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Biomedical subjects

Y Kurihara

Publications and source records attributed to Y Kurihara.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Longitudinal characteristic curve of liver disease.

A longitudinal characteristic curve of chronic liver disease (LCC-LD) is derived for the first time by a new method of time series data analysis, where a hospital information system is utilized as a clinical research application of the database. It describes a typical pattern of development of disease from the beginning of chronic hepatitis to the final stage of cirrhosis. The LCC-LD is obtained by effectively using patient data with various stages of developments of liver disease and the present method is applicable to derive the LCC of other diseases. The obtained LCC-LD may be useful for a clinical decision making support such as the prospective assessment (for example, the onset time of cirrhosis) of liver disease in individual patients, an evaluation of drug effect, etc.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1995

Activity and stability of a new sweet protein with taste-modifying action, curculin.

Curculin elicited a sweet taste. After the sweetness of curculin diminished, application of deionized water or an acid to the tongue induced a sweet taste. The maximum sweetness of curculin itself was equivalent to the sweetness of 0.35 M sucrose. The maximum sweetness induced by 0.02 M citric acid or deionized water after curculin dissolved in a buffer of pH 6.0 was held in mouth for 3 min was also equivalent to that of 0.35 M sucrose. The sweetness induced by deionized water was completely suppressed by the presence of 1 mM CaCl2 or MgCl2, while that induced by an acid was not suppressed by the presence of divalent cations. Based on these results, the mechanism of the taste-modifying activity was discussed. Stability of curculin was examined under various conditions. The taste-modifying activity of curculin was unchanged when curculin was incubated at 50 degrees C for 1 h between pH 3 and 11.

Citrates↗
PubMed1995

Aortic arch malformations and ventricular septal defect in mice deficient in endothelin-1.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a 21-amino acid peptide with various biological activities including vasoconstriction and cell proliferation. To clarify the physiological and pathophysiological role of ET-1, we disrupted the mouse Edn1 locus encoding ET-1 by gene targeting and demonstrated that ET-1 is essential to the normal development of pharyngeal arch-derived tissues and organs. In this study, we focused on the phenotypic manifestations of Edn1-/- homozygous mice in the cardiovascular system. Edn1-/- homozygotes display cardiovascular malformations including interrupted aortic arch (2.3%), tubular hypoplasia of the aortic arch (4.6%), aberrant right subclavian artery (12.9%), and ventricular septal defect with abnormalities of the outflow tract (48.4%). The frequency and extent of these abnormalities are increased by treatment with neutralizing monoclonal antibodies or a selective ETA receptor antagonist BQ123. At an earlier embryonic stage, formation of pharyngeal arch arteries and endocardial cushion is disturbed in Edn1-/- homozygotes. In situ hybridization confirmed ET-1 expression in the endothelium of the arch arteries and cardiac outflow tract and the endocardial cushion as well as in the epithelium of the pharyngeal arches. Thus, ET-1 is involved in the normal development of the heart and great vessels, and circulating ET-1 and/or other ET isoforms may cause a functional redundancy, at least partly, through the ETA receptor.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Molecular cloning of curculin, a novel taste-modifying protein with a sweet taste.

cDNA clones for curculin, a novel taste-modifying protein, were isolated and sequenced. The encoded prepro-curculin was composed of 158 amino acid residues including a signal sequence of 22 residues and a carboxy-terminal extension peptide of 22 residues. Northern blot analysis showed that the mRNA for curculin was first detected in Curculigo latifolia fruits at 2 weeks after pollination and remained at a constant level for the following 4 weeks.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

An enzyme immunoassay and immunoblot analysis for curculin, a new type of taste-modifying protein: cross-reactivity of curculin and miraculin to both antibodies.

We have developed an enzyme immunoassay method for curculin, a new type of taste-modifying protein. This method can accurately quantify 0.05-20 ng of curculin, a sensitivity about 3000-times that of the psychometric method. The content of curculin in the fruit of Curculigo latifolia increased gradually until 3 weeks after artificial pollination and dramatically at 4 weeks, to finally reach 1.3 mg per fruit. Immunoblot analysis indicated that antiserum to curculin was faintly reactive with miraculin, but not with thaumatin or monellin.

Cross Reactions↗
PubMed1992

Development of a diagnostic and therapeutic simulation system based on patient data and specialist's knowledge. I. Simulation of diagnostic process.

A new simulation system of diagnostic and therapeutic processes is developed. The aim is to train medical students for the practical use of their knowledge, utilizing patient data in a total hospital information system. The knowledge in the system is presented by the specialists for every case. In medical school there are many specialists in various fields. With their cooperation the system can grow up to a comprehensive CAI system for clinical education. The system is designed to work on the mainframe for easiness of development, maintenance and extensions of the system. The present framework has been applied to the simulation of diagnostic process. The usefulness of the present system has been confirmed by specialists and students.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗
PubMed1992

Characteristics of antisweet substances, sweet proteins, and sweetness-inducing proteins.

