BACKGROUND Factors determining the shape of the human rib cage are not completely understood. We aimed to quantify the contribution of anthropometric and COPD-related changes to rib cage variability in adult cigarette smokers. METHODS Rib cage diameters and areas (calculated from the inner surface of the rib cage) in 816 smokers with or without COPD, were evaluated at three anatomical levels ...

Globodem roswch!ens!s and G. pall!da harched (l-day-old in poraro roor diffusare) second srage juveniles 02) conrained 29.2 % and 27.2 % lipid (of dry weighr), respectively. Globodera roslOch!ens!s J2 lipid consisred of 72.8 % neutral lipid, 11.3 % free fatty acids and 15.9% non-acetic phospholipid. The neutral lipid fraction comprised 95.5 % triacylglycerides, 1.8 % diacylglycerides, 2.3 % mon...

Sphingolipids typically have an 18-carbon (C18) sphingoid long chain base (LCB) backbone. Although sphingolipids with LCBs of other chain lengths have been identified, the functional significance of these low-abundance sphingolipids is unknown. The LCB chain length is determined by serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) isoenzymes, which are trimeric proteins composed of two large subunits (SPTLC1 a...

In this study, we have examined the antitumor effect of combined administrations of indomethacin (IND) with chemotherapeutic drugs on tumor growth. Colon 26 clone 20 (C20) cells and monocyte chemotactant protein-1 (MCP-1) transfected C20 cells (C20betaA-2-1) were used and these cells were inoculated into the footpad of BALB/c mice. At day 1 after tumor inoculation, treatment with 0.001% IND via...

The oxygenated derivatives of fatty acids, known as oxylipins, are pivotal signaling molecules in animals and terrestrial plants. In animal systems, eicosanoids regulate cell differentiation, immune responses, and homeostasis. In contrast, terrestrial plants use derivatives of C18 and C16 fatty acids as developmental or defense hormones. Marine algae have emerged early in the evolution of eukar...

We have undertaken a series of experiments to examine the behavior of individual components of cell membranes. Here we report an initial stage of these experiments, in which the properties of a chemically simple lipid mixture are carefully mapped onto a phase diagram. Four different experimental methods were used to establish the phase behavior of the 3-component mixture DSPC/DOPC/chol: (1) con...

Abnormalities in glomerular function have been observed frequently in the early stages of both clinical and experimental diabetes mellitus. Because prostaglandins (PGs) are present in the glomerulus and have profound effects on glomerular hemodynamics, and because abnormalities of PG metabolism have been noted in other tissues from diabetics, we studied PG biosynthesis in glomeruli obtained fro...