is suitable for fabrication of dielectric nanofilms of metal oxide.
To investigate the evolution pattern and phylogenetic utility of duplicate control regions (CRs) in mitochondrial (mt) genomes, we sequenced the entire mt genomes of three Ixodes species and part of ...the mt genomes of another 11 species. All the species from the Australasian lineage have duplicate CRs, whereas the other species have one CR. Sequence analyses indicate that the two CRs of the Australasian Ixodes ticks have evolved in concert in each species. In addition to the Australasian Ixodes ticks, species from seven other lineages of metazoa also have mt genomes with duplicate CRs. Accumulated mtDNA sequence data from these metazoans and two recent experiments on replication of mt genomes in human cell lines with duplicate CRs allowed us to re-examine four intriguing questions about the presence of duplicate CRs in the mt genomes of metazoa: (1) Why do some mt genomes, but not others, have duplicate CRs? (2) How did mt genomes with duplicate CRs evolve? (3) How could the nucleotide sequences of duplicate CRs remain identical or very similar over evolutionary time? (4) Are duplicate CRs phylogenetic markers? It appears that mt genomes with duplicate CRs have a selective advantage in replication over mt genomes with one CR. Tandem duplication followed by deletion of genes is the most plausible mechanism for the generation of mt genomes with duplicate CRs. Once duplicate CRs occur in an mt genome, they tend to evolve in concert, probably by gene conversion. However, there are lineages where gene conversion may not always occur, and, thus, the two CRs may evolve independently in these lineages. Duplicate CRs have much potential as phylogenetic markers at low taxonomic levels, such as within genera, within families, or among families, but not at high taxonomic levels, such as among orders.
The order parameters in the antiferro-quadrupolar (AFQ) ordered phase of PrFe4P12 have been investigated by polarized neutron diffraction measurement. By observing the interference effect of ...scattering amplitudes from the Fe-ion displacement and the antiferromagnetic component induced by the magnetic field applied along the 0,0,1 axis, we conclude that the dominant ordered quadrupole is in the low-temperature phase. By inelastic neutron scattering experiment for a single-crystal sample, we observed sharp magnetic excitations in the AFQ-ordered phase, whose maximum intensity appears at the Brillouin zone center and minimum at the zone boundary. This fact indicates the existence of ferromagnetic correlation between Pr ions in the AFQ-ordered phase.
We have investigated the Hall effect in GdRu4P12 for the first time. From the temperature and magnetic field dependences of the Hall effect along with the magnetoresistance, we evaluated the change ...in carrier density across the antiferromagnetic (AF) transition accompanied by the Fermi surface reconstruction. About one tenth of carriers remain in the AF phase, in contrast with PrRu4P12 where most of the carriers disappear in the ordered phase. The anomalous part of Hall coefficient in GdRu4P12 is smaller than those in the PrRu4P12 and PrFe4P12, which is consistent with the well localized nature of 4f electrons.
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