Preliminary screening of non-platinum complexes of Schiff bases as antitumour agents using fluorimetry

Based on the consistency of the in vivo and in vitro interactions of drugs with DNA, a fluorimetric method has been developed as a new in vitro method for preliminary screening of antitumour agents. This method was tested using Schiff bases synthesized from salicylaldehyde with 1-alanine, 1-asparagine and 1-histidine, and complexes of these Schiff bases with Cu(II), Zn(II), Ni(II) and Sn(IV) as potential antitumour agents. The study of the interaction of the complexes with DNA by a fluorescence probe ethidium bromide (EthBr)-DNA system indicated the parallelism between the binding constants and antineoplastic ratios. The relationship between structure and antitumour activity was investigated.     

Recognition potential: sensitivity to visual field stimulated

The recognition potential (RP) was distinguished from P3 and eye blink responses by its sensitivity to visual area stimulated. Images were flashed in upper and lower hemifields. Current source density profiles were computed, using 16 midline scalp electrodes. For P3 and eye blink profiles, the hemifield stimulated was not a significant factor. For the recognition potential, upper and lower field stimulation produced radically different profiles. An improved recognition potential signal was obtained by a new mathematical procedure. It used the difference in sensitivity to visual area stimulated to reject P3 and eye blink responses.     

Mist1: a novel basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor exhibits a developmentally regulated expression pattern

An equilibrium between positive and negative regulation of immunoreceptor signaling leads to the proper execution of lymphocyte activation. Tyrosine phosphorylation is the initial event in antigen receptor-induced lymphocyte activation. It is generally accepted that protein tyrosine kinases are involved in positive regulation, whereas protein tyrosine phosphatases are important for the negative regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent processes. However, the interaction between protein tyrosine kinases and protein tyrosine phosphatases is complex. This article discusses the role of two protein tyrosine phosphatases. CD45 and SHP-1, in the regulation of immunoreceptor signaling. SHP-1 acts as a negative regulator for several immunoreceptors, including those for T- and B-cell antigen receptors. The major role of CD45 is in the positive regulation of T- and B-cell antigen receptor signaling.     

Use of SPOT 5 for mapping seagrasses: An application to Posidonia oceanica

The SPOT 5 satellite was launched in May 2002; it provides multispectral imagery with a spatial resolution of 10 m and fused imagery with a spatial resolution of 2.5 m. These types of satellite imagery were used for mapping beds of Posidonia oceanica in the Mediterranean Sea, where it is a dominant species forming monospecific beds in a structurally simple environment (four classes: sand, photophilous algae on rock, patchy seagrass beds and continuous seagrass beds). Supervised classifications by depth range were made of both types of image. A direct comparison of overall accuracy between SPOT 2.5 m and SPOT 10 m revealed that this tool provided accurate mapping in both cases (between 73 and 96% accuracy). Although SPOT 2.5 m provides lower overall accuracy than SPOT 10 m, it is a very useful tool for the mapping of P. oceanica, as it allows the patchiness of the formations to be better taken into account. The opportunity to use a reliability scale, which takes into account the effects of extrinsic factors on the processing of the images, confirmed the usefulness of the option of using a reduced pixel size in order to obtain an improved match between the results from mapping and field observations.     

Volvulus of the gallbladder

We report a patient with cirrhosis and hepatopulmonary syndrome. This syndrome is an entity characterized by anomalies in the arterial oxygenation in patients with chronic hepatic disease and/or portal hypertension and demonstration of pulmonary vasodilatation (PV) in absence of primary cardiac or pulmonary disease. We show that the finding of PV with transthoracic contrast enhanced echocardiography (TCEE) in the diagnosis of PV is real and corresponds to direct measurement of capillary diameter by morphometry.     

Analysis of spermatozoa from the proximal vas deferens of vasectomized men

As the health care system is oriented to provide service with finite dollars, nursing educators are being asked to demonstrate how continuing education for staff improves patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an orthopedic-geriatric continuing education program for nurses on the elderly patient who had sustained a hip fracture. A significant difference was found between the control and experimental unit patients with respect to time to first ambulation and length of stay on the orthopedic unit.