Recent studies on structures and functions of sweetness-inhibiting substances (gymnemic acid, ziziphin, and gurmarin); sweet proteins (monellin, thaumatin and mabinlin); and taste-modifying proteins (miraculin and curculin) were reviewed. Several gymnemic acid homologues and gurmarin were purified from the leaves of Gymnema sylvestre and their structures were determined. Ziziphin was also purified from leaves of Ziziphus jujuba. Gymnemic acid and ziziphin are glycoside of triterpenes that suppress sweetness in human, while gurmarin is a peptide having antisweet activity in rat. Mabinlin is a heat-stable sweet protein. The whole amino acid sequence and the position of disulfide bridges of mabinlin were determined. Miraculin has the unusual property of modifying a sour taste into a sweet taste. Curculin elicits a sweet taste. In addition, water and sour substance elicit a sweet taste after curculin. Their amino acid sequences and subunit structures were determined. These proteins are expected to be used as low-calorie sweeteners.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Cytogenetic adaptive response of cultured fish cells to low doses of X-rays.

The adaptive response was examining chromosomal aberrations and micronucleus in cultured fish cells, ULF-23 (mudminnow) and CAF-31 (gold fish). When cultured fish cells were first irradiated with small doses of X-rays, they became less sensitive to subsequent exposures to high doses. The effective adaptive dose was 4.8 cGy-9.5 cGy. Adaptive doses given cells in the G1 phase were more effective than when given in the S phase. The adaptive response was maximal at 5 hours and disappeared at 10 hours after the adaptive dose. The expression of the response was inhibited by treatment with 3-aminobenzamide, as reported for mammalian cells, and with arabinofuranoside cytosine, an inhibitor of DNA polymerase alpha. Caffeine, an inhibitor of post-replicational repair, had no effect on the response.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1991

Determination of disulfide array and subunit structure of taste-modifying protein, miraculin.

The taste-modifying protein, miraculin (Theerasilp, S. et al. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 6655-6659) has seven cysteine residues in a molecule composed of 191 amino acid residues. The formation of three intrachain disulfide bridges at Cys-47-Cys-92, Cys-148-Cys-159 and Cys-152-Cys-155 and one interchain disulfide bridge at Cys-138 was determined by amino acid sequencing and composition analysis of cystine-containing peptides isolated by HPLC. The presence of an interchain disulfide bridge was also supported by the fact that the cystine peptide containing Cys-138 showed a negative color test for the free sulfhydryl group and a positive test after reduction with dithiothreitol. The molecular mass of non-reduced miraculin (43 kDa) in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was nearly twice the calculated molecular mass based on the amino acid sequence and the carbohydrate content of reduced miraculin (25 kDa). The molecular mass of native miraculin determined by low-angle laser light scattering was 90 kDa. Application of a crude extract of miraculin to a Sephadex G-75 column indicated that the taste-modifying activity appears at 52 kDa. It was concluded that native miraculin in pure form is a tetramer of the 25 kDa-peptide and native miraculin in crude state or denatured, non-reduced miraculin in pure form is a dimer of the peptide. Both tetramer miraculin and native dimer miraculin in crude state had the taste-modifying activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

A strong inhibition of HIV-induced cytopathic effects by synthetic (1----6)-alpha-D-mannopyranan sulfate.

The anti-HIV effects of mannopyranan sulfate (1) were investigated by using MT-4 cells, namely, an HTLV-I-carrying CD-4 positive cell-line, in vitro. Stereoregular (1----6)-alpha-D-mannopyranan, which had been synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of a 1,6-anhydromannose derivative, was sulfated with piperidine-N-sulfonic acid to provide 1. N.m.r. analysis of 1 indicated that the reactivity of hydroxyl groups was in the order, 3-OH greater than 2-OH much greater than 4-OH. Mannopyranan sulfate having degree of substitution (d.s.) of 1.19-1.83 effectively inhibited HIV-induced cytopathic effects at a concentration of greater than 3.3 micrograms/mL. The anticoagulant activity and the adsorption on concanavalin A of 1 indicated the possibility of selective binding of 1 having d.s. of 1.19-1.83 to HIV-protein.

Anticoagulants↗
PubMed1991

Caries susceptibility in inbred mouse strains and inheritance patterns in F1 and backcross (N2) progeny from strains with high and low caries susceptibility.

