Mosquito clathrin heavy chain: analysis of protein structure and developmental expression in the ovary during vitellogenesis

Samples of resident biota and bed sediments were collected in 1992 from 18 sites on or near the floor of the San Joaquin Valley, California, for analysis of 33 organochlorine compounds. The sites were divided into five groups on the basis of physiographic region and land use. Ten compounds were detected in tissue, and 15 compounds were detected in bed sediment. The most frequently detected compound in both media was p,p'-DDE. Concentrations of SigmaDDT (sum of o,p'- and p, p' forms of DDD, DDE, and DDT) were statistically different among groups of sites for both tissue and sediment (Kruskal-Wallis, p < 0.05). Concentrations in both media were highest in streams draining the west side of the valley. Concentrations of SigmaDDT in tissue were significantly correlated with specific conductance, pH, and total alkalinity (p < 0.05), which are indicators of the proportion of irrigation return flows in stream discharge. Concentrations in sediment on a dry-weight basis were not correlated with these water-quality parameters, but total organic carbon (TOC) normalized concentrations were significantly correlated with specific conductance and pH (p < 0.05). Regressions of the concentration of SigmaDDT in tissue, as a function of SigmaDDT in bed sediment, were significant and explained up to 76% of the variance in the data. The concentration of SigmaDDT in sediment may be related to mechanisms of soil transport to surface water with bioavailability of compounds related to the concentration of TOC in sediment. The results of this study did not indicate any clear advantage to using either bed sediment or tissues in studies of organochlorine chemicals in the environment. Some guidelines for protection of fish and wildlife were exceeded. Concentrations of organochlorine chemicals in biota, and perhaps sediment, have declined from concentrations measured in the 1970s and 1980s, but remain high compared to other regions of the United States.     

Determination of steroid hormone receptors in different tissues and neoplasms

PURPOSE: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a known cause of metastatic endophthalmitis. However, the organism has never been described to cause severe infectious keratoconjunctivitis. We report a fulminant case of nosocomial K. pneumoniae conjunctivitis complicated by infectious keratitis and corneal perforation in both eyes. METHODS: An 83-year-old previously healthy Chinese woman, blind in the right eye from rubeotic glaucoma and with bilateral dense cataracts, was admitted for observation after a head injury. While in hospital, she developed purulent bilateral conjunctivitis. Repeated cultures grew K. pneumoniae. This rapidly progressed to severe infectious keratitis and corneal perforation in both eyes, despite intensive antibiotics to which the organism was susceptible. The patient was otherwise well, and investigations did not reveal any source of endogenous sepsis. RESULTS: The patient lost complete vision in both eyes. The left eye turned phthisical, and the right eye was eviscerated for uncontrolled endophthalmitis. CONCLUSION: Although not previously reported, K. pneumoniae can cause devastating keratoconjunctivitis resulting in corneal melt, perforation, and uncontrolled endophthalmitis.     

The effect of an extract of Baikal skullcap (Scutelleria baicalensis) on succinic acid oxidation by the brain mitochondria in rats with hypoxia

Rehabilitation of 39 patients with osteoarthrosis deformans (OD) consisted of transcranial electrostimulation (TCES) which was performed by means of Transair unit generating impulse current (77 Hz, frontal-retroauricular electrodes position). There was a positive trend in clinical indices, pain intensity, skin temperature. TCES mechanism of action involves stimulation of endorphine brain structures which elevates blood levels of beta-endorphines.     

Growth of a turbidostat culture of yeasts in the presence of a high concentration of compounds in a stationary mode and under osmotic shock conditions

The growth of a turbidostat culture of the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae 14 was studied under steady-state conditions in the presence of high (1.2-3 M) concentrations of various soluble compounds and under transition conditions upon rapid concentration changes. The concentration was varied from the optimal one to that decreasing the growth rate two times and back to the optimal one. The effects of the following compounds on yeast growth in the steady-state regime were studied: glucose, sucrose, (NH4)2SO4, MgSO4, NaH2PO4, Na2SO4, KCl, NaCl, NH4Cl, MgCl2, and LiCl. To study transition processes, the following compounds were used: NH4Cl, NaH2PO4, MgCl2, MgSO4, (NH4)2SO4, KCl, and NaCl. When the NaCl concentration increased rapidly, the transition process was completed in the first generation. For the other compounds, this process lasted for several generations. The transition process was completed in the first generation in cultures previously inhibited by (NH4)2SO4 or NaH2PO4. Cell volume varied insignificantly among steady-state cultures grown under different conditions, except for those inhibited by NH4Cl or MgSO4. The level of glucose utilization increased with an increase in the concentrations of the compounds studied. The ratio of the duration of the juvenile developmental phases (prophase, metaphase) to the duration of the postjuvenile phases (anaphase, telophase) was constant over the concentration ranges tested. The inhibitory effect of a compound depended on its chemical nature rather than on its osmotic effect.     

