Extraction of a Vanadium-Binding Substance (Vanadobin) from the Blood Cells of Several Ascidian Species

A combination of techniques, including chromatography on Sephadex G-15 and SE-cellulose columns and neutron activation analysis for vanadium determination, was used to extract (at low pH) a vanadium-binding substance (vanadobin) from the blood cells of the ascidian species: Ascidia ahodori OKA, A. gemmata SLUITER, A. zara OKA, Corella japonica HERDMAN, and Ciona intestinalis (LINNE). In general, ascidians can be classified into two different categories based on vanadium content: species of the family Ascidiidae contain high levels of vanadium, whereas those in the Cionidae and Corellidae do not always have such high amounts. Because Ciona intestinalis and Corella japonica do have vanadobin in their blood cells, vanadobin may well be a universal complex in ascidians, having the role of accumulating vanadium in blood cells and maintaining its concentration. The blood cells of A. gemmata contained the highest amount of vanadium. Vanadobin extracted from these cells exhibits absorption spectra, not only in the ultraviolet region, but also in the visible region; such spectra correspond to those observed in vanadium complexes in oxidation states of +3 and +4.

Congenital bronchobiliary fistula in adults

Congenital bronchobiliary fistula is a rare malformation. We have presented a case that was diagnosed and treated successfully in an adult. The diagnosis was made by bronchoscopy and bronchography. After excision of the fistula the patient recovered completely. For each patient in whom this anomaly is suspected, bronchoscopy and bronchography are useful for diagnosis.

[Study on porcelain veneer restorations. 2. Influence of hydrofluoric acid on bonding strength at the porcelain-resin interface]

Recently, porcelain veneer restoratives have been introduced to the general practice, and their clinical performances have been confirmed through many longterm clinical investigations. It is expected that porcelain veneer restorations will perform successfully in esthetic, conservative and abhesive dentistry. It is an well known fact that the micro-mechanical bonding strength at the porcelain-resin interface which is achieved through the application of hydrofluoric acid to the porcelain surface is quite a strong bonding mechanism. However, there are very few studies reporting on the acid treatment of porcelain surfaces. The authors have been studying the influence of hydrofluoric acid on porcelain surfaces, and in our previous report we reported, the degrees of corroded porcelain treated with different concentrations of hydrofluoric acid for different durations of application. In the present study, shear bonding strength was measured between resin cements and porcelain surfaces treated with different concentrations (4, 6, 8%) of hydrofluoric acid and for different durations (1 to 24 min.), and the appropriate treatment of porcelain surfaces with regard to the bonding strength was determined. The results obtained were as follows. 1. As the treating time increased with any concentration (4, 6, 8%) of hydrofluoric acid, corrosion of the porcelain surface became more intense. Hardly any evidence of corrosion was observed on any porcelain surface treated for one minute, so it seems that the treatment of porcelain surfaces using 4 to 8% hydrofluoric acids should be continued for over three minutes. 2. Observation of the surface profile by SEM showed no significant differences between the surfaces treated for 3, 6, 12 and 24 minutes. 3. It was not clear as to how the differences of hydrofluoric acid concentrations (4, 6, 8%) plus the differences in the kinds of porcelain (Super Porcelain AAA, NORITAKE Co. Ltd., VMK 68, Vita Zahnfabrik Gmbh & Co., Cosmotech Porcelain, G-C Co. Ltd.) had affected the differences in the amount of corrosion. 4. Regarding to the shear bonding strength at the porcelain-resin cement interface, in comparison with control specimens which were only sandblasted, about all two to three times higher bonding strength were obtained in specimens treated with any concentration (4, 6, 8%) of hydrofluoric acids and for any duration between 3 to 24 minutes. Specimens treated for one minute were an exception.

