bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationship of Skin Autofluorescence to Cardiovascular Disease in Japanese Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Tanaka Kenichi , Katoh Tetsuo , Asai Jun , Nemoto Fumihiko , Suzuki Hodaka , Asahi Koichi , Sato Keiji , Sakaue Michiaki , Miyata Toshio , Watanabe Tsuyoshi
Published: December 2009

Advanced glycation end products (AGE) are significantly increased in end‐stage renal disease patients and it has been suggested that AGE accumulation is related to the progression of cardiovascular disease. An autofluorescence reader non‐invasively assesses AGE accumulation using skin autofluorescence under ultraviolet light. Skin autofluorescence has been reported to be an independent predictor of mortality in Caucasian hemodialysis patients. The aim of this study was to assess whether skin autofluorescence in Japanese hemodialysis patients is related to the presence of cardiovascular disease. In this cross‐sectional study, patients on maintenance hemodialysis (N = 128; 59 men, 69 women) were included. AGE accumulation was assessed by skin autofluorescence using an autofluorescence reader. Associations between skin autofluorescence, cardiovascular disease, and other parameters were studied. Skin autofluorescence correlated with age (r = 0.32,P < 0.01), diabetes (r = 0.21,P = 0.02), carotid intima‐media thickness (IMT) (r = 0.23,P = 0.02), high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hsCRP) (r = 0.20,P = 0.03), and plasma pentosidine (r = 0.20,P = 0.03). Each parameter was compared in patients with and without cardiovascular disease; the gender distribution, age, carotid IMT, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, hsCRP, and skin autofluorescence were significantly related to the presence of cardiovascular disease. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified carotid IMT (OR 6.76), hsCRP (OR 1.41), and skin autofluorescence (OR 2.29) as significant factors for the presence of cardiovascular disease. Increased skin autofluorescence was related to the presence of cardiovascular disease in Asian (non‐Caucasian) hemodialysis patients, and therefore an autofluorescence reader might have the potential to be a useful assessment of cardiovascular risk in these patients.
Positive Dialysate Gram Stain Predicts Outcome of Empirical Antibiotic Therapy for Peritoneal Dialysis‐associated Peritonitis
Authors: Lee Chin‐Chan , Sun Chiao‐Yin , Chang Kuo‐Chuan , Wu Mai‐Szu
Published: December 2009

Empirical antibiotic treatment with a first‐generation cephalosporin plus gentamicin for peritoneal dialysis (PD)‐associated peritonitis before culture results are available is still wildly used due to concerns regarding the economic burden and antibiotic‐resistant bacterial infections. The aim of this study is to define the factors that predict the outcome of empirical antibiotic therapy for PD peritonitis. This is a retrospective study of patients with PD peritonitis over the last 10 years. Patients who had been treated empirically with intermittent intraperitoneal first‐generation cephalosporin and gentamicin were enrolled. Eighty‐three patients had 192 episodes of PD peritonitis. In total, 159 peritonitis episodes were treated with intraperitoneal antibiotics combined with first‐generation cephalosporin and gentamicin empirically. Twenty‐five peritonitis episodes had no pathogens identified by dialysate culture. In total, 122 (122/159, 76.7%) PD peritonitis episodes were caused by bacteria, 9 (9/159, 5.7%) were fungal, and 3 (3/159, 1.9%) were Mycobacterium tuberculosis peritonitis. Sixty‐four (64/159, 40.3%) peritonitis episodes were successfully cured by empirical intraperitoneal antibiotic therapy. Empirical antibiotic treatment failed in 95 episodes (95/159, 59.7%). The positive rates of dialysate Gram stain in the empirical treatment success and failure groups were 15.6% and 40.0%, respectively (P = 0.001). The odds ratio of empirical treatment failure with a positive bacteria Gram stain was 3.60 (95% CI: 1.65–7.82). The dialysate Gram staining result was a significant predictor of empirical antibiotics treatment outcome for PD‐associated peritonitis. Therefore, using an empirical antibiotic regimen for patients with an initial positive bacterial Gram stain of the dialysate should be introduced cautiously.
Labile Plasma Iron Generation After Intravenous Iron is Time‐dependent and Transitory in Patients Undergoing Chronic Hemodialysis
Authors: Rangel Érika B , Espósito Breno P , Carneiro Fabiana D , Mallet Ana Cláudia , Matos Ana Cristina C , Andreoli Maria Cláudia C , Guimarães‐Souza Nádia K , Santos Bento FC
Published: December 2009

Iron supplementation in hemodialysis patients is fundamental to erythropoiesis, but may cause harmful effects. We measured oxidative stress using labile plasma iron (LPI) after parenteral iron replacement in chronic hemodialysis patients. Intravenous iron saccharate (100 mg) was administered in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis (N = 20). LPI was measured by an oxidant‐sensitive fluorescent probe at the beginning of dialysis session (T0), at 10 min (T1), 20 min (T2), and 30 min (T3) after the infusion of iron and at the subsequent session; P < 0.05 was significant. The LPI values were significantly raised according to the time of administration and were transitory: −0.02 ± 0.20 µmol/L at the beginning of the first session, 0.01 ± 0.26 µmol/L at T0, 0.03 ± 0.23 µmol/L at T1, 0.09 ± 0.28 µmol/L at T2, 0.18 ± 0.52 µmol/L at T3, and −0.02 ± 0.16 µmol/L (P = 0.001 to 0.041) at the beginning of the second session. The LPI level in patients without iron supplementation was −0.06 ± 0.16 µmol/L. Correlations of LPI according to time were T1, T2, and T3 vs. serum iron (P = 0.01, P = 0.007, and P = 0.0025, respectively), and T2 and T3 vs. transferrin saturation (P = 0.001 and P = 0.0003, respectively). LPI generation after intravenous saccharate administration is time‐dependent and transitorily detected during hemodialysis. The LPI increment had a positive correlation to iron and transferrin saturation.
Synthesis and Antileishmanial Activity of Lipidic Amino Alcohols
Authors: Coimbra Elaine S. , De Almeida Mauro V. , Júnior Celso O. R. , Taveira Aline F. , Da Costa Cristiane F. , De Almeida Ana C. , Reis Elaine F. C. , Da Silva Adilson D.
Published: December 2009

