The use of angiostatic steroids to inhibit cartilage destruction in an in vivo model of granuloma-mediated cartilage degradation

Angiogenesis is an important component of the development of chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. It is known that clinically used anti-rheumatic drugs exert, in part, effects on the angiogenic response. Little work, however, has investigated the potential of experimental angiostatic therapies in chronic inflammatory disease models. The effect of one such angiostatic treatment, cortisone combined with heparin, was tested in an in vivo model of granuloma-mediated cartilage degradation. Angiostatic treatment significantly retarded the growth of granulomatous tissue, mononuclear cell influx into the granuloma, and the degradation of juxtaposed cartilage. This correlated with a decrease in the vascularity of the granulomatous tissue. Modulation of this component of pathogenesis of "angiogenesis-dependent disease" may be useful as a new therapeutic approach.     

Restrained and nonrestrained eaters'' orienting responses to food and nonfood odors

This study attempted to induce a major shift in the utilization of endogenous substrates during exercise in men by the use of a potent inhibitor of adipose tissue lipolysis, Acipimox, and to see to what extent this affects the 13C/12C ratio in expired air CO2. Six healthy volunteers exercised for 3 h on a treadmill at approximately 45% of their maximum O2 uptake, 75 min after having ingested either a placebo or 250 mg Acipimox. The rise in plasma free fatty acids and glycerol was almost totally prevented by Acipimox, and no significant rise in the utilization of lipids, evaluated by indirect calorimetry, was observed. Total carbohydrate oxidation averaged 128 +/- 17 (placebo) and 182 +/- 21 g/3 h (Acipimox). Conversely, total lipid oxidation was 84 +/- 5 (placebo) and 57 +/- 6 g/3 h (Acipimox; P < 0.01). Under placebo, changes in expired air CO2 delta 13C were minimal, with only a 0.49/1000 significant rise at 30 min. In contrast, under Acipimox, the rise in expired air CO2 delta 13C averaged 1/1000 and was significant throughout the 3-h exercise bout; in these conditions calculation of a "pseudooxidation" of an exogenous sugar naturally or artificially enriched in 13C, but not ingested, would have given an erroneous value of 19.8 +/- 2.6 g/3 h. Thus under conditions of extreme changes in endogenous substrate utilization, an appropriate control experiment is mandatory when studying exogenous substrate oxidation by 13C-labeled substrates and isotope-ratio mass spectrometry measurements on expired air CO2.     

Problems with India ink skin markings

India ink skin markings allow consistently reproducible radiation field setups. The authors report a case in which a facial tattoo was applied with an injection, resulting in permanent "black eyes." The vaccination technique has not been associated with this complication.     

Effect of molecular weight on the fracture surface energy of poly(methyl methacrylate) in cleavage

By the radiolysis of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), the fracture surface energy () was determined at room temperature as a function of viscosity average molecular weight (¯M _v). Using a modified parallel cleavage technique, results showed that decreased more than two orders of magnitude with decreasing molecular weight. In the high molecular weight region (¯M _v10⁵), (1×10⁵ erg cm^–2) was relatively insensitive to polymer chain length; whereas for 2.5×10⁴¯M _v 1×10⁵, was strongly dependent on molecular weight. A linear regression analysis in the range ¯M _v=2 to 2.25×10³ indicated that a truly glassy Griffith material was approached for which 750 erg cm^–2. The results confirm the sigmoidal dependence of on molecular weight tested in notched tension. The apparent independence which variations in crack velocity have on with decreasing ¯M _v is shown and explained in terms of the increasingly brittle character of PMMA. Problems associated with the measurement and interpretation of experimental data are considered, particularly with respect to the lower ¯M _v regions.     

