Effect of Pyrisoxazole on Colletotrichum scovillei Infection and Anthracnose on Chili

Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum scovillei is one of the most destructive diseases affecting chili production. Disease control mainly relies on conventional fungicides, and repeated exposure to single-site mode-of-action fungicides may pose a risk for the development of resistant isolates within the population. Our previous study suggested that pyrisoxazole has strong inhibitory activity against C. scovillei in vitro. However, the effects of pyrisoxazole on the C. scovillei infection process and the performance of pyrisoxazole in the field remain unclear. In this study, pyrisoxazole exhibited strong inhibitory activity against the mycelial growth, appressorium formation, and appressorium diameter of C. scovillei, with half maximal effective concentration values of 0.1986, 0.0147, and 0.0269 μg/ml, respectively, but had no effect on sporulation, even at the highest concentration of 1.6 μg/ml. The baseline sensitivity curves were unimodal with a long right-hand tail. The in vivo data showed that pyrisoxazole provided both preventive and curative activity against anthracnose on chili. Pyrisoxazole decreased the incidence of anthracnose and reduced disease progress. The results of electron microscopy showed that pyrisoxazole can affect the C. scovillei infection process by altering mycelial morphology, degrading conidia and germ tubes, suppressing conidial germination and appressorium formation, and enhancing conidiophore production. Pyrisoxazole can be used to effectively control anthracnose under field conditions and increase chili yield; moreover, no phytotoxicity symptoms were observed after treatment. These results provide new insight into the mechanisms by which pyrisoxazole controls disease and suggest that pyrisoxazole is a feasible alternative for the management of anthracnose in chili.

Character Strengths Lead to Satisfactory Educational Outcomes Through Strength Use: A Longitudinal Analysis

Despite the flourishing of positive education, understanding of whether different character strengths have different predictive effects on academic achievement/well-being and the mechanisms of actions between character strengths are limited. Specifically, this study adopted strength use as a mediator to understand how character strength (assessed by caring, inquisitiveness, and self-control) is associated with students' end-of-year academic achievements and eudaimonic well-being. Survey data from 349 adolescents from three different schools showed that three factors of character strengths have positive correlations with academic achievements and eudaimonic well-being. Regression models indicated that inquisitiveness and self-control predicted academic achievements, while caring, inquisitiveness, and self-control predicted eudaimonic well-being, with the foremost as the strongest predictor. Mediation analyses indicated that (1) strengths use fully mediated the relationship between inquisitiveness, self-control, and academic achievements/eudaimonic well-being, while (2) caring had a direct effect on eudaimonic well-being. These findings provided possible explanations on how character strengths could affect students' academic achievements or eudaimonic well-being and theoretical and empirical evidence for practices that aim to enhance students' academic achievements and positive developments via interventions based on character strengths.

Evaluating the construct validity of Stress Overload Scale-Short using exploratory structural equation modeling

This study used exploratory structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis to examine the construct validity of the Chinese version of Stress Overload Scale-Short, which included personal vulnerability and event load. The participants included 629 community residents and 495 university students. The results indicated a better goodness-of-fit using exploratory structural equation modeling compared with confirmatory factor analysis. The Stress Overload Scale-Short performed well in distinguishing individuals with more negative emotion symptoms from the general population. A moderation analysis demonstrated that social support moderates the effect of personal vulnerability on negative emotion symptoms. These results facilitated the application of Stress Overload Scale-Short in the current population.

Psychometric Characteristics of Strengths Knowledge Scale and Strengths Use Scale Among Adolescents

This study examined the psychometric properties of Strengths Knowledge Scale (SKS) and Strengths Use Scale (SUS) in a sample of 442 adolescents by the exploratory structural equation modeling. Correlations between strength use/strength knowledge and flourish, positive affect, negative affect, depression, anxiety, stress, and GPA were examined to illustrate criterion-related validities. Results showed good internal consistency reliability, expected structure factor, and convergent validity of the SKS and the SUS in the current sample.

Some stay the same: Personality change after treatment for eating disorder

Introduction

Strong evidence establishes a close relationship between personality traits and mental illness; where personality can be said to influences the likelihood, severity and longevity of a mental disorder. Personality is usually seen as fixed, yet there is a growing body of evidence for the changeability of personality, though this has rarely been studied in relation to mental disorders.

Objective

To study the longitudinal interplay between personality and eating disorders (EDs), particularly the associations between personality, recovery and treatment modality.

