Effects of OK-432 intraportal administration on cell-mediated immune responses]

The effects of OK-432 and/or MMC on host immunity were studied in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. OK-432 was administered to the portal vein, and MMC was dispersed into the peritoneal cavity for prevention of liver metastasis. In the MMC group, NK activity was significantly reduced at 7 days postoperatively, while such a reduction was not seen in the OK and OK + MMC groups. The administration of OK-432 decreased the postoperative proportion of suppressor T cells in the lymphocyte subsets more than that of MMC group. Our results strongly suggest that intraoperative administration of BRM to the patients with advanced colorectal cancer can significantly prevent postoperative immunosuppression.     

Surface-borehole electric potential survey in layered media and its applications

The method in which a source is set on the surface and electric potential is received in the borehole is called surface-borehole electric potential technique. Technique of surface-borehole electric potential was employed to study electric response of layered formation. The electric potential was obtained by solving Poisson equation with finite difference method. In the course of calculation, forward modeling with finite difference method was realized by adopting bandwidth non-zero storage technique and the incomplete Cholesky conjugate gradient method. The results show that method of surface-borehole can acquire anomalous electric potential corresponding to geo-electric layers. In addition, application of appropriate mathematical operator can improve the resolution. Moreover, overburden low resistivity layers have severe influence on measuring results of surface-borehole electric potential. However, bottom low resistivity layers play a positive role in the measurement.     

Probing the substrate specificity of the intracellular brain platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase

Platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolases (PAF-AHs) are uniquePLA2s which hydrolyze the sn-2 ester linkage in PAF-like phospholipidswith a marked preference for very short acyl chains, typicallyacetyl. The recent solution of the crystal structure of the₁ catalytic subunit of isoform Ib of bovine brain intracellularPAF-AH at 1.7 Å resolution paved the way for a detailedexamination of the molecular basis of substrate specificityin this enzyme. The crystal structure suggests that the sidechains of Thr103, Leu48 and Leu194 are involved in substraterecognition. Three single site mutants (L48A, T103S and L194A)were overexpressed and their structures were solved to 2.3 Åresolution or better by X-ray diffraction methods. Enzyme kineticsshowed that, compared with wild-type protein, all three mutantshave higher relative activity against phospholipids with sn-2acyl chains longer than an acetyl. However, for each of themutants we observed an unexpected and substantial reductionin the V_max of the reaction. These results are consistent withthe model in which residues Leu48, Thr103 and Leu194 indeedcontribute to substrate specificity and in addition suggestthat the integrity of the specificity pocket is critical forthe expression of full catalytic function, thus conferring veryhigh substrate selectivity on the enzyme.     

Preparation and surface active properties of amphipathic compounds with two sulfate groups and two lipophilic alkyl chains

These compounds with various connecting groups between the two lipophilic groups were prepared by the reaction of glycol diglycidyl ethers with long-chain alcohols, followed by sulfation with chlorosulfonic acid or with a mixture of chlorosulfonic acid and acetic acid. The Krafft point of all these new amphipathic compounds was below 0°C, and they had good water solubility. These compounds were superior in surface active properties to general anionic surfactants with one lipophilic chain and one hydrophilic group, such as sodium dodecylsulfate. The effect of the structure of the connecting group on CMC, γ_CMC, foaming properties and wetting ability was investigated. They also showed excellent lime-soap dispersing ability.     

Advances in characterization of triacylglycerols: Expansion of materials used in Joint JOCS/AOCS Official Method Ch 3a-19

Joint JOCS/AOCS Official Method Ch 3a-19 was an improvement over triacylglycerol characterization methods based on hydrolysis with pancreatic lipase. In this study we developed three further improvements and applied them to the analysis of the fatty acid distribution in triacylglycerols from trout. First, the liquid–liquid extraction of lipid by chloroform and methanol from fish meat was replaced with a single extraction step using pre-packed columns. This allowed the extraction time to be reduced from 30 min/sample to 5 min/sample with ca. 10% higher yield using half the volume of the extraction solvent, chloroform. Both extraction methods gave similar FA composition of the extracted oil. Furthermore, an alternative CALB lipase and an alternative normal-phase solid phase extraction column were shown to reliably duplicate the results obtained with the Official Method Ch 3a-19. In addition, the SPE columns could be used at least 5 times without loss of separation and without carryover.     

Experimental observation of creep damage evolution in seam-welded elbows of mod. 9Cr-1Mo steel

Seam-welded elbows and straight pipe of the same size as actual high temperature reheat piping for boiler applications were manufactured, and internal pressure creep testing was conducted. Uniaxial creep testing was also performed in order to compare creep damage behaviours. Comparing the observed creep damage evolution and stress analysis results, a creep damage estimation method was discussed. Creep damage distribution varied depending on ovality in the cross sections of the seam-welded elbows. It is important that FEM models for creep analysis incorporate measurement results for the cross-sectional shape of seam-welded elbows. Using the nominal stress of the specimens and the average creep rupture data from small size uniaxial welded joint tests, a simplified prediction method was discussed, which is applicable to creep rupture time prediction for both large creep specimens and seam-welded elbows.     

Burst transmission algorithm to improve packet level performance in contention-free slotted OBS networks

In contention-free slotted optical burst switching (SOBS) networks, controllers are utilized in order to manage the time-slot assignment, avoiding congestions among multiple burst transmissions. In this network, bursts are never lost at intermediate nodes but packets are lost at an ingress edge node due to a burst transmission algorithm. In addition, packet transmission delay increases depending on the algorithm. In order to improve packet level performance, in this paper, we propose a new burst transmission algorithm. In this method, two different thresholds are used; one is used to send a control packet to a controller and the other is used to assemble a burst. With these thresholds, a time slot can be assigned to a burst in advance and packet level performance can be improved. In order to evaluate its packet level performance and investigate the impact of thresholds, we also propose a queueing model of a finite buffer where a batch of packets are served in a slot of a constant length. Numerical results show that our proposed method can decrease packet loss probability and transmission delay with two thresholds. In addition, we show that our analysis results are effective to investigate the performance of the proposed method when the number of wavelengths is large.     

Diminished kidney function and nephrocalcinosis in rats fed a magnesium-deficient diet

Microcapsules have been used as drug delivery systems in the pharmaceutical field for sustained or controlled release of drug, and for artificial cells and organs. Biodegradable polymers, especially polylactic acid, have been widely used in this field. In this study, an attempt was made to develop a new method to prepare polylactic acid microcapsules for drug delivery. The biodegradable polylactic acid microcapsules were made by the phase separation process: two types of polylactic acid, poly[(D,L)lactic acid] and poly[(L)lactic acid] were combined as the membrane material. Because of the difference of the crystal properties of the two polymers, the aggregation which happens frequently in the phase separation process was prevented. As a model drug, Ciprofloxacin was encapsulated in the polylactic acid microcapsules.     

Preferential infiltration by activated eosinophils in allergic sinusitis

A system for the functional evaluation of reconstructive procedures after surgical treatment of tumors of the musculoskeletal apparatus is presented. A total of 8 parameters from 0 to 5 were graded with points assigned. Each parameter has a number of functional criteria to better assess the result. The highest score allowed is 100. The system was developed to permit a simpler approach for the examiner, with less time needed to provide data, and yielding data that is more objective.