Survey of recognition and utilization of guidelines for the diagnosis and management of bronchial asthma in Japan

BACKGROUND: In Japan in 1993, the Japanese Society of Allergology (JSA) developed guidelines for diagnosis and management of asthma (JGL), which were based on the concept that asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airway. METHODS: This survey study was intended to investigate the recognition and utilization of JGL among physicians who had treated asthma. The survey comprised two methods: a quantitative mail survey and a qualitative door-to-door survey conducted by trained interviewers. RESULTS: In the mail survey, a total of 1028 physicians responded; 552 members of the JSA and 476 nonmembers. Ninety-four percent of JSA members were aware of adult asthma management guidelines, while 53% of nonmembers were aware of them. Although approximately half of the physicians, both members and nonmembers, found differences between the asthma management policies in JGL and their previous policies, most of them utilized JGL once they read it. In the qualitative door-to-door survey, 80-90% of physicians evaluated JGL as good after they read it. CONCLUSIONS: JGL was recognized and utilized by most JSA members, but only half of nonmember physicians were aware of JGL, although they utilized JGL after they read it. Further action to implement JGL among nonspecialist physicians is needed to improve management of asthma.     

Investigation and improved performance of optical fibre probes in laser Doppler blood flow measurement

Laser Doppler flowmetry with optical-fibre beam transmission is a sensitive fast and convenient method of measuring tissue blood flow. However, its sensitivity can also be a problem because of movement artefacts. This study applies some basic considerations of fibre optics and Rayleigh light scattering to the field of laser Doppler blood flow meters. Practical suggestions are given by which movement arterfacts can be reduced by choice of optical fibres, attention to probe geometry, cladding the fibres to reduce their movements and in the method of application. Experiments which test the normalisation circuitry of laser Doppler instruments are described and the effects of movement artefacts on the interpretation of the pulsatile component of laser Doppler records are also discussed. Probe and fibre line movements cause high-frequency intensity fluctuations due to speckle movement. The intensity fluctuations produce an apparent Doppler shift much greater than the Doppler shift produced by the relative movements of probe and tissue. It has been found that it is important to ensure that the fields of view of the illuminating and detecting fibres do not overlap at the skin surface and that probe contact with the skin surface should be maintained.     

银杏叶提取物诱导大鼠主动脉平滑肌细胞HO-1的表达及细胞信号通路研究

目的： 旨在研究银杏叶提取物（Ginkgo Biloba Extract,EGB761）对大鼠主动脉平滑肌细胞(RVSMC)血红素氧合酶-1（HO-1）蛋白的影响,并探讨其中涉及的细胞信号通路。方法: 大鼠主动脉平滑肌细胞株复苏、传代培养到第6代，再复孔培养用于实验，分别给予空白对照、单纯EGB761、EGB761＋锌原卟啉Ⅸ(ZnPPⅨ)或不同的细胞内信号途径特异性阻断剂进行处理，采用Western blotting法定量检测HO-1蛋白表达。结果: EGB761能呈剂量依赖性诱导HO-1蛋白表达，加用ZnPPⅨ（血红素氧合酶特异性阻断剂）及酪氨酸蛋白激酶(TPK)阻断剂木黄酮均能显著抑制EGB761诱导的HO-1蛋白表达（均P<0.01），但calphostin-C（蛋白激酶C阻断剂）、LY294002（磷脂酰肌醇-3激酶阻断剂）及Bay11-7082（核因子-κB阻断剂）对EGB761诱导的HO-1蛋白表达无明显影响（均P>0.05）。结论: (1) EGB761能显著诱导RVSMC中HO-1蛋白的表达，并且这种诱导作用能被血红素氧合酶的特异性阻断剂ZnPPⅨ所阻断。（2）EGB761通过TPK途径介导大鼠主动脉平滑肌细胞HO-1蛋白的表达。     

A promiscuous T cell hybridoma restricted to various I-A molecules

In a previous study, we identified T cell receptor and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) contact sites on the pigeon cytochrome c p43-58 peptide. Positions 46 and 54 of p43-58 were shown to be the MHC-binding sites. Specific amino acids were identified on the MHC-binding sites which bound to the relevant I-A molecule. In the present study, using NOD (I-A^g7) mice, we established a T cell hybridoma, NOE33-1-2, specific for a p43-58 analog 46R50E54A with arginine (R) and alanine (A) at positions 46 and 54, respectively. Interestingly, NOE 33-1-2 recognized 46R50E54A in the presence of not only I-A^g7, but also I-A^{d, s, u and v}. In contrast to previous reports that promiscuous T cells were able to recognize peptide antigens with various HLA-DR or I-E molecules consist of monomorphic α and polymorphic β chains, the promiscuous T cell clone NOE33-1-2 recognized peptides with various I-A molecules lacking the monomorphic chain.     

