Biphasic effects of pu-chung-i-chi-tang on sedation and excitation.

The biphasic effects of Pu-Chung-I-Chi-Tang (PCT) on sedation and excitation in acute treatment or after one-week consecutive treatment were studied. The results indicated that PCT produces sedation in acute treatment and excitation after one-week consecutive treatment. The sedative mechanism of PCT in acute treatment might be due to an increase in serotonergic activity and a decrease in dopaminergic activity.

Neoplastic response in Japanese medaka and channel catfish exposed to N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine.

Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were investigated for carcinogenic response following a 28-day, 3 x/wk pulse exposure to N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). Five-wk-old medaka were exposed at concentrations of 0, 0.5, and 1.

mtDNA polymorphism in East Asian Populations, with special reference to the peopling of Japan.

Nucleotide sequences of the major noncoding (D-loop) region of human mtDNA from five East Asian populations including mainland Japanese, Ainu, Ryukyuans, Koreans, and Chinese were analyzed. On the basis of a comparison of 482-bp sequences in 293 East Asians, 207 different sequence types were observed. Of these, 189 were unique to their respective populations, whereas 18 were shared between two or three populations.

A new type of cell death, the protruded type, observed in the adrenal gland of normal rats.

Apart from apoptosis, a type of parenchymal cell death by the cell protruding into the capillary lumen was observed in the adrenal gland of normal Sprague-Dawley rats. Ultrathin sections were prepared in the conventional manner and were examined by electron microscopy. The protruded cells (p-cells) had the electron lucent cytoplasm and the p-cells with ruptured cell membranes were observed in the capillaries.

Spontaneous pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma in an aging CD rat.

Naturally occurring squamous cell carcinomas of lung of laboratory rodents are rare, and few cases have been reported and illustrated. A solid peripheral lung mass was observed grossly in a untreated 573-day-old male Sprague Dawley CD (Crl:CD [SD] BR) rat. Microscopically, the mass was composed of neoplastic squamous epithelial cells arranged in nests, cords, nodules, or solid sheets.

Nasal adenocarcinoma with myoepithelial component in a CD-1 mouse.

Spontaneous nasal tumors are rare in mice, and only one adenocarcinoma and two more primary neoplasms of the nose have been observed in our files of long-term feeding studies, which are composed of 3,419 male and 3,521 female CD-1 (Crl:CD-1 (ICR)BR) mice. This adenocarcinoma was a 1-cm-diameter mass observed grossly in the right nasal cavity of a 454-day-old, male CD-1 mouse from a treated group in a bioassay study conducted with 340 males and 340 females. The neoplastic epithelial cells affected the normal nasal architecture on the right side of the nose.

Orosomucoid phenotyping with monoclonal antibodies:polymorphic occurrence of ORM1*Q0 in aboriginal Taiwanese populations.

Three monoclonal antibodies (OR35, OR40 and OR48) against orosomucoid (ORM) were prepared for the phenotyping of the human ORM system. The OR35 and OR48 antibodies recognized ORM1 and ORM2 products, respectively. OR40 reacted strongly to the products of ORM1 but poorly to those of ORM2.

Polymorphisms of complement component I and C1R subcomponent of C1 in nine aboriginal Taiwanese populations.

Complement component I (IF) and C1R subcomponent of C1 (C1R) types were determined by isoelectric focusing and subsequent immunoblotting techniques for 658 individuals from nine aboriginal Taiwanese populations. The frequency of the IF*A allele ranges from 0.075 (Bunun) to 0.

Seroepidemiological survey of human T-lymphotropic retrovirus among indigenous populations in Taiwan.

The prevalence of human T-lymphotropic retrovirus (HTLV) was examined in Taiwan's indigenous populations. In all, 797 healthy subjects in Taiwan including Han Chinese and nine indigenous populations (Ami, Atayal, Bunun, Saisiat, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsuo, and Yami) were examined for the presence of antibodies to HTLV by particle agglutination, indirect immunofluorescence and Western blot test. Two seropositive cases were found in this screening.

The skin, tongue, and brain as favorable organs for hog cholera diagnosis by immunofluorescence.

Hog cholera virus antigens were found densely distributed in skin and tongue of pigs experimentally infected with hog cholera virus. The finding described here warrants the usage of ear biopsies for hog cholera diagnosis on a herd basis.

African swine fever virus: generation of subpopulations with altered immunogenicity and virulence following passage in cell cultures.

Virus subpopulations with variable virulence, immunogenicity, and infectivity to pigs were readily generated by passaging Tengani isolate of African swine fever virus, either biologically cloned or uncloned, in Vero cell cultures. Avirulent virus populations which account for more than 99% of virus in an uncloned preparation of the 27th passage are laboratory artefacts, perhaps do not exist in nature. Furthermore, attenuation of virulence did not occur uniformly in all subpopulations newly generated, and a continuous modulation of virus populations differing in immunogenicity and virulence took place in the same individuals inoculated with the 27th passage virus.

