The bovine gene encoding the type C atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) receptor was isolated and characterized. The gene appears
to exist as a single copy in the haploid genome and is comprised of ...eight exons distributed over more than 85 kilobases. The
transcription start site was identified by primer extension and ribonuclease protection assay. A "TATA" box-like sequence
was found just upstream of the start site (at position -32); however, no CAAT box was apparent. Exon boundaries of the ANP
receptor gene correlated well with the functional domain boundaries of the receptor protein; for example, exon 1 contains
coding information for a large proportion of the ANP-binding domain and the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains are encoded
by separate exons, namely by exon 7 and exon 8, respectively. These structural features suggest that the organization of the
ANP receptor gene reflects the domain structure of the receptor.
Decomposition of the aromatics benzene (C
6H
6), toluene (C
6H
5CH
3), and
o-xylene (C
6H
4(CH
3)
2) was carried out in a plasma reactor packed with BaTiO
3 pellets in the presence of various ...background gases. The order of decomposition efficiency was C
6H
6<C
6H
5CH
3<C
6H
4(CH
3)
2, irrespective of the background gas. Decomposition was suppressed when water vapor (H
2O) was added to the reactant gas; the extent of the suppression was in the order C
6H
6>C
6H
5CH
3>C
6H
4(CH
3)
2. When the reactant gas consisted of a mixture of C
6H
6, C
6H
5CH
3, and C
6H
4(CH
3)
2, decomposition of C
6H
6 was suppressed, whereas the decompositions of C
6H
5CH
3 and C
6H
4(CH
3)
2 were enhanced compared with the single-component decompositions of these aromatics. It seems that the migration of reactant molecules to the solid surface and the molecular sizes play important roles in these behaviors.
Abstract Background An elevation of the cardiac troponin T (TnT) level identifies patients with ongoing myocardial damage (OMD) and at increased risk for future cardiac events in chronic heart ...failure (CHF). C-reactive protein (CRP) upregulates monocyte proinflammatory cytokine production and this upregulation appears to play an important role on OMD. Methods and Results Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were stimulated by 25 μg/mL CRP in 72 patients with CHF. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 production by monocytes was measured by a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and expressed as the mean ± SD (pg·mL·106 PBMCs). The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the TnT levels: 27 patients with OMD (TnT ≥0.01 ng/mL) and 45 patients without OMD. CRP-induced cytokine production was upregulated significantly more in patients with OMD than in those without OMD (TNF-α: 200.6 ± 100.4 vs. 102.1 ± 73.6 pg/mL, P < .001, IL-6: 4611.7 ± 2600.0 vs. 1451.6 ± 1193.5 pg/mL, P < .001). Multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed that CRP-stimulated monocyte production of TNF-α ≥120 pg/mL and TnT ≥0.03 ng/mL were independent predictors of cardiac events. Conclusions The upregulation of monocyte proinflammatory cytokine production by CRP could be significantly related to OMD and future cardiac events in CHF.
This is a case report of carpal tunnel syndrome caused by an idiopathic calcareous lesion within the carpal canal. The median nerve was trapped between the transverse carpal ligament and the ...calcified mass. The mass was predominantly composed of calcium phosphate. Surgical release of the transverse carpal ligament and removal of the calcareous mass relieved the symptoms.
Meiotic recombinations in the proximal region of the mouse major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are clustered within certain segments of chromosome, known as hotspots. In this study, we found that ...one of such hotspots, previously mapped between the Pb and Ob genes, is located very close to the 3' end of the Lmp2 gene, which encodes a subunit of a proteolytic proteasome. To analyze the molecular basis of the site specificity of hotspots, we examined the structure of the chromatin around this Lmp2 hotspot and another one located in the MHC class II Eb gene, by monitoring DNase I-hypersensitive sites (DHSSs) of the chromatin. DHSSs were detected at the both hotspots in the somatic cells. In the meiotic cells, DHSS was detected within the Eb hotspot, as previously reported, but not in the Lmp2 hotspot. Thus, open structure of chromatin during meiosis, as monitored by hypersensitivity to DNase I, is not a general feature of mouse recombinational hotspots, contrasting the case of the lower eukaryote, S. cerevisiae, in which hotspots are always associated with DHSSs.
