Discrepancy between mental rotation and perspective-taking abilities in normal aging assessed by Piaget's Three-mountain task

In a cross-sectional study, we examined age-related differences in visuo-spatial ability associated with image rotation, using two variants of Piaget's 'Three-Mountain Task.' The object-mental rotation (OMR) task detects the ability to mentally rotate an image, whereas the subject-mental rotation (SMR) task reveals the ability to mentally change one's perspective. A group of 33 young adults, 26 middle-aged adults, and 31 elderly normal adults were studied. Both tasks revealed age-related differences in performance but a larger difference between middle-aged and elderly group was observed for SMR than OMR performance. Age-related increases in the 'egocentric' type of error were found only on the SMR task. The results suggest that the ability to mentally change one's perspective declines with age, perhaps more than the ability to mentally rotate objects.     

Efficacy of active core rewarming using fluid heating system HOTLINE before and during the operation in a patient with for panperitonitis in state of shock and hypothermia

A 62-year-old man was transported to the emergency room. He was in the state of shock and hypothermia of 34.2 degrees C. Fluid therapy was started using a HOTLINE to raise the body temperature, with vasopressors, vitamin B1 and sodium bicarbonate after checking arterial blood gas. Diagnosis of panperitonitis was made and operation was started immediately. We used HOTLINE before and during the operation. Body temperature returned to normal ranges, and hemodynamic state was stabilized at the end of the operation. After the operation, he received controlled artificial ventilation and nutrition support with intravenous hyperalimentation. Though he was complicated with disseminated intravascular coagulation, he went to general ward 17 days, and was discharged at 47 days after the operation. Sepsis accompanied with hypothermia leads to poor prognosis. We used fluid therapy with rapid-heating, and obtained good outcome. HOTLINE is effective for hypothermia in an emergency patient, because its effect is sure and does not obstruct the examination and management.     

Purification and partial characterization of acetyl-coA synthetase in rat liver mitochondria

Acetyl-CoA synthetase (AceCS), which catalyzes the activation of acetate to produce acetyl-CoA, was found to have a much greater Km value for acetate in liver mitochondria than that in the heart mitochondria of rats, indicating that two different types of AceCS are located in the liver and heart mitochodria. Recently, Fujino et al. reported that mouse heart mitochondrial AceCS, designated AceCS2, was expressed in a wide range of tissues, however, it was apparently absent from the liver. In this study, liver mitochondrial AceCS activity, but not heart AceCS2, was greatly induced in di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)-treated rats. We purified and characterized the rat liver mitochondrial AceCS. The molecular mass of the enzyme estimated by SDS-PAGE was -58 kDa, which was quite different from that of the heart mitochondrial enzyme, AceCS2. The calculated Km value for the acetate of the partially purified liver enzyme was much greater, being about 100 times that of heart enzyme, AceCS2.     

Prognostic significance of high-resolution CT findings in small peripheral adenocarcinoma of the lung: a retrospective study on 64 patients

OBJECTIVE: We studied the prognostic importance of high-resolution CT (HRCT) findings in lung adenocarcinomas. PATIENTS AND METHODS: HRCT findings (lesion size, percentage of ground-glass opacity (GGO) areas of lesion, and presence or absence of lobulation, coarse spiculation, air space, pleural tag, and multiplicity of lesion), clinical data (age and surgical method), and pathologic findings (tumor subtypes and presence or absence of nodal metastasis) in 64 consecutive patients with 64 peripheral adenocarcinomas of 20 mm or less (mean, 13 mm), including 36 women and 28 men with a mean age of 64 years were analyzed and correlated with survival of the patients using Kaplan-Meier method and stepwise Cox proportional hazards modeling. Follow-up periods of the patients ranged from 6 to 45 months (mean, 22 months). Tumors were classified into six subtypes (types A-F) according to tumor growth patterns defined by Noguchi et al. RESULTS: Six (9%) of the 64 patients died of lung cancer. In univariate analyses, a significant difference was noted for lesion size (P=0.043), the percentage of GGO areas (P=0.005), and tumor subtypes (P=0.006). Lesion size of <15 mm (n=35), a lesion with GGO areas of >57% (n=36), and type A (n=16) or type B adenocarcinomas (n=16) indicated a significantly better survival. In multivariate analyses using these three parameters as independent variables, the percentage of GGO areas was the only significant independent factor for survival (P=0.044, relative risk=0.95). CONCLUSION: GGO areas measured on HRCT may have an independent prognostic significance of small adenocarcinomas of the lung.     