In this work, a number of lipidic amino alcohols wereas synthesized and evaluated in vitro on cultures of Leishmania amazonensis and Leishmania chagasi. Nine amino alcohols showed inhibition of L. chagasi growth, and seven of them showed inhibition of L. amazonensis with IC50 below 10 μm. Compound 11f was more active than the reference drug amphotericin B against L. chagasi promastigote forms.
The effects of reduction of the deposited waste on short‐term landfill leachate composition of a landfill: a case study in Norway
Authors: Øygard Joar , Maage Amund , Gjengedal Elin
Published: December 2009

Municipal solid waste landfill leachate was sampled over from a landfill receiving varying amounts of municipal solid waste. The investigation aimed to provide information on expected leachate changes in the short term, either after closure of an active landfill, or after a strong decline in the amount of waste deposited at smaller landfills. It was found that during a two year period following a sudden decline in the amount of waste deposited, the levels of various chemical and physical parameters all dropped sharply. The reasons for the decline in discharge levels are thought to be aerobic decomposition taking place in the municipal solid waste just after landfilling, and thus the decline in the impact of this process when there were less fresh waste masses available, and formation of preferential flow paths for the leachate as the municipal solid waste stabilized in the landfill.
Angiotensin II regulates endothelial cell migration through calcium influx via T‐type calcium channel in human umbilical vein endothelial cells
Authors: Martini A. , Bruno R. , Mazzulla S. , Nocita A. , Martino G.
Published: December 2009

Aim: The T‐type calcium channel is expressed in vascular endothelial cells, but its role in endothelial cell function is yet to be elucidated. We analysed the endothelial functional role of T‐type calcium channel‐dependent calcium under angiotensin II (Ang II) stimulation.

Methods: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were co‐incubated with hormone at 10−7 mand either Efonidipine 10−5 mor Verapamil 10−5 mor Mibefradil 10−5 mor Wortmannin 10−6 m. The contribution of Ang II receptors was evaluated using PD123319 10−7 mand ZD 7155 10−7 m. The calcium ion concentration was observed using Fluo‐3 acetossimetil ester. The cells were observed after 3, 6, 9 and 12 h.

Results: The microfluorescence method points out that Ang II induces intracellular calcium modulation in time by distinct mechanisms. AT2 receptor blockade is necessary to observe significant increase in [Ca2+]ilevels. Pre‐treatment with Mibefradil abolishes Ang II ‐induced cell migration.

Conclusions: Our data show that Ang II, via AT1 receptor, modulates calcium concentration involving T‐type calcium channel and L‐type calcium channel but only the calcium influx via T‐type calcium channels regulates endothelial cell migration which is essential for angiogenesis.
Gene Therapy Oversight: Lessons for Nanobiotechnology
Authors: Wolf Susan M. , Gupta Rishi , Kohlhepp Peter
Published: December 2009

Nanotechnology is the “next small thing” in technological innovation. Spanning a range of science and engineering disciplines, nanotechnology will dramatically alter products and processes upon which we currently rely and promises significant advances in technology. Federal agencies taking part in the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) have attempted to articulate a suitable definition for nanotechnology. The NNI definition refers to “[r]esearch and technology development at the atomic scale, molecular or macromolecular levels, in the length scale of approximately 1-100 nanometer range[; creating] and using of structures, devices and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small size and/or intermediate size[; and the ability] to control or manipulate at the atomic scale.” Nanotechnology thus refers to material engineered or altered at the nanoscale, in order to take advantage of unique properties that emerge at that scale.
What Does the History of Technology Regulation Teach Us about Nano Oversight?
Authors: Marchant Gary E. , Sylvester Douglas J. , Abbott Kenneth W.
Published: December 2009

Nanotechnology is the latest in a growing list of emerging technologies that includes nuclear technologies, genetics, reproductive biology, biotechnology, information technology, robotics, communication technologies, surveillance technologies, synthetic biology, and neuroscience. As was the case for many of the technologies that came before, a key question facing nanotechnology is what type of regulatory oversight is appropriate for this emerging technology. As two of us wrote several years ago, the question facing nanotechnology is not whether it will be regulated, but when and how.

