Impact of an organizational control policy on absenteeism, performance, and satisfaction.

Examined the impact of an organizational control policy based on the concept of "legal compliance" with established organizational norms on 2 behavioral measures--absenteeism and performance--and 2 attitudinal measures of satisfaction. The control policy was experimentally manipulated in each of 2 experimental groups totaling 297 undergraduates. In one group, a compulsory attendance policy followed by a noncompulsory policy was employed, while in the other the sequence of administering the policies was reversed. Attendance, performance, and satisfaction measures were used as criteria in analyses of variance. Results indicate that a control policy based on legal compliance significantly improved attendance and performance and did not alter satisfaction levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical association of starch biosynthetic enzymes with starch granules of maize endosperm. Granule-associated forms of starch synthase I and starch branching enzyme II

Antibodies were used to probe the degree of association of starch biosynthetic enzymes with starch granules isolated from maize (Zea mays) endosperm. Graded washings of the starch granule, followed by release of polypeptides by gelatinization in 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate, enables distinction between strongly and loosely adherent proteins. Mild aqueous washing of granules resulted in near-complete solubilization of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, indicating that little, if any, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase is granule associated. In contrast, all of the waxy protein plus significant levels of starch synthase I and starch branching enzyme II (BEII) remained granule associated. Stringent washings using protease and detergent demonstrated that the waxy protein, more than 85% total endosperm starch synthase I protein, and more than 45% of BEII protein were strongly associated with starch granules. Rates of polypeptide accumulation within starch granules remained constant during endosperm development. Soluble and granule-derived forms of BEII yielded identical peptide maps and overlapping tryptic fragments closely aligned with deduced amino acid sequences from BEII cDNA clones. These observations provide direct evidence that BEII exits as both soluble and granule-associated entities. We conclude that each of the known starch biosynthetic enzymes in maize endosperm exhibits a differential propensity to associate with, or to become irreversibly entrapped within, the starch granule.     

The coxsackievirus-adenovirus receptor protein can function as a cellular attachment protein for adenovirus serotypes from subgroups A, C, D, E, and F

Attachment of an adenovirus (Ad) to a cell is mediated by the capsid fiber protein. To date, only the cellular fiber receptor for subgroup C serotypes 2 and 5, the so-called coxsackievirus-adenovirus receptor (CAR) protein, has been identified and cloned. Previous data suggested that the fiber of the subgroup D serotype Ad9 also recognizes CAR, since Ad9 and Ad2 fiber knobs cross-blocked each other's cellular binding. Recombinant fiber knobs and 3H-labeled Ad virions from serotypes representing all six subgroups (A to F) were used to determine whether the knobs cross-blocked the binding of virions from different subgroups. With the exception of subgroup B, all subgroup representatives cross-competed, suggesting that they use CAR as a cellular fiber receptor as well. This result was confirmed by showing that CAR, produced in a soluble recombinant form (sCAR), bound to nitrocellulose-immobilized virions from the different subgroups except subgroup B. Similar results were found for blotted fiber knob proteins. The subgroup F virus Ad41 has both short and long fibers, but only the long fiber bound sCAR. The sCAR protein blocked the attachment of all virus serotypes that bound CAR. Moreover, CHO cells expressing human CAR, in contrast to untransformed CHO cells, all specifically bound the sCAR-binding serotypes. We conclude therefore that Ad serotypes from subgroups A, C, D, E, and F all use CAR as a cellular fiber receptor.     

Immunology and adjuvant chemoimmunotherapy of breast cancer

Antibody against a breast carcinoma antigen was present in patients with breast carcinoma and other cancer more often (P less than .05) than in normal women. The incidence of antibody in women with breast carcinoma correlated with the presence or absence of gross tumor, and the titer of antibody paralleled the clinical course. These results suggest importance of a host-immune response to breast carcinoma. Fifty-seven patients with stage II carcinoma of the breast were entered into a prospective randomized adjuvant chemoimmunotherapy program of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil, and BCG vaccine +/- an irradiated allogeneic tumor cell vaccine. After 24 months of study, metastases occurred in two patients (3.5%) and a new primary carcinoma developed in the contralateral breast in two others, for an overall treatment failure rate of 7%. Adjuvant chemoimmunotherapy can delay early recurrence. Long-term follow-up is needed to assess the significance of these results.     

Gastric pacing improves emptying and symptoms in patients with gastroparesis

BACKGROUND & AIMS: No effective treatment is available for patients with gastroparesis refractory to standard medical therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of gastric pacing on gastric electrical activity, gastric emptying, and symptoms in patients with gastroparesis. METHODS: Nine patients with gastroparesis participated in this study. Four pairs of cardiac pacing wires were implanted on the serosa of the stomach. The protocol consisted of two portions: a temporary inpatient study period and an outpatient study for a period of 1 month or more. RESULTS: Gastric pacing entrained the gastric slow wave in all subjects and converted tachygastria in 2 patients into regular 3-cpm slow waves. Gastric emptying was significantly improved after the outpatient treatment with gastric pacing. The gastric retention at 2 hours was reduced from 77.0% +/- 3.3% to 56.6% +/- 8.6% (P < 0.05). Symptoms of gastroparesis were substantially reduced at the end of the outpatient treatment (1.51 +/- 0.46 vs. 2.84 +/- 0.61; P < 0.04). Eight of 9 patients no longer relied on jejunostomy tube feeding, and no adverse events were noted related to the pacing unit. CONCLUSIONS: Gastric pacing seems to be able to improve symptoms of gastroparesis and to accelerate gastric emptying in patients with gastroparesis. More controlled studies are necessary to further investigate the role of gastric pacing in clinical practice.     

