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We present a comparative study on the material properties and two-photon excitation (TPE) experiments that involve three bands between a GaNAs and a GaNAsSb absorber designed for intermediate band solar cells. The absorber layers were sandwiched between p-AlGaAs emitter layers and n-AlGaAs IB barrier layers. This permits production of above the bandgap electron-hole pairs by TPE involving two subband photons with the intermediate band as the stepping stone. A recovery in the carrier population in the intermediate band of the GaNAsSb absorber was realized due to an improved material quality. An enhancement in the photocurrent production due to TPE and an associated improvement in the open-circuit voltage were observed.

Abstract: We studied the effect of pazufloxacin mesilate (T-3762), a new fluoroquinolone for intravenous administration, on the serum concentration of theophylline. Evaluation consisted of comparisons of serum levels of theophylline (when it was given alone, as a control), with serum levels of theophylline when T-3762 was given concomitantly. We measured the serum concentrations and the urinary excretion rates of theophylline in healthy adult male volunteers who were given theophylline for 5 days, followed by an i.v. infusion of T-3762. Blood and urine samples were investigated on the third and fifth days after the concomitant dosing with T-3762, to compare the serum levels and urinary concentrations of theophylline with the control values. We found that the serum concentration and the urinary excretion rates of theophylline on the fifth day after concomitant dosing with T-3762 were significantly increased compared with the levels when the volunteers had been given theophylline alone.

Poly-vinylidenechloride (PVDC) based carbon has been used as an electrode material for electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) due to novel characteristics, which inherited from the pristine PVDC. Electrochemical and morphological properties of three PVDC based carbon with different retention time from 60 min to 180 min were characterized by a conventional gas adsorption method and the image analysis using transmittance electron microscopy (TEM).

Real-time dynamics of domain walls between the neutral and ionic phases just after photoexcitations is studied by fully solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a one-dimensional extended Peierls-Hubbard (PH) model, not by relying on the adiabatic approximation. The unrestricted Hartree-Fock (HF) approximation is used for electrons, and the lattice displacements are treated classically. Three characteristic time scales are observed: rapid oscillation of ionicity owing to the local charge transfer; slow oscillation of lattice displacements; and even slower and collective motion of domain walls. Steady growth of a metastable domain is achieved after complicated competition of micro domains. The relevance to recently measured, time-resolved photoreflectance spectra in TTF-CA is discussed.

Abstract: Using a new plaque cloning technique, we obtained unique Chlamydia trachomatis strains, which were confirmed to be free of the 7.5-kb common plasmid and glycogen in inclusions. The inclusions in plasmid-free and glycogen-negative strains were characterized by a target-like bull's eye morphology that appeared with the formation of a central translucent area that began to be seen clearly at 30 h postinoculation. The clear zone was composed of gel materials originating from reticulate bodies (RBs) that were abnormally large in size and irregular in shape, although one could not differentiate the aberrant RBs from normal RBs at early stages of development. The in-vitro susceptibility of these strains to various chemotherapeutic antibiotics was tested by comparison with their parent strains possessing the common plasmid. No difference was detected for any of the antibiotics tested, indicating that the 7.5-kb common plasmid is unrelated to the drug susceptibility of C. trachomatis.

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a major etiologic agent of periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory disease that ultimately results in the loss of the supporting tissues of the teeth. Previous work has demonstrated the usefulness of avirulent Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strains as antigen delivery systems for protective antigens of pathogens that colonize or cross mucosal surfaces. In this study, we constructed and characterized a recombinant S. enterica serovar Typhimurium avirulent vaccine strain which expresses hemagglutinin A and carries no antibiotic resistance markers. HagA, a major virulence-associated surface protein, is a potentially useful immunogen that contains an antigenic epitope which, in humans, elicits an immune response that is protective against subsequent colonization by P. gingivalis. The hagA gene, including its promoter, was cloned into a balanced-lethal Salmonella vector and transferred to the vaccine strain. Heterologous expression of HagA was demonstrated in both Escherichia coli JM109 and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium vaccine strain chi4072. The HagA epitope was present in its native configuration as determined by immunochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy. Purified recombinant HagA was recognized by sera from mice immunized with the S. enterica serovar Typhimurium vaccine strain. The HagA-specific antigen of the vaccine was also found to be recognized by serum from a periodontal patient. This vaccine strain, which expresses the functional hemagglutinin protein, induces a humoral immune response against HagA and may be useful for developing a protective vaccine against periodontal diseases associated with P. gingivalis.

