A simple method for confirming correct endotracheal intubation in mice.

Endotracheal intubation in mice is both a common and important technique. However, it is a difficult procedure because of the small orotracheal size and the success rate is variable. There have been many reports of refined techniques that facilitate intubation but only a few reports have proposed how to verify the proper placement of the endotracheal tube. We describe a novel, safe and reliable method to confirm endotracheal intubation in mice using an extension tube for intravenous infusion. One drop of water was instilled in the extension tube and connected to the end of the catheter used as an endotracheal tube. When the catheter was inserted correctly into the trachea, the water in the extension tube oscillated in synchrony with the movement of the mouse's thorax, indicating correct placement of the catheter. This method was simple, reliable and use materials that are routinely available. This method is helpful for experimental mouse models that require airway access.

Improvement of wastewater treatment performance of the Fukashiba treatment plant.

The Fukashiba Treatment Plant Kashima Rinkai Specified Sewage Works has received wastewater from the petrochemical complex (90%) and public sewage of Kamisu and Hasaki town (10%). For this reason, the plant is facing many difficulties in producing good quality effluent. In order to solve these difficulties, we are reviewing the treatment performance and making efforts for its improvement with nitrification inhibition, control of bio-persistent substances and the PRTR approach.

Financial management of Kashima Rinkai Specified Sewage Works.

The Kashima Rinkai Specified Sewage Works (KRSSW) is located at the northern side of the Kashima Coastal Industrial Zone, facing the Sea of Kashimanada (Pacific Ocean). It straddles one city and two townships: the city of Kashima, which boasts Kashima Port, a transportation center that was constructed on Kashimanada Beach by digging into the virgin sands, and the towns of Kamisu and Hasaki. The industries located there include steel, petrochemicals, chemicals, foodstuffs, livestock feeds, electric power and machinery metals. Industrial wastewaters with public sewage, except steel industry, are treated by the Fukashiba Treatment Plant which is managed by the Ibaraki Prefectural Government. The financial management of KRSSW is analysed to show its stand-alone condition.

Operation and management of the Fukashiba treatment plant.

Since the opening of the Fukashiba Treatment Plant in 1970, the number of industries and the amount of wastewater requiring treatment in the service area have been steadily increasing. In response to the recent economic downturn in Japan, these rates of increase have slowed, but are not decreasing. The pollution load in the wastewater from these industries has decreased and is now stable. Unlike the case of ordinary domestic sewage, the effects of the various types of substances contained in wastewaters delivered from the petrochemical complex to the treatment plant, for example, corrosion, are quite large. Measures to deal with corrosion problems, such as replacement or modification of the facilities, improvement of the efficiencies of facility operation and wastewater treatment, and improvement of measures against odours, are being implemented.

Pharmacological applications of inorganic complexes.

Inorganic complexes have long been utilized for many therapeutic purposes. They were used or tried, perhaps because of the general notion that inorganic compounds (e.g., metal complexes) are toxic and a controlled use of such a compound may suppress some biological process. In this review, we briefly outline the properties of several selected groups of inorganic complexes and how they can affect biological systems and contribute to human pathologies.

Soybean protein lowers serum cholesterol levels in hamsters: effect of debittered undigested fraction.

The undigested fraction (UDF) of soybean protein exerts a marked hypocholesterolemic effect in relation to soybean protein (SOY) in rats. The present study was conducted to confirm whether UDF was effective in hamsters as in rats in combination with different fat sources, either perilla oil (PER) or safflower oil (SAF). Because the hamster, unlike the rat, disliked the bitter taste of UDF, the effect of debittering UDF also was studied. Cholesterol-enriched (0.2%) diets containing 20% protein and 10% fat were fed to hamsters for 4 wk. UDF was more hypocholesterolemic than soybean protein in hamsters regardless of the dietary fat source. The ratio of high-density lipoprotein to total cholesterol essentially remained unchanged. The debittered UDF, without influencing food intake and thereby weight gain, exerted a significant hypocholesterolemic effect comparable with UDF in relation to SOY accompanying stimulation of fecal neutral and acidic steroid excretion. The fatty acid composition of liver phospholipids was influenced by the type of the dietary protein, and both UDF seemed to interfere characteristically more than SOY with the desaturation systems between linoleic acid and arachidonic acid. Thus, the debittered UDF, similar to UDF, exerted a distinct influence on the various parameters of lipid metabolism in relation to SOY.