Aims

To investigate changes in the five domains and thirty lower-level facets of personality in non-underweight EDs, and its associations to intervention and outcome.

Methods

Two hundred and nine adults with EDs enrolled either in a four-month multimodal psychodynamic group-therapy (DAY) or four-six month internet-based supported cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT). ED diagnosis and personality (by the five-factor model) were assessed at baseline, termination and 6-month follow up. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze domain-level development, and reliable change (RCI) for facet-level development.

Results

Remission rate at end of treatment was 71% in DAY and 55% in iCBT. Over time, Neuroticism decreased significantly while Extraversion, Openness and Conscientiousness increased (P < 0.01). Treatment and outcome had little influence on domain-level change. At the facet-level, 28% of patients reliably changed in any given facet, and there were several differences in pattern based on treatment and outcome.

Conclusions

This study lends support for the possibility of personality change and its relevance for recovery from EDs.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Long-range surface plasmon polaritons propagating on a dielectric waveguide support

In the traditional long-range surface plasmon geometry, an ultrathin metal film is sandwiched between two layers having identical dielectric constants. Here we demonstrate the long-range surface plasmon polariton (LRSPP) properties for a new structure where a thin layer with a dielectric constant exceeding that of the surroundings is inserted within the sandwich, provided the layer thickness d satisfies the condition k(⊥)d=mπ where k(⊥) is the component of the guide wavevector perpendicular to the layer and m is an integer. The resulting plasmon modes have smaller losses and nearly the same phase velocity as the original LRSPP. This provides a strategy to support silver films having thicknesses of 10's of nanometers to create plasmonic devices for sensor applications.

One-dimensional long-range plasmonic-photonic structures

We have fabricated line gratings from periodically etched fused silica on which a thin silver film is deposited that is in turn covered with a silica index-matched fluid. This dielectrically symmetric geometry supports an independent long-range surface plasmon-polariton (LRSPP) and a short-range surface plasmon polariton, and the associated plasmonic band structure has been probed. Coupling to external light is achieved via the patterned grating, and an ultrasharp LRSPP linewidth of 4 nm is observed. The experimental results are compared with finite-difference time-domain simulations.

Thiazide-induced subtle renal injury not observed in states of equivalent hypokalemia

Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) is used to manage hypertension and heart failure; however, its side effects include mild hypokalemia, metabolic abnormalities, and volume depletion, which might have deleterious effects on renal and endothelial function. We studied whether HCTZ cause renal injury and/or altered vasoreactivity and if these changes are hypokalemia-dependent. Rats were given a normal diet or a diet moderately low in potassium K+ with or without HCTZ. Animals fed either a low K+ diet alone or HCTZ developed mild hypokalemia. There was no significant difference in systolic blood pressure in the different treatment groups. All three groups with hypokalemia had mild proteinuria; low K(+)-HCTZ rats had reduced creatinine clearance. HCTZ-treated rats displayed hypomagnesemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and hyperaldosteronism. No renal injury was observed in the groups without HCTZ; however, increased kidney weight, glomerular ischemia, medullary injury, and cortical oxidative stress were seen with HCTZ treatment. Endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation was reduced in all hypokalemic groups and correlated with reduced serum K+, serum, and urine nitric oxide. Our results show that HCTZ is associated with greater renal injury for the same degree of hypokalemia as the low K+ diet, suggesting that factors such as chronic ischemia and hyperaldosteronism due to volume depletion may be responsible agents. We also found impaired endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation was linked to mild hypokalemia.

[Study of the charge transfer reaction between clotrimazolum and alizarin red]

The charge transfer reaction between clotrimazolum and alizarin red was studied spectrophotometrically. The reaction was achieved with good results in water-acetone solution. The apparent molar absorptivity is 8.7 x 10(3) L.mol-1.cm-1 at 525 nm. The Beer's law was obeyed in the range of 0-100 micrograms.mL-1 of clotrimazolum. The composition of the complex is 1:1. The proposed method has been applied successfully to the determination of clotrimazolum tablets.

