Extensive deep vein thrombosis in a postpartum woman with Behçet's disease associated with nephrotic syndrome.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Y Takeda.
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OBJECTIVES: We examined gender and age differences in the impact of multiple role occupancy on health-related behaviours and health status among working age Japanese adults. METHODS: We analysed the individually linked, nationally representative data of 5693 respondents aged 20-59, who completed the Comprehensive Survey of the Living Conditions of People on Health and Welfare and the National Nutrition Survey, conducted by the Japanese government in 1995. RESULTS: Younger women benefited from multiple roles (less smoking), while younger men demonstrated more high-risk behaviours (more smoking, heavier drinking). By contrast, middle-aged men benefited from multiple roles (less smoking, fewer health problems), while middle-aged women reported lower health maintenance behaviours (less exercise, fewer health check-ups). CONCLUSIONS: Japanese society appears to be undergoing a transition in gender roles, as reflected by age and gender differences in the impact of multiple roles on health and health-related behaviours. Middle-aged males benefit from multiple roles (being the primary bread-winner and being married), while middle-aged women do not. This pattern seems to break down for younger Japanese men and women.
Research into the equivalence of Western and Japanese conceptualizations of health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) is scarce. We used the Western (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, EORTC-QLQ-C30) and the Japanese (HRQoL-20) questionnaire in order to analyze the conceptual similarity of HR-QOL factors, and the associations between specific symptom items with overall HR-QOL in Japanese (n=265) and Dutch (n=174) patients with various types of cancer. Both populations completed both instruments. In both patient groups, the overall health scale of the EORTC-QLQ-C30 correlated highly (r=0.59; p<0.001) with the HRQOL-20 composite average score, indicating substantial conceptual comparability. Relationships between all EORTC-QLQ-C30 symptom items with HR-QOL were examined by ranking their correlations with the two overall measures of HR-QOL. Comparable patterns in the Japanese and Dutch samples were observed. The results suggest a considerable conceptual equivalence of HR-QOL in Japanese and Dutch cancer patients, and indicate a satisfactory structural and cross-cultural equivalence for the EORTC-QLQ-C30 with regard to items measuring functioning and specific symptoms. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine the impact of specific symptoms on general quality of life.
BACKGROUND: Recently genotype A which is rare in the patients in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) was frequently noted in patients with acute hepatitis B (AHB). To investigate their clinical and virological features, we studied the AHB patients in the past 5 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 98 patients with AHB and 80 patients with CHB admitted to our hospital between 1998 and 2003 were studied. RESULTS: Genotype A was not found in CHB but was frequently noted in AHB (p < 0.001). Comparison of the clinical features of acute hepatitis between the two major genotypes, A and C, homosexual and heterosexual with multiple partners were frequently seen among genotype A patients (p < 0.001). On the other hand, infection from steady partner showed a tendency to be more frequent in genotype C (p = 0.065). In genotype A, the levels of HBVDNA on admission was higher (p = 0.007) and AHB has significantly more frequently progress to chronic infection than in genotype C (p = 0.028). Phylogenetic analysis of genotype A revealed that almost all strains from homosexual men belonged not to the African type A1 but to the Western type A2. CONCLUSION: Genotype A has increased recently among AHB in Japan. This fact may correlate to promiscuous intercourse in high risk group. Prophylactic efforts should be considered to prevent the prevailing of genotype A.
The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors for graft dysfunction after adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Thirty-nine adults with chronic cirrhosis underwent LDLT between 1999 and 2004. Their postoperative courses were uneventful with no vascular or bile duct complications early after LDLT, except one mild hepatic artery stenosis. The preoperative MELD scores were significantly higher in the failed graft group (n=5) than the functioning graft group (n=34; P=.004), while the graft liver weight/standard liver volume ratio was similar between these groups. We concluded that a high preoperative MELD score was associated with postoperative graft failure and that graft size had little impact on graft outcome. Although large grafts would seem intuitively more suitable for sick recipients, we did not show a benefit among this cohort; the MELD score was the best predictor, a finding that is also most consistent with donor safety.