Several groups of wild mice (Mus musculus) were captured from eight different locations in Asia and bred for several generations in a facility free of any laboratory strains of mice carrying mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV). The distribution of endogenous MMTV proviral sequences in the liver tissues of these mice was investigated by using Southern blot hybridizations. Four categories of mice were identified. Mice originating from Bogor, Indonesia (Cas-Bgr); He-mei, Taiwan (Cas-Hmi/1); and Malaysia (Cas-Mal) were found to carry an endogenous MMTV provirus consisting of the env, gag-pol, and long terminal repeat sequences. Mice captured from Kojuri, Republic of Korea (Sub-Kjr); Nagoya, Japan (Mol-nag); and three Chinese provinces, Shanghai (Sub-Shh), Beijing (Sub-Bjn), and Jiayuguang (Sub-Jyg/1), appeared to carry defective proviruses. Some mice originating from He-mei (Cas-Hmi/2) and Jiayuguang (Sub-Jyg/2) were found to be completely free of endogenous MMTV. Interestingly, however, the Sub-Jyg/2 mice, after several generations of inbreeding, were found, unlike all of the other subspecies that we examined in the present study, to develop mammary tumors at a high incidence (80 to 90%) with a short period of latency. Electron microscopic examination of the mammary glands and mammary tumors of these mice revealed the presence of numerous intracytoplasmic A, immature, budding, and mature B particles. Furthermore, the mammary tumors were found to contain MMTV proviral sequences. It seems, therefore, that Sub-Jyg/2 mice carry an exogenous MMTV which contributes to their developing mammary tumors.

The pathogenesis of acute canine distemper in three naturally infected dogs was investigated. The lymphoid organs showed atrophy without secondary follicles. The distribution of canine distemper virus (CDV) antigens was examined immunohistochemically with monoclonal antibodies specific for canine Thy-1, immunoglobulin (Ig) M, CD4, CD8, CD21 and CD45RB, and anti-measlesvirus nucleocapsid protein serum. The viral antigens were located in the T-cell-dependent areas and in the follicles of lymphoid organs; they were observed mainly in the Thy-1-, or CD4-positive cells, but also in the CD8-, CD21-, or IgM-positive cells. The results indicated that Thy-1-positive and CD4-positive T cells serve as major target cells for CDV during the acute stage of infection.

By the use of quasi-elastic light scattering, dynamic critical behavior was studied for symmetrical blend solutions of polystyrene/poly(methyl methacrylate)/deuterated benzene and polystyrene/poly(2-chlorostyrene)/deuterated benzene having different polymeric indices N and polymer concentrations c. The decay rate ΓI of polymer-composition fluctuations showed the dynamic crossover from the diffusive to the mode−mode-coupled hydrodynamic behavior in all solutions. The dynamic-crossover number τ*, which represents the distance between the stability limit and the location of the dynamic crossover, was comparable to that theoretically expected for the dynamically-unentangled system in the present ranges of N and c including a chain-entangled region. The blend solutions with entanglements exhibited a wider mode−mode-coupled regime than theoretical prediction. The dynamic-crossover number τ* was larger than the Ginzburg number Gi, which characterizes the location of the static crossover from the mean-field to the nonclassical Ising behavior, and the mode−mode-coupled dynamics covered a wider region than the statical Ising behavior.