Glomerular permselectivity factors are not responsible for the increase in fractional clearance of albumin in rat glomerulonephritis

The increased fractional clearance of albumin in nephrotic states has long been attributed to glomerular permselectivity dysfunction. Using radiolabeled rat serum albumin, transferrin, IgG, and polydisperse Ficoll, this study investigated the changes in their in vivo fractional clearance in puromycin aminonucleoside nephrosis and anti-glomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis. In control rats the lack of charge selectivity was confirmed by the demonstration that carboxymethyl Ficoll (valence approximately -39) had the same fractional clearance as uncharged Ficoll. Both diseases exhibited similar effects on fractional clearance measurements suggesting an underlying common mechanism. In disease, there was good agreement between the fractional clearance of proteins determined by radioactivity as compared to those determined by radioimmunoassay. A small increase in the fractional clearance for IgG was evident in disease as compared to controls, which mirrored the change in the equivalent size Ficoll, suggesting that the increase is because of the development of a small proportion of large pores in the glomerular capillary wall. There was no increase, however, in the fractional clearance of Ficoll of equivalent size to albumin in either disease, yet the fractional clearance of the albumin increased by 12 to 14 times as determined by radioactivity and 4500 to 6600 times as determined by radioimmunoassay. This study demonstrates that glomerulonephritis is not a disease associated with changes in glomerular permeability to albumin but is because of alterations in albumin processing by cells distal to the glomerular basement membrane. It is also apparent that approaches to glomerular pathology and proteinuria as risk factors in renal disease must be reassessed.

Tubules are the major site of M-CSF production in experimental kidney disease: correlation with local macrophage proliferation

BACKGROUND

Local proliferation of macrophages occurs within both the glomerulus and the interstitium in severe forms of human and experimental glomerulonephritis and plays an important role in amplifying renal injury. Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) is thought to be the growth factor driving this local macrophage proliferation. Previous studies have found that glomeruli are the predominant source of M-CSF production. However, this is difficult to reconcile with the prominent macrophage accumulation and proliferation seen in the interstitial compartment in glomerulonephritis. To address this issue, we localized M-CSF expression in rat models of glomerular versus tubulointerstitial injury and examined its relationship to local macrophage proliferation.

METHODS

M-CSF expression (Northern blotting, in situ hybridization, immunostaining, Western blotting) and local macrophage proliferation (double immunostaining) was examined in normal rat kidney on days 1 and 14 of rat anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) glomerulonephritis and on day 5 following unilateral ureteric obstruction.

RESULTS

M-CSF mRNA and protein expression were identified in small numbers of glomerular podocytes, approximately 25% of cortical tubules, and most medullary tubules in normal rat kidney. Northern blotting showed a significant increase in whole kidney M-CSF mRNA in rat anti-GBM glomerulonephritis. Up-regulation of glomerular and, most prominently, tubular M-CSF production was confirmed by three independent methods: in situ hybridization, immunostaining, and Western blotting. The increase in M-CSF expression colocalized with local macrophage proliferation (ED1+PCNA+ cells) in both the glomerulus and tubulointerstitium. On day 5 after ureter ligation, there was a significant increase in tubular M-CSF mRNA and protein expression in the obstructed kidney, with no change in glomerular M-CSF. In parallel with M-CSF expression, macrophage accumulation and proliferation was prominent in the interstitium, but was absent from glomeruli.

CONCLUSIONS

The tubular epithelial cell is the major site of M-CSF production within the injured kidney. Indeed, substantial macrophage accumulation and local proliferation can occur in the tubulointerstitium in the absence of glomerular inflammation. These results suggest that M-CSF production within the kidney, particularly by tubular epithelial cells, plays an important role in regulating local macrophage proliferation in experimental kidney disease.

[Mechanical properties of weld area soldered by lasers and structural changes in hot reaction zone]

OBJECTIVE

To analyse and measure the welding depths and strengths of three kinds of welding materials under different laser welding conditions as well as the structural changes of the heat affected zone.

METHODS

Under different voltages and pulse duration three kinds of measuring sticks, including Co-Cr alloy, Ni-Cr alloy and pure titanium were welded and their strengths were compared with that of control group. At the same time, the structure of the heat-affected zone was analysed by means of the gold-phase method.

RESULTS

The welding depth and strength of Co-Cr alloy were in direct proportion to the setting voltage, with averages of 335MPa (250V) to 573MPa(330V). At the heat-affected zone, the crystal particle was small and the end point of welding by laser bean presented the shape of the mountain peak and the interval of finger shape. The center of measuring sticks had a black zone with the circle shape. The setting voltage was in direct proportion to the welding depth of pure titanium and in inverse proportion to the welding strength with averages of 221MPa(250V) to 154MPa (330V). The crystal particle in the heat affected zone grew large and the solid phase expanded, the interval of the crystal oxidised, and the structure showed honeycomb changes.

CONCLUSION

The laser welding is favourable to the welding properties of Co-Cr and Ni-Cr alloys, but its effect on the welding properties of pure titanium needs further discussion.

