Impaired Anaphylactic Responses with Intact Sensitivity to Endotoxin in Mice Lacking a Platelet-activating Factor Receptor

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a potent phospholipid mediator with diverse biological activities in addition to its well-known ability to stimulate platelet aggregation. Pharmacologic studies had suggested a role for PAF in pregnancy, neuronal cell migration, anaphylaxis, and endotoxic shock. Here we show that disruption of the PAF receptor gene in mice caused a marked reduction in systemic anaphylactic symptoms. Unexpectedly, however, the PAF receptor–deficient mice developed normally, were fertile, and remained sensitive to bacterial endotoxin. These mutant mice clearly show that PAF plays a dominant role in eliciting anaphylaxis, but that it is not essential for reproduction, brain development, or endotoxic shock

Profitable Mass-Production of Acid-Modified Recovered Resins for Value-Added Mechanical Recycling as a Compatibilizer for Composites

To realize upgrade recycling of commodity-type polyolefin resins, acid modification with maleic anhydride (MAH) and organic peroxide was applied to polypropylene (PP)-rich commercial recovered resins provided by different manufacturers. Modification conditions were established in advance to achieve high MAH grafting level as well as thermal fluidity using a laboratory scale batch kneader. Mass production prototyping with a view of productivity of 100 kg/h was carried out using an anisotropic twin-screw extruder. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that different domain structures of the original recovered resins were homogenized by the acid modification process. To evaluate the performance of the obtained acid-modified recovered resins as a compatibilizer, wood/plastic composite (WPC) compounds were prepared by kneading together with wood flour and PP and examined for their mechanical properties. As a result, the bending and impact strengths improved 1.5 times and the tensile strength increased 1.3 times in comparison with those of the composites containing no compatibilizer. We also conducted in 1-t/day mass production prototyping of the WPC compounds using an existing commercial production facility. By estimating the manufacturing costs of the acid-modified recovered resins, the profitability of the production was confirmed

Genetic diversity and recombination of enterovirus G strains in Japanese pigs: High prevalence of strains carrying a papain-like cysteine protease sequence in the enterovirus G population

<div><p>To study the genetic diversity of enterovirus G (EV-G) among Japanese pigs, metagenomics sequencing was performed on fecal samples from pigs with or without diarrhea, collected between 2014 and 2016. Fifty-nine EV-G sequences, which were >5,000 nucleotides long, were obtained. By complete VP1 sequence analysis, Japanese EV-G isolates were classified into G1 (17 strains), G2 (four strains), G3 (22 strains), G4 (two strains), G6 (two strains), G9 (six strains), G10 (five strains), and a new genotype (one strain). Remarkably, 16 G1 and one G2 strain identified in diarrheic (23.5%; four strains) or normal (76.5%; 13 strains) fecal samples possessed a papain-like cysteine protease (PL-CP) sequence, which was recently found in the USA and Belgium in the EV-G genome, at the 2C–3A junction site. This paper presents the first report of the high prevalence of viruses carrying PL-CP in the EV-G population. Furthermore, possible inter- and intragenotype recombination events were found among EV-G strains, including G1-PL-CP strains. Our findings may advance the understanding of the molecular epidemiology and genetic evolution of EV-Gs.</p></div