Determination of fibrin and fibrinogen split products by their anticoagulant activity

A new diagnostic method to determine fibrinogen and fibrin splitting products is based on the fact that high-molecular fragments acting as specific inhibitors of fibrin self-assembly compose these products. Fibrinogen and fibrin splitting products are detected and determined quantitatively by prolongation of coagulation time in the test with the standard monomeric fibrin. The number of units of anticoagulating activity in the studied urine are the results of the determinations. Sensitivity of the method if necessary may be increased by adding of a certain amount of the fibrinogen and fibrin splitting products to the test that makes a favourable background for the action of the products. The method is rather sensitive, reliable and simple. It may be used in ordinary clinical laboratories. The method proved to be quite satisfactory when testing renal diseases at the clinic. It is of great significance for early detection of the transplanted kidney rejection. The new method is compared with the known immunological method which consist in determination of the inhibitory effect of the fibrinogen and fibrin splitting products on agglutination of erythrocytes of specific antibodies; the erythrocytes being subjected to "tanning" and "loading" with fibrinogen. A satisfactory correlation is found between the results of two methods.     

Cooperative linear cargo transport with molecular spiders

Molecular spiders are nanoscale walkers made with DNA enzyme legs attached to a common body. They move over a surface of DNA substrates, cleaving them and leaving behind product DNA strands, which they are able to revisit. Simple one-dimensional models of spider motion show significant superdiffusive motion when the leg-substrate bindings are longer-lived than the leg-product bindings. This gives the spiders potential as a faster-than-diffusion transport mechanism. However, analysis shows that single-spider motion eventually decays into an ordinary diffusive motion, owing to the ever increasing size of the region of cleaved products. Inspired by cooperative behavior of natural molecular walkers, we propose a symmetric exclusion process model for multiple walkers interacting as they move over a one-dimensional lattice. We show that when walkers are sequentially released from the origin, the collective effect is to prevent the leading walkers from moving too far backwards. Hence, there is an effective outward pressure on the leading walkers that keeps them moving superdiffusively for longer times, despite the growth of the product region. Multi-spider systems move faster and farther than single spiders or systems with multiple simple random walkers.     

Evaluation of high temperature polymers in nanolayered films and gradient refractive index (GRIN) lenses

A new polymer nanolayer gradient refractive index (GRIN) system with more robust thermal stability because of incorporation of a high glass transition temperature polyester, OKP4HT, was demonstrated. A combination of extruded nanolayered GRIN film systems, comprised of five unique polymer materials, were combined to produce laminate optics comprised of a large internal refractive index gradient distribution, n = 1.445 – 1.630, without degradation of optical transmissive properties. The optical performance of a series of varied magnitude GRIN lenses, ranging from Δn = 0 to 0.185, was evaluated. Increasing the lens refractive index range resulted in decreased optic sphericalaberrations that followed analytical predictions. An analytical approach was reported to correlate the polymer material upper service temperature (UST) to the onset of polymer material loss modulus as measured by DMTA. Thermo‐optical interferometry measurements of irreversible lens deformation confirmed the lenses UST at 125°C for the OKP4HT/PC system as compared to 75°C for a PMM/SAN17 system. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42741.     

Prevalence of the Campylobacter multi-drug efflux pump (CmeABC) in Campylobacter spp. Isolated from freshly processed Turkeys

The prevalence of the Campylobacter multi-drug efflux pump (CmeABC) was evaluated in Campylobacter isolates recovered from freshly processed turkeys at two Midwestern processing plants. A total of 94 Campylobacter isolates recovered from processed turkeys were examined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the presence of the multi-drug efflux pump genes cmeA, cmeB, and cmeC. Results from this study found that 51% of all isolates tested were positive for CmeABC. 46.6% of these positive isolates were from plant A and 55.1% from plant B. Differences were observed in the prevalence of individual genes found among Campylobacter isolates from each plant. Additional analysis found that among the isolates positive for CmeABC, 85.5% were identified as C. jejuni and 14.5% identified as C. coli. There was a relatively high occurrence of the Campylobacter multi-drug efflux pump genes in Campylobacter spp. recovered from processed turkeys, however, the presence of the genes could not be significantly linked to antimicrobial resistance observed in the test strains and suggests that the CmeABC genes are only one factor associated with antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter spp.     

