Influence of lead on metabolism of vitamins B group in alimentary iron deficient rats

Gamma delta T-Cells represent a minor subpopulation of T-lymphocytes in man and their role in normal and diseased human skin is unknown. This article is a comprehensive review of T-lymphocytes bearing the gamma delta T-cell receptor in normal and pathological human skin. Firstly, we have documented the occurrence of gamma delta T-cells in normal skin and in a range of reactive and malignant skin conditions. We have then discussed the experimental findings regarding the repertoire used by gamma delta T-cells in normal human skin and in cutaneous disorders with an increased percentage of gamma delta T-cells.     

The double-reversing Z-plasty in primary palatoplasty: operative experience and early results

The double-reversing Z-plasty of Furlow for closure of the soft palate was used in 34 children with various types of cleft palate. Mean age at repair was 12.8 months. Intraoperative experience was favorable, with acceptable operating time and blood loss. Length of hospitalization averaged 1.9 days. Postoperatively, two children experienced temporary stridor, which resolved within 24 to 48 hours. One child had dehiscence of the hard palate (Von Lagenbeck repair) 4 weeks postoperatively, and three children developed small oronasal fistulae. Early speech evaluation demonstrated adequate soft palate mobility in 33 of 34 patients, with observable velopharyngeal function. Twelve children had mild velar compromise, with eight exhibiting slight nasal air escape.     

Tyrosine hydroxylase expression in primary cultures of olfactory bulb: role of L-type calcium channels

Sensory activity mediates regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the first enzyme in the dopamine biosynthetic pathway, in the rodent olfactory bulb. The current studies established for the first time primary cultures of neonatal mouse olfactory bulb expressing TH and tested whether L-type calcium channels mediate the activity-dependent regulation of the dopamine phenotype. After 1 d in vitro (DIV), a small population of TH-immunostained neurons that lacked extensive processes could be demonstrated. After an additional 2 DIV in serum-free medium, the number of TH neurons had doubled, and they exhibited long interdigitating processes. Membrane depolarization for 48 hr with 50 mM KCl produced a further 2.4-fold increase in the number of TH-immunoreactive neurons compared with control cultures. Increased TH neuron number required at least 36 hr of exposure to KCl. Forskolin, which increases intracellular cAMP levels, induced a 1.5- to 1.6-fold increase in the number of TH-immunostained neurons. Combined treatment with KCl and forskolin was not additive. Nifedipine, an L-type calcium channel blocker, completely prevented the depolarization-mediated increase in TH expression but did not block the response to forskolin. Treatment with Bay K8644, an L-type calcium channel agonist, also significantly increased the number of TH-expressing neurons. Depolarization also induced alterations in neuritic outgrowth, resulting in a stellate versus an elongate morphology that, in contrast, was not prevented by nifedipine. These results are the first demonstration that in vitro, as in vivo, depolarization increases TH expression in olfactory bulb and that L-type calcium channels mediate this activity-dependent regulation of the dopamine phenotype.     

Dynamic simulations of the molecular conformations of wild type and mutant xanthan polymers suggest that conformational differences may contribute to observed differences in viscosity

Xanthan gum is an exopolysaccharide secreted by the bacterium Xanthamonas campestris whose ability to make solutions viscous at low concentrations and over a pH and temperature range have generated much interest in both academic and industrial environments. Mutant Xanthamonas strains have been derived that produce xanthan gums with an altered or variant subunit chemical structure and different measured viscosities when compared with the wild type (wt) form of the polymer. Two variant gums were targeted as potentially interesting in this study, these being the nonacetylated tetramer (natet) and the acetylated tetramer (atet), which both lack a side-chain terminal mannose residue and in one case (natet) lacks an acetate group on an internal mannose residue. Solutions of these tetrameric gums possess viscosities higher (natet) and lower (atet) than the wt gum, and therefore we have attempted to determine whether these molecules possess unique conformational preferences when compared with the wt and with each other. In this manner we can initiate an understanding of how a polysaccharide's conformation contributes to its solution properties. The GEGOP software permits a sampling of the static and dynamic equilibrium states of carbohydrate molecules, and this software was employed to calculate equilibrium states of representative oligosaccharides with chemical structures representative of xanthan-like molecules. Energy minimization techniques revealed similar local minima for all three molecules. Some of these minima are comprised of elongate backbone conformations (A type) in which side chains fold onto backbone surfaces. Other minima with A backbones possessed side chains in less intimate backbone contact especially when calculations were performed with a low dielectric constant. This phenomenon was particularly pronounced in the wt molecule where an increased number of negatively charged side-chain residues experience charge repulsion resulting in reduced side-chain-backbone contact. Metropolis Monte Carlo (MMC) dynamic simulations performed with an elevated temperature factor (1000 K) allowed a better qualitative representation of conformational space than 300 K simulations. Employing a nonhierarchical cluster analysis method (population density profile: PDP) coupled with a classification scheme, it was possible to partition resulting MMC data sets into conformational families. This analysis revealed that in simulations performed with different dielectric constant values (10, 25, and infinity) all molecules possessed primarily A-type backbones. Less elongate, more open helical backbone forms (B, C, D, J, and Flat-a) did occur during the simulations but were populated to a lesser extent. In the natet molecule significantly open helical backbones existed (E, F, G, H, and I) that did not occur in the lower viscosity wt and atet molecules. PDP clustering methods and subsequent conformational classification applied to the first residue (mannose) of the side chain permitted a determination of side-chain orientation. Comparison of all three molecules indicated a larger population of side-chain conformational families in less direct backbone contact for the wt molecule than either of the variant molecules (natet/atet) suggesting that the side chains in the wt are more flexible. Thus, a major conformational difference between the high viscosity natet and the lower viscosities of the wt/atet is the increased amount of open helical backbone in the natet. In addition, the significant difference between the higher viscosity wt and the lower viscosity atet is the increase side-chain flexibility in the wt. We hypothesize that conformational differences of this kind could form a partial explanation of the observed differences in viscosity between these xanthan-like polymers.     

