The oligosaccharides in a recombinant hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) carrying the pre-S2 region derived from yeast

AbstractThe N- and O-linked oligosaccharides in a yeast-derived HBsAg M protein (pre-S2 + S) were analyzed. Two major structures of the N-linked oligosaccharides bound to residue Asn4 were determined to be high-mannose type oligosaccharides. Man7GlcNAc2 and Man8GlcNAc2, by two-dimensional sugar mapping of the corresponding pyridylamino oligosaccharides. Peptide mapping of the M protein, sequence analysis of the glycopeptides after β-elimination under reducing conditions and sugar-composition analysis revealed that the O-linked oligosaccharides were composed solely or mannose and bound to residue Ser5, Thr6, Thr7, Ser27, Ser28, Ser29 and Thr31 in the pre-S2 region

Improvement of charge trapping characteristics of Al2O 3/Al-rich Al2O3/SiO2 stacked films by thermal annealing

Thin film Al2O3/Al-rich Al2O 3/SiO2 structures were fabricated on p-Si substrates. Radio-frequency magnetron co-sputtering was used to form Al-rich Al 2O3 thin film as the charge-trapping layer of nonvolatile Al2O3 memory. Capacitance-voltage measurements showed a large hysteresis due to charge trapping in the Al-rich Al2O 3 layer. The charge trap density was estimated to be 42.7 × 1018 cm- 3, which is the largest value ever reported for an Al-rich Al2O3 layer; it is six times larger than that of a conventional metal-nitride-oxide-silicon memory. Thermal annealing was found to reduce the leakage current of the Al2O3 blocking layer, thereby providing this structure with better data retention at room temperature than an as-deposited one. In addition, the annealed structure was found to exhibit good data retention even at 100 C. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Characterization of a novel monoclonal antibody that senses nitric oxide-dependent activation of soluble guanylate cyclase

AbstractTwo monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against bovine lung soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) were prepared and characterized. mAb 3221 recognized both the α- and β-subunits of sGC and had greater binding affinity to the enzyme in the presence of NO. mAb 28131 recognized only the β-subunit and its affinity did not change with NO. Neither mAb cross-reacted with particulate GC. Cultured Purkinje cells from rats were treated with S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, an NO donor, and examined by immunocytochemical methods. The immunoreactivity associated with mAb 3221 increased with the cGMP content in a crude extract of cerebellum and the NO2 generated in the culture medium increased

Role of Sphingomyelinase in Infectious Diseases Caused by Bacillus cereus

Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) is a pathogen in opportunistic infections. Here we show that Bacillus cereus sphingomyelinase (Bc-SMase) is a virulence factor for septicemia. Clinical isolates produced large amounts of Bc-SMase, grew in vivo, and caused death among mice, but ATCC strains isolated from soil did not. A transformant of the ATCC strain carrying a recombinant plasmid containing the Bc-SMase gene grew in vivo, but that with the gene for E53A, which has little enzymatic activity, did not. Administration of an anti-Bc-SMase antibody and immunization against Bc-SMase prevented death caused by the clinical isolates, showing that Bc-SMase plays an important role in the diseases caused by B. cereus. Treatment of mouse macrophages with Bc-SMase resulted in a reduction in the generation of H2O2 and phagocytosis of macrophages induced by peptidoglycan (PGN), but no effect on the release of TNF-α and little release of LDH under our experimental conditions. Confocal laser microscopy showed that the treatment of mouse macrophages with Bc-SMase resulted in the formation of ceramide-rich domains. A photobleaching analysis suggested that the cells treated with Bc-SMase exhibited a reduction in membrane fluidity. The results suggest that Bc-SMase is essential for the hydrolysis of SM in membranes, leading to a reduction in phagocytosis

A case of laparoscopic and endoscopic cooperative surgery for sigmoidovesical fistula

We performed laparoscopic and endoscopic cooperative surgery (LECS) for partial colectomy with partial cystectomy in an 80-year-old woman with sigmoidovesical fistula secondary to sigmoid diverticulitis. LECS was designed for local resection of the stomach for gastric submucosal tumors using the endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) technique. While conventional open abdominal surgery is very invasive, LECS has enabled surgeons to perform minimally invasive surgery. Although there have been no reported cases in which the bladder was laparoscopically resected after sigmoidovesical fistula division, we were able to safely resect the fistula and preserve the urethral opening by performing laparoscopic and cystoscopic cooperative surgery. There are no previously reported cases in which LECS was performed for partial sigmoidectomy and partial cystectomy ; therefore, we report this as a valuable case, with a review of the literature. We hope that further studies involving more patients will lead to the establishment of this procedure

Multiple early gastric cancer with duodenal invasion

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