Effect of traditional acupuncture on proximal colonic motility in conscious dogs

Acupoints on the Large Intestine Meridian and specific acupoints related with large intestine have been empirically used to treat large intestinal disease. However, the relationship between acupoints related with large intestine and their functions has not been investigated fully. We investigated whether large intestine-related acupoints affect colonic motility in conscious dogs implanted with electrodes at the proximal colon. Manual acupuncture was applied at the following acupoints: 7 main points on the Large Intestine Meridian (LI1, LI2, LI3, LI4, LI5, LI6, and LI11), ST25, BL25 or GV1. Acupuncture at the Large Intestine Meridian acupoints, ST25 and BL25 had no significant effects on the proximal colonic motility. However, acupuncture at GV1 depressed the proximal colonic motility by decreasing the total duration and the frequency of contractile states, which may contribute to the therapeutic effects of GV1. This study also revealed that there was no clear correlation between Large Intestine Meridian and the proximal colonic motility in conscious dogs.     

A universal method to produce low-work function electrodes for organic electronics

Organic and printed electronics technologies require conductors with a work function that is sufficiently low to facilitate the transport of electrons in and out of various optoelectronic devices. We show that surface modifiers based on polymers containing simple aliphatic amine groups substantially reduce the work function of conductors including metals, transparent conductive metal oxides, conducting polymers, and graphene. The reduction arises from physisorption of the neutral polymer, which turns the modified conductors into efficient electron-selective electrodes in organic optoelectronic devices. These polymer surface modifiers are processed in air from solution, providing an appealing alternative to chemically reactive low-work function metals. Their use can pave the way to simplified manufacturing of low-cost and large-area organic electronic technologies.     

Characterization of the relationship between serum and milk residue disposition of ceftriaxone in lactating ewes

The present study was planned to investigate the serum disposition kinetics and the pattern of ceftriaxone elimination in milk and urine of lactating ewes (n = 6) following i.v. and i.m. administration. A crossover study was carried out in two phases separated by 15 days. Ceftriaxone was administered at a dosage of 10 mg/kg b.w. in all animals. Serum, milk and urine samples were collected between 0 and 72 h and a modified agar diffusion bioassay method was used to determine the percentage of protein binding and to measure serum, urine and milk concentrations of ceftriaxone. The drug was detected between 5 min and 48 h postdosing. Concentrations of 0.56 (10 h) and 0.52 (12 h), 0.22 (10 h) and 0.19 (12 h), and 2.18 (24 h) and 2.11 (48 h) mug/mL were measured in serum, milk and urine following i.v. and i.m. administration, respectively. Individual pharmacokinetic parameters were determined by fitting a two-compartment model to the serum and one-compartment open model to the milk concentration-time profiles. After i.v. dosing, the elimination rate constant and elimination half-life were 0.4 +/- 0.05/h and 1.75 +/- 0.02 h, respectively. The volume of distribution at steady state (V(dss)) of 0.28 +/- 0.15 L/kg reflected limited extracellular distribution of the drug with total body clearance (Cl(tot)) of 0.14 +/- 0.10 L/h/kg. Following i.m. administration, the mean T(max obs), C(max obs), t(1/2el) and AUC values for serum data were: 0.75 h, 23.16 +/- 2.94 microg/mL, 1.77 +/- 0.24 h and 67.55 +/- 6.51 microgxh/mL, respectively. For milk the data were: 1.0 h, 8.15 +/- 0.71 mug/mL, 2.2 +/- 0.34 h and 26.6 +/- 5.14 microgxh/mL, respectively. The i.m. bioavailability was 83.6% and the binding percentage of ceftriaxone to serum protein was 33%. Concentrations of ceftriaxone in milk produced by clinically normal mammary glands of ewes were consistently lower than in serum; the kinetic value AUC(milk)/AUC(serum) and C(max milk)/C(max serum) ratios was<0.4. These low values indicated poor distribution and penetration of ceftriaxone from the bloodstream to the mammary gland of lactating ewes following both routes.     

