Restriction fragment length polymorphism of genes of the alpha 2(XI) collagen, bone morphogenetic protein-2, alkaline phosphatase, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha among patients with ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament and controls from the Japanese population

STUDY DESIGN: The present study analyzed the restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns of alpha 2(XI) collagen, bone morphogenetic protein-2, alkaline phosphatase, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha genes in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. This study investigates the genetic polymorphism of bone-induced factors in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and compares it with healthy control subjects. OBJECTIVES: To clarify the genetic markers linked to ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament is a genetic disease associated with abnormal calcium metabolism involving the posterior longitudinal ligament. Previous genetic studies have not identified the pathologic mechanism of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. Histopathologic studies of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and the animal model, the spinal hyperostotic mouse, have revealed an increase in Type XI collagen and bone morphogenetic protein-2 expression. METHODS: Eighteen Japanese patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and 51 healthy, unrelated control subjects were investigated for the restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns of COL11A2, bone morphogenetic protein-2, alkaline phosphatase, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, genes with various restriction endonucleases. RESULTS: The gene frequencies of COL11A2 obtained with BamHl (10.0 kb fragment) and HindIII (19.0 kb fragment) observed in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament were higher compared with control subjects (0.43 and 0.14, respectively). These differences were statistically significant (BamHl P = 0.018; Hindlll P = 0.046). Two new restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns were detected of the bone morphogenetic protein-2 gene with Mspl and Taql and one already known restriction fragment length polymorphism pattern of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene with Ncol. However, they were not significantly different from the control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Seven restriction fragment length polymorphisms of COL11A2 gene were identified. Two of them (BamHl, 10.0/10.0 kb genotype; HindIII, 19.0/19.0 kb genotype) were significantly different in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.     

Preparation of rod-shaped BaTiO3 powder

Rod-shaped BaTiO₃ powder particles have been prepared from rod-shaped TiO₂ ·nH₂O and BaCO₃ in molten chloride. The morphology of BaTiO₃ particles was studied referring to the effects of the chemical species of the starting titanium compound, amount of chloride, particle size of the titanium compound and reaction conditions, and the preparation condition of rod-shaped BaTiO₃ has been determined: i.e., large TiO₂ ·nH₂O particles were heated at 700°C in molten salt with an equal amount of BaTiO₃. This condition was effective in suppressing the formation of BaTiO₃ by a solution-precipitation process as well as the deformation of either TiO₂ ·nH₂O or BaTiO₃, which are responsible for the formation of equiaxed BaTiO₃ particles. The obtained rod-shaped BaTiO₃ particles had a cubic symmetry. Electron diffraction analysis showed that the following topotactic relation is retained; 0 1 0_{potassium tetratitanate} 0 1 0_{hydrated titania} 1 0 0_anatase 1 0 0_{barium titanate}     

Growth of Al2O3 whiskers by vapour-phase reactions

Needle-like or wool-like Al₂O₃ whiskers can be grown on a substrate by the hydrolysis of aluminium fluoride vapour. Effects of the growth conditions on the morphology of the crystals and growth processes of the whisker were investigated, and the optimum growth condition of whiskers was examined. Adequate vapour pressure conditions of the reactant gases for the growth of the wool-like whisker were found to be . Aluminium oxyfluoride was assumed to be the most probable intermediate species for the growth of Al₂O₃ whiskers. A variety of crystal morphologies are also shown and described with respect to the experimental conditions.     

Gas chromatographic separation of wax esters based on the degree of unsaturation

The wax esters of sperm whale head oil have been characterized by gas-liquid chromatography on an APOLAR 10C column according to their carbon number and number of double bonds. The novel technique permits the direct quantitative analysis of saturated and unsaturated wax esters.     

Preparation and structure of poly(vinyl alcohol)–poly(vinyl acetate) composite porous membrane

The preparation of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)–poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) composite porous membrane was investigated by extracting PVAc with solvent from films of PVAc lattices which were obtained by the emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate (VAc) in the presence of PVA. The formation of the porous membrane depended upon whether or not PVAc in the latex film was easily extracted with solvent. In the case of using hydrogen peroxide (HPO)–tartaric acid (TA) as an initiator, in the film of the latex which was produced from the batch method in which all ingredients of the batch were put into the reaction vessel before starting polymerization, PVAc could be extracted over 90% of total PVAc with common organic solvents. In the film of the latex which was produced from the dropwise addition method of VAc and initiator, the PVAc extraction was about 20-30%. On the other hand, in the case of using ammonium persulfate as an initiator, the desired porous membrane was not obtained. The structure of the porous membrane obtained from the latex of the batch method by using HPO—TA consisted of spherical cells which were made up of PVA and grafted PVAc or insoluble PVAc like microgels, which were not extracted with organic solvent and were connected by small pores. The PVA—PVAc composite porous membrane is permeated by n-hexane with 5.58 × 10² mL/cm²·s at 0.5 kg/cm², by benzene with only 1.33 × 10^?3mL/cm²·s even at 60 kg/cm².     

