Serum alkaline phosphatase estimations by the Selected Method [Clin. Chem. 21, 1988 (1975)] are very sensitive to small errors in the wavelength setting of the spectrophotometer. With a setting error as small as 3 nm, results can be too low by as much as 23%. The product of the reaction, 4-nitrophenol, can be prepared in very pure form and can be used to check both the wavelength and absorbance...

We have tested the hypothesis that the autoamplification of two-component regulatory systems results in "learning" behavior, i.e., that bacteria respond faster or more extensively to a signal when a similar signal has been perceived in the past. Indeed, the induction of alkaline phosphatase activity upon phosphate limitation was faster if the cultures had been limited for phosphate previously, ...

1. Plasma alkaline phosphatase activity and urine hydroxyproline excretion were measured in age-matched premenopausal and postmenopausal women. 2. Both measurements were found to be significantly higher in postmenopausal women. 3. It is proposed that the rise in the plasma alkaline phosphatase, like that in the hydroxyproline excretion, may reflect the onset of bone loss that occurs after the m...

Bioactive mesoporous diopside (m-DP) and poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) composite scaffolds with mesoporous/macroporous structure were prepared by the solution-casting and particulate-leaching method. The results demonstrated that the degradability and bioactivity of the mesoporous/macroporous scaffolds were significantly improved by incorporating m-DP into PLLA, and that the improvement was m-DP conte...

Histochemical methods have been devised Lo demonstrate certain metabolic activities of cells. By these techniques certain structures in a particular tissue are made to stand out in contrast to the other constituents. We have applied the methods for demonstrating alkaline and acid phosphatase activity to the study of the skin in leprosy. Pearse (5) has pointed out that these methods depend on in...

Plasma alkaline phosphatase activity has been measured in 204 pairs of twins aged 18-34. Estimated genetic variance was the same in men and women, after exclusion of the youngest men, but environmental variance was greater in men so that the heritability was .90 +/- .02 in the women and .71 +/- .05 in the 19-34-year-old men. About 15% of the genetic variance was associated with the ABO blood gr...

We describe specifications for high-purity 4-nitrophenol, which is suitable for spectrophotometric standardization. Such a reference material is needed in clinical enzymology to establish the proper molar absorptivity of 4-nitrophenol under final reaction conditions, particularly for measuring alkaline phosphatase activity in human serum. Some lots of 4-nitrophenol available commercially met th...