The aim of this study was to assess the value of alphafeto protein (AFP) mRNA-expressing cells detected in peripheral blood for predicting tumor recurrence after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The test group consisted of 25 patients who underwent LDLT for end-stage liver disease with HCC while the control group consisted of 37 living donors. Quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used for detection of AFP mRNA-expressing cells in peripheral blood. Nine (36%) of 25 patients developed tumor recurrences (four lung; one liver; one peritoneum; two bone; one adrenal gland) during the follow-up period. Perioperatively, AFP mRNA was positive in peripheral blood of eight patients (32.0%) but only in 1 (2.7%) of the control. Preoperative AFP mRNA was positive in three cases. Univariate analyses revealed that preoperative and perioperative AFP mRNA and microscopical vascular invasion were the significant predictors for HCC recurrence (P = .007, .037, and .005, respectively). In the patients with HCC exceeding Milan criteria (n = 15), the presence of AFP mRNA-positive cells in the peripheral blood correlated significantly with HCC recurrence (P = .033). We concluded that the presence of AFP mRNA-expressing cells could be a useful predictor of HCC recurrence in liver transplant patients.
Type-I interferons (IFNs) and the interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) play a major role in antivirus responses against hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. In this study, we studied expression profiles of ISGs in cells supporting subgenomic HCV replication (Huh7/Rep), and screened their activities to suppress HCV replication. Real-time PCR analyses showed that the expression levels of 23 ISGs were significantly lower in Huh7/Rep than naive Huh7 cells due to transcriptional suppression of the interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE). Furthermore, the expression level of ISGs was also decreased in the cured Huh7 cells in which replicon had been eliminated (cHuh7), indicating adaptation of the cells to support HCV replication by downregulating ISGs. On the other hand, expression of HCV replicon was significantly suppressed by overexpression of several ISGs including PKR, MxA, IRF-9, GBP-1, IFI-6-16, IFI-27, 25OAS and IRF-1. Knock down of GBP-1, IFI-6-16 and IFI-27 by short hairpin RNA resulted in increase of HCV replication. Thus, we conclude that downregulation of ISG expression is required in the host cells supporting HCV replication and that several ISGs directly suppress HCV replication. The search for ISGs that regulate HCV replication may help to elucidate the cellular antiviral defence mechanisms against HCV infection.
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The gingival epithelium is the physiologically important interface between the bacterially colonized gingival sulcus and periodontal soft and mineralized connective tissues, requiring protection from exposure to bacteria and their products. However, of the three epithelia comprising the gingival epithelium, the junctional epithelium has much wider intercellular spaces than the sulcular epithelium and oral gingival epithelium. Hence, the aim of the present study was to characterize the cell adhesion structure in the junctional epithelium compared with the other two epithelia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Gingival epithelia excised at therapeutic flap surgery from patients with periodontitis were examined for expression of adhesion molecules by immunofluorescence. RESULTS: In the oral gingival epithelium and sulcular epithelium, but not in the junctional epithelium, desmoglein 1 and 2 in cell-cell contact sites were more abundant in the upper than the suprabasal layers. E-cadherin, the main transmembranous molecule of adherens junctions, was present in spinous layers of the oral gingival epithelium and sulcular epithelium, but was scarce in the junctional epithelium. In contrast, desmoglein 3 and P-cadherin were present in all layers of the junctional epithelium as well as the oral gingival epithelium and sulcular epithelium. Connexin 43 was clearly localized to spinous layers of the oral gingival epithelium, sulcular epithelium and parts of the junctional epithelium. Claudin-1 and occludin were expressed in the cell membranes of a few superficial layers of the oral gingival epithelium. CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that the junctional epithelium contains only a few desmosomes, composed of only desmoglein 3; adherens junctions are probably absent because of defective E-cadherin. Thus, the anchoring junctions connecting junctional epithelium cells are lax, causing widened intercellular spaces. In contrast, the oral gingival epithelium, which has a few tight junctions, functions as a barrier.
Coagulation and fibrinolysis system was evaluated during and after pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB. Twenty-two atrial septal defect (ASD) patients were surgically repaired under CPB and aortic cross-clamp through right thoracotomy. Drainage was established by gravity, CPB flow was kept 2.4 l/min/m2 and ACT was controlled over 400 seconds. HCT, PLT, fibrinogen, AT-III, D-dimer, thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT), alpha2 plasmin inhibitor-plasmin complex (PIC), and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) were measured at 6 points [after induction of anesthesia, 10 minutes after initiating CPB, end of CPB, on the entrance of intensive care unit (ICU), postoperative day (POD) 1, and at outpatient division]. Both fibrinogen and AT-III showed low values during CPB (121.9 +/- 22.0 mg/dl, 57.6 +/- 10.6%). D-dimer increased at 1 week postoperatively in all patients (5.57 +/- 3.45 microg/ml). There were significantly positive correlations between CPB duration and TAT value at the end of CPB (r = 0.88, p < 0.01), on the entrance of ICU (r = 0.71, p < 0.01). There was also a positive correlation between CPB duration and PIC value on the entrance of ICU (r = 0.53, p < 0.01). Five patients showed high PAI-1 value on the entrance of ICU, which remained high in 2 of them on POD 1. The outcomes from the current study suggest that there is a potential of coagulation-dominant disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) during pediatric CPB even in ASD patients who do not need long CPB. Longer CPB and severe hemodilution might become risk factors.