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate decreases VEGF production in head and neck and breast carcinoma cells by inhibiting EGFR-related pathways of signal transduction

In a recent study on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells we found that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a major biologically active component of green tea, inhibited activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and related signaling pathways. Since activation of EGFR signaling pathways is associated with angiogenesis, we examined the effects of EGCG on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production by YCU-H891 HNSCC and MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cell lines, because we found that both of these cell lines display autocrine activation of transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha)/EGFR signaling and produce high levels of VEGF. Treatment with EGCG inhibited the constitutive activation of the EGFR, Stat3, and Akt in both cell lines. These changes were associated with inhibition of VEGF promoter activity and cellular production of VEGF. Mechanistic studies indicated that inhibition of Stat3, but not mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)1 or phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K), significantly decreased VEGF promoter activity. However, the inhibitory effects of a dominant negative Stat3 on VEGF expression was not as strong as that produced by EGCG. An analysis of alternative pathways indicated that EGCG strongly inhibited the constitutive activation of NF-kappa B in both cell lines, and an NF-kappa B inhibitor strongly inhibited VEGF production. These results suggest that EGCG inhibits VEGF production by inhibiting both the constitutive activation of Stat3 and NF-kappa B, but not extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) or Akt, in these cells. Therefore, EGCG may be useful in treating HNSCC and breast carcinoma because it can exert both antiproliferative and antiangiogenic activities.     

An elderly patient with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer that responded remarkably to combination chemotherapy of vinorelbine and gemcitabine

A 73-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of hemoptysis in November 1999. A chest CT revealed a mass shadow in the right upper lobe and enlarged hilar and pretracheal lymph nodes. Bone scintigraphy showed a bone metastasis in right middle rib. He was treated with vinorelbine (25 mg/m2 days 1,8) and gemcitabine (800 mg/m2 days 1,8) every 3 weeks from December 1999. After 4 courses of chemotherapy, the primary tumor and hilar lymph node were remarkably reduced in size, and his hemoptysis disappeared and body weight increased. It is suggested that combination chemotherapy with vinorelbine and gemcitabine is effective for elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer with good performance status.     

Utility of frequency-selective fat saturation T2-weighted MR images for the detection of joint effusion in the temporomandibular joint

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate joint effusion in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) using frequency-selective fat saturation (FS) T2-weighted images and assess this technique. To investigate whether bone marrow abnormalities and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of internal derangement may be linked to joint effusion in the TMJ in patients with pain. METHODS: TMJ effusion was sought on FS T2-weighted images and conventional T2-weighted images in 400 joints from 200 patients with TMJ-related pain. Self-reported pain records were obtained from patients immediately before MRI and images assessed by the amount of TMJ fluid graded bilaterally using reference films by two radiologists. Other parameters recorded included disk displacement categories and condyle marrow abnormalities. The association between the recorded parameters and TMJ effusion judged by FS-sequences or conventional sequences was analysed using chi-square and Kappa tests. RESULTS: The detection rate of TMJ effusion by FS-sequences was significantly greater than by conventional methods, and the results showed a significant relationship between MRI interpretation of TMJ effusion using FS-sequences or conventional methods and the presence of pain. The correlation between TMJ effusion on FS-sequences and pain was significantly stronger than the conventional method. Kappa test indicated good agreement between pain and MRI TMJ effusion by FS-sequences (kappa = 0.66), but not by conventional sequences (kappa = 0.56). The other parameters showed a similar trend for TMJ-related pain. CONCLUSIONS: FS T2-weighted imaging is useful for detection of TMJ effusion, without known causes and confirms the importance of TMJ effusion as an indicator in patients with TMJ-related pain, bone abnormalities, and disk displacement.