Twist function is required for the morphogenesis of the cephalic neural tube and the differentiation of the cranial neural crest cells in the mouse embryo

Loss of Twist function in the cranial mesenchyme of the mouse embryo causes failure of closure of the cephalic neural tube and malformation of the branchial arches. In the Twist(-/-) embryo, the expression of molecular markers that signify dorsal forebrain tissues is either absent or reduced, but those associated with ventral tissues display expanded domains of expression. Dorsoventral organization of the mid- and hindbrain and the anterior-posterior pattern of the neural tube are not affected. In the Twist(-/-) embryo, neural crest cells stray from the subectodermal migratory path and the late-migrating subpopulation invades the cell-free zone separating streams of cells going to the first and second branchial arches. Cell transplantation studies reveal that Twist activity is required in the cranial mesenchyme for directing the migration of the neural crest cells, as well as in the neural crest cells within the first branchial arch to achieve correct localization. Twist is also required for the proper differentiation of the first arch tissues into bone, muscle, and teeth.     

Comparative insecticidal power of three pyrethroids on netting

Adult mosquitoes, Anopheles gambiae Giles and Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae), were exposed for 3 min to replicate samples of polyester netting cut from replicate bednets treated with pyrethroid insecticide formulations at the recommended concentration (alphacypermethrin SC at 40mg ai/m2; cyfluthrin EW at 50 mg ai/m2; deltamethrin WT at 25 mg ai/m2), or treated with only a quarter of those dosages. After 4 months domestic use of the bednets in Malawi, chemical assays showed that pyrethroid deposits on the netting were somewhat less than the target concentrations. Comparing the pyrethroid bioassay results with Anopheles at both treatment concentrations, deltamethrin gave significantly higher mortality (99.7-100%) than the other compounds (alphacypermethrin 94-96%, cyfluthrin 80-89%). Culex bioassay mortality was lower (alphacypermethrin 56-74%; cyfluthrin 63-65%; deltamethrin 50-81 %) and results with the three pyrethroid insecticides at their recommended doses did not differ significantly.     

Elucidation of the solution structure of cardiotoxin analogue V from the Taiwan cobra (Naja naja atra)--identification of structural features important for the lethal action of snake venom cardiotoxins

The aim of the present study is to understand the structural features responsible for the lethal activity of snake venom cardiotoxins. Comparison of the lethal potency of the five cardiotoxin isoforms isolated from the venom of Taiwan cobra (Naja naja atra) reveals that the lethal potency of CTX I and CTX V are about twice of that exhibited by CTX II, CTX III, and CTX IV. In the present study, the solution structure of CTX V has been determined at high resolution using multidimensional proton NMR spectroscopy and dynamical simulated annealing techniques. Comparison of the high resolution solution structures of CTX V with that of CTX IV reveals that the secondary structural elements in both the toxin isoforms consist of a triple and double-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet domains. Critical examination of the three-dimensional structure of CTX V shows that the residues at the tip of Loop III form a distinct "finger-shaped" projection comprising of nonpolar residues. The occurrence of the nonpolar "finger-shaped" projection leads to the formation of a prominent cleft between the residues located at the tip of Loops II and III. Interestingly, the occurrence of a backbone hydrogen bonding (Val27CO to Leu48NH) in CTX IV is found to distort the "finger-shaped" projection and consequently diminish the cleft formation at the tip of Loops II and III. Comparison of the solution structures and lethal potencies of other cardiotoxin isoforms isolated from the Taiwan cobra (Naja naja atra) venom shows that a strong correlation exists between the lethal potency and occurrence of the nonpolar "finger-shaped" projection at the tip of Loop III. Critical analysis of the structures of the various CTX isoforms from the Taiwan cobra suggest that the degree of exposure of the cationic charge (to the solvent) contributed by the invariant lysine residue at position 44 on the convex side of the CTX molecules could be another crucial factor governing their lethal potency.     

Determination of Sample Sizes for Demonstrating Efficacy of Radiation Countermeasures

Summary .  In response to the ever increasing threat of radiological and nuclear terrorism, active development of nontoxic new drugs and other countermeasures to protect against and/or mitigate adverse health effects of radiation is ongoing. Although the classical LD₅₀ study used for many decades as a first step in preclinical toxicity testing of new drugs has been largely replaced by experiments that use fewer animals, the need to evaluate the radioprotective efficacy of new drugs necessitates the conduct of traditional LD₅₀ comparative studies ( FDA, 2002 ,  Federal Register   67, 37988–37998). There is, however, no readily available method to determine the number of animals needed for establishing efficacy in these comparative potency studies. This article presents a sample-size formula based on Student's  t  for comparative potency testing. It is motivated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) requirements for robust efficacy data in the testing of response modifiers in total body irradiation experiments where human studies are not ethical or feasible. Monte Carlo simulation demonstrated the formula's performance for Student's  t , Wald, and likelihood ratio tests in both logistic and probit models. Importantly, the results showed clear potential for justifying the use of substantially fewer animals than are customarily used in these studies. The present article may thus initiate a dialogue among researchers who use animals for radioprotection survival studies, institutional animal care and use committees, and drug regulatory bodies to reach a consensus on the number of animals needed to achieve statistically robust results for demonstrating efficacy of radioprotective drugs.     

