Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in patients with myocardial infarct and angina pectoris

In a prospective open study we investigated Chlamydia pneumoniae infections in 36 consecutively admitted patients: 26 males, mean age 53.4 yr, range 36-70 yr, 10 females mean age 57.7 yr, range 47-70 yr, suffering myocardial infarction (24 acute, 2 previous) or angina pectoris (10). Antibody serum levels were measured by the immunefluorescent method and they were as follows: negative 5, low 12, medium/high 11, chronic infection 5, recent infection 3. The 3 cases considered as recent infections are described in detail.     

Preparation of YVO4 powder from the Y2O3 + V2O5 + H2O system by a hydrolysed colloid reaction (HCR) technique

Prior to the formation of YVO₄ in the Y₂O₃ + V₂O₅ + H₂O system, two intermediate, partially hydrophobic, complex colloidal mixtures with metastable characteristics can be produced at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The ball-milled system, having both hydrophobic and hydrophilic species, transforms into the stable yttrium orthovanadate phase due to intensive hydrolysis. At room temperature an orange mixture (possessing dispersed Y₂O₃ and 4Y₂O_3–P (OH) _p ^p+ ·2VO ₃ ^– , Y₂O_3–p (OH) _p ^p+ ·6VO ₃ ^– ·xH₂O-like heteroaggregations) formed by 20 h mixing at pH ca. 4.0 transforms slowly, another red-brown heavily flocculated colloidal mixture (with dispersed Y₂O₃ and Y₂O_3–p (OH) _p ^p+ ·V₁₀O ₂₈ ^6– ·yH₂O-like aggregation) formed by 70 h mixing at pH ca. 4.5 transforms rapidly into YVO₄ in water. During additional mixing of highly diluted red-brown mixtures this transformation can be completed at room temperature. At elevated temperatures (50–95 °C) the orange mixture precipitates into a red-brown decavanadate-type precipitatium which subsequently can also rapidly hydrolyse into an orthovanadate phase in the diluted aqueous systems. Both vanadium excess meta-and decavanadate-type aggregations exhibit amorphous character by X-ray diffraction.The semi-hydrophobic colloidal structure can modify the dissociation mechanism, which prevents the system from returning to the starting oxides, and gives a new HCR technique for YVO₄ preparation with a simple hydrolysis process at low temperatures and atmospheric pressure.     

Growth of PZN crystals with improved optical quality using the BSFT technique

The bottom seeded fluxothermal (BSFT) high-temperature solution growth technique was used to grow Pb(Zn/sub 1/3/Nb/sub 2/3/)O/sub 3/ (PZN) relaxor crystals. During the process, the seed was held in a cold spot of a Pt crucible having a relatively high temperature gradient. The method can separate the perovskite and pyrochlore phases, decrease the spontaneous nucleation, and increase the thermodynamic driving force resulting in larger crystals than those obtained by conventional slow-cooling techniques. The BSFT technique also can improve the quality of the structural and morphological characteristics, which has been demonstrated by visual observation, x-ray diffraction, Raman, ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS), and IR absorption measurements. These PZN crystals have less distortion in the unit cell, high optical transparency in the 390 nm-5700 nm range, and improved Pb-related stoichiometry.     

Preparation of Eu: YVO4 red and Ce, Tb: LaPO4 green phosphors by hydrolyzed colloid reaction (HCR) technique

Eu³⁺: YVO₄ red and Ce³⁺, Tb³⁺: LaPO₄ green phosphors were prepared by newly discovered hydrolized colloid reaction (HCR) technique at low temperature (< 100 °C) and atmospheric pressure utilizing subsequent calcining and reductive treatments, respectively. The incorporation of activators (Eu³⁺ and Ce³⁺, Tb³⁺) in these very porous powders was checked by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and luminescence investigations.     

Evolution or revolution: where next for impact assessment?

Impact assessment (IA) has become one of the most prevalent environmental policy instruments today. Its introduction under the National Environmental Policy Act (US) in 1969 was revolutionary. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that such a widely used tool has received its share of criticism, including that it fails to meet some of its fundamental goals. Over the last fifty years, IA has broadened in scope and application and embraced new techniques. It has followed evolved, but has not changed fundamentally.

We believe that IA must continue to change to meet the societal and environmental challenges of the 21^st century. But will it be enough for IA to progress through incremental change (evolution), or is a complete overhaul of impact assessment (revolution) needed? We provide some ideas as to what ‘evolution’ and ‘revolution’ may look like, but rather then offering a definitive way forward now, we invite stakeholders to present their thoughts and suggestions at the IAIA19 Annual Conference in Brisbane, which carries the same theme as the title of this article.     

Indoor fine particulate matter and demographic,household, and wood stove characteristics among rural US homes heated with wood fuel

Household heating using wood stoves is common practice in many rural areas of the United States (US) and can lead to elevated concentrations of indoor fine particulate matter (PM_2.5). We collected 6-day measures of indoor PM_2.5 during the winter and evaluated household and stove-use characteristics in homes at three rural and diverse study sites. The median indoor PM_2.5 concentration across all homes was 19 µg/m³, with higher concentrations in Alaska (median = 30, minimum = 4, maximum = 200, n = 10) and Navajo Nation homes (median = 29, minimum = 3, maximum = 105, n = 23) compared with Montana homes (median = 16, minimum = 2, maximum = 139, n = 59). Households that had not cleaned the chimney within the past year had 65% higher geometric mean PM_2.5 compared to those with chimney cleaned within 6 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: −1, 170). Based on a novel wood stove grading method, homes with low-quality and medium-quality stoves had substantially higher PM_2.5 compared to homes with higher-quality stoves (186% higher [95% CI: 32, 519] and 161% higher; [95% CI:27, 434], respectively). Our findings highlight the need for, and complex nature of, regionally appropriate interventions to reduce indoor air pollution in rural wood-burning regions. Higher-quality stoves and behavioral practices such as regular chimney cleaning may help improve indoor air quality in such homes.     

