[Midwifery education in France].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Goto.
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Twelve kinds of Ag-Pd-Cu alloy, containing 25, 30, 35, 40 wt% Pd, 20, 25, 30 wt% Cu and the residual quantity 30-55 wt% Ag were melted in an argon atmosphere. These alloys were cast using dental precision casting, subsequently, softening heat treatment (water quenching from 800 degrees C) and hardening heat treatment (450-250 degrees C oven cooling) were applied. After softening heat treatment, the Vickers hardness, tensile strength, and elongation of the experimental alloys ranged from 145 to 200, from 41 to 60 kgf/mm2 and from 11 to 27%, respectively. Therefore, these alloys were very ductile in softening heat treatment condition. After hardening heat treatment, the Vickers hardness of the alloys increased in the range of 241-433 and tensile strength increased in the range of 73-107 kgf/mm2. However, elongation decreased to 0.5-3.5%. Composition of the alloy that had the maximum tensile strength (104 kgf/mm2) was about 45 Ag-35 Pd-20 Cu. Brightness (L*) of the test pieces that were immersed in 0.1% sodium sulfide solution of 37 degrees C for 3 days ranged from 58 to 67. After hardening heat treatment, the Ag-Pd-Cu ternary alloy containing 20-30% Cu, 30-40% Pd had satisfactory high hardness and strength for adhesion bridge, but their elongation and tarnishing resistance were insufficient for clinical application.
The Vickers hardness number (VHN) of pure metals (tin, aluminum, copper and gold) and dental gold alloys was measured using an automatically indenting and reading Vickers hardness tester (AKASHI.AUTOVICK) under a load of 1,000 gf with different loading times of 5 to 55 seconds. The samples of pure metals were cold rolled and softened by heating above recrystallization temperatures. The samples of ADAS No. 5 gold casting alloys were cold rolled, and then subjected to a softening heat treatment by water quenching (Types I, II, III and IV) or a hardening heat treatment by 450-250 degrees C/30 min oven cooling (Types III and IV). The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the measured values of VHN of a sample with different loading times as for the metals studied except pure tin which had a VHN of 5-6. The measured values of VHN by AUTOVICK were affected by the brightness of a light source for measurement, and they increased by 1.1 approximately as the voltage of the light source increased by 0.1 V. This was considered to be due to the protuberance caused by plastic flow of metals or slip lines on the surface around the indentation.
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The laboratory findings of 20 patients with untreated megaloblastic anemia due to vitamin B12 deficiency were analysed. The material consists of 13 patients with pernicious anemia, 6 with postgastrectomy B12 deficiency and one with malabsorption syndrome. Hematological data (RBC, Hgb, Ht, WBC, Plt) were correlated with each other and serum LDH levels. Megaloblastic changes of bone marrow were apparent in cases of which Hgb values were below 9 g/dl, although its change were not clear in cases with mild anemia (above 9 g/dl). However, giant metamyelocytic changes of bone marrow were seen even in cases with mild anemia. Serum B12 levels in 6 out of 19 cases (31.6%) measured by clinical laboratory center were within normal range. In contrast, its level in all cases measured by radiodilution assay using R-protein or intrinsic factor were lower than normal values. Serum B12 levels measured by the latter method were correlated with various hematological data and also related with hematological severity, although its level measured by clinical laboratory did not have any correlation with hematological data. Schilling test seemed to be unreliable, because sample volume which was suggested by kit manual was too small (2 ml) to catch enough radioactivity for accurate measurement. Serum methylmalonic acid levels measured by gas capillary mass spectrophotometry were higher than normal values in all cases and were well correlated with hematological data.
Anaphylatoxin-activated complement fragment is an important mediator of inflammation. In this study, trends of anaphylatoxin in clinical and experimental endophthalmitis was evaluated. The level of anaphylatoxin (C3a, C4a and C5a) and protein of human aqueous humor aspirated from patients with senile cataracts before surgery was measured. As a model of acute endophthalmitis, endotoxin-Lipopolysaccharide from E. coli (LPS) was used intravitreously in albino rabbits. The level of anaphylatoxin of aqueous humor was measured by radioimmunoassay. The level of C3a was 44.0 +/- 13.4 ng/ml in aqueous humor of cataract patients. An increase of cell count and protein was demonstrated in the aqueous humor of rabbits 24 hrs after endotoxin injection. The level of C3a increased remarkably with time. It was suggested that C3a in aqueous humor of the rabbit eye with endotoxin-induced endophthalmitis plays an important role in chemotaxis and in mediating the inflammatory process.