The effect of body position before and after tube feeding was evaluated in six extremely immature infants who were being mechanically ventilated because of chronic lung disease. Their mean ...birthweight and gestational age were 722.7 g (range, 540 to 994) and 24.9 weeks (range, 23.9 to 26.0), respectively. This study was performed at a mean postnatal age of 47.5 days (range, 21 to 85 days). The prone position resulted in a significant increase in arterial oxygen saturation before and after feeding, whereas the tidal volume demonstrated an increase only before feeding. Also the prone position showed a significant decrease in heart rate before and after feeding and a tendency to decrease transcutaneous carbon dioxide tension values before feeding. There were no significant differences in minute ventilation despite increased tidal volume in the prone position, most likely due to a decrement of the spontaneous respiratory rate in the prone positioning. We conclude that the prone position may offer an advantage over the supine position in the management of extremely immature infants with chronic lung disease before and after feeding.
Boreal hardwood species, including Japanese white birch (
Betula platyphylla Sukat. var.
japonica Hara), Japanese chestnut (
Castanea crenata Sieb. et Zucc.), katsura tree (
Cercidiphyllum japonicum ...Sieb. et Zucc.), Siebold’s beech (
Fagus crenata Blume), mulberry (
Morus bombycis Koidz.), and Japanese rowan (
Sorbus commixta Hedl.), had xylem parenchyma cells (XPCs) that adapt to subfreezing temperatures by deep supercooling. Crude extracts from xylem in all these trees were found to have anti-ice nucleation activity that promoted supercooling capability of water as measured by a droplet freezing assay. The magnitude of increase in supercooling capability of water droplets in the presence of ice-nucleation bacteria,
Erwinia ananas, was higher in the ranges from 0.1 to 1.7
°C on addition of crude xylem extracts than freezing temperature of water droplets on addition of glucose in the same concentration (100
mosmol/kg). Crude xylem extracts from
C. japonicum provided the highest supercooling capability of water droplets. Our additional examination showed that crude xylem extracts from
C. japonicum exhibited anti-ice nucleation activity toward water droplets containing a variety of heterogeneous ice nucleators, including ice-nucleation bacteria, not only
E. ananas but also
Pseudomonas syringae (NBRC3310) or
Xanthomonas campestris, silver iodide or airborne impurities. However, crude xylem extracts from
C. japonicum did not affect homogeneous ice nucleation temperature as analyzed by emulsified micro-water droplets. The possible role of such anti-ice nucleation activity in crude xylem extracts in deep supercooling of XPCs is discussed.
Objectives: Several methods for measuring lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) concentrations have been reported. However, these methods are not practical because they are either too complicated and/or too ...time-consuming for LPC determinations in human serum and plasma.
Design and Methods: We have developed a new enzymatic LPC assay, which uses lysophospholipase, glycerophosphorylcholine phosphodiesterase and choline oxidase, and which determines the quantities of hydrogen peroxide generated in the presence of peroxidase using an oxidative chromogenic reagent and 4-aminoantipyrine.
Results: Various samples were mixed with LPC assay reagents, and their changes in absorbance were measured. The present method produced a linear calibration line between LPC concentration and absorbance change. It also measured only LPC, and not other phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and lysophosphatidic acid. The within-run and between-run coefficients of variation were 0.3–0.7% and 0.7%, respectively. The recovery of exogenous LPC added to control serum was 99.5–102.1%. The correlation coefficient obtained in a comparison with a method for analyzing fatty acids was 0.9122.
Conclusions: The present method is simple, specific for LPC, and can be applied with an automatic analyzer. It may also be useful for further studies of the biological functions of LPC as well as clinical applications in various disorders.
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