The diagnostic role of 201T1 SPET imaging in patients with lung tumours: comparison with computed tomography.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of 201Tl single photon emission tomography (SPET) in differentiating histological types and lymph node sized of lung tumours based on the early uptake ratio (EUR), delayed uptake ratio (DUR) and retention index (RI). We also wished to compare the effectiveness of 201Tl SPET and computed tomography (CT) in detecting lymphadenopathy. We examined 41 subjects using both 201Tl SPET and CT. Fifty-seven lymph nodes were detected and were grouped according to size. The EUR, DUR and RI were determined and analysed using Student's t-test and a P-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Lymphadenopathy detected by both 201Tl SPET and CT correlated with the operative findings. There were no statistically differences in the EUR, DUR and RI between the various histological types. Statistically significant differences in EUR were noted between lymph nodes > 5 cm in size and those 3-5 cm in size, as well as between those < 3 cm and > 5 cm in size No significant differences were seen for the RI. The specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of 201Tl SPET were 81.3, 90.2 and 87.7% respectively, whereas for CT they were 81.3, 100 and 94.74% respectively. In conclusion, quantitative analysis with 201Tl SPET was unable to differentiate with accuracy between histological types but it could differentiate between nodes of varying sizes. However, CT had a better specificity and accuracy.

Purification and characterization of recombinant mouse and herpes simplex virus ribonucleotide reductase R2 subunit.

Overexpression of recombinant mouse and herpes simplex virus ribonucleotide reductase small subunit (protein R2) has been obtained by using the T7 RNA polymerase expression system. Both proteins, which constitute about 30% of the soluble Escherichia coli proteins, have been purified to homogeneity by a rapid and simple procedure. At this stage, few of the molecules contain the iron-tyrosyl free-radical center necessary for activity; however, addition of ferrous iron and oxygen under controlled conditions resulted in a mouse R2 protein containing 0.8 radical and 2 irons per polypeptide chain. In this reaction, one oxygen molecule was needed to generate each tyrosyl radical. Both proteins had full enzymatic activity. EPR spectroscopy showed that iron-center/radical interactions are considerably stronger in both mouse and viral proteins than in E. coli protein R2. CD spectra showed that the bacterial protein contains 70% alpha-helical structure compared to only about 50% in the mouse and viral proteins. Light absorption spectra between 310 and 600 nm indicate close similarity of the mu-oxo-bridged binuclear iron centers in all three R2 proteins. Furthermore, the paramagnetically shifted iron ligand proton NMR resonances show that the antiferromagnetic coupling and ligand arrangement in the iron center are nearly identical in all three species.

Tyrosyl free radical formation in the small subunit of mouse ribonucleotide reductase.

Each R2 subunit of mammalian ribonucleotide reductase contains a pair of high spin ferric ions and a tyrosyl free radical essential for activity. To study the mechanism of tyrosyl radical formation, substoichiometric amounts of Fe(II) were added to recombinant mouse R2 apoprotein under strictly anaerobic conditions and then the solution was exposed to air. Low temperature EPR spectroscopy showed that the signal from the generated tyrosyl free radical correlated well with the quantity of the Fe(II) added with a stoichiometry of 3 Fe(II) needed to produce 1 tyrosyl radical: 3 Fe(II) + P + O2 + Tyr-OH + H+----Fe(III)O2-Fe(III)-P + H2O. + Tyr-O. + Fe(III), where P is an iron-binding site of protein R2 and Tyr-OH is the active tyrosyl residue. The O-O bond of a postulated intermediate O2(2-)-Fe(III)2-P state is cleaved by the extra electron provided by Fe(II) leading to formation of OH., which in turn reacts with Tyr-OH to give Tyr-O.. In the presence of ascorbate, added to reduce the monomeric Fe(III) formed, 80% of the Fe(II) added produced a radical. The results strongly indicate that each dimeric Fe(III) center during its formation can generate a tyrosyl-free radical and that iron binding to R2 apoprotein is highly cooperative.

