Background There have been a number of recent reports on the use of autologous bone marrow implantation (BMI) in the treatment of peripheral arterial disease, with a clinical response rate of approximately 70%. However, the factors that influence efficacy have not yet been clarified. We have analyzed the relationship between the number of implanted bone marrow cells and the clinical efficacy of BMI. Methods and ResultsEight patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans were treated with BMI. Bone marrow was aspirated from the ilium (500-1,000 ml), the mononuclear cells were separated and then were implanted. The clinical effectiveness of BMI was evaluated by assessing changes in the ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) and the transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcO2) between the pre-treatment baseline, with follow-up testing at 4 weeks. These changes were defined as ∆ABI and ∆TcO2. The mean number of CD34-positive cells was 1.04±0.60× 10 6 /kg body weight. There was a strong correlation between the number of CD34-positive cells and ∆ABI (r=0.754, p=0.028). Conclusions It is likely that the number of implanted CD34-positive cells is one of the primary factors that influence the clinical efficacy of BMI. (Circ J 2004; 68: 1189 -1193

A bacterial mass (ca. 1 mg) was placed directly on a thin-layer chromatography plate and developed shortly in chloroform-methanol (2:1, vol/vol). After being dried, the bacterial mass was developed in chloroformmethanol-5 M ammonia (80:25:4, vol/vol). The obtained chromatogram indicated the characteristic lipid compositions of the bacteria. So, it became possible to examine bacterial colonies at once for the identification of mutants defective in the production of specific lipids.

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An irregular fiord‐like outline of a S. marcescens colony expanding on a hard agar medium was shown to be fractal which promised an extremely long array of outermost cells. For the analysis of such spreading growth, mutants defective in production of surface active exolipids (serrawettin W1 and W3) and flagella‐less mutants were isolated. The fractal spreading growth was found to be correlated with serrawettin production. Furthermore, serrawettin‐less mutants demonstrated spreading growth when purified serrawettin W1 or W3 were supplied exogenously.

We present a case of floating thrombus originating from an almost normal thoracic aorta in a 54-year-old man who presented with acute arterial occlusion of his left leg. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging showed two masses in an almost normal aorta after embolectomy for the acute arterial occlusion. Although the embolus was thrombus histologically, malignant tumors could not be ruled out. The masses did not decrease in size after 7 days of anticoagulant therapy, so they were extirpated under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and TEE guidance. Frozen section examination during CPB indicated that there was no evidence of malignancy in the removed mass. TEE played an important role in the diagnosis and surgery of this condition, and it was useful when deciding on a surgical strategy. Because the treatment strategy for this disease remains controversial, further studies are needed.