Yet, appropriate regulation of nanotechnology will be challenging. The term “nanotechnology” incorporates a broad, diverse range of materials, technologies, and products, with an even greater spectrum of potential risks and benefits. This technology slashes across the jurisdiction of many existing regulatory statutes and regulatory agencies, and does so across the globe. Nanotechnology is developing at an enormously rapid rate, perhaps surpassing the capability of any potential regulatory framework to keep pace. Finally, the risks of nanotechnology remain largely unknown, both because of the multitude of variations in the technology and because of the limited applicability of traditional toxicological approaches such as structure-activity relationship (SAR) to nanotechnology products.
Using Expert Elicitation to Prioritize Resource Allocation for Risk Identification for Nanosilver
Authors: Fauss Emma , Gorman Michael E. , Swami Nathan
Published: December 2009

Many of today’s uses of nanotechnology and nanomaterials can comfortably fall under the current regulatory system with minor adjustments. However, the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies has pointed out that the U.S. regulatory system is not prepared to deal with successive generations of nanotechnology and emergent technologies. Nanotechnology presents a challenge. The current regulatory standards and methods are no longer sufficient to help ensure the public’s safety. It is an area of high uncertainty in which environment, health, and safety information is scarce; there is no single index such as concentration to measure toxicity; standards do not yet exist; the ready environmental transport of nanomaterials can increase the chance of exposure; real-time monitoring is not available; and nanomaterials might have systemlevel human and environmental risks. Thus, there is a need for a new and improved oversight system. Within this system there is a need for quickly assessing risks of emergent technologies so that informed policy decisions can be made.
Combining Instrumental and Contextual Approaches: Nanotechnology and Sustainable Development
Authors: Liao Nina
Published: December 2009

Hailed as the “foundation of the next industrial revolution,” nanotechnology is reshaping the landscape of technological innovation and creating hope around the world. Some believe that nanotechnology can address the critical needs of developing countries, but others are less optimistic. At one end of the spectrum, scientists predict that, among other accomplishments, nanotechnology can alleviate poverty, provide safe drinking water, and cure diseases. At the other end, skeptics warn that nanotechnology can further widen the gap between the rich and the poor, contributing to an already imbalanced global landscape. What can nanotechnology bring to the 21st century? How and in what ways should it intersect with law, public policy, and the plight of the developing world?

This article argues that the international community can harness nanotechnology to create sustainable development, particularly in the field of water remediation and treatment, but it must learn from its past missteps and adopt a strategy that combines two competing theories: instrumentalism and contextualism. Instrumentalism is the concept that technology is superb and stakeholders can easily transfer it from one application to another. In contrast, contextualism places technology in a socioeconomic context and conditions technological success on the stakeholders’ ability to meet local needs.
Tobacco Industry Use of Corporate Social Responsibility Tactics as a Sword and a Shield on Secondhand Smoke Issues
Authors: Friedman Lissy C.
Published: December 2009

Corporate social responsibility has become a potential path to legitimacy and improved public relations for both companies that produce mainstream products and those that sell vice, such as the tobacco industry. Since the early 1990s, the tobacco industry has sought to bridge the gap between the public perception it has earned as a merchant of death and its goal of gaining corporate legitimacy and normality by promoting programs, positions, and policies it hopes the general public will believe are aimed at preventing or mitigating some of the societal ills that smoking causes, such as youth smoking. There is, however, an intractable problem that corporate social responsibility efforts can mask but not resolve: the tobacco industry’s products are lethal when used as directed, and no amount of public relations or funding of ineffective youth smoking prevention programs can reconcile that fundamental contradiction with ethical corporate citizenship. The focus of this study is to better understand the tobacco industry’s corporate social responsibility efforts and to assess whether there has been any substantive change in the way it does business with regard to the issue of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Asymmetric monetary policy with respect to asset markets
Authors: Hoffmann Andreas
Published: December 2009

The paper suggests that during Greenspan's incumbency the Federal Reserve (Fed) lowered interest rates rapidly when asset price developments suggested a crisis potential. Whereas, when asset markets were growth‐supporting, the Fed did not raise interest rates. This asymmetry contributed to a downward‐trend in interest rates which pushed US interest rates down to zero in the current crisis.
Pharmacotherapy and Pregnancy: Highlights from the Second International Conference for Individualized Pharmacotherapy in Pregnancy
Authors: Haas David M. , Hebert Mary F. , Soldin Offie P. , Flockhart David A. , Madadi Parvaz , Nocon James J. , Chambers Christina D. , Hankins Gary D. , Clark Shannon , Wisner Katherine L. , Li Lang , Renbarger Jamie L. , Learman Lee A.
Published: December 2009

To address provider struggles to provide evidence‐based, rational drug therapy to pregnant women, a second conference was convened to highlight the current research in the field. Speakers from academic centers and institutions spoke about: the unique physiology and pathology of pregnancy; pharmacokinetic changes in pregnancy; thyroid disorders in pregnancy; pharmacogenetics in pregnancy; the role of CYP2D6 in pregnancy; treating addiction in pregnancy; the power of teratology networks to inform clinical decisions; the use of anti‐depressants in pregnancy; and how to utilize computer‐based modeling to aid with individualized pharmacotherapy in pregnancy. The Conference highlighted several areas of collaboration with the current Obstetrics Pharmacology Research Units Network (OPRU) and hoped to stimulate further collaboration and knowledge in the area with the common goal to improve the ability to safely and effectively use individualized pharmacotherapy in pregnancy.
Spontaneous and X-ray–Triggered Crystallization at Long Range in Self-Assembling Filament Networks
Authors: Cui Honggang , Pashuck E. Thomas , Velichko Yuri S. , Weigand Steven J. , Cheetham Andrew G. , Newcomb Christina J. , Stupp Samuel I.
Published: December 2009

X-rays to Order

Self-assembly of molecules is often irreversible.