Evaluating Human Risk from Exposure to Alkylated PAHs in an Aquatic System

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large class of organic chemicals typically found as mixtures in the aquatic environment from natural, petrogenic, and pyrogenic sources. People can be exposed to PAHs through ingestion or dermal contact with contaminated sediments or through ingestion of finfish and shellfish exposed to contaminated sediments. Although more than 100 PAHs have been identified, human exposure and risk are commonly evaluated for 18 individual PAHs. Other PAHs, such as alkylated PAHs, likely contribute to biological activity of environmental PAH mixtures; however, insufficient toxicity data are available to quantify their potential risk. This article presents an initial evaluation of the potential for human health risk from exposure to alkylated PAHs in sediment and fish. Individual alkylated PAHs have been observed to have potentially mutagenic, tumor-promoting, or carcinogenic activity. However, except for 1-and 2-methylnaphthalene, insufficient toxicity data are available to quantify toxicity or cancer risk from exposure to individual alkylated PAHs or mixtures of alkylated PAHs. This article describes a proposed strategy to better understand the potential human health risk from exposure to alkylated PAHs. Implementation of this strategy will contribute to evaluations of human exposure to complex PAH mixtures in the environment.     

Homo- and hetero-dimers of inactive organophosphorous group binding at dual sites of AChE

Homo- and hetero-dimers of inactive organophosphorous group(s) dramatically enhanced the acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7) inhibiting potency, with the highest potency observed at a tether length of 6 methylene groups (6d) for the homodimers, and 7 methylene groups (8e) for the heterodimers. The docking model of Drosophila melanogaster AChE suggested that 6d and 8e bound at the catalytic and peripheral sites of AChE, in which two organophosphorous groups of 6d individually oriented towards TRP83 of catalytic sites and TRP321 of peripheral sites, and phthalicimide group of 8e was appropriately arranged for a π-π interaction with the phenyl ring of TYR330, furthermore, the organophosphorous group introduced hydrophobic interaction with TRP83. The compounds prepared in this work demonstrated high insecticidal activity to Lipaphis erysimi and Tetranychus cinnbarinus at the concentration 300mg/L.     

高效价冻干人用狂犬病疫苗暴露后免疫程序的研究

初步确定高效价冻干人用狂犬病疫苗（6．0IU／剂）暴露后免疫程序。制备高效价的冻干人用狂犬病疫苗（6．0IU／剂）,以狂犬病街毒CNX8601和BD06分别攻击小鼠和比格犬的咬肌,接种不同效价的狂犬病疫苗,以RFFIT法检测中和抗体,根据动物死亡情况,计算暴露后疫苗保护率,对不同效价的疫苗进行中和抗体测定和保护率统计分析。在以小鼠为实验动物的疫苗保护率研究中,冻干人用狂犬病疫苗（3．1IU／剂）0／3／7／14／28免疫程序的保护率为40．6％,高效价的冻干人用狂犬病疫苗（6．0IU／剂）0／3／14免疫程序的保护率为56．2％,中和抗体比较,P〈0．05,2组间有显著性差异;在以比格犬为实验动物的保护效果研究中,冻干人用狂犬病疫苗的保护率（3．1IU／剂）为70％;高效价的冻干人用狂犬病疫苗（6．0IU／剂）的保护率为80％,中和抗体的比较,P〉0．05,没有显著性差异。高效价冻干人用狂犬病疫苗暴露后免疫程序可初步确定为0、3、14d免疫。     

肝素钠精制工艺研究

为提高肝素钠粗品效价,改善产品色泽,采用二次盐解、双氧水氧化和脱色等工艺对肝素钠粗品进行精制,并探讨工艺条件对产品效价、收率的影响。结果得到最佳精制工艺条件:盐解质量浓度为2％,盐解pH为8.0,醇沉体积浓度45％,氧化剂(双氧水)体积分数为3％。该精制工艺能够有效地提高效价(平均比粗产品提高1.5倍),收率较高,并具有操作简便、省时等特点。     

HBsAg生化性状对乙型肝炎疫苗效力影响的研究

比较研究了重组酵母HBsAg P24亚基间二硫键结合及其还原条件下降解程度对乙型肝炎疫苗效力的影响。分别用HPLC及SDS－PAGE法检测重组酵母乙型肝炎疫苗HBsAg的P24亚基在还原条件下降解和P24亚基间二硫键桥联程度,并检测乙型肝炎疫苗小鼠体内效力（ED50值）和体外相对效力（RP）,分析HBsAg的P24亚基间二硫键结合及其还原条件下降解程度对乙型肝炎疫苗效力的影响。结果表明HBsAgP24亚基还原条件下降解成分Sub-P24的相对含量在5．2％－31％间,P24亚基间二硫键桥联型HBsAg颗粒相对含量在41．9％－71．8％范围内与疫苗的实验室效力无关。所生产重组酵母乙型肝炎疫苗HBsAg的P24亚基间二硫键结合及其还原条件下降解程度不影响乙型肝炎疫苗实验室效力。     

Synthesis of compounds having antimicrobial activity from alginate

Compounds having antimicrobial activity were synthesized from sodium alginate, the main constituent of brown algae. Sodium alginate was oxidized with sodium periodate to get alginate dialdehyde (ADA). FTIR spectrum of the ADA gave very small peak characteristic for aldehyde groups at 1720 cm⁻¹, indicating that the aldehyde group is masked somehow. It may be hydrated, involving at hemiacetal formation or hemialdol, similar to cellulose dialdehyde. Two methods were used for the condensation of ADA with o-phenylenediamine analogs to obtain the final products. The first method was stirring at room temperature and the second method was heating in microwave. The microwave method gave higher yield and shorter reaction time than the other method. The condensation reaction is considered as a shiff-base formation and the proposed mechanism was suggested. The condensation products were characterized by FTIR and UV spectra. The antimicrobial potency for five of these products in addition to the used alginate and to the precursor amines was evaluated against four pathogenic fungi and six pathogenic bacteria species.