Herpes simplex virus-2 infection. An emerging disease?

Hyperoxia, used therapeutically in the treatment of respiratory insufficiencies, can cause lung injury, probably through the actions of reactive oxygen species. The present studies were designed to test the hypothesis that oxidation of specific proteins would provide useful biomarkers of the onset of tissue injury, and thereby provide clues as to the mechanisms responsible. We exposed adult male Sprague-Dawley rats to room air or to greater than 95% O2 for 60 h and examined proteins in pleural effusion and broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) fluids, and in lung tissue homogenates and subfractions. Oxidation of protein thiols was assessed by derivatization with monobromobimane, separation by electrophoresis, and visualization of the fluorescent thioether derivatives. Derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH), electrophoresis, and western analysis was employed to assess a different class of oxidative modifications, frequently termed 'protein carbonyls'. In addition, we investigated the effects of the 21-aminosteroid U-74389G, 10 mg/kg, given intraperitoneally every 12 h, on biomarkers of protein oxidation and on manifestations of lung injury. Hyperoxia caused lung injury evidenced by pleural effusions, increases in BAL protein concentrations, and pulmonary edema; U-74389G attenuated the first two indices of lung injury, but did not alter edema. Protein thiol status of the fractions studied were not affected notably by hyperoxia, or by the aminosteroid. The formation of DNPH-reactive sites on a limited number of proteins by hyperoxia was observed, and some of these effects were attenuated in the animals given U-74389G. Histological examination of lung tissues showed accumulation of intra-alveolar protein exudates in hyperoxic rats, and a significant attenuation of this effect was observed in the animals treated with U-74389G. In conclusion, studies of shifts in protein thiol status that may be caused by hyperoxia will require increasingly specific methods of analysis, and characterization of the specific DNPH-reactive proteins formed in hyperoxia may provide critical insights into the mechanisms of lung injury. Administration of U-74389G offers some degree of protection against hyperoxia and attenuation of these biomarkers of oxidation, but the precise mechanisms by which this protection is effected will require additional study.     

Evidence of latency and reactivation of both herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 and HSV-2 in the genital region

While superinfection with different herpes simplex virus (HSV) types has been demonstrated in animals, the ability of the two HSV types to colonize and reactivate in the same anatomic region in humans has not been well demonstrated. In 6 patients, both HSV-1 and HSV-2 was recovered from genital lesions. In 4 of them, who initially acquired genital HSV-1 infection, subsequent HSV-2 infection presented as a prolonged episode of genital lesions and a marked increase in the frequency of genital recurrences. While most of the subsequent clinical reactivations were HSV-2, in 2 patients the recurrence rate of genital HSV-1 increased after the acquisition of HSV-2. These data demonstrate the ability of a second HSV type to infect the same anatomic region and illustrate the difference in reactivation frequency of the two types in the same person. Typing of HSV isolates may be useful in persons with recent alteration in recurrence rates of genital HSV.     

Serum markers for Down's syndrome in relation to number of previous births and maternal age

We conducted a study to investigate the effect of parity on the following six serum markers used in screening for Down's syndrome, after adjusting them for ethnic group and maternal weight: alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), unconjugated oestriol (uE3), total human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), free alpha-hCG, free beta-hCG, and dimeric inhibin A. We aimed to estimate the effect of adjusting for any differences found on the screening performance. AFP, uE3, and hCG concentrations were available from 16,666 women with singleton pregnancies without Down's syndrome or neural tube defects and without insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, who were screened between 15 and 22 weeks' gestational age. Stored serum samples were available on a subset of 1347 women and these were used to measure free alpha-hCG, free beta-hCG, and inhibin A. Serum concentrations were expressed as multiples of the median (MOM) for women of the same gestational age, weight, and ethnic group. Of the six markers, only hCG levels were affected by parity; hCG levels decreased by 3.1 per cent per previous birth (95 per cent confidence interval 2.2-4.0 per cent); there was no significant relationship between the number of previous abortions and hCG level after adjustment for the number of previous births. The effect of previous births on hCG was not due to maternal age. Only AFP was affected by maternal age, but the effect was small; levels increased by 4.4 per cent per 10 years of age (3.2-5.7 per cent). It is not worthwhile adjusting serum markers for parity or for maternal age in prenatal screening for Down's syndrome because their effect on the performance of screening is negligible.     