We studied dental caries susceptibility in various inbred mice strains infected with Streptococcus mutans and the inheritance pattern in the F1 and the N2 backcross animals. A high caries score was observed in four laboratory strains, BALB/cAJcl, C57BL/6NJcl, C57BL/10Slc and DBA/2NJcl. Three strains, C3H/HeNJcl, AKR/JSlc and CBA/JNCrj, showed less caries. Males of strain C57BL/10Slc (mean caries score = 112.2) and females of strain C3H/HeNJcl (mean caries score = 24.0) were chosen for examinations of the inheritance of the caries susceptibility. The mean caries score in (C57BL/10Slc x C3H/HeNJcl) F1 hybrids was 98.4, demonstrating that F1 progenies were susceptible. A number of N2 mice were obtained by mating the F1 male and the C3H/HeNJcl female. The caries scores of these N2 male mice had an extensive range, from 14 to 194. Assuming that a caries score over 74 (median of the scores between C57BL/10Slc and C3H/HeNJcl) belonged to the highly caries-susceptible group, N2 mice could be divided into groups with low or high caries susceptibility. Furthermore, the effect of nu/nu mutation on caries susceptibility in mice was also examined.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1991

Mandibular alveolar ridge extension method using a surgical splint with porous hydroxyapatite (HAP) particles.

The mandibular alveolar ridge extension method is a surgical technique to extend the alveolar ridge up to the required level. Using a surgical splint prepared to meet the clinical requirements establishes the desirable alveolar ridge extension with porous hydroxyapatite (HAP) particles. Before the operation, a working cast of the extremely resorpted mandibular alveolar ridge is remodeled into its desired shape with paraffin wax, and the extended surgical splint is cured by clear acrylic resin. After subperiosteal tunnel dissection, the surgical splint is fixed to the mandible with circummandibular ligatures; then the HAP particles are injected into the tunnel. After healing, a treatment denture is cured between the artificial dentition and the surgical splint with self curing resin. In this method, the HAP particles are injected into the subperiosteal tunnel that is created between the surface of alveolar bone and the periosteum covered by the surgical splint; the migration of HAP particles completes the extension of the alveoral ridge.

Alveolar Ridge Augmentation↗
PubMed1991

[A study concerning radiographic diagnosis in dental caries of primary teeth. 1. The investigation on the indications for pulpotomy with formocresol].

The prognosis in the pulpotomy procedure with Formocresol during primary teeth has an excellent clinical results. On the other hand, some reports of a poor prognosis in radiographic findings were found. To obtain valuable information about the indications for pulpotomy procedures is quite difficult in the case of children concerning. In 1972, Kurihara reported radiographic findings the indications for the pulpotomy procedure in primary molars with a stable stage having no root absorption. The authors investigated the clinical and radiographic changes 6 months after the pulpotomy procedure with Formocresol. 26 primary lower molars having four criteria obtained from 3 to 7 year old patients were treated, and 4 primary lower molars were used as controls without the criteria. We found that the dental lamina dura were an especially important finding to judge the indications for pulpotomy with Formocresol in primary molars.

Child↗
PubMed1991

[A case report of supernumerary deciduous teeth with the permanent successor in the maxillary region].

We found pure primary supernumerary teeth in the maxillary right deciduous incisor region of a 3 year 11 month old girl. We reported the results of her oral and X-ray analysis results. We would like to report our findings on the results of her oral and X-ray analysis. 1) Two of the primary supernumerary teeth were found between the incisor and canine teeth in the right side of the primary dental arch, and their color, form and size were very similar to normal primary lateral incisor teeth. 2) We also found pure secondary supernumerary teeth by means of X-ray analysis. 3) We suggest that the permeability of the X-ray is important for the ascertainment of both primary and secondary supernumerary teeth by mean of X-ray analysis.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1991

[Present situation of nurses and patients in the sampling of feces for fecal occult blood test].

Ninety-five nurses in 4 hospitals and 45 hospitalized patients were asked on the sampling of feces for the fecal occult blood test. Eighty percent of the nurses understood the role and significance of the fecal occult test, however, most of them did not explain the exact way of sampling feces to the patient. About 70% of the patients had not been explained by any medical staff how to collect the feces, but they seemed to find an appropriate way of sampling.

Feces↗
PubMed1990

[Radiological and anatomical analysis of the mediastinum after lobectomy].

To our knowledge, there have been few reports on radiological analysis of the mediastinum after lobectomy. The author reviewed 36 cases with pre and postoperative plain films and CT to evaluate anatomical changes of the mediastinum and causes of obliteration of mediastinal lines. The mediastinum was always shifted to the surgical side (2.7 cm) with rotation (10 degrees). The anterior junction line was thickened uniformly by proliferation of adipose tissue. On plain films, mediastinal lines were obliterated on the side of surgery. Contralateral side could be affected only in left lobectomy. The anatomical changes of mediastinum after lobectomy may be composed of following three factors; rotational shift, proliferation of adipose tissue, and secondary changes due to former two factors. The rotational shift and proliferation of adipose tissue have significant effects on anteriorly located mediastinal lines such as paratracheal line and the margin of the superior vena cava (SVC). The lines of the other side to the resected lobe could also be obliterated by these two factors.

Aged↗