The effects of indomethacin (IDM) and aspirin (ASA) on ACh (10 microM) -stimulated exocytotic events were studied in guinea pig antral mucous cells by using video optical microscopy. IDM or ASA, which inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX), decreased the frequency of ACh-stimulated exocytotic events by 30% or 60%, respectively. The extent of inhibition induced by ASA (60%) decreased by 30% when IDM or arachidonic acid (AA, the substrate of COX) was added. IDM, unlike ASA, appears to induce the accumulation of AA, which enhances the frequency of ACh-stimulated exocytotic events in ASA-treated cells. ONO-8713 (100 microM; an inhibitor of the EP1-EP4 prostaglandin receptors) and N-[2-((p-bromocinnamyl)amino)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide, HCl (H-89, 20 microM; an inhibitor of PKA) also decreased the frequency of ACh-stimulated exocytotic events by 60%. However, the supplementation of PGE(2) (1 microM) prevented the IDM-induced decrease in the frequency of ACh-stimulated exocytotic events. SC-560 (an inhibitor of COX-1) decreased the frequency of ACh-stimulated exocytotic events by 30%, but NS-398 (an inhibitor of COX-2) did not. Moreover, IDM decreased the frequency of exocytotic events stimulated by ionomycin, suggesting that COX-1 activity is stimulated by an increase in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)). ACh and ionomycin increased PGE(2) release in antral mucosal cells. In conclusion, in ACh-stimulated antral mucous cells, an increase in [Ca(2+)](i) activates Ca(2+)-regulated exocytotic events and PGE(2) release mediated by COX-1. The released PGE(2) induces the accumulation of cAMP, which enhances the Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis. The autocrine mechanism mediated by PGE(2) maintains the high-level mucin release from antral mucous cells during ACh stimulation.

Aerobic capacity, which is expressed as peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), is well-known to be an independent predictor of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular prognosis. This is true even for people with various coronary risk factors and cardiovascular diseases. Although exercise training is the best method to improve VO2peak, the guidelines of most academic societies recommend 150 or 75 min of moderate- or vigorous- intensity physical activities, respectively, every week to gain health benefits. For general health and primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been recognized as an efficient exercise protocol with short exercise sessions. Given the availability of the numerous HIIT protocols, which can be classified into aerobic HIIT and anaerobic HIIT [usually called sprint interval training (SIT)], professionals in health-related fields, including primary physicians and cardiologists, may find it confusing when trying to select an appropriate protocol for their patients. This review describes the classifications of aerobic HIIT and SIT, and their differences in terms of effects, target subjects, adaptability, working mechanisms, and safety. Understanding the HIIT protocols and adopting the correct type for each subject would lead to better improvements in VO2peak with higher adherence and less risk.

hile coronary perforation is an uncommon complication following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] it is one that may lead to cardiac tamponade, 6-9 emergency coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG), or pseudoaneurysm formation, 10 with the potential for late coronary rupture. New coronary devices that resect (eg, directional or transluminal extraction atherectomy), ablate (eg, rotational atherectomy or excimer laser angioplasty), or score (eg, the cutting balloon) atherosclerotic plaque may increase the risk of coronary perforation, and a number of angiographic risk factors for its occurrence have been described previously. [11][12][13][14] The use of newer higher-weight and hydrophilic coronary guidewires may also increase the risk of coronary perforation, particularly during the treatment of chronic coronary occlusions. Clinical algorithms for the treatment of coronary perforation based on angiographic and clinical criteria have been Circulation Journal Vol.66, April 2002 less well studied. Moreover, descriptions of the long-term sequelae after coronary perforation, and delineation of the potential risk for late pseudoaneurysm formation and coronary rupture, have been lacking.The present study examines the frequency of coronary perforation during PCI, evaluates the management strategies used to treat the perforation, and describes the long-term prognosis in patients who have developed coronary perforation during PCI. To address these issues, we reviewed our experience with coronary perforation in a consecutive series of 7,443 patients undergoing PCI at a single, highvolume clinical center. Methods Patient PopulationBetween January 1992 and December 1996, 7,443 coronary interventional procedures were performed in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at National Toyohashi Higashi Hospital. These procedures included conventional balloon angioplasty (n=4,895; 65.8%), cutting balloon angioplasty (n=1,274; 17.1%), coronary artery stenting (n=810; 10.9%), directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) (n=440; 5.9%), and transluminal extraction catheter atherectomy (n=24, 0.32%). Coronary perforation is a rare but serious complication that occurs during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study examines the frequency of coronary perforation during PCI, evaluates the management strategies used to treat perforations, and describes the long-term prognosis of patients who have developed coronary perforation during PCI. Coronary perforations were found in 69 (0.93%) of 7,443 consecutive PCI procedures, occurring more often after use of a new device (0.86%) than after use of balloon angioplasty (0.41%) (p<0.05).Coronary perforation was attributable solely to the coronary guidewire in 27 (0.36%) cases. Coronary perforations were divided into 2 types: (1) Those with epicardial staining without a jet of contrast extravasation (type I, n=51), and (2) those with a jet of contrast extravasation (type II, n=18). Patients with type I and type II perforations were managed by observation only (3...