THE ECOLOGY OF POLITICAL REFORM

In several studies of political behavior in Chicago, Thomas Guterbock has identified “localism,” an affectual commitment to a bounded subcommunity, as the key sentiment generating electoral support for the Democratic organization. Localistic sentiment has been linked to pro-machine voting, Guterbock suggests, because the organization is perceived as the source of valuable support for maintaining the neighborhood. A replication of the Guterbock study in Memphis finds that localism, measured by the same aggregate indicators selected by Guterbock, was a strong predictor of support for the reformers who challenged the Crump machine in elections from 1948–1955. By the postwar era, it seems, the Memphis machine was losing the will and capacity to respond to demands for community development, thereby losing its standing as a valuable resource for the neighborhood patriots whose political choices were dictated by instrumental considerations. This finding underscores that the link between localism and political behavior depended upon the nature of the political alternatives available to the electorate.     

Differential thermal analysis using high frequency dielectric heating II. Curing kinetics studies

A previous paper described the theory and equipment of Differential Thermal Analysis using High Frequency Dielectric Heating, DTA/HF. Curing studies using DTA/HF on cis-1,4-polyisoprene rubber filled with 50 phr of CaCO₃ and containing from 1.5 to 4.5 phr of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) curative indicated that below about 185°C, the curing reaction was first order with respect to DCP; the mean activation energy was 32.6 kcal/mole; and the heat of reaction ranged from 60 to 80 kcal/mole DCP. These results are in agreement with published results. Above 185°C both thermodynamic and kinetic evidence implied that the reaction mechanism changed; the first order peroxide decomposition no longer controlled the overall rate of reaction. The curing of both stereo styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber (BR) containing 50 phr of CaCO₃ and 0.5 phr of DCP was found to follow first order kinetics as expected. The magnitude of the heat of curing was used to determine the frequency of a vinyl propagation-type cross-linking reaction. Eight to 36 crosslinks per molecule of DCP were obtained. This reaction became more extensive at high temperature, in agreement with published results.     

The effects of ventricular fluid osmolality on bulk flow of nascent fluid into the cerebral ventricles of cats

Transdiaphragmatic pressure (Pdi) and expiratory flow (V) were monitored during vital capacity single breath N2 washouts in 7 seated subjects. Transient increases in V were produced (1) actively, by subjects increasing mouth pressure while expiring through a constant resistance of (2) passively, by the operator transiently decreasing the resistance. Voluntary contraction of the diaphragm (increased Pdi) was achieved when abdominal muscles were tensed while maintaining V constant. In 5 subjects a transient increase in Pdi of 25-150 cm H2O consistently produced a transient increase in expired N2 concentration of 1.80 +/- 0.06% (Mean +/- 1 SE); in 1 subject N2 concentration decreased by 0.8% to 2.7% N2, and in one subject the alveolar plateau was uninfluenced by changes in Pdi. Passive increases in V up to 21/sec had no effect on FEN2 in any of the subjects. Active increase in V changed FEN2 only when associated with increases in Pdi. Qualitatively similar results were obtained during helium (He) bolus washouts. However, whereas diaphragmatic contraction, maintained throughout expiration, had no measurable influence on the N2 washout, it changed the slope of the He alveolar plateau in 6 out of 7 subjects. We conclude that in normal subjects the alveolar N2 plateau is relatively insensitive to flow variations up to 21/sec. The fluctuations in FEN2 observed when the expiratory flow is varied are due to concomittant changes in Pdi. We propose that diaphragmatic contraction changes the pattern of lung emptying by altering the vertical gradient of pleural pressure.     

Effects of prior plastic deformation on the martensitic transformation in oriented single crystals of Au-47.5 at.% Cd

Oriented single crystal samples of phase Au-47.5 at.% Cd were progressively compressed along [110], [111] and [112] axes, causing each sample to deform with a different {110} 001 slip multiplicity and, therefore, develop a different defect substructure. The effects of the existing substructure upon subsequent martensite and reverse transformation were studied as a function of deformation for each sample, using a resistance technique.It was observed that for small amounts of reduction in thickness ( 5%), the greater the work-hardening rate associated with deformation, the greater the enhancement of the martensite nucleation (increase inM _s temperature). It is suggested that {110} 1¯10 slip band intersections, produced during prior deformation, are responsible for this enhancement. For larger amounts of reduction in thickness (>5%), for the [110] and [111] samples, martensite nucleation becomes less enhanced, and finally inhibited. Deformation of the [112] sample has little effect upon martensite nucleation behaviour for any amount of reduction in thickness, because it undergoes almost single slip and presumably, few slip band intersections are formed. There is no apparent correlation between prior deformation andA _s temperature.The greater the work-hardening rate associated with deformation, the greater the increase in difficulty of propagation of both the martensite and the austenite as a function of reduction in thickness. Defect pinning of the transformation interface is suggested as a possible mechanism to explain this observation. Also, practically the same increase in difficulty of propagation is observed for the A M and M A transformations for any sample, suggesting that the defects responsible for pinning are not erased after the two cycles that the sample is subjected to during testing.Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn by Martin L. Green.