GPC study of ethylene-propylene copolymers combined with viscometry and IR spectroscopy

Summary By combining GPC fractionation with IR spectroscopy of ethylene-propylene copolymer (EP) samples, it has been shown that copolymer composition of EP's used in this study does not dep-end on molecular weight. Thus, contrary to earlier investigations by others, molecular weight distributions (MWD) and averages of EP's have been determined by using only experimental data such as GPC traces, universal calibration curve of GPC, and intrinsic viscosities. A comparative study has been carried out by using the MV method (called median value method) and the method of Ogawa and Inaba (OI method) for determination of MWD's and molecular weight averages of EP's. Application of the MV method results in lower molecular weight averages than the use of the equations proposed by Ogawa and Inaba for calculation of Mark-Houwing constants of EP's. However, polydispersities were found to be the same in both methods. The MV method also yields composition depending reliable pairs of Mark-Houwink constants, a and K, for EP's in 1,2,4-trichloro-benzene at 135 °C.     

Fine structure of hepatocytes during the etiology of several common pathologies

Hepatocytes respond to injury by a few basic pathological reactions that are reflected in cell death, different types of degeneration, regeneration, or tumorous transformation. At the ultrastructural level, alterations of cell organelles can be observed in different combinations as a result of the injury, depending on the etiological agent(s) or pathological conditions developed. Nuclear bodies, dilation and fragmentation of rough endoplasmic reticulum (rer), swelling of mitochondria, and an increased number of lysosomes occur during acute viral hepatitis. The core and surface components of the hepatitis B virus can be localized in the liver cells in chronic hepatitis and in carriers. Close contact of hepatocytic and lymphocytic cell membranes were observed in chronic active hepatitis. Hepatocytes surrounded by an increased amount of collagen fibers are characteristic of cirrhosis. Loosely arranged, fine fibrils or condensed forms of Mallory bodies are pathognomic for alcoholic injury. A wide spectrum of alterations are noted after drug treatment: the proliferation of smooth endoplasmic reticulum (ser) as an adaptive phenomenon, focal or complete necrosis of the cell, inflammation, and the like. The fine structural analysis of hepatocytic inclusions in storage diseases has a differential diagnostic value. The storage of copper and other elements can be measured by x-ray microanalysis. The study of the hepatocytic differentiation in liver tumors is highly important in establishing the diagnosis and in proving the hepatocytic origin of the tumor.     

Functional Comparison of Blood-Derived Human Neural Progenitor Cells

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) are promising tools to model complex neurological or psychiatric diseases, including schizophrenia. Multiple studies have compared patient-derived and healthy control NPCs derived from iPSCs in order to investigate cellular phenotypes of this disease, although the establishment, stabilization, and directed differentiation of iPSC lines are rather expensive and time-demanding. However, interrupted reprogramming by omitting the stabilization of iPSCs may allow for the generation of a plastic stage of the cells and thus provide a shortcut to derive NPSCs directly from tissue samples. Here, we demonstrate a method to generate shortcut NPCs (sNPCs) from blood mononuclear cells and present a detailed comparison of these sNPCs with NPCs obtained from the same blood samples through stable iPSC clones and a subsequent neural differentiation (classical NPCs—cNPCs). Peripheral blood cells were obtained from a schizophrenia patient and his two healthy parents (a case–parent trio), while a further umbilical cord blood sample was obtained from the cord of a healthy new-born. The expression of stage-specific markers in sNPCs and cNPCs were compared both at the protein and RNA levels. We also performed functional tests to investigate Wnt and glutamate signaling and the oxidative stress, as these pathways have been suggested to play important roles in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. We found similar responses in the two types of NPCs, suggesting that the shortcut procedure provides sNPCs, allowing an efficient screening of disease-related phenotypes.     

A novel, complement factor H-related regulatory protein expressed on the surface of human B cell lines

Complement regulatory proteins present on the surface of various mammalian cells play an important role in controlling homologous lysis, by interacting with C3 (and usually C4). These proteins have a similar structural motif ("short consensus repeat") (Reid, K.B.M., Bentley, R.D., Campbell, R.D., Chung, L.P., Sim, R.B., Kristensen, T. and Tack, B.F., Immunol. Today 1986. 7:230), and the genes encoding them are members of the family of regulators of complement activation. Here we describe a hitherto unknown member of this family, a molecule expressed by B lymphoblastoid cells. This protein is recognized by polyclonal antibodies to factor H and by MAH4, a monoclonal antibody reacting with the N-terminal portion of factor H. The cell surface protein is built up of two disulfide-linked chains of approximately 68 and 75 kDa. Biosynthetic labeling studies confirmed that it is synthesized by B cells only, but not by the investigated lines of other origin. When tested for its functional activity, this molecule was shown to act as cofactor for factor I-mediated cleavage of fluid-phase C3b to C3bi. The protein appears to be encoded by a 3.5-kb mRNA, hybridizing with a cDNA probe coding for the N-terminal portion of factor H. Due to its cross-reactivity with anti-H antibodies, cofactor activity for factor I and hybridization with factor H cDNA, despite its two-chain composition, it is considered a factor H-like protein.