Plasma endotoxin and cytokine concentrations in patients with hemorrhagic shock

OBJECTIVES: The roles of cytokines and endotoxin in hemorrhagic shock, particularly the translocation of endotoxin and bacteria during hemorrhagic shock, were investigated. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Critical care and emergency center of a university hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty-nine patients with hemorrhagic shock and 20 healthy controls. INTERVENTIONS: Serial blood samples were collected from both study and control patients. Standard resuscitation techniques were used. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Plasma levels of endotoxin and various cytokines were determined repeatedly during hemorrhagic shock. Endotoxin was measured using an endotoxin-specific assay in addition to a new perchloric acid method for pretreatment of plasma. Cytokines were measured by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Plasma endotoxin concentrations remained within the normal range for 7 days after admission. Although levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and several interleukins increased slightly in some patients, these cytokines did not reach the levels seen in septic shock. CONCLUSIONS: Translocation of bacteria or endotoxin from the gastrointestinal tract into the bloodstream has been noted in animal experiments; however, translocation was not detected in our patients with hemorrhagic shock.     

Dopamine D3 receptor gene polymorphism and the psychiatric symptoms seen in first-break schizophrenic patients

Cycads, the most primitive of the living gymnosperms, have been used and continue to be used for food and medicinal purposes by many cultures, although toxins must be removed before ingestion. In our quest to identify tropical plants that contain inhibitors of the cytochrome P-450 aromatase and thus may be efficacious in treating estrogen-dependent tumors, we have screened extracts from 5 species of cycad folia encompassing 3 genera: Cycas cairnsiana F. Muell., Cycas revoluta Thunb., Cycas rumphii Miq., Dioon spinulosum Dyer and Encephalartos ferox Bertol. All extracts were found to contain inhibitors of the human enzyme.     

Lack of point mutation of the APP gene in sporadic Alzheimer's disease in Japanese

We investigated point mutations of the APP gene in 66 patients with sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 180 normal individuals by use of the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) method. Both the AD patients and the normal individuals were Japanese. We extracted DNA from blood samples using the phenol-chloroform method and amplified exons 16 and 17 of the APP gene by PCR. PCR products were digested by MBO-II (exon 16) and BCL-1(exon 17). Electrophoresis was carried out with 3% agarose gel and the separated fragments were stained with ethidium bromide. In addition we investigated other point mutations of exons 16 and 17 by use of the PCR-SSCP (single stranded conformation polymorphisms) method, and found no fragments that exhibited point mutations in the AD patients and normal individuals. These findings indicate that the presence of point mutation of the APP gene is not a major cause of AD in the Japanese population.     

Pulsed electron-beam annealing of phosphorus-implanted silicon

Electrical properties of phosphorus-implanted silicon annealed by a single shot of a high-power pulsed electron beam have been studied by differential Hall-effect and sheet-resistivity measurements. Nearly 100% electrical activation of implanted phosphorus can be obtained after electron-beam annealing at an incident energy density of 0.92 J/cm2. Uniformly distributed carrier concentration profiles have been formed by electron-beam annealing.     

Silicone-clad fused-silica-core fibre

We have developed a very-low-loss optical fibre employing silicone resin as the cladding and fused silica as the core. The minimum transmission loss was 3.2 dB/km at 0.84 ?m and the half-pulse width spread was 19 ns/km at 0.80 ?m.     

Recent progress in fiber fabrication techniques by vapor-phase axial deposition

Five years have passed since the invention of the VAD technique. Fabrication techniques for the various kinds of VAD fibers such as graded index fibers, single-mode fibers, high NA fibers, and single polarization fibers have been developed. This paper mainly outlines the recent improvements in the VAD fiber manufacturing techniques such as the preform fabrication technique, dehydration technique, refractive index profile formation technique, and the single-mode fiber manufacturing technique.