Spinal cord herniation after stabbing injury

The commercially available spray management valve provided consistent flow rates when used with hand-compression sprayer systems. The 15-psi spray management valve maintained a constant flow rate of 180, 150, and 155 ml/min in combination with a fine 45 degrees flat fan nozzle and Hudson. B&G, and Chapin hand-compression sprayers, respectively. The 30-psi spray management valve maintained a constant flow rate and adequate spray-on time when combined with the coarse flat fan nozzle for each of the 3 hand-compression sprayers tested.     

Environmental Effects on the Accumulation of Hydroxamic Acids in Wheat Seedlings: The Importance of Plant Growth Rate

The effects of temperature and photoperiod on accumulation of hydroxamic acids (Hx) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings were evaluated under laboratory conditions. Hx concentrations were significantly higher at higher temperatures. No such clear trend was found for the photoperiod effect. The significant effect of temperature and photoperiod on growth rate of seedlings and the significant positive correlation between growth rate prior to analysis and levels of Hx, suggested that environmental effects on Hx accumulation were at least partially mediated through their effect on plant growth rate. After uncoupling the effect of environmental conditions from the effect of plant growth rate by statistical means the effect of temperature on Hx was no longer significant. Therefore, temperature effect was fully mediated by plant growth rate. Implications of the patterns found are discussed in issues of plant-defense general theories.     

Semiochemicals Mediating Spacing Behavior of Bird Cherry-Oat Aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi Feeding on Cereals

Olfactometry using an apterous individual of Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) showed an arresting effect by volatiles from a wheat seedling and a repellent effect by volatiles from a wheat seedling infested with aphids at a high population density (ca. 9 aphids/cm²). Four compounds, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, (?)- and (+)-6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol, and 2-tridecanone, were identified by GC-MS in air entrainments from the wheat seedlings with high aphid density but not from the wheat seedlings alone. The mixture of the four compounds in the natural proportion counteracted the attractivity of the volatiles from the intact uninfested wheat seedling. The likely role of these compounds in the spacing behavior of this aphid species, when present in high densities on wheat, is discussed.     

Characteristics of Hydroxamic Acid Induction in Wheat Triggered by Aphid Infestation

Hydroxamic acids (Hx) are natural products of Gramineae that are associated with cereal resistance to pests. We aimed at characterizing the induction of Hx accumulation in seedlings of wheat,Triticum aestivum, by short-term infestation of the cereal aphid,Rhopalosiphum padi. A load of 25 aphids increased significantly the Hx levels in the infested primary leaf in comparison with control levels. Lower loads did not increase Hx concentration. Aphid infestation lasting 16 hr did not elicit induction of Hx, even after a time-lag of 32 hr to allow the expression of any induced response. Forty-eight hours was the minimum duration of aphid infestation required to trigger Hx induction. The age of the infested tissue (the primary leaf) did not affect induction. Similar increases of Hx were found in unfolding, expanding, and totally expanded primary leaves. It was determined that the regime of nutrient supply (N-intensive nutritive solutions at low and high concentration) to wheat seedlings had no effect on the magnitude of the aphid-induced Hx (N-based secondary metabolites). Results obtained are discussed in the framework of general theories of plant defense allocation.     

Purification and crystallization of complexes modeling the active state of the fragile histidine triad protein

Fragile histidine triad protein (Fhit) is a diadenosine triphosphate (ApppA) hydrolase encoded at the human chromosome 3 fragile site which is frequently disrupted in tumors. Reintroduction of FHIT coding sequences to cancer cell lines with FHIT deletions suppressed the ability of these cell lines to form tumors in nude mice even when the reintroduced FHIT gene had been mutated to allow ApppA binding but not hydrolysis. Because this suggested that the tumor suppressor activity of Fhit protein depends on substrate-dependent signaling rather than ApppA catabolism, we prepared two crystalline forms of Fhit protein that are expected to model its biologically active, substrate-bound state. Wild-type and the His96Asn forms of Fhit were overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified to homogeneity and crystallized in the presence and absence of ApppA and an ApppA analog. Single crystals obtained by vapor diffusion against ammonium sulfate diffracted X-rays to beyond 2.75 A resolution. High quality native synchrotron X-ray data were collected for an orthorhombic and a hexagonal crystal form.      

