Observation of CO(2) in Fourier transform infrared spectral measurements of living Acholeplasma laidlawii cells.

In monitoring the time course of conformational disorder by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for intact Acholeplasma laidlawii cells grown at 37 degrees C on binary fatty acid mixtures containing oleic acid and for cells grown on pure palmitic acid, an absorption band at 2343 cm(-1) was observed. The band intensity was found to increase with time. This band was not observed in the spectra for isolated membranes.

[Anti-rubella virus IgG in urine: epidemiological application of a new enzyme-liked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA)].

Objectives: To evaluate the utility of urinary assessment for epidemiological studies of rubella, we measured anti-rubella virus immunoglobulin G (anti-RV IgG) using samples from pediatric patients with initial rubella infection, healthy volunteers who received a prophylactic inoculation of live rubella vaccine, and 3 years-old children undergoing a health examination at a community health center.

Methods: Blood and urine samples were collected from 12 of spontaneous rubella cases treated at 7 local pediatric clinics during acute and convalescent stages. In addition, blood and urine samples were collected from 17 healthy volunteers receiving prophylactic rubella vaccination immediately before, and 3 and 6-7 weeks after vaccination.

[Drinking behavior of female nursing students and stress factors related problem drinking].

The survey was done to clarify how the behavior of drinking alcoholic beverages of female nursing students relates to the stress they feel in their school life. The questionnaires were sent to 337 female students of two nursing schools located in metropolitan area. Students were asked to reply the questions of Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale (AAIS), and other questions related to their smoking habits and stress felt in their school life.

A light microscope study of the distribution of muscle in the frog esophagus and stomach.

The present study reports light microscopical observations of the distribution of muscle in the esophagus and stomach of both the bull frog (Rana catesbeiana) and the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). The external muscle coat of the upper half of the esophagus in both species had several collagen coated bundles of striated muscle fibres around the circumference. These striated muscle bundles ran longitudinally from the pharynx to around the vicinity of the center of the esophagus.

Analysis of c-myc DNA amplification in non-small cell lung carcinoma in comparison with small cell lung carcinoma using polymerase chain reaction.

Previous studies of c-mvc DNA amplification in lung cancer have focused primarily on analysis of small cell carcinoma or its tumor cell lines. There are few data about c-myc DNA amplification in histological types of lung cancer other than small cell carcinoma. Therefore the present study was conducted to investigate c-myc oncogene amplification in non-small cell lung carcinoma.

Purification and properties of L-gulono-1,4-lactone oxidase from Grifola frondosa.

L-Gulono-1,4-lactone oxidase activity was detected in G. frondosa: therefore its properties were studied after purification. A 766-fold purified preparation of the enzyme from fresh fruit bodies was obtained by means of a seven-step procedure, the overall yield being 14%.

The biological activity of hydrogen peroxide VII. L-Histidine increases incorporation of H(2)O(2) into cells and enhances formation of 8-oxodeoxyguanosine by UV-C plus H(2)O(2) but not by H(2)O(2) alone.

L-Histidine (L-His) enhances the clastogenic effects of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). We previously suggested the involvement of active transport in the efficient influx of an L-His--H(2)O(2) adduct into cells (Oya-Ohta et al. [1]).

Use of microtiter plates for latex agglutination immunoassay of serum alpha 2-macroglobulin.

A simple, sensitive turbidimetric immunoassay is described for analysis of alpha 2-macroglobulin (AMG) in serum, using microtiter plates and a commercial kit that features a sensitive latex reagent. Using microwells as reaction vessels and the latex reagent made it possible to minimize the sample size and the amounts of reagents. The procedure involves two pipetting steps and a brief incubation (10 min) at room temperature; the assay measures AMG concentrations ranging from 0.

[Introduction to sterilization and disinfection of medical wastes contaminated with human virus].

In this paper, we describe sterilization and disinfection of medical wastes contaminated with blood borne-virus, such as Ebola virus, Marburg virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, Lassa virus, Hepatitis B virus and Human immunodeficiency virus.

