Nationwide investigations of intestinal obstruction in Japan

Two nationwide questionnaire surveys of intestinal obstruction in Japan were undertaken, covering two two-year periods, from January, 1975 to December, 1976 and from January, 1985 to December, 1986, respectively. The findings of a comparative review of these two surveys indicated that although the overall mortality of intestinal obstruction had not changed between 1975/76 and 1985/86, being 6.8 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively, simple adhesive obstruction had decreased from 3.2 per cent in 1975/76 to 2.0 per cent in 1985/86. The main cause of adhesion was laparotomy and in cases of both simple adhesive obstruction and strangulated adhesive obstruction, the rate of adhesion secondary to laparotomy of the upper gastrointestinal tract and colon and rectum had increased between 1975/76 and 1985/86. Obstructions caused by neoplasms had increased from 8.2 per cent in 1975/76 to 10.0 per cent in 1985/86, while those caused by adhesions had incresed further still, from 42.5 per cent in 1975/76 to 60.8 per cent in 1985/86. Among the latter group, nonoperatively treated cases had increased, which may be accounted for by the fact that facilities which adopt non-operative treatment using intestinal decompression as the first choice for simple adhesive obstruction cases have increased. In both surveys, the mortality of cases receiving nonoperative treatment was lower than that of operative cases.     

Four cases of wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis with negative gluten cap-rast score]

BACKGROUND: Either omega-5 gliadin or high molecular weight glutenin is known to be a major allergen in wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (WDEIA). It is generally considered that gluten specific IgE score is more reliable than that of wheat specific IgE score for the diagnosis of WDEIA. Our aim was to verify the significance of gluten specific IgE in the diagnosis of WDEIA. METHODS: We evaluated the result of gluten CAP-RAST score and omega-5 gliadin specific IgE score on four WDEIA patients who visited our hospital during the years 2004 and 2005, whose diagnosis were onfirmed by prick tests, immunoblot tests and provocation tests. RESULTS: Contrary to our expectations, all four patients showed negative gluten CAP-RAST scores, however all patient's omega-5 gliadin specific IgE scores were positive. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that gluten specific CAP-RAST score is unreliable in the diagnosis of WDEIA. On the other hand omega-5 gliadin specific IgE score is possibly a better candidate as a diagnostic tool for WDEIA.     

Cross-linking of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) proteins

Summary The proxomity and spatial relationships of the structural proteins of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) were studied by chemical cross-liking with a series of imidoesters. When the virions were reacted by the cross-linker with a distance 6.1 Å or longer between the functional groups and analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, remarkable changes were observed in the migration patterns of the viral proteins. The most striking one was the extensive decrease in the intensity of the M protein band, and although not so strikingly, glycoprotein and nucleocapsid protein bands were reduced significantly. Instead, several protein complexes appeared at and near the top of the gels. The protein complexes formed by a reversible cross-linker, dimethyl-3,3-dithiobispropionimidate (DTBP), were analyzed by two dimensional electrophoresis; the complexes on the first-dimension cylindrical gels were cleaved by reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol and electrophoresed laterally on the second-dimension slab gels. The results indicated that homodimers of glycoprotein, nucleocapsid protein and M protein were generated under the condition of the most gentle cross-linking employed. At the same time, however, trimer and higher homopolymers of M protein were already detectable. Under the more extensive conditions, the bulk of M protein was cross-linked to form a large protein complex with very high molecular weight. Further, small but significant amounts of glycoprotein and nucleocapsid protein were always detected in this complex.These results suggest that M protein may be present in the virion in close enough proximity to interact with each other and may further have some interactions with glycoprotein and nucleocapsid protein. On the basis of these findings possible roles of M protein in virus assembly were discussed.With 6 Figures     

Evaluation of immunochromatographic assay systems for rapid detection of hepatitis B surface antigen and antibody, Dainascreen HBsAg and Dainascreen Ausab.

We evaluated two immunochromatographic assays (ICAs), Dainascreen HBsAg for detecting human hepatitis hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and Dainascreen Ausab for detecting human hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) in human serum. The ICA systems are composed of a comb-shaped device that contains nitrocellulose strips on which complexes of HBsAg and anti-HBs can be visualized. The results can be read within 15 min of incubation. The limit of detection for HBsAg was 3.1 ng/ml and that for anti-HBs was 42 mIU/ml. Results of HBsAg detection agreed completely with those of conventional enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) and showed a 100% sensitivity (158 of 158 samples) and a 100% specificity (304 of 304 samples). The Dainascreen Ausab detected 184 of the 199 EIA-positive samples (sensitivity, 92.5%) and yielded 6 positive results among the 281 EIA-negative samples (specificity, 97.9%). The ICA systems are rapid and sensitive methods for detecting HBsAg and anti-HBs. They are low-cost systems that need no complex instrumentation for analysis and can be recommended for routine use in clinical microbiology laboratories.