Mumefural and related HMF derivatives from Japanese apricot fruit juice concentrate show multiple inhibitory effects on pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus

Fruit-juice concentrate of Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) has been shown to be effective against influenza A infection in MDCK cells. In this study, we isolated five components from the fruit-juice concentrate of Japanese apricot, 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-formylfuran (HMF), 1-[5-(2-formylfuryl)methyl]dihydrogen 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylate (mumefural, MF), 2-[5-(2-formylfuryl)methyl]dihydrogen 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylate (MF‘), 1-[5-(2-formylfuryl)methyl]hydrogen 1-hydroxyethane-1,2-dicarboxylate (MA1) and 2-[5-(2-formylfuryl)methyl]hydrogen 1-hydroxyethane-1,2-dicarboxylate (MA2), and investigated their inhibitory activities against the novel influenza A/Narita/1/2009 (H1N1) pandemic virus hemagglutinin and neuraminidase functions, which are essential for viral attachment and budding, respectively. An hemagglutination inhibition assay indicated that MF and MF‘ were effective at minimum hemagglutination concentrations of 3.1 and 6.3 mM, respectively. An inhibition study for sialidase activity of the neuraminidase spike showed that MF was the most active anti-sialidase compound with an IC₅₀ value of 0.21 ± 0.01 mM, followed by MA2 (IC₅₀, 0.71 ± 0.09 mM), MA1 (IC₅₀, 1.64 ± 0.31 mM) and MF‘(IC₅₀, 1.62 ± 0.22 mM). Furthermore, MF was shown to inhibit the growth of the pandemic virus in a dose-dependent manner (62 ± 3% inhibition at 5 mM). The results suggest that MF, a citric acid ester linked to HMF at the 1-position of the propane backbone, might be a lead compound for the development of anti-influenza A inhibitors.     

Synthesis of stable and soluble one-handed helical poly(substituted acetylene)s without chiral pendant groups via polymer reaction in membrane state

A soluble and stable one-handed helical conjugated polymer without the coexistence of any other chiral moieties was successfully synthesized by asymmetric-induced polymerization of a chiral monomer having two hydroxyl groups followed by desubstitution of the chiral groups in a solid membrane state. The reason for the success was the polymer reaction was carried out in the membrane state. This is an alternative method to obtain such a unique chiral polymer which was obtained only by the helix-sense-selective polymerization (HSSP) we reported before. In addition the efficiency of the chiral induction was higher than that of the HSSP. It is interesting that the “Membrane state” acted like as if a protecting group.     

Modulation of the sensitive temperature range of fluorescent molecular thermometers based on thermoresponsive polymers

Fluorescent molecular thermometers based on polymers showing a temperature-induced phase transition and labeled with polarity-sensitive fluorescent benzofurazans are the most sensitive known. Here we show a simple and effective method for modulating the sensitive temperature ranges of fluorescent molecular thermometers based on such temperature-responsive polymers. 4-N-(2-acryloyloxyethyl)-N-methylamino-7-N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole was adopted as a polarity-sensitive fluorescent benzofurazan, and nine copolymers of two kinds of acrylamide derivative (N-n-propylacrylamide, N-isopropylacrylamide, and/or N-isopropylmethacrylamide) with a small amount of DBD-AE were obtained. The fluorescence intensities of these copolymers in aqueous solution sharply increased with increasing temperature over a small range (6-7 degrees C). In contrast, these fluorescent molecular thermometers differed from one another in the sensitive temperature range (between 20 and 49 degrees C). Moreover, the sensitive temperature ranges were well related to the acrylamide ratios in feed. In addition, the responses from these fluorescent molecular thermometers to the change in temperature were reversible and exactly repeatable during 10 cycles of heating and cooling (relative standard deviation of the fluorescence intensity, 0.44-1.0%).     

Contribution of amino acid substitutions at two different interior positions to the conformational stability of human lysozyme

To elucidate correlative relationships between structural changeand thermodynamic stability in proteins, a series of mutanthuman lysozymes modified at two buried positions (Ile56 andIle59) were examined. Their thermodynamic parameters of denaturationand crystal structures were studied by calorimetry and X-raycrystallography. The mutants at positions 56 and 59 exhibiteddifferent responses to a series of amino acid substitutions.The changes in stability due to substitutions showed a linearcorrelation with changes in hydrophobicity of substituted residues,having different slopes at each mutation site. However, thestability of each mutant was found to be represented by a uniqueequation involving physical properties calculated from mutantstructures. By fitting present and previous stability data formutant human lysozymes substituted at various positions to theequation, the magnitudes of the hydrophobicity of a carbon atomand the hydrophobicity of nitrogen and neutral oxygen atomswere found to be 0.178 and –0.013 kJ/mol.Ų, respectively.It was also found that the contribution of a hydrogen bond witha length of 3.0 Å to protein stability was 5.1 kJ/moland the entropy loss of newly introduction of a water moleculeswas 7.8 kJ/mol.     

