Fatty Acid soil detergency performance of poly(sodium α-hydroxyacrylate)

Effects and properties of poly(sodium α-hydroxyacrylate) (PHA) on removal of stearic and oleic acids from cellulosic filter paper under various wash conditions were evaluated and compared with those of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) by using differential scanning calorimetry. PHA had a much greater effect on the removal of stearic and oleic acids than SDS under the same washing conditions. PHA produces complexes with fatty acids on filter paper during the washing process, and in DSC these complexes have endothermic peaks at temperatures higher than the melting point of the fatty acids. The complexes are formed at temperatures both below and above the melting point of the fatty acid and are removed completely from filter paper by rinsing. The conditions of temperature, time, and PHA concentration during washing all affected the formation of the complex and the removal of fatty acid. Whether the fatty acid chain was saturated or not did not affect the formation of a complex.     

Phospholipase cbeta4 is specifically involved in climbing fiber synapse elimination in the developing cerebellum

Elimination of excess climbing fiber (CF)-Purkinje cell synapses during cerebellar development involves a signaling pathway that includes type 1 metabotropic glutamate receptor, Galphaq, and the gamma isoform of protein kinase C. To identify phospholipase C (PLC) isoforms involved in this process, we generated mice deficient in PLCbeta4, one of two major isoforms expressed in Purkinje cells. PLCbeta4 mutant mice are viable but exhibit locomotor ataxia. Their cerebellar histology, parallel fiber synapse formation, and basic electrophysiology appear normal. However, developmental elimination of multiple CF innervation clearly is impaired in the rostral portion of the cerebellar vermis, in which PLCbeta4 mRNA is predominantly expressed. By contrast, CF synapse elimination is normal in the caudal cerebellum, in which low levels of PLCbeta4 mRNA but reciprocally high levels of PLCbeta3 mRNA are found. These results indicate that PLCbeta4 transduces signals that are required for CF synapse elimination in the rostral cerebellum.     

Simultaneous assessment of the hemodynamic, cardiomechanical, and electrophysiological effects of terfenadine on the in vivo canine model

The G2 block is a major response of cells to DNA damage and seem to be induced independently of p53 status. It is thought that the G2 block has a protective function and allows cells to repair their DNA. The molecular events involved in the formation of the G2 block therefore are of great interest. We have used pentoxifylline, a potent G2 delay abrogator, to study the expression of an essential component of the mitosis promoting complex (MPF), cyclin B1. Cyclin B1/G2 ratios are used to show that irradiation induces a decrease in cyclin B1 expression and that pentoxifylline restores cyclin B1 expression to control level. This confirms that suppression of cyclin B1 plays a role in the formation of the G2 cell cycle delay, and that elevating cyclin B1 expression is part of the mechanism of action of pentoxifylline on G2 blocked cells.     

Insulin receptor abnormality and its clinical aspect

About 50 cases of insulin receptor abnormality were reported after in 1985 when human insulin receptor cDNA was cloned. The abnormalities were found in syndrome of type A insulin resistance, Leprechaunism, and syndrome of Rabson-Mendenhall. We have reported 3 families with insulin receptor gene abnormality, Type C (Chiba), Type A (Yamanashi) and Type C (Hokkaidou-2). Type C (Chiba) and Type A (Yamanashi) have a deletion of from 17 to 22 exon and 14 exon of insulin receptor gene, respectively. Type C(Hokkaidou-2) shows a substitution of valine for glycine at codon 1008 in the tyrosine kinase domain. They all showed the typical symptoms of type A insulin resistance, and the insulin resistance was dominantly inherited in the family of Type C(Chiba) and Type C(Hokkaidou-2), and not in the family of Type A(Yamanashi).     

Dynamic X-ray diffraction studies of spherulitic poly-alpha-olefins in relation to the assignments of alpha and beta mechanical dispersions

The dynamic tensile deformation mechanism of spherulitic poly-alpha-olefins, high-density polyethylene, isotactic polypropylene, and isotactic polybutene-1, was investigated by dynamic X-ray diffraction at various temperatures and frequencies in order to assign the α and β mechanical dispersions explicitly. The uniaxial orientation distribution function q_j(ζ_j, 0) of the j-th crystal plane and its dynamic response Δq_j′(ζ_j, 0) in-phase with dynamic strain were observed for several crystal planes, and then the orientation distribution function ω(§, 0, η) of crystallites (crystal grains) and its dynamic response Δω′(§, 0, η), also in-phase with the dynamic strain, were determined by a mathematical transformation procedure proposed by Roe and Krigbaum on the basis of the Legendre addition theorem. The temperature and frequency dependences of Δω′(§, 0, η) were analyzed in terms of a spherulite deformation model combining affine orientation of crystal lamellae with several types of preferential reorientation of the crystal grains within the orienting lamellae. The following assignments are made: (1) the a mechanical dispersion must be assigned to the dynamic orientation dispersions of crystal grains within lamellae involving two types of preferential rotations of the grains associated with lamellar detwisting mostly in the equatorial zone of uniaxially deformed spherulites and with lamellar tilting mostly in the polar zone of the spherulites. Both processes are intralamellar grain-boundary phenomena, and the former process of lamellar detwisting is hardly activated for polypropylene and polybutene-1 spherulites in contrast to polyethylene spherulites. (2) The β mechanical dispersion must be assigned to the dynamic orientation dispersion of the crystal lamellae behaving as rigid bodies unaccompanied by reorientation of crystal grains within the orienting lamellae. This process is an interlamellar grain-boundary phenomenon.     

