Determinants of Slow Walking Speed in Ambulatory Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis

Walking ability is significantly lower in hemodialysis patients compared to healthy people. Decreased walking ability characterized by slow walking speed is associated with adverse clinical events, but determinants of decreased walking speed in hemodialysis patients are unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with slow walking speed in ambulatory hemodialysis patients. Subjects were 122 outpatients (64 men, 58 women; mean age, 68 years) undergoing hemodialysis. Clinical characteristics including comorbidities, motor function (strength, flexibility, and balance), and maximum walking speed (MWS) were measured and compared across sex-specific tertiles of MWS. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine whether clinical characteristics and motor function could discriminate between the lowest, middle, and highest tertiles of MWS. Significant and common factors that discriminated the lowest and highest tertiles of MWS from other categories were presence of cardiac disease (lowest: odds ratio [OR] = 3.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.26–8.83, P<0.05; highest: OR = 2.84, 95% CI = 1.18–6.84, P<0.05), leg strength (OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.40–0.95, P<0.05; OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.39–0.82, P<0.01), and standing balance (OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.63–0.92, P<0.01; OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.68–0.97, P<0.05). History of fracture (OR = 3.35, 95% CI = 1.08–10.38; P<0.05) was a significant factor only in the lowest tertile. Cardiac disease, history of fracture, decreased leg strength, and poor standing balance were independently associated with slow walking speed in ambulatory hemodialysis patients. These findings provide useful data for planning effective therapeutic regimens to prevent decreases in walking ability in ambulatory hemodialysis patients.     

Hydrogen evolution by co-immobilized Chlorella vulgaris and Clostridium butyricum cells

Whole cells of Chlorella vulgaris and Clostridium butyricum were co-immobilized in 2% agar gel. NADP was suitable as an electron carrier. The rate of hydrogen evolution increased with increasing NADP concentration. The optimum conditions for hydrogen evolution were pH 7.0 and 37°C. The immobilized C. vulgaris-NADP-immobilized Cl. butyricum system continuously evolved hydrogen at a rate of 0.29–1.34 μmol/h per mg Chl for 6 days. On the other hand, the system without NADP evolved only a trace amount of hydrogen.     

Presence of pepsinogens immunoreactive to anti-embryonic chicken pepsinogen antiserum in fish stomachs: possible ancestor molecules of chymosin of higher vertebrates

1. Stomachs of adult teleosts and elasmobranchs reacted to an anti-embryonic chicken pepsinogen antiserum (anti-ECPg) as well as to an anti-adult chicken pepsinogen antiserum (anti-ACPg). 2. Zymograms and immunoblots of stomach extracts revealed that anti-ECPg- and anti-ACPg-reactive substances possess peptic activity. 3. The possible relationship between anti-ECPg-reactive pepsinogens in fish and prochymosins in higher vertebrates is discussed.     

Hydrops fetalis caused by intrauterine human parvovirus infection

During a large outbreak of erythema infectiosum in 1987 in Toyama prefecture, Japan, a 32-year-old woman acquired a mild rash on her arms and legs at 18 weeks of gestation. At 26 weeks and 4 days of gestation, the fetus died by hydrops fetalis and pregnancy was terminated. Histological studies of the fetus revealed degeneration of erythroblastic cells in the liver and bone marrow. Extensive extramedullary hematopoiesis and hemosiderin deposits were observed in the liver. Antibody response to human parvovirus B19 virus was demonstrated in maternal sera by ELISA. Furthermore, dot hybridization with the molecularly cloned DNA probe revealed the presence of human parvovirus DNA sequence in the fetal liver, spleen, lung, kidney and placenta. This report describes the first case in Japan of hydrops fetalis caused by human parvovirus B19 infection.     

Action Spectra for Inhibition by Light of Accumulation of Bacteriochlorophyll and Carotenoid during Aerobic Growth of Photosynthetic Bacteria

Action spectra for the inhibition by light of the accumulationof photosynthetic pigments during the aerobic growth of a photosyntheticbacterium, Rhodobacter sphaeroides, and an aerobic photosyntheticbacterium, Erythrobacter sp. strain OCh 114, were determinedover the range of wavelengths from 380 to 870 nm. The actionspectra for the inhibition of accumulation of bacteriochlorophyllin both R. sphaeroides and Erythrobacter sp. strain OCh 114indicated that the maximum inhibition occurred at approximately400 nm and a low level of inhibition occurred at 575 and 770nm. In R. sphaeroides, the action spectrum for the inhibitionof accumulation of carotenoid paralleled that for the inhibitionof accumulation of bacteriochlorophyll over the same range ofwavelengths. These results indicate that in both species, grownunder aerobic conditions, the same photoreceptor is involvedin the inhibition. One possible candidate for the relevant photoreceptormay be the precursor(s) to bacteriochlorophyll. It is possiblethat the photoreceptor is decomposed by light absorbed by itselfor by an unidentified photoreceptor that absorbs blue light(a photo-sensitizer). It is suggested that the accumulationof carotenoid is dependent on the stability of the bacteriochlorophyll. (Received September 16, 1988; Accepted March 2, 1989)     

The CYP2D gene subfamily: analysis of the molecular basis of the debrisoquine 4-hydroxylase deficiency in DA rats

