Interferon-inducing and antiviral activity of levamisole

It was shown that levamisol administered orally to mice induced production of interferon with its maximum level in 4-6 hours and prolonged subsequent circulation in the host (the observation period of 5 days). Antiviral activity of levamisol in experimental forest-spring encephalitis was shown (protection of 35-40 per cent). When levamisol were used in combination with polyguacyl, an additive effect was recorded.     

N-substituted octahydro-4a-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-10a-methyl-benzo[g]isoquinolines are opioid receptor pure antagonists

N-Methyl- and N-phenylethyl-(+/-)-1,2,3,4,4a,5,10,10a- octahydro-4a-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-10a-methyl-benzo[g]isoquinolines (4 and 5, respectively) were found to be pure opioid antagonists. These compounds were shown to share many of the characteristics identified with the N-methyl- and N-phenylethyl trans-3,4-dimethyl-4-(3-hydroxyphenyl)piperidine (1 and 2, respectively) including N-substituent mediated potency and a lack of N-substituent mediated antagonism. These data suggest that compounds 4 and 5 and the N-substituted trans-3,4-dimethyl-4-(3-hydroxyphenyl)piperidines (1 and 2) may interact with opioid receptors similarly.     

Preparations of antigens and immunoadsorbents corresponding to the Streptococcus group A cell-wall polysaccharide

The allyl glycosides of a tri-, penta- and hexasaccharide corresponding to the Streptococcus Group A cell-wall polysaccharide were coupled to solid or soluble supports to give immunoaffinity columns and neoglycoproteins, respectively. Cysteamine hydrochloride was added to the allyl glycosides and the resulting cysteamine adducts were used for subsequent coupling to linkers via the amine functionality. The tri- and penta-saccharide cysteamine adducts were coupled directly to the azalactone-derivatized 3M Emphase Biosupport Medium AB 1 to yield two affinity columns. The penta- and hexa- saccharides were coupled to bovine serum albumin or ovalbumin via the conjugate addition of the epsilon-amino groups of lysines on the proteins with the N-acryloylated sugars or the oligosaccharide-squarate adducts, derived in turn from the cysteamine adducts. The efficiency of the above methods is compared.     

Glucose dehydrogenase from the halophilic Archaeon Haloferax mediterranei: enzyme purification, characterisation and N-terminal sequence

We describe two sibs with pulmonary hypoplasia and anophthalmia; one also had a number of other malformations. Only one other broadly similar case could be found in the literature, and it was an isolated occurrence. The condition is named the Matthew-Wood syndrome.     

Effects of perceptual and conceptual processing on memory for words and voice: different patterns for young and old

In two experiments younger and older adults listened to a list of words presented auditorily by two speakers. The subjects processed each word either perceptually (voice judgements) or conceptually (pleasantness judgements), and were then given memory tasks for the words and the presenting voice. In the word-recognition task the two age groups benefited equally from conceptual as opposed to perceptual processing. In the voice memory task, however, conceptual processing improved performance relative to perceptual processing in the younger subjects (significantly so in Experiment 1), but conceptual processing was associated with decreased performance in the older group (significantly so in Experiment 2). These results suggest that whereas older subjects exhibit a trade-off in memory for item and attribute information, younger subjects exhibit a pattern of support, in which conceptual processing benefits memory for both items and their attributes.     

Immunomodulators in the prevention and therapy of viral infections]

Three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction methods were employed to study the anatomy of the vestibular aqueducts (VAs) in ten postmortem temporal bone specimens obtained from ten individuals aged 4 months to 70 years at death. After reconstruction, the ten 3-D images of VAs were superimposed on one another and differences evaluated. The VA showed postnatal growth and variations in size and shape. However, the variations in angle at which the VA bends near the isthmus were not correlated with age. Furthermore, study of the superimposed images revealed that the 3-D course of the VA was essentially the same in individuals of all ages, despite its wide variability in size and shape. These results indicate that the basic course of the VA is determined before early infancy although the VA grows thereafter, suggesting that VA anomalies such as "large vestibular aqueduct syndrome" (in which the VA takes an abnormally straight and wide course) may be established prenatally.