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Precipitation of silver nanocrystals was carried out in a poly(acrylic) acid (PAA) solution by using a single‐jet crystallizer. The influence of the feeding rate, the injection position and the PAA dosage on the crystal size distribution (CSD) was clarified. The precipitated silver nanocrystals agglomerate with each other, forming an agglomerated microcrystal. In the presented case, smaller feeding rates caused smaller crystal sizes and narrower CSD widths. PAA, which is a water‐soluble polyelectrolyte, successfully inhibited agglomeration and crystal growth, and decreased the crystal size and the CSD width. Thus, this idea may also facilitate the production of other nano‐/microcrystalline particles.

The influence of polyethyleneimine (PEI) addition on the crystal size distribution (CSD) of Au was investigated. PEI is a water‐soluble cationic polyelectrolyte acting as a reducer of AuCl4–and a stabilizer of precipitated Au nanocrystals. The CSD can be controlled by the PEI dosage, and an increase in PEI dosage decreased both the size and the size distribution width of the obtained Au nanocrystals. The idea of PEI‐assisted reductive crystallization of Au may be helpful in the production of nanometals by using a simple batch crystallizer.

This paper reports the modified Sellmeier equations for ZnGeP2 (ZGP) that provide excellent reproduction of the phase-matching conditions for DFG between the two CO2 laser wavelengths, and the Nd:YAG laser and the Nd:YAG laser-pumped OPO in the THz region. Model calculations based on these Sellmeier equations strongly indicate that there is no significant difference in the refractive indices of the non-annealed and annealed crystals from 1.0642m to 1640m (0.18THz).

Precipitation of monodispersed SrSO4particles was carried out in the presence of polyethylenimine (PEI). PEI additions varied some particulate properties, e.g., sizes, shapes, size distribution widths, and agglomeration ratios. The present paper mainly focuses on the influence of PEI dosage on crystal size distributions. PEI‐assisted double jet techniques require no difficult controls of feeding rates, therefore, this idea will be applicable to precipitation of other inorganic compounds for the purpose of producing monodispersed nano‐/microparticles.

Micronized SrSO4crystals having monodispersed/narrow distributions were produced with a controlled double‐jet reactive crystallizer. Polyethylenimine (PEI) had the role of a suitable controller of supersaturation and following crystallization phenomena, and then led to agglomeration‐less homogeneous crystalline qualities. Especially, the PEI imines seemed to adjust the number of nucleates, and also physical gel networks seemed to contribute to the inhibition of further particulate agglomeration. The current paper mainly demonstrated the influence of PEI addition on the resulting properties, e.g. sizes and size distribution widths. Therefore the polyelectrolyte‐assisted technique will develop as a build‐up process contributing to provide high‐value nano/micro‐powders having the desired crystalline qualities.

Background: The usefulness of Doppler strain rate imaging for assessment of left ventricular regional diastolic function has not been fully determined. Objective: We aimed to clarify the relationships between diastolic strain rates and global diastolic function and find a useful index for regional diastolic function in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Methods: Strain rate curves were obtained using an apical approach at 12 different sites of the left ventricular myocardium in 25 patients with HCM and 20 control subjects, and peak early diastolic strain rate (E"S"R), peak late diastolic strain rate, and the time from QRS to E"S"R were measured. The flow propagation velocity was measured using color M-mode Doppler echocardiography as a global diastolic index. Results: Each of the spatially averaged values of E"S"R and E"S"R/peak late diastolic strain rate and the coefficients of variation of time from QRS to E"S"R was significantly correlated with flow propagation velocity, but the best correlation was observed in E"S"R. Although both E"S"R and peak late diastolic strain rate of each myocardial segment of patients with HCM tended to decrease as the wall thickness increased, only E"S"R significantly decreased even in the segments without apparent hypertrophy. Conclusions: In patients with HCM, the reduction of E"S"R was more closely associated with global diastolic dysfunction than asynchrony, and E"S"R may be a useful and sensitive index for regional diastolic function.