Cui
et al.

(p.
555
, published online 17 December; see the Perspective by

Safinya and Li

) examined the ordering of a short peptide sequence (Ala
6
Glu
3
) terminated with an alkyl chain. Aqueous solutions of this molecule could form hexagonally ordered filaments, but more dilute solutions were disordered. However, prolonged x-ray exposure caused these arrays to become ordered. These arrays were stable for several hours but eventually returned to a disordered state; the addition of salts slowed the ordering processes. It is possible that during the ordering process, X-ray–induced charging affected the repulsive forces that balance tension within the filament.
Patient radiation exposure during diagnostic and therapeutic interventional neuroradiology procedures
Authors: Alexander M D , Oliff M C , Olorunsola O G , Brus-Ramer M , Nickoloff E L , Meyers P M
Published: December 2009

Purpose

Increasing in number and complexity, interventional neuroradiology (INR) procedures are becoming an important source of radiation exposure for patients. In accordance with the ALARA principle, radiation exposure during INR procedures should be curtailed as much as possible while reaching successful treatment outcomes. Moreover, the extent of radiation exposure should be one outcome measure used to assess new technologies and procedural efficacy, and training programs should include techniques for exposure limitation. This study provides a methodology and preliminary data to assess radiation exposure during different INR procedure types.

Materials and methods

All patients undergoing endovascular procedures in two biplanar dedicated neuroangiography suites at a major academic medical center were monitored according to procedure type, pathological indication, fluoroscopy time and machine-generated patient dose estimates between April 2006 and July 2008.

Results

1678 patients underwent cerebral arteriography during the study period. Women (62.1%) accounted for the majority of patients, but men (38.9%) were more likely to undergo an interventional procedure than women (32.8%). Diagnostic studies accounted for 64.9% of procedures. Variable exposures were found between diagnostic and interventional procedures. Exposure differed depending on indications for the procedure and procedure type.

Conclusion

Radiation exposure is an increasingly important consideration in the development of minimally invasive neurological procedures including cerebral angiography and INR. The type of procedure and lesion type allow the practitioner to estimate radiation exposure. Such information informs the clinical decision making process. Normative data should be collected and used for comparison purposes as one measure of technical and procedural success.
Rare vascular complication of percutaneous balloon compression of trigeminal neuralgia treated endovascularly
Authors: Niu T , Kalia J S , Zaidat O O
Published: December 2009

Trigeminal neuralgia is commonly treated with percutaneous balloon compression due to the high success rate, technical simplicity and cost efficiency.1–3 The procedure carries certain risks, most notably dysesthesias and masseter muscle weakness.4 5 However, more severe complications are rare. In this report, the case of a rare complication of percutaneous balloon compression for trigeminal neuralgia is presented, resulting in a carotid cavernous fistula treated via an endovascular approach.
Models of the effects of marine-derived nutrients on salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) population dynamics
Authors: Adkison Milo D.
Published: December 2009

Pacific salmon ( Oncorhynchus spp.) populations transfer large quantities of nutrients from their marine to their freshwater habitats. These nutrients have been shown to affect salmon populations in fresh water, including increasing basal food resources and elevating juvenile salmon growth rates and condition. The broader effects on recruitment and commercial harvests, however, are not clear. I developed and explored mathematical models of the effects of these nutrients on stock–recruitment relationships and used these models to investigate management implications. Populations strongly dependent on nutrients had lower sustained yields than those not dependent on nutrients. When nutrients strongly affected the stock–recruitment relationship, relatively low harvest rates and high escapement levels were necessary to maintain the population’s productivity. However, in some scenarios, the highest yields were obtained from small, nutrient-depleted populations. In other scenarios, the nutrient dependence had few management implications.
Influence of spatial positioning within stream networks on fish assemblage structure in the Kansas River basin, USA
Authors: Thornbrugh Darren J. , Gido Keith B.
Published: December 2009

We found that riverine confluences had localized effects (within 20 km) on stream fish assemblages of the Kansas River basin. The majority of variation in fish assemblages occurred from east to west and along a stream size gradient. After controlling for the influences of longitude and stream size, distance of sample sites from streams ≥ 5th order accounted for a small proportion of taxonomic variability. However, species richness was significantly higher and assemblage structure was different in tributary stream segments directly connected to larger-ordered streams, suggesting that the effects of spatial position within this stream network were greatest in close proximity to tributary–mainstem confluences. Fish collections from three intensively sampled tributaries also indicated an abrupt change in species assemblages between mainstem river sites and tributary sample sites above confluences, followed by a gradual taxonomic change with increasing distance up to 20 km from the confluence. Changes in fish assemblages were associated with the reduced abundance of adult stream species near the confluence with the mainstem, rather than the occurrences of riverine species in the tributary.
Fluctuations in harvest of native and introduced crayfish are driven by temperature and population density in previous years
Authors: Olsson Karin , Granéli Wilhelm , Ripa Jörgen , Nyström Per
Published: December 2009

