A coherent phase diagram of the [(AuCu)0.86Ag0.14]1-XPtX pseudobinary section in Au-Cu-Ag-Pt quaternary system

Hephaestus (or Hephaistos) is an Olympian Greek god, the divine smith, famed for inventions, who taught men glorious crafts. The fixed epithet for Hephaestus, used from the eighth century B.C. by Homer, Hesiod, and other ancient authors until the fifth century A.D., is "Amphiguéeis," i.e., with both feet crooked. He is also called "Kullopodíou," i.e., clubfooted. His body and his gait were described by Homer: "He spake, and from the anvil rose, a huge, panting bulk, halting the while, but beneath him his slender legs moved nimbly ... and with a sponge wiped his face and his two hands withal, and his mighty neck and shaggy breast, ... and grasped a stout staff, and went forth halting; but there moved swiftly to support their lord handmaidens wrought of gold in the semblance of living maids." His anomaly was congenital, as we learn from Hephaestus himself ("I was born misshapen") and from his mother Hera ("But my son Hephaestus whom I bare was weakly among all the blessed gods and shrivelled of foot."). Vase paintings of the sixth century B.C. depict Hephaestus' lameness, but his lameness is not emphasized in the fifth century and thereafter. It is most likely that bilateral congenital clubfeet made Hephaestus lame. Two sons of Hephaestus, Palaemonius and Periphetes, were also reported as having deformed feet.     

Functional coupling of NKR-P1 receptors to various heterotrimeric G proteins in rat interleukin-2-activated natural killer cells

NKR-P1 molecules constitute a family of type II membrane receptors in natural killer (NK) cells that preferentially activate NK cell killing and release of interferon-gamma from these cells. Here, we demonstrate that anti-NKR-P1 enhances GTP binding in rat interleukin-2-activated NK cell membranes; GTP binding to Gi3alpha, Gsalpha, Gq,11alpha, and Gzalpha increased noticeably in these cell membranes after treatment with anti-NKR-P1. Western blot analysis of membrane proteins prepared from interleukin-2-activated NK cells reveals the presence of Gi1,2alpha, Gi3alpha, Goalpha, Gsalpha, Gq, 11alpha, Gzalpha, and G12alpha, but not G13alpha. However, only alphai3, alphas, alphaq,11, and alphaz, but not alphai1,2, alphao, alpha12, or alpha13 subunits when immunoprecipitated with the appropriate anti-G protein antibodies, are associated with NKR-P1 when immunoblotted with anti-NKR-P1. Reciprocally, NKR-P1 immunoprecipitated with anti-NKR-P1 is associated with alphai3, alphas, alphaq,11, and alphaz immunoblotted with anti-G proteins. These results are the first to demonstrate the physical and functional coupling of NKR-P1 to the heterotrimeric G proteins in NK cells.     

Evaluation, modelling and optimization of the cleaning process of contaminated plastic food refillables

In this study several types of bottle materials (glass, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PC (polycarbonate), HDPE (high density polyethylene), PP (polypropylene) and PVC (polyvinyl chloride)) were evaluated in order to be used as food refillables, comparing the residual chemical contamination after classical caustic washing. Bottles were contaminated with model chemicals (chloroxylenol and d-limonene) and caustic washed with varied process parameters using a simulated laboratory-scale washing procedure. After washing, the chemical-contaminated bottles were filled with water and stored for 28 days at 37 degrees C. The concentrations of the model chemicals in the water after storage were taken as a measure of chemical contamination. The influence of the cleaning parameters (temperature, caustic and commercial additive concentration) was studied using response surface methodology. Washing temperature showed a significant influence on the removal of absorbed chemicals from surfaces compared with the effect of the caustic and especially the additive concentration. Optimization of caustic cleaning for the cleaning process in question led to better cleaning effectiveness, although none of the different washing conditions were able to remove all absorbed chemicals out of the polymeric resins. Commercially available plastic refillables (PET and PC) showed the best chemical rinsability. Glass bottles, however, had in every case the best rinsing characteristics.     

Cross-reactive cellular immune response to circumsporozoite proteins of Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum in malaria-exposed individuals

The present review offers a new look at capillary isoelectric focusing (cIEF) by centering on the most troublesome aspects of the technique, namely: 1) how to modulate the slope of the pH gradient, for increasing resolution (equivalent to pH gradient engineering, as easily available in immobilized pH gradients); and 2) how to keep proteins in solution at (and in the proximity of) the pl value. A simple solution is offered in the first case: addition, to the standard 2-pH-units interval, of separators or spacers, i.e., of amphoteric molecules (either single or in combination) able to locally flatten the pH and increment resolution. Examples of the separation of fetal and glycated hemoglobins are provided. In the second case, a unique solubilization power (while maintaining full protein integrity and enzyme activity) is obtained if class I solubilizers are used. They consist of mixtures of sugars (e.g., sucrose and sorbitol) at ca. 1 M concentration, with zwitterions (up to 1 M) such as the class of nondetergent sulfobetaines, but also taurine and some of the Good's buffers (e.g., CAPS). In these solvents, the protein exists in a state of superhydration and its solubility is greatly augmented. The review ends with an excursus on the use of isoelectric buffers in zone electrophoretic separations. Such isoelectric buffers offer unique advantages: They permit very-high-voltage gradients (up to 1000 V/cm) and thus minimize analysis times (down to a few min in 30-35 cm long capillaries). This results in a marked increase in resolution, due to minimal diffusion-driven peak spreading. Such buffers are finding unique applications for generating peptide maps of tryptic digests of proteins and also in the analysis of oligonucleotides.     

