Although S. paschale fixes N at a high rate per unit biomass ( Crittenden and Kershaw, 1978), the relatively small biomass of this species limits the total N contribution to the ecosystem ( Gavazov et al., 2010). Juniper was found to be present in relatively high density in the reference forest, Wortmannin but is basically absent on the degraded forest stand. Juniper is highly sensitive to frequent fire and was likely lost to a combination of fire and removal for fuel wood (

Diotte and Bergeron, 1989, Thomas et al., 2007 and Ward, 1973). There is little C or N accumulation in the O horizon of the spruce-Cladina forests. The low level of C accumulated in the O horizon is reflected in C:N ratios which were nearly twice as high on reference forest sites

as compared to spruce-Cladina forests ( Table 2). The O horizon is the primary site of nutrient uptake in boreal forest soils ( Fisher and Binkley, 2000 and Kimmins, 2003). The loss of N capital from these soils directly reflects a reduction in productivity potential and a reduced potential for regeneration. The lack of difference in mineral soil C and N between the two forest types was relatively surprising given the long-term differences in O horizon C and N values. Total N in surface mineral soils to a depth of 10 cm is nearly equivalent to the total N in the O horizon of the reference forest, but is now the primary source of N in the spruce-Cladina forests. PLX4032 mw This is important, because it implies the requirement for a shift in nutrient acquisition strategy from accessing N from the O horizon find more to accessing N via the mineral soil. Interestingly, roots of both spruce and birch in the Cladina dominated forests are exposed on the

surface of the O horizon perhaps allowing for access to nutrients in both the shallow O horizon and surface mineral soil. Charcoal contents of the mineral soil (0–5 cm) of lichen dominated forests were surprisingly lower than that in the reference forest. Charcoal as a percent of total C was 15.6 (±4.8 se, n = 9) for the reference forest and 5.2 (±0.5 se, n = 9) for the spruce-Cladina forest. This is possibly due to the consumption of charcoal during recurrent fire events when there is little surface fuel in frequently burned sites ( DeLuca and Aplet, 2008 and Pingree et al., 2012). Total P reserves in the surface mineral soils appeared to have been greatly reduced by repeated burning. This could be a result of volatilization of P, but the lack of fuel loading in the spruce-Cladina forest would suggest that there was little capacity to lose P by this mechanism as volatilization temperatures of 650 °C ( Neary et al., 1999) were not likely reached once initial fuel beds were consumed in earlier fires. It is more likely that the loss of vegetation from these sites resulted in a lack of plant recycling of P into surface soils and perhaps resulting in a net leaching of P below the rooting zone in presence of limited of vegetative uptake.

Though the GI50 of MP-OHP in pancreas cancer cell was above 5 mg/mL, it exhibited 10 folds higher cytotoxicity effect than the free oxaliplatin, which has been

attributed to sustained release of OHP from MP-OHP nanocarriers. The potential application of MP-OHP nanocarriers as clinically relevant magnetic nanocarrier for targeted cancer therapy has to be confirmed from further studies on animals models. One of the authors (S.S) likes to acknowledge Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Govt. of India and IIT Roorkee for awarding senior research fellowship to carry out this work. We also acknowledge the Institute Instrumentation Centre, IIT Roorkee and Centre of Nanotechnology, IIT Roorkee for utilization of several instrumental facilities

used in this study. “
“The sustained release of pharmaceutical proteins from poly(lactic-co-glycolic)acid (PLGA) microspheres for prevention and treatment www.selleckchem.com/MEK.html of diseases has received wide interest [[1], [2], [3], [4] and [5]]. Still, the encapsulation of proteins in the necessarily quite hydrophobic polymer matrix has remained challenging because the polymer is mostly dissolved in an organic solvent. Proteins are chemically and physically fragile and are susceptible to mechanical, thermal, and chemical stresses encountered in the encapsulation process. In this work we focus on improving physical MK 2206 instability issues during encapsulation which are characterized by protein structural changes potentially leading to subsequent irreversible inactivation and aggregation. The most commonly employed polymer in sustained release applications of proteins is the family of PLGA co-polymers [6]. Water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w), solid-in-oil-in-water (s/o/w), and solid-in-oil-in-oil (s/o/o) encapsulation are the most commonly used methods to incorporate proteins into PLGA microspheres [7]. The s/o/w encapsulation methods are advantageous when working with proteins because they avoid the first w/o interface encountered enough in w/o/w encapsulation which is particularly detrimental to protein integrity [4] and do not involve the use of an excess of organic solvent as in the s/o/o methods [8]. Unfortunately,