Antitumor activity of synthetic alkylphospholipids with or without PAF activity

1-O-Octadecyl-2-O-methyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (ET-18-OMe) has been reported to possess definite antitumor activity in vivo. Twenty-two alkyl lysophospholipid analogs were chemically synthesized, and their antitumor activity against mouse experimental tumors (Sarcoma 180, MM46, P388) was examined. Among them, 1-O-octadecyl-2-O-acetoacetyl-rac-glycerol-3-phosphocholine was found to show antitumor activity similar to ET-18-OMe with less acute toxicity. Intravenous injection of the ET-18-OMe withsn-3 configuration retarded the subcutaneous growth of Sarcoma 180 cells effectively, while the growth inhibition by thesn-1 isomer was much less effective. This stereospecificity was similar to that observed in their activities as platelet-activating factor (PAF) agonists. The acetoacetyl compound, another PAF agonist, showed similar stereospecific antitumor action in vivo. These findings suggest that some alkyl lysophospholipids may activate host cells to a cytostatic stage against tumor cells in vivo through binding to a PAF receptor. Our preliminary results indicated that the responsible cells under these conditions might be primarily immature macrophages present in the bone marrow. No appreciable or even adverse stereospecificity was observed in the different sets of experiments where the activity of ET-18-OMe against MM46 tumor cells in vivo or the direct cytotoxicity against human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells in vitro was examined. Under, some conditions, the antitumor activity of ET-18-OMe in vivo may be revealed through direct cytotoxicity and/or modulation of the host defense system by “nonspecific” mechanisms. Some alkylphospholipids without PAF activity may also show antitumor activity through similar, “nonspecific” mechanisms.     

Guinea pig bone marrow cells treated with platelet-activating factor generate factor(s) which affects their DNA synthesis and microbicidal activity

We have previously reported that platelet-activating factor (PAF) induces proliferation and microbicidal activity of guinea pig bone marrow cells. In the present study, we have found that the conditioned medium of PAF- or nonmetabolizable PAF agonist-treated guinea pig bone marrow cells augmented DNA synthesis and induced microbicial activity of bone marrow cells. A PAF specific antagonist, CV-6209, inhibited generation of the active conditioned medium by PAF. Addition of the PAF antagonist only partially suppressed the augmentative effect of the active conditioned medium on DNA synthesis; this is consistent with the fact that, because of the rapid breakdown, no appreciable amount of PAF remained in the conditioned medium of PAF-treated cells. Although mouse bone marrow cells did not respond to PAF unlike guinea pig cells, their DNA synthesis was significantly enhanced by the conditioned medium of PAF-treated guinea pig bone marrow cells. Thus, some newly generated factor(s) distinct from the originally inoculated PAF seemed to modulate the bioactions of PAF on bone marrow cells. An appreciable amount of PAF was produced by calcium ionophore-treated guinea pig bone marrow cells. These findings indicate that PAF synthesized in guinea pig bone marrow cells induces generation in the cells of some factor(s) which affects proliferation or microbicidal activity. Presented at The Third International Conference on Platelet-Activating Factor and Structurally Related Ether Lipids, Tokyo, Japan, May 1989.     

Radical-induced ionic polymerization in the presence of maleic anhydride. I. Mechanism of polymerization of maleic anhydride by radical initiators

Three kinds of trapped radicals are observed in poly(maleic anhydride) (Poly-MAH) which were prepared by the use of radical initiators such as AIBN or BPO. It was found that these radicals were transformed to the active species so as to initiate the cationic polymerization. The structure of these radicals was studied by the ESR and the kinetic analysis of MAH polymerization in the presence of various additives.     

Evaluating card-based protocols in terms of execution time

International Journal of Information Security - Card-based cryptography is an attractive and unconventional computation model; it provides secure computing methods using a deck of physical cards....     

Whole-body vibration exposure in sport: four relevant cases

This study investigates the whole-body vibration exposure in kite surfing, alpine skiing, snowboarding and cycling. The vibration exposure was experimentally evaluated following the ISO 2631 guidelines. Results evidenced that the most critical axis is the vertical one. The weighted vibration levels are always larger than 2.5 m/s² and the vibration dose values are larger than 25 m/s^1.75. The exposure limit values of the EU directive are reached after 8–37 min depending on the sport. The vibration magnitude is influenced by the athletes’ speed, by their skill level and sometimes by the equipment. The large vibration values suggest that the practice of sport activities may be a confounding factor in the aetiology of vibration-related diseases.