The Multilevel Cycle of Anthropogenic Zinc

A comprehensive annual cycle for stocks and flows of zinc, based on data from circa 1994 and incorporating information on extraction, processing, fabrication, use, discard, recycling, and landfilling, was carried out at three discrete governmental unit levels—54 countries and 1 country group (which together comprise essentially all global anthropogenic zinc stocks and flows), nine world regions, and the planet as a whole. All of these cycles are available in an electronic supplement to this article, which thus provides a metadata set on zinc flows for the use of industrial ecology researchers. A "best estimate" global zinc cycle was constructed to resolve aggregation discrepancies. Among the most interesting results are the following: (1) The accumulation ratio, that is, addition to in-use stock as a function of zinc entering use, is positive and large (2/3 of zinc entering use is added to stock) (country, regional, and global levels); (2) secondary input ratios (fractions of input to fabrication that are from recycled zinc) and domestic recycling percentages (fractions of discarded zinc that are recycled) differ among regions by as much as a factor of six (regional level); (3) worldwide, about 40% of the zinc that was discarded in various forms was recovered and reused or recycled (global level); (4) zinc cycles can usefully be characterized by a set of ratios, including, notably, the utilization efficiency (the ratio of manufacturing waste to manufacturing output: 0.090) and the prompt scrap ratio (new scrap as a fraction of manufacturing input: 0.070) (global level). Because capturable discards are a significant fraction of primary zinc inputs, if a larger proportion of discards were recaptured, extraction requirements would decrease significantly (global level). The results provide a framework for complementary studies in resource stocks, industrial resource utilization, energy consumption, waste management, industrial economics, and environmental impacts.     

Effects of heparin administration on Trypanosoma brucei gambiense infection in rats

We examined whether heparin administration influences in vivo trypanosome proliferation in infected rats. Administration of heparin every 8 hr via cardiac catheter inhibited growth of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and prolonged survival of treated rats. Heparin administration increased lipoprotein lipase activity, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentration in the blood, and haptoglobin messenger RNA content of the liver. The presence of heparin in culture media did not directly affect proliferation of trypanosomes in vitro. However, the addition of plasma from infected rats treated with heparin to culture media decreased the number of trypanosomes. This effect was decreased by incubating the trypanosomes with benzyl alcohol, a known inhibitor of receptor-mediated endocytosis of lipoprotein. These data suggested that heparin administration reduced the number of trypanosomes in infected rats. Trypanosome lytic factor, a HDL and haptoglobin-related protein, protects humans and some animals from infection by Trypanosoma brucei brucei. In rats, increases in HDL and haptoglobin may affect the proliferation of T. b. gambiense.     

Quantification of cerebral oxygenation by full-spectrum near-infrared spectroscopy using a two-point method

The aim of this study was to quantify the relative concentrations of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin within the light path of the brain and to estimate cerebral hemoglobin (Hb) oxygen saturation using full-spectrum near-infrared spectroscopy (fsNIRS). For this purpose, we developed a novel exponential correction equation as well as a two-point spectroscopy method to estimate the relative concentrations of Hb and Hb oxygen saturation in biological tissues. The results of evaluation of measurements using an in vitro model indicated that our fsNIRS method enables accurate and non-invasive measurements of Hb content and saturation in a highly scattered medium such as the human brain. According to the results of analysis using a hypoxic piglet model, the mean cerebral Hb oxygen saturation (SbO(2)) of newborn piglets at an inspired oxygen gas concentration of 0.21 was estimated to be 63+/-4% (mean+/-S.D.). Umbilical arterial and left internal jugular venous Hb oxygen saturation were simultaneously estimated to be 96+/-2% and 52+/-11%, respectively. SbO(2) and arterial Hb oxygen saturation values had a linear relationship. The average oxygenation state of cerebral tissue is comparable with that of the cerebral vein. The results of this study showed that our method can be used to monitor Hb oxygen saturation in the neonatal brain at the bedside in an intensive care unit.     

Volatile components in cell suspension cultures of Cryptomeria japonica

The cell suspension culture of Cryptomeria japonica contains volatile oils, the yield of which was 0.005–0.01% of the fresh cells. In the volatiles, five aldehydes, ten fatty acids and their esters, and two diterpenes of abietatriene and ferruginol have been found. Of these, palmitic acid is present as the most predominant component, amounting to ca 40% of the volatiles.     

Anti-monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 gene therapy attenuates pulmonary fibrosis in mice

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a proinflammatory chemokine and may play an important role in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. We examined a new therapeutic strategy that comprises the transfection of the mutant MCP-1 gene into skeletal muscles as a biofactory for anti-MCP-1 therapy against bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice. Overexpression of the mutant MCP-1 gene at 10-14 days after intratracheal instillation of bleomycin resulted in decreased DNA damage, apoptosis, and pulmonary fibrosis at 14 days. However, overexpression of the mutant MCP-1 at 0-4 days after bleomycin instillation did not result in decreased pathological grade, DNA damage, or apoptosis at 7 and 14 days. Because, in this model, inflammatory cell infiltration begins at 3 days and is followed by interstitial fibrosis, it is likely that MCP-1 has an important role to play in the development of fibrogenesis but not in the development of early lung inflammation. This method does not require the use of viral vector or neutralizing antibody, and, as such, it is possible to avoid problems regarding the pathogenicity of the viral vector or immunocomplex. This new strategy may be a beneficial method of treating pulmonary fibrosis from the viewpoint of clinical application.     

Temperature dependence of near-IR excited Raman spectra of crystalline hen egg-white lysozyme

Near-IR excited Raman spectroscopy was applied to examine the structural change of hen egg-white lysozyme in tetragonal crystals at low temperatures. There was little difference found in the amide I and amide III regions between the spectra observed at 77 and 298 K, suggesting that the secondary structures of lysozyme were conserved in the temperature range from 77 to 298 K. Several bands arising from the protein side chains, particularly the methylene and phenylalanyl groups, showed significant changes in either intensity or bandwidth (or in both of them) on going from 77 to 298 K. Some of the spectral changes occurred gradually over the wide temperature range, and others occurred abruptly at around 200-240 K. The implications of these findings are discussed.