Photodynamic biologic tissue glue to enhance corneal wound healing after radial keratotomy

BACKGROUND: In this study, we describe the development of a novel experimental system in which rejection of porcine skin grafts by human peripheral blood cells can be studied directly in vivo in immunodeficient mice. METHODS: To construct a small animal model of discordant xenograft rejection, recombinase-activating gene-deficient mice (R-) lacking both mature B and T cells were grafted with porcine skin grafts and administered, by adoptive cell transfer, human cells stimulated in vitro with irradiated porcine peripheral blood cells to create Hu-R- mice. RESULTS: R- mice accepted porcine skin grafts indefinitely without the need for immunosuppression. In contrast, Hu-R- mice were able to reject porcine skin grafts. Immunohistochemical analysis of rejecting skin grafts revealed the accumulation of human T cells around dermal porcine vessels and focally in the epidermis. Graft rejection was manifested by vascular endothelial cell proliferation, edema at the dermal-epidermal border, and perivascular hemorrhage. The tissue damage observed in the rejecting grafts was similar to that observed in delayed primate anti-porcine cell-mediated rejection of vascularized organ xenografts. CONCLUSIONS: The development and characterization of a small animal model, to study cellular immune responses of human cells to discordant xenografts in vivo, should provide a convenient means for asking mechanistic questions related to discordant xenotransplantation, and may also provide a practical system for testing new approaches designed to prevent xenograft rejection.     

Laminin-6 and laminin-5 are recognized by autoantibodies in a subset of cicatricial pemphigoid

To aid treatment choice in early stage of Hodgkin's disease, we analysed patients registered in the IDHD Database with clinical stages I or II Hodgkin's disease who were not staged with laparotomy and whose initial treatment was with radiotherapy alone. The factors analysed for outcome after first relapse included initial stage, age, sex, histology, number of involved areas, mediastinal involvement, E-lesions, B-symptoms, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, alkaline phosphatase, serum albumin and haemoglobin. As well as presentation variables, we analysed the disease-free interval after initial radiotherapy and the extent of disease at relapse. A total of 1364 patients with clinical stage I or II Hodgkin's disease were treated with initial radiotherapy, of whom 473 relapsed. The probability of survival 10 years after relapse was 63%. For cause-specific survival (CSS), both multivariate and univariate analysis identified the importance of age at presentation and histological subtypes. When all causes of death were considered, the multivariate analysis identified age as the only significant factor. The length of initial disease-free interval had no influence on prognosis after relapse, but the 169 patients with nodal relapse had a higher cause-specific survival than those with an extranodal component of relapse (74% versus 51% at 10 years, P < 0.005). Thus, the important factors for outcome after initial treatment with radiotherapy are those factors predicting the risk of relapse after initial treatment together with those predicting outcome after relapse, namely age, histologic subtype and extent of disease at relapse.     

Pericyclic prenylation: peptide modification through a Claisen rearrangement

LynF prenylates, but the prenyl migrates: Schmidt and co-workers have demonstrated that LynF from Lyngbya aestuarii is a reverse O-prenyl transferase. However, a forward C-prenylated product is obtained through a non-enzymatic Claisen rearrangement. The elucidation of this unprecedented two-step process is a significant contribution to our understanding of the biosynthesis of complex macrocyclic peptides.     

A SAPONIFICATION CYCLE FOR SOLVENT RECOVERY FROM SAND SURFACES FOLLOWING BITUMEN EXTRACTION

A saponification cycle utilizing a fatty acid/heptane solvent blend was studied as a method for removing solvated bitumen from sand surfaces in a tar sands processing unit prior to disposal of the tailings. In this process, the fatty acid portion of the solvated bitumen was saponiffied with caustic resulting in an in-situ soap which aided in washing the organics off the sand surfaces. The wash liquid was then desaponified with hydrochloric acid to reconstitute the fatty acid, which went into the organic phase with the bitumen and heptane. This solvated bitumen stream was processed by an amphiphilic phase shift reaction to separate out the bitumen and recover the solvent for recycling back to the contactor. The aqueous phase from the desaponifier is brine and must be discarded. The saponification/desaponification kinetics and the phase behavior of this cycle were investigated as they apply to this process. Saponification cycle experiments showed that the fatty acid portion of the solvent could by fully recovered and used repeatedly. Bench-scale washing experiments showed that this saponification cycle promoted the removal of the viscous, solvated bitumen from sand surfaces.     