When the Y chromosome of the laboratory inbred mouse strain C57BL/6 (B6) is replaced by the Y of certain strains of Mus musculus domesticus, testis determination fails and all XY fetuses develop either as hermaphrodites or XY females (XY sex reversal). This suggests the presence of at least two alleles of Sry, the male-determining gene on the Y:M. m. domesticus and B6. The B6 Y chromosome is derived from the Japanese house mouse, M. m. molossinus and therefore carries a molossinus Sry allele. As a first step to determine how the molossinus Sry allele evolved, its distribution pattern was determined in wild mice. The cumulative data of 96 M. musculus samples obtained from 58 geographical locations in Europe, North Africa, and Asia show the molossinus Sry allele is restricted to Japan and the neighboring Asian mainland and confirm that Japanese M. m. molossinus mice were derived in part from a race of M. m. musculus from Korea or Manchuria. Sry polymorphisms, as illustrated by the molossinus Sry allele, can serve as molecular markers for studies on the evolution of wild M. musculus populations and can help determine the role sex determination plays in speciation.

A tripeptide aldehyde protease inhibitor, benzyloxycarbonyl(Z)-Leu-Leu-leucinal (ZLLLa1), initiates neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells at an optimal concentration of 3OnM. This result suggests the existence of a protease which regulates neurite formation in PC12 cells. We report here an attempt to identify this target protease in bovine brain using Z-Leu-Leu-Leu-4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide (ZLLL-MCA), in which the aldehyde moiety of ZLLLa1 was changed to 4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide to serve as a substrate for the protease. As a result, we have purified a proteasome with a molecular weight of about 660 kDa as a ZLLL-MCA degrading protease. The activity of the proteasome was inhibited efficiently by ZLLLa1, and was different from known catalytic activities of proteasome in some aspects, suggesting it to be a novel one. Thus, the proteasome may be involved in the regulation of neurite formation in PC12 cells.Copyright 1993, 1999 Academic Press

Levels of DNA sequence polymorphism at the suppressor of forked [su(f)] region in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans are estimated by restriction map analysis. su(f) is located at the base of the euchromatic portion of the X chromosome where the level of crossing-over per physical length is extremely low. In a survey of 55 alleles from three natural populations of D. melanogaster, only 2 restriction sites of 27 hexanucleotide and 108 tetranucleotide restriction sites scored are polymorphic. Among 103 alleles from three natural populations of D. simulans, just one polymorphic restriction site is found in 109 tetranucleotide-recognizing restriction sites scored. The few polymorphisms in these surveys yield estimates of per site heterozygosities (0.00, 0.0002, and 0.0005, respectively) at least a factor of 10 less than the average observed at loci located in regions of the genome with normal levels of crossing-over. Because under a broad category of models of molecular evolution (including the neutral theory) a correlation between levels of polymorphism and interspecific divergence is expected, the DNA sequence divergence is examined for the su(f) region. Contrary to the predicted correlation, the estimated divergence (0.12 substitution per silent site) is, in fact, greater than that observed at loci in regions of normal crossing-over. According to an alternative hypothesis (hitchhiking effect model) intraspecific polymorphism is swept out of the population in regions of the genome closely linked to rare but selectively favored variants as they quickly go to fixation; the rate of divergence is, however, unaffected by these rare hitchhiking events. Thus, the observed paucity of polymorphism and lack of correlation with divergence are in accord with the theory of the hitchhiking effect and several recent reports of polymorphism and divergence in other genomic regions with reduced crossing-over per physical length.

A distinctive variable region 14-positive (V14+) alpha chain (V alpha 14+) of the T-cell antigen receptor is predominantly expressed in multiple mouse subspecies. The V alpha 14 family has two members, V alpha 14.1 and V alpha 14.2, which differ by only three amino acids at positions 50-52. Based on the EcoRI restriction fragment length polymorphism of the gene encoding V alpha 14, mice can be divided into three groups: type I with an 11.2-kilobase (kb) fragment, type II with a 2.0-kb fragment, and type III with the 2.0-kb and 11.2-kb fragments. Usage of V alpha 14-J alpha 281, where J alpha 281 is an alpha-chain joining segment, with a one-base N region dominates at the level of 0.02-1.5% of alpha chains in all laboratory strains, Mus musculus castaneus, and Mus musculus domesticus but not in Mus musculus molossinus, Mus musculus musculus, and Mus spicilegus samples. The preferential V alpha 14-J alpha 281 expression seems to be due to positive selection because the V-J junctional region is always glycine, despite the ability of the V alpha 14 gene to associate with J alpha other than J alpha 281. As V alpha 14-J alpha 281 expression is independent of known major histocompatibility complex antigens, including H-2, TLA, Qa, and HMT, the selecting ligand must be a monomorphic molecule of the mouse, expressed in a subspecies-specific manner. Additional observations, such as the expression of homogeneous V alpha 14-J alpha 281 in athymic mice, suggest that the positive selection of V alpha 14+ T cells occurs extrathymically.

