CD46 (membrane cofactor protein of complement, measles virus receptor): structural and functional divergence among species (review)

OBJECT: In this retrospective study, the authors analyzed the frequency, anatomical distribution, and appearance of traumatic brain lesions in 42 patients in a posttraumatic persistent vegetative state. METHODS: Cerebral magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was used to detect the number of lesions, which ranged from as few as five to as many as 19, with a mean of 11 lesions. In all 42 cases there was evidence on MR imaging of diffuse axonal injury, and injury to the corpus callosum was detected in all patients. The second most common area of diffuse axonal injury involved the dorsolateral aspect of the rostral brainstem (74% of patients). In addition, 65% of these patients exhibited white matter injury in the corona radiata and the frontal and temporal lobes. Lesions to the basal ganglia or thalamus were seen in 52% and 40% of patients, respectively. Magnetic resonance imaging showed some evidence of cortical contusion in 48% of patients in this study; the frontal and temporal lobes were most frequently involved. Injury to the parahippocampal gyrus was detected in 45% of patients; in this subgroup there was an 80% incidence of contralateral peduncular lesions in the midbrain. The most common pattern of injury (74% in this series) was the combination of focal lesions of the corpus callosum and the dorsolateral brainstem. In patients with no evidence of diffuse axonal injury in the upper brainstem (26% in this series), callosal lesions were most often associated with basal ganglia lesions. Lesions of the corona radiata and lobar white matter were equally distributed in patients with or without dorsolateral brainstem injury. Moreover, cortical contusions and thalamic, parahippocampal, and cerebral peduncular lesions were also similarly distributed in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that diffuse axonal injury may be the major form of primary brain damage in the posttraumatic persistent vegetative state. In addition, the authors demonstrated in this study that MR imaging, in conjunction with a precise clinical correlation, may provide useful supportive information for the accurate diagnosis of a persistent vegetative state after traumatic brain injury.     

Hydrothermal Synthesis and Low-Temperature Sintering of Zinc Gallate Spinel Fine Particles

Nanosized powders of single-phase zinc gallate (ZnGa₂O₄) spinel were hydrothermally synthesized from solutions in the presence of NaOH over the pH range of 1.9 to 7.0 and from solutions above pH 7.0, i.e., the very basic medium (pH of 13.85), by removing the residual ZnO phase by washing with aqueous H₂SO₄ from the precipitate mixtures of zinc gallate spinel particles and ZnO. A very wide compositional range (Zn/2Ga = 0.705–1.157) of zinc gallate spinel solid solutions could be hydrothermally synthesized in the form of nanosized particles from acid and very basic mediums (pH of 2.4–13.85) in the presence of NaOH. These hydrothermally synthesized spinel powders showed good sinterability and almost full densification at 1100°C for 1 h. Dense sintered bodies consisting of single-phase zinc gallate spinel were fabricated at 1100°C using zinc gallate spinel powders having almost stoichiometric composition formed from the solution at pH 9.95 in the presence of aqueous ammonia.     

Surgical treatment of metastatic lung tumors

To evaluate an association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG), an established precursor of gastric cancer, we performed a cross-sectional study using IgG antibody against H. pylori and pepsinogens of blood donors in four prefectures in Japan. Although a geographic correlation between the age-adjusted prevalence rates for H. pylori infection and those for CAG was not seen, the age-adjusted odds ratios (OR) of H. pylori infection for CAG were high in each area (around five for men and from four to 12.6 for women). The association between them weakened with advancing age; the ORs in the youngest age group (16-29 yrs) and in the oldest age group (50-64 yrs) were 12.5 and 2.8 for men, and 11.5 and 5.2 for women, respectively. These findings suggest that H. pylori infection is strongly associated with CAG, while there are some other factors interacting in the development of CAG. A prospective cohort study in which CAG and H. pylori infection are taken into account will be necessary to assess the risks of gastric cancer.     

Recent advances in insect neuropeptides

1. The number of insect neuropeptides identified chemically grows rapidly and most important neuropeptides have already been characterized. After multi-year efforts Bombyx diapause hormone has recently been isolated and sequenced. 2. New approaches to search for new insect neuropeptides have been carried out by two groups of workers, which have succeeded in identifying several unique peptides. 3. cDNAs for more than 10 insect neuropeptides have been cloned and sequenced. It was found that two functionally distinct neuropeptides, Bombyx diapause hormone and pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide, are encoded in a single gene.     