The effects of temperature and density on annual fluctuations in catches of large adult crayfish are evaluated using time series analysis. We tested if temperature during different stages of the crayfish life cycle influenced observed catches from 1946 to 2007 in Lake Bunn (Sweden). From 1946 to 1974, native noble crayfish ( Astacus astacus ) inhabited the lake, but then, crayfish plague wiped out the whole population. In 1985, the exotic signal crayfish ( Pacifastacus leniusculus ) was introduced and is still present. This made it possible to model the two species separately and compare how temperature and density influence the abundance of large adult crayfish. The best models indicate that both climatic- and density-dependent factors influence the observed fluctuations and there was a time lag for most factors included in the best models. Winter temperature had the strongest influence on fluctuations of both species. Also, density dependence was included in the best model for both species. Growth season for noble crayfish and temperature during the mating season for signal crayfish were also present in the most parsimonious model. Based on our findings, it is difficult to predict how further climate warming will affect crayfish population dynamics in freshwaters.
Natural recolonization of the Seine River by Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) of multiple origins
Authors: Perrier Charles , Evanno Guillaume , Belliard Jérôme , Guyomard René , Baglinière Jean-Luc
Published: December 2009

The restoration of previously extinct salmon populations is usually achieved with stocking programmes, but natural recolonization can also occur through the straying of individuals from nearby populations. Here we investigated the origin of Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) that recently recolonized the Seine River (France). The degradation of this river had led to the extinction of the population, but since the 1990s, the water quality has greatly improved. Although no stocking was performed, 162 individual salmon were recently observed by video-counting. Seven fish were sampled for morphological and genetic analyses. These individuals were genotyped at 17 microsatellites markers and their probable source populations were identified using baseline samples from regional and distant populations. Four of the sampled individuals were grilse and three were multi-sea-winter fish. Genetic analyses revealed that the fish partly originated from a nearby stock but also from distant populations, suggesting long-distance straying. This natural recolonization of a large river by strayers from several origins is discussed in terms of population sustainability and management.
OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION BY PEA SEEDLING MITOCHONDRIA
Authors: Rosa Nestor , Zalik Saul
Published: December 2009

Using P32in combination with a procedure for quantitative separation of inorganic phosphorus a sensitive method for measuring phosphorylation was devised. It was employed to determine the effects of presoaking seed treatments, and of two inhibitors, 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) and malonate, on oxidative phosphorylation by pea seedling mitochondria. The addition of DNP to the reaction mixture resulted in typical uncoupling, but there was an unexpected increase in phosphorylation due to malonate. The length and weight of seedlings presoaked in aerated running water were higher than for those presoaked in standing water; however, mitochondrial preparations from seedlings presoaked in standing water gave higher phosphorylative and oxidative activities. These differences in results were regarded as evidence of 'physiological predetermination'.
THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF GLYCOGEN METABOLISM IN AGROBACTERIUM TUMEFACIENS
Authors: Madsen N. B.
Published: December 2009

The hypothesis has been advanced that the inhibition of phosphorylase by uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG), together with the fact that the latter compound is the substrate for glycogen synthetase, is the basis of a mechanism for the biological control of glycogen metabolism in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Experiments were designed to test this hypothesis on the assumption that such a control mechanism would manifest itself by the concentrations of UDPG and glycogen bearing some relationship to each other during various stages of growth and nutrition. Glycogen levels in the cells increased markedly during the lag phase of growth, decreased during the exponential growth phase, and increased again as growth ceased due to the depletion of nitrogen from the medium (nitrogen starvation). The UDPG concentration paralleled these changes, and a high positive correlation between the concentrations of UDPG and glycogen was demonstrated. The addition of ammonium chloride to nitrogen-starved cells caused a prompt resumption of growth, a sharp decrease in the UDPG concentration, and a somewhat smaller decrease in glycogen concentration. Cells placed in buffered salt solution and aerated had a low concentration of UDPG and exhibited a steady decline of the glycogen reserves. Although factors other than those considered here may also be of importance in the control of glycogen metabolism in this organism, the data in general support the hypothesis advanced above.
EFFECTS OF SATURATED FAT IN RATS FED RAPESEED OIL
Authors: Beare Joyce L. , Campbell J. A. , Youngs C. G. , Craig B. M.
Published: December 2009

The effects of increasing the saturated fatty acids in a dietary vegetable oil composed mostly of unsaturated fatty acids were studied in rats. A mixture of palm oil and Swedish rapeseed oil fed for 4 weeks as 20% of a purified diet promoted weight gains which exceeded those obtained with Polish rapeseed oil of a similar content of erucic acid, and altered the proportion of saturated fatty acids in the tissues to reflect that of the diet. When methyl esters of saturated fatty acids were added to Swedish rapeseed oil, similar effects on weight gain were not observed, but methyl esters of fatty acids from corn oil and rapeseed oil were shown to be of less nutritional value than the original glycerides. From fatty acids of olive oil, glycerides containing 3% palmitic acid were prepared, and produced weight gains which did not differ significantly from those of rats fed Polish rapeseed oil with a similar content of palmitic acid and 20% erucic acid. The characteristic effects of rapeseed oil are, therefore, attributed to its low content of saturated fatty acids as well as its high content of erucic acid.
THERMOGENESIS DUE TO EXERCISE AND COLD IN WARM- AND COLD-ACCLIMATED RATS
Authors: Hart J. S. , Jansky L.
Published: December 2009