[Study on the porcelain veneer restoration. 3. Effect of various treatments of porcelain surface on the bonding strength at porcelain-resin interface]

In a previous report, observations were made on the apporopriate concentrations of hydrofluoric acid and durations of application in treating porcelain surfaces to improve the bonding strength at the porcelain-resin interface. Particular concentrations and durations were found, such as 4%, 6 min. for Supper Porcelain AAA, 8%, 6 min. for VMK 68, and 6%, 3 min. for Cosmotech Porcelain, and it was clearly shown that hydrofluoric acid treatment was the most effective treatment for porcelain-resin micro-mechanical bonding. However, because of its strong corrosive action, the use of hydrofluoric acid is very dangerous, and it must be handled with extreme care even in the laboratory. Accordingly, there is a need to find a safer and more effective way of treating porcelain surfaces, particularly in the field of interoral repairs to fractured porcelain restoratives by means of porcelain-resin micro-mechanical bonding. In the present study, 2% acidulated phosphate fluoride (APF), which corrodes the surface of porcelain restoratives, PorceLock (PL), which is a 2.5% buffered hydrofluoric acid made by DenMat Co. and a 6% hydrofluoric acid (HF) preparations were applied to the surface of porcelain specimens and the resulting effects on treated porcelain surfaces were examined by means of SEM observations and shear bonding strength tests. The following results were obtained: 1. In comparison with control specimens which were not treated with any acids or fluoride, a much higher bonding strength at the porcelain-resin interface was obtained in the specimens treated with 2% APF, PL and 6% HF. 2. Regarding to SEM observations, both of the specimens treated 6% HF or PL showed extremely micro-porous surfaces.2+ surfaces of the

In vivo viscoelastic behavior in the human aorta

To characterize the viscoelastic properties of the human aorta in vivo, the pressure-diameter relation was determined in the abdominal aorta in 15 subjects. Diameter was measured noninvasively with a highly sensitive ultrasonic displacement meter, while intra-aortic pressure was measured with a catheter tip micromanometer inserted from the femoral artery. The frequency-dependent changes in the pressure-strain modulus (Ep) of the aorta and the phase lag of diameter to pressure were calculated by frequency analysis of these wave forms at the mean blood pressure of 109 mm Hg. The Ep and the phase lag at the fundamental frequency component (1.2 +/- 0.3 Hz, mean +/- SD) were (1.52 +/- 0.57) x 10(6) dyne/cm2 and -6.7 degrees +/- 2.1 degrees, respectively. Although the phase lag at the fundamental frequency was in good agreement with the published in vitro data, the calculated phase lags above the second harmonic were inconsistent, which was probably due to the nonlinearity in the pressure-diameter relation. To separate the effect of this nonlinearity, analysis was conducted with a model consisting of a static nonlinear component representing the elasticity and a dynamic linear component representing the viscosity. This method of analysis revealed that the phase lag due to the viscous component provided relatively flat frequency response to the 10th harmonic. It was confirmed that the aortic wall viscosity showed no apparent difference between the in vivo and the in vitro experimental conditions.

Efficiency factors and ATP/ADP ratios in nitrogen-fixing Bacillus polymyxa and Bacillus azotofixans

The efficiency factor, the number of moles of ATP generated per mole of glucose fermented, was determined in anaerobic, non-carbon-limited N2-fixing cultures of Bacillus polymyxa, Bacillus macerans, Bacillus azotofixans, and Clostridium butyricum through identification and quantitation of the fermentation products by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and measurement of acetate kinase activities. All three Bacillus species had acetate kinase activities and produced acetate and ethanol as the major fermentation products. The maximum amounts of ATP generated per mole of glucose fermented were 2.70, 2.64, and 2.88 mol in B. polymyxa, B. macerans, and B. azotofixans, respectively, compared with 3.25 mol in C. butyricum. Thus, in the N2-fixing Bacillus species, the efficiency factors are lower than that in C. butyricum. Steady-state ATP/ADP concentration ratios were measured in non-carbon-limited N2-fixing cultures of B. polymyxa and B. azotofixans through separation and quantitation of the adenylates in cell extracts by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The observed ATP/ADP ratios were 4.5 and 3.8, and estimated energy charges were 0.81 to 0.86 and 0.81 to 0.83, respectively, for B. polymyxa and B. azotofixans. The results suggest that under these growth conditions, the rate of ATP regeneration is adequate to meet the energy requirement for N2 fixation in the Bacillus species, in contrast to N2-fixing Clostridium pasteurianum and Klebsiella pneumoniae, for which substantially lower steady-state ATP/ADP ratios and energy charges have been reported. Implications of the results are discussed in relation to possible differences between Bacillus and Clostridium species in energy requirements for N2 fixation and concomitant ammonia assimilation.