This study is performed to investigate risk factors of hypotension in response to elective carotid stenting. Forty-four lesions of 40 consecutive patients (mean age 70.4 ± 8.2 years) were retrospectively analyzed. Easy Wall stent was applied in 15 lesions and SMART stent in 29 lesions. We investigated correlations between the occurrence rate of postoperative hypotension below 90 mmHg and persisting over three hours and findings of preoperative angiograms, ultrasonograms and clinical characteristics. Postprocedural hypotension occurred in 19 patients (47.5%) and medical treatment (intravenous administration of catecholamines) was required in eleven patients (27.5%). Although there was no permanent neurological deficits related with postprocedural hypotension, transient neurological deficits were found in three patients. Risk factors of prolonged postprocedural hypotension were statistically analyzed. On angiographic characteristics; 1) distance between the carotid bifurcation and the lesion with maximum stenosis (≦10 mm vs. >10 mm: p = 0.031), 2) type of stenosis (eccentric vs. concentric: p = 0.014) On ultrasonographic characteristics; 1) calcifications at the carotid bifurcation (present vs. absent: p<0.001). Other variables, including age and degree of stenosis, were not associated with postprocedural hypotension after carotid stenting. These angiographic and ultrasonographic variables can be used to identify patients at risk for postprocedural hypotension after carotid stenting. Such identification may help in selection of patients who will benefit from appropriate pharmacological treatment.

Maxacalcitol, the 22-oxa-derivative of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and used currently as an antihyperparathyroidism and antipsoriatic drug, has been synthesized in seven chemical steps from 1α-hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone on the basis of our previously developed route. The present synthesis allows the production of the protected form of the penultimate intermediate in 26% overall yield in a kilogram scale reaction employing neither difficult reaction conditions nor chromatographic purification, having overcome all the difficulties involved in the previous route.

Background: Myocardial viability is not synonymous with contractile reserve and identifiable in a significant percentage of dysfunctional myocardial segments without contractile reserve. The usefulness of ultrasonic tissue characterization by the phase-corrected magnitude of cyclic variation of integrated backscatter (MVIB) in chronic coronary artery disease is not fully validated. Thus, whether MVIB predominantly reflects the contractile reserve or myocardial viability of chronically dysfunctional myocardium was determined. Methods: The MVIB of severely dysfunctional interventricular septum or posterior wall was measured in 34 consecutive patients with previous myocardial infarction. Dobutamine stress echocardiography and fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography were used as the standards of contractile reserve and myocardial viability, respectively. Results: Among 44 dysfunctional segments, only 15 were judged as having contractile reserve and 29 were judged as not by dobutamine stress echocardiography, whereas 26 segments showed myocardial viability using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and 18 did not. MVIB was greater in segments with than in those without contractile reserve (4.7 +/- 2.2 vs -1.4 +/- 4.9 dB, P < .0001), but there was considerable overlap between the groups. On the other hand, MVIB of segments with and without myocardial viability (4.1 +/- 2.6 vs -4.3 +/- 3.3 dB, P < .0001) was distinctly different and predicted myocardial viability with a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 94%. Conclusions: For patients with chronic coronary artery disease, MVIB better reflects myocardial viability than it does contractile reserve. Ultrasonic tissue characterization, in concordance with fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, is a sensitive method for detecting myocardial viability.

Abstract The complete nucleotide sequence (501,020 bp) of the mitochondrial genome from cytoplasmic male-sterile (CMS) sugar beet was determined. This enabled us to compare the sequence with that previously published for the mitochondrial genome of normal, male-fertile sugar beet. The comparison revealed that the two genomes have the same complement of genes of known function. The rRNA and tRNA genes encoded in the CMS mitochondrial genome share 100% sequence identity with their respective counterparts in the normal genome. We found a total of 24 single nucleotide substitutions in 11 protein genes encoded by the CMS mitochondrial genome. However, none of these seems to be responsible for male sterility. In addition, several other ORFs were found to be actively transcribed in sugar beet mitochondria. Among these, Norf246 was observed to be present in the normal mitochondrial genome but absent from the CMS genome. However, it seems unlikely that the loss of Norf246 is causally related to the expression of CMS, because previous studies on mitochondrial translation products failed to detect the product of this ORF. Conversely, the CMS genome contains four transcribed ORFs (Satp6presequence, Scox2-2 , Sorf324 and Sorf119) which are missing from the normal genome. These ORFs, which are potential candidates for CMS genes, were shown to be generated by mitochondrial genome rearrangements.

