Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor expression in mammalian olfactory tissue

The interaction of recombinant ascorbate peroxidase (APX) with its physiological substrate, ascorbate, has been studied by electronic and NMR spectroscopies, and by phenylhydrazine-modification experiments. The binding interaction for the cyanide-bound derivative (APX-CN) is consistent with a 1:1 stoichiometry and is characterised by an equilibrium dissociation binding constant. Kd, of 11.6 +/- 0.4 microM (pH 7.002, mu = 0.10 M, 25.0 degrees C). Individual distances between the non-exchangeable substrate protons of APX-CN and the haem iron were determined by paramagnetic-relaxation NMR measurements, and the data indicate that the ascorbate binds 0.90-1.12 nm from the haem iron. The reaction of ferric APX with the suicide substrate phenylhydrazine yields predominantly (60%) a covalent haem adduct which is modified at the C20 carbon, indicating that substrate binding and oxidation is close to the exposed C20 position of the haem, as observed for other classical peroxidases. Molecular-modelling studies, using the NNM-derived distance restraints in conjunction with the crystal structure of the enzyme [Patterson, W. R. & Poulos, T. L. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 4331-4341], are consistent with binding of the substrate close to the C20 position and a possible functional role for alanine 134 (proline in other class-III peroxidases) is implicated.     

Dual ultrastructural immunocytochemical labeling of mu and delta opioid receptors in the superficial layers of the rat cervical spinal cord

The delta opioid receptor (DOR) and mu opioid receptor (MOR) are abundantly distributed in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Simultaneous activation of each receptor by selective opiate agonists has been shown to result in synergistic analgesic effects. To determine the cellular basis for these functional associations, we examined the electron microscopic immunocytochemical localization of DOR and MOR in single sections through the superficial layers of the dorsal horn in the adult rat spinal cord (C2-C4). From a total of 270 DOR-labeled profiles, 49% were soma and dendrites, 46% were axon terminals and small unmyelinated axons, and 5% were glial processes. 6% of the DOR-labeled soma and dendrites, and < 1% of the glial processes also showed MOR-like immunoreactivity (MOR-LI). Of 339 MOR-labeled profiles, 87% were axon terminals and small unmyelinated axons, 12% were soma and dendrites, and 2% were glial processes. 21% of the MOR-labeled soma and dendrites, but none of the axon terminals also contain DOR-LI. The subcellular distributions of MOR and DOR were distinct in axon terminals. In axon terminals, both DOR-LI and MOR-LI were detected along the plasmalemma, but only DOR-LI was associated with large dense core vesicles. DOR-labeled terminals formed synapses with dendrites containing MOR and conversely, MOR-labeled terminals formed synapses with DOR-labeled dendrites. These results suggest that the synergistic actions of selective MOR- and DOR-agonists may be attributed to dual modulation of the same or synaptically linked neurons in the superficial layers of the spinal cord.     

Primary small-intestinal lymphomas in Taiwan: immunoproliferative small-intestinal disease and nonimmunoproliferative small-intestinal disease

PURPOSE: The clinicopathologic findings in 45 adult Chinese patients with primary small-intestinal lymphoma (PSIL) are described and compared with those in Western countries and in underdeveloped nations. The efficacy of combination chemotherapy is also assessed. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Six patients had immunoproliferative small-intestinal disease (IPSID) indicated by the presence of alpha-heavy chain protein (alpha-CP) in body fluids or tumor tissues. Thirty-nine patients had non-IPSID, including one with postrenal transplant lymphoma. Thirty-three non-IPSID patients received a minimum of four cycles of combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (CHOP). RESULTS: All IPSID patients presented with the clinical and laboratory features of severe intestinal malabsorption, and all had diffuse lymphoplasmacytic infiltration in the mucosa of the small bowel. Lymphomas were localized mainly in the jejunum and mesenteric nodes. The histologic subtypes were diffuse large cell in two, immunoblastic in three, and diffuse mixed in one. All patients responded poorly to chemotherapy, with a median survival duration of 10.5 months. The common presenting symptoms of the 39 non-IPSID patients included abdominal pain (90%), weight loss (31%), abdominal mass (26%), obstruction (26%), and perforation (23%). Diffuse large-cell and immunoblastic lymphomas constituted 82% of cases. Four patients had stage IE, 19 stage II 1E, and 16 stage 112E disease according to the Musshoff's criteria; 22 had bulky tumors and 19 had multiple tumors. The tumors were completely resected in 14 patients. Of 33 patients treated with combination chemotherapy, 73% achieved a complete remission. With a median follow-up duration of 90 months, there have been four relapses, with only one at the primary tumor site. The overall 5-year survival and disease-free survival rates for non-IPSID patients who were treated with chemotherapy were 59% and 54%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Intensive chemotherapy produces long-term disease-free survival in locally advanced non-IPSID PSIL.     

Evaluation of tumour angiogenesis as a prognostic marker in malignant mesothelioma

The influence of concomitant administration of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) on induction of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) by azoxymethane was investigated in male F344 rats. Two percent bLF and 3% Bifidobacterium longum (B. longum), as a positive control, significantly decreased the numbers of ACF as well as the total numbers of aberrant crypts reproducibly in three independent studies (2% bLF, P < 0.01; 3% B. longum, P < 0.05). Most importantly large size foci composed of four or more crypts were always significantly decreased by 2% bLF (P < 0.05). Additional investigation of the natural killer activity of spleen cells demonstrated enhancement by bLF (P < 0.01) and B. longum (P < 0.01) in line with the levels of influence on foci induction, indicating a possible role for elevated immune cytotoxicity in the observed inhibition.     

