Human thymidine phosphorylase (dThdPase) has been reported to be identical with the platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF). To investigate whether the dThdPase activity of PD-ECGF/dThdPase is indispensable to its angiogenic activity, three PD-ECGF/dThdPase mutants, K115E (Lys-115-->Glu), L148R (Leu-148-->Arg) and R202S (Arg-202-->Ser) were made by site-directed mutagenesis. A...

Genetic mutations of the Cl(-) channel ClC-5 cause Dent's disease in humans. We recently cloned an amphibian ortholog of Xenopus ClC-5 (xClC-5) from the A6 cell line. We now compare the properties and regulation of ClC-5 currents expressed in mammalian (COS-7) cells and Xenopus oocytes. Whole cell currents in COS-7 cells transfected with xClC-5 cDNA had strong outward rectification, Cl(-) > I(-...

Anandamide amidase is the hydrolytic enzyme responsible for the breakdown of anandamide, an endogenous cannabimimetic, to arachidonate and ethanolamine. Another enzymatic activity called anandamide synthase catalyzes the reverse reaction, that is the condensation of arachidonate and ethanolamine. Using a recently cloned rat fatty acid amidohydrolase (FAAH), we tested the hypothesis that the syn...

Hyaluronan (HA), a simple disaccharide unit, can polymerize and is considered a primary component of the extracellular matrix, which has a wide range of biological functions. In recent years, HA was found on the surface of tumor cells. According to previous reports, differing HA content on the cell surface of tumor cells is closely related to lymph node metastases, but the mechanisms mediating ...

1 We use global 3-D atmospheric simulations of carbonyl sulfide (COS) to interpret 2 observations at a network of surface sites. We aim to identify the primary factors 3 underlying observed seasonal variations and to constrain COS uptake by terrestrial 4 vegetation. Model simulations based on a recent estimate of global COS fluxes (which 5 includes closure between sources and sinks) successfull...

This study aims to investigate the effects of dietary chitosan (COS) on gastrointestinal pathogen resistance in mice model. For two weeks, a control group of ICR mice received a basal diet whilst the intervention group received the basal diet supplemented with 300 mg/kg COS. After two weeks, the mice fed the supplemented diet had a lower body weight. Then enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (E. co...

Let γ n denote the length of the n-th zone of instability of the Hill operator Ly = −y ′′ − [4tα cos 2x + 2α 2 cos 4x]y, where α = 0, and either both α, t are real, or both are pure imaginary numbers. For even n we prove: if t, n are fixed, then for α → 0 γ n = 8α n 2 n [(n − 1)!] 2 n/2 k=1 t 2 − (2k − 1) 2 (1 + O(α)) , and if α, t are fixed, then for n → ∞ γ n = 8|α/2| n [2 · 4 · · · (n − 2)] ...

A total of 50 weaning pigs (16 d of age; 4.72 +/- 0.23 kg of BW) were selected to investigate the effect of dietary chito-oligosaccharide (COS) supplementation on growth performance, fecal shedding of Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus, apparent digestibility, and small intestinal morphology. Pigs housed in individual metabolic cages were assigned randomly to 5 treatments (n = 10), including 1 ...

Due to the unique hydrogeological environment of karst areas, pollutants are more likely enter soil and water, showing a special migration transformation behavior. In this work, binding behaviors between strontium (Sr2+) dissolved organic matter (DOM) extracted from under influence pH Ca2+ in typical area were investigated by applying three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy combined with pa...