The venous skin graft method for repairing skin defects of the fingers

A venous skin graft for the treatment of skin defects in a finger is described. This procedure involves taking a flap from the forearm together with the subcutaneous vein and anastomosing both ends of this vein to the digital artery and vein, respectively. Thirteen difficult finger wounds were resurfaced with such a venous skin graft. The sizes of the flaps ranged from 1.3 X 3.0 cm to 2 X 5 cm. The lengths of the veins taken were from 6 to 12 cm. Subcutaneous fat is thin, and there is good elasticity in the grafted flap.     

Germination of Bacillus cereus spores induced by purine ribosides and their analogs: effects of modification of base and sugar moieties of purine nucleosides on germination-inducing activity

Purine riboside and some of its analogs were tested for their ability to induce germination of Bacillus cereus T spores. Hypoxanthine and adenine showed no germination-inducing activity either in the present or absence of D-ribose or its phosphorylated derivatives. Purine riboside and 18 analogs with modified purine base were all able to induce germination of the spores to various extents. In contrast to this, the requirement for the sugar moiety in the purine riboside appeared to be more stringent. Only those nucleosides that contained either D-ribose or deoxy-D-ribose, and certain species of azole derivatives such as 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide covalently linked to the C(1') of the sugar actively induced germination.     

Oxytocin actions on voltage-dependent ionic channels in pregnant rat uterine smooth muscle cells.

The effects of oxytocin, a uterotonic polypeptide hormone, on the voltage-dependent slow calcium, fast sodium, and potassium channel currents were studied using whole-cell voltage clamp of freshly isolated cells from late pregnant (18-21 day) rat myometrium. The calcium current was rapidly inhibited by oxytocin (about 25% inhibition at 20 nM) in a dose-dependent manner, and this inhibitory effect was completely reversible by washout. However, inhibition was not observed when barium was used as the charge carrier. Sodium current and potassium current were not modified by oxytocin, thus sodium and potassium currents may not play important roles in oxytocin-induced augmentation of uterine contraction. It is concluded that oxytocin stimulates uterine contraction by mechanisms other than augmentation of the voltage-dependent calcium current, e.g., by release of Ca from sarcoplasmic reticulum (by inositol triphosphate) or by activation of a receptor-operated Ca channel. The inhibition of the slow calcium current may be induced by the elevation of [Ca]i.     

The protective activity of tea against infection by Vibrio cholerae O1

Extracts of black tea exhibited bactericidal activity against Vibrio cholerae O1. The tea extract inhibited the haemolysin activity of V. cholerae O1, El Tor and the morphological changes of Chinese hamster ovary cells induced by cholera toxin. Tea extract also reduced fluid accumulation induced by cholera toxin in sealed adult mice and by V. cholerae O1 in ligated intestinal loops of rabbits. These findings suggest that tea has protective activity against V. cholerae O1.     

Inhibition of rotavirus and enterovirus infections by tea extracts.

Epigallocatechin gallate from green tea and theaflavin digallate from black tea inhibited infections of cultured rhesus monkey kidney MA 104 cells with rotaviruses and enteroviruses. Their antiviral effects were maximally induced when directly added to virus, and their pre- and post-treatment of the cells produced much weak antiviral activity. Antiviral activity of the extracts therefore seems to be attributable to interference with virus adsorption.     

Enkephalin-degrading dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase in guinea pig serum: its properties and action on bioactive peptides

A dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase, which cleaved the Gly3-Phe4 bond of enkephalins, was purified from guinea pig serum 420-fold. The optimum pH of the enzyme was in the neutral range (pH 7.25), and the molecular weight was estimated to be approx. 280,000. The enzyme hydrolyzed Met- and Leu-enkephalin with Km values of 0.30 and 0.50 mM, respectively. The enzyme was inhibited by metal chelators and p-chloro-mercuribenzoate. Captopril showed high inhibitory potency, while phosphoramidon and Phe-Ala showed no effect on the enzyme activity. Therefore, the obtained enzyme can be classified as an angiotensin-converting enzyme (EC 3.4.15.1). Among the bioactive peptides examined, bradykinin and angiotensin I were hydrolyzed by the enzyme. Angiotensin III showed a stronger inhibitory effect than that of angiotensin II. Substance P, gastrin I, and secretin were also inhibitory toward the enzyme activity. On high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, Met-enkephalin-Arg6-Phe7 and Leu-enkephalin-Arg6 were cleaved sequentially at the second peptide bond of the C terminus. Thus, the dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase in guinea pig serum may play a role not only in the angiotensin-bradykinin system but also in the metabolism of circulating enkephalins and other bioactive peptides.     

Antifungal and fungicidal activities of tea extract and catechin against Trichophyton

We examined tea extract, (-) epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) and theaflavin digallate (TF3) for their antifungal and fungicidal activities against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Tea extract (2.5%) inhibited completely the growth of both T. mentagrophytes and T. rubrum. EGCg at 2.5 mg/ml failed to inhibit their growth, whereas TF3 at 0.5 mg/ml inhibited the growth. EGCg (1mg/ml) showed no fungicidal activity against Trichophyton. TF3 (1mg/ml) killed Trichophyton by a long time contact (72-96 hrs). Tea extract showed a fungicidal activity against Trichophyton in a dose- and contact time-dependent manner. It did not inhibit the growth of C. albicans, but at a high concentration, inhibited slightly the growth of C. neoformans. It had no fungicidal activity against C. albicans or C. neoformans.