[Quantitative nuclear DNA analysis of human trophoblasts in early gestation].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Fukazawa.
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1. Five and four tryptophan residues in Taka-amylase A [EC 3.2.1.1] of A. oryzae (TAA) were modified with dimethyl(2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl)-sulfonium bromide (K-IWS) in the absence and the presence of 15% maltose (substrate analog), respectively. Only one tryptophan residue was modified with dimethyl(2-methoxy-5-nitrobenzyl)-sulfonium bromide (K-IIWS) irrespective of the presence or absence of maltose. Kinetic parameters (molecular activity, k0, Michaelis constant, Km, and inhibitor constant, Ki) of the enzyme modified with K-IWS and K-IIWS were determined. The k0 value decreased with increase in the number of modified residues, but Km and Ki values and the type of inhibition were not altered by the modification. 2. The fluorescence quenching reaction of TAA with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) proceeded in three phases. The second-order rate constants of the three phases were determined to be (4.3 +/- 0.5) x 10(5) M-1 . s-1, (2.1 +/- 0.3) x 10(3) M-1 . s-1 and (1.7 +/- 0.2) x 10(2) M-1 . s-1, respectively. In the presence of maltose, the first phase was further separated into two phases with rate constants of (4.6 +/- 0.6) x 10(6) M-1 . s-1 and (6.9 +/- 1.1) x 10(4) M-1 . s-1, respectively. On the basis of the results, it is estimated that five out of nine tryptophan residues are accessible to the solvent and among them, two tryptophan residues are substantially exposed: one is located in the maltose binding site near the catalytic site (its modification affects the catalytic function), and the other exists on the enzyme surface far from the active site.
Free and wedged hepatic venography were carried out in 37 patients with idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH) and the findings compared with those in 88 patients with cirrhosis of the liver. Characteristic changes in IPH included frequent vein-to-vein anastomoses, narrower angles between large veins and their tributaries, smooth and wavy middle-sized to large branches (giving a general "weeping willow" appearance), homogeneous sinusoidal filling, and minimal to absent filling of the portal venous system on wedged retrograde portography. In cirrhosis, by contrast, changes included rare vein-to-vein anastomoses, wide angles between veins and tributaries, irregular stenoses of large veins and branches at various levels, spotty sinusoidal filling, and frequent retrograde flow in the portal venous system. Hepatic venography is helpful in differentiating IPH from cirrhosis.
Drug resistance in Escherichia coli strains isolated from pet birds (mynahs, macaws, finches, common bengals, parrots, and flamingos) imported into Japan from 10 foreign countries in 1977 and 1978 was investigated. Of the 309 strains isolated from 127 pet birds in the Animal Quarantine Service, 232 (75.1%) were drug resistant. Furthermore, strains resistant to oxytetracycline hydrochloride, dihydrostreptomycin, and sulfadimethoxine were relatively common. Resistance patterns varied from single to sextuple resistance, and 148 (63.8%) of the resistant strains had conjugative R plasmids. These results suggest that the high incidence of drug resistance and R plasmids in E. coli strains isolated from these pet birds may be a reflection of the prophylactic use of antibiotics for the prevention of diseases which increasingly occur with importation of the birds. Furthermore, the results suggest that the birds may be potential reservoirs of drug-resistant E. coli for families who raise and have intimate contact with such birds.
Intraoperative and transhepatic portograms in patients with noncirrhotic portal hypertension, or idiopathic portal hypertension, were compared with portograms of patients with liver cirrhosis. Although the portograms in idiopathic portal hypertension varied from case to case, they were distinctly different from those in cirrhosis. The most common features of the former included a paucity of medium-sized portal branches, irregular and often obtuse-angled division of the peripheral branches, occasional abrupt interruptions of them, an avascular area beneath the liver surface, nonopacification of some of the large intrahepatic portal branches and of their periphery, and increase of very fine vasculature around large intrahepatic portal branches. These findings are compatible with occlusion of intrahepatic portal vessels at various levels.
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We investigated the effects of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors on acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent vasodilation in the presence of nitroglycerin tolerance in rings of rabbit thoracic aorta mounted in tissue baths and precontracted with 10(-6) M norepinephrine. The vasorelaxant effects of acetylcholine were measured before and after 1 h treatment with 5 x 10(-4) M nitroglycerin. The acetylcholine dose-response curve shifted to the right after the induction of nitroglycerin tolerance. Pretreatment with captopril (a sulfhydryl angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor), but not with M-1 (a metabolite of delapril and a nonsulfhydryl angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor) restored acetylcholine-induced relaxation. Pretreatment with N-acetylcysteine also restored reduced acetylcholine-induced relaxation. These results suggest that the sulfhydryl group plays a major role in restoration of reduced acetylcholine-induced vasodilation in the presence of nitroglycerin tolerance.