African swine fever virus: purification of capsomeres released by lipase.

The virus capsomeres of the outer and inner layers of capsids were effectively released simultaneously from purified virions by lipase digestion and were purified by a linear gradient ultracentrifugation. The capsid consisted of an array of double layers of uniformly arranged individual capsomeres where a lipid(s) served as a matrix in between the capsomeres.

DNA relatedness among established Ureaplasma species and unidentified feline and canine serogroups.

The levels of DNA relatedness among two unclassified feline ureaplasma serogroups, four unclassified canine ureaplasma serogroups, and the three previously established Ureaplasma species were examined and compared. The strains examined included five feline strains representing two feline serogroups, four canine strains representing four canine serogroups, and the type strains of the three established species. Each strain representing each species or serogroup exhibited 78% or more actual DNA homology with its homologous DNA, but less than 10% DNA homology with DNAs from the heterologous strains.

A proposed life cycle model of Spiroplasma mirum based on scanning electron microscopical observations of growth in liquid culture.

Cells of Spiroplasma mirum strain SMCA were grown in PPG broth and examined by scanning electron microscopy. Comparison of the results at different time intervals allowed for a model of the life cycle of S. mirum to be proposed.

Epitopic diversity of African swine fever virus.

African swine fever (ASF) is caused by an icosahedral cytoplasmic, double stranded DNA virus. In the acute form of the disease, pigs die from disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) with extensive damage of the free and fixed macrophage systems and the reticular epithelial cells of the thymus; mortality is virtually 100%. In recent years, subacute and chronic forms of ASF have become more prevalent in the field, especially in outbreaks occurring outside the continent of Africa, and virus isolated from these outbreaks have often been of lesser virulence.

Seroepidemiology of adult T-cell leukemia virus infection and analysis of sero-positive cases in Taiwan.

For a seroepidemiologic study of adult T-cell leukemia virus (ATLV) infection in Taiwan, the gelatin particle agglutination technique and the indirect immunofluorescence method were used for anti-ATLV titration. Sporadic sero-positive cases were found all over the Taiwan districts except among the aborigines (0/947). Sero-positive rates ranged from 0 to 5.

Relative sensitivity of cell culture systems in the detection of herpes simplex viruses.

Guinea pig embryonic fibroblasts were more sensitive and McCoy and Hep-2 cells were less sensitive than human foreskin fibroblasts in parallel titrations of herpes simplex virus. No difference in sensitivity was found for five lines of human fetal lung fibroblasts (including WI-38 cells), two lines of human embryo fibroblasts, one line of human foreskin fibroblasts, cells from a human fetal kidney, amnion cells from a human placenta, the Chang liver cell, the HeLa cell, and a line of mink cells. The cell doubling level of human or guinea pig fibroblast lines did not affect their sensitivity.

Diversity of African swine fever virus.

An African swine fever virus is an heterogeneous population, consisting of clones having different biological characteristics in respect to hemadsorption, virulence, infectivity, plaque size, and antigenic determinants. The following observations were made: Nonhemadsorbing virus (NHV) have been segregated from field isolates from Haiti (HT-1) and a bone marrow- and buffy coat-passaged Portuguese isolate (L'60BM89BC1) and appear as a major, minor, or equal mixture with hemadsorbing viruses in the virus population. Biological characteristics of the virus inoculated into pigs often differed from viruses isolated later from the same pigs.

Seroepidemiology of adult T-cell leukemia virus in Taiwan.

A survey of carriers of adult T-cell leukemia virus (ATLV) detected as anti-ATLV associated antigens was made in Taiwan. Among 2545 adults aged 30 years or more examined, seropositive donors amounted to 0.9% in the Han Chinese but none in the aborigines.

Genomic analysis of avian and feline ureaplasmas by restriction endonucleases.

Genomic relationship among the strains of avian and feline ureaplasmas was determined by restriction analysis. Chromosomal DNAs extracted from the two avian and four feline ureaplasma strains resolved in 1.0% agarose gel electrophoresis following digestion with the restriction enzymes, PstI, BamHI, HindIII, EcoRI, SalI and HpaII.

Alteration of platelet responses to metabolites of arachidonic acid by oral contraceptives.

The effects of oral contraceptive (OC) usage on platelet responsiveness to arachidonic acid metabolites was investigated. Platelets obtained from women who had been taking oral contraceptives for at least 3 months were compared with those of age-matched controls. Both the basal and prostacyclin (PGI2)-stimulated platelet cAMP levels were significantly lower in OC users than in non-users.