Purification and characterization of befunolol reductase from rabbit liver

An enzyme (befunolol reductase) which catalyzes the reduction of befunolol to dihydrobefunolol was purified from the cytosolic fraction of rabbit liver to homogeneity by various chromatographic techniques. Befunolol reductase had molecular weights of 29000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 34000 on gel filtration. The enzyme required reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) as a cofactor and showed an optimal pH of 6.5. The apparent Km and Vmax values of the enzyme for the reduction of befunolol were 1.7 mM and 4.4 units/mg, respectively. Flavonoids, sulfhydryl reagents, heavy metals and coumarins strongly inhibited the enzyme. The enzyme catalyzed the reduction of a variety of aromatic ketones. In addition to befunolol, some ketone-containing drugs such as daunorubicin and levobunolol were efficiently reduced by the enzyme. On the basis of substrate specificities for steroids, befunolol reductase purified from the cytosolic fraction of rabbit liver appeared to be a 3 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.     

Anticoagulant activity of immobilized thrombomodulin

Bovine lung thrombomodulin was partially purified, and immobilized on agarose gel (Sepharose 4B). Immobilized thrombomodulin inhibited the procoagulant activity of thrombin, and enhanced the thrombin-catalyzed protein C activation. The plasma recalcification time test showed that immobilized thrombomodulin prolonged plasma clotting time. It is suggested that the immobilization of thrombomodulin will provide an antithrombogenic biomaterial able to convert thrombin from a procoagulant to an anticoagulant enzyme.     

Use of transition elements to enhance sensitivity for selenium determination by graphite-furnace atomic-absorption spectrophotometry combined with solvent extraction with the APDC-MIBK system

A microanalytical method for the measurement of selenium in waters and biological materials by a flameless atomic-absorption technique has been developed. The ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate-methyl isobutyl ketone extraction system is used for separation from interfering materials such as large amounts of alkali and alkaline earth metal salts and mineral acids. The atomic-absorption sensitivity for selenium is found to be enhanced to a large extent by co-extraction of some transition metal ions. Copper(II) has been used successfully as such an additive to diminish the volatility of selenium in the graphite furnace during the ashing step of the atomization cycle. When the aqueous phase/organic solvent volume ratio is 5 and the volume injected into the graphite furnace is 20 mul, the sensitivity for selenium is 0.3 ng/ml for 1% absorption. The relative standard deviation is ca. 2%. Interference by other metal ions is prevented by masking with EDTA. The method has been applied satisfactorily for the determination of minute amounts of selenium in waters and various biological materials.     

Radioisotopes of thirteen elements in intertidal coastal and estuarine sediments in the Irish Sea

A survey has been carried out of⁴⁰K,⁶⁰Co,⁹⁹Tc,¹⁰⁶Ru,¹²⁵Sb,¹²⁹I,¹³⁴Cs,¹³⁷Cs,¹⁵⁴Eu,²²⁶Ra,²²⁸Ra,²³⁷Np,²³⁸Pu,^239,240Pu,²⁴¹Pu,²⁴¹Am,²⁴²Cm, and^243,244Cm activities in sediments from the Irish Sea. Several of these radionuclides were measured independently at two separate laboratories to enable the intercomparison of the results produced. The comprehensive data set generated allows the present spatial distributions of these radionuclides in coastal sediments to be examined in relation to sediment textural characteristics and by comparison with earlier survey, enables the temporal trends in their activities to be determined. In general all artificial radionuclides showed lower activities in sediments in response to falling discharges from Sellafield and relationships with either grain size, distance from Sellafield or both. Isotope ratios were similar to cumulative weighted activity ratios rather than present day values due to sediment mixing. Pu levels supplied evidence for the lag in response of sediment deposits with increasing distance from Sellafield due to sediment transport.     

Atomic absorption determination of traces of cadmium in urine after electrodeposition onto a tungsten wire

A three-coil tungsten wire is used as electrode for the preconcentration of cadmium, which is then placed in a graphite tube for atomization and atomic absorption measurement. The heating parameters of the graphite furnace are optimized using the Modified and Weighted Centroid Simplex Method (MWCS), and computer program for automatic calculation. Sulphuric acid is selected as the supporting electrolyte for electrodeposition. The linear range of the calibration graph is 0.00-0.55 ng/ml. The detection limit is 0.01 ng/ml. For 0.1 ng/ml cadmium the coefficient of variation is 3.35% for ten parallel determinations. No interference occurs in the presence of more than 20 coexisting ions. Traces of cadmium in urine of normal people and in river water and the recoveries for cadmium are determined. The results are satisfactory.     

Thermal properties of sodium acetylacetonate

Sodium acetylacetonate was prepared by the interaction of acetyl acetone with sodium hydroxide. The thermal conductivity, phonon velocity, mean free path, Yong's modulus, and the thermal expansion coefficient were studied. The thermal conductivity of the material decreases with increasing temperature due to the thermal lattice scattering of phonons. The velocity of phonons is also decreased due to the perturbation of thermal phonons. The linear thermal expansion coefficient increases with temperature due to the weakness of the attractive forces between the small Na⁺ cations and bulkier acetylacetonate anions in the lattice.