Sera from swine, rabbit, and dog, that had never been exposed to Toxoplasma gondii, demonstrated significant killing of T. gondii tachyzoites in vitro, while cat serum did not. Swine and rabbit sera contained natural IgM antibody against the tachyzoites, and the classical complement pathway was activated by the binding of natural IgM antibody to the tachyzoites, leading to lysis. Anti-T. gondii antibodies, induced in swine or cat infected with T. gondii, had no killing effect by themselves but killed the tachyzoites in the presence of swine complement. However, the anti-T. gondii antibodies of swine or cat demonstrated a very low killing effect in the presence of cat complement. This suggests that T. gondii tachyzoites have an evasion mechanism to prevent lysis which is specific for cat complement.

A computational fluid dynamics study of intraventricular flow during early diastole was carried out using a 3D model of the human left ventricle (LV). It was found that a vortical flow formed under the aortic orifice and then grew in size and extended laterally along the ventricular wall towards the posterior side. With further expansion of the LV, it developed into an annular vortex asymmetrically enlarged on the side of the aortic orifice, narrowing the passage of blood inflow and thus causing a shift of the high-velocity portion of inflow towards the apex. This appeared as an elongation of the aliasing area when the velocity of the inflow was expressed as a spatiotemporal map in the same manner as a color M-mode Doppler (CMD) echocardiogram. Based on these findings, it was concluded that the shape of the aliasing area in a CMD echocardiogram shows the change in the velocity of blood inflow affected by the development of an annular vortex formed in the LV.

Effects of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) inhibitor (7-nitroindazole), nonselective NOS inhibitor (NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester; L-NAME), and monoamine oxidase inhibitor (pargyline) were studied on 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-treated mice. The mice received four intraperitoneal injections of MPTP at 1-h intervals. A significant depletion in dopamine and DOPAC concentration was observed in the striatum from 1 day after MPTP treatment. The pretreatment of 7-nitroindazole and pargyline, but not L-NAME, dose-dependently protected against MPTP-induced depletion in dopamine content 3 days after MPTP treatment. Our histochemical study also showed that 7-nitroindazole and pargyline can prevent a marked decrease in the nigral cells and a marked increase in astrocytes in striatum 7 days after MPTP treatment. The protective effect of 7-nitroindazole against MPTP-induced dopamine and DOPAC depletion in the striatum was not attenuated by intraperitoneal pretreatment with L-arginine. Furthermore, the posttreatment of 7-nitroindazole or pargyline protected against MPTP-induced depletion of dopamine content. These results demonstrate that the protective mechanism by which 7-nitroindazole counteracts MPTP neurotoxicity in mice may be due not only to inhibition of nNOS, but also to MAO-B inhibition. Furthermore, our study suggests that the posttreatment of 7-nitroindazole and pargyline can prevent a significant decrease in dopamine levels in the striatum of MPTP-treated mice. These findings have important implications for the therapeutic time window and choice of nNOS or MAO inhibitors in patients with Parkinson's disease.

We propose and study a random crystalline algorithm (a discrete approximation) of the Gauss curvature flow of smooth simple closed convex curves in R2as a stepping stone to the full understanding of such phenomena as the wearing process of stones on a beach.

Abstract As part of a study to identify the characteristics of cord blood cells, we examined their morphological features by electron microscopy. Additionally, we cultured CD34-positive cells derived from cord blood and from bone marrow to perform morphological observations, as well as cytochemical examinations following the peroxidase reaction. Compared with normal peripheral blood cells, cord blood cells frequently showed immature morphology and a unique ultrastructure, such as nuclear pockets in neutrophils, several crystalloids in a single eosinophilic granule, and deformed nuclei in lymphoctytes. In contrast to bone marrow cells, cord blood cells yielded a large number of cells of immature myelo-monocytic lineages in cell culture, and demonstrated a weaker peroxidase reaction. We identified that cord blood cells were different from normal peripheral blood cells and bone marrow cells, confirming the functional differences that were previously assumed.

