The strength of the fibre-polymer interface in short glass fibre-reinforced polypropylene

A method for the determination of the interfacial bond strength in well-aligned short glass fibre-reinforced polypropylene samples is discussed. The method takes into account the variation of the interfacial shear stress during the deformation process; consequently, it yields very consistent results at all values of the composite strain. The influence of the fibre orientation with respect to the load axis is appropriately considered using macro-mechanical analyses for stiffness and strength of the composite. The method is compared with two other methods reported in the literature.     

A case-control study of menopausal estrogen therapy and breast cancer

The association between estrogen replacement therapy and female breast cancer was studied in two Los Angeles area retirement communities. The 138 study cases of breast cancer occurring in residents younger than 75 years were compared with age- and race-matched community control subjects. The risk ratio for a total cumulative dose in excess of 1,500 mg was estimated to be 2.5 in women with intact ovaries. This increase was present using various independent sources of drug usage information but was inconsistent at low dose and undetectable in oophorectomized women. No important sources of confounding could be identified, and no risk modifiers could be identified except for a history of surgically confirmed benign breast disease. In such women with intact ovaries, the risk ratio for a high cumulative dose rose to 5.7 relative to nonusers with normal breasts.     

Diphosphonate treatment of Paget's disease

Ethane-1-hydroxy-1, 1-diphosphonate (EHDP) was administered in a dose of 20 mg/kg/d to 21 patients with symptomatic Paget's disease. All patients were treated for 6 months and then followed for an additional 6 months. There was a striking decline in serum alkaline phosphatase and urinary hydroxy-proline excretion observed after 3 months of therapy which was not significantly improved in the succeeding 3 months. Concomitantly there was marked improvement in clinical symptoms and bone scans. Following cessation of therapy, continued biochemical and clinical evidence of remission persisted. Several patients on repeat treatment with EHDP appeared to respond promptly. Side effects were minimal except for a possibly related osteomalacia and increased incidence of pathologic fractures.     

Injuries to the phrenic nerve resulting in diaphragmatic paralysis with special reference to stretch trauma

The effectiveness of purines and purine analogues as inducers of erythroid differentiation in cultured murine erythroleukemia cells has been investigated. These cell lines have previously been shown to differentiate in vitro in response to dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and a number of other polar solvents. Two purine analogues, 6-thioguanine and 6-mercaptopurine, as well as the naturally occuring purine, purine, hypoxanthine, are shown to be extremely potent inducers. 6-Thioguanine is effective at a concentration of 0.06 mM, 750 fold lower than the DMSO concentration required for equivalent induction. 6-Mercaptopurine and hypoxanthine are effective inducers at a concentration of approximately 2 mM. Accumulation of globin mRNA was monitored during induction with purine inducers and shown to be similar in amount to globin mRNA levels reached in DMSO-induced cultures. Induction of differentiation by all three compounds follows a similar time course to induction with DMSO. All three compounds are potent inducers of HGPRT (hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase)-negative cell lines; hence incorporation of purines into DNA is not required for induction of differentiation. Comparison of these compounds with other purines and purine analogues suggests a high degree of specificity in their interaction with a cellular target.     

Standardization of the chromium-51 release, cell-mediated cytotoxicity assay: cryopreservation of mouse effector and target cells

Utilizing controlled cryopreservation techniques, we were able to standardize the 51Cr release cytotoxicity assay and thereby ensured reliable comparisons between results obtained on different days. Optimal conditions for freezing of both effector and target cells were quite similar. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at a concentration of 7.5-10.0% was employed as the cryoprotective agent and cells were frozen at the rate of -1 degrees C/minute. The handling procedures for the cells before and after freezing were important. Factors affecting recovery of functional reactivity were related to toxicity of DMSO for the cells, the osmotic stress placed upon the cells as the DMSO was being removed after thawing, the handling temperature of the freshly thawed cells, and the susceptibility of cells to mechanical damage immediately after thawing. The recovery of lymphocytes after freezing was about 70%; the recovery of cytotoxicity was around 85%. Syngeneic cytotoxic reactivity induced by inoculation with the Moloney strain of murine sarcoma virus was cryopreserved, as were allogeneic cytotoxicity and natural cytotoxic reactivity. Multiple tests employing effector cells from the same frozen pool gave reproducible results; the standard error of the mean percent cytotoxicity was less than 1.5%. Cryopreserved target cells gave decreased day-to-day variability in susceptibility to lysis, since the same population of cells could be employed in each assay. These results demonstrated conclusively that we can now have a constant source of effector cells and target cells, which can be used from assay to assay as an internal standard.