We demonstrated that zinc may play an important role as a negative regulator of HCV replication in genome-length HCV RNA-replicating cells. Zinc supplementation thus appears to offer a novel approach to the development of future strategies for the treatment of intractable chronic hepatitis C.

A method for multiresidue analysis of 48 pesticides (20 organophosphorus pesticides, 7 organochlorine pesticides, 14 organonitrogen pesticides, and 7 pyrethroid pesticides) permitted in Japan was systematically developed on the basis of capillary GC. Pesticides were simultaneously extracted with acetone from vegetable and fruit samples or with acetonitrile from lipid-containing crops and then re-extracted into ethyl acetate (test solution). Pesticides in the test solution were determined by capillary GC: Organophosphorus pesticides were directly determined by FPD-GC. Organonitrogen pesticides were determined by FTD-GC (NPD-GC) following cleanup by silica gel chromatography. Organochlorine and pyrethroid pesticides were measured by ECD-GC after cleanup by Florisil column chromatography. Recoveries for 10 crops a t fortification levels of 0.05-0.25 ppm were 42.5-128.5%. No pesticides tested here were detected except for banana, in which bitertanol was detected at 0.31 ppm.

No abstract

Sebaceous glands in the esophagus are rare and are of particular interest because of their as yet unknown origin. We report a case with ectopic sebaceous glands diagnosed by esophageal endoscopy and biopsy, with follow-up endoscopic examinations for 3 years. Few cases with follow-up endoscopic findings have been reported. In our case, there were no significant overall changes during 3 years of follow-up, but the lesions fluctuated over time. While taking the endoscopic findings of the present or past cases into account, we discuss the possible pathogenic mechanisms of this condition.

Fifty‐eight patients with symptomatic congestive heart failure were examined for T‐lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood using two‐color laser flow cytometry as a noninvasive diagnostic procedure. The final diagnoses established by catheterization and endomyocardial biopsy were dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM, n=24), myocarditis (MC) by the Dallas criteria (n=12), and coronary heart disease (CHD, n=16). The CD8+CD11‐ (cytotoxic T) subset was significantly low in patients with DCM (13.9±4.4 vs. controls, p<0.05) in comparison with MC (20.7 + 10.9) and CHD (22.3±5.9). Moreover, the CD4+2H4+ (suppressor/inducer T) subsets were higher in patients with DCM (27.3±6.9 vs. controls, p<0.01) than in those with MC (17.3±7.8) and CHD (15.6+7.9). The CD4/CD8 and CD4+2H4+/CD8+CD11‐ ratios were examined and compared with those of normal controls (NC n=16). The CD4+2H4+/CD8+CD11‐ ratio was clearly higher in patients with DCM (2.2+0.9 vs. controls, p<0.01) than in those with MC (1.1±0.6) CHD (0.9±0.7). A CD4+2H4+/CD8+CD11‐ ratio of > 1.6 was considered to facilitate diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy with 79% sensitivity and 70% specificity. There was no significant increase in the ratios between MC and CHD. However, the proportion of the CD8+Leu7+ (natural suppressor) subset of circulating T lymphocytes in patients with MC was statistically higher (19.1±6.3% vs. controls, p<0.05) than in DCM or CHD. An elevated ratio of CD4+2H4+/CD8+CD11‐ among peripheral blood lymphocytes may thus be a useful marker for differential diagnosis of dilated chronic cardiomyopathy from myocarditis and coronary heart disease.