Role of thromboxane A2 in airway microvascular leakage induced by inhaled platelet-activating factor.

We studied the effects of OKY-046 (1, 10, and 30 mg/kg iv), a selective thromboxane synthase inhibitor, and of ICI 192605 (0.5 mg/kg), a selective thromboxane A2 receptor antagonist, on airflow obstruction and airway microvascular leakage induced by inhaled platelet-activating factor (PAF). Extravasated Evans blue dye content was measured as a reflection of airway microvascular leakage. In control animals, PAF caused a significantly higher increase in extravasation of dye and significantly less increase in lung resistance (RL) than histamine. OKY-046 significantly inhibited both changes in RL and airway microvascular leakage after PAF in a dose-dependent manner, whereas it inhibited histamine-induced airway microvascular leakage only at main bronchi, without any significant effect on RL. ICI 192605 significantly inhibited both RL and airway microvascular leakage induced by PAF, but not after histamine. After both PAF and histamine, changes in RL correlated significantly with the degree of microvascular leakage. Airway microvascular leakage and airflow obstruction after PAF, but not after histamine, may be dependent on thromboxane A2 generation.     

The pig as an intermediate host for Taiwan Taenia infection

Eggs (1000-100,000/animal) of Taiwan Taenia were inoculated per os into 14 Small-Ear-Miniature (SEM), 19 Landrace-Small-Ear-Miniature (L-SEM), and 5 Duroc-Yorkshire-Landrace (DYL) pigs. These animals were sacrificed 7-107 days after infection. Thirty-four pigs were found to be infected with Taiwan Taenia cysticerci and the infection rates of SEM, L-SEM, and DYL were 86%, 89% and 100% respectively. The cysticerci recovery rates of SEM, L-SEM and DYL pigs were 27.2%, 1.7% and 0.27% respectively. Cysticerci were recovered only from the livers and none were found in muscles, viscera or other parts of the carcasses. More cysticerci were located in the liver parenchyma (71%) than on the liver surface (29%). Taiwan Taenia cysticerci were smaller than those of classical T. saginata or T. solium. Moreover, Taiwan Taenia cysticerci had 2 rows of rudimentary hooklets on the scolex. The results of this study indicate that young pigs are good intermediate hosts for Taiwan Taenia and that the SEM pig is a satisfactory host for experimental studies with this tapeworm. These results were similar to other studies with different geographic strains of the T. saginata-like tapeworm in the Far East. These strains appear to be the same and possibly a new species.     

Spectroscopic studies of lipids and biological membranes: carbon-13 and proton magic-angle sample-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance study of glycolipid-water systems.

We have obtained 1H and 13C magic-angle sample-spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of three glycosyldiacylglycerol-water (1:1, weight ratio) mesophases, at 11.7 T, as a function of temperature, in order to probe lipid headgroup, backbone, and acyl chain dynamics by using natural-abundance NMR probes. The systems investigated were monogalactosyldiacyldiglyceride [MGDG; primarily 1,2-di[(9Z,12Z,15Z)octadec-9,12,15-trienoyl++ +]-3-beta-D-galactopyranosyl- sn-glycerol]; digalactosyldiacyldiglyceride [DGDG; primarily 1,2-di[(9Z,12Z,15Z)octadec-9,12,15-trienoyl++ +]-3- (alpha-D-galactopyranosyl-1-6-beta-D-glactopyranosyl)-sn-glycerol] ; and sulfoquinovosyldiacyldiglyceride [SQDG; primarily 1-[(9Z,12Z,15Z)octadec-9,12,15-trienoyl]-2 -hexadecanoyl-3-(6-deoxyl-6- sulfono-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl)-sn-glycerol]. At approximately 22 degrees C, all three lipid-water systems give well-resoled 13C and 1H MAS NMR spectra, characteristic of fluid, liquid-crystalline mesophases. 13C spin-lattice relaxation times of the headgroup and glycerol backbone carbons of all three materials give, within experimental error, the same NT1 values (approximately 400 ms), implying similar high-frequency motions, independent of headgroup size and charge. Upon cooling, pronounced line broadenings are observed, due to an increase in slow motional behavior. For each lipid, the onset of line broadening is seen with the glycosyl headgroup, glycerol backbone, and the first two or three carbons of the acyl chains. By approximately -20 degrees, all headgroup carbon resonances are broadened beyond detection. Both galactose moieties in DGDG "freeze out" together, implying a rigid-body motion of the disaccharide unit. Upon further cooling, the bulk polymethylene chain resonances in all three systems (in both 13C and 1H MAS) broaden greatly, followed by the olefinic and allylic carbon resonances.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Hwabyung: The construction of a korean popular illness among korean elderly immigrant women in the United States