Abstract.:  CpDNA variation in Japanese beech, Fagus crenata (Fagaceae), was studied in 45 populations distributed throughout the species' range. Two cpDNA regions were sequenced: the non-coding region between the trnL (UAA) 5′exon and trnF (GAA), and the trnK region (including matK). Thirteen distinct cpDNA haplotypes were recognized and each haplotype was found to be geographically structured. Two major clades (I and II+III) were revealed in phylogenetic analyses among the haplotypes using F. sylvatica as an outgroup. The haplotypes of Clade I were distributed mainly along the Japan Sea side of the Japanese Archipelago, while those of Clade II+III occurred chiefly along the Pacific Ocean side. Consequently, the distribution of the two major cpDNA clades suggests that there were two migration routes in the history of F. crenata; one along the Japan Sea and the other along the Pacific Ocean side of the Japanese Islands.

The synthetic routes to ladder polymers that consist of benzenetetrayl subunits with oxo and methylsulfonio linkages are described. As the key intermediate, poly(phenylene oxide)s having pendant methylsulfenyl groups are prepared by copper-catalyzed oxidative polymerization of the corresponding phenols with O2. The oxidation of the polymer with an equimolar amount of H2O2 in the presence of acetic acid effects the high-yielding conversion of methylsulfenyl to methylsulfinyl groups without the formation of the undesired methylsulfonyl groups. The superacidified condensation of the resulting polymer (Swern reaction of aryl sulfoxides) under dilution conditions induces the polymer-analogous intramolecular electrophilic ring-closing reaction of the hydroxymethylphenylsulfonium cation onto the adjacent benzene ring to yield the required ladder polymer, which has proved to be a semiconductor with an intrinsic electric conductivity of 2 × 10^-5 S/cm. A comparison of the spectroscopic properties of the ladder polymer with those of the model compounds such as 5-methylphenoxathiinium triflate and phenoxathiin discloses π-electron delocalization over the methylsulfonio linkages, demonstrating the efficacy of the ladderization for p−π/d−π interactions in arylsulfonium moieties. This synthetic approach permits the thio and alkylsulfonio ladder linkages for a variety of phenyl ethers to form in high yields.

AIMS:Although frequent reduction or loss of DCC (deleted in colorectal carcinomas) has been demonstrated in gliomas, the association with cell kinetics and survival is still unclear. METHODS:A total of 119 astrocytomas, comprising 39 grade IV, 36 grade III, and 44 low grade tumours, were immunohistochemically investigated, along with 26 normal adult brain samples and two fetal brains. The results were compared with p53 abnormalities, Ki-67 labelling index (LI), mitotic index (MI), apoptotic index (AI), and survival. RESULTS:In normal adult and fetal brain tissues, DCC expression was detected in mature and terminally differentiated neuronal cells but not glial elements. In astrocytomas, whereas DCC expression was still clearly shown with low grade malignancy, DCC scores were significantly decreased in high histological grade malignancy, along with an increase in cell kinetics determined by AI, MI, and Ki-67 LI values. In addition, p53 LI values were significantly increased, although a direct link between DCC scores and p53 LI values was not evident. Univariate analysis revealed that high DCC scores and low p53 LI values were closely related to a favourable outcome for astrocytoma, although only the AI was an independent prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS:The loss of DCC expression may be closely related to changes in cell kinetics and tumour phenotype in astrocytomas, independent of p53 abnormalities.

To clarify the relation between alteration of expression of cell adhesion molecules and progression of extrahepatic bile duct carcinomas. 55 cases were immunohistochemically examined for E-cadherin, alpha-catenin, beta-catenin, and CD44, with additional reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Southern blotting hybridization (RT-PCR/SBH) assays. Levels of E-cadherin, alpha-catenin, and beta-catenin proteins were lower in carcinomas than in normal mucosa, while CD44 variants 3 and 6 were upregulated. Well-differentiated carcinoma showed higher expression of E-cadherin and alpha-catenin than moderately to poorly differentiated types. Macroscopically papillary lesions had higher expression of E-cadherin than their nonpapillary counterparts. RT-PCR/SBH for CD44 revealed the CD44 variant form to be more prevalent in carcinoma than in normal mucosa, correlating with the immunohistochemical results, and with more exon variety. The Cox proportional hazards test identified histologic type and E-cadherin expression as prognostic factors. Among the examined molecules, E-cadherin was especially related to papillary mass formation and a good prognosis.

