Effect of rice fiber on human fecal microflora

The effects of brown rice, containing fourfold as much dietary fiber as polished rice, on the human fecal microflora were determined. Significantly increased numbers of Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Enterococcus faecalis were observed during the brown rice intake, whereas the total counts and the numbers of bacteroides, Eubacterium aerofaciens, and Escherichia coli during the intake were lower than those before and after the intake. Lower numbers of clostridia and low incidences of Clostridium paraputrificum and C. perfringens were observed during the brown rice intake.     

Strain differences to effects of aging on concentrations of amino acids in cerebrospinal fluid between Sprague Dawley rat and Wistar Kyoto rat.

Age-related alterations and differences of weights and those of amino acid concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were evaluated between Sprague Dawley (SD) rats and Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats from eight to twenty weeks of age. The weights of SD rats were heavier than WKY rats at all ages. The age-related alterations of the CSF concentration of many amino acids within each strain were significant but showed no significant trend with age. Between the strains, the concentration differences of excitatory and inhibitory amino acids were not frequent although the concentrations of arginine, alanine and threonine were significantly higher in SD rats than in WKY rats. These results suggest that the different CSF concentrations of amino acids may relate to characteristics of rat strains.     

Differentiation of presumptive primordial germ cell (pPGC)-like cells in explants into PGCs in experimental tadpoles

A single blastomere containing the "germ plasm" of 32-cell stage Xenopus embryos was cultured with [3H]thymidine until the control embryos developed to the neurula stage. The explants, showing a spherical mass in which the nuclei of all cells were labeled, were implanted into the prospective place of presumptive primordial germ cells (pPGCs) in the endodermal cell mass of unlabeled host embryos of the neurula stage. Labeled PGCs as well as unlabeled, host PGCs were found in the genital ridges of experimental tadpoles. This indicates that the precursor of germ cells, corresponding to pPGCs in normal embryos of the neurula stage, in the explants migrated to genital ridges just at the right moment to become PGCs, and suggests that the developmental process progressed normally, even in the explants, as far as the differentiation of pPGCs is concerned.     

Purification and some properties of a soluble cytochrome (cytochrome c-551) from Erythrobacter species strain OCh 114

A soluble cytochrome, cytochrome c-551 was purified from an aerobic photosynthetic bacterium Erythrobacter species strain OCh 114 (ATCC No. 33942) by ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion-exchange chromatography and gel-filtration. The cytochrome had absorption maxima at 277, 410, and 524–525 nm in the oxidized form, and at 415, 522, and 550.5 nm in the reduced form. At 77 K, the -band of the absorption spectrum of the reduced form split in two at 547 and 549 nm. The millimolar absorption coefficient at 550.5 nm was 26.8 mM^-1 cm^-1 in the reduced form. This cytochrome was an acidic protein with an isoelectric point of 4.9. Its molecular weight was determined to be 15,000 by gel-filtration on Sephadex G-100 and 14,500 by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The midpoint potential of this cytochrome was +250 mV at pH 7.0. This cytochrome did not bind CO.     

The fine structure of the epidermal cell wall in azuki bean epicotyl

Journal of Plant Research - The arrangement of microfibrils in the wall of epidermal cells in the epicotyl of the azuki bean plant has been observed. The outer and inner tangential walls have a...     

Responses in rectal and skin temperatures to centrifugal forces in rats of different ambient temperatures

Effects of centrifugation upon rectal (T_re) and tail skin temperatures (T_s) were studied in male Wistar rats at varying ambient temperature (T_a) using a centrifuge which was placed in a climatic chamber. Centrifugal forces of Gz of 3.0 were imposed on rats which were suspended at horizontal body position using a newly developed mesh suits holding method in the animal box placed on the rotating arm of the centrifuge. Headwards or tailwards forces were applied according to the experimental design. No significant difference of the responses was observed between the two force directions.Centrifugations imposed at different T_a of 15, 20, 25, 30 and 32.5C resulted in falls in T_re accompanied by rises in tail T_s at the cooler environments, while rises in T_re accompanied by falls in T_s in the warmer environments. The T_a at which the response pattern of T_re and T_s was reversed (critical ambient temperature) was 26.8±2.3 (mean and SE) and 27.9±2.8C, respectively. Tolerance to centrifugation was markedly increased in cooler environments than in wanner ones. It was suggested that the increased skin pressure due to centrifugation exerted some inhibitory effects upon central thermoregulatory ability.     

Cerulenin resistance in a cerulenin-producing fungus. Isolation of cerulenin insensitive fatty acid synthetase

Cerulenin, an antifungal antibiotic isolated from a culture filtrate of Cephalosporium caerulens, is a potent inhibitor of fatty acid synthetase systems. This antibiotic specifically blocks the activity of β-ketoacyl thioester synthetase (condensing enzyme). The mechanism of the resistance of C. caerulens to cerulenin was investigated. The rate of growth in medium containing up to 100 gmg/ml cerulenin was as rapid as that in cerulenin-free medium. At a cerulenin concentration of 300 μg/ml, the rate of growth was still more than half that of the control. The addition of cerulenin (200 μg/ml) to a culture of growing cells has almost no effect on the incorporation of [${}^{14}\text{C}$]acetate into cellular lipids. Fatty acid synthetase was purified from C. caerulens to homogeneity. Properties of this fatty acid synthetase were almost the same as those of yeast fatty acid synthetase except for the sensitivity to cerulenin. C. caerulens synthetase is much less sensitive to cerulenin than fatty acid synthetases from other sources. These findings suggested that the insensitivity of C. caerulens fatty acid synthetase plays an important role in the cerulenin resistance of this fungus.