Complement resistance of capsulated strains of Aeromonas salmonicida

1. We investigated the effect of exercise on plasma adrenomedullin, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentrations and studied the relationship between these peptides and haemodynamic parameters in nine patients with old myocardial infarction (MI) and in eight normal subjects. 2. The exercise protocol consisted of two fixed work loads (40 and 80 W) for 4 min each and venous blood samples were taken at rest, during each exercise stage and after exercise while monitoring the mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR). In MI, pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and cardiac output (CO) were measured throughout exercise. 3. Adrenomedullin levels did not significantly increase with exercise. Adrenomedullin levels correlated with PAP and PCWP at rest (P < 0.05). Atrial natriuretic peptide levels correlated with PAP, PCWP and LVEDP throughout exercise (P < 0.05) but, on multiple regression analysis, PCWP correlated only with ANP (P < 0.01). Brain natriuretic peptide levels correlated with LVEDP throughout exercise (P < 0.01) and its increment correlated closely with basal BNP levels at rest (P < 0.01). 4. These results suggest that adrenomedullin does not respond to the acute haemodynamic changes of exercise, whereas ANP responds to it and PCWP is the major stimulus factor. Brain natriuretic peptide responds to exercise in proportion to the basal synthesis of BNP in patients with left ventricular dysfunction and LVEDP may play a role in increasing BNP during exercise.     

Nursing care of acute stroke patients after receiving rt-PA therapy. The NINDS rt-PA Stroke Study Group

Treatment with tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) for acute stroke requires intensive care of the patient. The risk of thrombolytic therapy and the need for rapid interventions make it clear that the nursing role during this time is crucial. Nurses should be familiar with safe dosage and administration of rt-PA for stroke, which is clearly different than administration of rt-PA for myocardial infarction. Furthermore, thrombolytic stroke treatment must be accompanied by intensive neurological monitoring to observe for complications. Intracerebral hemorrhage is usually accompanied by an acute change in neurological status and vital sign instability. Intensive monitoring of neurologic condition, vital signs, cardiac status and other standard critical care practices must be initiated immediately to optimize patient outcome.     

Spatial soliton-induced guiding by cross-phase modulation

The authors show that spatial solitons are able to induce the stable guiding of a weak probe beam in a homogeneous Kerr-type nonlinear media through cross-phase modulation (XPM). The modes of the induced waveguide are derived from the propagation equation of the probe. Experiments have been performed in Kerr liquid CS₂, with beams of picosecond duration at infrared and visible wavelengths. Stable guiding of a green probe induced by an IR soliton beam has been demonstrated in several different experimental situations. Induced antiguiding and beam splitting are also reported for pump and probe of perpendicular polarizations. All results are in excellent agreement with numerical simulations of the propagation     

Speed reduction on through roads in Nordrhein-Westfalen.

The paper describes a program of experiments for speed reduction on 28 through roads in Nordrhein-Westfalen. In the process, different measures of construction, design, and traffic control were examined to determine their usefulness to reduce speed and to improve road safety. The need for systematic evaluation of a catalogue of measures partly resulted in unsatisfactory design conceptions for the through roads. The evaluation of the effects of the program has been carried out by use of before-and-after-studies of large extent. The speed measurements show that a distinct speed reduction can be obtained only from selected physical improvements. Measures based on optical effects and traffic signs were found to have very little effect on vehicle speeds. Furthermore, in light of the relatively small number of accidents that occur on the selected facilities, it was not possible to establish the beneficial impact of each specific control measure with statistical certainty. However, the results of the experiment have had an influence on the current definition of new design standards for main urban streets in Germany.     