Previous reports of mitochondrial DNA variation in Japanese mice have revealed the occurrence of two components, a M. m. musculus mtDNA type in central Japan and a M. m. castaneus one at both northern and southern ends. In the present study, we explore the genetic composition of nuclear genes from Japanese wild mice. Protein electrophoresis at 16 polymorphic loci was used to characterise mice from 20 localities and to compare them with samples from the surrounding countries.The results revealed a predominant M. m. musculus nuclear gene component on the main Japanese Islands. A M. m. castaneus contribution was detectable in south Kyushu, but, interestingly, not evident in Northern Honshu were the castaneus mtDNA predominates. On the other hand, the mouse populations from Ogasawara (Chichi Islands) showed a threefold origin with a strong M. m. domesticus component, probably resulting from a very recent admixture.This clearcut example of reticulate evolution, which does not give rise to an homogeneous gene distribution, is however very different from the situation observed in the European hybrid zone. This raises questions concerning the mechanisms that either impede or favour gene admixture when differentiated gene pools are brought together.Heredity (1989) 63, 299–308; doi:10.1038/hdy.1989.102

The in vitro and in vivo activities of AM-1155, a new quinolone, against Chlamydia spp. were investigated. The MIC of AM-1155 for 10 standard strains of different Chlamydia spp. and 25 wild-type strains of Chlamydia pneumoniae isolated in Japan, which were morphologically different from clinical isolates from the United States, ranged from 0.063 to 0.125 microg/ml. Its activity was almost the same as those of sparfloxacin and tosufloxacin and was 4 and 16 times superior to those of levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, respectively, but lower than those of clarithromycin and minocycline (range for each, 0.016 to 0.031 microg/ml). The minimal chlamydiacidal concentration of AM-1155 ranged from 0.063 to 0.125 microg/ml, while those of clarithromycin and minocycline ranged from 0.016 to 0.031 microg/ml and 0.016 to 0.063 microg/ml, respectively. The therapeutic effect of a 7-day course of AM-1155 at doses of 5 and 10 mg/kg of body weight administered orally twice daily to mice with experimental Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia was excellent, with a 100% survival rate at 21 days after infection. The efficacy was equal to those of clarithromycin and minocycline and higher than those of ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin.

Wild mouse DNAs were analyzed for two types of endogenous ecotropic murine leukemia viruses (MuLVs), Akv and Fv-4r-associated MuLV. Endogenous Akv viruses were found only in northern Chinese mice, Korean mice, and Japanese (Mus musculus molossinus) mice. The Fv-4r gene, which is a truncated endogenous MuLV with ecotropic interference properties, was carried by Southeast Asian (M. m. castaneus) mice, Korean mice, and M. m. molossinus. Sequences related to Fv-4r MuLV env were found only in M. m. castaneus. These findings suggest that endogenous Akv viruses were acquired by northern Chinese mice and that the Fv-4r gene or its related endogenous MuLVs were acquired independently by M. m. castaneus. The Fv-4r gene appears to have been generated hundreds of thousands of years ago, before the amplification of the Fv-4r-related endogenous MuLVs in M. m. castaneus. The coexistence of Akv viruses and the Fv-4r gene in M. m. molossinus may be explained by the hybrid origin of M. m. molossinus in crosses between northern Chinese mice and M. m. castaneus, as described in other articles. The absence of the Fv-4r-related endogenous MuLVs in M. m. molossinus may indicate that the ancestral mice of this subspecies either were an ancient type of M. m. castaneus that had acquired the Fv-4r gene but had not yet acquired the Fv-4r-related endogenous MuLVs or were a rare fraction of a mixed population of M. m. castaneus and northern Chinese mice.