In both warm- and cold-acclimated rats, heat production was measured while the animals were at rest and running at maximum sustained effort at temperatures from 30 °C to those giving maximum thermogenesis. In both these groups, the maximum heat production during exercise did not exceed the maximum at rest in extreme cold. Exercise substituted for shivering in warm-acclimated rats and, at temperatures below 10 °C, resulted in hypothermia. Heat derived from exercise added to nonshivering thermogenesis in cold-acclimated rats above −20 °C. Below −20 °C, exercise substituted for shivering as in warm-acclimated rats at higher temperatures, and the rats became hypothermic. Extension of the temperature range for activity by cold acclimation appears to result from development of nonshivering thermogenesis, which, unlike shivering, is not eliminated by exercise.
IMPROVED PROCEDURES FOR PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MYROTHECIUM CELLULASE: PART 1. PRODUCTION OF ENZYME
Authors: Whitaker D. R. , Thomas R.
Published: December 2009

An improved procedure for the production of cellulase by Myrothecium verrucaria is described. The mold is grown in two stages in the same culture vessel: firstly on a semisolid medium of ground extracted cotton linters moistened with a solution of inorganic salts, and then, by addition of further salt solution, in submerged culture.
IMPROVED PROCEDURES FOR PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MYROTHECIUM CELLULASE: PART 3. MOLECULAR WEIGHT, AMINO ACID COMPOSITION, TERMINAL RESIDUES, AND OTHER PROPERTIES
Authors: Datta P. K. , Hanson K. R. , Whitaker D. R.
Published: December 2009

The molecular weight of Myrothecium cellulase was estimated by the Archibald method to be approximately 49,000. No N-terminal amino acid could be detected by the Edman degradation or with fluorodinitrobenzene. Hydrazinolysis gave glycine as the C-terminal amino acid. No free sulphydryl groups could be detected in the enzyme. The amino acid composition and the fingerprint pattern after tryptic digestion were determined.
SEQUENCE STUDIES ON BACTERIAL CELL WALL PEPTIDES
Authors: Jušić D. , Roy C. , Watson R. W.
Published: December 2009

Peptides from partial acid hydrolysates of purified mucopeptide from Aerobacter cloacae NRC 492 were isolated by a combination of high-voltage paper electrophoresis and paper chromatography. Three dipeptides (L-ala.D-glu, D-glu.meso-Dap, and meso-Dap.D-ala), two tripeptides (ala.D-glu.meso-Dap and D-glu.meso-Dap.ala, i.e. D-glutamyl.meso-diaminopimelyl.alanine), and a tetrapeptide were partially characterized. Molar ratios, sequence, and optical configurations in a tripeptide from the wall corresponded with those in a uridine diphospho muramyl tripeptide from penicillin-treated cells of the same organism and with those of a tripeptide synthesized in vitro by enzymes from cell sonicates.
PREPARATION OF 5,7-O-ETHYLIDENE 2-KETO-3-DEOXY-HEPTONIC ACID (Ba SALT)
Authors: Nigam Vijai N.
Published: December 2009

Synthesis of 5,7-O-ethylidene 2-keto-3-deoxyheptonic acid has been achieved by the condensation of 2,4-O-ethylidene-D-erythrose with oxalacetic acid.
THE CONVERSION OF CARBON TETRACHLORIDE AND CHLOROFORM TO CARBON DIOXIDE BY RAT LIVER HOMOGENATES
Authors: Rubinstein David , Kanics Lewis
Published: December 2009

Conditions for the conversion of C14HCl3and C14Cl4to C14O2by liver homogenates were determined. The addition of a pyridine nucleotide in either the oxidized or reduced state was required for a significant C14O2production. This effect was abolished when the homogenate was denatured. Glutathione further increased the activity. The optimum pH for the oxidation of CHCl3to CO2lay between 8.0 and 8.5. The dehalogenation of CCl4was relatively insensitive to changes in the pH of the incubation medium. At least two enzymes are probably required for the formation of CO2from the chloromethanes, since both the microsomal and soluble fractions of the homogenate are required for activity. Production of CO2was inhibited by tetrahydrofolate and p-chloromercuribenzoate. Inhibition by the latter could be overcome by glutathione.The coenzyme requirements suggest that CHCl3may be reduced to CH2Cl2, then successively oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid. However, the formation of significant quantities of these substances from CHCl2could not be demonstrated. Inhibition of formic acid oxidation did not affect the production of C14O2from C14HCl3. Radioactivity from C14HCl3was found in the protein of the homogenate.
THE EFFECTS OF SHORT-CHAIN FATTY ACIDS AND STARVATION ON THE METABOLISM OF GLUCOSE AND LACTATE BY THE PERFUSED GUINEA PIG HEART
Authors: Davis E. J. , Quastel J. H.
Published: December 2009

