A simple and rapid method for the determination of macrophage activating factor involving a new type of apparatus suitable for the measurement of macrophage chemiluminescence

A simple and rapid method for the determination of macrophage activating factor is described. A new type of apparatus suitable for the measurement of macrophage chemiluminescence was devised, and the effect of lymphokines on macrophage activities was studied by measuring phorbol myristate acetate-induced luminol-dependent chemiluminescence. An outstanding feature of the new apparatus is that the plastic dish used for the cell culture can be used as the vessel for the chemiluminescence reaction. When thioglycollate-elicited ICR mouse peritoneal macrophages were incubated with lymphokines, their ability to generate chemiluminescence increased rapidly, reaching a maximal level at about 4 h, and then it progressively decreased to the control level at 8 h. Although this increasing effect of lymphokines on macrophage chemiluminescence was short-lived, it could be seen at a relatively low concentration, at which lymphokine-mediated cytotoxic activity of macrophages was not observed.     

An enzyme immunoassay for K-76 monocarboxylic acid, a novel anticomplementary compound

A competitive enzyme immunoassay for K-76 monocarboxylic acid (K-76COOH), a novel anticomplementary compound, was developed. K-76COOH was directly coupled with bovine serum albumin through a formation of Schiff base and successive reduction. The spectral data of the conjugate showed no evidence of a Schiff base form. Using the specific antiserum, the proposed homologous assay made it possible to detect K-76COOH at the lowest value of 1 ng/ml of plasma. The immunoassay was validated by the correlation with HPLC analyses. The time courses of plasma levels of K-76COOH after a single oral administration to beagle dogs were precisely determined with a very low absorption efficiency. From these results, it is suggested that the plasma values obtained are insufficient for K-76COOH to exert its anticomplementary action in vivo; thus K-76COOH may have another immunopharmacological function.     

Dietary Olive Oil Intake Improves Running Endurance with Intramuscular Triacylglycerol Accumulation in Mice

Olive oil is a functional food shown to have a variety of bioactive effects. Therefore, we expect it to be a novel functional food with an exercise-mimetic effect on skeletal muscles. This study aimed to investigate the effect of olive oil on the endurance capacity and muscle metabolism in mice. Mice fed a 7% (w/w) olive oil diet for eight weeks showed improved treadmill running endurance and increased intramuscular triacylglycerol (IMTG) accumulation in the gastrocnemius muscle compared to soybean oil diet-fed controls. The increase in running endurance with olive oil intake was independent of the muscle fiber type. To elucidate underlying the mechanism of elevated IMTG levels, we examined the expression levels of the genes related to lipid metabolism. We found that the expression of diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase1 (DGAT1) was significantly upregulated in the muscle of olive oil diet-fed mice. In addition, the olive oil diet-fed mice showed no metabolic impairment or differences in growth profiles compared to the controls. These results suggest that dietary olive oil intake affects muscle metabolism and muscle endurance by increasing energy accumulation.     

Abdominal angiography is associated with reduced in-hospital mortality among pediatric patients with blunt splenic and hepatic injury: A propensity-score-matching study from the national trauma registry in Japan

PurposeThe aim of this study was to assess the association between the implementation of abdominal angiography and outcome among pediatric patients with blunt splenic or hepatic injury.MethodsThis was a retrospective observational study, with a study period of 14 years, from January 2004 to December 2017. Blunt-trauma patients with splenic or hepatic injury who were less than 19 years old were included in this study. We used propensity-score-(PS) matching analysis to assess the relationship between abdominal angiography and in-hospital mortality.ResultsIn total, 639 patients were eligible for analysis, with 257 patients included in the abdominal-angiography group and 382 patients in the no-abdominal-angiography group. After PS matching, 224 patients from each group were selected. In the PS matched patients, in-hospital mortality was lower in the abdominal-angiography group than in the no-abdominal-angiography group (4.9% vs. 11.2%, odds ratio 0.416, 95% confidence interval 0.177–0.903).ConclusionIn this population, the implementation of abdominal angiography was significantly associated with lower in-hospital mortality among pediatric patients with blunt splenic or hepatic injury compared with nonimplementation of abdominal angiography.Type of studyPrognosis study.Level of evidenceIII     

Safety and efficacy of Tolvaptan in real-world patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease- interim results of SLOW-PKD surveillance

Clinical and Experimental Nephrology - Tolvaptan is a vasopressin type 2 receptor antagonist and has been used to treat autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) since 2014. There has...     

Multiple channels for occupational health services to small-scale enterprises in Japan

This study was performed to clarify the characteristics of multiplechannels for occupational health services (OHS) to small-scaleenterprises (SSEs) in Japan employing less than 50 workers byreviewing relevant research papers. OHS were provided to SSEsby both government organizations and non-government organizations.Government organizations included the Japanese Industrial Safety& Health Association, regional occupational health centres,prefectural occupational health promotion centres, and otherhealth centres. Non-government organizations were parent companies,occupational health organizations, hospitals, medical associations,trade associations and health insurance societies. The qualityof OHS in terms of provision of health personnel and the natureof their services differed greatly between the organizations.Health care programmes were more popular than management ofthe work environment or working practices in OHS to SSEs. Feworganizations provided comprehensive OHS to SSEs. At present,parent companies and occupational health organizations appearto provide the best OHS available to SSEs in Japan.