PACAP Receptor (PAC1-R) Expression in Rat and Rhesus Monkey Thymus

The expression of PACAP receptor (PAC1-R) was investigated in the thymus of rats and rhesus monkeys. In the rat thymus, PAC1-R positive cells were found in the intermediate type of thymic epithelial cells of the medulla. PAC1-R-positive cells were also seen in the thymic medulla of the rhesus monkey. The thymus showed unusual structures in some rhesus monkey dams (F0) and offspring (F1) exposed to 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Additionally, in these rhesus monkeys, PAC1-R expression was different from that in the control thymus.

Electromagnetic cross sections of double giant dipole resonances in 136Xe and 208Pb within the phonon damping model

The electromagnetic cross sections of the double giant dipole resonances (DGDR) in 136Xe and 208Pb are calculated using the strength functions obtained within the phonon damping model. The parameters of the model have been selected to describe reasonably well the single giant dipole resonance in these nuclei. The results are found in an overall agreement with the recent experimental data for the DGDR cross sections in exclusive measurements at near-relativistic energies.

Generalization of the N(p)N(n)N(p)N(n) scheme and the structure of the valence space

The N(p)N(n) scheme, which has been extensively applied to even-even nuclei, is found to be a very good benchmark for odd-even, even-odd, and doubly-odd nuclei as well. There are no apparent shifts in the correlations for these four classes of nuclei. The compact correlations highlight the deviant behavior of the Z = 78 nuclei and are used to deduce effective valence proton numbers near Z = 64 as well as to study the evolution of the Z = 64 subshell gap.

Severity of the regional wall motion and its effects on global left ventricular diastolic filling in patients with single-vessel coronary artery disease and previous myocardial infarction: assessment with radionuclide ventriculography

The severity of the regional wall motion and its effects on the global left ventricular diastolic filling were analyzed with use of radionuclide techniques in 19 patients with isolated disease of the left anterior descending coronary artery with previous myocardial infarction. Regional maximum inward movements in the noninfarcted lateral region occurred at a time close to the global end-systole, but occurred far beyond the global end-systole in the infarcted septal and apical regions, resulting in the occurrence of the regional asynchronous wall motion between the infarcted and noninfarcted regions after the global end-systole. A positive correlation between this end-systolic asynchronous wall motion and the asynchronous filling in early diastole was found (r = 0.69, p less than 0.001). A negative correlation between the asynchronous filling in early diastole and the global peak filling rate was also found (r = -0.58, p less than 0.01). Thus, the end-systolic regional asynchronous wall motion causes the subsequent regional asynchronous filling in early diastole, which may cause impairment of the global left ventricular filling in patients with single-vessel coronary artery disease with previous myocardial infarction.

Inhomogeneous contribution of late diastolic filling to filling volume in patients with isolated disease of the left anterior descending coronary artery: assessment with radionuclide ventriculography

Contributions of late diastolic filling (slow filling and atrial systolic phases) to total filling volume in both global and regional left ventricle were analyzed using radionuclide techniques in 21 patients with isolated left anterior descending coronary artery disease without previous myocardial infarction. A computer program subdivided the image of the left ventricle into four regions at a geometric center of the area. The time-activity and its first-derivative curves of the global and regional left ventricles were computed. In the global left ventricle, the percent contributions of late diastolic filling to total filling volume were significantly increased in patients with one-vessel disease than in control subjects (20 +/- 5%, 28 +/- 4%; p less than 0.001). In the regional left ventricle, in patients with one-vessel disease, the percent contributions of late diastolic filling to total filling volume were significantly increased in the septal (25 +/- 5%, 34 +/- 8%; p less than 0.001) and in the apical regions (21 +/- 4%, 28 +/- 4%; p less than 0.001) which were perfused by stenosed vessel. In contrast, there were no significant differences in this value between the two groups in the normally perfused lateral region (22 +/- 6%, 25 +/- 5%; p = NS). These results indicate that the late diastolic filing makes a larger contribution to the left ventricular filling in the affected regions than in the normally perfused regions, and that the increased late diastolic filling in the affected regions are the cause for the increased late diastolic filling in the global left ventricle in patients with one-vessel disease.

[Approach to the diagnostic colposcopy--a scoring method of colposcopic pattern]

In order to arrive at a final diagnosis of early cervical cancer by colposcopy alone, a colposcopic scoring system was applied to 172 patients with the disease. Each colposcopic pattern was scored from one point (for white epithelium) to 9 (for invasive cancer). The results obtained were as follows; 1) With these scoring criteria, stage 0 cancers were restricted to below 10 points and were characterized colposcopically by white epithelia with gland openings 2) In stage I-a lesion, atypical vessels, punctuation by irregular arrangement of the dots and concentration of abnormal gland openings were usually observed, and these findings were combined with each other to show a more complicated colposcopic pattern reflected in 11 to 18 points of the score 3) Frank invasions were indicated by 19 points or more, and punctuations or mosaics were seldom found in this stage, although the early "I-b" cancer was difficult to distinguish from I-a with this method 4) The diagnoses from this scoring system were identical with the final diagnoses confirmed by surgical methods in 66.7% of stage 0, 59.4% of I-a and 76.5% of I-b.