[Hydrostatic weighing, skinfold thickness, body mass index relationships in high school girls].

A study was conducted to evaluate body composition by hydrostatic weighing, skinfold thickness, and body mass index (BMI) in 102 senior high school girls, aged 15 to 18 in Nagasaki City. Body density measured by the underwater weighing method, was used to determine the fat weight (Fat) and lean body mass (LBM. or fat free weight: FFW) utilizing the formulas by Brozek et al.

Mechanisms of angiotensin II formation in humans.

Various organs, including the heart and blood vessels, apparently contain tissue renin-angiotensin systems. Through autocrine and paracrine activity, locally produced angiotensin II (Ang II) may well play an important role in cardiovascular homeostasis; in pathological conditions. Ang II may also contribute to the remodelling of the heart and vasculature.

[Body density assessment utilizing skinfold thickness and age in Japanese men].

A study was conducted to investigate the validity of skinfold-based prediction equations for body density (g/ml) by Nagamine and Suzuki (1964), and to formulate more convenient and more useful equations for predicting body density from skinfold and age in men. Subjects of the study were 257 healthy men aged 19-60 years in or near Nagasaki City. The regression equation for the dependent variable, body density, was determined by hydrostatic weighing.

Activation of renal dopamine system by physical exercise.

Physical exercise is one of the life-style modifications used for lowering blood pressure. Except for diminished norepinephrine spill over, the mechanism by which physical exercise exerts its effects was not known. Based on our preliminary finding that the reduction of blood pressure was inversely correlated to the baseline plasma renin activity, we have consequently revealed that mild exercise reduces plasma volume and hence the cardiac index.

[Body density assessment utilizing skinfold thickness and age in Japanese women].

A study was conducted to investigate the validity of skinfold-based prediction equations for body density (g/ml) by Nagamine and Suzuki (1964), and to formulate more convenient and more useful equations for predicting body density from skinfold and age in women. Subjects of the study were 512 healthy women aged 18-66 years in or near Nagasaki City. The dependent variable in the multiple regression equation, body density, was determined by hydrostatic weighing.

An intestinal fistula in a 3-year-old child caused by the ingestion of magnets: report of a case.

We describe herein the case of a 3-year-old child in whom a jejunoileal fistula was caused by the ingestion of magnets. This case report demonstrates that if more than one magnet is found as a foreign body in the intestine, they should not be left untreated even if there are no sharp edges and, it seems they could be evacuated spontaneously. This recommendation is made because the magnets will attract each other and hold the intestinal walls between them, causing necrosis and resulting in intestinal perforation or a fistula.

Tissue angiotensin II system in the human heart.

Several intervention studies with angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have demonstrated a remarkable improvement in the treatment of patients with primary hypertension and congestive heart failure. Since ACE inhibitor therapy in patients with congestive heart failure not only improves systemic haemodynamics but also provides a better prognosis, the cardiac renin-angiotensin system is apparently one of the major targets of ACE inhibitor therapy. Recent studies provided evidence that the human heart contains high affinity Ang II (Ang II) receptors with both subtype population and ACE.

Widespread tissue distribution of human chymase.

Objective: Human chymase is a potent and specific angiotensin (Ang) II-forming serine proteinase. Although the histological localization of heart chymase indicated that this enzyme contributes to extracellular Ang II formation, the systemic distribution and the level of expression of chymase in various human tissues have not been clarified. This information is needed to elucidate the human tissue Ang II system.

[Sex differences in interrelationships between percent body fat (%fat) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) in healthy male and female adults].

The purpose of the present study was to investigate sexual differences in relationships among percent body fat (%Fat), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-stature ratio (WSR), abdominal circumference to stature ratio (ASR), body mass index (BMI) and skinfold thicknesses in healthy male and female adults. Subjects were 64 males and 65 females, aged 22-60. Body density was measured by under water weighing and by skinfold anthropometry.

Conserved and novel structural characteristics of enantiomorphic Leu-enkephalin. X-ray crystal analysis of Leu-enkephalin enantiomer, L-Tyr-Gly-Gly-L-Phe-L-Leu and D-Tyr-Gly-Gly-D-Phe-D-Leu.

The crystal of the Leu-enkephalin racemate (L-Tyr-Gly-Gly-L-Phe-L-Leu and D-Tyr-Gly-Gly-D-Phe-D-Leu) was obtained as a centrosymmetric space group. Crystal data: C28H37N5O7 x 1.5H2O, Mw = 582.

Dipeptide processing activates recombinant human prochymase.

Human chymase (h-chymase) is a serine protease that efficiently converts angiotensin I to II. Its structure and homology to other serine proteases suggest that it is synthesized as a zymogen, and is processed to the active form by cleavage of a 19-residue signal peptide and of a dipeptide pro-segment. To evaluate maturational processing of this enzyme, the proteins encoded by three h-chymase cDNA constructs (wild-type, lacking the pro- or lacking the prepro-segment) were characterized after expression in COS-1 cells.

Cardiac angiotensin II formation: the angiotensin-I converting enzyme and human chymase.

Angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have provided a remarkable improvement in the treatment of patients with primary hypertension and congestive heart failure. The cardiac renin-angiotensin system is one of the major targets of ACE inhibitor therapy since recent studies show that the human heart contains high affinity angiotensin II (Ang II) receptors and ACE activity. However, it is not clear why ACE inhibitors are more effective than other vasodilators in the treatment of patients with congestive heart failure.

Measurement of angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibition in the heart.