also s/o/w encapsulation procedures are not free of protein stability issues likely due to the increased structural dynamics (flexibility) of the protein upon rehydration in the oil-in-water emulsion step [9]. Furthermore, the release of proteins from PLGA devices also produces difficulties, such as, protein instability due to exposure to PLGA hydrolysis products, high initial “burst” release, and incomplete protein release [5,10]. Protein aggregates are frequently formed during encapsulation and release and this must be avoided because they can cause dangerous immune reactions [9,11]. It has to be pointed out, however, that no maximum aggregate levels have been defined by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and they should, in general, be kept as low as possible.

We further investigated the effects of agonistic ligands of these NRs on protein localization PD0332991 supplier and cytokine production. Interleukin (IL)-2 was purchased from Pepro Tech EC Ltd. (London, UK). Anti-CD3ɛ (UCHT-1), anti-CD28 (37407) antibodies, and RANTES ELISA kits were purchased from

R&D Systems (Minneapolis, MN, USA). IL-10 ELISA kits were purchased from eBioscience (San Diego, CA, USA). IFN-γ ELISA kit was obtained from Hayashibara Biochemical Labs. (Okayama, Japan). Anti-PPARγ (E-8), either Alexa 488-conjugated or unconjugated, and anti-human RXRα (D-20) antibodies were purchased from Santa Cruz Biosciences (Santa Cruz, CA, USA). Ligands for NRs were obtained as follows: thiazolidinedione (TZD) and GW9662 were purchased from WAKO chemical (Osaka, Japan) and Calbiochem (San Diego, CA), respectively. NEt-3IP (RXR specific agonist) and NS-4TF (RXR antagonist) were synthesized as described in the previous reports [[17], [18] and [19]]. The generation of HOZOT cell lines was described in detail previously [10]. Briefly, umbilical cord blood (UCB) samples were collected at Kurashiki Medical Center after obtaining informed consent according to the Declaration of Helsinki. Mononuclear cells (MNC) derived from UCB were enriched using Ficoll-paque density centrifugation and co-cultured with mouse stromal cell lines, ST2 or MS-5, in RPMI-1640 medium

containing 10% buy GW3965 fetal bovine serum (FBS). Two to three weeks later, proliferative cells, which exhibited cytotoxicity against the stromal cell line, were expanded in the presence of IL-2 (10 ng/mL). The expanded cells, termed HOZOT, were used for further analysis. The preparation of conventional T (ConT) cells and naturally occurring T regulatory (nTreg) cells was described previously. UCB-derived CD25+ cells were isolated by positive selection with directly conjugated anti-CD25 magnetic beads (Militenyi Biotech, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany). The purity of CD25+ cells were >90%. CD25+ T cells were used for the preparation of nTreg cells. CD25− cells were treated with anti-CD4 magnetic beads (Militenyi

Biotech), and CD4+ cells were enriched using the Midi-MACS system. The purity of CD4+CD25− cells MRIP were >95%. CD4+CD25− T cells were used for the preparation of ConT cells. CD25+ T cells and CD4+CD25− T cells were stimulated on plates coated with anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% FBS at 37 °C in 5% CO2 in the presence of 10 ng/mL IL-2. Growing cells were used as nTreg and ConT cells. Preparation of DNA microarray samples was described previously [15]. Total RNA from HOZOT was isolated with RNeasy kit (Quiagen, Valencia, USA) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The samples were processed and analyzed at the Bio Matrix Research Institute (Nagareyama, Chiba, Japan) using U133 Plus 2.

If an RN circulator performs the compounding, the person administering the preparation should have observed the entire process. If the person administering the product did not observe the process, the compounder should label the final products. Appropriate labeling is an important aspect of compliance.1 Facilities can use vendor-based compounding services (eg, outsourcing). If a facility

uses an external partner, there are reasonable expectations for each party. Beginning with CDK inhibitor the perioperative facility, the leadership team should identify what products are going to be needed. With that information, the leadership team can communicate with potential vendors and ultimately create the statement of work and contract. The plan should include the management and disposal of infectious waste as well as cytotoxic products. Because compounding is a pharmacy function, it is most prudent to engage pharmacists in all discussions with third-party vendors. Perhaps one of the

