Pulmonary surfactant is a heterogeneous complex of lipids and proteins that serves to stabilize the alveoli and distal airways at low lung volumes. Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) is widely accepted to be the major lipid component of pulmonary surfactant. In addition to DPPC, phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and specific proteins are required for the full biological activity of surfactant. At le...

The properties of afferent sensory neurons supplying taste receptors on the tongue were examined in vitro. Neurons in the geniculate (GG) and petrosal ganglia (PG) supplying the tongue were fluorescently labeled, acutely dissociated, and then analyzed using patch-clamp recording. Measurement of the dissociated neurons revealed that PG neurons were significantly larger than GG neurons. The activ...

BACKGROUND Substance P (SP) is involved in the pathogenesis of cough in animal models. However, few studies in humans have been reported and the roles of SP in clinical cough remain obscure. OBJECTIVES To clarify the relevance of plasma levels of SP in patients with persistent cough. METHODS We studied 82 patients with cough persisting for at least 3 weeks and 15 healthy controls. Patients ...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to investigate the diagnostic potential of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and other soluble biomarkers in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for early diagnosis of cerebral vasospasm (cVSSAH) and external ventricular drain-associated ventriculitis (VCSAH) and to separate these conditions from aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) without further complication (SAHw/...

Pectin lyase and polygalacturonase production by newly isolated fungal strains was carried out in solid-state fermentation. Moniliella SB9 and Penicillium sp EGC5 produced polygalcturonase (PG) and pectin lyase (PL) on mixture of orange bagasse, sugar cane bagasse and wheat bran as substrate. PG and PL produced by Moniliella presented optimum activity at pH 4.5 and 10.0 and at 55 and 45°C, resp...

Phosphatidylglycerol (PG) is considered to play an important role in the ordered assembly and structural maintenance of the photosynthetic apparatus in thylakoid membranes. However, its function in photosynthesis remains poorly understood. In this study we have identified a pgsA gene of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 that encodes a PG phosphate synthase involved in the biosynthesis of PG. A disrupti...

A dansylated form of porcine surfactant-associated protein C (Dns-SP-C), bearing a single dansyl group at its N-terminal end, has been used to characterize the lipid-protein and protein-protein interactions of SP-C reconstituted in phospholipid bilayers, using fluorescence spectroscopy. The fluorescence emission spectrum of Dns-SP-C in phospholipid bilayers is similar to the spectrum of dansyl-...

BACKGROUND While IPTp-SP is currently being scaled up in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the coverage with the required>or=2 doses of SP remains considerably short of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) goal of 80%, not to mention of the recently advocated universal coverage. METHODS The study triangulates quantitative data from a health center randomized community-based trial on IPTp-SP effectiveness and ...

Neurons can display sexual dimorphism in receptor expression, neurotransmitter release, and synaptic plasticity. We have detected sexual dimorphism in functional tachykinin receptors in vagal afferents (nodose ganglion neurons, NGNs) by studying the effects of hormonal variation on the depolarizing actions of substance P (SP) in female guinea pig NGNs. Using conventional "sharp" microelectrode ...