Use of cell ELISA for the screening of neurotrophic activities on minor cell populations in retinal monolayer cultures

BACKGROUND: Whereas the secretion of the male vesicular gland in most mammals is amorphous, that of the tree shrew, Tupaia glis, was observed to be stored as globules. METHODS: Vesicular and prostate glands from Tupaia, fixed in glutaraldehyde and osmium, were studied in the light and electron microscopes. Other materials considered included the Tupaia ejaculate produced by electroejaculation and, for comparative purposes, sections of the vesicular gland from a dermopteran, the flying lemur. RESULTS: The vesicular gland epithelium in Tupaia secretes small granular aggregates and occasionally a denser aggregate that is associated with cells having obvious apical Golgi lamellae. In the alveolar lumen, these aggregates unite with others to form, respectively, granular and some dense globules of up to approximately 15 mu in diameter, which appear as such in semen produced by electroejaculation. In contrast to the prostate, however, precursor secretion vesicles were rare in the vesicular epithelium. Although poorly fixed, the vesicular gland secretion from a flying lemur also appeared to form globules. CONCLUSIONS: Although it is unlike the homogeneous secretion elaborated in most mammals, including primates and insectivores, the globular product of the Tupaia vesicular gland seems comparable to that in a variety of mega- and microbats, among representative species of which it appears to provide the bulk material for the vaginal copulation plug. Because a museum specimen examined here also indicates its occurrence in a flying lemur, the globular vesicular gland secretion common to Tupaiidae, to at least some Mega- and Microchiroptera, and apparently to Dermoptera may provide a soft tissue feature of some value in the cladistic approach to phylogenetic reconstruction within the Archonta. Anat.     

LP-BM5 virus causes changes in lactic dehydrogenase and oxygen radical production in splenocytes of C57BL/6J mice

The LP-BM5 murine leukemia virus causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in C57BL/6J mice (MAIDS), similar to that of AIDS in humans. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of LP-BM5 viral infection on cellular activation and membrane integrity of splenocytes. Oxidative burst in splenocytes in response to exposure to PMA (20 microg/ml) was significantly higher (p<.02) in infected than in control mice at two weeks post-infection using luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence. By 13 weeks post-infection superoxide anion production in infected mice was significantly lower when compared to controls coinciding with decreased proliferative response to mitogens. The extent of cell membrane damage as indicated by lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in serum was significantly higher in infected than in control mice (p<.001). The results from this study suggests that LP-BM5 virus causes an initial stimulation of cellular activity followed by a decreased cell activation characterized by decreased proliferation of splenocytes and decreased oxygen radical production. Decreased cell membrane integrity indicated by increased LDH activity may partly be responsible for these changes.     

On the automorphism group of various Goppa codes

We determine the automorphism group of various Goppa codes 𝒞 _L(D,G) associated with certain function fields F/F _q of genus g>0. It is well known that, for deg D=n>2g+2, the automorphism group {Aut_D,G(F/F_q) can be embedded into Aut(𝒞_L(D,G)) as a subgroup. We show that, under certain conditions on the divisors D and G Aut_D,G(F/F_q ) is actually isomorphic to Aut(𝒞_L(D,G))     

Implementation of media processors

Conventional standard processors do not correspond well to the characteristics of multimedia signal processor algorithms. Therefore, special architectural approaches are necessary for multimedia processors to deliver the required high processing power with efficient use of hardware resources. Programmable approaches offer a high degree of flexibility. In order to attain multimedia signal processor performance, architectural strategies for programmable processors are based on parallelization and adaptation principles. The future multimedia signal processor implementation hinges upon an optimal trade-off between the two design spaces, which can be effectively addressed by a codesign approach     

Infants' perception of expressive behaviors: Differentiation of multimodal information.

The literature on infants' perception of facial and vocal expressions, combined with data from studies on infant-directed speech, mother-infant interaction, and social referencing, supports the view that infants come to recognize the affective expressions of others through a perceptual differentiation process. Recognition of affective expressions changes from a reliance on multimodally presented information to the recognition of vocal expressions and then of facial expressions alone. Face or voice properties become differentiated and discriminated from the whole, standing for the entire emotional expression. Initially, infants detect information that potentially carries the meaning of emotional expressions; only later do infants discriminate and then recognize those expressions. The author reviews data supporting this view and draws parallels between the perceptions of affective expressions and of speech. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Insect chitinases: molecular biology and potential use as biopesticides

Chitin, an insoluble structural polysaccharide that occurs in the exoskeletal and gut linings of insects, is a metabolic target of selective pest control agents. One potential biopesticide is the insect molting enzyme, chitinase, which degrades chitin to low molecular weight, soluble and insoluble oligosaccharides. For several years, our laboratories have been characterizing this enzyme and its gene. Most recently, we have been developing chitinase for use as a biopesticide to control insect and also fungal pests. Chitinases have been isolated from the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, and several other insect species, and some of their chemical, physical, and kinetic properties have been determined. Also, cDNA and genomic clones for the chitinase from the hornworm have been isolated and characterized. Transgenic plants that express hornworm chitinase constitutively have been generated and found to exhibit host plant resistance. A transformed entomopathogenic virus that produces the enzyme displayed enhanced insecticidal activity. Chitinase also potentiated the efficacy of the toxin from the microbial insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis. Insect chitinase and its gene are now available for biopesticidal applications in integrated pest management programs. Current knowledge regarding the molecular biology and biopesticidal action of insect and several other types of chitinases is described in this mini-review.     

Noise contribution of the body resistance in partially-depleted SOIMOSFETs

An additional noise component is observed in the noise spectrum of transistors in a partially-depleted (PD) medium-thickness SOI-CMOS technology. We identify the origin of this additional noise in the noisy resistance of the body film. This resistance, coupled to the gate capacitance, forms an RC filter and generates the hump-shape of the additional noise component. Several experimental observations that support this model are presented     

The mini bottle brush--a new fastening device in cancellous bone

We examined the associations between cerebral infarction (CI), asymptomatic arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO), and known risk factors for these diseases. The subjects were 67 elderly patients (11 men and 56 women, mean +/- SD age of 79.6 +/- 8.5 years). in 44 patients CI was diagnosed by CT scan; 23 were classified as having cortical infarction and 21 as having lacunar infarction. In 41 patients asymptomatic ASO was diagnosed by an ankle-pressure index (API) of less than 0.9. To identify risk factors for these diseases, we examined the association among these diseases and hypertension (blood pressure > or = 140/90 mmHg), hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol concentration > or = 220 mg/dl), hypertriglyceridemia (triglyceride concentration > or = 150 mg/dl), low HDL-cholesterolemia (HDL-C concentration < 40 mg/dl), high LDL-cholesterolemia (LDL-C concentration > or = 150 mg/dl), and glucose intolerance (fasting blood sugar concentration > or = 110 mg/dl). The incidence of asymptomatic ASO in the subjects with CI was significantly higher than that in the subjects without CI (chi 2 test; p < 0.05, odds ratio 6.4), including cortical infarction (p < 0.05, odds ratio 8.9) and lacunar infarction (p < 0.05, odds ratio 3.8). Patients with lacunar infarction were more likely to have hypertension than were controls (p < 0.05). Cortical infarction was not associated with these risk factors. Both low HDL-C and high LDL-G were more common in patients with asymptomatic ASO than patients without asymptomatic ASO (p < 0.05). These results indicate that CI and asymptomatic ASO are strongly associated in the elderly, especially in subjects with cortical infarction, and that aging itself contributes to cortical infarction.