Inhibition of demecolcin-induced DNA synthesis by inhibitors of phospholipase C and protein kinase C

PURPOSE OF STUDY: Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a potent activator of lymphocytes, but its effectiveness as an anti-cancer agent is compromised by several adverse side effects including pulmonary edema. One explanation for the pulmonary toxicity of IL-2 is that activated lymphocytes directly induce the pulmonary vascular endothelium to become more leaky. METHODS: To test this hypothesis the number of total lymphocytes, gamma delta T cells, and CD2-positive cells (alpha beta T cells and natural killer cells) in peripheral blood and lung lymph of sheep were compared before and after IL-2 infusion. Hemodynamic and lymph dynamic changes were also evaluated. RESULTS: IL-2 decreased mean aortic pressure, increased cardiac output, lowered systemic vascular resistance, and doubled lung lymph flow (P < or = 0.05), but had no effect on plasma or lymph oncotic pressure. The lymph protein concentration and the lymph-to-plasma protein concentration ratio were not different after IL-2 infusion. IL-2 had no effect on the number of total lymphocytes, gamma delta T cells, or CD2-positive cells in the peripheral blood. In contrast, the number of total lymphocytes, gamma delta T cells, and CD2-positive cells in lung lymph decreased significantly (P < or = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The lymphocyte populations decreased more than could be explained by the increase in lymph flow, demonstrating that lung lymphocytes were not reduced simply by dilution. These results imply that the pulmonary edema associated with IL-2 is not caused by activated lymphocytes.     

Synthesis of Ba2NaNb5O15 Powders and Thin Films Using Metal Alkoxides

Transparent and highly oriented Ba₂NaNb₅O₁₅ (BNN) thin films have been prepared by using metal alkoxides. A homogeneous precursor solution was prepared by the controlled reaction of NaOC₂H₅, Nb(OC₂H₅)₅, and barium metal. The BNN precursor included a molecular-level mixture of NaNb(OC₂H₅)₆ and Ba[Nb(OC₂H₅)₆]₂ in ethanol. The alkoxy-derived powder crystallized to a low-temperature phase, and then transformed to orthorhombic BNN (tungsten bronze) at 600°C. BNN precursor films on substrates crystallized to orthorhombic BNN at 800°C via the low-temperature phase. Highly (002) oriented BNN films of tungsten bronze structure were successfully prepared on MgO (100) substrates at 700°C by using BNN underlayer.     

Identification of chemical oviposition stimulants from rice grain forSitophilus zeamais motschulsky (Coleoptera,Curculionidae)

Chemical components stimulating oviposition bySitophilus zeamais in rice grain were isolated from rice bran and were found to be a mixture of ferulates, diglycerides, and free sterols. Oviposition preference of the species can be induced by synergistic action of these compounds.     

Study of drive system for linear induction motor using magnetic energy recovery switch

This paper proposes a power supply suitable for driving linear induction motors. The power supply consists of a voltage source inverter (VSI) and a magnetic energy recovery switch (MERS). Circuit configuration and operation principles of the power supply are described. Power factor correction by MERS can increase the output power. Technical advantages of using MERS compared with increasing the rated voltage of VSI are discussed. Some experiments with a linear induction motor were conducted. The results confirm that MERS can reduce the capacity of the VSI or increase the output with the same VSI capacity. The number of devices and magnitude of losses are evaluated on a large‐scale drive system. A half‐bridge type of MERS is provided and discussed. The half‐bridge MERS mitigates disadvantages of using MERS. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 169(4): 65–74, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience. wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20832     

Host-dependent activation of IS1203v excision in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli

IS1203v is an insertion sequence (IS) which is identical to the most abundant IS elements in the genome of Escherichia coli O157:H7. However, there is no sequence homologous to IS1203v in the genome of E. coli K-12. We constructed a system to analyze the excision frequency of IS1203v, and demonstrated that the frequency in E. coli O157:H7 was approximately 10(5) times higher than that in E. coli K-12. We also investigated the excision frequencies of IS1203v in various E. coli isolates, and showed that the excision frequencies of IS1203v-possessing strains were approximately 10(3) times higher than those of IS1203v-nonpossessing strains. The results suggest that the IS1203v-possessing strains use a common system to enhance IS1203v excision.     