[The survey of HIV infection among clients of foreign female prostitutes in Tokyo Metropolitan].

Objectives: It is important to elucidate the risks to foreign female prostitutes of HIV infection from their clients. We determined the prevalence of HIV among clients of foreign female prostitutes using anonymous testing of condom semen samples.

Methods: A total of 250 client condom semen samples were collected with client age and nationality by 15 Latin American and 37 Thai female prostitutes in Tokyo from March to May 1995.

Absence of ganglionated plexus in bullfrog gallbladder.

We first carried out microscopic observation of the intramural nerves of a bullfrog gallbladder which were fixed and stained with a solution of OsO4 and ZnI2. We then investigated if the responses of isolated frog gallbladder evoked by electrical stimulation are mediated through the intramural nerves. The following results were obtained: 1.

A simple and sensitive colorimetric assay of zinc in serum using cationic porphyrin.

A direct colorimetric method is presented for simple and sensitive determination of serum zinc in 0.05-ml samples, using a cationic porphyrin, alpha,beta,gamma,delta-tetrakis(4-N-trimethylaminophenyl) porphine tetratoluenesulfonate salt (ttmapp, epsilon = 41.5 x 10(4) l/mol per cm at 421 nm).

Separative determination of ascorbic acid analogs contained in mushrooms by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Analogs (6-deoxyascorbic acid, erythroascorbic acid, and associated glycosides) of L-ascorbic acid (AA) contained in mushrooms were allowed to react with hydrazine to form osazones, and the conditions for separative determination by HPLC using a Zorbax SIL column were examined. Separation was started using solvent system 1 (ethylacetate/n-hexane/acetone/acetic acid, 50:50:1:1, v/v) as the mobile phase, and switching after 15 min to solvent system 2 (ethylacetate/acetone/acetic acid, 100:1:1, v/v). Detection was performed by absorbance at 500 nm.

Induction of chromosomal aberrations in cultured human fibroblasts by inorganic and organic arsenic compounds and the different roles of glutathione in such induction.

Clastogenic effects of a variety of arsenic compounds were examined on cultured human fibroblasts. The following compounds were tested: inorganic arsenicals (arsenite and arsenate), the major metabolites of inorganic arsenicals in human and experimental animals [methylarsonic acid (MAA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA) and trimethylarsine oxide (TMAO)], and water-soluble organoarsenic derivatives [2', 3'-dihydroxypropyl-5-deoxy-5-dimethylarsinoyl-beta-D-riboside (arsenosugar), arsenocholine, arsenobetaine and tetramethylarsonium iodide] found in marine organisms. Arsenic compounds induced mainly chromatid gaps and chromatid breaks.

Inhibitory effect of NaCl on hog kidney mitochondrial membrane-bound monoamine oxidase: pH and temperature dependences.

For a further understanding of the inhibitory effect of NaCl on hog kidney mitochondrial monoamine oxidase (MAO), the activity for benzylamine as substrate was assayed spectrophotometrically in the absence and presence of NaCl for mitochondrial outer membrane preparations as well as whole mitochondria. The effect of CaCl2 was also examined for comparison. The inhibition by NaCl but not CaCl2 was strongly pH dependent.

Differences in the characterization of the Ca2+ current in ventricular myocytes between spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive rats.

1. The slow inward Ca2+ current elicited at the membrane potential -30 mV in SHR and normotensive Wistar rats (WR) with voltage-clamp recording was examined for this study. 2.

The biological activity of hydrogen peroxide. VI. Mechanism of the enhancing effects of L-histidine: the role of the formation of a histidine-peroxide adduct and membrane transport.

Further details of the mechanism of the enhancing effects of L-histidine (L-His) on the clastogenic activities of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were investigated. The L-His-H2O2 adduct was prepared and its physicochemical properties and biological activities were compared with those of a mixture of L-His plus H2O2 and of H2O2 alone. When the stabilities of the three test samples against glucose were determined in terms of residual H2O2 content in solutions of various pH values over the course of 11 days, the adduct was found to be more stable than H2O2 alone and very similar in terms of stability to the mixture.