most important aspects to be mindful of when contracting with external vendor-based compounding services is that the compounding pharmacy must have state-granted permission to cross jurisdiction boundaries. In other words, no compounding product can cross state lines until C59 wnt in vivo appropriate licensing has occurred. For example, if a pharmacist in Colorado wants to ship compounded medications to New Mexico, then the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy also must approve the Colorado pharmacist. Facility managers are highly encouraged to verify compounding pharmacies through their respective state boards of pharmacy. Likewise, there are vendor responsibilities. Vendors must supply the customer with all packaging and handling instructions. If the vendor prepares a product that is “”chilled,”" the receiving facility must be prepared to handle Tideglusib and safeguard temperature requirements. Compliance with this expectation can be documented through temperature logs. Vendors must provide adequate labeling of the products, including their beyond-use date. Vendors bear responsibility for all training and quality improvement efforts and for sterility testing of their staff members (eg, fingertip sampling) and the vendor

site. In the best case scenario, the vendor’s compounding pharmacist should be available to facility personnel to review orders and offer product information. Medication compounding is an essential part of providing care to many perioperative patients. Awareness of national standards and following recommended practices will decrease the likelihood of an adverse event. Perioperative personnel should collaborate early and often with pharmacy representatives, either within the facility or at the third-party vendor facility, to ensure the highest standard of care.1 and 2 Ambulatory Takeaways Freestanding ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) typically contract with a third-party compounding pharmacy that can provide compounded medications ready for patient use.

The author thanks Dr. Hideki Imaizumi, Osaki Citizen Hospital, Osaki, Japan for providing the data used in Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3 showing bone formation by OCP in a rabbit femur, Dr. Masamichi Takami, Department of IOX1 concentration Biochemistry, School of Dentistry, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan for providing the data used in Fig. 4 showing osteoclast formation in in vitro co-cultures, and Dr. Kentaro Suzuki, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan and

Dr. Takuto Handa, Shinoda General Hospital, Yamagata, Japan and Division of Oral Surgery, Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry, Sendai, Japan for providing the data used in Fig. 6 showing bone formation by OCP in rat calvaria and in rabbit tibia. The author also thanks Professor Takenobu

Katagiri, Division of Pathophysiology, Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical School, Hidaka, Japan, Professor Ryutaro Kamijo, Department of Biochemistry, School of Dentistry, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan, Professor Masanori Nakamura, Department of Oral Anatomy, School of Dentistry, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan, Professor Eiji Itoi, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Professor Shinji Kamakura, Bone Regenerative Engineering Laboratory, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, Emeritus Professors Minoru Sakurai, Manabu Kagayama, and Seishi Echigo, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, Rebamipide and Associate Professor Takahisa Anada in our laboratory for their collaborations for Paclitaxel purchase achieving the present findings related material, chemistry, physical chemistry, cell biology, and biomaterial sciences, and the application of synthesized OCP biomaterials. “
“Microorganisms were previously classified based on their phenotypic characteristics, such as morphological, Gram-staining, energy uptake, or metabolic properties. However, modern approaches for classification based on the primary structure of their genes revealed a novel domain of living organisms

distinct from bacteria and eukaryotes. This third domain proposed by Woese et al. [1] is now known as the Archaea. Archaea are widespread in nature and are capable of thriving even in extreme environments, such as hot springs, salt lakes, and submarine volcanic habitats [2], [3] and [4]. Archaea are known to be ubiquitous microorganisms, living in close association with plants and animals. They have genomic and metabolic systems that are well adapted to their own habitats. Archaea have been isolated from the human oral cavity [5], [6] and [7], gastrointestinal tract [8], and vagina [9]. Methanobrevibacter is one such major genus found in humans. Methanobrevibacter smithii is the predominant species in the human gut with a genomic structure suitable for persistence in this environment [10].

