Effects of ozone nano-bubble water on mucositis induced by cancer chemotherapy

No effective, reliable treatment for stomatitis associated with cancer therapy has been established. This study focused on the its effectiveness of ozone nano-bubble water (ONBW) for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced stomatitis. Oral mucositis was induced in 14-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats (N = 21). The animals were randomly divided into 3 groups: 7 without treatment (control); 7 treated with physiological salt solution (saline); and 7 treated with ONBW. Animals were weighed on Days 7, 9, 11, and 16. Stomatitis grade evaluation and bacterial count measurements were performed before rinsing in all animals 3, 5, and 10 days after acetic acid irritation (Days 9, 11, and 17 respectively). Weight loss after stomatitis creation was observed in all groups, with significant differences between the control and ONBW groups and between the saline and ONBW groups on Day 16. The stomatitis grade did not worsen during the experimental period in any group, with the lowest grades in the ONBW group on Days 11 and 16. Significant differences were identified between the control and ONBW groups and between the saline and ONBW groups on Days 11 and 16. Oral bacterial counts tended to decrease over time in all three groups, with the greatest decrease in the ONBW group, followed by the saline group. The decrease in the bacterial count was steepest in the ONBW group. Rinsing out the oral cavity with ONBW decreased bacterial counts and encouraged the healing of oral chemotherapy-induced stomatitis. ONBW may be an effective treatment for chemotherapy-induced stomatitis.     

Optimization and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatographic method with UV detection for the determination of pyrrole-imidazole polyamides in rat plasma

A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method utilizing UV detection was developed for the determination of plasma pyrrole (Py)-imidazole (Im) polyamides in rats and applied to the pharmacokinetic study of compounds. After deproteinization of plasma with methanol, Py-Im polyamides were analyzed with a reversed-phase TSK-GEL ODS-80TM (4.6 mmx15.0 cm TOSOH Co., Japan) column maintained at 40 degrees C. The mobile phase solvent A was 0.1% acetic acid and the solvent B was HPLC-grade acetonitrile (0-10 min, A: 100-20%, B: 0-80% linear gradient; 10-15 min, A: 40%, B: 60%). The flow rate was 1.0 ml/min. The detection wavelength was set at 310 nm. The method was used to determine the plasma concentration time profiles of Py-Im polyamides after intravenous injection.     

Rifampicin resistance and mutation of the rpoB gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Abstract The bradyzoite and tachyzoite forms of Toxoplasma gondii , purified from infected animals, were analysed for their activities of phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, NAD⁺- and NADH-linked isocitrate dehydrogenases, and succinic dehydrogenase. Both developmental stages contained high activities of phosphofructokinase (specific for pyrophosphate rather than ATP), pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase, suggesting that energy metabolism in both forms may centre around a high glycolytic flux linked to lactate production. The markedly higher activity of the latter two enzymes in bradyzoites suggests that lactate production is particularly important in this developmental form. NAD⁺-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase was not detectable in either stage of the parasite (and proved useful as a measure of the purity of the bradyzoite preparation), whereas both parasite forms contained low activities of NADP⁺-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase. The results are consistent with the bradyzoites lacking a functional TCA cycle and respiratory chain and are suggestive of a lack of susceptibility of this developmental stage to atovaquone.     

The composition of newly synthesized proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum determines the transport pathways of soybean seed storage proteins

Glycinin (11S) and beta-conglycinin (7S) are major storage proteins in soybean (Glycine max L.) seeds and accumulate in the protein storage vacuole (PSV). These proteins are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and transported to the PSV by vesicles. Electron microscopic analysis of developing soybean cotyledons of the wild type and mutants with storage protein composition different from that of the wild type showed that there are two transport pathways: one is via the Golgi and the other bypasses it. Golgi-derived vesicles were observed in all lines used in this study and formed smooth dense bodies with a diameter of 0.5 to several micrometers. ER-derived protein bodies (PBs) with a diameter of 0.3-0.5 microm were observed at high frequency in the mutants containing higher amount of 11S group I subunit than the wild type, whereas they were hardly observed in the mutants lacking 11S group I subunit. These indicate that pro11S group I may affect the formation of PBs. Thus, the composition of newly synthesized proteins in the ER is important in the selection of the transport pathways.     

