NBRP databases: databases of biological resources in Japan

The National BioResource Project (NBRP) is a Japanese project that aims to establish a system for collecting, preserving and providing bioresources for use as experimental materials for life science research. It is promoted by 27 core resource facilities, each concerned with a particular group of organisms, and by one information center. The NBRP database is a product of this project. Thirty databases and an integrated database-retrieval system (BioResource World: BRW) have been created and made available through the NBRP home page (http://www.nbrp.jp). The 30 independent databases have individual features which directly reflect the data maintained by each resource facility. The BRW is designed for users who need to search across several resources without moving from one database to another. BRW provides access to a collection of 4.5-million records on bioresources including wild species, inbred lines, mutants, genetically engineered lines, DNA clones and so on. BRW supports summary browsing, keyword searching, and searching by DNA sequences or gene ontology. The results of searches provide links to online requests for distribution of research materials. A circulation system allows users to submit details of papers published on research conducted using NBRP resources

939-81 Thrombolysis Enhanced by Ultrasound on Intracoronary Thrombus

The synergistic effect of combined usage of ultrasonic irradiation and t-PA was examined on intracoronary thrombus, produced in the canine left anterior descending artery (LAD). t-PA was given as a bolus dose of 0.1mg/kg followed by an infusion of 0.9mg/kg in one hour, until recanalization (TIMI 2). Canines were randomly divided into two groups, one of which (n=5) received continuous ultrasonic irradiation (200kHz, 0.25W/cm2) directly to the LAD occluded by thrombus. The other group (n=4) served as the unirradiated control. Ultrasonic irradiation significantly reduced both the time required for recanalization (irradiated 13.6±6.0min. vs. control 36.0±18.0min.; p<0.05) and the administered dose of t-PA (0.32±0.11mg/kg vs. control 0.64±0.27 mg/kg; p<0.05). Upon electron microscopical examination, ultrasonic irradiation had no damage on the tissue morphology. This simple method safely could enhance the thrombolytic effect of t-PA and could make rapid coronary recanalization and reduction the dose of t-PA. We expect this method may be applied to the treatment of acute myocardial infarction