Superconducting gap structure of spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4 studied by thermal conductivity.

To clarify the superconducting gap structure of the spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4, the in-plane thermal conductivity has been measured as a function of relative orientations of the thermal flow, the crystal axes, and a magnetic field rotating within the 2D RuO2 planes. The in-plane variation of the thermal conductivity is incompatible with any model with line nodes vertical to the 2D planes and indicates the existence of horizontal nodes. These results place strong constraints on models that attempt to explain the mechanism of the triplet superconductivity.

Differentiation-inducing effects of small fruit juices on HL-60 leukemic cells.

Epidemiological studies indicate that high intakes of fruits and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of cancer, and several plant-derived drugs have been developed in medical oncology. Since only a small part of the flora has been tested for any kind of bioactivity, we chose small fruits as sources of differentiation-inducing activity against HL-60 leukemic cells. We have prepared juices from various small fruits that grow mainly in the northern part of Japan. Screening of 43 samples indicated that juices of Actinidia polygama Maxim., Rosa rugosa Thunb., Vaccinium smallii A. Gray, and Sorbus sambucifolia Roem. strongly induced differentiation of HL-60 cells to monocyte/macrophage characteristics in a concentration-dependent manner as indicated by histochemical and biochemical examinations.

Antiproliferative effects of small fruit juices on several cancer cell lines.

Juices prepared from small fruits, mainly growing in the northern part of Japan, were studied in an attempt to explore the feasibility of an assay that screens cytotoxic properties. Screening of 43 small fruit juices indicated that Actinidia polygama Maxim., Rosa rugosa Thunb., Vaccinium smallii A. Gray and Sorbus sambucifolia Roem, strongly inhibited the proliferation of all cancer cell lines examined and yet these juices were substantially less cytotoxic toward normal human cell lines.

Double stapling method of anastomosis after esophagectomy with endoscopic stapler to prevent postoperative stricture.

To prevent stricture of an anastomotic site after operation of esophageal cancer, a new surgical technique, the "double-stapling method," was designed and applied clinically to 29 patients. According to the surgical technique, an automatic suture device for endoscopy was inserted from the side of the lesser curvature of the stomach to the esophageal side after performing end-side anastomosis between the esophagus and the stomach tube using a conventional circular anastomotic device to perform anastomosis between the anterior wall of the esophagus and the posterior wall of the stomach tube. As a result, a conventional anastomotic site, which was a plane (two dimensional), was transformed into a three-dimensional configuration. In the postoperative measurement of the anastomotic site using a measurement forceps, the inner diameter of the site was 8.6+/-3.1 mm in the circular group, while it was 17.2+/-4.5 mm in the DS group, showing a significant difference (p < 0.0001). Minor leakage was observed in three patients as a postoperative complication, but no postoperative hemorrhage occurred.

[Participation of sialic acid residue in the fibrinogen-fibrin conversion by thrombin].

In order to estimate the effects of sialic acid residues in fibrinogen on the fibrinogen-fibrin conversion by bovine thrombin the Michaelis constant (Km) and maximum velocity (Vmax) were determined. The Km value obtained by the use of intact-fibrinogen was smaller than that of asialo-fibrinogen. This fact suggests that the sialic acid residues affected the formation of the enzyme-substrate complex. It was also found that in comparison with the asialo-fibrinogen, the intact-fibrinogen was significantly influenced in the gel formation time by the ionic strength in the reaction solution.

Role of the gene encoding lipase activator from Pseudomonas sp. strain KWI-56 in in vitro activation of lipase.

The function of the gene, act, which encodes lipase activator and that is downstream from the gene that encodes lipase, lip, in Pseudomonas sp. strain KWI-56, was studied with Escherichia coli as the host organism. E. coli carrying both the lip and act genes in either cis or trans produced an active lipase, but E. coli carrying only the lip gene produced an equal amount of inactive lipase protein. The active and inactive lipases had the same molecular weight and the same N-terminal amino acid sequence, so their primary structures were the same. The inactive lipase was not activated spontaneously, but it was activated in vitro by the addition of a crude cell extract of E. coli carrying an expression plasmid of the act gene. Lipase from Pseudomonas sp. strain KWI-56 was completely without enzymatic activity when denatured, but regained activity in vitro upon addition of the crude cell extract. These results indicate that the act gene affects the activation involved in the conformational change of the lipase protein to its active form.

