Ischemic flow threshold for striatal dopamine release in rats

To determine the level of cerebral blood flow reduction which causes striatal dopamine release, extracellular dopamine and cerebral blood flow was simultaneously determined using in vivo brain dialysis and a hydrogen clearance method, respectively, in the striatum of spontaneously hypertensive rats, before and during experimental cerebral ischemia. The ischemic flow threshold for neurotransmitter dopamine release was found to be 20% of the resting value or 8–10 ml/100g/min of cerebral blood flow, being similar to those for energy and membrane failures.     

Demonstration of Antigenic and Genotypic Variation in Orientia tsutsugamushi Which Were Isolated in Japan,and Their Classification into Type and Subtype

A total of 40 strains of Orientia tsutsugamushi (34 isolates from patients and trombiculid mites in Japan, and 6 prototype strains of antigenic variants) were examined for classification based on the reactivities with type-specific monoclonal antibodies in indirect immunofluorescence tests, and on the restriction fragment length polymorphism of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified 56-kilodalton type-specific antigenic protein gene. By these methods, several antigenic and genotypic variants were found among the strains, and these variants were classified into types and further into subtypes. These results suggest that there are many variants in O. tsutsugamushi, and the methods used here seem to be useful for the systematic classification of the numerous variants. A strain which may be a new type distinguishable from those identified previously was also found in this study. Furthermore, variety in the degree of pathogenicity in mice related to type and/or subtype classification were observed.     

Correction to: Comparison of the usability of an automatic sleep staging program via portable 1-channel electroencephalograph and manual sleep staging with traditional polysomnography

Sleep and Biological Rhythms -     

The role of p63 in embryonic external genitalia outgrowth in mice

Embryonic external genitalia (genital tubercle [GT]) protrude from the cloaca and outgrow as cloacal development progresses. Individual gene functions and knockout phenotypes in GT development have been extensively analyzed; however, the interactions between these genes are not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the role of p63, focusing on its interaction with the Shh–Wnt/Ctnnb1–Fgf8 pathway, a signaling network that is known to play a role in GT outgrowth. p63 was expressed in the epithelial tissues of the GT at E11.5, and the distal tip of the GT predominantly expressed the ΔNp63α isoform. The GTs in p63 knockout embryos had normal Shh expression, but CTNNB1 protein and Fgf8 gene expression in the distal urethral epithelium was decreased or lost. Constitutive expression of CTNNB1 in p63-null embryos restored Fgf8 expression, accompanied by small bud structure development; however, such bud structures could not be maintained by E13.5, at which point mutant GTs exhibited severe abnormalities showing a split shape with a hemorrhagic cloaca. Therefore, p63 is a key component of the signaling pathway that triggers Fgf8 expression in the distal urethral epithelium and contributes to GT outgrowth by ensuring the structural integrity of the cloacal epithelia. Altogether, we propose that p63 plays an essential role in the signaling network for the development of external genitalia.     

Angiostrongylus cantonensis: Development following pulmonary arterial transfers into permissive and nonpermissive hosts

The survival, growth, and egg-laying capacity of young adult Angiostrongylus cantonensis, surgically transferred from intracranial sites into pulmonary arteries, were studied. A variety of experimental animals (rats, guinea pigs, mice, and mastomys) were chosen as donor animals and as recipient hosts (rats, guinea pigs, and rabbits). These species were specifically chosen to span the spectrum of host permissiveness relative to worm development in an attempt to understand the mechanisms which underlie species-dependent resistance. Recipient animals were monitored not only for the development of parasites per se but also for antibody production and histopathologic changes. The results indicated that these procedures were technically feasible, with good worm development following intra-rat transfers, as early as 15 days after initial exposure. Studies were performed to analyze the constraints of development both on initial, i.e., prelung and subsequent i.e., postlung development. When worms were obtained from permissive species such as rat or mastomys, transfer into rats resulted in good growth and development; however, worms which developed initially in exposed mice or guinea pigs developed less well in the rat. Conversely, worms which developed initially in permissive host such as the rat, when transferred into a variety of less permissive hosts such as the guinea pig and rabbit, apparently did not survive and caused significant morbidity and mortality within the nonpermissive host. Histopathologic evaluation revealed a strong eosinophilic perivascular and peribronchiolar infiltration as well as granulomatous reactions surrounding the worms in the lungs of recipient guinea pigs and rabbits, changes not observed in the lungs of permissive rat recipients. As reaginic antibody responses were also more prominent in nonpermissive than in permissive animals, it is possible that IgE responses may be more directly related to the phenomenon of morbidity and/or permissiveness than are other aspects of immune response. In support of this contention was the finding of nearly equivalent hemagglutinating antibody production between permissive rats and nonpermissive guinea pigs and rabbits.     

Growth of the hydrocarbon-rich microalga Botryococcus braunii in secondarily treated sewage

Summary A hydrocarbon-rich green microalga, Botryococcus braunii, was able to grow well in secondarily treated sewage (STS) from domestic waste-water in a batch system. The growth in STS from domestic waste-water was as good as in the common artificial medium of modified Chu 13 and its hydrocarbon contents were high enough at 53% and 40% compared with 58% in the case of the modified Chu 13 medium. B. braunii utilized nitrate from 7.67 or 4.48 mg/l to a level below detection of < 0.01 mg/l in STS. After this consumption of nitrate, nitrite was consumed, and ammonium was not. Phosphate, even at an extremely low concentration, was also consumed by B. braunii. These results show the possibility of using STS as a medium to grow B. braunii and for removal of nitrogen and phosphorus by algal consumption in STS.Correspondence to: S. Yokoyama     

Effects of PGD2 and PGF2α on longitudinal and circular muscles of guinea-pig isolated proximal colon

The mechanical effects of PGD₂ and PGF_2α on longitudinal and circular muscles of the guinea-pig isolated proximal colon were investigated. PGD₂ and PGF_2α (1 nM – 10 μM) produced a dose-dependent contraction in longitudinal and circular muscles. The contractile action of PGD₂ was more potent than that of PGF_2α in circular muscle and was less potent in longitudinal muscle.Contractions induced by PGD₂ or PGF_2α(1 μM) were unaffected by atropine (1 μM) in both muscles, but tetrodotoxin (1 μM) slightly inhibited these contractions in longitudinal muscle.The results suggest that in longitudinal muscle PGD₂ and PGF_2α have largely a direct action on the muscle cells and a partial neuronal action on the non-cholinergic intrinsic nerves, whereas in circular muscle these PGs have only a direct action on the muscle cells.