Descriptive study of sledding injuries in Canadian children.

Objectives: (1) To describe the characteristics of sledding injuries presenting to a pediatric emergency department and (2) To describe the sledding environment that leads to childhood sledding injuries.

Setting: A pediatric hospital emergency department in Ottawa, Canada and identified sledding sites in the region.

Methods: All patients less than 18 years with sled related injuries were included.

Chemical modification of 3-HBA-6-hydroxylase by phenylglyoxal: kinetic and physicochemical studies on the modified enzyme.

The inactivation of 3-HBA-6-hydroxylase isolated from Micrococcus species by phenylglyoxal and protection offered by 3-HBA against inactivation indicate the presence of arginine residue at or near the substrate binding site. The loss of enzyme activity was time and concentration dependent and displayed pseudo-first order kinetics. A 'n' value of 0.

A sampling theorem for EEG electrode configuration.

An analytical tool to help in selecting the number of electrodes required for recording electroencephalogram (EEG) signals is presented. The main assumption made is that the scalp can be modeled as a hemispherical surface. The number of sensors required to sample a surface is derived by using a mean square error (MSE) measure to approximate the continuous potential functions on the hemispherical surface.

Identification of the active-site peptide of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid decarboxylase from Aspergillus oryzae.

The non-oxidative decarboxylation of aromatic acids is a poorly understood reaction. The transformation of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid to catechol in the fungal metabolism of indole is a prototype of such a reaction. 2,3-Dihydroxybenzoic acid decarboxylase (EC 4.

2,3-Dihydroxybenzoic acid decarboxylase from Aspergillus niger. A novel decarboxylase.

2,3-Dihydroxybenzoic acid decarboxylase, the last enzyme in the fungal metabolism of indole to catechol, catalyzes the non-oxidative decarboxylation of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid to catechol. Unlike most other decarboxylases, this enzyme does not require a cofactor, underlining the importance of active-site residues in the reaction mechanism. Earlier studies from this laboratory [Kamath, A.

A pathway for biodegradation of 1-naphthoic acid by Pseudomonas maltophilia CSV89.

Pseudomonas maltophilia CSV89, a bacterium isolated from soil in our laboratory, grows on 1-naphthoic acid as the sole source of carbon and energy. To elucidate the pathway for degradation of 1-naphthoic acid, the metabolites were isolated from spent medium, purified by TLC, and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The involvement of various metabolites as intermediates in the pathway was established by demonstrating relevant enzyme activities in cell-free extracts, oxygen uptake and transformation of metabolites by the whole cells.

Evidence for the involvement of multiple pathways in the biodegradation of 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene by Pseudomonas putida CSV86.

Pseudomonas putida CSV86, a soil bacterium, grows on 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene as the sole source of carbon and energy. In order to deduce the pathways for the biodegradation of 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene, metabolites were isolated from the spent medium and purified by thin layer chromatography. Emphasis has been placed on the structural characterisation of isolated intermediates by GC-MS, demonstration of enzyme activities in the cell free extracts and measurement of oxygen uptake by whole cells in the presence of various probable metabolic intermediates.

Identification and characterization of a new plasmid carrying genes for degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate from Pseudomonas cepacia CSV90.

Pseudomonas cepacia CSV90 is able to utilize 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4-D) and 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetate as sole sources of carbon and energy. Mutants of the strain CSV90 which had lost this ability appeared spontaneously on a nonselective medium. The wild-type strain harbored a 90-kb plasmid, pMAB1, whereas 2,4-D-negative mutants either lost the plasmid or had a 70-kb plasmid, pMAB2.

Role of lipid peroxidation in impairment of mitochondrial function at complex I by methyl isocyanate treatment of rats in vivo.

The subcutaneous administration of methyl isocyanate (MIC) in 1.0 LD50 dose in rats caused a significant effect on hepatic mitochondrial function only at complex I region of the respiratory chain. MIC administration at 1.

Do the hydrolysis products, methylamine and N,N'-dimethylurea, play any role in the methyl isocyanate-induced haematological and biochemical changes in rabbits?

The subcutaneous administration of methyl isocyanate (MIC) to female rabbits, resulted in significant increases in haemoglobin concentration, erythrocyte volume fraction and leucocyte number in blood, as well as plasma total proteins, and urea. The present study was designed to investigate whether the hydrolytic products of MIC, methylamine (MA) and N,N'-dimethylurea (DMU) play any role in eliciting these changes. Both MA and DMU administered subcutaneously in an equimolar dose to that of 1.

Purification of 3,5-dichlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase, a nonheme iron dioxygenase and a key enzyme in the biodegradation of a herbicide, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), from Pseudomonas cepacia CSV90.

An enzyme which cleaves the benzene ring of 3,5-dichlorocatechol has been purified to homogeneity from Pseudomonas cepacia CSV90, grown with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) as the sole carbon source. The enzyme was a nonheme ferric dioxygenase and catalyzed the intradiol cleavage of all the examined catechol derivatives, 3,5-dichlorocatechol having the highest specificity constant of 7.3 microM-1s-1 in an air-saturated buffer.

Influence of methylamine and N,N'-dimethylurea, the hydrolysis products of methyl isocyanate, on its systemic toxicity.