Microrecordings were performed during pallidotomy and thalamotomy for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Neuronal activity in globus pallidus (GP) was in general agreement with previous studies of human and primate models of PD. Neuronal activity, where frequency of tremor appeared to oscillate independently from peripheral input, was encountered in GPi. In contrast, neuronal activity in Vim regarding frequency of firing also correlated with tremor and was passively driven by kinesthetic stimuli with a somatotopic arrangement. Pallidal lesions based on microrecording induced relative reductions of tremor, while small Vim lesions immediately alleviated tremor.Basal ganglia pathology due to dopamine depletion could generate oscillatory neuronal activity in GPi, which may cause tremor. However, peripheral feedback to the motor cortex via Vim is also significant for tremorgenesis, because Vim may be an excitatory driving source for motor cortical neurons. Thus, a Vim lesion could reduce excitability of the motor cortical neurons and abolish tremor.

The level of intra- and interspecific variations on nuclear DNA in five Aegilops species of the Sitopsis section were investigated using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. A total of 18 accessions, i.e. 7 of Ae. speltoides, 3 of Ae. longissima, 2 of Ae. searsii, 3 of Ae. sharonensis and 3 of Ae. bicornis, were used. One accession each of Triticum aestivum, T. durum, T. urartu and Ae. squarrosa was included as reference material. Five enzymes and 20 probes were used. Among the five Sitopsis species studied, Ae. speltoides had the largest intraspecific variation which was as high as the interspecific variation observed among the other four species. The section Sitopsis was divided into two distinct groups: one containing only Ae. speltoides and the other, Ae. longissima, Ae. searsii, Ae. sharonensis and Ae. bicornis. This grouping by RFLP analysis is in agreement with the taxonomical classification of the subsections.

Restriction-map variation in 64 X chromosome lines extracted from three different natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster was investigated with seven six-nucleotide-recognizing enzymes for a 20-kb region including the zeste and tko genes. Ten restriction-site and four length polymorphisms (two insertions and two deletions) were detected. Contrary to the predicted lower level of variation for genes on the X chromosome, the level of variation attributable to nucleotide substitution (estimated heterozygosity/nucleotide = 0.004) was similar to that previously reported for autosomal loci. The amount of insertion/deletion variation in the studied region was within the range observed in autosomal regions and thus not explainable by a simple selection model against the effects of insertional mutations. A general lack of linkage disequilibrium between polymorphic sites was observed.

The Japanese mouse, Mus musculus molossinus, has long been considered an independent subspecies of the house mouse. A survey of restriction-site haplotypes of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) showed that Japanese mice have two main maternal lineages. The most common haplotype is closely related to the mtDNA of the European subspecies M. m. musculus. The other common haplotype and two minor ones are closely related to each other and to the mtDNA of an Asiatic subspecies, M. m. castaneus. Two other rare variants are probably the result of recent contamination by European M. m. domesticus. The musculus type of mtDNA is found in the southern two-thirds of Japan, whereas the common castaneus type is found in the northern third and the minor variants are found sporadically throughout Japan. The castaneus mtDNA lineage had a few minor variants, whereas the musculus lineage was completely monomorphic. By contrast, the native population of M. m. castaneus and the Chinese and Korean musculus populations were highly polymorphic. These results suggest that M. m. molossinus is a hybrid between ancestral colonies, possibly very small, of M. m. musculus and M. m. castaneus, rather than an independent subspecies.

Proteins of Chlamydia pneumoniae immunodominant in humans were characterized with the sera of 13 patients who were not likely to have been exposed to C. trachomatis or C. psittaci. The serological responses among these patients were similar on a qualitative basis, but some differences were found quantitatively. However, the serological responses of the patients who were infected with C. pneumoniae differed markedly from those of two patients who were infected with C. trachomatis and two who were infected with C. psittaci and those of mice that were transtracheally infected with C. pneumoniae. Among proteins immunodominant in the patients who were infected with C. pneumoniae, a 40-kDa major outer membrane protein was genus specific and 53-, 46-, and 43-kDa proteins were species specific in their reactions with the majority of the human sera used. A few sera reacted strongly with a 73-kDa protein genus specifically. Some proteins with weak immunogenicity exhibited species specificity. An antigenic analysis with human sera and murine monoclonal antibodies against the 53-kDa protein showed that hte antigenicities were strictly conserved among the seven strains of C. pneumoniae tested. The genus-specific 73-kDa protein was solubilized with octylglucoside. All of the species-specific immunodominant proteins were solubilized with sodium dodecyl sulfate, but the genus-specific major outer membrane protein was not. These results suggest that a serological diagnosis of C. pneumoniae infection could be achieved species specifically by comparison of the serum responses to sodium dodecyl sulfate- and octylglucoside-soluble fractions.

