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Porphyromonas gulae, Tannerella forsythia and Campylobacter rectus are considered dominant periodontal pathogens in dogs. Recently, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) methods have been used for absolute quantitative determination of oral bacterial counts. The purpose of the present study was to establish a standardized qRT-PCR procedure to quantify bacterial counts of the three target periodontal bacteria (P. gulae, T. forsythia and C. rectus). Copy numbers of the three target periodontal bacteria were evaluated in 26 healthy dogs. Then, changes in bacterial counts of the three target periodontal bacteria were evaluated for 24 weeks in 7 healthy dogs after periodontal scaling. Analytical evaluation of each self-designed primer indicated acceptable analytical imprecision. All 26 healthy dogs were found to be positive for P. gulae, T. forsythia and C. rectus. Median total bacterial counts (copies/ng) of each target genes were 385.612 for P. gulae, 25.109 for T. forsythia and 5.771 for C. rectus. Significant differences were observed between the copy numbers of the three target periodontal bacteria. Periodontal scaling reduced median copy numbers of the three target periodontal bacteria in 7 healthy dogs. However, after periodontal scaling, copy numbers of all three periodontal bacteria significantly increased over time (p0.05, Kruskal-Wallis test) (24 weeks). In conclusion, our results demonstrated that qRT-PCR can accurately measure periodontal bacteria in dogs. Furthermore, the present study has revealed that qRT-PCR method can be considered as a new objective evaluation system for canine periodontal disease.

Reduced expression in immortalized cells (REIC/Dkk-3), a member of the human Dickkopf (Dkk) family, is a growth suppressor in human and canine mammary tumours. Mammary gland tumours are common neoplasms with high malignancy in female cats. The purpose of this study was to clone the feline REIC/Dkk-3 homolog, investigate its expression in cell lines established from feline mammary gland tumours, and test its tumour suppressor function. Western blot analysis revealed that expression of the REIC/Dkk-3 protein was reduced in feline mammary carcinoma cell lines. Forced expression of REIC/Dkk-3 induced apoptosis in feline mammary tumour cell lines. These results demonstrate that REIC/Dkk-3 expression, which is downregulated in feline mammary tumour cell lines, results in the induction of apoptosis in these cells. Our findings suggest that feline REIC/Dkk-3 represents a potential molecular target for the development of therapies against feline mammary cancers.

N2O was decomposed over Rh supported on NaY zeolite and ZSM5. With low Rh-loading (≤0.1 wt.%) the activity of Rh was much higher than that supported on SiO2 and CeO2. On the contrary, the activity of Rh-loaded zeolites (0.1 wt.%) was not so high or even lower than that on SiO2 for the oxidation of toluene, which has a larger molecular size than N2O. Thus the Rh present inside the zeolite cavity was especially effective in the decomposition of N2O.

This randomized trial investigated whether 5% sevoflurane potentiated neuromuscular blockade by vecuronium. General anaesthesia was induced with 5% sevoflurane in oxygen in 16 patients or with propofol in 16 patients. After loss of consciousness, vecuronium was administered to all participants at randomly assigned doses of 25, 30, 35 or 40 μg/kg. Neuromuscular blockade was assessed by use of acceleromyography to measure responses to train-of-four stimuli in the adductor pollicis and corrugator supercilii muscles. Maximum blockade was significantly more intense in the adductor pollicis among patients in the sevoflurane group than in the propofol group, whereas there was no significant between-group difference at the corrugator supercilii muscles. In both groups, maximum blockade at the corrugator supercilii was significantly less intense than that achieved at the adductor pollicis. In the dose–response analysis, the 50% and 95% effective doses were lower for sevoflurane than for propofol in both muscles, although this did not reach statistical significance. It is concluded that induction of general anaesthesia with sevoflurane might provide improved conditions for intubation and reduce airway problems.

A 36-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of impalement injury due to a downwards fall upon some reinforced steel rods. An emergency operation was performed using percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS). The steel rods were taken out in the operating room. The heart, great vessels, vertebrae, and spinal cord were not involved in the impalement wounds. We performed a bronchoplasty of the torn and separated right main bronchus, and repaired the impaled left lung without any pulmonary resection. He recuperated without sequelae.

We managed a patient with a huge ovarian tumor (15 kg). The patient was a 50-year-old woman and could not take the supine position because of the tumor causing respiratory embarrassment. An epidural catheter was inserted 3 cm cephalad via the Th 11-12 interspace in the right lateral position. Three milliliters of 1% mepivacaine was injected epidurally for test dose and produced hypesthesia of Th 9-12 five min after the injection. Additional 3 ml of 1% mepivacaine was injected epidurally, which widened the hypesthesia to Th 5-L 2. Intra-arterial pressure was monitored continuously. Under epidural anesthesia without sedation, 11,000 ml of fluid was suctioned slowly from the cyst in 20 min, during which time remarkable hemodynamic derangement did not occur. The patient was turned into the supine position and the trachea was intubated. Laparotomy was performed under general anesthesia. During the surgery, respiratory and hemodynamic conditions were stable. On the following day, chest radiography demonstrated an abnormal shadow in the lower lobe of the right lung. It disappeared the next day without any treatment. Anesthetic management of patients with huge abdominal tumor is also discussed.

A 37-year-old man with exophthalmos underwent resection of the left apical peridontal cyst under general anesthesia. Eye patches (Opticlude) without adherence to epibulbar area were used during anesthesia and surgery. At the end of the surgery, his left eyelid was noted to be incompletely closed. His left bulbar conjunctiva showed marked conjestion with severe pain. Staining with fluorescein dye demonstrated corneal abrasion in the lower third of the left eye. The corneal abrasion healed in two days after topical treatment.

Familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) type I is a rare disease characterized by sensorimotor polyneuropathy, and autonomic nervous system and cardiac conduction system dysfunction. Severe bradyarrhythmia and hypotension may occur during anaesthesia and surgery in patients with the FAP type I. Only one report has been published of a patient with FAP type I who was managed with epidural anaesthesia. The present authors report a 38-year-old Japanese man with a permanent pacemaker because of advanced FAP type I who underwent rotation flap of the gluteus maximus muscle to cover a trophic ulcer in the sacral region under lumbar epidural anaesthesia. Ten millilitres of adrenaline (1:200 000) was injected around the ulcer prior to surgical manipulation. Neither bradycardia nor hypotension developed during the procedures. The haemodynamic changes under lumbar epidural anaesthesia in FAP type I are discussed.

An 8-year-old asthmatic child on theophylline was anesthetized with enflurane in nitrous oxide and oxygen. He developed a generalized muscle rigidity after intravenous succinylcholine. Although the maximum rectal temperature was 37.9 degrees C, a marked elevation in muscle-derived enzymes and myoglobinuria were observed. The relations among theophylline which is a derivative of xanthines, inhalation anesthetics, and myoglobinuria are discussed.

We describe a patient in whom possible coronary artery spasm occurred during the infusion of trimetaphan. A 55-year-old man with a meningioma was scheduled for surgical excision of the tumour. He denied any previous history of chest pain. Anaesthesia was maintained with nitrous oxide (67%) in oxygen. The blood pressure before commencement of the surgery was 114/70 mmHg, and the pulse rate was 60 beats min-1. The blood pressure rose to 152/94 mmHg (the pulse rate to 62 beats min-1) during incision of the scalp, and intravenous infusion of trimetaphan was initiated. The blood pressure gradually decreased to 113/58 mmHg (the pulse rate 64 beats min-1) 10 min after start of this infusion, and premature ventricular contractions were evident on the electrocardiogram. Trimetaphan was withheld, and lignocaine was given intravenously. The premature ventricular contractions disappeared but ST segments were elevated. Glyceryl trinitrate was then infused intravenously. The ST segments remained elevated for 5 min, were depressed for 2 min and finally became isoelectric. There were no wide swings in blood pressure or pulse rate during the event. Post-operative laboratory examination revealed no evidence of myocardial infarction. Recovery of the patient was uneventful.

The "afterdrop" in body temperature (TEMP) following adequate rewarming from hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is frequently observed. This temperature drop sometimes accompanied by shivering results in increased myocardial oxygen demand. We investigated the relations between the afterdrop and use of vasodilators after CPB. For vasodilator therapy, PGE1 at the rate of 0.025-0.088 microgram.kg-1.min-1 (Prostaglandin Low Doses, PLD; n = 8), 0.107-0.136 microgram.kg-1.min-1 (Prostaglandin High Doses, PHD; n = 7), or phentolamine at 4.1-5.9 micrograms.kg-1.min-1 (PHENT; n = 8) were intravenously infused in 23 adult patients after CPB. During three hour period after CPB, esophageal, rectal, and forehead TEMP are lower in PHENT than in PGE1 groups. There were significant differences between PHD and PHENT group. Finger tip TEMP was lower in PGE1 groups than in PHENT group. There were significant differences between PHD and PHENT group. There were no differences in systemic arterial pressure, cardiac index (CI) and systemic vascular resistance (SVR) at any point between PHD and PHENT groups. It is concluded that PHENT increases the peripheral skin blood flow and TEMP but decreases the visceral TEMP possibly due to vasodilatation of the skin vessels, while PGE1 decreases skin blood flow and TEMP but increases the visceral TEMP, although SVR clearly decreases at the same rate in the two groups.

Vasodilators expedite the rewarming process and facilitate weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). We continuously infused prostaglandin E1 (PG-E1) at 0.02-0.05 microgram.kg-1.min-1 (n = 11) or phentolamine (PHENT) at 5-10 micrograms.kg-1.min-1 (n = 13) during rewarming from mild hypothermic CPB. Rectal temperature was 33.3 +/- 1.7 degrees C in PG-E1 group vs. 31.3 +/- 1.3 degrees C in PHENT group at 30 minutes, and 34.0 +/- 1.2 degrees C vs. 32.7 +/- 1.1 degrees C at 40 minutes from the start of rewarming. There were significant differences (P less than 0.01 at 30 min, P less than 0.05 at 40 min) in rectal temperature between the two groups. There were no differences in perfusion index of CPB, arterial perfusion temperature, mean arterial pressure, systemic vascular resistance as well as esophageal, forehead or palm skin temperatures at any point between the two groups. The required time for weaning from CPB was significantly shorter in PG-E1 than in PHENT group (P less than 0.01, 36 +/- 8 min vs. 46 +/- 11 min). Our results also strongly suggest that PG-E1 preferentially improves splanchnic blood flow.

It is well known that furocumarins produce a photoaddition compound with DNA, RNA, and certain kinds of amino acids upon exposure to long-wave ultraviolet light (UVA). It is also well known that both psoralens and psoralen photoconjugated compounds are fluorescent. After 8-methoxypsoralen was administered systemically and subsequently activated by UVA exposure, the hair and the epidermis were taken and observed under a fluorescent light microscope. The fluorescent materials appeared to be able to trace the metabolic pathway of psoralen-conjugated compounds such as DNA, RNA, and certain kinds of amino acids. Large amounts of nuclear proteins appeared to be transformed from nuclear proteins into certain structural proteins in keratinocytes.

The welding technology applicable for the manufacturing of pressure vessels is being improved. One particular improvement is aimed at using a low heat-input for joint welding. This paper describes the current status of application of new welding technology for the manufacturing of pressure vessels in nuclear power plant.