Abstract: Background. Defensins are antimicrobial peptides that constitute 30% to 50% of total azurophil granule proteins. Although the activation of azurophils during hemodialysis has been reported, including the release of granulocyte lactoferrin, myeloperoxidase, and elastase, the release of defensins during hemodialysis has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of hemodialysis on defensin release. Methods. Plasma defensin levels and excreted defensins in dialyzer eluates and dialysates during hemodialysis were determined by radioimmunoassay. Thirty hemodialysis patients were divided into three groups, each group using a different dialyzer membrane: cuprophan (CU), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), or polysulfone (PS). Results. The postdialysis plasma defensin level in the CU group was significantly increased compared with the predialysis level. In contrast, defensin levels in the PMMA and PS groups showed significant decreases postdialysis. The predialysis neutrophil count and defensin level exhibited a significant positive correlation in all groups. However, postdialysis, a significant positive correlation was found only in the CU group. Interestingly, defensin excretion in the dialyzer eluates of the PMMA group and in the dialysates of the PS group was higher than that in each of the other two groups respectively. Conclusions. No significant statistical correlation between postdialysis neutrophil count and defensin level was observed in the PMMA and PS groups, a finding that may be explained by the increased excretion of defensins during hemodialysis in these groups. These results suggested that plasma defensin level may be a marker for granulocyte activation in patients dialyzed with membranes showing lower levels of excreted defensins. This study also revealed the importance of determining both plasma changes and excreted volumes of granule proteins to define neutrophil degranulation during hemodialysis.

Following infection with Neospora caninum, BALB/c mice were shown to be resistant to an acute infection but developed a latent chronic infection. However, BALB/c background gamma interferon (IFN-gamma)-deficient mice were sensitive to the acute infection. Since the immune response in IFN-gamma-deficient mice is scantly known, we examined the function of macrophages, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II expression, T-cell responses, and serum cytokine levels in the mice. All IFN-gamma-deficient mice died within 9 days of infection with N. caninum, whereas those treated with exogenous IFN-gamma lived longer. Although N. caninum invaded various organs in both types of mice at the early stage of infection, the parasite was not detected in the brains of resistant hosts until 21 days postinfection (dpi). Peritoneal macrophages from IFN-gamma-deficient mice were activated by exogenous IFN-gamma associated with inhibition of parasite growth and nitric oxide production as were those from BALB/c mice. IFN-gamma-deficient mice failed to increase MHC class II expression on macrophages. Moreover, BALB/c mice induced T-cell proliferation while IFN-gamma-deficient mice did not. However, in vivo treatment with exogenous IFN-gamma induced up-regulated MHC class II expression in IFN-gamma-deficient mice. BALB/c mice treated with an antibody to CD4 showed an increase in morbidity and mortality after parasite infection. In serum, significant levels of IFN-gamma and interleukin-4 (IL-4) were detected in resistant hosts, whereas IL-10 was detected in IFN-gamma-deficient mice. The levels of IL-12 in IFN-gamma-deficient mice were higher than those in BALB/c mice at 7 dpi. The present study indicates that early IFN-gamma production has a crucial role in the activation of peritoneal macrophages for the induction of protective immune responses against N. caninum.

The in vivo pathogenicity of canine parvovirus (CPV) type 2c (strain V203) and of CPV type 2a (strain V154) against cats was investigated. Our results indicate that both types of CPV have the potential to induce disease in cats.

A seroepidemiological survey of canine distemper virus (CDV) infection in Asian felids revealed that the prevalence of antibodies varied depending on region and, in some cases, exposure to dogs. The serologic pattern in cats with antibodies indicated that they had likely been exposed to field strains rather than typical CDV vaccine strains.

