Use of 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose as a potential agent in the prediction of graft rejection by positron emission tomography

BACKGROUND: We investigated the potential of predicting allograft rejection by measuring the ability of graft-infiltrating cells to take up 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose ([18F]FDG). This molecule is a positron emitting glucose analogue that is taken up by metabolically active cells and can be detected using positron emission tomography. METHODS: Uptake of [18F]FDG during an alloresponse was measured both in vitro in mixed lymphocyte cultures and in vivo using allogeneic and syngeneic skin grafts. RESULTS: Uptake of [18F]FDG was seen in a mixed lymphocyte reaction. Using a mouse skin graft model, we found that mean [18F]FDG uptake was 1.5-2 times higher in allografts than in syngeneic grafts; the increase in uptake correlated with the level of T-cell infiltrate seen histologically. CONCLUSION: Assessing the metabolic activity of graft-infiltrating cells with [18F]FDG may be useful in the prediction of graft rejection episodes.     

Excretion of a radiolabelled anticancer biodegradable polymeric implant from the rabbit brain

The elimination of a clinically used anticancer biodegradable polymer implant (Gliadel) in the rabbit brain was studied. The implant is composed of N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosourea (BCNU) (1.6 wt%) dispersed in a copolyanhydride matrix of 1,3-bis(p-carboxyphenoxypropane) (CPP) and sebacic acid (SA) in a 20:80 molar ratio. Four groups of rabbits were implanted with wafers loaded with BCNU, one in a 14C-SA-labelled polymer, another in a 14C-CPP-labelled polymer and two groups with 14C-BCNU in a non-labelled polymer, one for BCNU disposition study and one for residual drug study. In the rabbits implanted with the 14C-SA-labelled polymer, approximately 10% of the radioactivity was found in the urine and 2% in the faeces, and about 10% remained in the device 7 d after implantation. In contrast, only 4% of the radioactivity of the 14C-CPP-labelled polymer was found in urine and faeces during this period. However, a drastic increase in the CPP excretion was found after 9 d, and at 21 d, 64% of the implanted 14C-CPP was found in the urine and faeces, and 29% was still in the recovered wafers. Approximately 50% of the BCNU in the wafers was released in 3 d, and over 95% was released after 6 d in the rabbit brain. This study demonstrates that BCNU-loaded polyanhydride is biodegradable and is excreted from the body primarily through the renal system. The water-soluble components SA and BCNU were rapidly excreted, while the insoluble CPP was gradually eliminated after a lag time of 9 d.     

All-trans beta-carotene is absorbed preferentially to 9-cis beta-carotene, but the latter accumulates in the tissues of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius puro)

The algae Dunaliella bardawil and Dunaliella salina naturally contain large concentrations of all-trans and 9-cis beta-carotene (betaC). The purpose of this study was to compare the relative serum and tissue accumulation of all-trans and 9-cis betaC in ferrets fed different ratios of all-trans/9-cis betaC derived from two commercial sources, D. bardawil or D. salina (Betatene). Male ferrets (7 wk old) were fed carotene-free, pelleted diets for 27 d. Beginning on d 18, groups of ferrets (n = 6 or 7) received daily, one of six oral supplements varying in ratios of 9-cis and all-trans betaC mixed with approximately 1.0mL of Ensure. Four supplements containing 5.2-8.3 micromol total betaC were prepared from a 20% Betatene preparation, D. bardawil, a high-cis Betatene preparation, and Betatene further enriched in 9-cis betaC with all-trans betaC/9-cis betaC ratios of 2.2, 1.5, 0.6 and 0.4, respectively. Two control supplements, high and low betaC, were prepared from commercial betaC beadlets. The high control supplement had an all-trans/9-cis ratio of 19.0, whereas 9-cis betaC was not detected in the low supplement. On d 27, serum and tissues were obtained for HPLC analysis of betaC and its isomers. Analysis of livers showed that all-trans betaC was the primary isomer present, but 9-cis and other isomers were also detected in all groups. The hepatic all-trans/9-cis ratios were 5.9, 4.9, 2.5, 1.4, 52.2 and47.5, respectively, for the groups listed above. Lower amounts of all-trans and 9-cis betaC were found in kidneys compared with the liver, but ratios of all-trans/9-cis were not different among groups. Only trace amounts of 9-cis betaC were found in serum. These results demonstrate that the algae D. bardawil and D. salina provide a bioavailable source of betaC isomers, but, as in humans, absorption of 9-cis betaC is poor and any 9-cis betaC absorbed is apparently cleared by the liver.     