The cultural construction of Hwabyung, a Korean culture-bound syndrome, is explored among a sample of 20 elderly Korean immigrant women in the United States. Hwabyung results when distressed emotions associated with the specifically Korean way of perceiving and reacting to intolerable and tragic life situations cause bodily symptoms by interfering with the harmony of Ki (vital energy). Korean elderly immigrants report a broad range of symptoms associated with Hwabyung; they less frequently report the epigastric mass, which had been considered the cardinal symptom by cosmopolitan and traditional medical writers. Hwabyung is treated holistically with psychosocial support from family, spiritual comfort, home and popular remedies, traditional Korean medicine, and biomedical treatments. Hwabyung provides a way of conceptualizing and resolving emotional distress through somatization among Korean elderly immigrant women.     

Expression of the human retinoblastoma gene product pp110RB in insect cells using the baculovirus system

The product of the retinoblastoma susceptibility gene (RB) was overproduced in cultured insect cells using the baculovirus expression system. Upon insertion of the cloned human RB complementary DNA sequence into the viral genome downstream of the promoter of the polyhedrin gene, full-length RB protein with an apparent molecular weight of 110,000 was expressed in the insect cells. This protein was found to be phosphorylated, located in the nuclei of the infected cells, and immunologically indistinguishable from pp110RB of human cells as assayed by several anti-RB antibodies. Following cell disruption and a one-step immunoaffinity chromatographic purification, 6-12 mg of soluble pp110RB with approximately 95% purity were obtained per liter of infected suspension culture. Characterization of the two known biochemical properties of RB protein showed that this purified protein from insect cells behaved similarly to the authentic human pp110RB. First, it bound to DNA, and second, it could form a specific complex with SV40 T antigen in vitro. Prompt translocation of the protein from cytoplasm to nucleus after microinjection further indicated that the purified RB protein may be active. The availability of soluble, intact, and presumably active pp110RB in large quantity represents a significant advance for studying the biochemical and biophysical properties of the RB gene product as well as its potential biological function in cancer suppression.     

Growth inhibition of selected food-borne bacteria, particularly Listeria monocytogenes, by plant extracts

C hung , K.-T., T homasson , W.R. & W u -Y uan , C.D. 1990. Growth inhibition of selected food-borne bacteria, particularly Listeria monocytogenes , by plant extracts. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 69 , 498–503.
Six extracts from Chinese medicinal plants: Tin Men Chu, Sey Lau Pai, Siu Mao Heung, Bak Tao Yung, Kam Chin Chiu and Liao Ya, were tested for their inhibitory effect on selected food-borne bacteria by the well assay technique. Among them, Tin Men Chu, Siu Mao Heung and Sey Lau Pai inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, Streptococcus faecalis, Salmonella paratyphi, Salm. enteritidis, Enterobacter aero-genes, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Proteus vulgaris, Alcaligenes faecalis , and three strains of Listeria monocytogenes . Two of these three extracts, Tin Men Chu and Siu Mao Heung, suppressed the growth of L. monocytogenes Scott A in cabbage juice. This inhibition was prevented by the addition of protein but not sodium chloride. Plant extracts show potential to control the growth of food-borne bacteria.