[2-color analysis of lymphocyte subpopulation of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and peripheral blood in patients with sarcoidosis]

By means of 2-color analysis, we investigated the lymphocyte subpopulation of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and peripheral blood (PB) of 13 patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. The BALF-CD4+ T cells of normal subjects and patients with sarcoidosis consisted almost completely of CD4+4B4+ cells (helper inducer T cells) and BALF-CD8+ T cells were almost completely composed of CD8+CD11- cells (cytotoxic T cells). The BALF findings of sarcoidosis were characterized by increased percentages of CD4+4B4+ cells (54.9 +/- 15.7%), decreased percentage of CD8+CD11- cells (12.0 +/- 8.4%) and increased percentage of CD4+HLA-DR+ cells (27.8 +/- 13.1%). These findings suggest that activated CD4+4B4+ cells (helper inducer T cells) may primarily contribute to the pathogenesis of pulmonary sarcoidosis. The in vivo or in vitro functions of CD4+4B4+ cells in sarcoidosis need further investigation.

Potential thrombolysis under selective infusion of autologous plasmin (AP) solution

Thrombolytic therapy with plasminogen activators, urokinase (UK) and streptokinase (SK), can produce serious complications such as systemic bleeding. We have developed an autologous plasmin (AP) solution as a new potential thrombolytic agent and evaluated its efficacy in animal experiments. The AP solution was prepared by the addition of UK to autologous plasma separated by centrifugation (4 degrees C, 3,000 rpm, 10 min). The plasmin activity in the AP solution was measured by the plasminogen-free fibrin plate method and spectrophotometric assay with the chromogenic substrate S-2251. In animal experiments, the femoral artery of anesthetized mongrel dogs (n = 20) was constricted by ligation (1 mm in diameter) and a fibrin clot was embolized into this site. Either AP solution (n = 8), UK solution (n = 6) or saline (n = 6) was selectively infused for 3 min. Prior to the infusion, a temporary flow obstruction was made by inflation of a balloon tip catheter located proximal to the embolized site. The thrombolytic effect was sequentially observed with an ultrasound flow meter for up to 60 min. The total dose of UK was 120,000 IU in both AP and UK solutions. The results showed that the plasmin activity of AP solution was maintained up to 90 min at 22 degrees C with an additional dose of more than 6,000 IU/ml of UK. In animal experiments, a restoration of the flow was observed more frequently with the AP solution than the UK solution within 15 min of the infusion (p less than 0.01). Thus, a high thrombolytic efficacy was observed with a selective infusion of rich, activated plasmin (AP) solution. This treatment could be applied as a new approach for arterial thrombolysis.

Ammonia assimilation pathways in nitrogen-fixing Clostridium kluyverii and Clostridium butyricum

