Delta3,5-delta2,4-dienoyl-CoA isomerase from rat liver. Molecular characterization

rECH1, a recently identified rat cDNA (FitzPatrick, D. R., Germain-Lee, E., and Valle, D. (1995) Genomics 27, 457-466) encodes a polypeptide belonging to the hydratase/isomerase superfamily. We modeled the structure of rECH1 based on rat mitochondrial 2-enoyl-CoA hydratase 1. The model predicts that rECH1p has the hydratase fold in the core domain and two domains for interaction with other subunits. When we incubated 3,5,8,11, 14-eicosapentaenoyl-CoA with purified rECH1p, the spectral data suggested a switching of the double bonds from the Delta3-Delta5 to the Delta2-Delta4 positions. This was confirmed by demonstrating that the product was a valid substrate for 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase. These results indicate that rECH1p is Delta3,5-Delta2,4-dienoyl-CoA isomerase. Subcellular fractionation and immunoelectron microscopy using antibodies to a synthetic polypeptide derived from the C terminus of rECH1p showed that rECH1p is located in the matrix of both mitochondria and peroxisomes in rat liver. Consistent with these observations, the 36,000-Da rECH1p has a potential N-terminal mitochondrial targeting signal as well as a C-terminal peroxisomal targeting signal type 1. Transport of the protein into the mitochondria with cleavage of the targeting signal results in a mature mitochondrial form with a molecular mass of 32,000 Da; transport to peroxisomes yields a protein of 36,000 Da.     

A method for detecting service interactions

A method for detecting interactions among services and service features in communication systems is proposed. The method uses three types of knowledge: knowledge for clarifying and completing the specification of each feature, knowledge for identifying the implicit relationships among the features, and knowledge for detecting the interactions from the extended feature specifications derived from the first two types of knowledge. Six types of nontrivial interaction are outlined     

Dopamine D3 receptor gene polymorphism and the psychiatric symptoms seen in first-break schizophrenic patients

Cycads, the most primitive of the living gymnosperms, have been used and continue to be used for food and medicinal purposes by many cultures, although toxins must be removed before ingestion. In our quest to identify tropical plants that contain inhibitors of the cytochrome P-450 aromatase and thus may be efficacious in treating estrogen-dependent tumors, we have screened extracts from 5 species of cycad folia encompassing 3 genera: Cycas cairnsiana F. Muell., Cycas revoluta Thunb., Cycas rumphii Miq., Dioon spinulosum Dyer and Encephalartos ferox Bertol. All extracts were found to contain inhibitors of the human enzyme.     

ASPEN: An Advanced System for Process Engineering

The paper presents an overview of ASPEN (Advanced System for Process Engineering) which is a next-generation process simulator and economic evaluation system. The system is presently under development for use in engineering of fossil energy conversion processes.     

An application of data base management system (DBMS) to process design

Integration of well maintained application programs for process design is attempted using an in-house Data Base Management System. The main reason for taking the present approach is to keep the reliability of the existing application programs and to minimize revision work. Through the authors' experience described in this paper, it was found that the proposed way of integration by means of DBMS is to be recommended for these purposes when the number of application programs is small.     

DEPOSITION OF DIAMOND FOR CUTTING TOOL APPLICATIONS

The poor adhesion of diamond film to substrates is one of the major problems for practical use in a cutting tool (1-4). in this study, sintered tungsten carbide (WC) body without Co metal, not cemented carbide, was used as the substrate (5), and the effects of surface decarburization of the substrate for improvement in the adhesion of diamond films were investigated. The surface decarburization and diamond coating were carried out in a microwave plasma CVD system. From the results of several adhesion tests, including the cutting tests, it is concluded that the good adhesion is obtained by surface decarburization of the substrate before diamond coating. The reasons for improvement in adhesion are considered by observing the interface structure between the film and the substrate. The damage mechanism of diamond coating on cutting an AI-18%Si alloy with increasing cutting speed is also discussed.     

Practical model for gas temperature effects on CO2lasers

An analytical and experimental investigation on the effect of gas temperature on convection flow CO₂ lasers is presented. A simple and practical model neglecting the population of lower laser levels is proposed and examined by experiments. The model indicates simply that the gas temperature affects the `inherent threshold discharge power'. Appropriateness of the model has been proven regardless of the schemes of cross flow or axial flow     

Inhibitory effect of melanin pigment on sensitization and elicitation of murine contact photosensitivity: mechanism of low responsiveness in C57BL/10 background mice

We have shown that murine contact photosensitivity (CPS) to 3,3',4',5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide (TCSA) is genetically controlled mainly by the major histocompatibility complex. The H-2b,d haplotypes are closely associated with high responders, whereas mice with the H-2k are non-responders. Irrespective of their H-2 haplotypes, the C57BL/10 (B10) background strains, including B10, B10.D2, B10.A, and B10.BR, possessing black fur color, were low or nonresponders in CPS to TCSA. In B10 mice, however, high-sensitivity responses were induced when subcutaneous inoculation of epidermal cells (ECs) photomodified in vitro with TCSA was used for both immunization and challenge, suggesting that the epicutaneous route for induction and elicitation is defective in B10 background mice. F1 mice obtained by crossing high-responder BALB/c and low-responder B10 mice, possessing agouti fur color, were non-responders of CPS. The magnitude of CPS in the F2 mice derived from F1 (BALB/c X B10) siblings varied from low to high. When these F2 mice were divided into five groups with regard to fur color, the magnitude of reaction was correlated with the fur color and there was inverse relationship between the magnitude of CPS and the amount of melanin pigment in earlobe ECs. Furthermore, the in vivo formation of TCSA-EC photoadducts was negatively correlated to the melanin amount in earlobes. These observations suggested that the failure in CPS of the B10 background mice stems from inability of in vivo photocoupling of TCSA to ECs, presumably due to absorption of ultraviolet radiation by melanin pigment.     

Cytokine-secreting cells in relapsing multiple sclerosis patients treated with high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone]

Domon L, a heat-treated component of gram-negative bacterium Achromobacter stenohalis, is used for the treatment of infectious diseases of animals. Here, we investigated the immunopotentiating potential of Domon L. In vitro studies showed that Domon L enhanced nitric oxide (NO) formation from murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells in concert with interferon (IFN)-gamma. The effect of Domon L on NF-kappaB activation was investigated, in order to understand the molecular mechanisms of enhanced NO formation by Domon L. Domon L induced translocation of NF-kappaB to the nucleus in RAW264.7 cells. Induction of NF-kappaB dependent gene expression by Domon L was further confirmed using a transfectant containing an NF-kappaB-luciferase reporter gene. In vivo injection of Domon L elevated both serum IL-6 and mucoprotein, whose gene expression is partly under the control of NF-kappaB. The spleen cells of rats treated with Domon L produced much more NO when stimulated with LPS + IFN gamma than spleen cells of untreated rats. These results suggest that Domon L acts as an anti-infectious agent via NF-kappaB activation.