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The ciliary beat frequency (CBF) of guinea-pig fimbria during the ovarian cycle was measured by video microscopy using a high-speed camera (500 Hz). In the follicular phase, with increasing concentrations of β-oestradiol (

We have encountered a paternity case where exclusion of the putative father was only observed in the ABO blood group (mother, B; child, A1; putative father, O), among the many polymorphic markers tested, including DNA fingerprints and microsatellite markers. Cloning a part of the ABO gene, PCR-amplified from the trio's genomes, followed by sequencing the cloned fragments, showed that one allele of the child had a hybrid nature, comprising exon 6 of the B allele and exon 7 of the O1 allele. Based on the evidence that exon 7 is crucial for the sugar-nucleotide specificity of A1 and B transferases and that the O1 allele is only specified by the 261G deletion in exon 6 of the consensus sequence of the A1 allele, we concluded that the hybrid allele encodes a transferase with A1 specificity, resulting, presumably, from de novo recombination between the B and O1 alleles of the mother during meiosis. Screening of random populations demonstrated the occurrence of four other hybrid alleles. Sequencing of intron VI from the five hybrid alleles showed that the junctions of the hybrid alleles were located within intron VI, the intron VI-exon 7 boundaries, or exon 7. Recombinational events seem to be partly involved in the genesis of sequence diversities of the ABO gene.

uidewire crossing is the most important component of a successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusions (CTO). Several special guidewires, such as the Magnum wire, [1][2][3] Laser wire 4-6 and hydrophilic wire, 7 have been developed and favorable results have been reported. Other than these guidewires, some Japanese products, such as the Athlete, Miracle, and Conquest wires (Asahi Intecc, Seto, Japan), 8 are used in some countries and constitute a range of stiff products. In particular, the Conquest wire is a tapered spring coil wire with a very stiff tip (9 g) that gives good torque control and penetrating ability even in hard fibrous plaque. This type of guidewire may be the last choice for uncrossable, very old CTOs. 8 Although the Athlete wires will advance into a false lumen at the end of the procedure in unsuccessful cases, we can also use them to penetrate the flap to re-enter the true lumen as a second step.Coronary angiography is limited as a guide for guidewire crossing in PCI for CTOs. On the other hand, by showing the cross-sectional anatomy of the coronary vessels, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) can provide information on the plaque morphology and distribution, 9 and the exact location of the guidewires within a coronary artery, discriminating a false lumen from the true lumen before guidewire crossing. We report here a novel application of IVUS for very old and hard CTOs (abrupt occlusion with a side branch in case 1 and bending occlusion with severe calcification in case 2) in which the use of very stiff guidewires caused dissections, decreasing the collateral flow. Case Reports Case 1: Side Branch MethodA 68-year-old Japanese man had experienced chest oppression on effort since May 2000. He visited hospital in July 2000, and coronary angiography revealed a CTO in the proximal segment of the large left circumflex coronary artery (LCX). There was no significant stenosis in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) or the right coronary artery (RCA). His coronary arteries were left dominant. He had not had any episodes suggestive of acute myocardial infarction. Cardiac catheterization revealed left ventricular dysfunction and moderate mitral regurgitation. PCI for the CTO was unsuccessful at that time. He was treated medically and his condition improved. However, he complained of chest oppression on effort again in October 2001. We attempted to re-open the CTO of the LCX. The age of this CTO was unknown, but was thought to be more than 18 months, based on the angiographic record. We obtained the consent of the patient after fully explaining the efficacy and risks associated with our new technique using IVUS before the PCI.The occlusion was severely calcified and flush with the orifice of the vessel, tapering nicely into a large obtuse marginal artery (Fig 1a). A 10Fr JCL 4.0 with a side hole (Bright Chip, Cordis, Miami, FL, USA) was used in order to prepare for the possible use of a rotablator with a 2.5-mm burr. A 2.9Fr IVUS catheter (Ultracross, Boston Sci...

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