Congenital sodium diarrhoea in an Indian girl

BACKGROUND: Ecstasy is a synthetic amphetamine which causes a wide variety of adverse effects. Hepatic toxicity was only recently demonstrated but can be quite severe. CASE REPORT: A 27-year-old male with no past medical or surgical history developed jaundice without fever. He was a regular user of ecstasy and had recently increased the number of doses consumed. No evidence of a viral, alcoholic, metabolic or autoimmune mechanism was found which could explain the hepatitis. Complete cure was obtained by discontinuing ecstasy. DISCUSSION: Few cases of ecstasy hepatic toxicity have been reported. Ecstasy was undoubtedly the causal agent in this case since other known causes of acute hepatitis were excluded, confirming the hepatotoxicity of ecstasy reported in the literature. The liver disease has been reported to range form acute regressive hepatitis to fatal liver failure. Iterative exposure can lead to fibrosis. The pathophysiological mechanism of this toxic effect is not well elucidated. Ischemia alone cannot explain all the clinical forms described, particularly cases without hyperpyrexia. Ecstasy must be added to the list of potential causes of acute hepatitis. Exposure must always be searched for in cases of acute hepatitis in young subjects.     

Protective effect of "wei tong ling" on gastric mucosa and influence on quality of gastric ulcer healing

The acute gastric ulcer rat models were induced by dehydrated alcohol, 0.6 N hydrochloric acid and 0.6 N sodium hydroxide, and the chronic gastric ulcer rat models were established by means of acetic acid, the protective effect of Chinese medicine "Wei Tong Ling" (WTL) on gastric mucous membrane was studied. Using histochemical mucin stain, AgNOR stain and immunohistochemical technique the regenerated mucosa of healed gastric ulcer induced by acetic acid in rats was observed quantitatively. They were compared with that of WTL. The results showed that the regenerated mucosa of healed gastric ulcer might be the morphological basis for the recurrence of gastric ulcer and be associated with canceration. WTL could not only accelerate the healing of ulcer but also raise the quality of gastric ulcerous healing which was beneficial for the prevention of ulcer recurrence and canceration. The protective effect of WTL on gastric mucosa was confirmed by various assays.     

1D p–n Junction Electronic and Optoelectronic Devices from Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Lateral Heterostructures Grown by One-Pot Chemical Vapor Deposition Synthesis

Lateral heterostructures of dissimilar monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides provide great opportunities to build 1D in-plane p–n junctions for sub-nanometer thin low-power electronic, optoelectronic, optical, and sensing devices. Electronic and optoelectronic applications of such p–n junction devices fabricated using a scalable one-pot chemical vapor deposition process yielding MoSe₂-WSe₂ lateral heterostructures are reported here. The growth of the monolayer lateral heterostructures is achieved by in situ controlling the partial pressures of the oxide precursors by a two-step heating protocol. The grown lateral heterostructures are characterized structurally and optically using optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy/microscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy/microscopy. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy further confirms the high-quality 1D boundary between MoSe₂ and WSe₂ in the lateral heterostructure. p–n junction devices are fabricated from these lateral heterostructures and their applicability as rectifiers, solar cells, self-powered photovoltaic photodetectors, ambipolar transistors, and electroluminescent light emitters are demonstrated.     

A comprehensive survey on image enhancement techniques with special emphasis on infrared images

Capturing of infrared images is an easy task but perceptual visualization is difficult due to environmental conditions such as light rain, partly cloudy, mostly cloudy, haze, poor lightening conditions, noise generated by the sensors, geographical distance and appearances of the objects. To improve the human perception and quality of the infrared images for further processing like image analysis, image enhancement is an essential process. This paper provides a detailed review of various image enhancement techniques from contrast stretching to optimization methods used in infrared images. It also discusses the existing infrared image enhancement techniques as group such as histogram based methods, filter based methods, transform domain based methods, morphological based methods, saliency extraction methods, fuzzy based methods, learning methods, optimization methods and its popular algorithms also address the countless issues. Some of the existing image enhancement methods (Histogram Equlization, Max-median filter, Top-Hat transform) and infrared image enhancement methods (multi-scale top-hat transform, adaptive infrared image enhancement) are implemented along with the adaptive fuzzy based infrared image enhancement method and its obtained results evaluation is done on subjective and objective ways. From the results observed that the fuzzy based method works well for both subjective and objective evaluation. The paper aims to provide a complete study on image enhancement techniques and how they specially utilized while dealing with infrared images. In addition, the paper helps the researchers to select the suitable infrared image enhancement techniques for their infrared image application needs.

     

Thermal Characterization of Metakaolin-Based Geopolymer

Thermal characterization of geopolymer powder was investigated at room and elevated temperatures. The physical, chemical and mass change with respect to various temperatures have been studied. The physical properties such as density, porosity, and particle size were analyzed in geopolymer powder. The chemical and phase compositions were determined by x-ray fluorescence. The surface images of solid blocks of geopolymer were examined at room and elevated temperatures using scanning electron microscopy. Thermal expansion, shrinkage, and mass loss behavior towards the elevated temperatures were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The endothermic peak arising in the DSC curve is due to evaporation of water, chemical, gases and weight loss.