Tetracaine reports a conformational change in the pore of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels

Local anesthetics are a diverse group of clinically useful compounds that act as pore blockers of both voltage- and cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) ion channels. We used the local anesthetic tetracaine to probe the nature of the conformational change that occurs in the pore of CNG channels during the opening allosteric transition. When applied to the intracellular side of wild-type rod CNG channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes from the alpha subunit, the local anesthetic tetracaine exhibits state-dependent block, binding with much higher affinity to closed states than to open states. Here we show that neutralization of a glutamic acid in the conserved P region (E363G) eliminated this state dependence of tetracaine block. Tetracaine blocked E363G channels with the same effectiveness at high concentrations of cGMP, when the channel spent more time open, and at low concentrations of cGMP, when the channel spent more time closed. In addition, Ni2+, which promotes the opening allosteric transition, decreased the effectiveness of tetracaine block of wild-type but not E363G channels. Similar results were obtained in a chimeric CNG channel that exhibits a more favorable opening allosteric transition. These results suggest that E363 is accessible to internal tetracaine in the closed but not the open configuration of the pore and that the conformational change that accompanies channel opening includes a change in the conformation or accessibility of E363.     

Congenital cystic diseases of liver and extrahepatic bile ducts

The paper presents 30-year experience in treating 158 patients with congenital cystic diseases of the liver and bile ducts. Depending on the pattern of hepatobiliary lesions, the diagnostic value of techniques, such as ultrasound, computerized tomography, scintigraphy of the liver duodenoscopy with THCG was defined. Analyzing the late outcomes provided recommendations for the most optimal surgical management: cystic fenestration and tunneling in hepatic polycystosis, pericystectomy in solitary cysts of the liver, different varieties of bile draining operations in choledochal cysts and Caroli's disease.     

Sociodemographic factors and the variation in syphilis rates among US counties, 1984 through 1993: an ecological analysis

OBJECTIVES: Syphilis in the United States is focally distributed, with high incidence rates in the South and in metropolitan areas nationwide. In this study an ecological analysis, using the county as the unit of analysis, was performed to generate hypotheses about community-level determinants of syphilis rates. METHODS: Bivariate rank correlations and multivariate, backward stepwise elimination linear regressions were performed. Mean annual incidence of primary- and secondary-stage syphilis in a county was the dependent variable, and county sociodemographic characteristics (from census data) were the independent variables. RESULTS: In the multivariate regression model, sociodemographic characteristics accounted for 71% of the variation in syphilis rates among counties. With other factors accounted for, the most highly correlated characteristics were percentage non-Hispanic Black population, county location in the South, percentage of the population that was urban, percentage Hispanic population, and percentage of births to women younger than 20 years. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the variation in syphilis rates among counties is accounted for by sociodemographic characteristics. Identification and remediation of modifiable health determinants for which these factors are markers are needed to improve the health status of these populations.     

Prognostic features of teratomas with malignant transformation: a clinicopathological study of 21 cases

PURPOSE: Teratomas with malignant transformation comprise up to 6% of metastatic teratomas. The prognosis of patients with these tumors can vary considerably. We delineate factors that may be related to prognosis in a cohort of men with teratoma with malignant transformation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed pathological features, treatment, response, recurrence, time to recurrence, subsequent followup and survival for 21 patients (median age 28 years) diagnosed with teratoma with malignant transformation during a 7-year period at our institution. RESULTS: Malignant nongerm cell elements were present in the primary tumor in 11 cases (52%). Of 18 patients with testicular primaries 17 (94%) presented with metastatic disease. Despite aggressive treatment with surgery and chemotherapy 17 of 21 cases (81%) recurred (median time 6 months). Overall, 5 patients (24%) died of disease (median survival 23 months), 5 (24%) are alive with metastases (median followup 41 months) and 11 (52%) have no evidence of disease (median followup 50 months). Progression/recurrence was substantially greater for 2 of 2 cases with a mediastinal origin, 3 of 4 with rhabdomyosarcomatous differentiation and 5 of 6 with neural differentiation compared with the remainder of the cohort (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Teratomas with malignant transformation are usually metastatic at presentation, have a high recurrence rate and are more aggressive than teratomas without malignant transformation. Prognosis is especially poor for mediastinal teratomas with malignant transformation and for those with neural or rhabdomyosarcomatous differentiation. Complete surgical resection of residual or recurrent disease appears to offer the best chance for prolonged survival.