[Studies on the alteration of the unconjugated estriol level of the maternal vein after the onset of labor].

We measured maternal venous unconjugated estriol (UE3) levels in 244 cases (218 cases with labor and 26 without labor). We investigated the relationships between several obstetrical factors and UE3 levels. There was no significant difference between the group with labor and the group without labor.

Effect of clofibric acid and tiadenol on peroxisomal beta-oxidation and fatty acid binding protein in intestinal mucosa of rats.

Rats were fed a diet containing clofibric acid or tiadenol. The treatment of rats with clofibric acid caused an increase in the activity of cyanide-insensitive palmitoyl-CoA oxidation and in the concentration of a polypeptide with a molecular weight of about 80,000 in the light mitochondrial fraction in intestinal mucosa. Treatment of rats with tiadenol increased the activity of cyanide-insensitive palmitoyl-CoA oxidation more markedly than with clofibric acid.

Enzymatic basis for the structural changes of asparagine-linked sugar chains of membrane glycoproteins of baby hamster kidney cells induced by polyoma transformation.

Previous studies indicated that enrichment of the GlcNAc beta 1----6Man alpha 1---- group with concomitant decrease of the GlcNAc beta 1----4Man alpha 1---- group occurs in the complex-type asparagine-linked sugar chains of the membrane glycoproteins of baby hamster kidney cells transformed by polyoma virus. The enzymatic basis of the chemical change is reported in this paper. By using oligosaccharides isolated from the urine of patients with a variety of exoglycosidase deficiencies, beta-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases in the cell homogenate were successfully assayed separately.

[A clinical study on the prognosis of infants born by breech delivery].

The influence of breech and vertex delivery on intrapartum fetal and neonatal mortality was studied in 8,863 infants delivered at Kurashiki Central Hospital Perinatal Center. The rate of mortality was studied in cases without fatal congenital anomalies. The frequency of congenital anomaly was also studied in 8,863 infants delivered by breech and vertex presentation.

A study of the interaction between tRNASer and seryl-tRNA synthetase from bovine liver.

Study by chemical modification of Ser, Arg, His residues and sulfhydryl groups on bovine seryl-tRNA synthetase showed that Ser residues appeared to be unnecessary for the recognition mechanism, but Arg and His residues were essential. It was considered that different sulfhydryl groups related with each recognition of tRNA and ATP. Poly-arginine inhibited the interaction between serine tRNA and SerRS.

[Neonatal survival and perinatal factors in infants born at 24 to 32 weeks of gestation].

Clinical associations between neonatal survival and perinatal factors were studied in very premature infants delivered at Kurashiki Central Hospital Perinatal Center during April 1979 to March 1983. The very premature singleton infants without congenital anomaly were studied in the present work, including 45 live-birth infants born at 24 to 32 weeks of gestation and weighing 590 to 2,000g at birth. The mortality rate for male infants was higher than that for female infants, but this difference was not statistically significant.

Serum cortisol levels in maternal venous, umbilical arterial and umbilical venous blood at delivery in the cases of fetal distress.

We measured maternal venous (MV), umbilical arterial (UA) and umbilical venous (UV) cortisol levels in 180 term pregnancies to investigate the changes of these hormone levels in the cases of fetal distress and neonatal asphyxia. The cortisol levels in UA and UV blood in the fetal distress group were significantly higher than those in the non-fetal distress group among spontaneous vaginal delivery cases. There were significant positive correlations among the cortisol levels in MV and UA, MV and UV, and UA and UV blood, respectively.

Simultaneous and serial measurement of serum levels of human placental lactogen, beta-human chorionic gonadotropin and unconjugated estriol levels in pregnant women.

Serum levels of human placental lactogen (hPL), beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG) and unconjugated estriol (E3) were measured simultaneously and serially in regular menstrual late pregnant women (155 samples) by radioimmunoassay. The peak of beta-hCG level was shown at 37 weeks' gestation. After that, there was a moderate decline of the beta-hCG level.

