Gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of cyasin in cycad flour

A method for the quantitative determination of cycasin from cycad flour by gas-liquid chromatography is described. The flour is extracted with 70% ethanol and the residue from the dried extract is directly trimethylsilylated. Androsterone was found to be an excellent internal standard. The average content of cycasin from ten separate analyses of one lot of flour was $\text{0.429 gm}\text{100 gm}$. The method is rapid, sensitive, and not hindered by contaminating compounds.     

Characterization and Stability of Ribosomes from Mesophilic and Thermophilic Bacteria

Ribosomes were isolated from three mesophilic and three thermophilic strains of Bacillus. The ribosomes consisted of about 55% protein and 45% ribonucleic acid. Average ratios for the absorbance at 260/235 and 260/280 mmu were 1.77 and 1.92 for the mesophiles and 1.63 and 1.84 for the thermophiles. Ultracentrifugation revealed mainly components with sedimentation coefficients of about 30, 50, 70, 100, and 120S. All the preparations were shown to contain a ribonuclease which, in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, led to ribosome breakdown as measured by the increase in acid-soluble nucleotides. The stability of the ribosomes from the thermophiles was consistently greater than that of the ribosomes from the mesophiles. After 5 hr at 37 C, the breakdown was about 80% for the ribosomes from the mesophiles and 55 to 70% for those from the thermophiles. At 60 C, the ribosomes from the mesophiles were broken down slightly more and at a faster rate than those from the thermophiles. At temperatures above 60 C, the breakdown was again more pronounced for the ribosomes from the mesophiles.     

Vitamin K5 as a Fungistatic Agent

The effectiveness of vitamin K(5) in controlling the growth of different molds at varying pH levels in a culture medium, in tomato juice, and in several berry purees was studied. The molds studied were Aspergillus, Botrytis, Hormodendrum, Mucor, and Penicillium. The results showed that vitamin K(5) was effective as a fungistatic agent at concentrations ranging from 0.006 to 0.02%.     

抗菌免疫核糖核酸组份的分离及其活性测定

<正> 抗菌免疫核糖核酸(iRNA)已用于条件致病菌感染的临床治疗,并对其免疫活性做了全面的研究。现已证实iRNA能够诱导特异性抗体的产生和传递特异性的细胞免疫,并能诱生干扰素和白细胞间素Ⅰ、Ⅱ等淋巴因子和单核因子。但制备的iRNA是含有多种RNA种类的混合物,为明确各组份的免疫学功能,我们对iRNA进行了分离,并测定不同组份的免疫活性。     

大黄蒽醌衍生物与环核苷酸磷酸二酯酶、钙调素相互作用的研究

大黄蒽醌衍生物是中药大黄的主要成份。该类衍生物与钙调素(calmo-dulin,CaM)依赖的磷酸二酯酶(PDE)的相互作用表明:它们可作用子钙调素。其中,大黄酸结合CaM并抑制CaM依赖的磷酸二酯酶(CaM-PDE);而大黄素、大黄酚和芦荟大黄素既刺激CaM-PDE的活力,又刺激PDE的基础活力,其作用机制尚待阐明;当有Ca~(2+)或无Ca~(2+)条件下测定时,大黄酸对PDE基础活力均无影响。表明:象其它的CaM拮抗剂一样,大黄酸能抑制钙调素依赖的PDE的活力。     

Role of the epithelium in airway smooth muscle responses to relaxant agonists.

We studied the role of the guinea pig tracheal epithelium in modulating tracheal smooth muscle responses to the relaxant agonists albuterol, sodium nitroprusside, and theophylline. We used an in vitro preparation that allowed separation of the fluids bathing the luminal (internal) and serosal (external) surfaces of the trachea, and bronchodilators were administered to either surface of carbachol-contracted tracheae. All three drugs produced dose-dependent relaxation. However, albuterol and nitroprusside were less potent (concentration that produced half-maximal effect increased by 100- and 32-fold, respectively) when given to the epithelial side with the epithelium intact compared with the epithelium denuded or compared with serosal administration with the epithelium intact. These differences were not observed for theophylline, where smooth muscle responses were independent of either the side of stimulation or of the presence or absence of the epithelium. Direct measurements of the diffusion of theophylline across the tracheal wall in the presence or absence of epithelium showed that after 5 h of incubation with a fixed luminal concentration of theophylline, only 1.7% had diffused across the tracheal wall with the epithelium intact. This increased to only approximately 3.3% when the epithelium was denuded. These results suggest that the epithelial is a relatively weak barrier for lipophilic agents but has a major role as a diffusion barrier to hydrophilic substances.