IL-1 in gingival crevicular fluid following closed root planing and papillary flap debridement

Interleukin (IL)-1 alpha and beta are cytokines which can mediate inflammatory, bone resorbing, and reparative effects in the periodontium, but few longitudinal data exist exploring their role following periodontal therapy. This study examined gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) concentrations of IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta at sites with shallow sulci (SS) or inflamed moderate/advanced pockets (M/AP) before and 6 months after treatment with closed scaling/root planing (SC/RP) or papillary flap debridement (PFD), all in the same subject (n = 14 patients). No significant differences were noted in IL-1 alpha or beta concentrations (determined with two-site enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays) between SS and M/AP sites at baseline. While both therapies improved clinical parameters of periodontal disease, IL-1 alpha concentration increased significantly (p < 0.05) in M/AP-PFD sites 6 months after treatment, but were unchanged in other groups. IL-1 beta concentrations were numerically lower after therapy, except for a significant increase (p < 0.05) in M/AP-PFD sites. These data suggest that surgical wound healing in an inflamed, plaque-infected site (M/AP-PFD) results in prolonged production of IL-1, which may be a reflection of the extent of tissue trauma and delayed wound healing. In spite of increased IL-1 levels, these sites demonstrated significant short-term improvement in clinical attachment level (+ 1.8 mm, p < or = 0.001) postoperatively.     

A novel zinc finger cDNA with a polymorphic pentanucleotide repeat (ATTTT)n maps on human chromosome 19p

PURPOSE: To evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of a combined chemoradiotherapy program, followed by surgery in selected cases, in Stage III non-small cell lung cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between August 1988 and February 1990, 43 patients Staged IIIa-b (UICC 1987, 58% IIIb) have been treated with concomitant chemotherapy (cisplatin 15 mg/m2 and VP16 75 mg/m2, 5 days a week on week 1 and 5) and radiotherapy (40 Gy split course, 2 Gy/day on week 1, 2, 5, and 6), followed by attempted curative thoracotomy or more cycles of full dose chemotherapy with the same two drugs. RESULTS: Planned chemoradiotherapy has been given to 91% of patients; 13/43 patients have been operated, with 12 complete resections and three (7%) pathological complete responses. Toxicity was significant, with two postoperative deaths and two fatal radiation pneumonitis. Crude progression-free survival rate is 21% at 30 months, with nine patients (21%) alive and free from progression at follow-up times ranging from 31 to 49 months. Subset survival analysis showed a possibly greater therapeutic effect for non-squamous histology as compared to squamous carcinoma. CONCLUSION: These results are encouraging in a cohort of patients with quite advanced disease (58% Stage IIIb).     

Factors affecting contrasting results between self-reported and performance-based levels of physical limitation

Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) maps of certain 3-methoxy flavone derivatives having different anti-picornavirus activities have been studied. Geometries of the molecules were optimised and charge distributions computed using the AM1 molecular orbital method. Hybridization displacement charges (HDC) were combined with the L?wdin charge distributions to compute the MEP maps. Reliability of the method of computing MEP maps was tested by studying certain other molecules for which ab initio MEP results are available. The anti-picornavirus activities of the flavones have been shown to be related with negative MEP values in two regions, one near the 3-methoxy group and another in a diagonally opposite region near the substituent attached to the C7 atom of the molecules.     

Cellular neural networks with non-linear and delay-type template elements and non-uniform grids

The cellular neural network (CNN) paradigm is a powerful framework for analogue non-linear processing arrays placed on a regular grid. In this paper we extend the current repertoire of CNN cloning template elements (atoms) by introducing additional non-linear and delay-type characteristics. In addition, architectures with non-uniform processors and neighbourhoods (grid sizes) are introduced. With this generalization, several well-known and powerful analogue array-computing structures can be interpreted as special cases of the CNN. Moreover, we show that the CNN with these generalized cloning templates has a general programmable circuit structure (a prototype machine) with analogue macros and algorithms. the relations with the cellular automaton (CA) and the systolic array (SA) are analysed. Finally, some robust stability results and the state space structure of the dynamics are presented.     

Reduced growth factor requirements and accelerated cell-cycle kinetics in adult human melanocytes transformed with SV40 large T antigen

Melanomas develop with high frequency in transgenic mice in which oncogenic sequences of the SV40 DNA tumor virus have been specifically targeted to melanocytes. To investigate the role of SV40 in melanomagenesis, cultured human melanocytes were transformed with a retroviral shuttle vector encoding the SV40 large T antigen and examined for changes in cell-cycle kinetics and growth-factor dependence. Colonies expressing the viral oncogene were morphologically indistinguishable from their non-T-antigen-transformed counterparts. Also like normal melanocytes, the infected cells remained anchorage dependent and non-tumorigenic in nude mice. However, T-antigen-positive cultures exhibited significantly accelerated population doubling times, increased saturation densities with highly confluent monolayers and a three- to fourfold extended life span. Most interestingly, cell-cycle analysis revealed a measurable shift from quiescent to cycling cells in T-antigen-expressing cultures and an acquired ability to progress more rapidly through G1. Moreover, T-antigen-positive melanocytes proliferated in the absence of PMA and required markedly reduced levels of exogenous bFGF. These studies indicate that the viral oncogen of simian virus 40 provides melanocytes with distinct growth advantages that may render these cells unusually susceptible to additional environmental challenges necessary for full expression of the malignant phenotype.