Clinical significance of e-antigen/anti-e, with special reference to HBc-antigen in the liver.

e-antigen and anti-e were assayed in sera of asymptomatic HBs-Ag carriers and of patients with liver diseases. Thirteen out of 34 (38.2%) asymptomatic carriers were positive for e-antigen, which was in sharp contrast to the reports from USA and Europe.

Studies on the structure activity relationship of adrenergic beta-mimetic benzylamine derivatives.

Appropriately substituted benzylamine (BZA) derivatives, fragmented derivatives of tetrahydroisoquinolines, were found to be directly acting adrenergic beta-stimulants, exhibiting tracheal relaxing, positive chronotropic and free fatty acid (FFA) releasing activities. The chemical structures essential for manifestation of the beta-action were i) 3,4-dihydroxybenzylamine, ii) arylmethyl group at position alpha, iii) lower alkyl group on the N atom. The structure activity relationships of BZA-derivatives were almost similar to, but partly different from those of tetrahydroisoquinoline- and catecholamine-derivatives.

Studies on mode of antagonism between adrenergic beta-mimetics and beta-blocking agents (I). Beta-blocking action of mescaline and its derivatives.

In order to clarify whether or not trimetoquinol (TMQ) and isoproterenol (ISO) interact with the same receptor, the pA2 values of propranolol (PR) and certain trimethoxybenzene derivatives were measured, using isolated guinea pig tracheal chains. Each of PR, mescaline (MES) and its derivatives gave almost the same pA2 values for TMQ and ISO. Introduction of an alkyl group into the N atom of MES increased the affinity to the receptor in the order of methyl and isopropyl as well as the structureactivity relationship of catecholamines, while that of hydroxyl group in the beta-position of the side chain decreased pA2 values.

Versatile spectrophotometric method for the determination of silicon.

A versatile spectrophotometric method is described for the determination of microgram levels of silicon, as molybdenum blue. It combines the desirable features of existing spectrophotometric methods with three pretreatment procedures, namely (a) the removal of cations with a cation-exchange resin in the H(+)-form, (b) the conversion of all silicon species into the reactive monomer with an alkaline treatment, and (c) the decomposition of silicon fluoride with boric acid in the presence of cation-exchange resin. These pretreatments coupled with the colour development provide five procedures which are applicable to a wide variety of samples including natural and industrial waters and solutions of various nuclear reactor fuels and components.