Pathways of ammonia assimilation into glutamic acid were investigated in ammonia-grown and N2-fixing Clostridium kluyverii and Clostridium butyricum by measuring the specific activities of glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamine synthetase, and glutamate synthase. C. kluyverii had NADPH-glutamate dehydrogenase with a Km of 12.0 mM for NH4+. The glutamate dehydrogenase pathway played an important role in ammonia assimilation in ammonia-grown cells but was found to play a minor role relative to that of the glutamine synthetase/NADPH-glutamate synthase pathway in nitrogen-fixing cells when the intracellular NH4+ concentration and the low affinity of the enzyme for NH4+ were taken into account. In C. butyricum grown on glucose-salt medium with ammonia or N2 as the nitrogen source, glutamate dehydrogenase activity was undetectable, and the glutamine synthetase/NADH-glutamate synthase pathway was the predominant pathway of ammonia assimilation. Under these growth conditions, C. butyricum also lacked the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the regeneration of NADPH from NADP+. However, high activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase as well as of NADPH-glutamate dehydrogenase with a Km of 2.8 mM for NH4+ were present in C. butyricum after growth on complex nitrogen and carbon sources. The ammonia-assimilating pathway of N2-fixing C. butyricum, which differs from that of the previously studied Bacillus polymyxa and Bacillus macerans, is discussed in relation to possible effects of the availability of ATP and of NADPH on ammonia-assimilating pathways.

Fluconazole therapy for pulmonary mucormycosis complicating acute leukemia

A 29-year-old woman with acute myelogenous leukemia in relapse at the end of a nine-month period of remission was admitted to hospital where intensive antileukemic therapy was started. Antibiotics were given when she developed a fever and, when oral thrush appeared, intravenous amphotericin B was initiated. After 16 days, the amphotericin B (at a total dose of 295 mg) was discontinued because of side effects and 12 days later, when a lung biopsy had revealed mucormycotic hyphae in infarcted tissue in the left upper lobe, fluconazole (300 mg daily by intravenous infusion over a period of two hours) was substituted. This was continued for one month with clinical and radiologic improvement in the lung condition and no attributable adverse effect. At this juncture the patient died of intractable heart failure. We suggest that fluconazole may be an acceptable alternative to amphotericin B in the treatment of pulmonary mucormycosis.

Secondary release of thromboxane A2 in aerosol leukotriene C4-induced bronchoconstriction in guinea pigs

Effect of a thromboxane synthetase inhibitor (OKY-046) on bronchoconstriction induced by aerosol leukotriene C4 and histamine was studied in anesthetized, artificially ventilated guinea pigs in order to examine whether secondary release of thromboxane A2 is produced by aerosol leukotriene C4 or not. 0.01-1.0 micrograms/ml of leukotriene C4 and 12.5-400 micrograms/ml of histamine inhaled from ultrasonic nebulizer developed for small animals caused dose-dependent increase of pressure at airway opening (Pao) which is considered to be an index representing bronchial response. Pretreatment of the animals with intravenous OKY-046 (100mg/kg) significantly reduced the airway responses produced by inhalation of 0.1, 0.33 and 1.0 micrograms/ml of leukotriene C4, while the pretreatment did not affect the histamine dose-response curve. Based on these findings and previous reports (6,7), it is suggested that aerosol leukotriene C4 activates arachidonate cyclooxygenase pathway including thromboxane A2 synthesis and the released cyclooxygenase products have bronchodilating effect as a whole.

[Clinical trial of high-dose etoposide]

In eleven patients with recurrent or refractory malignant lymphomas or lung cancers, a phase I study of high-dose etoposide without autologous bone marrow transplantation was performed. As a starting dose of etoposide 200 mg/m2 was administered for five consecutive days and the daily dose was increased step by step to a dose of 50 mg/m2. The dose of etoposide was escalated in order to define dose-limiting extramedullary toxicity, which was oropharyngeal mucositis and arrhythmias (PVC) at a dose level of 350 mg/m2/day. Bone marrow toxicity was completely reversible, supported by thrombocyte transfusion and antibiotics. Of nine evaluable patients with malignant lymphomas, two complete remissions and one partial remission were obtained. However, some patients unresponsive to standard-dose etoposide did not exhibit any response to the augmented dose of etoposide. Etoposide is thus a suitable drug for high-dose chemotherapy.