The effects of induction conditions on production of a soluble antitumor sFv in Escherichia coli

CC49 is a second generation monoclonal antibody(mAb) with highaffinity to a pancarcinoma antigen, TAG-72. A single-chain Fv(sFv)ofCC49 may have a role in managing human carcinomas. Most reportedsFvs have been expressed as insoluble products that must besolubilized and renatured. Soluble sFv expression is advantageousas activity can be assayed directly from the periplasmic fraction.Also, gene-level immunoconjugates may not be amenable to refoldingprotocols. Using a vector that carries the tac promoter andomp A signal, we have examined the effects of four variableson the expression and accumulation of soluble CC49 sFv: (i)linker sequence joining VL and VH, (ii) isopropylthio-ß-D-galactosideconcentration for induction, (iii) temprature, and (iv) theaddition of nonmetabolizable sugars to the medium. We have beenable to demonstrate, using rapidly prepared periplasmic extracts,that the yield of soluble sFv improves by the addition of 0.4Msucrose to the medium and by inducing expression with a verylow concentration of IPTG (0.02–0.03 mM). Under theseinduction conditions periplasmic extracts demonstrate increasedexpression of the sFv, as shown by the larger amount of a 27kDa band on SDS-polyacrylamide gel, and an increased abilityto inhibit binding of the mAb CC49 to immobilized tumor extracts.     

An investigation into the performance and cost effectiveness of thermosyphon solar water heaters

In this paper, the TRNSYS Simulation Program is used to investigate the monthly and annual solar fraction of a Thermosyphon Solar Water Heater and to evaluate its economic viability in terms of its life cycle savings over a conventional water heating system. The results of the simulation indicate that the yearly solar contribution of the system ranges from 63% for a high hot water consumption profile to 89% for a low consumption pattern. The payback period of the system is as low as 3 years when compared to electric water heating systems. As long as the competitor is diesel oil, the payback period increases to 7–9 years, depending on the hot water consumption profile used.     

IEA joint trials: New lessons from old plantations

Two international trials of potential biomass species families and clones planted in 1985 have been analyzed to determine changing patterns in growth, diseases, and insects. In the Swedish trial, with close spacing and short rotations, Salix viminalis clones gave the best average yield of 17.4 Mg/Ha/yr on the first coppice rotation. In the Minnesota, USA trial, with wider spacings and a longer rotation Populus alba hybrid clones gave the best average yields of 5.5 Mg/Ha/yr. The most important disease and insect problems encountered were Septoria musiva stem cankers on some Populus clones; frost die back in some Salix clones; and the leaf blotch miner, Fenusa dohrnii, on most Alnus families. Recommendations for future international cooperation in field trials are presented.     

An analog implementation of discrete-time cellular neural networks

An analog circuit structure for the realization of discrete-time cellular neural networks (DTCNNs) is introduced. The computation is done by a balanced clocked circuit based on the idea of conductance multipliers and operational transconductance amplifiers. The circuit is proposed for a one-neighborhood on a hexagonal grid, but can also be modified to larger neighborhoods and/or other grid topologies. A layout was designed for a standard CMOS process, and the corresponding HSPICE simulation results are given. A test chip containing 16 cells was fabricated, and measurements of the transfer characteristics are provided. The functional behavior is demonstrated for a simple example.     

Assessment of bog-body tissue preservation by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Flash pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (py-GC/MS) was used to assess the quality and mechanism of protein preservation in the tissue of Iron Age bog bodies from Lindow, UK, and south-eastern Drenthe, The Netherlands. Abundant pyrolysis products of the fresh skin tissue, including 2,5-diketopiperazines of Pro-Gly, Pro-Ala, Pro-Val, Pro-Pro and Hyp, were readily assigned to specific amino acid or dipeptide moieties. Comparison of the pyrolysates of the bog-body tissues with that of modern samples revealed qualitative similarities suggesting good preservation of the collagen and non-collagenous proteins in the ancient tissues. Examination of the pyrolysates of samples of fresh calf skin, which had been treated with various vegetable tanning agents, clearly revealed markers of non-hydrolysable tannins including 1,2-benzenediol, 1,3-benzenediol and 1,2,3-benzenetriol, although chromatographic quality inevitably diminished with increasing functionalization of the compounds. Such markers were not detected in the pyrolysates of the bog-body tissues. Instead 4-isopropenylphenol, a characteristic pyrolysis product of Sphagnum moss, was detected in both solvent-extracted and base-treated samples of tissue. The presence of 4-isopropenylphenol in the pyrolysates of the bog-body tissues provides evidence that their preservation involves reactions of amino acids with sphagnum acid, and possibly other agents derived from the peat. The study constitutes the first chemical characterization of the pyrolysis products of modern and ancient collagen.