Comparative study of the oligosaccharides released from baby hamster kidney cells and their polyoma transformant by hydrazinolysis.

The asparagine-linked sugar chains of the membrane of baby hamster kidney cells and their polyoma transformant were quantitatively released as oligosaccharides by hydrazinolysis and labeled by NaB3H4 reduction. The radioactive oligosaccharides thus obtained were fractionated by paper electrophoresis. The neutral oligosaccharides of both cells were exclusively of high mannose type.

[The effects of DDP on the seminiferous epithelium of rats].

Adult male rats were injected intraperitoneally with 2 mg, 4 mg and 6 mg Cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (DDP) per kg body weight. The animals were then sacrificed on the 7th, 24th or 35th day. Two specimens of testis from each rat were stained by H.

[Combination chemotherapy with bleomycin, vinca alkaloid and cisplatin (BVP) for advanced urothelial cancer].

Since October 1979, 18 patients with metastatic urothelial cancer have been treated with combination chemotherapy of bleomycin (5-10 mg/day administered on days 1 to 7), vinca alkaloid (vinblastine 5-10 mg/day or vincristine 1 mg/sqm on days 8 and 9) and CDDP (60 mg/sqm on day 10). CR was achieved in 3 of the 18 patients and PR in 6 patients. Over-all, the response rate was 50%.

Sialic acid-containing sugar chains of hen ovalbumin and ovomucoid.

The acidic oligosaccharide fractions released from hen ovalbumin and ovomucoid by hydrazinolysis contain both sialyloligosaccharides and sulfated oligosaccharides. The sialyloligosaccharides were converted into neutral oligosaccharides by sialidase digestion, and separated from sulfated oligosaccharides by paper electrophoresis. Structural studies of these neutral oligosaccharides showed that the oligosaccharides of ovalbumin have different structural characteristics from those of ovomucoid, i.

Species difference of liver cytosolic fatty acid-binding protein in rat, mouse and guinea pig.

Binding properties of liver cytosolic protein for oleic acid, palmitoyl-CoA and bromosulphophthalein (BSP) were compared for rat, mouse and guinea pig. Hepatic cytosol of rat, mouse and guinea pig contained proteins with a molecular weight of ca. 12,000 and had an affinity for [1-14C]-oleic acid.

Changes in placental lactogen, beta 1-chorionic gonadotropin, and unconjugated and total estriol levels in the late course of normal human pregnancy.

The levels of human placental lactogen (hPL), beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG), unconjugated estriol (UE3) and total estriol (TE3) were measured radioimmunologically in women along their course of pregnancy. The serum hPL and beta-hCG levels were relatively constant in uncomplicated pregnancy, while UE3 and TE3 significantly rose towards 41 weeks of gestation. There were positive correlations between hPL and beta-hCG (n = 49, r = 0.

[Bleomycin, vinca alkaloid and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum combination chemotherapy for advanced testicular tumors].

Thirteen patients with advanced testicular tumors (seminoma 2, non-seminoma 11) were treated with combination chemotherapy involving BLM, vinca alkaloid and CDDP (BVP) as induction therapy and followed with CPM, VCR and CDDP as maintenance therapy. BVP and COP administration was repeated every 3 and 4 to 8 weeks for 1 year, if there were no serious side effects. The overall response rate (CR + PR) was 92% with a 69% CR rate.

Experimental study of aggression and catharsis in Japanese.

28 Japanese subjects were tested to investigate how aggressive motive and TAT fantasy writing would influence provoked subjects. To examine this psychologically and physiologically subjects' changes in affect and respiration rate were measured. The results showed significant provocation and cathartic effects.

[Allergic reaction to CDDP: report of 4 cases].

Four cases of CDDP allergic reaction (CDDP reaction) are reported. CDDP was given intravenously with vinka-alkaloid and bleomycin or cyclophosphamide (CDDP combination therapy). Case 1 was a 59-year-old man with left ureteral squamous cell carcinoma.