便宜有好货 九款百元级游戏鼠标横评

正一款游戏鼠标一直都是众多玩家梦寐以求的产品,因为它不仅仅有着炫酷拉风的外观,能够向其他人证明自己是资深游戏玩家的证据,而且在同等水平的较量中,拥有一款好的外设产品,绝对能让你占得先机!笔者认识的玩电竞高手也都表示一款好的游戏鼠标绝对能给你带来很大的提升。总而言之一款出色的游戏鼠标是你想要玩好游戏的必要条件!那么作为一位游戏玩家一般都会买多少钱的游戏鼠标呢?由于价格因素,百元级的游戏鼠标才是最多用户选择的,本次横评也是看到了这一点,特意选出八个品牌的百元级主力游戏鼠标进行横评对比。     

The fatty acids of wax esters and sterol esters from vernix caseosa and from human skin surface lipid

Separation of sterol esters from wax esters in the lipids of vernix caseosa and adult human skin surface was accomplished by column chromatography on MgO. The fatty acids of the sterol esters and wax esters of both samples were separated into saturates and monoenes, and examined in detail by gas liquid chromatography (GLC). The saturated fatty acids of the wax esters of vernix caseosa and of adult human skin surface were remarkably similar. They ranged in chain length from at least C₁₁ to C₃₀, six skeletal types being present: straight even, straight odd, iso, anteiso, other monomethyl branched and dimethyl branched. A large number of patterns of monoenes were observed, each pattern consisting of desaturation of a specific chain at Δ6 or Δ9 plus its extension or degradation products. The mole per cent of the total Δ6 and Δ9 patterns of wax ester fatty acid monoenes of vernix caseosa were 87% and 12%, respectively, and 98% and 1%, respectively, for adult human skin surface lipid. The sterol ester fatty acids of vernix caseosa were much different from those of adult human skin surface: vernix caseosa saturates were largely branched and of lengths greater than C₁₈, whereas the saturates of adult human surface lipid resembled the wax ester fatty acids. Of the vernix caseosa monoene patterns, the mole per cent was 30% Δ6 and 70% Δ9, whereas of the adult human skin surface sterol ester fatty acids 89% were Δ6 and 11% Δ9. Chain extension was particularly pronounced in the sterol ester fatty acid monoenes of vernix caseosa amounting to 7–8 C₂ units in some cases. The fatty acids of the sterol esters of both vernix caseosa and adult human skin surface appear to be derived from the sebaceous gland and from the keratinizing epidermis, but those of the wax esters are from the sebaceous glands only.     

The effect of processing conditions upon the nutritional quality of vegetable oils

On the basis of the chemical, physical, and biological criteria used, all of which have been shown to be sensitive indicators of heat damage to oils, it must be concluded that the overall nutritional quality of an oil is not adversely affected by alkali refining, adsorptive decolorizing, or deodorization; that higher temperatures of deodorization (238C) produce oils nutritionally equivalent to those deodorized at lower temperatures (160C); and that the normal processes used in manufacturing edible oils improve the resistance of these oils to heat damage. Presented at the 6th Congress of the International Society for Fat Research, London, 1962.     

—Review Paper—Current State-Of-The-Art Measurements Of Ozone In The Gas Phase And In Solution

This paper is a critical review and summary of the analytical procedures currently used by operating water utilities to control ozone treatment processes, considering disinfection as well as the many oxidative applications of ozone in water treatment applications. The role of common interferences in the various methods is described.

In operating U S., Canadian, European, and Japanese water treatment plants currently employing ozone as a primary disinfectant, ozone nearly always is followed by the addition of small quantities of chlorine, chlorine dioxide, or chloramine to provide the residual in the distribution system and to act as a secondary disinfectant. Clearly, the analytical procedures used must distinguish between the various species. This review critically presents these various factors and their implication with respect to “true values” of ozone determined under widely varying conditions.     

Effects of decomposing rice straw on growth of and nitrogen fixation byRhizobium

Five phenolic compounds produced by decomposing rice straw and sterile extracts of decomposing rice straw in soil were very inhibitory to growth of three strains ofRhizobium. The effects were additive and in several instances synergistic. The phenolic compounds also reduced nodule numbers and hemoglobin content of the nodules in two bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) varieties. Extracts of decomposing rice straw in soil (same concentration as in the soil) significantly reduced N₂ fixation (acetylene reduction) in Bush Black Seeded beans. This may explain in part the great reduction in soybean yields in Taiwan following rice crops when the rice stubble is left in the field.     

d-Wave superconductivity in thet-J model using a systematically improved Variational Monte Carlo method

We can construct unbiased systematic improvements of standard Variational Monte Carlo calculations by the use of wavefunctions modified by short range operators. Using the energy and spectral width of the original and improved wavefunctions we can judge the quality of the trial wavefunctions. For the t-J model we find the regions of phase separation and d-wave superconductivity with varying J/t and hole density S and extend the T=0 phase diagram into the physically interesting region of 0.1 – 0.2and J/t 0.4.Above the critical ratio of J/t¦ _c we find clear evidence of d_x2-y2-pairing and above a higher value J/t¦_s phase separation. At =0.16we obtain values J/t¦ _c=0.4and J/t¦ _s=0.7. Cluster sizes up to 50 sites are used.