Genetic relationships of sesame germplasm collection as revealed by inter-simple sequence repeats

Inter‐simple sequence repeats (ISSR) polymorphism was used to determine genetic relationships among 75 Sesamum indicum L. accessions of Korean and exotic sesame. Fourteen reliable ISSR primers were selected for the assessment of genetic diversity, yielding 79 amplification products. Of these polymerase chain reaction products, 33% revealed polymorphism among the 75 accessions. Genetic distances ranged from 0 to 0.255, with a mean genetic distance of 0.0687. The 75 accessions were divided into seven groups on the basis of unweighted pair‐group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis. The largest group consisted of 25 Korean cultivars, eight Korean breeding lines and 17 world‐wide accessions. The other groups included 25 accessions, several of which contained useful traits. The dendrogram did not indicate any clear division among sesame accessions based on their geographical origin. However, all Korean sesame cultivars except ‘Namsankkae’ were clustered in the same group, indicating a narrow gene pool. Some of the Korean breeding lines were spread along the dendrogram, showing enlargement of genetic diversity. The genetic diversity data uncovered in this study can be used in future breeding programmes.     

Effective selection of soybean cultivars to wildfire disease pathogen Pseudomonas amygdali pv. tabaci

Wildfire, caused by Pseudomonas amygdali pv. tabaci is one of the most destructive bacterial diseases and was recognized as a disease of soybean in 1943. Wildfire has been seen a steady increase in the incidence and prevalence on some cultivars of soybean in Korea by climatic changes but there is little information on effective control measures for wildfire or soybean varieties showing complete resistance to the disease. In this study, the efficient and reliable screening method to evaluate soybean genotype for resistance to P. amygdali pv. tabaci in field had been developed. In order to determine the host resistance of the soybean cultivar against P. amygdali pv. tabaci, development of symptom by infiltration inoculation was evaluated. Significant differences between susceptible plants and resistant plants were observed through these assays. Based on these results, ‘Shinpaldal2’, ‘Daepung’ are resistant to wildfire compared to ‘Hwangeum’, ‘Taekwang’. The optimum temperature of this pathogen was between 20-25°C and when the pathogen was in the optimum temperature, the responses of susceptible or resistant cultivar were dramatically different. Prior to initiation of resistance breeding of soybean wildfire, it is imperative to set uniform resistance screening techniques. The obtained results can be effectively used to enhance the selection of wildfire resistance as well as directly applied in resistant soybean development. Resistant lines identified through this assay could be directly used in soybean breeding programs for wildfire resistance.     

Sphingomonas sp. strain SB5 degrades carbofuran to a new metabolite by hydrolysis at the furanyl ring

Microorganisms capable of degrading carbofuran were isolated from soils and examined for the degradation of this pesticide at ring structure. An isolate that could degrade carbofuran and carbofuran-7-phenol was selected for further studies. The 16S rRNA analysis results showed that the isolate belongs to the genus of Sphingomonas, close to dioxin and dicamba degraders, and is named Sphingomonas sp. SB5. SB5 did not show any similarity of 16S rRNA to known carbofuran degraders. When time-course degradation of carbofuran by SB5 was examined by solvent extraction combined with liquid chromatographic analysis, almost complete disappearance of carbofuran was observed within 12 h, giving several accumulative metabolites. Bacterial cultures incubated with carbofuran-7-phenol suggested that the accumulated metabolites were derived from carbofuran-7-phenol. The control without SB5 and kanamycin-treated SB5 did not show any metabolite, suggesting a biological involvement in the degradation of carbofuran. GC/MS and LC/MS analyses identified 2-hydroxy-3-(3-methylpropan-2-ol) phenol as one of the accumulated metabolites, suggesting that the strain SB5 could degrade carbofuran-7-phenol by hydrolysis at the furanyl ring. This is the first report to identify 2-hydroxy-3-(3-methylpropan-2-ol) phenol as a new product derived biologically from carbofuran-7-phenol.     

