Paradoxical influence of estrogenic hormones on platelet-endothelial cell interactions

Controversies abound in the literature about the safety and efficacy of tamoxifen and estrogen. We studied the effect of these 2 hormonal agents on factors involved in in vitro thrombogenesis: platelets and endothelial cells. Endothelial cells were derived from human umbilical veins and platelets were obtained from premenopausal and postmenopausal women, women on oral contraceptives, postmenopausal women on hormone replacement therapy, men, and patients with breast cancer who had been taking adjuvant tamoxifen for more than 1 year. The interaction of platelets with endothelial cell matrix was measured in 2 systems: 1) in a flow chamber at low shear rate and, 2) with 51Cr labeled platelets in a "static" culture system. In the static system, platelets from women on tamoxifen exhibited decreased platelet adherence to endothelial cell matrix whether they were grown in tamoxifen or control conditions, when compared to platelets from premenopausal women. When flow (25 sec-1) was added these differences were negated. Neither tamoxifen nor 17 beta estradiol had an effect on endothelial cell proliferation or platelet aggregation. Adhesion of platelets at low shear was not altered when platelet rich plasma was incubated with tamoxifen nor when endothelial cells were grown in tamoxifen. In contrast, incubation of platelets in 17 beta estradiol decreased platelet adhesion at low shear rate, however, there was no effect on platelet adhesion when endothelial cells were grown in 17 beta estradiol. We conclude that in early stages of thrombus formation as measured in vitro, tamoxifen may not have a detrimental effect and estrogen may be protective.     

Depressant insect selective neurotoxins from scorpion venom: chemistry, action, and gene cloning

The present study examines the similarity in the symptoms and binding properties between the depressant and excitatory insect-selective neurotoxins, derived from scorpion venom. A comparison of their primary structures and neuromuscular effects is presented. A new depressant toxin (LqhIT2) was purified from the venom of the scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus hebraeus. The effects of this toxin on a prepupal housefly neuromuscular preparation mimic its effects on the intact insect, i.e, a brief period of repetitive bursts of regular junction potentials (JPs) is followed by reduced amplitude JPs ending with a block of the neuromuscular transmission. "Loose" patch clamp recordings indicate that the repetitive activity has a presynaptic origin (the motor nerve) and resembles the effect of the excitatory toxin AaIT. The final synaptic block is supposed to be the end result of neuronal membrane depolarization. Such an effect is not caused by an excitatory toxin, which induces long "trains" of repetitive firing. The amino acid sequences of three depressant toxins were determined by automatic Edman degradation indicating a high degree of sequence homology. This conservation differs from those of other groups of scorpion toxins. The opposing pharmacological effects of depressant toxins are discussed in light of the above neuromuscular effects and sequence analysis. A genetic approach in the study of the structure-function relationships of the depressant toxins was initiated by isolating cDNA clones encoding the LqhIT2 and BjIT2 toxins. Their sequence analysis revealed the precursor form of these toxins: A 21 amino acid residue signal peptide followed by a 61 amino acid region of the mature toxin, and three additional amino acids at the carboxy terminus.     

La2O3-Mo阴极材料热分析研究

采用热分析、X射线衍射、扫描电镜等方法对Mo-La2O3阴极中La2O3与Mo2C的反应情况进行了研究.实验结果表明:La2O3与Mo2C在高温下可以发生化学反应,产生单质La和金属Mo;反应物存在状态不同,二者发生反应的温度不同. 粉末样品中二者反应温度(1203K)低于阴极丝中二者的反应温度(1533K).     

泡沫铝的制备工艺、组织性能及应用前景

介绍了国内外泡沫金属及泡沫铝生产工艺，分析了泡沫铝的组织、性能和应用前景。     

焦化废水中氨氮对水煤浆流变性影响的研究

采用2种低阶煤——新疆1号,2号不粘煤对含氨氮的焦化废水进行了成浆性试验研究。结果发现,它们的成浆性较差,属难制浆煤种。全面分析了制浆的影响因素,对低阶煤而言,成浆性差是由于煤中富含含氧官能团、较高的内在水分和较差的可磨性。为了进一步了解焦化废水中氨氮对水煤浆流变性的影响,采用不同浓度的含氨氮废水进行了成浆性试验。结果表明,焦化废水中的氨氮对水煤浆的流变性有不利的影响,随着氨氮浓度的升高,水煤浆的表观粘度有升高的趋势,流动性逐渐变差,而稳定性越来越好。     

Rating scales for the psychosocial evaluation of organ transplant candidates. Comparison of the PACT and TERS with bone marrow transplant patients

Two scaled formats for summarizing the results of psychosocial evaluations of transplant candidates have been published, the Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates for Transplantation (PACT) and the Transplant Evaluation Rating Scale (TERS). In this study, 40 consecutive candidates for bone marrow transplant were rated on the PACT and TERS. The PACT and TERS were comparable in interrater reliability. Similar conceptual items for each scale correlated fairly highly with one another. The PACT and TERS differ in several scale characteristics. The authors discuss the relationship between scale characteristics and clinical utility.     

Interdialytic weight gain and nutritional parameters in chronic hemodialysis patients

The extent of interdialytic weight gain (IDWG) in chronic hemodialysis patients is usually attributed to the level of compliance with fluid restriction. However, in view of the substantial water content of food (and caloric content of beverages), IDWG also may be a function of calorie and protein intake and may reflect the nutritional state of patients. To investigate this theory, the relationship between 2-day IDWG and body weight, normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR), serum albumin, and delivered Kt/V urea was assessed in a prospective, randomized study of 860 chronic hemodialysis patients in 56 dialysis units. Compared with patients having < 2 kg IDWG (n = 378), patients with > 3 kg IDWG (n = 138) weighed more (dry weight, 76.8 v 61.7 kg), had higher nPCR (1.15 v 0.96 g/kg/d), and had higher serum albumin levels (3.96 vs 3.79 g/dL) (all P < 0.001) but did not have different levels of Kt/V (1.04 v 1.06). When IDWG was assessed as a function of dry weight, patients with IDWG > 4.5% of dry weight (n = 151) had higher nPCR (1.17 v 0.94 g/kg/d) but weighed less (60.1 v 70.0 kg) and had a higher Kt/V (1.14 v 1.01) than patients with IDWG < 3% of dry weight (n = 355) (all P < 0.001). Artifactual association between IDWG and nPCR attributable to an accentuated two-pool effect from differing ultrafiltration requirements was unlikely as assessed by the relationship between modeled Kt/V and prescribed Kt/V determined using an anthropometric urea volume.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)