Interleukin-1 induces tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation through a transforming growth factor-beta1-dependent mechanism in vitro

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) has been shown to exert profibrotic activity in a number of disease models, including crescentic glomerulonephritis and pulmonary fibrosis, but the mechanisms by which this operates are poorly understood. Recent studies have identified a novel mechanism promoting renal fibrosis: tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation (TEMT). The present study examined whether IL-1 can stimulate TEMT in vitro. Cells of the normal rat kidney tubular epithelial cell line (NRK52E) were grown to confluence on collagen-coated plates and cultured for 5 days in the presence 1 to 20 ng/mL of IL-1alpha. Doses of 10 to 20 ng/mL of IL-1 caused transdifferentiation of NRK52E cells into myofibroblast-like cells. Scanning electron microscopy identified IL-1-induced morphological changes as a loss of apical-basal polarity and microvilli, cell hypertrophy, and the development of an elongated and invasive appearance. Phenotypically, IL-1-induced TEMT was characterized by de novo messenger RNA and protein expression of the mesenchymal marker alpha-smooth muscle actin, shown by Northern blotting, immunohistochemistry, and Western blotting. This was accompanied by loss of the epithelial marker E-cadherin. The addition of an excess of IL-1-receptor antagonist completely inhibited IL-1-induced TEMT. IL-1 was shown to stimulate the secretion of active transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) by NRK52E cells. Furthermore, the addition of a neutralizing anti-TGF-beta1 antibody inhibited IL-1-induced TEMT. In conclusion, IL-1 is a profibrogenic cytokine capable of inducing TEMT through a TGF-beta1-dependent mechanism. This may represent a novel mechanism by which IL-1 induces renal fibrosis in vivo.

Expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in human glomerulonephritis

BACKGROUND

We have recently demonstrated that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) plays a pathogenic role in experimental glomerulonephritis (GN). The aim of the current study was to investigate MIF expression in human GN.

METHODS

MIF expression was examined by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry staining in 65 biopsies from a variety of glomerulonephridities.

RESULTS

There is constitutive expression of MIF mRNA and protein in normal human kidney that is largely restricted to tubular epithelial cells and to some glomerular epithelial cells. There was little change in the pattern of MIF expression in nonproliferative forms of GN such as minimal change disease and membranous GN. However, there was a marked increase in both glomerular and tubular MIF expression in proliferative forms of GN, including focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FGS), lupus nephritis, crescentic GN, and mesangiocapillary proliferative GN. The prominent macrophage and T-cell infiltrate in these diseases were largely restricted to areas with marked up-regulation of MIF expression, contributing to glomerular hypercellularity, glomerular focal segmental lesions, crescent formation, tubulitis, and granulomatous lesions. De novo MIF expression was evident in glomerular endothelial cells and mesangial cells in proliferative forms of GN. In addition, many infiltrating macrophages and T cells showed MIF mRNA and protein expression. Quantitative analysis found that increased glomerular and tubular MIF expression gave a highly significant correlation with macrophage and T-cell accumulation, the severity of histologic lesions, and the loss of creatinine clearance.

CONCLUSIONS

Renal MIF expression is markedly up-regulated in proliferative forms of human GN, and this correlates with leukocyte infiltration, histologic damage, and renal function impairment. These results suggest that MIF may be an important mediator of renal injury in progressive forms of human GN. Based on these findings, together with the known pathogenic role of MIF in experimental GN, we propose that MIF is an attractive therapeutic target in the treatment of progressive forms of GN.

Glomerular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation in the evolution of glomerular crescent formation

BACKGROUND

Glomerular cellular crescents consist of epithelial cells and macrophages, which can undergo an irreversible process of fibrous organization. However, the origin of the fibroblast-type cells that mediate this fibrous organization is unclear.

METHODS

This study examined glomerular epithelial- myofibroblast transdifferentiation (GEMT) in the formation and evolution of glomerular crescents in two distinct rat models of glomerulonephritis: 5/6 nephrectomy and antiglomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease.

