IFN-gamma receptor deletion prevents autoantibody production and glomerulonephritis in lupus-prone (NZB x NZW)F1 mice

(NZB x NZW)F1 female (BW) mice spontaneously develop an autoimmune disease, characterized by the production of autoantibodies (autoAbs) and glomerulonephritis, which can be delayed by neutralizing IFN-gamma Abs and accelerated by IFN-gamma injections. To define the role of IFN-gamma in the pathogenesis of glomerulonephritis, we established a population of BW mice deficient in IFN-gammaR (BWgammaR[-/-]) by repeated crossing; these mice were compared with BWgammaR(+/+) and +/- littermates. Of the BWgammaR(+/+) and +/- mice, 50% showed immune complex glomerulonephritis with heavy proteinuria at 8 mo of age, while only 10% of the BWgammaR(-/-) mice were affected at 14 mo. The serum concentration of anti-dsDNA and anti-histone Abs was dramatically reduced in BWgammaR(-/-) mice. The role of IFN-gamma in promoting class switch to IgG2a and IgG3 could not fully account for the impaired production of anti-dsDNA in BWgammaR(-/-) animals since, IgM and IgG1 levels were also reduced. There was a high incidence of B cell lymphoma in the BWgammaR(-/-) mice, which might be related to the suppression of autoAb production. Thus, the absence of glomerulonephritis in BWgammaR(-/-) mice is likely due to a dramatic yet unexplained effect of the inactivation of IFN-gamma signaling on autoAb production.     

A strategy for assessing family interaction patterns in schizophrenia.

Educational and behavioral family treatments for schizophrenia patients and their relatives have proven to be highly effective, but there is scant evidence on how these treatments work. We assessed family interaction patterns, in the context of the Collaborative Study on Treatment Strategies in Schizophrenia, National Institute of Mental Health, to examine the effect of treatment on communication and problem solving in the family and to determine if change in interaction patterns was related to outcome. This article reports on the development of a behavioral assessment strategy, the Family Problem-Solving Task ( FPST), and a related coding system that were developed for the larger project. The codes were rated reliably and had high internal consistency. The FPST procedure had high test-retest reliability from baseline through 2-year assessments. The data provided considerable support for the construct validity of the coding system. It is notable that critical and intrusive behavior by relatives during the FPST was significantly correlated with dissatisfaction and hostility expressed about the patient during an interview. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diesel fuel as a solvent for the lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis of triglycerides and phosphatidylcholine

The abilities of three commercially available lipases—Lipozyme IM 20, Amano PS-30, and Amano CE—to synthesize fatty acid ethyl esters via the alcoholysis of soy triglycerides (TG) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) in grade No. 2 diesel fuel were investigated. All three enzyme preparations were active in water-saturated diesel fuel, synthesizing fatty acid esters from both TG and PC. Response surface methodology, based on a Modified Central Composite design, was employed to examine the coordinate effects of lipid, water, and ethanol concentrations on enzyme activities and to identify conditions yielding maximum alcoholysis. For all three enzymes, optimal activities toward TG occurred at added water concentrations of less than 0.3 M. With PC as substrate, optimal enzyme activities occurred at added water concentrations as much as tenfold greater than this, and the amount of water required for maximum activity was proportional to the substrate concentration. For both substrates the enzyme activities were generally reduced as ethanol concentrations rose. The exceptions to this were the Lipozyme-TG combination, where activity increased with increasing ethanol concentrations, and the PS-30-PC combination, where activity was roughly constant across the range of water and ethanol concentrations examined. Hydrolytic activities of the enzymes in aqueous reactions were poor predictors of transesterification activity in organic solvent: the aqueous hydrolytic activities of CE and PS-30 toward TG were roughly comparable, and 25 to 50 times greater than that of IM 20. However, in the alcoholysis of TG in diesel fuel the order of activities was PS-30>IM 20>CE. The activities of Lipozyme and CE toward PC were similar to one another, and PS-30 was considerably less active on this substrate. CE lipase was more active toward PC than toward TG. Lipozyme displayed comparable activity toward the two substrates. PS-30 was considerably more active on TG than on PC. Degrees of conversion were consistent with the transesterification of only one fatty acid of TG, and slightly greater than one fatty acid for PC. Preliminary studies indicated that for CE and PS-30, but not for Lipozyme IM 20, the degree of conversion of TG, but not PC, could be significantly increased by the further provision of ethanol. Expansion of this work could lead to a method for the production of simple fatty acid esters, which are suitable as diesel fuels, from multicomponent agricultural materials containing TG and PC.     

On the impurity problem in quasi steady-state toroidal plasma experiments and fusion reactors

A simple equation for estimating the impurity build-up in a plasma due to sputtering is discussed under various assumptions. It is shown that the D-T burning time in an experiment (or reactor) without a divertor or cold gas blanket is one particle confinement time at most. If the accumulation of impurities in the center of the plasma cannot be avoided, steady-state operation of a reactor even with a divertor will not be achievable. The effect of neutron sputtering is included in the discussion.     

Pursuit gain and saccadic intrusions in first-degree relatives of probands with schizophrenia.

Oculomotor functioning of 26 probands (aged 18–45 yrs) with schizophrenia, 12 spectrum and 46 nonspectrum 1st-degree relatives (aged 16–72 yrs), and 38 nonpsychiatric control Ss (aged 19–67 yrs) was evaluated. Spectrum relatives had more anticipatory saccades (ASs) and lower pursuit gain than nonspectrum relatives, who had more ASs and lower pursuit gain than control Ss. Probands also had lower pursuit gain than nonspectrum relatives and control Ss but did not differ from other groups on AS frequency. Control Ss had more globally accurate pursuit tracking (root mean square [RMS] error deviation) than both relative groups, whereas probands had the poorest RMS scores. Square wave jerk frequency did not differentiate the groups. Attention enhancement affected the frequency of ASs but did not affect either the other intrusive saccadic event or RMS scores. These results offer evidence that eye-movement dysfunction may serve as a biological marker for schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antioxidant activity of phenolic fractions in olive mill wastewater

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) contains a substantial amount of valuable antioxidant phenols that can be recovered for industrial application as food additives and pharmaceuticals. The present study was aimed at extracting different phenolic OMW fractions, and determining their antioxidant potential. Five different OMW fractions were obtained using fractionation techniques, their antioxidant potential determined by DPPH, ORAC and a β-carotene bleaching test. The total phenol level ranged between 115 and 170 mg/l. The phenolic compounds present in individual fractions were identified using the HPLC–PAD method, where the main compounds were hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, caffeic acid, vanillic acid, verbascoside, oleuropein, ferulic acid, and p-coumaric acid. The five OMW fractions showed different antioxidant levels depending on the test used. DPPH test showed that the fraction of alkyl aromatic alcohols (AAAs) was the best with EC₅₀ of 20 mg/l and the pure hydroxytyrosol with 2 mg/l. ORAC test showed that AAA and semi hydrolysed total phenol (s-TP) fractions were significantly better than Trolox when compared to 20 mg/l of Trolox.