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Notes: Aims: Recent studies suggest that primary low-grade gastric lymphomas of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) are cured in many cases between 1 and 18 months after H. pylori eradication. The aim of this study is to elucidate when complete regression (CR) of MALT lymphoma can be histologically predicted after H. pylori eradication.Methods and results: Twenty-one patients with low-grade gastric MALT lymphoma were treated with triple therapy (amoxicillin, clarythromycin and proton pump inhibitor) for 14 days. Subsequently, they were followed up by sequential endoscopy and biopsy (number of biopsy specimens for each endoscopy is 3–8, with an average of 4) from 91 to 657 days (average: 309 ± 165 days). Eradication of H. pylori infection was achieved in all patients. Nine patients were free of lymphoma at 1 to 2 months after eradication and remained in CR at 163–657 days. Twelve patients showed residual lymphoma at 1 to 2 months after eradication. Five out of 12 patients revealed only one or two small foci of lymphoma-cell aggregation and showed a high incidence (80%) of CR at the latest biopsy (135–434 days, average 276 ± 115 days after eradication), while seven patients showed diffuse remains of lymphoma cells and indicated CR in only one case (14%) at 362 days, partial regression in five cases at 130–431 days (average 227 ± 114 days), and no change in one case at 91 days after eradication.Conclusions: These results suggest that CR of low-grade MALT lymphoma can be predicted at 1 to 2 months after eradication therapy by checking histological changes of MALT lymphoma cells.

Notes: A dihydropteroate synthase gene from the chromosomal DNA of the fish-pathogenic bacteria Lactococcus garvieae (formerly Enterococcus seriolicida) was cloned. This gene was then chosen as the target for polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The designated PCR primer set only amplified a 709-bp DNA fragment from L. garvieae strains, and did not amplify the same molecular size fragment from related species of L. lactis, Enterococcus faecalis, E. faecium or β-haemolytic Streptococcus sp. The kidney tissue of yellowtail, Seriola quinqueradiata (Temminck and Schlegel), a species which is naturally infected with L. garvieae, and also kidney tissue samples of healthy yellowtail were stored in TNES-Urea. The DNA was extracted from tissue samples by a modification of the standard method and by a boiled-extraction method. In particular, template DNA was utilized within 30 min following extraction and purification by the boiled-extraction method. These species-specific PCR primers could amplify a L. garvieae target sequence from yellowtail which were naturally infected with L. garvieae. The total procedure for the diagnosis of L. garvieae infections in fish, from the point of DNA extraction to observation in an agarose gel following electrophoresis, can be performed in less than 4 h.

Notes: The cusp leak was found to have a profile of multiple peaks, when measured near the filaments. This is attributable to multiple discharge paths of primary electrons. The supercusp magnetic configuration is one of several configurations in which strong magnetic-field lines flow into the backplate from the extraction grid. The negative-ion current was measured with a Faraday cup with a magnetic filter changing current from 0 to 100 A. The plasma characteristics were measured in the driver and the extraction regions. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: Adrenomedullin is a peptide hormone with multifunctional biological properties. Its most characteristic effects are the regulation of circulation and the control of fluid and electrolyte homeostasis through peripheral and central nervous system actions. Although adrenomedullin is a vasodilator of cerebral vasculature, and it may be implicated in the pathomechanism of cerebrovascular diseases, the source of adrenomedullin in the cerebral circulation has not been investigated thus far. We measured the secretion of adrenomedullin by radioimmunoassay and detected adrenomedullin mRNA expression by Northern blot analysis in primary cultures of rat cerebral endothelial cells (RCECs), pericytes and astrocytes. We also investigated the expression of specific adrenomedullin receptor components by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and intracellular cAMP concentrations in RCECs and pericytes. RCECs had approximately one magnitude higher adrenomedullin production (135 ± 13 fmol/105 cells per 12 h; mean ± SD, n = 10) compared to that previously reported for other cell types. RCECs secreted adrenomedullin mostly at their luminal cell membrane. Adrenomedullin production was not increased by thrombin, lipopolysaccharide or cytokines, which are known inducers of adrenomedullin release in peripheral endothelial cells, although it was stimulated by astrocyte-derived factors. Pericytes had moderate, while astrocytes had very low basal adrenomedullin secretion. In vivo experiments showed that adrenomedullin plasma concentration in the jugular vein of rats was approximately 50% higher than that in the carotid artery or in the vena cava. Both RCECs and pericytes, which are potential targets of adrenomedullin in cerebral microcirculation, expressed adrenomedullin receptor components, and exhibited a dose-dependent increase in intracellular cAMP concentrations after exogenous adrenomedullin administration. Antisense oligonucleotide treatment significantly reduced adrenomedullin production by RCECs and tended to decrease intraendothelial cAMP concentrations. These findings may suggest an important autocrine and paracrine role for adrenomedullin in the regulation of cerebral circulation and blood–brain barrier functions. Cerebral endothelial cells are a potential source of adrenomedullin in the central nervous system, where adrenomedullin can also be involved in the regulation of neuroendocrine functions.