The thermal conductivity κ(T) and the thermal diffusivity α(T) of La1—XSrXMnO3 (X ≥ 0.50) have been measured and phonon scattering mechanisms have been analyzed in terms of the power of dependence on phonon frequency ωph. For 0.50 ≤X < 0.55, where the high temperature ferromagnetic phase becomes unstable against the A-type antiferromagnetic (AF) order, the phonon scattering mechanism proportional to ω1ph is enhanced in the low temperature AF phase. In contrast, in the charge ordered phase for X ≥ 0.67, the phonon scattering mechanism proportional to ω4ph is enhanced. The enhancement in the phonon scattering mechanisms reflects the types of the order in this manganese system.

The focus of this symposium was to present new information on the morphogenesis of Candida albicans, particularly how it relates to signal transduction pathways and other genes involved in the regulation of morphogenesis. In addition, we discuss the role of adherence and colonization of the oral cavity by the organism and discuss the role of mannan as an adhesin that recognizes the human red blood cell. C. albicans utilizes at least two signal pathways to regulate its conversion from a yeast form to filamentous growth (hyphae). One of these two pathways is similar to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae pseudohyphal/mating pathway, which utilizes the regulatory protein, Cph1p. The other pathway is not totally defined but requires a second regulatory protein, referred to as Efg1p. Other signal pathways may exist, which include a two-component histidine kinase and response regulator proteins. The latter pathway(s) may include proteins such as Chk1p, Ssk1p, Shi1p and Cos1p/Nik1p. Mutations in strains, which specifically target these proteins, result in morphogenesis defects and avirulence or attenuation of strains. A growth regulatory gene has also been recently defined whose expression is associated with growth cessation and which appears to be a necessary prerequisite in conversion of the organism to a filamentous growth form. Starvation of yeast cells induces exponentially grown cells (and usually non-germinative) to germinate. This phenomenonis also observed in cells that are transiently treated with metabolic inhibitors. During each of these treatments (starvation, metabolic inhibition), expression of a growth regulatory gene ( CGRI) increases. Adherence of C. albicans to host cells and tissues is complex; several proteins, which appear to have host recognition functions, have been defined. In theoral cavity, C. albicans selectively adheres to salivary proteins, which are absorbed to many oral surfaces. This mechanism enables the cells to colonize surfaces of the oral cavity. An understanding of these interactions may lead to strategies to prevent oral disease. Mannan from C. albicans may provide a host recognition function for C. albicans. Recent experiments indicate that mannan binds to human redblood cells and causes hemolysis. Binding of mannan to the band 3 protein of human redblood cells has been established. This activity may be associated with the ability of the organism to utilize hemoglobin (and iron).

Human thyroid hormone receptor (TR) is encoded by two distinct genes, TR alpha and TR beta. TR heterodimerizes with retinoid X receptor (RXR) and binds efficiently to the thyroid hormone (T(3)) response element (TRE) of target genes. In the absence of T(3), unliganded TR suppresses the basal promoter activity of positively regulated genes (silencing). Silencing mediator for retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors (SMRT) and nuclear receptor co-repressor (N-CoR) interact with unliganded TR and function as corepressor proteins. Previously, we found beta F451X with carboxyl (C)-terminal 11-amino acid deletion had stronger silencing potency than wild-type TR beta 1 and beta E449X with C-terminal 13-amino acid deletion on a subset of TREs. In the present study, to assess the isoform-specific effects of the C-terminal truncations on TR silencing, we constructed two mutant TR alpha 1s (alpha F397X and alpha E395X) with the same respective C-terminal truncations as beta F451X and beta E449X and analysed their silencing activities. Unlike beta F451X and beta E449X, alpha F397X and alpha E395X showed similarly stronger silencing potency than wild-type TR alpha 1. We further studied the abilities of wild-type and the mutant TR beta 1s and alpha 1s on RXR and co-repressor binding by a two-hybrid interference assay. beta F451X had significantly stronger abilities to bind to RXR and SMRT than did wild-type TR beta 1 and beta E449X. In contrast, wild-type TR alpha 1, alpha F397X and alpha E395X showed similar abilities to bind to RXR and SMRT. beta E449X and alpha E395X, which have identical C-terminal truncation, showed less ability to bind to N-CoR than did wild-type TR beta 1 and beta F451X and wild-type TR alpha 1 and alpha F397X respectively. These results indicate that an identical C-terminal truncation gives rise to different effects on TR beta 1 and alpha1 with respect to silencing potency, RXR binding and SMRT binding. The difference in the silencing potency among wild-type TR beta 1, beta F451X and beta E449X correlated well with the difference in the ability to bind co-repressor SMRT.

We determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome of an angiosperm, sugar beet (Beta vulgaris cv TK81-O). The 368 799 bp genome contains 29 protein, five rRNA and 25 tRNA genes, most of which are also shared by the mitochondrial genome of Arabidopsis thaliana, the only other completely sequenced angiosperm mitochondrial genome. However, four genes identified here (namely rps13, trnF-GAA, ccb577 and trnC2-GCA) are missing in Arabidopsis mitochondria. In addition, four genes found in Arabidopsis (ccb228, rpl2, rpl16 and trnY2-GUA) are entirely absent in sugar beet or present only in severely truncated form. Introns, duplicated sequences, additional reading frames and inserted foreign sequences (chloroplast, nuclear and plasmid DNA sequences) contribute significantly to the overall size of the sugar beet mitochondrial genome. Nevertheless, 55.6% of the genome has no obvious features of information. We identified a novel tRNA(Cys) gene (trnC2-GCA) which shows no sequence homology with any tRNA(Cys) genes reported so far in higher plants. Intriguingly, this tRNA gene is actually transcribed into a mature tRNA, whereas the native tRNA(Cys) gene (trnC1-GCA) is most likely a pseudogene.

In rat embryos, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-16 is predominantly expressed in brown adipose tissue. To elucidate the role of FGF-16, we examined the expression of FGF-16 mRNA in rat embryonic brown adipose tissue at different developmental stages by Northern blotting analysis and in situ hybridization. FGF-16 mRNA was expressed abundantly in brown adipose tissue during embryonic day 17. 5, embryonic days 17.5-19.5, and thereafter at lower levels into the neonatal period. The expression profile of FGF-16 mRNA well corresponds to the proliferative profile of embryonic brown adipose tissue reported. We also examined the mitogenic activity of recombinant rat FGF-16 for primary brown adipocytes prepared from rat embryonic brown adipose tissue. FGF-16 showed significant mitogenic activity for primary brown adipocytes. The mitogenic activity was found to be exerted by binding and activating FGF receptor-4 in the brown adipose tissue. As a great induction of proliferation of rat brown adipose tissue during cold acclimation was reported, we also examined the expression of FGF-16 mRNA in the brown adipose tissue during cold acclimation by Northern blotting analysis. The expression of FGF-16 mRNA was not increased, but rather decreased. The expression profile of FGF-16 mRNA and the mitogenic activity of FGF-16 reported here indicate that FGF-16 is a unique growth factor involved in proliferation of embryonic brown adipose tissue.

Abstract: We describe the expression of SAG-1 cDNA in B6C3F1 mice by microinjecting a 3.3 kbp DNA fragment, consisting of the cytomegalovirus enhancer-chicken β-actin hybrid promoter and SAG-1 into the pronucleus of a fertilized egg at the one-cell stage. Offspring derived from this microinjection were analyzed for the integration and functional expression of the SAG-1 transgene. Steady-state expressions of both the mRNA for SAG-1 and SAG-1 protein product were detected in the brain, thymus, spleen and liver. Approximately 50% of F1 and F2 progeny inherited the SAG-1 transgene from SAG-1 transgenic mice in Mendelian fashion. These results indicated that SAG-1 transgenic lines were established. Transgenic mice harboring the SAG-1 gene will contribute a critical tool of defining the molecular mechanisms of SAG-1 in pathogenesis and host immune response.

While searching for natural ligands for the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma, we identified a synthetic compound that binds to this receptor. Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) is a ligand for PPARgamma with a K(d(app)) of 100 microM. This compound has no apparent ability to activate the transcriptional activity of PPARgamma; however, BADGE can antagonize the ability of agonist ligands such as rosiglitazone to activate the transcriptional and adipogenic action of this receptor. BADGE also specifically blocks the ability of natural adipogenic cell lines such as 3T3-L1 and 3T3-F442A cells to undergo hormone-mediated cell differentiation. These results provide the first pharmacological evidence that PPARgamma activity is required for the hormonally induced differentiation of adipogenic cells.