Experimental determination of wall shear rate in canine carotid arteries perfused in vitro

The mathematical model of Hung (Tsai and Hung, 1984) is employed to determine the wall shear rate acting on canine carotid arteries perfused in vitro. Model equations for pulsatile flow in a deformable vessel are coupled with experimental data of dynamic pressure drop, flow rate, vessel radius and radial wall motion. Derived quantities, e.g. velocity profiles and wall shear, are obtained for vessels exposed to 'normotensive' hemodynamics, 'hypertension' simulations and perfusions in which the compliance of the vessel wall is deliberately altered. Our results indicate that wall shear varies markedly as a function of the hemodynamic environment. The effects of vessel radius vs flow rate on the development of wall shear are also demonstrated. It is found that convective processes correlate with the magnitude of wall shear in the 'hypertension' simulations. The present findings and complementary published data may explain, at least in part, the variations in vessel wall transport and endothelial cell biology we observe as a function of the hemodynamic environment. For example we have documented that the exposure of canine carotids to 'hypertensive' (vs 'normotensive') hemodynamics is associated with an increased flux of lipoproteins (LDL) into the intima and luminal media. Alternations in wall compliance, on the other hand, profoundly influence endothelial shape, orientation and cytoskeletal array.     

Thievery,home ranges,and nestmate recognition inEctatomma ruidum

Summary Thievery of food items among colonies of a ponerine ant,Ectatomma ruidum was common; nonnestmates in colonies or near the colony entrances receive incoming food items and carry them to their own colony. In our study area 7 of 10 colonies were victimized by thief ants. Colonies have discrete home ranges and home range size is correlated with the number of workers in the colony. Worker ants discriminate nestmates from non-nestmates when non-nestmates are presented at colony entrances, but individuals from different colonies were not observed to engage in agonistic interactions away from nest entrances. Non-nestmates gain entrance to colonies when the entrance is unguarded. Many instances of non-nestmates being removed from colonies by residents were observed. The costs and benefits of theft under these circumstances are considered.     

Influence of gestation on jugular plasma thyroxine levels in Murrah buffalo and Karan Swiss cows

Plasma samples from 106 pregnant Karan Swiss (Brown Swiss x Sahiwal) cows and 108 Murrah buffalo were tested for thyroxine (T(4)) levels to determine the relationship between the hormonal changes and advancing pregnancy in the two species. All samples were collected within 2 months (January and February) to avoid seasonal interference on T(4) levels. In pregnant cows, the concentration of T(4) increased sharply during the first trimester, reaching a peak at the third month of gestation followed by a gradual decline until the last month of pregnancy. In pregnant buffalo, peripheral plasma T(4) levels fluctuated slightly throughout pregnancy without exhibiting a specific trend. Statistical analysis revealed that the magnitude of T(4) levels was significantly lower in buffalo (P < 0.01) than in the cows throughout pregnancy and that the hormonal patterns of the two species were significantly different (P < 0.05) during gestation. It was hypothesized from this study that T(4) requirements for the fetal buffalo calf may be lower than that for the fetal cattle calf since the buffalo gestation period is a month longer and the metabolic rate lower vis-a-vis the cow.     

Magnetically controlled targeted micro-carrier systems

Magnetically controlled targeted drug delivery systems are aimed at concentrating drugs at a defined target site, with the aid of a magnetic field. This technique has been developed specifically for directing drugs away from the reticuloendothelial system (RES). Literature on this topic suggests that these delivery systems are capable of altering the distribution of chemotherapeutic agents in the body. Hence these delivery devices offer the possibility of improving the therapeutic efficacy of the associated drugs. This paper reviews the work done to date towards the development and evaluation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable magnetic targeted drug delivery systems and outlines their future prospects and limitations in cancer chemotherapy.     

Characterization of a protease with alpha- and beta-fibrinogenase activity from the Western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox.

A metalloprotease from the rattlesnake Crotalus atrox venom was isolated and purified from multiple-step chromatographies including anion-exchange chromatography, gel permeation and reversed-phase HPLC. The fraction was shown to be homogeneous as judged by SDS-gel electrophoresis. It also showed a high proteolytic activity against alpha- and beta-chains of fibrinogen molecules. Further characterization of the purified fraction with fibrinogenase activity indicated that it is a single-chain protease with a molecular mass of about 24 kDa and an acidic isoelectric point. It is relatively heat stable up to about 65 degrees C, inhibited by EDTA, beta-mercaptoethanol, but not by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, N alpha-p-tosyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone and N alpha-p-tosyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone, soybean trypsin inhibitor and aprotinin. Amino acid analysis showed that the enzyme possesses an amino acid composition very similar to some metalloproteases characterized before from the closely related rattlesnake venoms. N-Terminal sequence analysis of the enzyme corroborated some similarity between this enzyme and the reported sequences of these enzymes characterized from the Crotalidae snake family. This study indicated the presence of a novel fibrinogenase (termed Catroxase) with N-terminal sequence different from the metalloprotease with hemorrhagic activity isolated from the same Western diamondback rattlesnake.     

Nucleotide sequence of cDNA for Acacia confusa trypsin inhibitor and implication of post-translation processing.

Synthetic oligonucleotides corresponding to all possible sequences of N-terminal and C-terminal region of Acacia confusa trypsin inhibitor were used to generate ACTI-related sequences using the polymerase chain reaction on the cDNAs encoding ACTI of the seeds of legume, A. confusa. The deduced amino acid sequence agreed with that determined by the peptide analysis except an extra amino acid residue, serine, was found at the junction of A and B chain, which was removed by post-translation processing with specific protease(s). The substrate specificity of the protease(s) was found to cleave at the C-terminal sites of asparagine and serine, which was also shown to be the same case for another plant protein, abrin, isolated from legume, Abrus precatorius.     

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.