Buchbesprechung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Thrombopoietic factors potentially useful in the treatment of acute leukemia

Thrombocytopenia is a major cause of morbidity following intensive chemotherapy for acute leukemia. Over recent years, there has been an increasing use of platelet transfusions which, although generally efficacious to prevent severe hemorrhage, have associated risks of transmitting blood-borne disease and of alloimmunization. Therefore, there is a clinical requirement for a drug that will reliably alleviate the thrombocytopenia associated with leukemia therapy. The c-mpl ligand thrombopoietin is the most interesting factor for the treatment of thrombocytopenia because of its lineage specificity. Phase I and II studies confirm its biological efficacy to induce rise in platelet count in patients with solid tumors and acute leukemia. Several other pleiotropic hematopoietic growth factors are also currently in clinical trials. These include interleukin-6, interleukin-3, interleukin-11, PIXY321 and stem cell factor. The effects of these cytokines appear to be modest at most and, with the exception of interleukin-11, their side effects are likely to limit their clinical application. Combinations of factors may prove more efficacious approaches to enhance platelet recovery.     

Isolation of single yeast cells by optical trapping

Individual yeast cells can be successfully isolated and recultured on plates with a new isolation method making use of optical trapping with infrared laser light. The cells can be selected on morphological criteria by high resolution microscopy. The isolation device is constructed from two coverslips separated by spacers, in which selected cells are transferred to a plastic capillary, using the optical trap. To test the procedure, selection experiments were done with a mixture of two Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, distinguishable both in fluorescence microscopy and on agar plates. These experiments showed that only selected cells were isolated, and close to 100% of the isolated stationary-phase cells formed colonies on agar plates, indicating a high recovery. A lower recovery was obtained with exponential-phase cells, possibly because of a higher sensitivity to laser irradiation. Applications for this method may include the isolation of mutants with altered morphology and the isolation of subpopulations of yeast cultures, for their separate investigation or for the initiation of pure cultures.     

Diffusion soldering for stable high-temperature thin-film bonds

Diffusion soldering is a special bonding technique to produce joints at a moderate temperature that are subsequently stable at higher temperatures. The search for material systems extending the upper-temperature limit of stability requires information from the pertinent phase diagrams and the reaction kinetics. Combining experimental studies on phase equilibration in powder samples with bulk and thin-film diffusion couples is a useful approach for a systematic search. Promising candidates for dsoldering are Pt-In or Pd-In, and molybdenum is also an effective diffusion barrier against the attack of liquid tin.     

Structure formation during spinning of poly(p-phenylenebenzobisthiazole) fiber

The structure formed in the coagulation stage of the spinning process of poly(p-phenylene benzobisthiazole) fiber is studied by electron microscopy. An oriented network of microfibrils with typical fibril diameters of about 80-100Å is observed. We suggest that these microfibrils are the fundamental structural elements of the fiber. Thus, knowledge of the mechanism by which this initial structure is formed may allow for better control of final fiber properties. The relation of structure formation during coagulation to the phase diagram of a rigid polymer solution and to the kinetic mechanism of the phase transition is discussed.     

Synthesis of transparent fluorocarbon elastomers: Effect of crosslinker type and electron beam irradiation level on physical and mechanical behavior

Saturated fluorocarbon elastomers are very resistant to chemical reactions, including those of a crosslinking nature. In order to study proper methods of preparing these materials, Viton GLT was mixed with various levels of trimethylol propane trimethacrylate, TMPTM, and triallyl isocyanurate, Diak #7. After molding, the materials were subjected to electron beam irradiation. The glass transition, rubbery modulus, viscoelastic behavior, and equilibrium swelling were used to characterize the materials as a function of crosslinker and irradiation level. In general, the modulus and gel fraction increased with both crosslinker content and irradiation level. Mixtures of both crosslinking monomers produced an unexpected synergism, yielding higher tensile strength, and earlier onset of gelation.     

Bark beetle olfaction. III. Antennal olfactory responsiveness ofDendroctonus frontalis Zimmerman andD. brevicomis Le Conte (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) to aggregation pheromones and host tree terpene hydrocarbons

Electroantennograms from males and females ofDendroctonus frontalis andD. brevicomis in response to serial dilutions of the pheromonesexo brevicomin and frontalin and the host terpene hydrocarbons 3-carene and α-pinene show no significant differences in the threshold concentration for response to the compounds for either sex or species. The intensity of response was greater to higher concentrations of the pheromones (10 to >10⁴ μg) than the terpene hydrocarbons, suggesting the presence of more receptors on the antennae for pheromones than terpene hydrocarbons. Antennal olfactory responses to the compounds did not correlate to published data on behavioral responses by the beetles to the compounds in both field and laboratory studies. Adaptation experiments indicated that forD. frontalis, both frontalin andexo brevicomin share the same receptors on the antennae. The results indicated that the terpene hydrocarbons share some, but not all, of the same receptors.     

Effect of lecithin on jejunal absorption of micellar lipids in man and on their monomer activity in vitro

The effect of lecithin on jejunal absorption of fatty acids and octadecenoylglycerol was studied in healthy volunteers with a jejunal perfusion system which excluded pancreatic and biliary secretions from the test segment. Lecithin significantly reduced the absorption of oleic acid (P<0.05) and octadecenoylglycerol (P<0.01), while it had no effect on the absorption of ricinoleic acid. In vitro, lecithin reduced monomer activities of all three lipids; the changes were greater for oleic acid and octadecenoylglycerol than for ricinoleic acid (P<0.02). From these data it is concluded that lecithin reduces monomer activity of fatty acids in mixed micellar solutions and that it can thereby reduce the absorption rates of micellar lipids. Intact lecithin is not absorbed under these conditions. Maldigestion of lecithin in pancreatic insufficiency may, therefore, aggravate the steatorrhea observed in this condition.