To evaluate the sensitivity of commercially available test kits for detection of chlamydiae, we established a method of purifying Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae elementary bodies (EBs). We then subjected the purified EBs, together with the purified EBs of Chlamydia psittaci, to the IDEIA Chlamydia (IDEIA) and DNA probe test kits to determine the EB numbers at the detection limits. The sensitivities of the test kits were thus compared. The results can be summarized as follows. (i) Intact EBs in the purified preparations were present at 100, 96.3, and 97% for the C. psittaci Cal 10, C. trachomatis L2/434/Bu (L2), and C. pneumoniae TW-183 strains, respectively. The preparations of the L2 and TW-183 EBs contained a few EB envelopes, which reacted with antilipopolysaccharide monoclonal antibodies, as did the intact EBs, indicating that elimination of EB envelopes is not required for testing of the IDEIA kit's sensitivity. (ii) We established a method of counting intact EBs and EB envelopes under a scanning electron microscope after sedimentation of EBs on a coverslip by centrifugation. (iii) The EB numbers per assay at the cutoff level, which is set up in the IDEIA kit, were 9.6 x 10(2), 6.5 x 10(3), and 2.5 x 10(4) for the L2, TW-183, and Cal 10 strains, respectively. When the same EB preparations were applied to the DNA probe kit, the EB number at the cutoff level was 7.5 x 10(3) per assay for the L2 strain, but no reaction occurred for the Cal 10 and TW-183 strains at any EB number, indicating that the DNA probe kit is highly specific for C. trachomatis. Although the IDEIA kit designed for detection of C. trachomatis showed a sensitivity superior to that of the DNA probe, the chlamydial species was not determined by the IDEIA kit.

Genetic variability of the nontranscribed spacer (NTS) region within ribosomal DNA repeating units in the various subspecies of Mus musculus was determined. Mice belonging to several laboratory mouse strains were examined by means of Southern blot hybridization with a mouse ribosomal DNA probe. This probe encompasses the 3' end of the 28S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene and the following spacer. Restriction enzyme digestions of the liver DNAs from various wild mice revealed that each of the subspecies has a unique pattern in the spacer encompassing a distance approximately 10 kb downstream from the ribosomal gene. These restriction patterns permit the classification of mouse subspecies and also provide insights into the origin of the laboratory mouse strains.

The in vitro and in vivo activities of azithromycin against chlamydia were investigated. The MIC of azithromycin for five standard strains of different species of chlamydia and six wild-type strains of Chlamydia pneumoniae was 0.125 microgram/ml, which was superior to that of erythromycin but inferior to those of clarithromycin and minocycline. However, the therapeutic effect of a 7-day course of azithromycin at a dose of 10 mg/kg of body weight administered orally once daily to mice with experimental Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia was excellent, with a 100% survival rate at 14 days after infection, which was the same as that for treatment with minocycline administered at 10 mg/kg twice daily; all erythromycin treated animals died within 10 days. When treatment was discontinued 3 days after the infection, the survival rate for mice treated with azithromycin was 90% and that for mice administered minocycline was 30%. These results suggest that azithromycin may be useful in the treatment of respiratory infections caused by intracellular pathogens, including chlamydia because of its excellent accumulation within host cells.

