A novel open-type biosensor for the in-situ monitoring of biochemical oxygen demand in an aerobic environment.

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is a widely used index of water-quality assessment. Since bioelectrochemical BOD biosensors require anaerobic conditions for anodic reactions, they are not directly used in aerobic environments such as aeration tanks. Normally, the BOD biosensors are closed-type, where the anode is packed inside a closed chamber to avoid exposure to oxygen.

Heterodimerization of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) with Bax and Bad in colorectal cancer.

The rate of cell loss owing to apoptosis is mediated by competitive dimerization with selective pairs of cell death antagonists (Bcl-2, Bcl-X(L)) and agonists (Bax, Bad). The aim of this study was to investigate which Bcl-2 family dimers had a critical factor in colorectal cancer. We analyzed the expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-X(L), Bax, and Bad in normal-appearing mucosa and colorectal tumor tissues by Western blotting after immunoprecipitation.

[The clinical role of anaerobic threshold in physical training of patients with recent myocardial infarction].

Twenty-seven patients with recent myocardial infarction were studied to evaluate the clinical usefulness of the anaerobic threshold (AT) in physical training as cardiac rehabilitation at home. The 27 patients were divided into trained and control groups. Symptom-limited treadmill exercise tests were conducted before and six weeks after the prescribed aerobic training.

Demonstration of mother-to-infant transmission of hepatitis B virus by means of polymerase chain reaction.

To investigate the failure of vaccines to prevent mother-to-infant transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV), serum, cord blood, and colostrum samples from eleven mothers, known to be carriers of hepatitis B surface antigen, and their infants were examined by means of a highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. HBV-specific DNA was detected in ten maternal serum samples, eight samples of colostral whey, eight samples of colostral cells, and one cord blood sample. Four infants of mothers with HBV-DNA-positive colostrum showed low responsiveness to hepatitis B vaccine.