Effects of absorbable suture materials on intracellular regeneration processes in animal experiments

The influence of various absorbable suture materials on the intracellular regeneration processes in the rat's kidneys was studied up. Nephrotomy and suturing, using conventional and original suture materials were conducted in the animals. The RNA and protein biosynthesis inhibition on 14-30 days after chromic catgut implantation were revealed using radionuclide method. The most active course of biosynthesis was observed while using suture material manufactured from biofil and porcine material.     

Rapid identification of clinically significant species and taxa of aerobic actinomycetes, including Actinomadura, Gordona, Nocardia, Rhodococcus, Streptomyces, and Tsukamurella isolates, by DNA amplification and restriction endonuclease analysis

A previously described PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) identification schema for Nocardia that used an amplified 439-bp segment (amplicon) of the 65-kDa heat shock protein gene was evaluated for potential use with isolates of all clinically significant aerobic actinomycetes. The study included 28 reference (American Type Culture Collection) strains and 198 clinical isolates belonging to 20 taxonomic groups. Of these 198 isolates, 188 could be differentiated by this PCR-RFLP method. Amplicons from all aerobic actinomycete isolates lacked BstEII recognition sites, thereby distinguishing them from those of mycobacteria that contain one or more such sites. Of 29 restriction endonucleases, MspI plus HinfI produced RFLP patterns that differentiated 16 of the 20 taxa. A single RFLP pattern was observed for 15 of 20 taxa that included 65% of phenotypically clustered isolates. Multiple patterns were seen with Gordona bronchialis, Nocardia asteroides complex type VI, Nocardia otitidiscaviarum, Nocardia transvalensis, and Streptomyces spp. Streptomyces RFLP patterns were the most heterogeneous (five patterns among 19 isolates), but exhibited a unique HinfI fragment of > 320 bp. RFLP patterns that matched those from type strains of Streptomyces albus, Streptomyces griseus, or Streptomyces somaliensis were obtained from 14 of 19 Streptomyces isolates. Only 10 of 28 isolates of N. otitidiscaviarum failed to yield satisfactory amplicons, while only 6 of 188 (3.2%) clinical isolates exhibited patterns that failed to match one of the 21 defined RFLP patterns. These studies extended the feasibility of using PCR-RFLP analysis as a rapid method for the identification of all clinically significant species and taxa of aerobic actinomycetes.     

Biomechanics of human common carotid artery and design of novel hybrid textile compliant vascular grafts

Entorhinal cortex lesion (ECL) leads to anterograde degeneration of perforant path axons and is known to induce a rapid and intense reaction of astrocytes and microglial cells in the deafferented dentate gyrus. Phagocytosis of degenerating axons involves the establishment and maintenance of cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions by activated glial cells. It was thus our aim to investigate whether the process of axon phagocytosis is accompanied by the expression of adhesion molecules on activated microglial cells or reactive astrocytes, as such molecules mediate bot cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions. We found that the integrin adhesion molecules leukocyte function antigen-1 (LFA-1), very late antigen-4 (VLA-4), and the ligand for LFA-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), were expressed on microglial cells accumulating in the outer molecular layer of the deafferented dentate gyrus. This upregulation of adhesion molecule expression on microglial cells showing morphological criteria of activation occurred rapidly following ECL, reached its peak at 3 days post lesion (dpl), and gradually returned to control levels after 9 dpl. Astrocytes were never labeled by antibodies directed against these adhesion molecules. Prelabeling of the perforant path with a fluorescent tracer and subsequent ECL led to phagocytosis of fluorescent-labeled axonal debris by cells that were located in the outer molecular layer and showed typical microglial morphology. Double-fluorescence labeling demonstrated that microglial cells engaged in the phagocytosis of axonal debris expressed LFA-1, VLA-4, and the LFA-1-ligand ICAM-1. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that anterograde degeneration of perforant path axons results in adhesion molecule expression on activated microglial cells engaged in axon phagocytosis. The expression of such molecules could represent a mechanism that retains activated microglia in areas of axonal degeneration and perhaps enables the interaction of microglial cells with each other or with other immunocompetent cells.     

Differential diagnosis of posterior cranial fossa: potentialities and unsolved problems

This study describes nurse practitioners' (NPs) practice and employment trends, primary care/direct patient care involvement, scope of practice issues, productivity, and demographic characteristics. Data were collected by mailed survey from 2,499 NPs in New York State. NPs were predominantly certified as Adult, Pediatric or Family NPs. The vast majority of NPs were working (64.1% full-time; 22.7% part-time). Fifty percent said they spend over 80% of their time providing primary care. Over 50% of the NPs employed in non-hospital settings said that their organizations had contracts with four or more managed care organizations.     

Experience in the treatment of mandibular condyle fractures at specialized military medical institutions

The authors have generalized the experience of treatment of 82 injured with injuries of condylar processus fracture treatment of the lower jaw. By a surgical way were successfully eliminated posttraumatic ankylosis and contracture of temporomandibular articulations with use of titanium endoprosthesis and semi-joints. The osteosynthesis of condylar processus of the lower jaw by titanium miniplates and screws was also practiced.