Serum cortisol levels of maternal vein, umbilical artery, and umbilical vein classified by mode of delivery.

We measured maternal venous (MV), umbilical arterial (UA), and umbilical venous (UV) cortisol levels of 180 pregnancies at term. The cortisol level of MV was higher than that of UA and UV in all deliveries. The cortisol levels of three samples had no difference between the induced labor group and the spontaneous onset of labor group regardless of delivery mode.

Retrograde time-scale analysis of human placental lactogen, beta human chorionic gonadotropin, and unconjugated estriol levels in human maternal serum from the onset of spontaneous labor.

We analyzed on a retrograde time scale which calculated in maternal serum, from the onset of spontaneous labor, human placental lactogen (hPL), beta human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG), unconjugated estriol (E3) levels, and the ratios among these hormones in the normal late pregnancy. Maternal serum hPL, beta-hCG, and unconjugated E3 levels were measured simultaneously and serially in regular menstrual sera from 27 women in late pregnancy (total 155 samples) by radioimmunoassay. The peak level of hPL was found at 2 weeks before labor, and the peak of beta-hCG was found during 2-4 weeks before the onset of spontaneous labor.

Effects of peroxisome proliferators on fatty acid-binding protein in rat liver.

The relationship between hepatic fatty acid-binding protein and peroxisomal beta-oxidation was studied. Rats were fed a diet containing p-chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid (clofibric acid), 2,2'-(decamethylenedithio)-diethanol (tiadenol), di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP), di-(2-ethylhexyl)-adipate (DEHA) and acetylsalicylic acid. On the administration of these peroxisome proliferators, both [1-14C]oleic acid-binding capacity and content of fatty acid-binding protein were increased, in association with an increase in peroxisomal beta-oxidation activity.

Difference in the sugar chains of two subunits and of isozymic forms of rat kidney gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase.

A comparative study by gel-permeation chromatographic analysis of oligosaccharides released from the heavy and the light subunits of rat kidney gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase has revealed that high-mannose-type sugar chains are found only in the heavy subunit, and the nonsialylated and nonfucosylated biantennary complex-type sugar chains are included only in the light subunit. By the same analysis of the oligosaccharide fractions obtained from four isozymic forms of rat kidney gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, it was found that all these enzymes contain 2 mol of neutral sugar chains but different numbers of acidic sugar chains. The total numbers of sialic acid residues showed a reciprocal relationship to the isoelectric point of each isozymic form, and an increase of 1 mol of sialic acid residue corresponds to a decrease of 0.

[Interrelation between serum levels of beta-subunit human chorionic gonadotropin, human placental lactogen and free estriol during the third trimester of pregnancy].

In order to evaluate changes in serum levels of beta-hCG during the third trimester of pregnant women, it was measured together with serum levels of hPL and free E3 by radioimmunoassay. We also investigated the correlation among these hormone levels and birth weights as well as placental weights. 155 blood samples were drawn once a week from the cubital vein of 27 normal pregnant women from 25 to 35 days menstrual cycles.

[Studies on cortisol levels in the maternal vein, umbilical artery, and umbilical vein in cases of fetal distress and neonatal asphyxia].

We measured maternal venous (MV), umbilical arterial (UA) and umbilical venous (UV) cortisol levels of 180 pregnancies at term, and investigated especially cases of fetal distress and neonatal asphyxia. No fetal distress and no neonatal asphyxia cases followed spontaneous vaginal deliveries (94), cesarean sections (18) or breech extractions (6). In cesarean section delivery, the cortisol levels of three individual samples were lower than in other modes of deliveries.

Changes of serum gonadotropin levels and sex differences in premature and mature infant during neonatal life.

We measured FSH and LH concentrations by RIA in 130 cord sera and 213 peripheral sera obtained as serially as possible from 67 infants who were 5-75 days old and were born between the 28th and 42nd gestational weeks. Cord serum FSH and LH (+hCG) levels were 3.9-13.