RESULTS

Early in the course of both disease models, and prior to crescent formation, immunohistochemistry staining and in-situ hybridization demonstrated de novo expression of alpha-smooth-muscle actin (alpha-SMA), a marker of smooth muscle cells and myofibroblasts, by glomerular parietal epithelial cells (GPEC). The expression of alpha-SMA by GPEC was accompanied by a loss of E-cadherin staining, a marker of epithelial cells. At this early stage of GEMT, ultrastructural studies identified the presence of characteristic actin microfilaments and dense bodies within GPEC which retained a normal epithelial morphology with apical-basal polarity and microvilli. A late stage of transdifferentiation was seen in fibrocellular crescents. In this case, GPEC attached to intact segments of the capsular basement membrane contained large bundles of actin microfilaments throughout the cell, and this was accompanied by a loss of polarity, microvilli, and tight junctions. There was a significant correlation between the presence of alpha-SMA(+) GPEC and glomerular crescent formation. Cellular crescents contained small numbers of alpha-SMA(+) myofibroblasts. These cells become the dominant population in fibrocellular crescents, which was associated with marked local proliferation. Relatively few alpha-SMA(+) myofibroblasts remained in fibrotic/organizing crescents. Most cells within cellular and fibrocellular crescents expressed transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), suggesting that these growth factors may regulate this GEMT process during the evolution of glomerular crescents.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides the first phenotypic and morphological evidence that glomerular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation participates in the formation and evolution of glomerular crescents.

The mouse GABA(A) receptor alpha3 subunit gene and promoter

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A receptors are multisubunit ligand-gated ion channels which mediate inhibition in the brain. The GABA(A) receptor alpha3 subunit gene exhibits extensive variation in its developmental and regional expression, but the detailed mechanisms governing the expression patterns of this gene remain unknown. We have cloned and begun to characterize the murine alpha3 subunit gene Gabra3. All but one of the 10 exons and the intron-exon boundaries have been sequenced; the first intron is in the 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) of the alpha3 mRNA. Rapid amplification of the cDNA 5'-end (5'-RACE) and RNase protection indicated many transcription start sites, with the major site (=+1) corresponding to a 5'UTR of 178 bases. Most sites were in or just downstream of a region of 55 (mouse) and 25 (human) GA repeats in the proximal promoter, as revealed by genome walking of Gabra3 and the human gene GABRA3. No canonical TATA or CAAT boxes or initiator (Inr) sites were found in either promoter, but both contained conserved consensus sites for several transcription factors. Progressive deletion of the mouse promoter produced positive or negative effects on expression of reporter (luciferase) constructs, with the highest observed activity in several types of transiently transfected cells for a construct containing bases -320 to +35. The GA repeats and a much shorter nearby series of four GC repeats, the first three of which are part of a consensus E2F site, appear to contribute significantly to mouse promoter activity. Upstream GA repeats enhanced activity of the SV40 promoter, and the GA repeat sequence bound nuclear proteins from several tissues.

Transforming growth factor-beta regulates tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation in vitro

BACKGROUND

We recently found evidence of tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation (TEMT) during the development of tubulointerstitial fibrosis in the rat remnant kidney. This study investigated the mechanisms that induce TEMT in vitro.

METHODS

The normal rat kidney tubular epithelial cell line (NRK52E) was cultured for six days on plastic or collagen type I-coated plates in the presence or absence of recombinant transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1). Transdifferentiation of tubular cells into myofibroblasts was assessed by electron microscopy and by expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) and E-cadherin.

RESULTS

NRK52E cells cultured on plastic or collagen-coated plates showed a classic cobblestone morphology. Culture in 1 ng/ml TGF-beta caused only very minor changes in morphology, but culture in 10 or 50 ng/ml TGF-beta1 caused profound changes. This involved hypertrophy, a loss of apical-basal polarity and microvilli, with cells becoming elongated and invasive, the formation of a new front-end back-end polarity, and the appearance of actin microfilaments and dense bodies. These morphological changes were accompanied by phenotypic changes. Double immunohistochemistry staining showed that the addition of TGF-beta1 to confluent cell cultures caused a loss of the epithelial marker E-cadherin and de novo expression of alpha-SMA. An intermediate stage in transdifferentiation could be seen with hypertrophic cells expressing both E-cadherin and alpha-SMA. De novo alpha-SMA expression was confirmed by Northern blotting, Western blotting, and flow cytometry. In particular, cells with a transformed morphology showed strong alpha-SMA immunostaining of characteristic microfilament structures along the cell axis. There was a dose-dependent increase in the percentage of cells expressing alpha-SMA with increasing concentrations of TGF-beta1, which was completely inhibited by the addition of a neutralizing anti-TGF-beta1 antibody. Compared with growth on plastic, cell culture on collagen-coated plates showed a threefold increase in the percentage of cells expressing alpha-SMA in response to TGF-beta1.