7. The left second rib demonstrated an increased hyper LBH589 solubility dmso metabolic activity of SUV of 14. The patient underwent a VATS lung biopsy with wedge resection of the nodule in the right lower lobe. The wedge resection contained multiple firm white nodules. One nodule measured 1 × 0.6 × 0.5 cm,

a second nodule measured 0.6 × 0.3 × 0.2 cm and additional smaller nodules measured up to 0.2 cm in diameter. Microscopic examination revealed multiple nodular areas of eosinophilic material containing cells with small uniform nuclei. Some of these cells had prominent intra-cytoplasmic vacuoles. These cells stained positive with immunohistochemical markers for endothelial cells, CD31 and CD34, supporting the diagnosis of Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma (EHE) (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). EHE is a rare vascular tumor of intermediate behavior that was first described by Weiss in 1982 as an Intravascular Broncho-Alveolar Tumor (IVBAT).17 Pulmonary Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma (PEH) is a rare, low grade tumor of endothelial origin17 and 6 buy Everolimus and can be found in many organ systems including the lungs, liver, bone, soft tissue and can be found sequentially, or simultaneously.5 When this occurs it can be hard to determine of the tumor is multicentric or a primary

tumor with metastases to other tissues.5 PEH is initially recognized on a chest radiograph or CT scan with the presence of unilateral or bilateral nodules which range in size up to 2 cm3 and 10 and are usually found near medium sized vessels. The problem with this radiological presentation is that it is non-specific. Many physicians would consider a PET scan an important tool used to rule out malignant lung diseases; However, in our patient, only one nodule showed FDG uptake and a negative PET scan in PEH patients is not unheard of.4 There are two Reverse transcriptase possible explanations that attempt to relate the malignancy of a nodule to the FDG uptake. The first is that a larger nodule may show a higher FDG uptake, but the PET scan can fail to detect nodules smaller than 6 mm in diameter. Secondly, a greater FDG uptake can represent a more

clinically malignant potential and the lack of tracer uptake can be evidence of a more benign character. The diagnosis of PEH is made on the basis of histopathological features which are confirmed using immunohistochemical staining. CD34, CD31 and Factor VIII are the well-recognized endothelial cell markers although a new marker, Nuclear Fli-1, a protein that is expressed in endothelial cells as well as in T-cells and megakaryocytes, is being considered for use as a marker for PEH. Gill et al. found that Nuclear Fli-1 was detected in 100 percent of their EHE cases and found that FLI-1, CD34 and CD31 were the markers most sensitive for EHE. It was also found that FLI-1 immuno-staining demonstrated better sensitivity than CD34 and better specificity than CD31.

, 1997 and Zoumas-Morse et al., 2007; however spermine was not investigated by these authors. Cao, Hua, Zhu, Hua, and Knapp (2010) investigated and detected spermine, spermidine and putrescine in dried corn. Altogether, spermidine and spermine contributed with more than 67% of

the total amines levels in fresh and dried corn, whereas it represented only 29% in the canned corn (Fig. 1). Putrescine was the prevalent amine in canned corn (71% of total levels). Cadaverine, histamine, agmatine and phenylethylamine represented less than 15% of the total amine levels in fresh and dried corn. Spermidine SB431542 was the amine which contributed the most to total levels in fresh sweet corn (62.4%). It was followed by putrescine (23.1%), spermine (6.4%), phenylethylamine (3.7%), cadaverine (3.5%) and histamine (0.9%). In canned corn, putrescine contributed the most to total amine levels selleck compound (71%), followed by spermidine (25%) and by spermine (4%). Therefore, the profile of amines in sweet corn seems to be significantly affected by the canning process. Dried corn contained mostly spermine (45.4%) followed by spermidine (30.9%), putrescine and phenylethylamine (8.3%), agmatine (5.2%) and cadaverine (1.8%). Based

on these results, the profile of free bioactive amines varied significantly among the corn products analyzed. The differences are probably associated with corn cultivars, cultivation practices, and processing steps as described by Shalaby, 2000, Liang and Lur, 2002, Gloria, 2005 and Frías et al., 2007. The total concentration of amines on a dry weight basis ranged from 10.9 to

17.1 mg/100 g in Edoxaban fresh corn, from 14.7 to 79.7 mg/100 g in canned corn, and from 5.0 to 6.9 mg/100 g in dried corn. The mean levels were 14.7, 42.0 and 6.14 mg/100 g, respectively (Fig. 2). The total amine concentration was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in canned (42 mg/100 g) compared to fresh (14.7 mg/100 g) and dried corn (6.1 mg/100 g). According to Fig. 2, the polyamines spermidine and spermine contributed with 70% of the total amines levels in fresh and dried corn; however, in canned corn the polyamines represented only 30% of the amines. The levels of putrescine in canned corn varied among samples of different brands and among lots of the same brand (data not shown). The highest concentrations of putrescine correlated significantly with storage life – the longer the storage period prior to analysis, the higher the concentration. Studies performed by Shalaby, 2000 and Cirilo et al., 2003 indicated that heating and cooking can affect amines levels. Furthermore, putrefactive amines such as putrescine usually increase during storage of food products. Different levels of amines in corn products were reported in the literature. Okamoto et al. (1997) found higher concentrations of putrescine and spermidine in fresh corn. Zoumas-Morse et al. (2007) reported lower spermidine and putrescine levels in fresh and canned corn.