Malignant lymphoma of the testis: report of two cases

Two cases on non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma (NHL) of the testis are reported. A 63-year-old man with left painless scrotal swelling underwent orchiectomy. Although prophylactic irradiation was performed under the diagnosis of seminoma, subsequent immunohistochemistry revealed NHL, large diffuse cell type (B type). He had stage IEA disease. Chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin vincristine and prednisolone was performed. The second case was in a 63-year old man with right painless scrotal swelling. Orchiectomy revealed NHL, diffuse medium cell type (B type). Because of tumor in the retrosternum, he had stage IIIEA disease. Chemotherapy and irradiation to the contralateral testis was performed.     

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E), NASDA's contribution to the EOS for global energy and water cycle studies

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) was developed and provided to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's EOS Aqua satellite by the National Space Development Agency of Japan, as one of the indispensable instruments for Aqua's mission. AMSR-E is a modified version of AMSR that was launched December 2002 aboard the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II). It is a six-frequency dual-polarized total-power passive microwave radiometer that observes water-related geophysical parameters supporting global change science and monitoring efforts. The hardware improvements over existing spaceborne microwave radiometers for Earth imaging include the largest main reflector of its kind and addition of 6.925-GHz channels. These improvements provide finer spatial resolution and the capability to retrieve sea surface temperature and soil moisture information on a global basis. This paper provides an overview of the instrument characteristics, mission objectives, and data products.     

Effects of transforming growth factors on dopaminergic neurons in culture

It was recently reported that TGF-beta 1 either had no significant effect on or increased the survival of dopaminergic neurons in culture. TGF-beta 2 and TGF-beta 3 were reported to cause increased survival or to greatly inhibit survival. The transforming growth factors are a highly pleiotropic group of compounds, and the above results suggest that their actions may be critically dependent on the conditions of the assay. We have therefore tested these compounds under optimal conditions of culture, in a medium containing a low (2.5%) concentration of fetal bovine serum. TGF-beta 2 and 3 inhibited neuronal (MAP2-pos) survival only at the highest concentration (10 ng/ml) tested, while inhibition of survival of dopaminergic neurons was observed at 1.0 and 10 ng/ml. These results therefore suggest that the inhibitory action of TGF-beta 2 and 3 on the survival of dopaminergic neurons in culture, under the experimental conditions outlined, may be relatively specific.     

Survey of pesticide residues in imported frozen vegetables and fruits (1989.4~2008.3)

A survey of pesticide residues in 595 imported frozen products on the Tokyo market from April 1989 to March 2008 was carried out. Forty three kinds of pesticides, including organophosphorus, organochlorine, carbamate, pyrethroid and others, were detected between levels of trace (below 0.01 ppm) and 4.6 ppm from 162 samples. Chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and omethoate were frequently detected in green vegetables (komatsuna leaf and spinach), cypermethrin and methamidophos were detected in pods and seeds (green soybean and string pea), chlorpropham (CIPC) was detected in potato, and captan and carbaryl were detected in berries (blueberry, raspberry and strawberry). The hydrophilic pesticide methamidophos was detected in flesh of lychee. Residue levels of these pesticides were calculated as between less than 0.5% and 30% of their ADI values according to the daily intake of frozen products. Therefore, these frozen products should be safe when they were eaten in customary amounts.     

The flow characteristics of an upward gas‐liquid two‐phase flow in a vertical tube with a wire coil: Part 1. Experimental results of flow pattern,void fraction,and pressure drop

Experiments were carried out to investigate the flow pattern, average void fraction, and pressure drop of an upward air‐water two‐phase flow in vertical tubes of 25‐mm inside diameter with wire coils of varying wire diameter, pitch, and number of coils in cross section. Five kinds of flow patterns—bubble, slug, churn, semiannular, and annular flow—were defined based on the observation of flow behavior in the experiments. At higher water flowrates, the bubble‐to‐slug transition occurred at lower air flowrates in tubes with wire coils than in smooth tubes. The average void fraction was found by using the drift flux model. Further, the experimental results of the friction pressure drop were compared with the Lockhart‐Martinelli correlation. As a result, a correlation with the constant C in Chisholm's equation was obtained as a function of the wire coil pitch‐to‐diameter ratio. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(8): 639–651, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10066