CONCLUSION

TGF-beta1 is a key mediator that regulates, in a dose-dependent fashion, transdifferentiation of tubular epithelial cells into alpha-SMA+ myofibroblasts. This transdifferentiation is markedly enhanced by growth on collagen type I. These findings have identified a novel pathway that may contribute to renal fibrosis associated with overexpression of TGF-beta1 within the diseased kidney.

[Selenoproteins in rat brain]

Male Wistar rats fed with diets containing eight different levels of selenium(Se). Six rats in each group were killed after 20 weeks to obtain brains. The other 105 rats in the Se depleted group were then divided into four groups randomly and fed with diets containing four different levels of Se. The rats in these four groups were then killed at different time points to observe the kinetic change of selenoproteins. The lowest dietary Se required for reaching the plateau of the activities of cellular glutathione peroxidase (cGPX), phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPX) and type II deiodinase (ID II) were 0.05, 0.03 and 0.01 mg/kg respectively. The lowest dietary Se required for reaching normal expression of selenoprotein P and selenoprotein W were 0.01 and 0.05 mg/kg respectively. While the rats were restored Se from diets supplemented with Se, the expression of selenoprotein P and type II deiodinase were in preference to PHGPX and cGPX, and the later two parameters were in preference to selenoprotein W. The results suggested that the function of selenoprotein P and ID II in brain were more important than the other three selenoproteins.

[Selenoproteins in rats with chronic selenium intoxication]

Weaning male Wistar rats were fed with a Torula-yeast based semisynthetic diet supplemented with Na2SeO3 to provide selenium (Se) 0.2 or 0.5 mg/kg (adequate Se or high Sediet) respectively for 20 weeks. By the end of experiment, rats were sacrificed and various tissue of rats were collected to determine the activities of Se-containing enzymes and the mRNAs level of selenoprotein P and selenoprotein W and Se concentration. Livers were examined for pathological changes. It was found that the gain of body weight of the high Se group was significantly lower than that of adequate Se group. Much more Se was accumulated in the tissue of high Se group. The activities of eGPX in plasma, cGPX in kidney, heart and testis, ID I in liver, kidney and thyroid and PHGPX in heart and testis in the high Se group were significantly lower than those in the adequate Se group. However, no specific pathological changes have been found in the liver of both groups. The results suggested that these enzymatic changes could be used as early biochemical parameters for chronic selenium intoxication.

Transcriptional regulation of GABAA receptor gamma2 subunit gene

We have cloned the promoter regions of the genes for the mouse and human gamma2 subunits of the type A receptors for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). For the mouse, the two major transcription start sites were at +1 (by definition) and +43, as established by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and primer extension. This numbering places the start methionine at +297. There was no TATA or CCAAT box. Both mouse and human sequences have a candidate neuron-restrictive silencer element (NRSE) site in the first intron (+956 in mouse). We made assorted mouse-based promoter/reporter (luciferase) constructs starting from a core extending from -331 to +136, varying sizes at both ends, and including and excluding the putative NRSE and more proximal sequences. These were tested by transient transfection in several neuron-like and non-neuronal cell lines. Both proximal and distal downstream elements appeared to help direct expression to neuron-like cells, the NRSE in the intron, by repression in non-neurons, and a 24-bp portion of the 5' untranslated region starting at +113 (named GPE1) by preferentially promoting expression in neuron-like cells. Cotransfected human NRSF (transcription factor for NRSE) reduced reporter expression in neuron-like cells for constructs containing the NRSE in two locations. In gel mobility shift assays, the mouse gamma2 NRSE and a consensus NRSE both bound in vitro translated NRSF very similarly, and the NRSF gave the same major shifted band with the mouse gamma2 NRSE as was observed with nuclear extracts.

[Quantitative analysis of butachlor, oxadiazon and simetryn by gas chromatography]

The quantitative analysis of the ingredients in 26% B-O-S (butachlor, oxadiazon and simetryn) emulsion by gas chromatographic method was carried out with a 5% SE-30 on Chromosorb AW DMCS, 2 m x 3 mm i.d., glass column at column temperature of 210 degrees C and detector temperature of 230 degrees C. The internal standard is di-n-butyl sebacate. The retentions of simetryn, internal standard, butachlor and oxadiazon were 6.5, 8.3, 9.9 and 11.9 min respectively. This method has a recovery of 98.62%-100.77% and the coefficients of variation of this analysis of butachlor, oxadiazon and simetryn were 0.46%, 0.32% and 0.57% respectively. All coefficients of linear correlation were higher than 0.999.