Mixture priors for Bayesian performance monitoring 1: fixed-constituent model

This paper addresses the problem of assessing the current performance of a system, given that performance can change over time. In many problems of interest, although a significant body of historical evidence is available, current performance information is too sparse to be the sole basis for an assessment of how well the system is currently performing. Therefore, it is desirable to apply current data within a Bayesian framework, making use of a broader body of evidence. However, both noninformative priors and simple informative priors have drawbacks for this application. The present work shows that ‘mixture’ priors have relatively desirable properties for performance assessment. These properties are illustrated using a simple example in assessment of reliability performance. It is also shown that one implementation of the mixture prior (the ‘fixed-constituent model’) is formally equivalent to methods used in signal detection, statistical decision rules in medical diagnosis, and many other applications. Building on the medical analogy, the potential benefits of an integrated treatment of reliability data and inspection results are illustrated. A companion paper develops a more sophisticated implementation of the mixture prior (the ‘variable-constituent model’), and extends the treatment to more complex examples.     

Efficient random subcloning of DNA sheared in a recirculating point-sink flow system

Based on a high-performance liquid chromatographic pump, we have built a device that allows recirculation of DNA through a 63-microm orifice with ensuing fractionation to a minimum fragment size of approximately 300 base pairs. Residence time of the DNA fragments in the converging flow created by a sudden contraction was found to be sufficiently long to allow extension of the DNA molecules into a highly extended conformation and, hence, breakage to occur at midpoint. In most instances, 30 passages sufficed to obtain a narrow size distribution, with >90% of the fragments lying within a 2-fold size distribution. The shear rate required to achieve breakage was found to be inversely proportional to the 1.0 power of the molecular weight. Compared with a restriction digest, up to 40% of all fragments could be cloned directly, with only marginal improvements in cloning efficiency having been observed upon prior end repair with Klenow, T4 polymerase or T4 polynucleotide kinase. Sequencing revealed a fairly random distribution of the fragments.     

Analysis of the interactions of SDZ PSC 833 ([3'-keto-Bmt1]-Val2]-Cyclosporine), a multidrug resistance modulator, with P-glycoprotein

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is considered to be an important impediment to the effective treatment of cancer. P-glycoprotein, the drug efflux pump that mediates this resistance, can be inhibited by a wide variety of pharmacological agents, resulting in the circumvention of the MDR phenotype. SDZ PSC 833 ([3'-keto-Bmt1]-Val2]-cyclosporine), a nonimmunosuppressive cyclosporine D derivative, was identified to be a potent MDR modulator (Gaveriaux et al. J. Cell Pharmacol. 2:225-234; 1991). In this study, the interactions of P-glycoprotein with two cyclosporine derivatives, SDZ PSC 833 and cyclosporine A (CsA, Sandimmune), were analyzed. SDZ PSC 833 enhanced the sensitivity of the MDR cells to anticancer drugs by increasing the accumulation and inhibiting the efflux of cytotoxic agents from resistant cells more efficiently than CsA. The two cyclosporine analogs competed with the labeling of P-glycoprotein by a photoactive cyclosporine derivative. In addition, membrane vesicles derived from resistant cells bound SDZ PSC 833. However, CsA was transported by P-glycoprotein, whereas SDZ PSC 833 was not actively transported. This resulted in a prolonged inhibitory effect by SDZ PSC 833. The studies suggest that the binding of SDZ PSC 833 to P-glycoprotein in the absence of its transport from MDR cells mediated its high potency as an MDR reversing agent. In addition, the comparison of the two cyclosporine analogs indicated that limited chemical modifications of MDR reversing agents can affect their potential to inhibit P-glycoprotein function.     

Beta 1 integrin ligation stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation of phospholipase C gamma 1 and elevates intracellular Ca2+ in pancreatic acinar cells

We have recently reported increased tyrosine (TYR) phosphorylation of a number of pancreatic acinar cell proteins following antibody ligation of beta 1 integrins (Wrenn and Herman, Biochem, Biophys. Res. Commun. 208, 1995, 978-984). Concurrent with this TYR phosphorylation was a marked activation of protein kinase C (PKC). This led us to investigate phospholipase C gamma 1 (PLC gamma 1), a key enzyme responsible for diacylglycerol generation, as a target for integrin-mediated TYR phosphorylation. Staining with antiphosphotyrosine antibodies revealed increased TYR phosphorylation of immunoprecipitated PLC gamma 1 prepared from beta 1 integrin-ligated acinar cells. Subsequent stripping and reprobing of Western blots with polyclonal anti-PLC gamma 1 was confirmatory. Over this same time period, intracellular [Ca2+] increased from < 100 nM to 600 nM, further suggesting a functional relevance of integrin-linked phosphorylation as a regulatory mechanism in exocrine pancreas.     

Responses of dairy cows supplemented with somatotropin during weeks 5 through 43 of lactation

Beginning at wk 5 of lactation, 136 cows (34 per treatment) were supplemented daily for 38 wk with 0, 10.3, 20.6, or 41.2 mg of recombinantly derived bST monomer. Cows were obtained from University of Kentucky, University of Minnesota, University of Pennsylvania, and The Ohio State University. Nine cows (4 at 0 mg/d, 1 at 10.3 mg/d, 1 at 20.6 mg/d, and 3 at 41.2 mg/d) did not complete the experiment because of health problems. Data from these cows were included in the reproduction and health databases but not in the production database. Cows supplemented with bST produced more milk, consumed more feed, had lower rates of BW gain, and had improved efficiencies of milk production (conversion of feed and NEL to milk). Additional increases in productivity were modest at 20.6 and 41.2 mg/d versus productivity at 10.3 mg/d of bST. Concentrations of fat, protein, and TS in milk were unaffected. At 10.3 mg/d, bST did not adversely affect reproduction or health.