Effects of menstrual cycle on background parenchymal enhancement and detectability of breast cancer on dynamic contrast-enhanced breast MRI: A multicenter study of an Asian population.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of the menstrual cycle on BPE and cancer detectability in an Asian population.

Material And Methods: 266 premenopausal patients with regular menstrual cycles from 24 centers were included, and 176 of them were diagnosed by pathology as having breast cancer. Thirty-five patients were examined in the menstrual phase (days 1-4), 105 in the proliferative phase (days 5-14), and 126 in the secretory phase (days 15-30).

Measurements of hydrodynamic diameter of AOT reverse micelles containing lipase in supercritical ethane and its enzymatic reaction.

The enzymatic reaction by aerosol-OT (AOT)reverse micelles containing lipase in supercritical ethane was examined and is the focus of this paper. The reverse micelles were formed under various conditions at which their hydrodynamic diameters were measured by using the dynamic light scattering spectrophotometer. The reverse micelles in supercritical ethane were formed in the range of Wo (water/surfactant) less than six.

Effects of mepanipyrim on intracellular trafficking: a comparative study on its effects on exocytic and endocytic trafficking of proteins, sphingolipids, and cholesterol.

Mepanipyrim, N-(4-methyl-6-prop-1-ynylpyrimidin-2-yl)aniline, diminished the cell surface expression of envelope glycoproteins of Newcastle disease and vesicular stomatitis viruses at concentrations where their synthesis was not profoundly affected. Intoxication by diphtheria toxin and ricin and recycling of transferrin were not affected even when cells were treated with mepanipyrim for 2 h before the addition of these probes, indicating that mepanipyrim does not act on the endocytic and recycling pathways of these proteins. Metabolic conversion of C6-NBD-ceramide to sphingomyelin and its back-exchange to the medium was also not affected, but synthesis and back-exchange of C6-NBD glucosylceramide were greatly influenced, and an accumulation of LDL-derived, unesterified cholesterol was induced by the drug.

Nectrisine is a potent inhibitor of alpha-glucosidases, demonstrating activities similarly at enzyme and cellular levels.

Nectrisine, discovered as an immunomodulator, was found to inhibit alpha-glucosidase, alpha- and beta-mannosidases, beta-glucosidase and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase, in that order of inhibition strength. Beta-Galactosidase, alpha-fucosidase, and neuraminidase were insensitive to this antibiotic. Also sensitive was the trimming glucosidase I which participates in the first step of modifying N-glycosidic oligosaccharide.

Destruxin B, a specific and readily reversible inhibitor of vacuolar-type H(+)-translocating ATPase.

Destruxin B, a peptide antibiotic, inhibits vacuolar-type ATPase (V-ATPase) specifically and dose-dependently among ATPases examined. Acidification of intracellular organelles is also blocked by destruxin B at comparable concentrations when assessed by accumulation of acridine orange. The inhibitory activity of destruxin B is weaker than that of bafilomycin A1 and folimycin, well known macrolide inhibitors of V-ATPase, when compared at the same molar concentration.

Folimycin (concanamycin A), a specific inhibitor of V-ATPase, blocks intracellular translocation of the glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus before arrival to the Golgi apparatus.

Folimycin (concanamycin A) specifically inhibited vacuolar-type ATPase as far as examined. Folimycin blocked excretion of the glycoprotein (G protein) of vesicular stomatitis virus into the medium and, instead, G protein was accumulated intracellularly. The intracellularly accumulated G protein electrophoresed a little faster than mature one.

A new type porous carrier and its application to culture of suspension cells.

A new type porous carrier was fabricated from a mixture of sodium alginate, bovine serum albumin and sodium bicarbonate. The porous space of the carrier is an assembly of void spaces. The carrier was successfully applied to the cultivation of suspension animal cells.

Effect of dietary fat and fiber on fecal flora, bacterial metabolites, and fecal properties in Japanese volunteers.

The effects of dietary fat and dietary fiber (DF) levels in diet on fecal flora, activities of three fecal enzymes, putrefactive metabolites, fecal mutagenicity and fecal properties were studied in eight healthy volunteers. They were given low fat and low DF diet (LF: fat energy ratio was 13.9%, and DF intake was 9.

'boxA'-like sequence between the 16 S/23 S spacer in rRNA operon of mycoplasmas.

We have found that a boxA-like sequence is conserved in the 16 S and 23 S rRNA intergenic spacer regions of mycoplasmas, and that it always locates on loop regions of the hypothetical secondary stem-loop structures. A nucleotide sequence similar to the '-10' box of prokaryotic promoters was identified at upstream sites of the boxA-like sequence in the 16 S/23 S spacer regions. These structures may represent an internal promoter between the 16 S and 23 S rRNA genes in mycoplasmas.

A kinetic analysis of cell disruption by bead mill. The influence of bead loading, bead size and agitator speed.

The influence of operating parameters such as bead loading, peripheral velocity and bead size on the kinetic behavior of cell disruption in a bead mill was investigated. The bead mill was equipped with a single rotating disc and operated batchwise. Analysis of the data showed that the frequency of bead collision may be correlated to the observed first-order process, applying a new concept called effective disruption volume.

Effect of moxalactam on human fecal microflora.

Five healthy male adults received 2 g of moxalactam every 12 h for 7 days. The alterations of fecal microflora were investigated before, during, and after treatment with moxalactam. On day 7 of treatment, the number of total bacteria was decreased in all subjects.