Rocket accessions were selected from three European gene banks based upon information provided by Elsoms Seeds Ltd. (Spalding, Lincolnshire, UK). In total 19 were sourced; 2 from the Centre for Genetic Resources in the Netherlands (CGN, Wageningen, The Netherlands), 12 from the Leibniz-Institut für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung (IPK, Gatersleben, Germany), and 5 from the University of Warwick Crop Centre Genetic Resources Unit (Wellesbourne, UK; formerly Warwick HRI). A further

16 commercial varieties were collected: 13 were independently sourced from retailers, 1 provided by Elsoms Seeds Ltd., and 2 from Bakkavor Group Ltd. (Bourne, Lincolnshire, UK). Three biological replicates of each accession/variety Imatinib order were germinated under controlled environmental conditions (in Saxcil growth cabinets) after being sown in a random sequence. Long-day MAPK Inhibitor Library cell assay lighting was used (16 h light, 8 h dark) at an intensity of 200 μmol m−2 s−1 (equivalent to 10,800 Lux of sunlight). Daytime temperatures were set at 20 °C and nighttime temperatures at 14 °C. Seedlings were grown for ten days in seedling trays and then transplanted to larger trays; four plants of each replicate were grown on. Plants were grown for another twenty days and then leaves from the four plants were harvested together. Sampling for each plant took approximately one minute from the cutting of the leaves

at the petiole to being placed in zip-loc freezer bags on dry ice inside a polystyrene container (with lid). For health and safety reasons it was decided that liquid nitrogen would not be used in this process. Thirty days was chosen as the optimum point of harvest as it reflects the typical number of days commercial growers grow their crop after sowing. Bags were placed in a −80 °C freezer immediately after harvest and transport was completed (<30 min). Samples were freeze-dried

Clomifene in batches for three days (in a Vertis Bench-top Series). Leaves from each rep were ground into a fine powder using a combination of pestle and mortar and miniature coffee grinder (De’Longhi KG49, Treviso, Italy). All solvents and chemicals used were of LC–MS grade and obtained from Sigma–Aldrich (Poole, UK) unless otherwise stated. The following method was adapted from Pasini, Verardo, Caboni, and D’Antuono (2012), Jin et al. (2009). Three experimental replicates of each biological rep were prepared as follows: 40 mg of ground rocket powder was heated in a dry-block at 75 °C for 2 min, as suggested by Pasini, Verardo, Caboni, and D’Antuono (2012), as a precautionary measure to inactivate as much myrosinase enzyme as possible before liquid extraction. 1 ml of preheated 70% (v/v) methanol (70 °C) was then added to each sample and placed in a water bath for 20 min at 70 °C. Samples were then centrifuged for 5 min (6000 rpm, 18 °C) to collect loose material into a pellet. The supernatant was then taken and put into fresh Eppendorf tubes.

The

EPC we used in the present study is a natural lipid with mixed acyl chains. Hence, the resulting parameters such as lipid molecules per mean area are a consequence of zwiterionic/monocationic polar headgroups and broad acyl chains distributions. This is probably the reason why the EPC/DOTAP mean area per lipid as a function of XDOTAP does not have a pronounced minimum ( Fig. 1B). However, we can observe this minimum in the ΔGExc Selleck Stem Cell Compound Library profile, suggesting as described before that the balance between the induced dipoles from the zwitterionic and cationic charges from the polar headgroups has a favorable EPC and DOTAP composition. Fig. 5A and B presents a schematic representation for EPC, DOTAP for one component monolayer, indicating that there is no dipole orientation for EPC film and the repulsive nature for DOTAP film. Fig. 5D, represents the condition for dipole–dipole orientation, when XDOTAP reaches approximately 0.6. The monolayer properties are completely changed to EPC/DOPE when compared to the previous EPC/DOTAP monolayers. The EPC and DOPE one-component isotherms are quite closer, with similar shapes, but the EPC monolayer is slightly more expanded than the DOPE monolayer (Fig.