Subcutaneous administration of the LD50 dose of methyl isocyanate (MIC) to rats induced severe hyperglycaemia, lactic acidosis and uraemia in rats. Neither methylamine (MA) nor N,N'-dimethylurea (DMU), the hydrolysis products of MIC, administered in equimolar doses had any influence on these parameters except for a marginal transient increase in plasma urea by DMU. Methyl isocyanate administration led to haemoconcentration, resulting in an increase in the plasma concentration of total proteins and a decrease in both the plasma concentration of albumin and the plasma cholinesterase activity.

p-Hydroxyphenylacetate-3-hydroxylase. A two-protein component enzyme.

p-Hydroxyphenylacetate-3-hydroxylase, an inducible enzyme isolated from the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida, catalyzes the conversion of p-hydroxyphenylacetate to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate. The enzyme requires two protein components: a flavoprotein and a colorless protein referred to as the coupling protein. The flavoprotein alone in the presence of p-hydroxyphenylacetate and substrate analogs catalyzes the wasteful oxidation of NADH with the stoichiometric generation of H2O2.

In vitro and in vivo effect of methyl isocyanate on rat liver mitochondrial respiration.

Previous work has shown that irrespective of the route of exposure methyl isocyanate (MIC) caused acute lactic acidosis in rats (Jeevaratnam et al., Arch. Environ.

Acute toxicity of methyl isocyanate in rabbit: in vitro and in vivo effects on rabbit erythrocyte membrane.

Methyl isocyanate (MIC) interaction with the rabbit erythrocyte membrane increased the fluidity of the membrane and decreased the osmotic fragility of erythrocytes both in vitro and in vivo in rabbits intoxicated with MIC subcutaneously. MIC inhibited both acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activities of erythrocytes dose-dependently in vitro, while in vivo a decreased trend in ATPase activity with unaltered AChE activity was observed. MIC also caused significant decrease in plasma sodium level with corresponding increase in potassium level in rabbits.

Acute toxicity of methyl isocyanate in mammals. IV. Biochemical and hematological changes in rabbits.

Subcutaneous administration of methyl isocyanate (MIC) in 0.5 LD50 and 1.0 LD50 to female rabbits resulted in significant increases of hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit and leukocyte count in blood, as well as plasma total proteins, urea and cholesterol.

Affinity purification and characterization of 2,4-dichlorophenol hydroxylase from Pseudomonas cepacia.

2,4-Dichlorophenol hydroxylase, a flavoprotein monooxygenase from Pseudomonas cepacia grown on 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) as the sole source of carbon, was purified to homogeneity by a single-step affinity chromatography on 2,4-DCP-Sepharose CL-4B. The enzyme was eluted from the affinity matrix with the substrate 2,4-dichlorophenol. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 275,000 consisting of four identical subunits of molecular weight 69,000 and requires exogenous addition of FAD for its complete catalytic activity.

Cryptosin induces backbone structural changes in cardiac Na+ and K+ dependent adenosinetriphosphatase.

Cryptosin, a new cardenolide, was found to preferentially bind to Na,K-ATPase enzyme (7), which is believed to be the ouabain binding site on cardiac sarcolemmal membrane. CD spectral studies revealed that cryptosin, in the presence of Na+ and Mg++ ions, bind to Na,K-ATPase and induce a dose-dependent change in the backbone structure of cardiac Na,K-ATPase.

Acute toxicity of methyl isocyanate in mammals. II. Induction of hyperglycemia, lactic acidosis, uraemia, and hypothermia in rats.

When rats were administered methyl isocyanate (MIC) by inhalation or subcutaneous route it produced severe hyperglycemia, clinical lactic acidosis, highly elevated plasma urea, and reduced plasma cholinesterase activity with unaltered erythrocyte acetyl cholinesterase activity. Irrespective of the route of administration, MIC also caused severe hypothermia, which was not ameliorated by prior administration of atropine sulphate. Acute toxic effects of MIC are essentially similar by either route except for the intensity of the effects.

Substrate-mediated purification and characterization of a 3-hydroxybenzoic acid-6-hydroxylase from Micrococcus.

3-Hydroxybenzoic acid-6-hydroxylase from Micrococcus sp. was purified to homogeneity in a single step using the substrate-mediated interaction of the enzyme with blue-Sepharose. The enzyme was bound to the affinity matrix in the presence of 3-hydroxybenzoic acid and was eluted in its absence.

New pathway for the biodegradation of indole in Aspergillus niger.

Indole and its derivatives form a class of toxic recalcitrant environmental pollutants. The growth of Aspergillus niger was inhibited by very low concentrations (0.005 to 0.

Enzyme catalysed non-oxidative decarboxylation of aromatic acids. II. Identification of active site residues of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid decarboxylase from Aspergillus niger.

In order to understand the mechanism of decarboxylation by 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid decarboxylase, chemical modification studies were carried out. Specific modification of the amino acid residues with diethylpyrocarbonate, N-bromosuccinimide and N-ethylmaleiimide revealed that at least one residue each of histidine, tryptophan and cysteine were essential for the activity. Various substrate analogs which were potential inhibitors significantly protected the enzyme against inactivation.

Purification and properties of 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid 3-hydroxylase from Pseudomonas putida.

4-Hydroxyphenylacetic acid 3-hydroxylase is a key enzyme in the pathway for the microbial degradation of phenylalanine, tyrosine and many aromatic amines. This enzyme was purified to homogeneity from Pseudomonas putida by affinity chromatography. The protein had a molecular weight of 91,000 and was a dimer of identical subunits.