A comprehensive classification system for lipids

Lipids are produced, transported, and recognized by the concerted actions of numerous enzymes, binding proteins, and receptors. A comprehensive analysis of lipid molecules, “lipidomics,” in the context of genomics and proteomics is crucial to understanding cellular physiology and pathology; consequently, lipid biology has become a major research target of the postgenomic revolution and systems biology. To facilitate international communication about lipids, a comprehensive classification of lipids with a common platform that is compatible with informatics requirements has been developed to deal with the massive amounts of data that will be generated by our lipid community. As an initial step in this development, we divide lipids into eight categories (fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, sterol lipids, prenol lipids, saccharolipids, and polyketides) containing distinct classes and subclasses of molecules, devise a common manner of representing the chemical structures of individual lipids and their derivatives, and provide a 12 digit identifier for each unique lipid molecule. The lipid classification scheme is chemically based and driven by the distinct hydrophobic and hydrophilic elements that compose the lipid. This structured vocabulary will facilitate the systematization of lipid biology and enable the cataloging of lipids and their properties in a way that is compatible with other macromolecular databases.[Reprinted with copyright permission from the Journal of Lipid Research. 2005. 46: 839–861.]     

Kinetics of grayanotoxin evoked modification of sodium channels in squid giant axons

Clonality analysis using the polymorphism of X-linked genes, such as the phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) genes and CAG repeat of the human androgen receptor (HU-MARA) gene and the hypervariable DXS255 gene have been widely used in the assessment of many hematologic diseases. Monoclonal hematopoiesis was clearly demonstrated in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), myeloproliferative disorders (MPD) and leukemia by the X-inactivation analysis. Previous studies also found a higher incidence of monoclonality in aplastic anemia and 'clonal remission' in acute leukemia. However, recent studies have shown that clonal hematopoiesis in aplastic anemia or remission of leukemia is rarer than previously thought when skewed X-inactivation was extensively ruled out by comparison with T-lymphocytes as an internal control. However, a polyclonal pattern obtained by X-inactivation cannot exclude the possibility of a small clonal cell population presenting in aplastic anemia. However, recent studies have demonstrated that residual polyclonal (possibly normal) hematopoietic progenitor cells can be detected in the bone marrow of MDS and MPD patients whose peripheral blood granulocytes showed a monoclonal pattern. This may suggest a novel approach to treatment of these diseases.     

Biochemical characterization of acetyl-CoA:1-alkyl-2-lyso-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine acetyltransferase in rat spleen microsomes

Acetyl-CoA:1-alkyl-2-lyso-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (lyso-PAF) ultrasonic disruption in the presence of 25% glycerol from rat spleen microsomes. About 26% of the enzymatic activity was recovered in the 225,000×g supernatant by this treatment, although the specific activity was slightly decreased compared with the original microsomes. The solubilized enzyme was remarkably susceptible to various kinds of metal ions. Sulfhydryl reagents such as p-chloromercuribenzoate and N-ethyl-maleimide significantly inhibited the enzyme reaction, suggesting that the enzyme is an SH enzyme. Based on the sedimentation pattern in sucrose density centrifugation, the isoelectric point, the kinetic characteristics and the sensitivity to tryptic digestion of microsomes, it appears that acetyl-CoA:lyso-PAF acetyltransferase does not differ from the acetyltransferase responsible for the transfer of acetate from acetyl-CoA to 1-acyl-2-lyso-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine.     

Preparation of flame-retardant polyethylene foam of open-cell type by radiation grafting of vinyl phosphonate oligomer

Flame-retardant polyethylene foam was successfully obtained by grafting a vinyl phosphonate oligomer onto polyethylene foam of an open-cell type using a simultaneous radiation grafting technique. The foam was impregnated with the oligomer and irradiated in a nitrogen atmosphere with an electron beam. The grafted foam thus obtained was found to pass the three most severe flammability tests that have to be cleared when the foam is to be used for materials where high flame-retardant property is required. No hydrogen cyanide was detected in burning exhaust gas of the grafted foam. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Novel regulation of delta-aminolevulinate synthase in the rat harderian gland

Leukocyte integrins and intercellular adhesion molecules play pivotal roles in leukocyte adhesion to target cells and extracellular matrices. Recently, novel intercellular adhesion molecules have been identified, and much information has been obtained on the structures and binding sites of leukocyte integrins and of intercellular adhesion molecules. Furthermore, much progress has been made in the study of integrin activation and the role of leukocyte adhesion molecules in disease.     

Preparation of hydrophilic polyethylene foam of open cell type by radiation grafting of acrylic acid

Hydrophilic polyethylene foam was synthesized by radiation grafting of acrylic acid onto polyethylene foam of open cell type using monomer solution containing Mohr's salt which inhibits homopolymerization of the monomer. The graft foam was easily dyed by cationic dyes and showed excellent moisture regain. The wicking properties were also excellent and were almost the same as those of commercially available PVA foam. The surface resistivity of 10¹⁶ ohm of the original foam decreased to 10⁶ ohm and half decay time of surface charge decreased from 8000 s to 1 s by the grafting, indicating that the grafted foam has excellent antistatic properties.     

Comparison of ELISA and HPLC for the determination of desmosine or isodesmosine in aortic tissue elastin

We developed a rapid and simple method for estimating tissue elastin content by measuring desmosine (D) in tissue hydrolysates by competitive ELISA. We compared the ELISA previously reported HPLC methods. When D or isodesmosine (ID) in hydrolysate of the same elastin preparation were measured by the two different methods, a good linear relationship was obtained (r = 0.854 for human aorta or r = 0.938 for rabbit aorta, respectively). The ELISA method can detect as little as 6 pmol/ml and it may be useful in monitoring elastin metabolism in patients with various connective tissue diseases.     

Accurate Measurement of Absolute Terahertz Power Using Broadband Calorimeter

This paper presents a highly sensitive terahertz (THz) calorimeter developed using a magnetically loaded epoxy as a broadband absorber. The reflection loss of the absorber, which has a pyramidally textured surface, is less than 0.04, as determined using a THz time-domain spectrometer and a vector network analyzer. The THz calorimeter successfully enabled the measurement of the absolute THz power from a photomixer at microwatt levels at room temperature. The measurement uncertainties at a 95% confidence level were 6.2% for 13 μW at 300 GHz and 5.6% for 1.5 μW at 1 THz, respectively. Details of the evaluation and uncertainty analyses are also presented.     

FEM analysis of contact mechanism in press-forming of lubricant pre-coated steel sheet

This paper describes the contact situation between the die and the lubricant pre-coated steel sheet in the press-forming by using FEM simulation. The FEM simulation is carried out by supposing that the lubricant pre-coated steel sheet consists of the lubrication layer and thick galvanized layer. Both the lubrication layer and galvanized layer are assumed as rigid–plastic material. The variations in the contact situation between the die and the lubricant pre-coated steel sheet are investigated by changing the friction coefficient between the die and lubrication layer, the thickness and hardness of lubrication layer, the velocity ratio of the relative sliding velocity to pressing velocity, etc. The simulated results show that the contact area ratio is influenced largely by the average contact pressure, the velocity ratio, the thickness of lubrication layer, and friction coefficient.