Sadayuki Sakuma

Impairment of phagocytic cell respiratory burst by UVA in the presence of fluoroquinolones: an oxygen-dependent phototoxic damage to cell surface microvilli

Fluoroquinolones are widely used clinically as broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents. One of their side effects is UVA-dependent photosensitivity, observed after the skin is exposed to sunlight. We have investigated five fluoroquinolones and have found that their phototoxicity is oxygen dependent. Human phagocytic leucocytes were stimulated with serum opsonized zymosan to produce superoxide radical (O2-) (respiratory burst) in the presence of a sensitive O2(-)-specific cypridina luciferin analogue, 2-methyl-6-(p-methoxyphenyl)-3,7-dihydroimidazol (1,2-alpha) pyrazin-one hydrochloride (MCLA), as chemiluminescence reagent with which O2- can react to induce photon emission. The photon count was used as a measure of respiratory burst activity. When leucocytes were irradiated with UVA for 10 min in the presence of 3 micrograms ml-1 lomefloxacin, ciprofloxacin or norfloxacin, a marked decrease in respiratory burst activity was observed; in this respect, ofloxacin and tosufloxacin were weak. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the cell surface microvilli were destroyed. The phototoxicity of fluoroquinolones could be abolished if oxygen in the tests was replaced by nitrogen or if the aminothiol DL-cysteine (1.5 mg ml-1) was added prior to irradiation. It is suggested that an oxygen species derived from UVA-excited drug molecules and oxygen mediates the phototoxicity of these fluoroquinolones.

Simplification of infrared illumination of stereoscopic liquid crystal TV

Stereoscopic, multi-parallax, electro-holographic and multi-planar methods are no glasses methods as real-time 3D imaging devices. These methods except stereoscopic need several parallax images or several plane images for their 3D image component. It is known there are many problems for taking and transmission of their 3D images. As for stereoscopic method using lenticular sheet limits the position of the viewers and/or is impossible to observation of the 3D image by several persons simultaneously. Conventional our method Stereoscopic Liquid Crystal TV does not have such above drawbacks but has difficulty to enlarge the size of the 3D image output screen and still remains improvement of the infrared illuminating system for the observers and the image taking system of the TV because of its characteristics of the system components. Two infrared TV cameras and two infrared lumps are necessary for the conventional method. But in this time we produced new methods necessary an infrared TV camera and an infrared lump.

Stereoscopic liquid crystal display II (practical application)

Three-dimensional displays that permit simultaneous observation by plural persons have been reported in other papers, but a 3-D endoscope is only available for stereo image and is better used in the no-glasses method. Hence conventional 3-D techniques were poor for the endoscope for medicine. We produced a new 3-D device (stereoscopic liquid crystal display) which permits simultaneous observation of a stereo pair by plural persons without glasses and we improve the device for the endoscope. We combined the 3-D endoscope and the new 3-D device. The endoscope has two CCD cameras. The cameras create a stereo pair transmitted by two NTSC signals. The system is time-parallel stereoscopic.

New color anaglyph method

Anagliphs generally means a stereoscopic method using 2 principal color filters and is impossible to perceive the full-color stereo-pair for the viewers as above. A new anagliph method using 3 principal color filters (RGB) is presented in this paper. The method enables the complete full- color stereoscopic image taking and output technique. We produced the prototype system which composed of an ordinal TV camera with RGB color optical filters positioned at the pupil or the iris as a function of a single lens stereoscopic image taking device and using a special electrical circuit for a stereoscopic image output devices. Time-parallel full-color stereo pair was delivered to the several viewers by a prototype system with an ordinal our stereoscopic liquid crystal display (STEREVIQ) which permits the observation of a stereo pair by several persons simultaneously without the use of special glasses. Especially the systems cost performance is excellent except STEREVIQ.