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Zusammenfassung Natriumacetylacetonat wurde durch die Wechselwirkung zwischen Acetylaceton und Natriumhydroxid gewonnen. Es wurde die Wärmeleitfähigkeit, die Phononengeschwindigkeit, die mittlere freie Wegstrecke, das Elastizitätsmodul und der Wärmeausdehnungskoeffizient untersucht. Die Wärmeleitfähigkeit der Substanz nimmt wegen der thermischen Gitterstreuung der Phononen mit steigender Temparatur ab. Die Geschwindigkeit der Phononen nimmt auf Grund der Perturbierung der thermischen Phononen ebenfalls ab. Der lineare Wärmeausdehnungskoeffizient steigt mit zunehmender Temperatur an, was auf die schwachen Anziehungskräfte zwischen den kleinen Na⁺ Ionen und den massigen Acetylacetonat-Anionen im Gitter zurückzuführen ist.

     

A study of hepato-biliary and alimentary scintigrams using a triple tracer method

In order to evaluate the gastric emptying and postprandial mixing of bile with food, the scintigraphies of hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal tracts by using three different kinds of radioisotopes were performed simultaneously (99mTc-E.HIDA for hepatobiliary scintigraphy, 111In-DTPA containing orange juice and 131I-albumin containing scrambled egg for gastrointestinal scintigraphy). This method was available for observation of gastric emptying of liquid and solid foods and also examination of the mixing effect of bile and food quantitatively.     

Significance of anti-HBc IgM in acute hepatitis and hepatitis B associated chronic liver disease

To determine the diagnostic value of anti-HBc IgM in acute viral hepatitis or chronic liver disease B, Anti-HBc IgM was measured by a RIA and an ELISA in 32 patients with acute hepatitis (4 with type A, 15 with type B and 13 with type non A non B), 18 patients with chronic hepatitis and 19 patients with liver cirrhosis. In acute hepatitis B, anti-HBc IgM (both RIA and ELISA) was positive in 14(93%) of 15 patients and its cut-off index value was very high. However, anti-HBc IgM was always negative in one patient with typical course of type B. In 1 of 4 patients with acute hepatitis A and 2 of 13 with non A non B, anti-HBc IgM (RIA and/or ELISA) was positive. These 3 patients were positive for anti-HBs at the onset of disease, so we could not made the diagnosis of acute hepatitis B. Anti-HBc IgM was positive in 21(51%) of 37 patients with HBsAg-positive chronic liver disease by RIA and in 11 (30%) by ELISA, and its cut-off index value was relatively low. These results suggest that when adequate cut-off index value is established, anti-HBc analysis is useful for differentiating recent and current infections from remote infections.     

Polymers for DNA delivery

Nucleic acid delivery has many applications in basic science, biotechnology, agriculture, and medicine. One of the main applications is DNA or RNA delivery for gene therapy purposes. Gene therapy, an approach for treatment or prevention of diseases associated with defective gene expression, involves the insertion of a therapeutic gene into cells, followed by expression and production of the required proteins. This approach enables replacement of damaged genes or expression inhibition of undesired genes. Following two decades of research, there are two major methods for delivery of genes. The first method, considered the dominant approach, utilizes viral vectors and is generally an efficient tool of transfection. Attempts, however, to resolve drawbacks related with viral vectors (e.g., high risk of mutagenicity, immunogenicity, low production yield, limited gene size, etc.), led to the development of an alternative method, which makes use of non-viral vectors. This review describes non-viral gene delivery vectors, termed "self-assembled" systems, and are based on cationic molecules, which form spontaneous complexes with negatively charged nucleic acids. It introduces the most important cationic polymers used for gene delivery. A transition from in vitro to in vivo gene delivery is also presented, with an emphasis on the obstacles to achieve successful transfection in vivo.     

Graft polymerization of vinyl monomers onto cellulose in presence of soda lime glass. I

Sodium bisulfite–soda lime glass has proved to be a good initiator for polymerization and graft polymerization onto cellulose of some vinyl monomers. A scheme dealing with the mechanism of initiation has been proposed assuming trapping of the bisulfite radical inside the glass frame-work to form a so-called sulfur-impregnated solid. Such a solid has paramagnetic properties and acts on the vinyl monomers and cellulose as any free-radical-producing source thus leading to polymerization and graft polymerization onto cellulose. Other radicals containing sulfur, such as sulfite, sulfate, and persulfate failed to give such property with soda lime glass. With the sodium bisulfite–soda lime glass system the reactivity decreases in the order methyl methacrylate > ethyl acrylate > acrylonitrile which is inconsistent with the arrangement of acceptor monomers with decreasing electron-donating ability. This may reflect interference of the addition reaction which may take place between the monomer and bisulfite and the rate of which may depend on the activation energy of the monomer.