Chemical analysis of soluble fractions from normal and autolysed rabbit liver by column chromatography

Chromatography on Sephadex G-200 was performed with the soluble fraction of homogenated rabbit liver, which was extracted with 0.1 M phosphate buffer containing 0.1 M NaCl. and the influences of autolysis on the soluble fraction of liver were also examined. The soluble fraction of liver was different from serum in molecular weight, in electrophoretic character and in components with sedimentation coefficients. The soluble fraction of liver was stable under the influence of Mg and K ions, and rather unstable in the presence of Na ions. Serum was fractionated in three main peaks. The soluble fraction of liver was fractionated in a similar pattern as of serum, but the first peak contained nucleic acid and lipoprotein. The second contained albumin. 32p radioactivity peaks of the stored sample appeared with change in patterns by autolysis from the original, and were observed wide based and continuous figures in retarded peaks. The correlations with the first peak and retarded peaks were represented by the analysis of phosphorus compounds and electrophoresis. In lipid analysis, both diglyceride and monoglyceride gradually decreased, and phospholipid pattern was observed to increase in retarded peaks by autolysis. Lipoprotein or lipid-albumin complex was gradually converted to smaller molecular weight compounds, and appeared in retarded peaks.</p

Stability of complementarity between Japanese FDI and import of intermediate goods : agglomeration effects and parent-firm heterogeneity

This paper examines the duration of intermediate goods imports and its determinants for Japanese affiliates in China. Our estimations, using a unique parent-affiliate-transaction matched panel dataset for a discrete-time hazard model over the 2000–2006 period, reveal that products with a higher upstreamness index, differentiated goods, and goods traded under processing trade are less likely to be substituted with local procurement. Firms located in more agglomerated regions with more foreign affiliates tend to shorten the duration of imports from the home country. For parent-firm characteristics, multinational enterprises that have many foreign affiliates or longer foreign production experience import intermediate goods for a longer duration

A Dichotomous Role for Nitric Oxide During Acute Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Mice

Production of nitric oxide by macrophages is believed to be an important microbicidal mechanism for a variety of intracellular pathogens, including Toxoplasma gondii. Mice with a targeted disruption of the inducible nitric oxide synthase gene (iNOS) were infected orally with T. gondii tissue cysts. Time to death was prolonged compared with parental controls. Histologic analysis of tissue from infected mice showed scattered small foci of inflammation with parasites in various tissues of iNOS−/− mice, whereas tissue from the parental C57BL/6 mice had more extensive tissue inflammation with few visible parasites. In particular, extensive ulceration and necrosis of distal small intestine and fatty degeneration of the liver was seen in the parental mice at day 7 postinfection, as compared with the iNOS−/− mice where these tissues appeared normal. Serum interferon γ and tumor necrosis factor α levels postinfection were equally elevated in both mouse strains. Treatment of the parental mice with a NO synthase inhibitor, aminoguanidine, prevented early death in these mice as well as the hepatic degeneration and small bowel necrosis seen in acutely infected control parentals. These findings indicate that NO production during acute infection with T. gondii can kill intracellular parasites but can be detrimental, even lethal, to the host

The electric field changes and UHF radiations caused by the triggered lightning in Japan

In the rocket triggered lightning experiment of fiscal 1989, researchers observed electromagnetic field changes and UHF electromagnetic radiation accompanying rocket triggered lightning. It was found that no rapid changes corresponding to the return stroke of natural lightning were observed in the electric field changes accompanying rocket triggered lightning. However, continuous currents were present. In the case of rocket triggered lightning to the tower, electromagnetic field changes corresponding to the initiation of triggered lightning showed a bipolar pulse of a relatively large amplitude. In contrast, the rocket triggered lightning to the ground did not have such a bipolar pulse. The UHF radiation accompanying the rocket triggered lightning preceded the waveform portions corresponding to the first changes in electromagnetic fields. The number of isolated pulses in the UHF radiation showed a correlation with the time duration from rocket launching up to triggered lightning. The time interval between consecutive isolated pulses tended to get shorter with the passage of time, just like the stepped leaders of natural lightning

Synaptotagmin 2 is ectopically overexpressed in excitatory presynapses of a widely used CaMKΙΙα-Cre mouse line

The CaMKΙΙα-Cre mouse lines, possibly the most used Cre lines in neuroscience, have resulted in over 800 articles to date. Here, we demonstrate that the second most widely used CaMKΙΙα-Cre line, Tg(Camk2a-cre)2Gsc (or CamiCre), shows ectopic overexpression of synaptotagmin 2, the most efficient Ca2+ sensor for fast synchronous neurotransmitter release, in excitatory presynapses of Cre+ brains. Moreover, the upregulation of immediate-early genes and genes incorporated in bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenes, such as L-proline transporter Slc6a7, was found in Cre+ hippocampus. The copy number and integration site of the transgene are suggested to have caused the aberrant gene expression in Cre+ brains. Most importantly, CamiCre+ mice showed functional phenotypes, such as hyperactivity and enhanced associative learning, suggesting that neural activities are affected. These unexpected results suggest difficulties in interpreting results from studies using the CamiCre line and raise a warning of potential pitfalls in using Cre driver lines in general