The complete nucleotide sequence of wild rice (Oryza nivara) chloroplast genome: first genome wide comparative sequence analysis of wild and cultivated rice

We determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the chloroplast genome of wild rice, Oryza nivara and compared it with the corresponding published sequence of relative cultivated rice, Oryza sativa. The genome was 134,494 bp long with a large single-copy region of 80,544 bp, a small single-copy region of 12,346 bp and two inverted repeats of 20,802 bp each. The overall A+T content was 61.0%. The O. nivara chloroplast genome encoded identical functional genes to O. sativa in the same order along the genome. On the other hand, detailed analysis revealed 57 insertion, 61 deletion and 159 base substitution events in the entire chloroplast genome of O. nivara. Among substitutions, transversions were much higher than transitions with the former even more frequent than the latter in the coding region. Most of the insertions/deletions were single-base but a few large length mutations were also detected. The frequency of insertion/deletion events was more in the coding region within inverted repeats. In contrast, a very few substitution events were identified in the coding region. Polymorphism was observed among rice cultivars at loci of large insertion/deletion events. This is the first report describing comparative and genome wide chloroplast analysis between a wild and cultivated crop.     

Geographic variation in the growth of white croaker,Pennahia argentata,off the coast of northwest Kyushu,Japan

We examined geographic variation in the growth of white croaker,Pennahia argentata, off the coast of northwest Kyushu, Japan, Ariake Sound, Tachibana Bay, Omura Bay and the Goto Sea by examination of otoliths. The outer margins of the otoliths showed that a opaque zone was formed once a year, with its peak in June, and could be used as an annulus. White croaker caught during this study reached a maximum age of 10years in the Goto Sea. The growth curves for both sexes in all localities were expressed by the von Bertalanffy growth equations from back-calculated total length of fish. We found significant sexual differences in growth curves in Ariake Sound, Tachibana Bay and the Goto Sea. For both sexes, white croaker in the Goto Sea reached the largest length at each estimated age of the four localities. The growth curves for both sexes showed significant differences among four localities, suggesting that several stocks may exist in the study area although the greatest distance between each locality was at most 30 km.     

Overexpression of the barley aquaporin HvPIP2;1 increases internal CO(2) conductance and CO(2) assimilation in the leaves of transgenic rice plants

The internal conductance for CO(2) diffusion (g(i)) and CO(2) assimilation rate were measured and the related anatomical characteristics were investigated in transgenic rice leaves that overexpressed barley aquaporin HvPIP2;1. This study was performed to test the hypothesis that aquaporin facilitates CO(2) diffusion within leaves. The g(i) value was estimated for intact leaves by concurrent measurements of gas exchange and carbon isotope ratio. The leaves of the transgenic rice plants that expressed the highest levels of Aq-anti-HvPIP2;1 showed a 40% increase in g(i) as compared to g(i) in the leaves of wild-type rice plants. The increase in g(i) was accompanied by a 14% increase in CO(2) assimilation rate and a 27% increase in stomatal conductance (g(s)). The transgenic plants that had low levels of Aq-anti-HvPIP2;1 showed decreases in g(i) and CO(2) assimilation rate. In the plants with high levels of Aq-anti-HvPIP2;1, mesophyll cell size decreased and the cell walls of the epidermis and mesophyll cells thickened, indicating that the leaves had become xeromorphic. Although such anatomical changes could partially offset the increase in g(i) by the aquaporin, the increase in aquaporin content overcame such adverse effects.     

Genetic and geographical differentiation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pandaka</Emphasis> gobies in Japan

The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) phylogeny of Japanese Pandaka species (Perciformes: Gobiidae) was inferred from partial nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA genes (1083bp). The resultant mtDNA tree showed two major clades (clade I and clade II), which were inconsistent with the present taxonomic classification. One of the major clades was further divided into two geographical groups, distributed on the Japanese Major Islands (clade I-A) and from Amami-oshima Island to Iriomote Island (clade I-B). The mtDNA haplotypes in clade II were found only on Iriomote Island. The mtDNA divergences in clade I indicated that the Japanese Major Island (clade I-A) and Ryukyu (clade I-B) groups have been geographically isolated from each other for millions of years, based on the putative molecular divergence rate. The geographical distributions of mtDNA haplotypes in clade I-A and clade I-B also suggested that Pandaka gobies had not dispersed to distant offshore islands, indicating that their geographical differentiation may be closely associated with the geological history of the Japanese and Ryukyu Archipelagos.This revised version was published online in January 2005 with corrections to the repetition of the 1st authors name.