Abstract: The in-vitro activity of moxifloxacin, a new fluoroquinolone, against Chlamydia species was investigated. The minimal inhibitory concentration of moxifloxacin for 10 standard strains of different Chlamydia species and 15 wild-type strains of Chlamydia pneumoniae isolated in Japan, which were morphologically different from clinical isolates from the United States, ranged from 0.031 to 0.125 μg/ml. The activity of moxifloxacin was almost the same as those of sparfloxacin, and it was 16, 8, 2, and 2 times more active than ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, grepafloxacin, and tosufloxacin, respectively. The minimal chlamydiacidal concentration of moxifloxacin ranged from 0.031 to 0.125 μg/ml. These results suggest that moxifloxacin has potential effects against Chlamydia species.

Aim: To clarify the endemic and epidemic status of Chlamydia pneumoniae in Japan, the incidence of anti-C pneumoniae antibody was evaluated over a period of 10 years. Method: Serum samples were collected from 4756 healthy individuals aged 6 months to 88 years (2488 male and 2268 female individuals) between 1991 and 2000. The antibody titre was determined by a microimmunofluorescence test. Results: After stratification by age and sex in each year, distinct peaks with prevalences of 73.3% and 73.0% were noted in 1993 and 1999, respectively. The lowest prevalence rate was seen in 1996 (59.0%). The epidemic cycle has been estimated to be almost six years in this geographical area. Conclusions: Chlamydia pneumoniae infection is highly endemic in Japan, as it is in Western countries, and there is a year to year variability. Long term studies in Japan are needed to clarify the epidemic occurrence of C pneumoniae infection.

The in vitro activity of telithromycin, a new ketolide, was compared with those of roxithromycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin and erythromycin A against 20 strains of Chlamydia pneumoniae. The MICs and minimal chlamydiacidal concentrations of telithromycin for the 20 C. pneumoniae strains both ranged between 0.031 and 0.25 mg/L. Telithromycin was twice as active as roxithromycin, azithromycin and erythromycin A, but less active than clarithromycin. These results appear to indicate that telithromycin is an effective antibiotic that should play some role in the treatment of respiratory tract infections caused by C. pneumoniae.

The in vitro and in vivo antichlamydial activities of HSR-903 were investigated. The MICs of HSR-903 for different species of chlamydia were 0.016 to 0.063 microg/ml, which were superior to those of conventional fluoroquinolones. The therapeutic effect of HSR-903 in experimental mouse Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia was also excellent and almost equal to that of minocycline and superior to that of ofloxacin. These results indicate that HSR-903 may be useful in the treatment of respiratory infections caused by chlamydiae.

Salix reiniiFranch. et Savat., a crawl shrub, is one of the most dominant pioneer trees on the southeastern slope of Mt. Fuji, on which an early stage of the volcanic desert succession has been underway since the last eruption in 1707. To investigate the population genetic structure within and among patches of S. reinii, seven polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed by an enrichment procedure. The multiple banding patterns amplified by developed microsatellite markers showed the polyploidy in S. reiniigrowing on the southeastern slope of Mt. Fuji.

Introduction: The traditional Japanese herbal medicine hochuekkito (TJ-41) has been reported to ameliorate systemic inflammation and malnutrition in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). TJ-41 has also been known to have preventive effects against influenza virus infection. However, its role in the acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) remains to be elucidated. Our previous study established a murine model of viral infection-associated AECOPD that was induced by intratracheal administration of porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)]. Here, we used this model and investigated the effects of TJ-41 in AECOPD., Methods: Specific pathogen-free C57BL/6J mice were used. A COPD model was induced by treating mice intratracheally with PPE on day 0. To generate the murine model of AECOPD, poly(I:C) was administered intratracheally following PPE treatment on days 22-24. Mice were sacrificed and analyzed on day 25. Mice were fed a diet containing 2% TJ-41 or a control diet., Results: Daily oral intake of TJ-41 significantly decreased the numbers of neutrophils and lymphocytes in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), which was accompanied by decreased transcripts of CXC chemokines involved in neutrophil migration, viz., Cxcl1 and Cxcl2, in whole lung homogenates and reduced Cxcl2 concentration in BALF., Conclusion: This study demonstrates the anti-inflammatory effects of TJ-41 in a mouse model of AECOPD, suggesting the effectiveness of TJ-41 for the management of COPD. Clinical investigations evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of TJ-41 in AECOPD would be meaningful., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)