The DA rat has been proposed as an animal model for the human debrisoquine 4-hydroxylase/bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase genetic deficiency. To determine the mechanism of this deficiency, we isolated and sequenced five cDNAs in the CYP2D gene subfamily including a new IID1 allele and two cDNAs of novel P450s, designated IID3 and IID5. IID3 and IID5 cDNA-deduced amino acid sequences contained 500 and 504 residues with calculated molecular weights of 56,683 and 57,081, respectively. IID5 displayed 20 amino acid differences with the IID1, yet bore only 72% and 76% similarity to IID2 and IID3. Despite an overall nucleotide similarity of 80-98% between the 4 cDNAs, a region of 134 nucleotides of sequence exists that contains only 1 base difference. This region is probably the result of gene conversion events between the P450 IID genes. Although all IID cDNAs were expressed into immunodetectable proteins using the COS cell SV40-based expression system, only IID1 could effectively catalyze the oxidation of the prototype substrate bufuralol. Expression of a cDNA isolated in an earlier study [Gonzalez, F. J., Matsunaga, T., Nagata, K., Meyer, U. A., Nebert, D. W., Pastewka, J., Kozak, C. A., Gillette, J., Gelboin, H. V., & Hardwick, J. P. (1987) DNA 6, 149-161], previously called db1 and now designated IID1v, produced a protein with a drastically reduced activity as compared to cDNA-expressed IID1 despite only four amino acid differences between the two cDNA-deduced protein sequences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Induction of microsomal 1-acylglycerophosphocholine acyltransferase by peroxisome proliferators in rat kidney; co-induction with peroxisomal beta-oxidation

Induction of microsomal 1-acyl-glycerophosphocholine (GPC) acyltransferase in rat tissues by four peroxisome proliferators, clofibric acid, tiadenol, DEHP and PFOA, was examined. Among the nine tissues examined, kidney, liver and intestinal mucosa responded to the challenges by the peroxisome proliferators to induce the enzyme. The treatment of rats with various dose of clofibric acid, tiadenol, DEHP or PFOA resulted in an induction of kidney microsomal 1-acyl-GPC acyltransferase in a dose-dependent manner. Despite the structural dissimilarity of peroxisome proliferators, the induction of microsomal 1-acyl-GPC acyltransferase was highly correlated with the induction of peroxisomal beta-oxidation. The activity of microsomal 1-acyl-GPC acyltransferase was not affected by changes in hormonal (adrenalectomy, diabetes, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism) and nutritional (starvation, starvation-refeeding, fat-free-diet feeding and high-fat-diet feeding) states. The induction of renal microsomal 1-acyl-GPC acyltransferase was seen in mice subsequent to the administration of clofibric acid and tiadenol and in guinea pigs subsequent to the administration of tiadenol. These results may indicate that kidney microsomal 1-acyl-GPC acyltransferase is a highly specific parameter responsive to the challenges by peroxisome proliferators and may suggest that the possibility that the inductions by peroxisome proliferators of microsomal 1-acyl-GPC acyltransferase and peroxisomal beta-oxidation in kidney are co-regulated.     

Dehydroisoandrosterone prevention of autoimmune disease in NZB/W F1 mice: lack of an effect on associated immunological abnormalities

The effect of dietary dehydroisoandrosterone (DHA) on several immunological abnormalities associated with the development of systemic lupus erythematosus in New Zealand Black/New Zealand White F1 (NZB/W) female mice was examined. Despite the extraordinary benefits in prolonged survival and decreased synthesis of antibodies to double-stranded DNA obtained by adding DHA (0.4% w/v) to the diet fed to these mice (Lucas et al. (1985) J. Clin. Invest. 75, 2091-2093), remarkably small changes in the chemistry and function of the immune system were detected. DHA prevented the increases in spleen mass and in peritoneal cell number which occur with age in NZB/W female mice, but did not prevent the development of hypergammaglobulinemia. DHA did not affect peritoneal macrophage functions as measured by the phagocytosis of opsonized and non-opsonized sheep erythrocytes, or the zymosan-stimulated release of PGE2, 6-ketoPGF1 alpha, TXB2 and LTC4. In spleen, DHA delayed the loss of T-cell mitogenic responses until 5.5 months of age, but did not alter the spleen lymphocyte population.     

Increased frequency of 6-thioguanine-resistant peripheral blood lymphocytes in Werner syndrome patients

Summary The frequency of spontaneous 6-thioguanine (TG)-resistant peripheral blood lymphocytes in five unrelated Werner syndrome (WS) patients was determined using an autoradiographic labeling assay. The average frequency of TG-resistant lymphocytes was eightfold higher in WS patients than in sex- and age-matched normal control donors. This finding and previous identification of increased spontaneous chromosomal rearrangements and deletions in WS cells or cell lines suggest that WS is a human genomic instability or mutator syndrome.     

Day-night changes in production of carbohydrate and protein by natural phytoplankton population from Lake Biwa, Japan

The ¹³C and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (¹³C-GC-MS)method was applied to determine the day-night changes in thecomposition of photosynthetic products of the natural phytoplanktonpopulation from Lake Biwa, Japan. Glucose is the most abundantmonosaccharide in acid-hydrolyzable carbohydrate. The contributionof glucose was high in incubatesd samples in daytime and decreasedduring the night. Other monosaccharides (rhamnose, fucose, ribose,arabinose, xylose, mannose and galactose) and amino acids tendedto be produced throughout both day- and night-time. These resultssuggested that the carbon flows from glucose, which might constitutereserve glucan, to other monosaccharides and amino acids duringnight-time. The disproportionate production of glucose (reservedglucan) during daytime was thus partly cancelled out at night.