Uniformly labelled14C-glucose, when present at a concentration of 5 mM, is oxidized to14CO2by perfused guinea pig hearts at a rate of 10 μmoles per g wet weight per hour. Radioactivity is incorporated into glutamate, glutamine, alanine, aspartate, and heart proteins. During perfusion for 1 hour there is a high rate of incorporation of14C-glucose into glycogen and very little radioactive lactate accumulates. The cardiac glycogen is not increased.The oxidation of14C-glucose to14CO2by perfused hearts is suppressed more than 90% by prolonged starvation or by addition of acetate, butyrate, or pentanoate. The incorporation of radioactivity into glutamate and glutamine is almost completely blocked, while the radioactive labelling in alanine is undiminished. Cardiac glycogen of guinea pigs is increased approximately threefold by a 72-hour fast. Lactate production is increased in hearts of starved animals and by exogenous fatty acids. The short-chain fatty acids mentioned increase the net incorporation of exogenous glucose into cardiac glycogen, and there is apparently less net glycogenolysis in their presence than in their absence. Propionate reduces glucose oxidation to CO2by about 40% and has a much less pronounced effect on incorporation of glucose carbon into glutamate than that of acetate or butyrate. It has little effect on incorporation of exogenous glucose into cardiac glycogen, or on the amount of lactate which accumulates in the perfusing medium.1-14C-Lactate and 2-14C-lactate are rapidly oxidized to14CO2, and radioactivity from 2-14C-lactate is incorporated into glutamate, glutamine, alanine, and aspartate. Starvation, or the presence of acetate, butyrate, or pentanoate, suppresses lactate oxidation and incorporation of its carbon into glutamate and glutamine. The utilization of14C-lactate is diminished by these fatty acids to about the same extent as that of14C-glucose.These results may be explained by an inhibitory effect of acetyl-CoA on pyruvate oxidation by guinea pig hearts.1-14C-Acetate, 1-,4C-propionate, and 1-14C-butyrate are rapidly oxidized to14CO2and the labelled C is incorporated into glutamate, glutamine, and aspartate. Oxidation of acetate is not affected by starvation or by the presence of glucose or of propionate.
SURFACE UPTAKE OF THE AZO DYE LUXOL ARN BY HUMAN PLATELETS
Authors: Lycette R. M. , Danforth W. F. , Koppel J. L. , Olwin J. H.
Published: December 2009

Luxol ARN, a dye reported to complex with phospholipids, has been applied to human platelets. Under conditions of equilibrium involving platelet and dye concentrations it was found that dye uptake increased with increasing temperature, dye uptake decreased with increasing pH, and dye saturation of platelets could be achieved.Evidence has been obtained to suggest that complex formation between dye and platelet hydrophobic groups occurs through adsorption probably complicated by chemical binding and that the dye is bound in a monomolecular manner. Based on this, the finding that no more than 16.8% of the total platelet phospholipid was involved in complex formation supports the conclusion that dye uptake may be limited to the platelet surface only. Additional support for this conclusion was provided by the absence of visibly demonstrable intracellular dye.Application of a nonionic surfactant, known to disperse platelet aggregates, reduced platelet dye uptake, a finding that suggests a possible relationship between aggregation and surface phospholipids.
STUDY OF THE METABOLISM OF 2-HYDROXY-4-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID, A PRODUCT OF γ-HYDROXYGLUTAMIC ACID DECARBOXYLATION
Authors: Bouthillier L. P. , Pushpathadam J. J. , Binette Y.
Published: December 2009

The isotope technique was used to study the metabolism, in rat tissues, of 2-hydroxy-4-aminobutyric acid (HABA), which is known to be formed in the brain by decarboxylation of γ-hydroxyglutamic acid. A method is described for the synthesis of DL-HABA-4-14C by using K14CN and ethyl 3-bromopropionate as starting materials. The high rate of radiocarbon excretion observed in the expired CO2of rats injected intravenously with the labeled amino acid is an indication that it is extensively degraded in the animal organism. Whereas enterectomy did not appreciably decrease the utilization of HABA, hepatectomy caused a pronounced lowering of the radiocarbon excretion. Paper radiochromatograms of the deproteinized blood plasma indicated the presence of malate as a major catabolite. Further evidence for the formation of malic acid was obtained from the incubation of DL-HABA-4-14C in the presence of rat brain or liver homogenates, enriched with L-malate, α-ketoglutarate, and pyridoxal phosphate. We believe that HABA is deaminated by transamination to malate semialdehyde, which is then oxidized to malate.
FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF NORMAL MINK TISSUES
Authors: Walker B. L. , Lishchenko V. F.
Published: December 2009

Lipids, extracted from the adrenals, brain, erythrocytes, heart, kidney, liver, plasma, and spleen of normal healthy female mink, were transesterified with 1% sulphuric acid in methanol, and the resulting methyl esters were analyzed by gas–liquid chromatography after purification by thin-layer chromatography. All of the tissues examined contained higher concentrations of unsaturated than of saturated acids, the highest levels of unsaturated acids occurring in the lipids of heart, adrenals, and plasma, and of the essential fatty acids (ω6 series, with six carbon atoms after last double bond) in plasma, erythrocyte, and kidney lipids. The fatty acid compositions of mink tissues resemble those reported in the literature for the rat; detailed comparisons are not possible because of the known influence of dietary factors on tissue fatty acids.
THE IN VIVO ANTITUMOR ACTIVITY OF CERTAIN SHORT CHAIN FATTY ACIDS
Authors: Townsend Gordon F. , Baxter Norma , Brown William H. , Felauer Ethel E.
Published: December 2009

Antitumor activity has been demonstrated against Ehrlich, L.1210 leukemia, and to a less extent against TA3 mammary carcinoma ascites cells by a group of short chain fatty acids. Activity is confined to the finely suspended ester forms of the acids and seems to be associated with the carboxyl end of the molecule. The compounds appear to have no effect upon the production of normal white blood cells.
The Enzymatic Activity of Aspirates of Preovulatory Human Follicles
Authors: YoungLai E. V. , Edwards R. G. , Steptoe P. C.
Published: December 2009

