Twenty-one patients with pancreatic cancer pain were studied to evaluate the effectiveness of celiac plexus block (CPB) on pain relief and quality of life (QOL), compared to the traditional NSAID-morphine treatment. The criteria were morphine consumption, visual analogue pain scale (VAS), performance status (PS) determined by medical and nursing staffs, and answers to QOL questionnaires. Morphine consumption, VAS, PS, and self-assessed QOL scores were taken when the administration of morphine was necessary for pain relief and those scores were used as control. Morphine consumption and the VAS score were recorded at regular weekly intervals and the PS and QOL scores were measured every 2 weeks thereafter. CPB was performed within 2-3 days after the control measurement. The VAS scores of the patients receiving CPB (n = 10) were statistically lower for the first 4 weeks after the procedure than those of the patients receiving the standard NSAID-morphine treatment (n = 11) during the same time period after the control measurement. Morphine consumption was significantly lower in weeks 4-7 (inclusive) following the procedure in the CPB group and continued to be lower thereafter, though not significantly so. Although the PS score slightly improved at the 2nd week after CPB, it was not improved by the start of the NSAID-morphine treatment. Self-assessed QOL scores did not ameliorate statistically after CPB; however, they did deteriorate remarkably in the patients treated only with morphine-NSAID during their survival periods, while they deteriorated only slightly in the CPB group. There were fewer side effects after CPB. These results indicate CPB does not directly improve QOL in patients with pancreatic cancer pain, but it may prevent deterioration in QOL by the long-lasting analgesic effect, limitation of side effects and the reduction of morphine consumption, compared to treatment only with NSAID-morphine.

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Subunit heterogeneity of human liver ferritin was investigated by two-dimensional electrophoretic methods. The protein which ordinarily remains assembled in 10 M urea solution was dissociated into subunits in acid-urea or sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions. In agreement with earlier studies, the subunits migrated as two bands in sodium dodecyl sulfate or acid-urea gel electrophoresis systems or in two-dimensional combinations of these systems. Isoelectric focusing methods, however, resolved four major subunit bands and three to five minor bands. Each of these components migrated as either a 22 000 or a 19 000 molecular weight component in sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis in the second dimension. The multiple subunit model, which is contrary to currently accepted representations of ferritin structure, is compatible with certain inherent properties of the protein. Thus, ferritin was fractionated on the basis of iron content to show that the relative amounts of individual subunit types were directly dependent upon the iron composition of the protein. Iron-loaded molecules were deficient in the most basic subunit types, and apoferritin was enriched in these components. Aspects of microheterogeneity of assembled ferritin molecules were correlated to subunit heterogeneity, and discrete differences in subunit populations among purified isoferritin components were demonstrated.

In order to analyze absorption and transport of water and ions in plants affecting the salinization in the root zone through physical and physiological processes, we measured water and ion uptake by roots, transpiration rate, leaf conductance, and ion concentrations in root xylem sap and other plant tissues of corn and sunflower grown under saline conditions using a nutrient film technique system. The rate of root water uptake was lower in corn than in sunflower, where the daytime stomatal closure in response to the excessive water stress induced by the saline solution was occurred in corn but not in sunflower. NO3-, PO4 3-and K were highly concentrated in the xylem sap as a result of the active and selective uptake of nutrients by roots of both corn and sunflower. Na , which is not an essential element for plant growth, was not highly concentrated in the xylem sap or plant tissues of corn because corn exhibited a poor Na absorption and transportation ability. On the other hand, sunflower had a greater ability to absorb water, Na , Mg 2 , Ca 2 , Cl -, and SO4 2-, and to transport these ions from the roots to the shoot. These differences in absorption and transport of water and ions indicate that sunflower is more salt tolerant than corn. The effects of these absorption and transport characteristics on plant growth and soil salinity should be taken into account for sustainable and effective plant production in salinized crop fields.