The ocular penetration of dexamethasone sodium phosphate was measured by HPLC and RIA, and the concentrations in the aqueous humor and iris of a soft contact lens (SCL) group and eyedrop-only group of white rabbits were compared. The efficacy of dexamethasone phosphate eyedrops in eyes of white rabbits with SCL was also investigated using protein in the aqueous humor of the eyes of rabbits with experimental endophthalmitis induced by endotoxin and prostaglandin E2 as an index. The concentration of dexamethasone sodium phosphate transferred to the aqueous humor and irises in the SCL group was significantly higher than that in the eyedrop-only group. SCLs containing dexamethasone sodium phosphate was effective against experimental endophthalmitis, and the protein in the aqueous humor was significantly lower in the SCL group than in the controls.
The possibility of change in the rate of misrecognition of amino acids by rat liver tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase during aging was investigated. Frequency of misrecognition of phenylalanine vs tyrosine was determined at two temperatures by competitive assay using partially purified enzymes. At 25 degrees C, the error frequencies were 5.17 x 10(-8) and 8.24 x 10(-8) in young and old animals, respectively. These values are much below the reported error frequencies for the prokaryotic enzymes: i.e. approximately 5 x 10(-6). Although the fidelity of tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase from old animals appeared to be slightly lower, the difference was not statistically significant. At 37 degrees C, the error frequencies were increased 1.3-1.5-fold, but again the difference between young and old animals was not significant. To our knowledge, this is the first report in which fidelity of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase of animals of various ages has been compared using natural amino acids.
The uncoupling activities of more than 20 salicylanilides were measured in rat liver mitochondria. The activities, expressed as the minimum concentrations required for full release of state-4 respiration, ranged over three orders of magnitude. The acid dissociation constant, pKA, and the partition coefficient between octanol and water (Poct) of some of the salicylanilides were determined. These two parameters were found to be well expressed in terms of the Hammett constant, sigma, and the hydrophobic substituent coefficient, II, respectively. The pKA and log Poct values of all the salicylanilides were predicted according to these relationships. Furthermore, the capacity factor, k', on high-performance liquid chromatography was determined on glyceryl-coated-controlled pore glass (gly-CPG). Values of log k' correlated well with those of log Poct. The uncoupling activities of the salicylanilides were analyzed in terms of these three parameters. Both hydrophobic and electron-withdrawing properties were found to be essential for induction of potent uncoupling activity. The correlations using log k' were better than those using log Poct.
Male Sprague-Dawley rats, 3 weeks of age, received one of the four following dietary manipulations until 9 months of age: group AD, fed ad libitum; group R, restricted to 75% of food intake of group AD; group RAD, restricted until 5 months of age and then fed ad libitum; group ADR, fed ad libitum until 5 months of age and then restricted. The concentration of serum total and HDL cholesterol tended to be higher in group AD than in all groups that had experienced food restriction. Liver cholesterol was higher in groups AD and RAD than in groups R and ADR. Activity of hepatic microsomal hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase was comparable, whereas sterol synthesis from mevalonate was significantly higher in groups R and ADR than in groups AD and RAD. Cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity also tended to be higher in groups R and ADR. It seems likely that hepatic cholesterol homeostasis functions effectively even when moderate food restriction was started after the growing period. In addition, food restriction reduced the ratio of arachidonate to linoleate, suggesting inhibition of the desaturation system.
We have isolated cDNA clones for rat liver uricase using an oligonucleotide corresponding to the N-terminal sequence of 8 amino acids. The nucleotide sequences of the cDNAs have been determined, and the amino acid sequence of the protein deduced. A 867-base open reading frame coding for 289 amino acids, corresponding to a molecular mass of 33,274 daltons, was confirmed by matching eight sequences of a total of 53 amino acids from peptide sequence analyses of the fragments generated by lysyl endopeptidase digestion of purified rat liver uricase. The deduced amino acid sequence of rat liver uricase shares 40% homology with that of soybean nodulin-specific uricase and has an N-terminal extension of 7 amino acids. In contrast, soybean uricase has a C-terminal extension of 12 amino acids, which is presumably the result of local gene duplication. Completely different N- and C-terminal structures of the two uricases suggest that the signals for targeting the proteins to the peroxisome are not located on the terminal continuous stretches of amino acids.