Rearrangement of bcl-2 is detectable in Hodgkin's disease by polymerase chain reaction.

The authors examined the occurrence of the t(14;18) chromosomal translocation in 44 cases of Hodgkin's disease (HD) using the polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot hybridization with non-radioactive oligonucleotide probes. DNAs were extracted from unfixed, fresh-frozen and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens. Southern blot hybridization of the amplification product showed that, of 44 HD DNAs, three had a detectable t(14;18) breakpoint at the mbr (major breakpoint region), while none had a detectable t(14;18) breakpoint at the mcr (minor cluster region).

Distribution of ascorbic acid analogs and associated glycosides in mushrooms.

Mushrooms contain reducing substances with chemical properties similar to ascorbic acid (AsA). In this study, the four types of reducing substances contained in Flammulina velutipes (Enokitake), Hypsizigus mamoreus (Bunashimeji), Pholiota nameko (Nameko), and Grifola frondosa (Maitake) were respectively purified, and the structure of each was analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and other methods. The results confirmed that those substances were AsA analogs and associated glycosides (6-deoxy-AsA, 6-deoxy-5-O-(alpha-D-xylopyranosyl)-AsA, 6-deoxy-5-O-(alpha-D-glucopyranosyl)-AsA, and 5-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-erythro-AsA).

bcl-2 gene rearrangement analysis of Japanese follicular lymphomas by polymerase chain reaction in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue specimens.

The prevalence of chromosomal translocation t(14;18) was examined in 41 cases of follicular lymphoma covering all histopathological subtypes, using the polymerase chain reaction and hybridization method with non-radioactive oligonucleotide probes. DNAs were extracted from unfixed fresh-frozen and/or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens. The t(14;18) chromosomal translocation, resulting in bcl-2-JH (immunoglobulin heavy chain gene joining segment) fusion gene, was detected in 7 (36.

Studies on the electrical stimulation-induced contractile responses of hamster and mouse gallbladders.

Isolated gallbladders of both hamsters and mice showed a contractile response consisting of initial and secondary contractile responses to electrical stimulation with rectangular pulses (50 volt, 40 Hz) of 6 msec duration for a period of 10 seconds. The duration time of the contractile response was very long. This was because the duration time of the process of the initial contractile response was as short as 5 to 40 seconds, but that of the secondary contractile response was as long as 8 to 15 minutes.

The biological activity of hydrogen peroxide. V. The crystal structure of a histidine-peroxide adduct and its biological activities.

Crystals were prepared from a mixture of L-histidine (L-His) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and tested for biological activity in human embryonic fibroblasts. The crystal structure was determined by X-ray diffraction to be that of an adduct, in which the H2O2 molecule forms a OH-N hydrogen bond with N delta of the side chain of L-His. A 10-min treatment with this adduct in solution (25-150 microM) induced more marked chromosomal aberrations and more single-strand breaks (SSB) in DNA than H2O2 itself, and these effects were generated in a dose-dependent manner.

A sensitive, direct colorimetric assay of serum zinc using nitro-PAPS and microwell plates.

A direct colorimetric assay of zinc in 0.02-ml of serum using a new, water-soluble reagent, 2-(5-nitro-2-pyridylazo)-5-(N-propyl-N-sulfopropylamino)phenol disodium salt dihydrate (nitro-PAPS epsilon = 14.5 X 10(4) l/mol per cm at 574 nm), is presented.

Studies on the intramural nerves of the hamster and mouse gallbladders.

We first carried out microscopic observation of the intramural nerves of hamster and mouse gallbladders which were fixed and stained with a solution of OsO4 and ZnI2. For this microscopic observation, the guinea-pig gallbladder was used as a control. We then investigated the relationship between the motility and intramural nerves of the isolated gallbladder in both the hamster and mouse.