We conducted a phase I/II study in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to increase the therapeutic index of the cisplatin-irinotecan combination by institution of an anti-late-diarrhoeal program (ADP). A total of 77 chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced NSCLC were enrolled. The cisplatin dose was fixed at 60 mg m(-2) (Day 1). Irinotecan was escalated in 5 mg m(-2) increments, starting from 60 mg m(-2) (Days 1 and 8). ADP consisted of oral sodium bicarbonate, magnesium oxide, basic water, and ursodeoxycholic acid, and was administered orally for 4 days with each dose of irinotecan. In the phase I portion, irinotecan pharmacokinetics was also examined. After the recommended dose of irinotecan with ADP was determined, a phase II study was conducted to evaluate the response. Maximum tolerated dose was reached at an irinotecan dose of 80 mg m(-2) (Grade 4 diarrhoea and neutropenia). Pharmacokinetic studies show that the maximum concentration and the area under the curve of both irinotecan and SN38 (active metabolite of irinotecan) tend to increase in the dose-dependent manner of irinotecan. The phase II portion of the study included 48 patients, who were treated with 75 mg m(-2) of irinotecan. Grade 3/4 toxicities included neutropenia in 65%, leucopenia in 33%, and late diarrhoea in 6% of the patients. During this treatment, PS did not change in 65% of patients. At the end of the chemotherapy, PS did not decline in 90% of patients. In the phase II portion, a response occurred in 63% (95% confidential interval (CI), 47-76%) of patients. Median time to progression was 19 weeks (95% CI, 15-22 weeks), and median survival was 52 weeks (95% CI, 39-64 weeks). This regimen of irinotecan and cisplatin with ADP resulted in promising efficacy with acceptable toxicity for patients with advanced NSCLC. This regimen is a candidate for the experimental arm towards future phase III studies.
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The lowest limit for detection (LLD) of the impurity concentration doped in semiconductors in the case of fluorescence XAFS measurements has been investigated as a function of the matrix of the impurity and the geometry of the measurement. When the impurity concentration is very low and other background noise is well suppressed, X-ray resonant Raman scattering by the constituent atoms of the matrix remains as a major background for the fluorescence-detected XAFS measurement. For example, in the fluorescence-detected XAFS measurement for Er-doped semiconductors at the Er L(III)-edge, the LLD of the Er concentration was about 5 x 10(14) to 1 x 10(15) cm(-2) for GaAs and GaP, and lower than 1 x 10(14) cm(-2) for InP. The resonant Raman scattering of Ga atoms in the host semiconductor determines the LLD.
The diagnosis of breast cancer has progressed owing to the improvement of both MRI equipments and MR techniques. CE-MRI is expected to be more useful for diagnosis of the existence and characteristics of breast cancer than mammography and ultrasound. Forty-three breast cancer patients, who underwent breast MRI examination before surgery and had histologically confirmed invasive ductal carcinomas, were included in this study. In 19, seven and 17 of them, carcinomas were histologically classified as papillotubular, solid-tubular, and scirrhous type, respectively. In dynamic MRI studies, the MR parameters were calculated from the signal intensity determined before and at five time-points after a bolus of 0.1 mmol Gd-DTPA/kg in the chosen region of interest (ROI). The differential analysis of MR parameters with reference to histopathology was performed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in dynamic studies. Four of 15 parameters analyzed, ENH1-2, ENH1, MSLP, and SAT3, were significantly different between papillotubular and scirrhous carcinoma. The dynamic curve of papillotubular carcinoma reached a maximum in the very early phase and then decreased slowly (linear pattern), while that of scirrhous carcinoma peaked in the slightly later phase and then decreased (parabolic pattern). In the differential analysis by Kruskal-Wallis test, although no significant differences were found in any morphological parameters among three histological types, spicula formation and rim enhancement tended to appear comparatively frequently in scirrhous and solid-tubular carcinoma. CE-MRI might reveal the differences of growth characteristics among different histological types of breast carcinomas and provide a diagnostic method useful for estimation of the prognosis of breast cancer.