Miscibility and PSA Performance of Acrylic Copolymer and Tackifier Resin Systems

The influence of miscibility of an acrylic PSA and several tackifier resin systems upon PSA performance was investigated. When the acrylic copolymer and the resins were blended in various proportions, three types of mixing state were found: miscible system, partially miscible system and immiscible system. In the case of miscible systems, PSA performance (tack, peel strength and shear resistance) depended upon the viscoelastic properties of the PSA. In the case of completely immiscible systems, the above PSA performance depended primarily upon the viscoelastic properties of a continuous matrix phase, and the separated resin phase acted as a kind of filler. In the case of partially miscible systems, the PSA performance changed discontinuously at the resin concentration where phase separation occurred. It suggests that the phase structure of a PSA greatly influences the PSA's performance.     

Asymmetric anionic polymerization of n-diphenyl-methylitaconimide with chiral ligand-organometal complex

Summary Asymmetric anionic polymerizations of achiral N-diphenylmethylitaconimide (DPII) were performed with chiral ligand — organometal complexes in toluene. The obtained poly(DPII)s exhibited molecular weights of 1.5 × 10³ to 6.3 × 10³ and specific rotation between +7.5 to −18.4° (THF). The chirality of polymer was significantly affected by the organometals and chiral ligands. The poly(DPII) obtained with (4S)-2,2′-(1-ethylpropylidene)bis(4-benzyl-4,5-dihydrooxazole) (Bnbox) / n-butyllithium (n-BuLi) exhibited the highest specific rotation (−18.4°). The optical activities of the poly(DPII)s were attributed to configurational chirality of the main chain more than conformational chirality, judged from NMR, circular dichroism (CD) and GPC analyses using UV and polarimetric detectors. Received: 10 January 2002/ Revised: 12 April 2002/ Accepted: 22 April 2002     

Large area ZnO films optimized for graded band-gap Cu(InGa)Se2-based thin-film mini-modules

In this study, two deposition methods (i.e. MOCVD and sputtering methods) to prepare n-type ZnO window layers for CIGS-based thin-film solar cells are discussed. In order to make ZnO : Al transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering comparable to ZnO : B TCO prepared by MOCVD, a new ZnO sputtering process is proposed by introducing a multilayer structure. Using these films, CIGS thin-film solar cells with efficiencies of greater than 14% have been fabricated with an active area of 3.2 cm². This structure was adapted to fabricate CIGS thin-film mini-modules with efficiencies around 11% having aperture area of 50 cm².     

Study of polarization phenomena in Schottky CdTe diodes using infrared light illumination

Schottky CdTe diode detectors suffer from a polarization phenomenon, which is characterized by degradation of the spectral properties over time following exposure to high bias voltage. This is considered attributable to charge accumulation at deep acceptor levels. A Schottky CdTe diode was illuminated with an infrared light for a certain period during a bias operation, and two opposite behaviors emerged. The detector showed a recovery when illuminated after the bias-induced polarization had completely progressed. Conversely, when the detector was illuminated before the emergence of bias-induced polarization, the degradation of the spectral properties was accelerated. Interpretation of these effects and discussion on the energy level of deep acceptors are presented.     

Family B DNA polymerase from a hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrobaculum calidifontis: cloning, characterization and PCR application

The 2352 bp gene coding for 783 amino acid family B DNA polymerase from Pyrobaculum calidifontis was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Expression of the gene resulted in the production of Pca-Pol in soluble fraction. After heat denaturation of the host proteins, the Pca-Pol was further purified by ion exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatographies. Activity gel analysis showed the presence of a catalytically active polypeptide of about 90 kDa. The mass of the protein, determined by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry was found to be 89,156 Da. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was found to be 6.13. The optimal pH and magnesium ion concentration for the enzyme activity were 8.5 and 4mM, respectively. Unlike other commercially available DNA polymerases the enzyme activity of Pca-Pol was inhibited by monovalent cations such as ammonium and potassium. The half-life of the polymerase at 95 °C and 100 °C was 4.5h and 0.5h, respectively. The enzyme possessed 3'→5' exonuclease activity and was able to amplify, under suitable conditions, up to 7.5 kb DNA fragments by polymerase chain reaction which makes it a potential candidate for amplification of long DNA fragments.