Formulation for Reliable Analysis of Structural Frames

Structural engineers use design codes formulated to consider uncertainty for both reinforced concrete and structural steel design. For a simple one-bay structural steel frame, we survey typical uncertainties and compute an interval solution for displacements and forces. The naive solutions have large over-estimations, so we explore the Mullen-Muhanna assembly strategy, scaling, and constraint propagation to achieve tight enclosures of the true ranges for displacements and forces in a fraction of the CPU time typically used for simulations. That we compute tight enclosures, even for large parameter uncertainties used in practice, suggests the promise of interval methods for much larger structures.     

Epidemiology of Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Mexico.

Prevalence rates of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were estimated from a probability sample of 2,509 adults from 4 cities in Mexico. PTSD was assessed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI; WHO, 1997). Lifetime prevalence of exposure and PTSD were 76% and 11.2%, respectively. Risk for PTSD was highest in Oaxaca (the poorest city), persons of lower socioeconomic status, and women. Conditional risk for PTSD was highest following sexual violence, but nonsexual violence and traumatic bereavement had greater overall impact because of their frequency. Of lifetime cases, 62% became chronic; only 42% received medical or professional care. The research demonstrates the importance of expanding the epidemiologic research base on trauma to include developing countries around the world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical and chemical characteristics of butterfat fractions obtained by crystallization from molten fat

Both summer and winter butterfats were fractionated using a laboratory procedure which was designed to simulate a commercial fractionation process. The process is based on a slow, controlled cooling of the melted fat, a short stabilization time at the fractionation temperature, and separation of the crystals from the liquid oil by vacuum filtration using a stainless steel perforated disc. Fractionation temperatures of 29, 26, 23 and 19 C for winter butterfat and 29 and 19 C for summer butterfat were used to obtain solid and liquid fractions at each temperature. Three replications at each temperature showed good reproducibility of results. The fractions were characterized by their fatty acid and triglyceride compositions, melting and crystallization behavior, iodine value, peroxide value and melting point. Presented at the AOCS meeting in Philadelphia in May 1985.     

Netted radar sensitivity and ambiguity

The performance of netted radar is evaluated in terms of a netted version of the radar equation and the ambiguity function. A software simulation has been developed to allow assessment of netted radar sensitivity and ambiguity properties in both two-and three-dimensional space. Simulation results demonstrate that coherent netted radar sensitivity depends not only on the radar parameters, but also on the numbers, locations and specification of transmit and receive nodes. The netted radar ambiguity function is affected by a combination of many factors. In addition to those that determine the form of the monostatic ambiguity function, the locations of transmit and receive nodes as well as the position and velocity of the target all are shown to play an important role in evaluating system performance. As a result of these dependencies, it is shown that there is severe degradation of range and Doppler resolution when a target crosses sufficiently close to a transmit-receive baseline.     

High-resolution HLA-DRB typing using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and direct sequencing

Skeletal development of transgenic mice with a type II collagen mutation was analyzed and compared with wild-type littermates. The single base substitution in Col2a1 resulted in a glycine to serine mutation within the helical domain and corresponded to one previously identified in a patient with the lethal human chondrodysplasia, hypochondrogenesis (Horton et al. [1992] Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89:4583-4587). Skeletal staining of embryos from 14.5 through 18.5 days of gestation demonstrated a dwarf phenotype in the transgenic embryos, most notably short limb bones and vertebral column that was first detected at 15.5 days post-coitus. In addition to the reduced length, the extent of ossification was less in the transgenic mice. The architecture of the long bone growth plate was abnormal in the transgenic tissue, in particular there was no discernible proliferative zone. There were few stacks of characteristically flattened cells and the overall length of the growth plate in the mutant embryos was reduced. At the ultrastructural level, there were fewer collagen fibrils present in the transgenic mouse cartilage compared to that of wild-type littermates. Ultrastructural localization of collagen types II, IX and XI revealed a similar pattern between the transgenic and wild-type pups, suggesting that the collagen fibrils present in the matrix of littermates with both phenotypes had a similar composition. Skeletal analysis and cartilage histochemistry indicated that effect of the type II collagen mutation was to reduce the density of the collagen fibrils within the cartilage matrix which was associated with delayed bone formation and resulted in a short-limbed phenotype.