Summary
Background : There are no management criteria for optimum out‐patient care in mild‐to‐moderate acute colonic diverticulitis.
Aim : To enable such patients to be managed in an out‐patient ...setting, by establishing criteria and treatment protocols.
Methods : We conducted an open trial and follow‐up study from 1997 to 2002. On the basis of ultrasonography, we defined and categorized mild‐to‐moderate acute colonic diverticulitis ranging from limited inflammation within diverticulum to an abscess < 2 cm in diameter. Subjects were treated as out‐patients and followed a 10‐day treatment protocol consisting of an oral antibiotic and a sports drink for the first 3 days. Physical examination and laboratory testing helped determine whether or not a patient could resume a liquid diet on day 4, and a regular diet on day 7.
Results : Of the 70 patients, 68 were successfully treated. Two patients required hospitalization. Of the 65 patients who were tracked over several months median (intraquarter range) = 30.8 (11.9–44.2) months, 16 had one or more clinical recurrences. The medical cost per episode was 80% lower than in‐patient treatment.
Conclusions : Patients with mild‐to‐moderate acute colonic diverticulitis can be safely and successfully treated as out‐patients using this protocol.
Summary
Masticatory function is significantly lower in individuals with malocclusion than in those with normal occlusion. Although several studies suggest that masticatory function influences ...gastrointestinal digestive function, the relationship between malocclusion and gastrointestinal symptoms has not been studied extensively. We hypothesised that insufficient masticatory function would increase the functional burden of the stomach and have some influence on the gastrointestinal system. The purpose of this study was to investigate masticatory function and gastric emptying rate in subjects with malocclusion. Eleven healthy dentate female volunteers and eleven female patients with maloc‐clusion underwent a 13C‐acetate breath test with a liquid meal. Maximum 13CO2 exhalation time (Tmax) was compared statistically between both groups. Masticatory function was assessed by colour‐changeable chewing gum. In addition, the frequency scale for the symptoms of gastroeso‐phageal reflux disease (FSSG) and questionnaires on food intake were given to both groups. The mean Tmax of the malocclusion group was significantly longer than that of the normal occlusion group (P = 0·007). Masticatory performance, measured by colour‐changeable gum and questionnaires, was significantly lower in the malocclusion group than in the normal occlusion group (P = 0·023, P = 0·003). There was no significant difference in the FSSG results between the two groups (P = 0·262). This study suggested that there was a correlation between malocclusion and gastric emptying function in women.
Magnaporthe oryzae virus 1 (MoV1) found in Magnaporthe oryzae, the pathogenic fungus responsible for rice blast, is a small icosahedral virus with a nonsegmented double-stranded RNA genome. The viral ...genome has two open reading frames (ORF 1 and 2). The deduced amino acid sequences of both ORF 1 and ORF 2 show a significant similarity to those of capsid protein and RdRp, respectively, of members of the family Totiviridae. Both a comparison of genome organization and phylogenic analysis have indicated that MoV1 is closely related to some of the totiviruses that infect filamentous fungi. These results suggest that MoV1 belongs to the family Totiviridae.
Rice blast is the most devastating plant disease in Japan. Our goal is to create new rice varieties which show enhanced resistance against blast, regardless of the race of blast. By an ...Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method, we reintroduced a rice class-I chitinase gene, Cht-2 or Cht-3, under the control of the enhanced CaMV 35S promoter and a hygromycin phosphotransferase gene, as a selection marker into the Japonica rice varieties Nipponbare and Koshihikari, which have retained the best popularity over a long period in Japan. In regenerated plants (R(0)), the Cht-2 product was found to accumulate intracellularly whereas the Cht-3 product was found to be targeted extracellularly. The transgenic rice plants which constitutively expressed either chitinase gene showed significantly higher resistance against the rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe grisea races 007.0 and 333. Both high-level expression of the chitinase and blast-resistance were stably inherited by the next generation in several lines.
Background: Interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-18 are major interferon (IFN)- % -inducing factors that collaborate with each other. The present study was conducted to determine the distinct roles of IL-12 ...and IL-18 in the development of dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) colitis in mice. Methods: Colitis was induced in IL-12p35 m / m , IL-18 m / m , IL-18 receptor m / m and control mice with DSS. Clinical and histopathological analysis was conducted using survival rate, weight loss score, diarrhoea score, bloody stool score and histological score. In addition, cytokine production by lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMCs) was examined using the specific enzyme-linked immunoassay. Results: IL-12p35 m / m mice developed only a mild disease associated with no lethality and few histopathological abnormalities. In contrast, IL-18 m / m and IL-18R m / m mice developed more severe colitis associated with high lethality and more histopathological abnormalities compared with control mice. LPMCs from DSS-fed IL-18 m / m mice produced significantly higher amounts of IFN- % , while LPMCs from DSS-fed IL-12 m / m mice produced lower amounts of IFN- % and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)- ! compared with control mice. Conclusion: These results suggest that IL-18 might function with manners different from IL-12 at some pathological conditions in the development of colitis.
Summary
Although enhanced lymphocyte trafficking is associated with colitis formation, little information about its regulation is available. The aim of this study was to examine how the murine liver ...and activation‐regulated chemokine (mLARC/CCL20) contributes to lymphocyte recruitment in concert with vascular adhesion molecules in murine chronic experimental colitis. T and B lymphocytes isolated from the spleen were fluorescence‐labelled and administered to recipient mice. Lymphocyte adhesion to microvessels of the colonic mucosa and submucosa was observed with an intravital microscope. To induce colitis, the mice received two cycles of treatment with 2% dextran sodium sulphate (DSS). In some of the experiments antibodies against the adhesion molecules or anti‐mLARC/CCL20 were administered, or CC chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6) of the lymphocytes was desensitized with excess amounts of mLARC/CCL20. Significant increases in T and B cell adhesion to the microvessels of the DSS‐treated mucosa and submucosa were observed. In chronic colitis, the accumulation of lymphocytes was significantly inhibited by anti‐mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule (MAdCAM)‐1 mAb, but not by anti‐vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1. In DSS‐treated colonic tissue, the expression of mLARC/CCL20 was significantly increased, the blocking of mLARC/CCL20 by monoclonal antibody or the desensitization of CCR6 with mLARC/CCL20 significantly attenuated the DSS‐induced T and B cell accumulation. However, the combination of blocking CCR6 with MAdCAM‐1 did not further inhibit these accumulations. These results suggest that in chronic DSS‐induced colitis, both MAdCAM‐1 and mLARC/CCL20 may play important roles in T and B lymphocyte adhesion in the inflamed colon under flow conditions.
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