α-sulfonated fatty acid esters: II. Solution behavior of α-sulfonated fatty acid polyethylene glycol esters

Sodium α-sulfonated, fatty acid polyethylene glycol monoesters [C _m H_2m+1CH(SO₃Na)COO(C₂H₄O) _n H] and diesters [C _m H_2m+1CH(SO₃Na)COO(C₂H₄O) _n COCH(SO₃Na)C _m H_2m+1], wherem=10–16 andn=1–35, were prepared by esterification of α-sulfonated, fatty acids with polyethylene glycols, followed by neutralization with NaOH. Crude products were purified by reversed-phase column chromatography on an octadecyl-modified silica gel. Characteristic solution behavior of these α-sulfonated fatty acid esters was, examined, and the following features were observed. All monoesters prepared in this work had Krafft points below 0°C and also possessed good calcium stabilities. Critical micelle concentrations of the monoesters increased monotonously, as a rule, with an increase in the number of oxyethylene units. These results suggest that the polyethylene glycol residue of the monoester behaves as a hydrophile. On the other hand, diesters possessed high water solubility, low foamability, and critical micelle concentrations that were lower by a factor of ten compared to those of the monoesters.     

Preliminary results of fine needle aspiration biopsy histology in upper gastrointestinal submucosal tumors

To elucidate the characteristics of lung cancer complicated by pneumoconiosis, we compared the clinical features of complicated and uncomplicated lung cancer cases. The average age at onset was higher for patients with pneumoconiosis than for those without. Because pneumoconiosis presents various respiratory symptoms, subjective symptoms were less important than objective symptoms in detecting lung cancer complicated by pneumoconiosis. Although fiberoptic bronchoscopy was the predominant diagnostic method, it could not be used with the pneumoconiosis patients. Diagnoses of lung cancer complicated by pneumoconiosis were made more after by percutaneous needle aspiration cytology. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most frequent form of cancer in patients with pneumoconiosis, which suggests that the inhalation of carcinogens may play a role in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. With respect to the smoking index (SI), histological specimens indicated that the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma in patients with pneumoconiosis was significantly higher in heavy smokers (SI > or = 600) than in light smokers (SI < 600) or nonsmokers. It is suspected that smoking affects carcinogenesis of pneumoconiosis. No differences in the distribution of lung cancer (right-left, hilar-peripheral) distinguished the 2 groups. Many of the patients with peripheral-type lung cancer and pneumoconiosis had tumors in the lower lung lobes. These findings underline the importance of encouraging pneumoconiosis patients to avoid lung cancer by not smoking, and to have lung cancer detected in its early stages by undergoing regular medical exams.     

Comparison of susceptibility to apoptosis induced by rhTNF-alpha and cycloheximide between human circulating and exudated neutrophils

OBJECTIVE: Peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radical, reactive oxidants produced during reperfusion, are potent triggers of DNA single strand breakage. DNA injury triggers the activation of the nuclear enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) synthetase (PARS), which contributes to cellular energetic depletion. Using 3-aminobenzamide, an inhibitor of PARS, we investigated the role of PARS in the pathogenesis of myocardial reperfusion injury in a rat model. METHODS AND RESULTS: Occlusion of the left main coronary artery (one hour) followed by reperfusion (one hour) in the anesthetized rat caused severe cardiac necrosis, neutrophil infiltration, and increased plasma creatine phosphokinase activity. There was significant peroxynitrite production during reperfusion, as indicated by a massive increase in nitrotyrosine in the necrotic myocardium. Reperfusion was also associated with a significant loss of myocardial ATP. In vivo administration of the PARS inhibitor 3-aminobenzamide (10 mg/kg i.v.) to rats subjected to myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, reduced myocardial infarct size and blunted the increase in plasma creatine phosphokinase activity and myeloperoxidase activity in infarcted hearts. In addition, 3-aminobenzamide partially preserved the myocardial ATP levels. In vitro, pharmacological inhibition of PARS also ameliorated peroxynitrite-induced cytotoxicity in rat cardiac myocytes and human endothelial cells. CONCLUSION: 3-aminobenzamide has significant protective effects in myocardial reperfusion injury. We hypothesize that activation of PARS activation plays a role in the pathophysiology of acute myocardial infarction.     