An investigation was conducted to determine the distribution, virulence gene profile and phenotypes of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains within a dairy farm in Kolkata, India by characterizing the STEC strains isolated from healthy dairy cow and calf stool samples, raw milk and farm floor swabs from July 2001 to March 2002. Primary screening by multiplex-PCR detected stx1 and stx2, the common virulence genes of STEC, in 18.9% of cow faeces, 32.4% of calf stool samples, 21.6% of farm floor swabs and 4.5% of raw milk samples and viable STEC were recovered from 4.5, 9.9, 8.1 and 1.8% of the corresponding PCR-positive samples. Strains harbouring stx1 (63.3%) and hlyA (53.3%) were frequently detected compared to eae (13.3%). Most of the strains harboured similar sets of reported virulence genes common among isolates from diarrhoea patients. Most of the strains also exhibited multidrug resistance, sorbitol fermentation and produced enterohaemolysin. The randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR (RAPD-PCR) profile of the STEC strains isolated from the farm milieu revealed diverse banding patterns and clonal analysis demonstrated that the strains from different sources were not identical but showed some genetic relatedness. The study demonstrates the potential of dairy farm for housing virulent STEC.
Weissenberg screens and a translating cassette have been employed to allow an imaging plate to collect 30 scans per readout. In this configuration the imaging plate functions as a curved one-dimensional position-sensitive detector and, by changing the sample angle for each of the scans, two-dimensional images were produced in reciprocal space. This method of data collection leads to a reduction in scan time compared with methods based on a scintillation detector, particularly for asymmetric reflections. The data-collection method was tested using InGaN/GaN/AlN multilayers on sapphire substrates, since these exhibit broad features in reciprocal space. The geometry of the scans in reciprocal space required the data to be interpolated onto a Cartesian grid. Several interpolation schemes were investigated, with the results compared with the reciprocal space maps collected using a triple-axis scheme with a point detector. The quality of the interpolated reciprocal space maps depends upon the size and shape of the feature in reciprocal space, the interpolation method used, and the step size of the sample rotation. The method can be extended to three dimensions without an increase in data-collection time.
OBJECTIVE: Evolving evidence of anti-inflammatory effects is observed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or ulcerative colitis following periodic adsorptive granulocyte and monocyte (GM) apheresis with a column containing cellulose acetate (CA) beads as apheresis carriers. This study was undertaken to obtain insights into mechanisms of anti-inflammatory actions of adsorptive GM apheresis with CA beads. METHODS: In a series of in-vitro experiments, we investigated the effects of plasma proteins and the leucocytes beta2 integrin (CD18) on granulocyte adsorption to CA beads. RESULTS: Granulocyte adsorption to CA beads required plasma IgG, the complement C3 and was inhibited by an antibody to leucocytes CD18. Further, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) which have strong anti-inflammatory actions were released by granulocytes that adhered to CA beads. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma IgG, C3 derived complement activation fragments and leucocytes CD18 are involved in granulocyte adhesion to CA beads and hence the release of HGF and IL-1ra.
Shiga toxin producing-Escherichia coli (STEC) has not yet been identified as an important aetiologic agent of human disease in Thailand. To evaluate the potential for STEC to contribute to human disease in Thailand, 139 fecal samples were collected from healthy cattle from five different provinces and analysed by genotypic and phenotypic methods for STEC. Of 139 samples, 27 (19.4%) were positive for stx1 and/or stx2 by multiplex polymerase chain reaction, or for O157 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by immunoassay. Isolates positive for stx and/or O157 were subdivided into 49 strains that varied in the presence of the virulence determinants stx1+/stx2+ (22 strains), stx2+ (22 strains), stx1+ (4 strains), and O157 LPS (1 strain). Within these 49 distinguishable strains, other virulence determinants varied as follows: hlyA+ (77.6%), eae+ and tir+ (4.1%), and katP+ (6.12%). The most predominant profile (22 isolates) was stx1+/stx2+, eae-, tir-, etpD-, hlyA+, katP-. For further characterization of the isolated strains by two molecular typing assays, plasmid profiles and ERIC PCR were performed. The results suggest that the genetic and phenotypic profiles of STEC associated with human disease are not prevalent at this time in cattle in Thailand.