Preparation of a t,t conjugated linoleic acid methylester (CLA-Me) isomers mixture from synthetic CLA by methylation with BF3/methanol

Mixtures of t,t conjugated linoleic acid methylester (t,t CLA-Me) isomers were prepared from synthetic CLA, consisting of 47.8% t10,c12 CLA; 45.5% c9,t11 CLA; 2.0% t,t CLA; and 4.7% others, by methylation with BF(3)/methanol (designated TT-TC/CT) in conjunction with purification at -68 degrees C for 24 h. The amount or composition of the TT-TC/CT was greatly affected by the concentration of BF(3) in methanol and the duration of methylation. The methylation of 50 mg of synthetic CLA for 30 min with 1 mL of 7.0% BF(3)/methanol produced a TT-TC/CT (21.54 mg) with the composition of 1.3% t12,t14; 5.9% t11,t13; 42.7% t10,t12; 44.0% t9,t11; 5.0% t8,t10; and 1.1% t 7,t9 CLA, whereas the methylation for 60 min with 14.0% BF(3)/methanol produced a TT-TC/CT (28.62 mg) with the composition of t,t CLA isomers different from that of TT-TC/CT by methylation for 30 min with 7.0% BF(3)/methanol. A large quantity of TT-TC/CT (14.15 g) with the composition similar to that of TT-TC/CT prepared from 50 mg of synthetic CLA was also prepared from 25 g of synthetic CLA. The purity of TT-TC/CT samples was greater than 98%. These results suggest that TT-TC/CT with a purity greater than 98% was easily prepared from synthetic CLA by BF(3)-catalyzed methylation, and the amount and composition of t,t CLA isomers of TT-TC/CT samples could be controlled by methylation conditions.     

Single-dose pharmacokinetics of marbofloxacin in Egyptian buffalo (Bubalus bubalis L.) steers

The objective of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of marbofloxacin (MAR) following intravenous (iv) and intramuscular (im) administration of a 2.0 mg/kg body weight dosage to five healthy Egyptian buffalo steers. A cross-over design was used with a washout period of 2 weeks. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 5,10,15, and 20 min and at 0.5,0.75,1,2,4,6,8,10,12,24,30 and 48 hours after marbofloxacin administration.The serum marbofloxacin concentrations were quantitated using a modified agar diffusion bioassay method. Marbofloxacin exhibited a relatively high volume of distribution at steady-state (Vdss = 1.77 Lkg), which suggests good tissue penetration, and a total body clearance (Cltot) of 0.18 L/kgxh,which is associated with a long elimination half-life (tl/2beta = 7.52 h). Marbofloxacin was rapidly absorbed at a dosage of 2.0 mg/kg after im administration with an observed maximum serum concentration (Cmax) value of 2.004 microg/mL obtained at a time to peak concentration (tmax) of 0.5 h, and an absolute bioavailability (F %) of 86.79 +/- 5.53 %.The protein-binding ranged from 22 to 24.6 % with an average of 23.4 %. In conclusion, single iv and im administered doses of marbofloxacin were well tolerated by Egyptian buffalo steers. A dosage of 2 mg/kg body weight might not be enough to treat infections caused by bacteria with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) at or above 0.2 microg/mL, based on the calculated area under the inhibitory concentration (AUIC).     

Influence of endotoxin induced fever on the pharmacokinetics of intramuscularly administered cefepime in rabbits

This study examined the effect of experimentally induced fever on the pharmacokinetics of cefepime (75 mg/kg BW) administered intramuscularly to six rabbits. The study was carried out in two consecutive phases separated by a two-week washout period. An infection was induced by an intravenous inoculation of 5 × 10⁸ colony-forming units of Escherichia coli 24 h before the pharmacokinetic investigation. A quantitative microbiological assay was employed to measure the plasma cefepime concentrations using an agar-gel diffusion method with Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 as the test organism. Twenty-four hour after the injection, the rectal temperature in the infected animals increased by 1–. There was a significant reduction in the elimination half-life by 21.8% in the febrile rabbits compared to healthy animals. In addition, the infection significantly increased the peak plasma concentrations by 11.9%, the mean residence time by 19.9%, the area under the plasma-concentration-time curve by 53.6% and the area under the moment curve by 62.3%. In conclusion, the endotoxin-induced febrile state produced significant changes in the plasma levels as well as some of the pharmacokinetic variables of cefepime in rabbits.