High-sensitivity Hi-Lo germanium avalanche photodiode for 1.5 ?m-wavelength optical communication

A high-sensitivity small-detectable-area Hi-Lo germanium avalanche photodiode (Ge APD) was developed for use in 1.55 ?m wavelength optical communication systems. This device has Hi-Lo (p+nn?) impurity profile. Its detectable area is 30 ?m in diameter for single-mode optical-fibre use. The minimum average received signal level obtained was ?40.5 dBm (at 450 Mbit/s, ? = 1.55 ?m, BER = 10?9, return-to-zero). This is 0.7 dB better than the value for the 80?m diameter similar structure Ge APD.     

Inflammatory cytokine production in whole blood modified by liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin

The effect of Neo Red Cells (NRC), liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin, on production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were studied in whole blood preparations ex vivo. Venous blood was collected with heparin and incubated in a CO2 incubator. Treatment of blood samples with NRC reduced the constitutive levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment for 24 h increased production of TNF-alpha and IL-6 in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment with NRC (5%) for 24 h markedly potentiated the LPS-induced TNF-alpha production and, that of IL-6 to a lesser extent. Northern blotting analysis of total RNA in whole blood showed that pretreatment with NRC caused a marked increase in TNF-alpha mRNA expression in response to LPS. It is concluded that NRC potentiates LPS-induced TNF-alpha and IL-6 production in whole blood ex vivo, and that the potentiating effect of NRC on LPS-induced TNF-alpha production can be attributed, at least in part, to an increase in its mRNA expression.     

Free D-serine, D-aspartate and D-alanine in central nervous system and serum in mutant mice lacking D-amino acid oxidase

We have examined whether D-amino acid oxidase (DAO) regulates free D-serine content using mutant ddY/DAO- mice lacking DAO activity. We find that the content of D-serine in the serum and cerebellum of mutant mice is much higher than that of normal mice, whereas a slight but significant difference in the cerebral D-serine level is observed between the two strains. These results suggest that, although DAO may participate in the catabolism of D-serine in the cerebellum and periphery, there appears to be other mechanisms for catabolism of endogenous D-serine in the brain.     

Automatic Small Motor Noise Measuring Equipment

Measuring equipment for automatically testing the noise of small fan induction motors used in domestic appliances has been developed. This equipment has taken the place of the current inspection method, which uses man's trained sense of hearing. In order to develop this equipment, the following investigations were performed. First, through acoustic and vibration analysis, we clarified that various noises have their own characteristics of sound frequency which were found to be very similar to the characteristics of vibration frequency detected by a vibration sensor, mounted on the motor frame surface. Secondly, through the consideration of the relations between the levels of noise and vibration and man's sense of hearing, we obtained a satisfactory mutual relationship between man's sense and vibration levels. By using these clarifications, we have succeeded in making automatic measuring equipment which judges the noise level and the kind of noise, using a microcomputer with programs based on the investigations. Thus two results have been produced. One is the saving of labor and time in the motor manufacturing process, the other is improved accuracy and convenient trouble-free testing in noisy surroundings.     

Receiver sensitivity temperature dependence of small detectable area Hi-Lo germanium avalanche photodiode

Optical receiver sensitivity temperature dependence is measured in different detectable area (80, 30 ?m-diameter) Hi-Lo Ge APD modules at 450 Mbit/s bit rates. A 30 ?m-diameter device has a little power penalty against temperature increase compared with an 80 ?m-diameter device, with 2.4 dB receiver sensitivity improvement at 45°C.     

RAPD typing of Campylobacter jejuni and comparison with Lior's or Penner's serotyping system

Campylobacter jejuni were isolated from 7 epidemic outbreaks (121 isolates), 15 patients with gastroenteritis, chicken meats (47 isolates) and chicken cecal contents (70 isolates). The isolates and one standard strain of C. jejuni JCM2013 were analysed by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA method (RAPD). Total of 254 C. jejuni isolates were divided 68 different RAPD types which included strains that did not to divided by Lior's or Penner's serotyping system. To compare the similarities of RAPD patterns among the isolates, the amplification patterns of DNA were estimated by means of the Dice coefficient, and clustering of strains was based on the unweighted average pair group method (UPGMA) to facilitate the plotting of a dendrogram. It suggests that amplification band patterns of human isolates were different from those of chicken ones. Thus additional information given from RAPD profiles serves for epidemiological investigation and RAPD analysis is recommended as rapid and effective typing method.