Physical effects of negative air ions in a wet sauna

 The physical effects of negative air ions on humans were determined in an experimental sauna room equipped with an ionizer. Thirteen healthy persons took a wet sauna bath (dry bulb temperature 42° C, relative humidity 100%, 10 min exposure) with or without negative air ions. The subjects were not told when they were being exposed to negative air ions. There were no differences in the moods of these persons or changes in their blood pressures between the two saunas. The surface temperatures of the foreheads, hands, and legs in the sauna with negative ions were significantly higher than those in the sauna without ions. The pulse rates and sweat produced in the sauna with ions were singificantly higher than those in the sauna without ions. The results suggest that negative ions may amplify the effects on humans of the sauna. Received: 31 March 1995 / Revised: 25 July 1995 / Accepted: 26 July 1996     

Effects of photoperiod and aging on locomotor activity rhythms in the onion fly,Delia antiqua

At photoperiods longer than 8h per 24h, adults of the day-active onion fly Delia antiqua showed a major peak of locomotor activity in the late photophase and also bursts of activity induced by lights-on or lights-off. At shorter photoperiods the activity peaks fused. After transfer from long photoperiods to constant darkness (DD), the rhythm free-ran, but only the major peak persisted. This suggests that only the major peak is controlled by the circadian pacemaker. At long photoperiods, the daily phase of the major peak occurred progressively later with age. As a result, the activity at short photoperiods often shifted from photophase to scotophase in old flies. The free-running period (tau) also changed with age; tau was shorter than 24h until 14-20 days after eclosion and thereafter became longer, but a few individuals repeated changes in tau. The phase delay of locomotor activity with age in D. antiqua would be attributable to the increase in tau.     

Relations Between the Extracellular Concentrations of Choline and Acetylcholine in Rat Striatum

Abstract: Changes in extracellular levels of acetylcholine (ACh) and choline (Ch) in the striatum of rats were examined by in vivo microdialysis after intraperitoneal injections of drugs. A dopamine D₂ antagonist, sulpiride (20 mg/kg), and a muscarinic antagonist, atropine (3.5 mg/kg), increased ACh levels and decreased Ch levels. On the contrary, the D₂ agonist (±)-2-( N -phenylethyl- N -propyl)amino-5-hydroxytetralin (N-434; 5 mg/kg) and an anesthetic, pentobarbital (50 mg/kg), decreased ACh levels and increased Ch levels. Perfusion of 10 µ M hemicholinium-3 (HC-3), a Ch uptake inhibitor, through the striatum induced a complete inhibition of ACh release and increased Ch levels in all drug-treated groups. The degree of relative increase in the level of Ch induced by HC-3 differed among the drug-pretreated groups; compared with the control group, the relative increase was larger in the sulpiride- and atropine-treated groups and smaller in the N-434 and pentobarbital-treated groups. Thus, we demonstrated reciprocal relations between extracellular concentrations of Ch and ACh after treatments by drugs. The data suggest that in the striatum, which is rich in cholinergic innervation, the extracellular Ch concentration is to a large extent determined by activity of the cholinergic transmission reflected in high-affinity choline uptake.     

Preparation of methyl glycosides of di- and higher oligosaccharides from glycosaminoglycuronans by solvolysis with dimethyl sulfoxide containing methanol

Solvolysis of chondroitin 4- or 6-sulfate (pyridinium salt) with dimethyl sulfoxide containing 10% of methanol for 18 h at 95° resulted in the cleavage of the 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucoside bonds together with initial desulfation to give methyl β-glycosides of N-acetylchondrosine as a main product and, in addition, higher oligosaccharides, without any loss of uronic acid. Dermatan sulfate was also depolymerized to yield methyl glycosides of di- and higher oligosaccharides under the same conditions. Hyaluronic acid (free acid) was depolymerized by the same solvent in the presence of an equimolar amount of pyridine-sulfur trioxide or pyridinium sulfate per disaccharide unit to give methyl glycosides of di- and higher oligosaccharides. In contrast N-desulfated, N-acetylated heparin was stable under these solvolytic conditions and did not yield heparin oligosaccharides.     

Genetic structure of the IncN plasmid N3

N3, a plasmid of incompatibility group N (IncN) was mapped by cleavage with restriction endonucleases. The restriction fragments were cloned into vector plasmids. All of the genes unique to IncN plasmids such as specific replication machinery, a restriction-modification system, and repair functions were located on a large portion which had no cleavage sites for many of the site-specific six base-identifying restriction endonucleases tested.     

Purification and characterisation of β-N-acetylhexosaminidase from the butter clam, saxidomus purpuratus

A β-N-acetylhexosaminidase [EC 3.2.1.30] has been purified ～98-fold from an extract of the digestive organs of Saxidomus purpuratus by using ammonium sulfate fractionation, and chromatography on Toyopearl HW-50, CM-cellulose, and Sepharose 4B. The purified enzyme, the molecular weight of which was estimated to be ～66,000 by gel filtration, was composed of two sub-units of molecular weight 30,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme had a pH optimum of 3.8 and an optimum temperature of 55°, and its activity was enhanced ～2-fold in the presence of 0.1m sodium chloride. The Michaelis constants toward p-nitrophenyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-d-glucoside and -galactoside were 1.2 × 10^?4 and 1.3 × 10^?4m, respectively.     

Chemical ionization-mass spectra of aldobiouronic acids and dialdose dianhydrides

Chemical ionization (c.i.) mass spectra with isobutane as the reagent gas are reported for the peracetates of aldobiouronic acids and related compounds, and for peracetates and permethylated derivatives of dialdose dianhydrides. Ions (M⁺ + 43) having relatively high intensities were detected in the spectra of disaccharides lacking the dianhydride structure. Peracetylated dialdose dianhydrides showed very weak (M⁺ + 43) ions, and permethylated dianhydrides did not show them. The (M⁺ + 43) ion consisted of molecular ion and acetoxyl radical (but not of the reagent gas). In the c.i. mass spectra of the usual disaccharide peracetates, (M⁺ ? 31) and (M⁺ ? 60) ions had large intensities. In contrast, c.i. mass spectra extremely similar to the corresponding e.i. mass spectra were obtained for dialdose dianhydrides.