Ligation and catheterization of the hepatic artery for palliative treatment of malignant hepatic tumors.

Eleven unresectable hepatoma patients and three metastatic tumor patients with colonic cancer underwent ligation and/or catheterization of the hepatic artery of the main tumor-bearing zone. Mitomycin C (liquid or microcapsulated) or Adriamycin were administered via the catheter intermittently or continuously with a portable pump device. In follow-up study the tumor size was frequently visualized by arteriography via the cannula. Some tumors became smaller with calcification. The levels of alpha-Fetoprotein of CEA in some cases dropped remarkably and stayed low for a fairly long period. There was no immediate postoperative death. Six of 11 unresectable hepatoma patients survived longer than 8 months with a maximum survival of 17.5 months. Two of three metastatic patients have survived more than 11 months at this writing. This method seems effective for prolongation of patient survival.

Copper and the biological evolution.

Copper is contained in a number of enzymes and proteins. A remarkable feature is that except for the electron-carrying blue copper proteins (azurin and plastocyanin) and copper-containing cytochrome c oxidase found in some cyanobacteria and some aerobic bacteria, all copper enzymes and proteins are found only in eukaryotes. In the early and middle precambrian period when the stationary oxygen pressure in the atmosphere was quite low, copper existed as either metallic or cuprous sulfides which are very insoluble in aqueous media; thus copper might have been unavailable to organisms. The time when copper became Cu(II) upon rise of the atmospheric oxygen pressure and thus became available to organisms seems to be in the middle of Proteozoic era when first eukaryotic organisms seem to have appeared on earth. Thus copper may be considered to be an indicator element for the atmospheric evolution (switching from anoxygenic to oxygenic) and the evolution of higher organisms (eukaryotes).

Percutaneous needle muscle biopsy in the diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders in children. Histological, histochemical and electron microscopic studies.

Percutaneous needle biopsy was carried out in 75 patients with various neurological and muscle diseases (myopathies in 7, lower motor neuron diseases in 22, upper motor neuron diseases in 6, and unlocalized or miscellaneous diseases in 13) and its usefulness as a diagnostic procedure was evaluated. The ages of the subjects ranged from 2 months to 35 years, 77% were younger than 6 years. The materials were examined histologically, histochemically and electron microscopically with the following results. 1. The muscle volume obtained by needle biopsy was sufficient for studies in 64 cases (85%), insufficient in 8 (11%), while in 3 cases no muscle tissue was obtained. 2. Histological staining properties were excellent in all samples examined. In histochemical preparations, staining was judged as good in 61 cases, but poor in 11 due to an inappropriate freezing procedure. 3. In 33 cases, both needle and open biopsies were carried out simultaneously, and the morphological findings of the specimens were compared. There were no significant differences between them histologically as well as histochemically. Electron microscopic examinations also provided identical information in the seven cases studied so far. 4. The method of needle biopsy has many advantages over open biopsy as a routine diagnostic procedure for neuromuscular disorders in infants and young children, but there are a few disadvantages such as the requirement of technical skill and the inappropriateness for histogram construction in some cases.

The evolution of the environment and its influence on the evolution of life.

Thermodynamic data and known paleogeological data were used to deduce when and what elements (compounds) were readily available during the whole history of the earth. On the basic assumption that available compounds would dictate the type of organisms to emerge, we attempted to derive a kind of evolutionary tree. This was then compared with the existing evolutionary trees derived from the sequences of proteins and polynucleotides.