2A). This behavior is reflected in the compression modulus (Fig. 2D and Table 1), when DOPE assumes higher values than EPC. This is a consequence of the ability of PE lipids to form both intra- Doxorubicin solubility dmso and intermolecular hydrogen bonds (lateral interactions) and hence to adopt a more densely packed monolayer structure [29]. These lateral interactions reduce the PE hydration [27] as schematically shown in Fig. 5C. Despite the same

DOPE and EPC zwitterionic nature, the polar headgroups are different. It is well known that the DOPE has a small headgroup and higher capability of hydration HA-1077 solubility dmso compared to EPC. This is a consequence of higher positive charge density of ethanolamine [30], [31] and [32]. However, not only the amine moiety is exposed to water in PE, but also the phosphate and lipid backbone of PE are more hydrated than those of PC. Overall, the PE headgroup hydration is approximately 25% larger than PC. The main reason for these differences resides in their distinct capabilities to perform hydrogen bonds [33]. The ability to form direct hydrogen bonds between the lipid headgroups decides whether the solvation-induced transition is exothermic (as in dioctadecadienoylphosphatidylcholine – DODPC, no lipid–lipid H bonds) or endothermic (as in DOPE, lipid–lipid H bonds present). Consequently, the solvation-induced transition in DOPE is entropy-driven, while in DODPC is enthalpy-driven [34]. The positive deviation from the ideal mixing was identified for all of the DOPE composition range (Fig. 2B). This positive deviation is a consequence of hydrogen bonds between PE and water which are necessary for PE molecules stabilization in EPC monolayers.

The Cd in cord tissue showed no significant correlations with Cd in maternal and cord RBCs. However,

the Cd in placenta showed a significant (P < 0.001) but moderate correlation with that in maternal RBCs (rs = 0.41). In this study, the roles of the placenta in the transfer of some toxic elements from mother to fetus during gestation were well demonstrated by comparing the profiles of the elements between RG7420 chorionic tissue of the placenta and cord tissue. All of the element levels, except for MeHg, were significantly higher in placenta than those in cord tissue. The placental barrier worked most strongly against Cd, followed by I-Hg. Our study also indicated that the MeHg or T-Hg concentrations in both placenta and cord tissue were useful biomarkers for prenatal MeHg exposure in newborns. In turn, the Cd concentration in placenta can be useful for predicting maternal Cd exposure during mid-to-late gestation. Among the elements examined, only MeHg level was

significantly higher (1.6 times) in cord tissue than in placenta. The T-Hg level in cord RBCs was also significantly higher (1.5 times) than that in maternal RBCs, in agreement with previous studies (Sakamoto et al., 2004 and Stern and Smith, 2003). These phenomena may be explained by active MeHg transfer from mother to fetus across the placenta via neutral amino acid carriers mTOR inhibitor (Aschner and Clarkson, 1988 and Kajiwara et al., 1996). It is known that the developing brain during the prenatal stage is highly susceptible to MeHg toxicity. In addition, the higher MeHg accumulation in fetuses than in mothers at late gestation is an important public health issue, especially for the Japanese and other populations whose diets largely consist of fish and seafood. The I-Hg level in placenta was significantly higher (2.4 times) than that in cord tissue. The MeHg level in placenta was significantly lower (64%) than that in cord tissue as mentioned earlier. Consequently, the percentage of I-Hg vs. T-Hg in placenta was significantly and 3.3 times higher than that in cord tissue. These results indicated that, different from MeHg, the inorganic divalent Hg in maternal

blood was efficiently trapped within the placenta. The Pb concentration in placenta was significantly higher (1.4 times) than that in cord tissue, and the Pb level Phosphoglycerate kinase in cord RBCs was about 50% of that in maternal RBCs. These results indicated that the placental barrier protected the fetus from Pb exposure to a limited degree. Among the toxic elements, the Cd level in placenta was significantly and extraordinarily higher (59 times) than that in cord tissue, which implies that maternal blood Cd was most strongly trapped within the placenta. Consequently, the Cd concentration in cord RBCs was approximately 10% of that in maternal RBCs. Lower Cd concentrations in cord blood/RBCs compared with those in maternal blood/RBCs have previously been reported by a number of investigators (Baranowska, 1995, Breen et al., 1994 and Sakamoto et al.