Lightness dependency of chroma scales of a nonlinear color-appearance model and its latest formulation

It has been noticed that the lightness dependency of equal chroma loci of the nonlinear color-appearance model already reported deviates markedly from that of equal Chroma loci of the Munsell scheme. to solve this problem, the new chroma C_N of the model is proposed by applying the correction of lightness L_A to the chroma C previously used. the chroma C is now used to predict the saturation of the newly revised model. the introduction of C_N improves significantly the agreement of lightness dependency between the model chroma, the Munsell Chroma, and the NCS chromaticness at various lightness levels. the formulation for the revised nonlinear colorappearance model is given in the Appendix.     

Responses of blood flow, oxygen consumption, and contractile function to inotropic stimulation in stunned canine myocardium

To examine the effects of inotropic stimulation on regional myocardial blood flow (MBF), oxidative metabolism, and contractile function in stunned myocardium, nine closed-chest dogs were studied 2 hours postreperfusion after a 25 minute occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). MBF was determined with microspheres, and regional myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2) was estimated from the rate constant k1 of the rapid clearance phase of [1-11C] acetate time activity curves, recorded with dynamic positron emission tomography. Myocardium at risk was determined from [13N] ammonia images obtained during occlusion. Wall motion, assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography, was impaired in postischemic myocardium in all dogs 2 hours after reperfusion. Dobutamine infusion increased the rate pressure product by 70% +/- 31% and significantly improved contractile function in the postischemic region in all dogs. In remote myocardium, MVO2 increased from 5.7 +/- 1.2 to 8.6 +/- 1.6 mumol/gm/min, and blood flow from 0.87 +/- 0.16 to 1.52 +/- 0.42 ml/gm/min in response to dobutamine. In reperfused myocardium, MVO2 increased from 3.1 +/- 0.7 to 7.4 +/- 1.5 mumol/gm/min, and blood flow from 0.51 +/- 0.12 to 1.2 +/- 0.4 ml/gm/min. Oxygen extraction increased significantly in reperfused myocardium relative to remote myocardium consistent with a flow-limited response to dobutamine stimulation. The improvement in contractile function failed to correlate significantly with relative increases in MBF or MVO2, suggesting that mechanical function is not as tightly coupled as MBF and MVO2 in postischemic myocardium during inotropic stimulation.     

Exocrine pancreatic ductograms in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVES: To examine the prevalence of abnormal pancreatic ductograms in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and to determine the clinical characteristics of those patients. METHODS: Pancreatic exocrine morphology was studied by endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP) in 43 patients with IDDM, 12 patients with islet cell antibody (ICA)-positive non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), and 22 patients with ICA-negative NIDDM. RESULTS: ERP revealed a significantly higher prevalence of abnormal pancreatic ducts (dilation and stenosis, tortuosity, obstruction, and intraductal calculi) in the patients with IDDM (17/43, 40%) than in the patients with ICA-negative NIDDM (2/22, 9%, p = 0.018). IDDM patients who slowly progressed to insulin dependency more than 13 months after the onset of diabetes had a higher frequency of abnormal pancreatic ducts (13/22, 59%) than those who needed insulin therapy within 12 months after the onset (4/21, 19%, p = 0.016). There was no difference in duration of diabetes between the two groups. ICA-positive NIDDM patients also had a higher frequency of abnormal pancreatic ducts (7/12, 58%) than ICA-negative NIDDM patients (2/22, 9%, p = 0.0074). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that a high proportion of IDDM patients who have prolonged histories of non-insulin dependency with ICA suffer pancreatic exocrine impairment. A similarity between IDDM with a slowly progressive clinical course and fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes seen in tropical countries also was suggested.     

Correlation for volume phase transition of polymeric gel (vinyl alcohol-sodium acrylate copolymer) in alcohol-water solutions

A thermodynamic model was proposed to correlate the phase behavior of a swelling polymeric gel (vinyl alcohol-sodium acrylate copolymer) and the volume phase transition in alcohol (methanol, ethanol or propanol)-water solutions. The model is based on the Flory-Huggins formula for polymer solution coupled with the osmotic pressure by rubber elasticity proposed by Flory. The volume change behavior and the equilibrium concentrations inside and outside the gel were successfully correlated using the present model.