Comparison of autochthonous and allogeneic breast-tumour cells in tests for lymphocyte immunity to human tumours

Lymphocytes from 10 patients with breast carcinoma were seeded in autologous serum, on autochthonous tumour cells and allogeneic tissue-cultured breast tumour cell lines. In 4 patients, the anti-tumour cell cytotoxicity against at least one of 3 breast tumour cell lines differed significantly from that against autochthonous tumour cells. Further study of these 4 individuals (using their previously frozen lymphoid cells and sera) showed that these differences occurred because serum which decreased ("blocked") lymphocyte anti-tumour cytotoxicity when applied to one tumour cell line, could either have no effect or potentiate it when applied to another, without any consistent pattern vis-à-vis target-cell susceptibility to these different humoral effects.     

Participation of AT1 and AT2 receptor subtypes in the tonic inhibitory modulation of baroreceptor reflex response by endogenous angiotensins at the nucleus tractus solitarii in the rat

Although myelin basic protein (MBP)-recognizing T cells are not readily obtained after immunization of BALB/c mice with MBP (reflecting the BALB/c resistance to actively induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)), they can be expanded and cloned after several rounds of in vitro culture. The majority of BALB/c-derived clones recognize an epitope defined by MBP peptide 59-76. When transferred to naive BALB/c recipients, these clones cause classical EAE, with characteristic inflammation and demyelination of the central nervous system (CNS). We previously showed that two related clones recognizing a minor epitope, defined by MBP peptide 151-168, cause inflammation and demyelination preferentially of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Because MBP has alternatively spliced isoforms, residues 151-168 are not present contiguously in all MBP isoforms. In order to determine whether induction of PNS disease is idiosyncratic to these sister clones, or related to their properties of epitope recognition, an independent T-cell line with similar recognition properties was studied. Clone 116F, derived from a BALB/c shiverer mouse, expresses a different T-cell receptor (TCR), with distinct TCR contact residues, but like the previously described T cells, this clone requires residues from both exons 6 and 7 for optimal stimulation. When adoptively transferred to BALB/c recipients, this clone preferentially induces disease of the PNS. A control BALB/c shiverer-derived MBP 59-76-recognizing clone, in contrast, induces CNS disease. These data strongly suggest that the site of disease initiation may correlate with epitope recognition, particularly when alternative isoforms are involved.     

Activity of amoxicillin/clavulanate in patients with tuberculosis

Some beta-lactam antibiotics are active in vitro against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There are anecdotal reports of successful treatment of tuberculosis caused by multiple-drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis with regimens that included amoxicillin/clavulanate. Reduction of M. tuberculosis in the sputum of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis during administration of amoxicillin/clavulanate was measured by a quantitative culture method to determine the activity in vivo. Patients were randomized to receive isoniazid, ofloxacin, or amoxicillin/clavulanate for 7 days. Isoniazid was the most effective agent, reducing M. tuberculosis after 2 days at a mean rate (+/- standard deviation) of 0.60 +/- 0.30 log10 cfu/mL per day, compared with 0.32 +/- 0.05 and 0.34 +/- 0.03 for ofloxacin and amoxicillin/clavulanate, respectively. The early bactericidal activity of amoxicillin/clavulanate was comparable to that reported for antituberculous agents other than isoniazid. Further studies of beta-lactam antibiotics with in vitro activity against M. tuberculosis are warranted to define their role in treatment of tuberculosis.     

Machine Learning Reduced Gene/Non-Coding RNA Features That Classify Schizophrenia Patients Accurately and Highlight Insightful Gene Clusters

RNA-seq has been a powerful method to detect the differentially expressed genes/long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in schizophrenia (SCZ) patients; however, due to overfitting problems differentially expressed targets (DETs) cannot be used properly as biomarkers. This study used machine learning to reduce gene/non-coding RNA features. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlpfc) RNA-seq data from 254 individuals was obtained from the CommonMind consortium. The average predictive accuracy for SCZ patients was 67% based on coding genes, and 96% based on long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Machine learning is a powerful algorithm to reduce functional biomarkers in SCZ patients. The lncRNAs capture the characteristics of SCZ tissue more accurately than mRNA as the former regulate every level of gene expression, not limited to mRNA levels.     

A comparison of alternate immunization regimes for measles in vaccinated populations

Infants today lose maternal measles antibody sooner than in the past. This is related to demographic changes in maternal immunization. Data for rates of decay of maternal antibody and seroconversion after measles vaccination for infants born to naturally immune (Group 1) or vaccinated (Group 2) mothers have been used to evaluate two vaccination schedules: Regime 1, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) at 1 year of age and Regime 2, monovalent measles at 6 months followed by MMR at 15 months of age. Regime 2 costs less because MMR can be administered at 15 months with the last pentavalent booster. Months of protection/1000 children aged 0-15 months (child-months of protection) were estimated for infant populations ranging from 0 to 100% Group 1 for Regimes 1 and 2. Regime 1 provides more child-months of protection only for 100% Group 1 populations. For the study population Regime 2 provided at least 17% more child-months of protection than Regime 1. Regime 2 provides increased medical and financial benefits in proportion to the number of Group 2 infants in the population and thus is ever more advantageous for today's increasingly vaccinated populations.     

Breakdown quenching in high electron mobility transistor by usingbody contact

In this paper, the effect of a body contact (BC) to quench breakdown effects and increase the breakdown voltage in high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) is theoretically investigated. The body contact is formed by a highly p-type doped substrate connected to an ohmic back contact. By means of a two-dimensional (2-D) self consistent Monte Carlo simulator we show that the BC prevents holes generated by impact ionization (II) from accumulating in the channel and in the buffer, thus inhibiting the parasitic bipolar effect (PBE). This improves the breakdown behavior and extends the range of the usable drain voltages