Angiotensin (Ang) I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors represent a major advance in the treatment of congestive heart failure, and tissue, rather than circulating ACE, may be their major site of action. However, assessments of tissue ACE inhibition in treated patients has not always supported this contention. In these studies, ACE activity was measured in homogenates of sampled tissue by biochemical methods.

[Body composition (densitometry-hydrostatics), skinfold thickness, BMI and their relationships in junior high school girls].

A study was conducted to evaluate body composition (Hydrostatics = Under-Water Weighing), skinfold thickness, and BMI in 97 junior high school girls, aged 12 to 15, in Nagasaki City. Body density was measured by under-water weighing, and the two compartments--fat weight (Fat) and lean body mass (LBM, or fat free weight: FFW)--were calculated using the formulas of Brozek et al. The results were as follows; 1.

[DNA flow cytometry in smooth muscle tumors of the gastrointestinal tract].

DNA ploidy of 45 smooth muscle tumors of the G.I. tract was determined by flow cytometry and correlated with clinical features and prognosis.

Cellular localization and regional distribution of an angiotensin II-forming chymase in the heart.

The human heart is a target organ for the octapeptide hormone, angiotensin II (Ang II). Recent studies suggest that the human heart contains a dual pathway of Ang II formation in which the major Ang II-forming enzymes are angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) and chymase. Human heart chymase has recently been purified and its cDNA and gene cloned.

Spectroscopic characterization of heterochiral DNAs.

We have synthesized heterochiral dodecadeoxynucleotides having an unnatural L-nucleotide residue, and have investigated their structures by ultraviolet (UV) absorption, circular dichroism (CD) measurements and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. It was clearly shown that the overall structures of the heterochiral 12-mers are a right-handed B-conformation and the unnatural L-nucleotide residue in the heterochiral 12-mer (L-4) forms stable Watson-Crick type base-pairing with the natural complementary residue. In this double helix (L-4), the unnatural G4 residue has an S-type sugar conformer and a low-anti glycosidic torsion angle.

Effects of 1,3-chelation induced by cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) on the stability of DNA duplexes.

Several 1,3-intra-strand cross-linked decadeoxynucleotide duplexes, modified with cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (cis-DDP), and their base substitution analogues at the complementary site to the intervening base of the coordination sites, were synthesized and measured for UV-melting profiles to determine melting temperature (Tm) values. The results indicated the thermal stability of the oligonucleotide duplexes containing Pt-induced 1,3-intra-strand cross-linking did not depend on the kind of intervening base of the coordination site but rather on its complementary base. These results may explain the mutagenicity of cis-DDP from a chemical aspect.

Synthesis and properties of mirror-image DNA.

We have investigated the conformations of the hexadeoxyribonucleotide, L-d(CGCGCG) composed of L-deoxyribose, the mirror image molecule of natural D-deoxyribose. In this paper, we report the synthesis of four L-deoxynucleosides and the L-oligonucleotide-ethidium bromide interactions. The L-deoxyribose synthon 9 was synthesized from L-arabinose with an over all yield of 28.

Application of L-DNA to the study of the specific DNA recognition mechanism of bleomycin.

The hexadeoxynucleotide analog, L-d(CGCGCG) composed of L-deoxyribose was synthesized and clearly shown to have the same conformation and dynamic properties with natural D-d(CGCGCG) except for chirality with CD spectra. This unnatural hexanucleotide was not cleaved by bleomycin, an antitumor DNA cleaving drug, but was able to bind to the DNA binding domain of bleomycin to a similar extent with the natural one. These results strongly suggest the importance of the other moiety than the DNA binding domain for the specific DNA recognition of bleomycin.

Multiple determinants for the high substrate specificity of an angiotensin II-forming chymase from the human heart.

Human heart chymase, a chymotrypsin-like serine proteinase that hydrolyzes the Phe8-His9 bond in angiotensin I (Ang I) to yield the octapeptide hormone angiotensin II (Ang II) and His-Leu, is the most specific, efficient Ang II-forming enzyme described. Other mammalian chymases display a much broader substrate specificity. To better define its substrate specificity, we have mapped the extended substrate-binding site of human heart chymase using Ang I analogs.

Cloning of the gene and cDNA for human heart chymase.

We have recently identified and characterized a chymotrypsin-like serine proteinase in human heart (human heart chymase) that is the most catalytically efficient enzyme described, thus far, for the cleavage of angiotensin I to yield angiotensin II and the dipeptide His-Leu. Compared to other chymases, this enzyme also has an unusually high degree of specificity for the substrate angiotensin I. We report here the molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of the gene and cDNA encoding human heart chymase, and determination of its entire deduced amino acid sequence.

Photo-induced formation of the 2-deoxyribonolactone-containing nucleotide for d(ApCpA); effects of neighboring bases and modification of deoxycytidine.

Previously, we reported the formation of a 2-deoxyribonolactone-containing nucleotide by UV irradiation of d(ApCpA). In this paper, we report some mechanical feature of this novel photoreaction. From the results of photolysis of d(GpCpG), this reaction is independent of neighboring bases.

Interstrand cross-linking of the hexadeoxynucleotide d(TACGTA) upon reaction with trans-diamminedichloroplatinum(II).

The reaction of trans-diamminedichloroplatinum(II), an inactive isomer of cisplatin, with d(TACGTA) was performed in aqueous solution, and the interstrand cross-linked adduct was isolated on a preparative scale. This adduct was characterized by 1 M thiourea treatment, atomic absorption spectroscopy, enzymatic digestion and 1H NMR as platinum coordinated to two molecules of d(TACGTA) at the N7 atom of the guanine residue. This interstrand cross-linked adduct did not form a duplex structure in the conditions where the free hexanucleotide adopts it.