Genetic lesions responsible for amino acid requirements in several species of multiple auxotrophic lactobacilli were investigated. Systematic attempts were made to isolate mutants that could grow in the absence of each of the amino acids required by the parental strains of Lactobacillus plantarum, L. casei, L. helveticus, and L. acidophilus. After treatment with appropriate mutagens, such mutants could be obtained with respect to many but not all required amino acids. Successful isolation of mutants for a given amino acid means that a minor genetic lesion reparable by single-step mutations affects its biosynthesis; a failure to isolate mutants suggests the involvement of more extensive lesions. Analysis of these results as well as the specific requirements exhibited by the parental strains revealed certain regularities; some of the biosynthetic pathways for individual amino acids were virtually unaffected by more extensive lesions in at least species tested, whereas others were affected by more extensive lesions in at least some species. Both the number and the kind of pathways affected by extensive lesions differed appreciably among different species. Furthermore, the growth response of the parental strains to some putative amino acid precursors revealed a clear correlation between the extent of genetic lesions and the occurrence and location of a genetic block(s) for a given pathway. These findings are discussed in relation to the phylogeny, ecology, and evolution of lactic acid bacteria.

We have shown that blastomere volume is directly proportional to the number of mtDNA copies. Therefore, larger cytoplasmic volume, with earlier cleavage speed, implies more mtDNA copies. Evaluation of mtDNA quantification and the measurement of ooplasmic and blastomere volume may be useful for selection of high quality embryo and pregnancy outcome.

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Allergen-reactive ST2 CD45RO CD4 cells or those combined with IL-5 IL-13 CD27 CD161 CD4 cells may be useful as markers indicating the successful treatment of SLIT. These cells may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of AR as pathogenic memory Th2 cells.

Interleukin-25 and a subpopulation of tissue T-helper type 2 and 9 cells that express increased IL-17RB levels could contribute to infiltration of eosinophils in NPs and could have produced the pathologic difference between NECRS and ECRS.

We investigated the distribution of ribonucleic acid (RNA) coliphages in the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, India, and Thailand by collecting sewage samples from domestic drainage in November 1976. Of the 221 samples collected

The objectives of this paper are twofold: (a) to estimate demand for formal drought insurance using farm household data in Burkina Faso and (b) to find what determines insurance demand. The following findings are salient. First, effective demand is found in all zones, which implies inadequacies in households' current self-insurance strategies. Second, there is much heterogeneity in the strategies to self-insure even within zones. Third, the expectation of public food aid decreases demand for drought insurance, which suggests that food aid is causing moral hazard. Fourth, households with large livestock holdings can reduce the size of herd by substituting drought insurance for livestock holdings. Copyright 1997, Oxford University Press.

CD45RAFoxp3 Tregs are associated with the clinical course of HNSCC and might be a new target for treatment and an early marker of tumor recurrence in HNSCC patients.