How to discriminate between vibration syndrome and local fatigue of motorcyclists

Motorcyclists who work in some offices sometimes complained of coldness, pain and numbness of upper limbs. We studied how to discriminate between vibration syndrome and local fatigue of the motorcyclists. Subjects are 42 motorcyclists of an office in Aichi prefecture. 25 of them held several letters in their left hand when they delivered the letters. They complained of coldness, pain and numbness in the left upper limbs more than in the right limbs (p less than 0.01). We think that it is the local fatigue rather than the disorder of vibration syndrome that causes such symptoms. So it is very important to recognize the existence of local fatigue in order to know how to discriminate between vibration syndrome and local fatigue of the motorcyclists.     

Immunohistochemical techniques for detection of dermatan sulfate proteoglycan in tissue sections

Dermatan sulfate proteoglycan chains were detected in tissue sections treated with chondroitin B-lyase (0.01 units/ml) in 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) for 1 hr, followed by staining with antibody 9A2 specific for unsaturated uronic acid coupled to N-acetylgalactosamine-4 sulfate. In contrast, after treatment with chondroitin B-lyase, no positive staining was observed with antibodies 3B3 and 1B5 which react to the unsaturated uronic acid coupled to N-acetylgalactosamine 6-sulfate and unsaturated uronic acid coupled to N-acetylgalactosamine, respectively. The distribution of dermatan sulfate thus revealed was confirmed by comparison with that found by monoclonal antibody 6B6 which reacts with small proteoglycans carrying dermatan sulfate side chains. The localization of positive staining in fibrous connective tissues was almost identical with these two procedures.     

Immunohistochemical studies of the serotonergic supraependymal plexus in the mammalian ventricular system, with special reference to the characteristic reticular ramification

Distributional and morphological features, especially characteristics of the ramification of serotonin-containing supraependymal fibers (SEF), were studied in the ventricular systems of mammals (mouse, rat, guinea pig, rabbit, cat, dog, monkey) by means of a modified peroxidase antiperoxidase technique, using antiserotonin antiserum prepared in our laboratory. SEF were present in all ventricular systems, except on the third ventricle floor and in the choroid plexus. The density of SEF was higher in the smaller species. In the rat, light- and scanning electron microscopical SEF were almost completely abolished 1 week after intraventricular administration of 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine. Ramification of SEF was complicated; the SEF formed a true network with frequent anastomosing. In the ventricular system of rats rendered hydrocephalic by kaolin administration, the mode of axonal branching in the supraependymal plexus could best be analyzed by the scanning electron microscope because the meshes of the plexus were spread out.     

Do protozoa conceal a high potency of nucleoside triphosphate hydrolysis present in Toxoplasma gondii?

ATP hydrolytic activity in whole cell homogenates of some protozoa was assayed in the presence or absence of dithiothreitol. The activities in all protozoan cell homogenates, except Toxoplasma gondii, ranged from 0.6 to 32 mumol/mg protein/hr, irrespective of the presence or absence of dithiothreitol. A remarkably higher activity, 11,690 mumol/mg protein/hr, was observed for T. gondii in the presence of dithiothreitol. These results indicate that the higher ATP hydrolytic potency observed for T. gondii is not universal to protozoa, rather it is unique to T. gondii.     

Induction and Repair of Damage to DNA in Cucumber Cotyledons Irradiated with UV-B

Photoinduced lesions in DNA, namely, cyclobutane pyrimidinedimers (CPDs) and pyrimidine-(6-4)-pyrimidone photoproducts[(6-4)photoproducts], in cucumber cotyledons that had been irradiatedwith naturally occurring levels of UV-B (290–320 nm) werequantitated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with monoclonalantibodies specific to each type of photolesion. Induction ofthese photolesions was dependent on temperature and their extentwas reduced by simultaneous irradiation with white light. Thedark repair of both types of photolesion was undetectable. Light-dependentremoval of (6-4)photoproducts was very slow, with 50% removalin 4 h. By contrast, 50% of initial CPDs were removed within15 min. Both photorepair processes were dependent on the intensityof white light and were sensitive to temperature. These resultsindicate that high photolyase activity is present in cucumbercotyledons and that repair activities in cucumber cotyledonsare different from those reported in Arabidopsis, in which (6-4)photoproductsare photorepaired more rapidly than CPDs. (Received October 13, 1995; Accepted December 28, 1995)     

Variations in and Inheritance of NS-Glycoprotein in Self-Incompatible Brassica campestris L.

The stigma of Brassica species contain NS-glycoproteins thatexhibit a high degree of structural homology to the S-glycoproteinsof self-incompatibility. Inheritance of and variations in theNS-glycoprotein were studied with reference to self-incompatibility.The detection of NS-glycoproteins was performed by cross-reactionwith an antiserum raised against a purified NS-glycoprotein.In B. campestris, four isoforms of the NS-glycoprotein weredifferentiated by their pI values, but their molecular weightswere identical to one another. The genes for these isoformsof NS-glycoprotein were controlled by alleles at a single locus,tentatively named the NS allele, which was independent of Salleles at both the protein and the DNA level. Segregation ofF₂ plants with respect to the self-incompatibility behaviorof pollen tubes can be explained by the S allele model, butit appears not to be affected by the NS alleles. NS-glycoproteinswere found in all 21 species of Brassica and its allies examinedto date. The pI values of these glycoproteins varied among differentspecies. In addition to the isoforms of the NS alleles, maturestigmas contained other groups of proteins that reacted weaklywith the antiserum against the NS-glycoprotein. (Received July 30, 1991; Accepted February 21, 1992)