A human genomic sequence was isolated from a library using a rat uricase cDNA probe. Sequence analysis has shown that it is highly homologous to the 3'-untranslated region of rat uricase mRNA. Total loss of uricase activity in human is, therefore, not due to total loss of the gene. Discovery of high degree of conservation of the non-coding region of the gene would be of great interest as we attempt to learn the process of gene evolution.
NaUCC-2, a choriocarcinoma cell line, was derived from a patient who had a very poor clinical response to combination chemotherapy. Methotrexate (MTX) might have inhibited the antitumor effect of dactinomycin. To investigate this point, in vitro studies were performed to determine the sensitivity and uptake of MTX and dactinomycin (administered individually and in combination) to NaUCC-2 and three other choriocarcinoma cell lines. Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) concentrations were studied as well. Although NaUCC-2 showed sensitivity to MTX and dactinomycin, which were comparable to the other cell lines when they were given separately, NaUCC-2 was unique in that the combination of MTX and dactinomycin was less lethal than dactinomycin given by itself. The uptake of MTX in NaUCC-2 was significantly higher than that in the other cell lines, and MTX also induced an increase in dactinomycin uptake in NaUCC-2. There was no significant difference in DHFR activity. Although additional studies are necessary to determine the mechanism responsible for this effect, these findings suggest that a mechanism other than drug uptake or DHFR activity must play a role in the drug resistance for choriocarcinoma. These findings also suggest that the most commonly used combination chemotherapy for choriocarcinoma, dactinomycin and MTX, may not always be the best method.
We analyzed brain extracts from fetal or adult mice with a 32P-labeled 5'-half fragment of identifier (ID) sequence in a gel mobility shift assay. Upon digestion of extracts with RNase A prior to the binding reactions, a protein factor(s) that specifically binds to the fragment was shown to appreciably increase in amount with either of the extracts. Furthermore, the binding was competed with single-stranded ID sequences. These observations suggest that the protein factor is capable of interacting with either the genes or their small RNA transcripts.
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The cellular and topographic localization of calcineurin and S-100 protein was examined immunohistochemically in the mammalian and avian brain. Calcineurin immunoreactivity in both the avian and mammalian brain was located only in neuronal cells. S-100 protein was localized mainly in the glial and Schwann cells within the mammalian brain. However, in the avian brain, neuronal cells in certain regions such as the paleostriatum primitivum and the cerebellum, as well as other non-neuronal cells, exhibited S-100 protein immunoreactivity. A distinct difference was demonstrated in the macroscopic topographic distribution patterns of S-100 protein immunoreactivity between the mammalian and avian brains, while the patterns of calcineurin distribution were essentially identical. In addition, we provided calcineurin- and S-100 protein-immunocytochemical results for the turtle, frog and fish brain.
Eight-week-old female Wistar rats were exposed to carbon disulfide for 6 hr a day, 5 days a week, for 12 weeks in inhalation chambers. Then the activities of the main enzymes of tryptophan metabolism (i.e., L-tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, kynurenine 3-hydroxylase, kynureninase, and kynurenine aminotransferases) in their tissues were determined. The results showed that exposure to carbon disulfide caused a significant increase in the activities of kynureninase and kynurenine-2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase in the kidneys, but only a slight increase in their activities in the liver. The activities of L-tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase and kynurenine 3-hydroxylase also tended to increase, but the increases were not statistically significant. These results suggests that the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism in the kidneys of rats exposed to carbon disulfide is activated and that the increased activities of kynurenine-2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase in the kidneys may cause the increased excretion of tryptophan metabolites after tryptophan loading as shown in an earlier study (A. Okayama, L. Fun, A. Yamatodani, Y. Ogawa, H. Wada, and S. Goto, 1987, Arch. Toxicol. 60, 460-463.