Effects of the Polysaccharide from the Sporophyll of Brown Alga Undaria Pinnatifida on Serum Lipid Profile and Fat Tissue Accumulation in Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet.

We investigated the effects of the polysaccharide from the sporophyll of a selected brown alga Undaria pinnatifida on serum lipid profile, fat tissue accumulation, and gastrointestinal transit time in rats fed a high-fat diet. The algal polysaccharide (AP) was prepared by the treatment of multiple cellulase-producing fungi Trichoderma reesei and obtained from the sporophyll with a yield of 38.7% (dry basis).

Production and proteolytic assay of lethal factor from Bacillus anthracis.

Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax. The major virulence factors are a poly-D-glutamic acid capsule and three-protein component exotoxin, protective antigen (PA, 83 kDa), lethal factor (LF, 90 kDa), and edema factor (EF, 89 kDa), respectively. These three proteins individually have no known toxic activities, but in combination with PA form two toxins (lethal toxin or edema toxin), causing different pathogenic responses in animals and cultured cells.

A synthetic isoquinoline alkaloid, 1-(beta-naphthylmethyl)-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (YS 51), reduces inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and improves survival in a rodent model of endotoxic shock.

In the present study, the effects of 1-(beta-naphthylmethyl)-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (YS 51), a positional isomer of 1-(alpha-naphthylmethyl)-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (YS 49), on nitric oxide production and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA expression were investigated in RAW 264.7 cells, mouse monocyte macrophage, exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) plus interferon (IFN)-gamma. In addition, the effects of YS 51 on vascular reactivity in vitro and ex vivo, iNOS protein expression (rat lung) and survival rate (mice), were also investigated in LPS-treated rodents.

Intestinal Parasite Survey Of Kyungpook National University Hospital Patients.

For seven years from 1962 to 1968, fecal specimens of the patients were examined not only for the discovery of intestinal protozoa and helminths, but also to provie data on the incidence of intestinal parasites among the residents of Kyungpook Province, Korea. The Formalin-ether sedimentation, Lugol solution, and Heidenhain's iron-hematoxylin stained films were prepared for the recovery of intestinal parasites. Of 2,414 samples of feces examined, 35.