Solid acid (superacid) catalyzed regioselective adamantylation of substituted benzenes

Adamantylation of substituted benzenes with 1-bromo-adamantane was catalyzed by solid acids including acidic ion exchange and ionomer resins, HY zeolite, sulfated zirconia and supported superacids on HY zeolite and SiO₂. Adamantylation generally takes place in excellent yield giving predominantly para products without formation of byproducts. The reactions did not require the usual workup of Friedel-Crafts reactions as catalysts were simply filtered of. Cross-linked polystyrene resin sulfonic acid (Amberlyst) was found particularly suitable as besides its high catalytic activity, high regioselectivity was observed with almost exclusive formation ofp-adamantylated benzenes. AMI, PM3 and MNDO semiempirical calculations of heats of formation showed that of all regioisomers, the para isomer is the most stable. The temperature dependence of adamantylation was also investigated allowing the optimization ofp-substituted product in high yield and excellent selectivity. Lack of isomerization of 1-p-tolyla-damantane using solid (Amberlyst, Nafion-H) and liquid acids (neat and modified trifluoromethanesulfonic acid) indicates absence of product isomerization, while the intramolecular rearrangement of the intermediate arenium complex is still possible.Catalysis by solid superacids, Part 30. For part 29, see ref.[1A].     

Dynamic course of neurological syndromes in very young children with the history of intrauterine growth retardation

90 infants with intrauterine growth retardation (IGR) and 100 normal infants (control group) were followed up from 5 days till 3 years of life. In IGR infants there was a more frequent combination of several neurologic syndromes, an early manifestation of motor disorders (from the very moment of birth), a delay of neuro-psychic development (during the first year of life), a tendency to development of moderate hydrocephalus by the age of 6 months. Autonomic-visceral disorders in them were mostly characterized by the symptoms of abaissement, but not of irritation.     

Suc-Phe-Leu-Phe-SBzl--a new substrate for functional study of Escherichia coli ATP-dependent Lon-proteinase and its modified forms

A new efficient substrate, Suc-Phe-Leu-Phe-SBzl, was proposed for studying the function of the Escherichia coli ATP-dependent Lon protease and its modified forms. The kinetic parameters of hydrolysis of the substrate were determined. The esterase activity of protease Lon was found to be nucleotide-regulated.     

Randomised trial of heroin maintenance programme for addicts who fail in conventional drug treatments

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate an experimental heroin maintenance programme. Design: Randomised trial. SETTING: Outpatient clinic in Geneva, Switzerland. SUBJECTS: Heroin addicts recruited from the community who were socially marginalised and in poor health and had failed in at least two previous drug treatments. INTERVENTION: Patients in the experimental programme (n=27) received intravenous heroin and other health and psychosocial services. Control patients (n=24) received any other conventional drug treatment (usually methadone maintenance). Main outcome measures: Self reported drug use, health status (SF-36), and social functioning. RESULTS: 25 experimental patients completed 6 months in the programme, receiving a median of 480 mg of heroin daily. One experimental subject and 10 control subjects still used street heroin daily at follow up (difference 44%; 95% confidence interval 16% to 71%). Health status scores that improved significantly more in experimental subjects were mental health (0.58 SD; 0.07 to 1.10), role limitations due to emotional problems (0.95 SD; 0.11 to 1.79), and social functioning (0.65 SD; 0.03 to 1.26). Experimental subjects also significantly reduced their illegal income and drug expenses and committed fewer drug and property related offences. There were no benefits in terms of work, housing situation, somatic health status, and use of other drugs. Unexpectedly, only nine (38%) control subjects entered the heroin maintenance programme at follow up. CONCLUSIONS: A heroin maintenance programme is a feasible and clinically effective treatment for heroin users who fail in conventional drug treatment programmes. Even in this population, however, another attempt at methadone maintenance may be successful and help the patient to stop using injectable opioids.     

The development and cross-validation of methods based on radioimmunoassay and LC/MS-MS for the quantification of the class III antiarrhythmic agent, MK-0499, in human plasma and urine

An analytical method based on radioimmunoassay (RIA) has been developed for the determination of the antiarrhythmic agent, MK-0499, in plasma and urine. Owing to the potency of the drug, the specificity of this assay in human plasma could not be adequately determined using conventional RIA procedures. A highly specific procedure, based on LC/MS-MS, was developed to cross-validate the RIA. The lower quantifiable limits of the RIA and LC/MS-MS-based methods were 0.05 and 0.013 ng ml-1, respectively. Cross-validation data, compared using paired student's t-test regression analysis, showed excellent correlation between methods. The mass spectrometric assay was also used to simultaneously measure plasma concentrations of unlabeled and 14C-labeled MK-0499 following administration of the drug at high specific activity to volunteers.