肺动脉高压大鼠一氧化氮及过氧化氢依赖的可溶性鸟苷酸环化酶通路的变化

目的：观察低O2高CO2对血浆一氧化氮（NO）、肺组织超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）、可溶性鸟苷酸环化酶(sGC)活性以及cGMP含量的变化，探讨NO-sGC和H2O2-sGC通路于肺动脉高压中的作用。 方法： 复制低O2高CO2 1、2、4周组及对照组大鼠模型。测定平均肺动脉压（mPAP）。比色法测定血浆一氧化氮（NO）、肺组织超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）活性，酶动力学分析基础及过氧化氢（H2O2）及硝普钠（SNP）激活的肺组织sGC酶活性，［125I］-放射免疫法检测肺组织cGMP含量。 结果： 低O2高CO2 1、2、4周组mPAP均明显高于对照组（均P<0.01）；血浆NO、肺组织SOD、CAT活性、基础sGC活性、过氧化氢（H2O2）及硝普钠（SNP）激活的sGC活性和肺组织cGMP含量均显著低于对照组（分别P<0.05, P<0.01）。 结论： 低O2高CO2抑制NO-sGC和H2O2-sGC通路参与肺动脉高压的形成与发展。     

睡眠剥夺对词汇背景记忆的影响

目的:探讨睡眠剥夺对于背景记忆的影响。方法:将32名青年被试随机分为四组,分别为剥夺睡眠21小时、45小时、69小时和正常对照组,每组被试8名。正常对照组在早8:00,进行测试;睡眠剥夺组自第一天早7:00进入实验室开始剥夺睡眠,分别在第2天、第3天和第4天凌晨4:00离开实验室。测试为词汇背景记忆测验,通过按键反应,要求被试首先再认是否为旧词,再判断旧词的颜色。结果:除45小时组和69小时组漏过率外,同一组内背景记忆成绩低于再认(P<0.05);剥夺45小时后,与对照组比再认正确率下降(80.26±7.14/92.60±4.31,F=44.213,P=0.000)、漏过率增加(10.44±3.01/3.60±0.58,F=13.667,P=0.000)、反应时延长(0.71±0.25/0.65±0.16,F=22.315,P=0.000);而SD21后,与对照组比背景记忆正确率下降(62.23±7.71/80.10±8.21,F=31.54,P=0.027)、漏过率增加(9.69±3.11/5.83±2.47,F=3.712,P=0.028)、反应时延长(0.93±0.18/0.89±0.24,F=3.093,P=0.027)。结论:睡眠剥夺后再认和背景记忆成绩下降,并随睡眠剥夺时间的延长成绩下降更加明显;睡眠剥夺对背景记忆的影响更大。     

Selective cytotoxic lesions of the retrohippocampal region produce a mild deficit in social recognition memory

Although a number of studies have implicated the hippocampal formation in social recognition memory in the rat, a recent study in this laboratory has demonstrated that selective cytotoxic lesions, confined to the hippocampus proper (encompassing the four CA subfields and the dentate gyrus), are without effect on this behaviour. This finding suggests that the hippocampus proper does not subserve social recognition memory in the rat, but does not preclude the possibility that other areas of the hippocampal formation, such as the entorhinal cortex or subiculum, could support this form of learning. The present study addressed this issue by examining the effects of selective cytotoxic retrohippocampal (RHR) lesions (including both the entorhinal cortex and subiculum) on social recognition memory in the rat. RHR lesions produced a mild social recognition memory impairment, although lesioned animals still displayed a reduction in investigation time between the first and second exposure to the juvenile. This result is consistent with other studies which have implicated the retrohippocampal or parahippocampal area in olfactory recognition memory processes. It also suggests, however, that other areas, out with the retrohippocampal region, are also likely to play an important role in social recognition memory.     

B cell early response gene expression coupled to B cell receptor,CD40 and interleukin-4 receptor co-stimulation: evidence for a role of the egr-2/krox20 transcription factor in B cell proliferation

B lymphocytes are activated following antigen stimulation of the B cell receptor but require co-stimulation with accessory molecules provided by interleukin (IL)-4/CD40 ligand for cell cycle progression and proliferation. By analyzing a panel of 11 early response genes induced by cross-linking of surface immunoglobulin, we show that CD40 signaling alone induces only 2 genes, c-myc together with an anonymous gene, 3L3, and that these are distinct from the set of genes induced in response to IL-4. Co-stimulation with the proliferative combination of anti-μ, IL-4 + CD40 signaling led to a fourfold enhancement of egr-2/krox20 expression over that seen with anti-μ alone. Egr-2 expression/activity was selectively inhibited by the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A, and antisense oligonucleotide blockade of Egr-2 activity elicited a dose-dependent inhibition of B cell proliferation. Taken together, these observations show that the early gene regulatory programs coupled to different surface receptors on B cells are largely distinct from each other, but that certain genes, exemplified by egr-2, may represent a point of convergence in the integration of different signaling pathways into the B cell proliferative response.     

病理切片图像分割技术的研究

介绍了用图像处理及模式识别技术对显微细胞图像的自动分析和分类的方法,并针对医学图像分析中的难点,提出了基于归一化彩色空间和RGB,HSV彩色模型的分割方法:利用模式识别技术中关于特征向量空间聚类的方法实施真彩色分割.这种方式有效地利用了多维特征空间对于分割目标所提供的信息,使分割的准确性有了较大的提高,解决了图像分割过程中的单个细胞检出问题.     

Separate training of hemispheres to perform visual discrimination in conditions of blocking of interhemisphere transmission by masking

Subjects were trained to discriminate three figures presented in the left field of vision and three other figures presented in the right field of vision. In these conditions, the two hemispheres usually show identical learning to discriminate the sets of stimuli because the hemispheres in healthy humans can exchange information. In the present study, training was performed in conditions in which, during presentation of stimuli, the opposite visual hemifield was covered by a mask. After training, the recognition of all six figures was compared by presenting them to the left and right visual fields. Each hemisphere recognized figures presented to the cognate hemifield but completely or very nearly failed to recognize figures learned by the other hemisphere. The mask would thus appear to block (completely or partially) the transmission of information from one hemisphere to the other. Thus, it was possible to train the hemispheres separately to recognize different sets of images in healthy subjects.Translated from Rossiiskii Fiziologicheskii Zhurnal imeni I. M. Sechenova, Vol. 89, No. 10, pp. 1177–1183, October, 2003.