Follicular contents were aspirated during laparoscopy just before ovulation from eight follicles from patients pretreated with human menopausal gonadotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin. The aspirates from each follicle were incubated for 1 h in a modified Tyrode B medium containing radioactive pregnenolone and progesterone in order to determine the relative efficiency of the 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 17α-hydroxylase systems. Labelled 17α-hydroxyprogesterone was not isolated but the conversion of pregnenolone to progesterone ranged from 9.9% to 45.4% of the recovered radioactivity.
The Properties of Soluble Proteins Synthesized by Nephrotic Rat Kidney Microsomes
Authors: Katiyar V. N. , Dinh B. L.
Published: December 2009

The incorporation of 14C-leucine into the microsomal proteins of nephrotic rat kidney was much higher than that in the microsomal proteins of the normal rat kidney. When the newly synthesized microsomal proteins were analyzed by acrylamide gel electrophoresis, it was found that the higher incorporation of 14C-leucine in nephrotic rat kidney was mostly due to an increase in the biosynthesis of a tissue protein which migrated in the electrophoretic zone between serum albumin and transferrin. This protein did not react with rabbit antiserum to normal rat serum and was stained with periodic acid – Schiff reagent. It was believed to be excreted in the urine of nephrotic rats in great quantity and was easily identified as a distinct band in electrophoregrams of urine from these rats.
The Carboxyl-Terminal Amino Acid Sequence of Streptomyces griseus Protease A
Authors: Johnson Peter , Smillie Lawrence B.
Published: December 2009

The sequence of 62 amino acid residues from the COOH-terminus of Streptomyces griseus Protease A has been established from peptic peptides previously described and from α-lytic protease and tryptic digests of the aminoethylated cyanogen bromide COOH-terminal fragment of the protein. This sequence includes one of the two disulfide bridges of the protein and the characteristic Asp–Ser–Gly sequence of this class of protease. When comparisons of residue similarity are made, the Streptomyces griseus Protease A sequence appears to be more similar (53% extent of similarity) to that of Myxobacter α-lytic protease than to any other protease. Both proteins appear to have common insertions at residue positions 189 and 192, and have characteristic clusters of hydrophobic residues near the COOH-terminus which are also present in other Asp–Ser–Gly proteases.
Hydrocortisone and the Distribution of Hyaluronidase, Mucopolysaccharide Uronic Acid, and Acid Phosphatase in the Rat Kidney
Authors: Bowness J. M. , Barry D. N.
Published: December 2009

In the three main zones of the rat kidney, hyaluronidase concentrations are highest in the papilla followed by the medulla and then the cortex. This order is the same as that found for mucopolysaccharide uronic acid, but the reverse of that for acid phosphatase. Following hydrocortisone injection there is a significant increase in the hyaluronidase concentration in the cortex at 12 h but no significant change in acid phosphatase concentration in any of the zones. At 18 h after hydrocortisone administration there is no significant change in concentration of mucopolysaccharide uronic acid, suggesting that the increase in hyaluronidase is retained in a compartment separate from the intercellular matrix. There is an increase in the hyaluronidase extractable with Triton X-100, though there is a decrease in acid phosphatase in the same extract. This suggests that the increase in hyaluronidase is located in a specific lysosomal population.
Use of 13C in Biosynthetic Studies. Location of Isotope from Labeled Acetate and Formate in Shanorellin by 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Authors: Wat C-K. , McInnes A. G. , Smith D. G. , Vining L. C.
Published: December 2009

Cultures of the ascomycete Shanorella spirotricha supplemented with 13C-iabeled acetate and formate produced 13C-enriched shanorellin (2,6-dimethyl-3-hydroxymethyl-5-hydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone). The distribution of isotope in shanorellin was determined by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. [1-13C]acetate labeled C-1 C-3, and C-5, and [2-13C]acetate labeled C-2, C-4, C-6, and the hydroxymethyl, while [13C]formate labeled the two methyl carbon atoms. The results confirm that shanorellin is biosynthesized from four molecules of acetate, with loss of one carboxyl group and addition of two methyl groups from a one-carbon donor. The labeling pattern is consistent with its formation via the acetate–polymalonate pathway although a malonate supplement was not specifically incorporated into the chain-extending units.
Transfer of Heme from Mitochondria in Rat Liver Cells
Authors: Yoda B. , Israels L. G.
Published: December 2009

The final steps in heme synthesis take place within mitochondria while the acceptor apoproteins are synthesized on the endoplasmic reticulum. When 14C-δ-aminolevulinic acid is used as a heme precursor in intact rats, measurable 14C-heme is found to be associated with the microsomes within 10 min of intraperitoneal injection. This rapid transfer of heme from mitochondria was studied in vitro using isolated rat liver mitochondria, and protoporphyrin IX and 59Fe as heme precursors. These mitochondria synthesize heme when suspended in whole cell sap and this is only partially reduced by substituting Sephadex G-25 filtered cell sap or sucrose. Mitochondria incubated in G-25 filtered cell sap or sucrose synthesize equivalent amounts of heme but those in sucrose export little heme into the surrounding medium. Heme export from mitochondria is dependent on protein in the suspending medium. In cell sap, heme is associated with multiple proteins and no single carrier was identified. Heme probably makes its way from mitochondria to microsomes via various protein carriers by nonspecific adherence. Microsomal apoproteins or other heme binding proteins then remove the heme from the intermediate carrier as the terminal step.