Re-evaluation of normal human urinary proteins fractionated by one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

Proteins in normal human urine were clearly fractionated into 26 bands with molecular weights from 14,000 to 230,000 by means of one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) coupled with silver staining. The main band contained uromucoid, and the second main band had albumin. However, when urine samples from healthy persons were electrophoresed in the absence of SDS using polyacrylamide gel or agarose gel, or a cellulose acetate membrane, albumin but not uromucoid, frequently formed the main protein band. It is suggested that this is due to the complexing of uromucoid subunits to form a large molecule which cannot penetrate into the gel. In order to correctly fractionate all the proteins contained in normal human urine, it was concluded that it was best to treat a urine sample with SDS with pre-condensation, fractionate it by SDS-PAGE and stain fractionated proteins by a highly sensitive method such as silver staining.

Glutamate biosynthesis in Bacillus azotofixans. 15N NMR and enzymatic studies

Pathways of ammonia assimilation into glutamic acid in Bacillus azotofixans, a recently characterized nitrogen-fixing species of Bacillus, were investigated through observation by NMR spectroscopy of in vivo incorporation of 15N into glutamine and glutamic acid in the absence and presence of inhibitors of ammonia-assimilating enzymes, in combination with measurements of the specific activities of glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamine synthetase, glutamate synthase, and alanine dehydrogenase. In ammonia-grown cells, both the glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase and the glutamate dehydrogenase pathways contribute to the assimilation of ammonia into glutamic acid. In nitrate-grown and nitrogen-fixing cells, the glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase pathway was found to be predominant. NADPH-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase activity was detectable at low levels only in ammonia-grown and glutamate-grown cells. Thus, B. azotofixans differs from Bacillus polymyxa and Bacillus macerans, but resembles other N2-fixing prokaryotes studied previously, as to the pathway of ammonia assimilation during ammonia limitation. Implications of the results for an emerging pattern of ammonia assimilation by alternative pathways among nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes are discussed, as well as the utility of 15N NMR for measuring in vivo glutamate synthase activity in the cell.

Role of glutamate dehydrogenase in ammonia assimilation in nitrogen-fixing Bacillus macerans

Pathways of ammonia assimilation into glutamic acid in Bacillus macerans were investigated by measurements of the specific activities of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), glutamine synthetase, and glutamate synthase. In ammonia-rich medium, GDH was the predominant pathway of ammonia assimilation. In nitrogen-fixing cells in which the intracellular NH4+ concentration was 1.4 +/- 0.5 mM, the activity of GDH with a Km of 2.2 mM for NH4+ was found to be severalfold higher than that of glutamate synthase. The result suggests that GDH plays a significant role in the assimilation of NH4+ in N2-fixing B. macerans.

Ammonia assimilation in Bacillus polymyxa. 15N NMR and enzymatic studies

Pathways of ammonia assimilation into glutamic acid and alanine in Bacillus polymyxa were investigated by 15N NMR spectroscopy in combination with measurements of the specific activities of glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamine synthetase, glutamate synthetase, alanine dehydrogenase, and glutamic-alanine transaminase. Ammonia was found to be assimilated into glutamic acid predominantly by NADPH-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase with a Km of 2.9 mM for NH4+ not only in ammonia-grown cells but also in nitrate-grown and nitrogen-fixing cells in which the intracellular NH4+ concentrations were 11.2, 1.04, and 1.5 mM, respectively. In ammonia-grown cells, the specific activity of alanine dehydrogenase was higher than that of glutamic-alanine transaminase, but the glutamate dehydrogenase/glutamic-alanine transaminase pathway was found to be the major pathway of 15NH4+ assimilation into [15N]alanine. The in vitro specific activities of glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase, which represent the rates of synthesis of glutamic acid and glutamine, respectively, in the presence of enzyme-saturating concentrations of substrates and coenzymes are compared with the in vivo rates of biosynthesis of [15N]glutamic acid and [alpha,gamma-15N]glutamine observed by NMR, and implications of the results for factors limiting the rates of their biosynthesis in ammonia- and nitrate-grown cells are discussed.