Activation of the alternative pathway of human complement by apoptotic human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Complement activation generally does not occur on homologous cells. We observed C3 deposition on cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) when those which had died of apoptosis were treated with human serum. The C3 deposition on apoptotic HUVEC required Mg2+ but not Ca2+. In addition, the incubation of apoptotic HUVEC with purified C3, B, and D in the presence of Mg2+ resulted in C3 deposition. These results indicated that the C3 deposition on apoptotic HUVEC is mediated by the activation of the alternative complement pathway. C3 contains an intrachain thioester bond in the alpha chain (110 kDa) and upon activation to C3b, binds with membrane molecules by forming an ester or amide bond. Western blotting of reduced C3b-membrane molecule complexes, isolated from serum-treated apoptotic HUVEC by immunoprecipitation with anti-C3, revealed the covalent binding of C3b to several membrane molecules. Most of the C3b-membrane molecule complexes were cleaved by hydroxylamine, suggesting covalent binding via an ester bond. The molecular mass of the major alpha chain fragment released by hydroxylamine treatment was not 105 kDa but 68 kDa, which corresponds to the alpha 1 fragment of iC3b. These results indicate that most of the C3b on HUVEC was cleaved at its alpha' chain to yield iC3b, which consists of three disulfide-linked polypeptide chains and is a ligand of the complement receptor type 3 (CR3) of phagocytes. These results suggest that apoptotic HUVEC can activate the alternative pathway of the homologous complement and that the complement is related to the clearance of apoptotic cells by phagocytes.     

Effect of pressure on phase transition and morphology of bulk poly(trans-1,4-butadiene)

The effect of pressure on the melting, solid-solid transition, and crystallization of poly(trans-1,4-butadiene) (PTBD) was investigated using the pressure range of 1–3000 kg/cm². D.t.a. measurements showed that, the melting and transition temperatures increase with increasing pressure, whose pressure coefficients are 38°C per 1000 kg/cm² and 22°C per 1000 kg/cm², respectively. These values were in fairly close agreement with those calculated from the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. Morphological studies using electron microscope and small-angle X-ray scattering method revealed that, the samples crystallized with relatively small supercoolings under normal or high pressure, are formed of distinct lamellae 400–800 Å thick. The lamellar thickness was inappreciably dependent on crystallization pressure. The significant effect of pressure on crystallization was recognized in a tendency of the crystallinity to increase, with increasing crystallization pressure. This pressure effect was explained by the mechanism that, the increased pressure might make the packing of molecular chains in liquid, more dense and that the secondary crystallization might be accelerated, to increase the lateral dimensions of lamellae.     

Pervaporation via silicon-based membranes: Correlation and prediction of performance in pervaporation and gas permeation

Pervaporation (PV) is a membrane technology that holds great promise for industrial applications. To better understand the PV mechanism, PV dehydrations of various types of organic solvents (methanol, ethanol, iso-propanol, tert-butanol, and acetone) were performed on five types of organosilica and two types of silicon carbide-based membranes, all with different pore sizes. Water permeance was dependent on the types of organic aqueous solutions, which suggested that organic solvents penetrated the pores and hindered the permeation of water. In addition, water permeance of various types of membranes in PV was well correlated with hydrogen permeance in single-gas permeation. Furthermore, a clear correlation was obtained between the permeance ratio in PV and that in single-gas permeation, which was confirmed via the modified-gas translation model. These correlations make it possible to use single-gas permeation properties to predict PV performance.     

Role of electron-phonon interaction in lattice dynamics and superconductivity of oxide spinel LiTi2O4

The lattice dynamics of an oxide spinel LiTi₂O₄ is studied by taking account of the electron-phonon (EP) interaction derived on the basis of the realistic tight-binding bands fitted to the first-principles bands. Due to the characteristic dependences of the EP interaction on wavevectors and vibrational modes, a remarkable frequency renormalization of the O vibrational modes, which hybridize with the Ti vibrational modes, is obtained over a wide region of the Brillouin zone. The overall features of the calculated phonon density of states are in agreement with those observed by the inelastic neutron scattering measurements. By using the EP interaction and the renormalized phonon frequencies we have calculated the EP spectral function ² F(). The superconducting transition temperature, gap function, and tunneling spectra are calculated by solving the Éliashberg equation. The results agree well with the observations.     

Isolation of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in Saga Medical School Hospital

A recent nationwide increase in beta-lactams-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae has attracted a great deal of attention. We studied the drug sensitivity of S. pneumoniae isolated from various clinical specimens in Saga Medical School Hospital between April 1988 and December 1991. To determine the drug sensitivity of the strains, we used a micro-dilution method and determined the MIC. Drug resistance was evaluated using MIC of ampicillin (ABPC) as a reference MIC, and the results were roughly classified into the following three groups: sensitive (< or = 0.1 microgram/ml), moderately resistant (0.2-3.13 micrograms/ml) and highly resistant (> or = 6.25 micrograms/ml). The isolation frequency was calculated on the basis of one strain from one patient. No strain of S. pneumoniae with high resistance against ABPC was found in 1988 (94 strains of S. pneumoniae were isolated) and 1990 (115 strains isolated), but one such strain (0.8%) was found among 129 strains isolated in 1989, and 2 such strains (2.4%) among 84 strains isolated in 1991. Moderately resistant strains were isolated at the frequencies of 12.8%, 15.5%, 22.6%, and 21.4% respectively, in 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991. A sum of the frequencies of "moderately resistant" and "highly resistant" (2.4%) strains was 23.8% in 1991. The frequency of resistant strains is increasing and the intensity of resistance is also being elevated.