DDI-microFIA--A readily configurable microarray-fluorescence immunoassay based on DNA-directed immobilization of proteins

We describe a chip-based immunoassay for multiplex antigen detection, based on the self-assembly of semi-synthetic DNA-protein conjugates to generate an easily configurable protein microarray. The general principle of this microarray-fluorescence immunoassay (microFIA) is similar to that of a two-sided (sandwich) immunoassay. However, covalent single-stranded DNA-streptavidin conjugates are employed for the efficient immobilization of biotinylated capture antibodies through hybridization to complementary surface-bound DNA oligomers. In a model system, we use the DNA-directed immobilization (DDI) of antibodies to generate an antibody microarray for the parallel detection of the tumor marker human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), recombinant mistletoe lectin rViscumin (rVis), ceruloplasmin (CEP), and complement-1-inactivator (C1A) in human blood serum samples. Detection limits down to 400 pg mL(-1) are reached. In addition, we describe a method for the internal standardization of protein microarray analyses, based on the simultaneous measurement of constant amounts of the blood proteins CEP and C1 A, intrinsically present in human serum, to compensate for interexperimental variations usually occurring in microarray analyses. The standardization leads to a significantly higher data reliability and reproducibility in intra- and interassay measurements. We further demonstrate that the DDI-microFIA can also be carried out in a single step by tagging of the analyte simultaneously with both capture and detection antibody and subsequent immobilization of the immunocomplex formed, on the DNA microarray capture matrix. This protocol significantly reduces handling time and costs of analysis.     

Patterns of Bioactivity and Herbivory on Nothofagus Species from Chile and New Zealand

Nothofagus species from Chile and New Zealand were surveyed in the field for invertebrate abundance and leaf feeding damage and in the laboratory for antifeedant activity against leafrollers (Ctenopsteustis obliquana, Epiphyas postvittana), deterrent activity against pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum), insect growth regulatory activity (Oncopeltus fasciatus), nematicidal activity (Caenorhabditis elegans), antibiotic activity (Pseudomonas solanaciarium), and general toxicity. A data matrix indicated that N. alessandri and N. pumilio most likely have a chemical barrier to insect attack as leaves showed low faunal abundance, low herbivory, and activity in the leafroller antifeedant, aphid deterrent, and nematicidal assays. A chemical examination of N. alessandri that used the leafroller antifeedant test to guide the separation yielded an active fraction containing the flavonoid, galangin, and the stilbene, pinosylvin, which appear to act in concert to deter leafroller feeding. The discovery of the phytoalexin, pinosylvin, in the leaves, raises the possibility that Nothofagus in general, and N. alessandri in particular, may have induced chemical defense mechanisms.     

Screening for Cytochrome P450 Reactivity by Harnessing Catalase as Reporter Enzyme

The big screen : We have devised a high‐throughput screening method for organic peroxide‐dependent P450 reactivity by taking advantage of a previously undescribed activity of catalase, which was used as reporter enzyme. This two‐step assay, followed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analyses, allowed the facile identification of several new substrates for bacterial P450 enzymes.

     

Mechanical Properties and Bake Hardening Behaviour of two Cold Rolled Multiphase Sheet Steels subjected to CGL Heat Treatment Simulation

In recent years, multiphase steels have become a material of choice for use in the car manufacturing industry owing to their excellent mechanical properties. It is anticipated that in the years to come these steels will show the highest increase in usage. A particular aspect of their potential is that multiphase steels often show good bake hardening (BH) properties. The main factors that govern the microstructures and the properties of these steels are the chemical composition and the production process parameters. In this work two commercial cold rolled sheet steels with different carbon content were investigated. In order to produce dual phase (DP) steels with a ferrite‐martensite microstructure, the as‐received material was subjected to heat treatment simulating continuous galvanising line (CGL) cycles with an overageing zone before the zinc pot. After a first CGL cycle predominantly ferritic microstructures with small amounts of martensite, pearlite and retained austenite were obtained, which resulted in deviations from typical DP properties, e.g. in the occurrence of discontinuous yielding. A higher line speed led to improved mechanical properties. BH prestrain was varied between 0 and 10%. While only very little bake hardening was observed without prestrain, with increasing prestrain the amount of BH was evolving quickly towards larger values of more than 60 MPa. Generally, the BH values were somewhat larger for higher carbon content. Finally, an optimised CGL cycle was simulated at laboratory scale with changes in the process parameters. Thus, characteristic DP microstructures resulting in desired mechanical properties were obtained. For these optimised conditions, BH₂ values in excess of 60 MPa were achieved for both steels investigated.