The cortisol response to psychological stress in temporomandibular dysfunction

Recombinant antibody fragments can be produced in large quantities using bacterial expression systems and could potentially be useful for the generation of biofilters for the selective removal of viral particles from fluids. A human single chain-Fv antibody library, derived from synthetic repertoires of germ line VH-gene segments rearranged in vitro and paired to a single light chain (Nissim et al., 1994, EMBO J., 13, 692-698), has recently been used to isolate hundreds of different binding specificities by panning with antigen. Antibodies from this library typically have affinities in the 10(6)-10(7) M-1 range. Occasionally, better binders are isolated but at other times the affinities recovered are poor. In the latter situation binding cannot be detected with soluble antibodies, but only by high-avidity display of multiple copies of antibodies on phage. By panning with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-coated immunotubes, we have isolated a number of antibody clones from this library that bound to the antigen only if displayed on the filamentous phage, but not in soluble form. One of these clones was selected for an affinity maturation procedure, achieved by combinatorial mutagenesis of the complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) of the antibody light chain, followed by selection of the resulting library for HCMV binding. By this means, we were able to isolate a number of binders, some of which exhibited specific HCMV binding in soluble form. The clone that gave the strongest ELISA signal was expressed in bacteria, purified in solution, characterised using a novel capture methodology with surface plasmon resonance detection on a BIAcore instrument and used for the production of an immunofilter for the removal of HCMV form human serum. The filter removed more than 99% of applied HCMV in 10 min circulation time, while the amount of HCMV retained non-specifically in a cartridge derivatised with a non-specific antibody was less than 10% under similar conditions.     

星用光纤通信系统中的发光二极管的总剂量效应研究

介绍了星用光纤通信系统中的发光二极管在 6 0 Co- γ射线辐照下的总剂量效应试验研究 ,通过对不同剂量辐照情况下发光二极管的发光光谱、伏安特性及 P- I曲线进行测试 ,给出了在不同剂量的 γ- 6 0 Co射线辐照下发光二极管的发光光谱、伏安特性及 P- I曲线     

Relationship between pacemaker fibrillation thresholds and electrode area.

Energy thresholds for electrical pacing of the heart are lower with small electrodes than with large. Because pacing of the heart during the vulnerable period may produce ventricular fibrillation, it is also pertinent to know if fibrillation threshold is affected by the electrode size. Electrodes of different surface area but of the same material were implanted in 40 dogs and the pacing thresholds were recorded. Ventricular fibrillation was electrically induced by discharging a 2-msec d.c. cathodal pulse of progressively increasing energy into the vulnerable period. It was found that small electrodes required more energy to produce ventricular fibrillation than large electrodes, and the ratio of fibrillation to stimulation threshold was higher for the small-surface-area electrode. The difference between the thresholds and ratios obtained with the various electrodes was statistically significant. A similar experiment was performed in animals with chronically implanted electrodes, producing comparable results. The results indicate that, in regard to pacing and fibrillation thresholds, small electrodes are preferable to large.     

Modeling of the code acquisition process for RAKE receivers in CDMAwireless networks with multipath and transmitter diversity

We present models for the code acquisition process in RAKE receivers. These models include multipath diversity, multiple transmitter (base station or satellite) diversity, and multiple access interference generated by other users in the network. This results in a different probability of false alarm for each cell of the code delay uncertainty region. The analysis is based on signal flow graph theory. By using these models, we elaborate different strategies for RAKE receiver synchronization and derive exact closed-form results for the average acquisition time. These strategies differ in how they organize initial (first RAKE finger) and postinitial search algorithms. If the channel is known, the initial synchronization may organize a parallel search for all fingers simultaneously by a proper set up of the local correlators' mutual delays. If not, then a serial search of different segments (partitioned among the different fingers) can be organized. In the postinitial search, sequential or random initializations are possible. A set of approximations is also included for practical applications where a quick assessment of the system performance is needed     

Prediction of loss characteristics in built-up areas with variousbuildings' overlay profiles

We continue the analysis of a probabilistic approach and the corresponding stochastic multi-parametric model of wave propagation in built-up areas with randomly distributed buildings. We concentrate on the influence of buildings' overlay profiles on signal spatial decay, and on path-loss dependence in the frequency domain within UHF/X-band urban propagation channels. Using different buildings' overlay profiles, the field-intensity attenuation along radio paths is examined, taking into account single-scattering and multiple-scattering phenomena, and diffraction from buildings' corners and rooftops, for various positions of receiver and transmitter antennas with respect to surrounding obstacles. The comparison between experimental and theoretical predictions was motivated by the proposed stochastic multi-parametric model and the experimental data obtained for actual areas in Jerusalem (Israel) and Lisbon (Portugal), as well as by other models of multiple diffraction. The discussion is presented for realistic elevations of both terminal antennas to assess the accuracy and limits of the proposed stochastic model. A sensitivity analysis of the influence on the path loss of built-up terrain parameters and the elevation of antennas relative to the buildings surrounding them is presented