The Effect of Biliary Pressure on Antibiotic Excretion into Bile

Abstract: Biliary obstruction has been recognized to inhibit excretion of antibiotics into bile. In the present study, using cefpirome sulfate (CPR), we sought to determine the effect of biliary pressure on antibiotic transfer into bile in patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Thirty-six patients with a variety of biliopancreatic diseases (free of renal disease or hypoproteinemia) received a single intravenous dose of CPR (1 g) prior to ERCP. Under fluoroscopy a diagnostic catheter with a metal ball tip was advanced into the middle portion of the extrahepatic bile duct or, in cases of common bile duct obstruction, above the obstruction. Biliary pressure was measured via the same catheter using duodenal pressure as a reference. Subsequently, bile was aspirated, and blood was withdrawn simultaneously. The mean interval between CPR administration and the bile and blood samplings was 67±12 minutes. The bile CPR concentration and the bile/serum ratio of CPR concentrations showed a significant inverse correlation with biliary pressure, but the serum CPR concentration did not. The bile CPR concentration and the bile/serum ratio of CPR concentrations differed significantly between the group with normal biliary pressures, below 10 mmHg, and that with biliary pressures exceeding 10 mmHg. The serum CPR concentrations of the two groups were similar. These results suggest that biliary pressure plays an important role in determining antibiotic transfer into bile.     

Observations of dilated cardiomyopathy with marked clinical improvement

Although the prognosis of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is poor, some patients occasionally follow favorable clinical courses and have significant improvement in cardiac function. To elucidate the mechanism of such improvement, we compared the clinical and pathological findings of 54 cases with DCM, including 12 cases with significant improvement (Dd less than 55 mm, %FS greater than 22%) during two years' follow-up (improved group), 26 without significant improvement (unimproved group), and 16 who died within two years (decreased group). Percent fractional shortening (%FS) in the deceased group was less than that in the unimproved group (12.4 +/- 3.9 vs 17.2 +/- 6.2, p less than 0.01). Pulmonary capillary pressure (PC) and % fibrosis in the deceased group were greater than those in the unimproved group [(22.7 +/- 9.5 vs 11.4 +/- 4.2 mmHg, p less than 0.001), (21.7 +/- 9.9 vs 13.4 +/- 3.6, p less than 0.01)], respectively. Although Dd, Ds, %FS, end-diastolic wall thickness (Thd), and PC in the improved group were not different from those in the unimproved group. End-systolic wall stress (WSes) in the improved group was greater than that in the unimproved group (376 +/- 73 vs 319 +/- 60 g/cm2, p less than 0.02), but % fibrosis was less in the improved group (7.6 +/- 3.4 vs 13.4 +/- 3.6, p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Social support and individual styles of coping in the Japanese workplace: an occupational stress model by structural equation analysis

The aim of the present study was to ascertain the role of social support and individual styles of coping on employee well‐being. The subjects were intermediate managers working for a zipper and sash manufacturing company in Japan. Measurements were made of the following: depression using the Self‐rating Depression Scale (SDS), job demand, job control, social support using Karasek's Job Content Questionnaire, and of three coping styles: emotion‐oriented coping, task‐oriented coping and avoidance‐oriented coping using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). Data was analysed by structural equation modeling. Each coping style had a direct effect on depression. Emotion‐oriented coping had a negative effect. On the other hand, task‐oriented coping and avoidance‐oriented coping had a positive effect. Moreover, there was an indirect effect that coping styles precede and determine the perception of social support as well as job demand and control. Social support showed a direct positive effect on depression. However, the overall impact on employee well‐being was greater for individual coping styles as compared to social support from either supervisors or co‐workers. The present study showed the effectiveness of coping strategies in the workplace. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Active Specific Chemoimmunotherapy of Lymph-node Metastasis from a Poorly Immunogenic Murine Fibrosarcoma

The fibrosarcoma MCA-SP, which was recently induced with methylcholanthrene (MCA) in C3H/ HeJ mice, displays poor immunogenicity in in vivo prophylaxis. A cell variant MCA-SPN1, which bears a tumor-specific transplantation antigen (TSTA) cross-reactive with the parental line MCA-SP, was selected because of its proclivity for axillary lymph-node metastases. Although these lymph-node metastases were resistant to sinecomitant (post-excisional) immunity, they were susceptible to combined active and passive specific Chemoimmunotherapy, using tumor-specific, 1-butanol-extracted, preparative isoelectric focusing-purified, TSTA (1 fig weekly sc injections), cyclophosphamide (CY, a single intraperitoneal 20 mg/kg dose), and adoptive transfer of immune splenic T lymphocytes, which had been re-stimulated in vitro with extracted TSTA and interleukin-2. This triple regimen both reduced the incidence of spontaneous lymph-node metastases, and prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing, as well as tumor-resected hosts. The results from local adoptive transfer assay using T-lymphocyte snbpopulations of spleen and lymph nodes in these treated hosts suggested that Lyt 2⁺ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) mediated in vivo tumor-neutralization. Thus TSTA/CY/CTL therapy activates tumoricidal host responses effective against the poorly immunogenic MCA-SP tumor and its lymph-node metastases.     

Prognosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: echocardiographic and postmortem histopathologic study of 30 patients

To clarify the influence of cardiac function of myocardial histologic lesions on the prognosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), most recent echocardiographic findings of 30 deceased patients were reviewed. In 12 patients, histological sections from the left ventricular transverse plane made at necropsy were examined. According to the main causes of death, patients were categorized into four groups as sudden death (17 cases), heart failure death (four cases), embolic death (four cases), and non-cardiac death (five cases). 1. Clinically, atrial fibrillation and heart failure (NYHA III, IV) were frequently observed in heart failure and embolic groups. 2. Echocardiographically, left ventricular wall thickness did not differ among the four groups, but percent fractional shortening was significantly smaller in heart failure group than in non-cardiac group, and left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVDd) and left atrial dimension were significantly greater in heart failure group than in non-cardiac group. The normalized rapid filling rate was less in heart failure, embolic, sudden death and non-cardiac groups in that order. 3. Histopathologically, the mean myocyte diameter (MD) and percent area of disarray (%D) did not differ among the four groups, but % area of massive fibrosis (MF) greater than 2 mm2 was larger in heart failure, embolic, sudden death and non-cardiac groups in that order, especially in heart failure group. 4. Comparison of echocardiographic and histopathological findings: Though MD and %D did not correlate with any echocardiographic indices, %MF correlated significantly with LVDd (r = 0.83, p less than 0.005), and correlated inversely with the normalized rapid filling rate (r = -0.80, p less than 0.005).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Four new macrocyclic trichothecenes from two strains of marine-derived fungi of the genus Myrothecium

Three new macrocyclic trichothecenes, named 12'-hydroxyroridin E (1), roridin Q (2), and 2',3'deoxyroritoxin D (3), were isolated from the marine-derived fungus Myrothecium roridum TUF 98F42, and a new macrocyclic trichothecene, named roridin R (4), was isolated from Myrothecium sp. TUF 02F6 together with roridins A and H and isororidin E. The structures of new compounds were determined on the basis of their spectral data. Compound 2 possessed a unique ether moiety at the 13' position of 1. Compound 4 was a 2',3'-dihydro-2'-hydroxy derivative of roridin H. The IC50 values of compounds 1, 2, and 4 against the murine leukemia cell line L1210 were 0.19, 31.2, and 0.45 microM, respectively. Compound 3 showed antiyeast activity to Saccharomyces cerevisiae at 1 microg/disc (inhibition zone: 12.2 mm), which was about 10 time more active than roritoxin D (10.2 mm at 10 microg/disc).