Notes: Roots in the soil are illuminated by far-red (FR) light passed through plant tissues in the daytime, and are in complete darkness at night. To evaluate whether gene expression of roots is affected by a dark-FR light cycle, gene expression profiles were analysed for dark-adapted versus light-grown plants and for FR light-illuminated versus dark-adapted plants using the RIKEN Arabidopsis full-length cDNA microarray (containing approximately 7000 independent, full-length cDNA groups). Among candidate dark- and FR-regulated genes, several were further analysed. Eleven dark-inducible and five dark-repressed genes were characterized. Almost all the dark-inducible and –repressed genes were oppositely regulated by FR light illumination. The functions of dark- and FR-responsive genes and the significance of FR light-regulated gene expression in roots under ground are discussed.

Notes: We have reported that supraoptic nucleus (SON) neurones are excited by prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) presumably via dual postsynaptic PG receptors, FP receptors and unidentified EP receptors, and that presynaptic EP receptors may also be involved in the excitation. In the present study, to clarify the receptor mechanism of the PGE2-mediated actions on SON neurones, we studied the pre- and postsynaptic effects of four newly developed EP agonists that are selective for each of the four EP receptors, EP1−4, on rat SON neurones using extracellular recording and whole-cell patch-clamp techniques. The EP4 agonist ONO-AE1-329 mimicked the excitatory effects of PGE2, whereas the EP1 agonist ONO-DI-004, the EP2 agonist ONO-AE1-257 and the EP3 agonist ONO-AE-248 had little or no effect. The effects of ONO-AE1-329 were unaffected by the EP1/FP/TP antagonist, ONO-NT-012, which potently suppressed the excitation caused by the FP agonist fluprostenol and PGE2. ONO-AE1-329 caused marked excitation when responses to fluprostenol were desensitized by repeated applications of fluprostenol. Patch-clamp analysis in SON neurones showed that ONO-AE1-329 induced inward currents at a holding potential of −70 mV and the reversal potential of the currents was −35.1 ± 2.3 mV. On the other hand, the frequency of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents recorded from SON slice preparations was suppressed by ONO-AE-248, but unaffected by the other three EP agonists. These results suggest that SON neurones possess postsynaptic EP4 receptors and that γ-aminobutyric acid neurones innervating SON neurones possess presynaptic EP3 receptors in their terminals. Activation of the two EP receptors may be involved in the excitatory regulation of SON neurones by PGE2.

Notes: Abstract.  The hypernucleus Be is investigated in an α-α-Λ three-body model using the Faddeev formalism. We use an α-α interaction in which the Pauli-forbidden states are correctly taken into account and we employ some phenomenological potentials between the α and Λ particles. We obtained two bound states for and , and three resonance states of . We studied the properties of these states by calculating the components and the expectation values of the potential for each partial wave. It is found that a few channels dominate in the α (α, Λ) and states, so that the alpha-clusters or the 8Be core are still alive in the nucleus. In a case where the two alpha particles are fixed on an axis the contour plots of the distribution of the Λ particle are shown. With the assistance of these plots one can visually understand that some of them are shell-model-like states while others are well developed cluster-model-like states. For the structure of Be, it is concluded that the Λ particle is loosely coupled in S- and P-wave orbits about the 8Be(0+) and 8Be(2+) core states. Finally, we discuss a redundant state in the Faddeev amplitude which could arise from the treatment of symmetrization.