Purification and characterization of a carboxylesterase from Pseudomonas sp. KWI-56.

An intracellular carboxylesterase from Pseudomonas sp. was overproduced in E. coli, and purified to homogeneity by a combination of hydrogen bond chromatography, gel filtration, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Gel filtration and SDS-PAGE suggested that the purified enzyme consisted of two subunits of molecular mass of 28 kDa. Its isoelectric point was 5.9. The enzyme was thermolabile, and showed its maximum activity at 22 degrees C (pH 7.5). Methyl propionate was hydrolyzed at the highest rate among the fatty acid methyl esters tested. PMSF, DFP, PCMB, and HgCl2 inhibited the enzyme markedly, suggesting that serine and/or cysteine is in or near the active site.

Percutaneous transgastric intestinal decompression: the management of malignant bowel obstruction without nasal intubation.

We inserted a long intestinal tube via the percutaneous transgastric route in three patients with an inoperable malignant bowel obstruction. The percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy technique facilitated this method. The main purpose of our procedure is to achieve direct intestinal decompression without nasal intubation, which is not always possible by venting gastrostomy alone. Palliative intestinal decompression proved to be effective in all patients. This alternative therapeutic strategy for managing bowel obstruction in terminal cancer patients is herein presented.

Cloning and sequence analysis of an esterase gene from Pseudomonas sp. KWI-56.

The gene encoding an esterase from Pseudomonas sp. KWI-56 was cloned and sequenced. The nucleotide sequence contained an open reading frame encoding a polypeptide comprising 262 amino acids, whose molecular weight agreed well with the value obtained by SDS-PAGE. Comparison of the amino acid sequence with those of the other homologous enzymes suggested that Ser-92 and His-24l might be included in the catalytic triad.

Anthelmintic efficacy of milbemycin D against Toxocara cati and Ancylostoma tubaeforme in domestic cats.

Anthelmintic efficacy of milbemycin D was evaluated against Toxocara cati and Ancylostoma tubaeforme in domestic cats. Twelve cats naturally infected with each nematode species were allocated among 2 groups of 6 animals each, and milbemycin D was orally administered to the 2 groups of cats in doses of 0.05 mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg body weight, respectively. In all the cats infected with T. cati, fecal egg counts decreased followed by their disappearance from the feces and 2-35 worms were excreted into the feces after the medication in both doses of 0.05 mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg. At postmortem of these medicated groups, no worms were detected from 4 cats of each group, but 1 and 2 immature worms were recovered from the other 2 cats respectively. In the cats infected with A. tubaeforme, fecal egg counts decreased followed by the disappearance from the feces and 2-62 worms were excreted into the feces in all the cats of the 2 groups, no nematodes remaining at postmortem. These results indicate that milbemycin D is fully effective against T. cati and A. tubaeforme in cats in a dose of 0.05-0.1 mg/kg.

Cloning, nucleotide sequencing, and expression in Escherichia coli of a lipase and its activator genes from Pseudomonas sp. KWI-56.

A lipase gene (lip) and its activator gene (act) on a 2.9 kb BglII-EcoRI fragment from Pseudomonas sp. KWI-56 were cloned in Escherichia coli using pUC19 as a vector plasmid. From the sequencing results, the open reading frames of the lip and the act were found to contain 1092 and 1032 nucleotides, respectively. The act existed downstream of the lip with the same orientation. When the lip was expressed in E. coli using the lac promoter on the pUC plasmid vector, the lipase activity of E. coli carrying both the lip and the act was 200-fold greater than that carrying only the lip. This result suggested the act was important in the expression of the lip in E. coli.