Polymers derived from 2-furaldehyde and aromatic diamines. I

Poly[imino (cyclopent-2-en-1-one-2,4-diyl) iminoarylenes] were prepared by the condensation of 2-furaldehyde with various aromatic diamines in solution at room temperature. All polycondensations were carried out in one step and under identical conditions. It was observed that the most likely condensation reaction is through the furan rearrangement that leads to poly[imino (cyclopent-2-en-1-one-2,4-diyl) iminoarylenes]. The structures of all the polymer samples were confirmed by elemental analyses and by comparison of IR spectral characteristics with those of a model compound derived from 2-furaldehyde and aniline. Number average molecular weights of all polymer samples were estimated from nonaqueous conductometric titration. The viscometric measurements of solutions of polymer samples in a formic acid–acetic acid (85 : 15) (v/v) mixture exhibited polyelectrolyte behavior. The thermal properties of polymer samples were revealed by thermogravimetry. The formation of the polymeric product is also explained. The result of preliminary tests for glass reinforcement of commercial epoxy resin and produced polymer samples suggest that laminate sheets with good mechanical strength can be obtained.     

Seasonal distribution of quantities of phosphorus in different component organs of mango (Mangifera indica L) CV Langra

Quantities of phosphorus present in different component parts of mango trees were estimated from July 1977 to June 1978 at the Horticultural Farm of the Gujarat Agricultural University, India. Because of high variation in the dry weight of the trees it was not possible to assess annual requirement of P by the trees. Hence a measure of comparability between P present in different months was sought to be established by expressing the quantity of P in a part of the tree as percentage of that in the whole tree.     

Profiling Protein S-Sulfination with Maleimide-Linked Probes

Cysteine residues are susceptible to oxidation to form S-sulfinyl (R-SO₂H) and S-sulfonyl (R-SO₃H) post-translational modifications. Here we present a simple bioconjugation strategy to label S-sulfinated proteins by using reporter-linked maleimides. After alkylation of free thiols with iodoacetamide, S-sulfinated cysteines react with maleimide to form a sulfone Michael adduct that remains stable under acidic conditions. Using this sequential alkylation strategy, we demonstrate differential S-sulfination across mouse tissue homogenates, as well as enhanced S-sulfination following pharmacological induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress, lipopolysaccharide stimulation, and inhibitors of the electron transport chain. Overall, this study reveals a broadened profile of maleimide reactivity across cysteine modifications, and outlines a simple method for profiling the physiological role of cysteine S-sulfination in disease.     

Tracking phosphorus patterns in mango (Mangifera indica L) and possible relations to floral induction

Phosphorus concentration was tracked in four types of mango shoots. The mean phosphorus concentration was highest in laterals existing on shoots which had either flowered or fruited in the preceding season, followed by young flush arising in July, laterals existing on shoots which did not flower or fruit in the preceding season and shoots which did not flower or fruit in the preceding season and having further extension of growth. A higher percentage of floral induction was noted in the laterals on shoots which had either flowered or fruited in the preceding season. The study clearly showed the association of availability of phosphorus with floral induction.Part of the Ph.D. thesis submitted to Gujarat Agricultural University, India by the first author.     

Application of the rotating disk method to the study of bitumen dissolution into organic solvents

The rotating disk system is demonstrated as a tool for performing studies of the dissolution rate of bitumen into organic solvents. Mass transfer coefficients to the rotating disk are constant in position and time can be made comparable to coefficients for sand particles in agitated liquids by adjusting the rotation rate. Data is presented for bitumen dissolution into pentane, hexane, heptane, toluene and oleic acid. Increasing the level of dissolved bitumen in the solvent decreases the bitumen dissolution flux primarily due to the increase in solvent viscosity.     

Covalent Chemical Cochaperones of the p300/CBP GACKIX Domain

The GACKIX activator binding domain has been a compelling target for small‐molecule probe discovery because of the central role of activator–GACKIX complexes in diseases ranging from leukemia to memory disorders. Additionally, GACKIX is an ideal model to dissect the context‐dependent function of activator–coactivator complexes. However, the dynamic and transient protein–protein interactions (PPIs) formed by GACKIX are difficult targets for small molecules. An additional complication is that activator‐binding motifs, such as GACKIX, are found in multiple coactivators, making specificity difficult to attain. In this study, we demonstrate that the strategy of tethering can be used to rapidly discover highly specific covalent modulators of the dynamic PPIs between activators and coactivators. These serve as both ortho‐ and allosteric modulators, enabling the tunable assembly or disassembly of the activator–coactivator complexes formed between the KIX domain and its cognate activator binding partners MLL and CREB. The molecules maintain their function and selectivity, even in human cell lysates and in bacterial cells, and thus, will ultimately be highly useful probes for cellular studies.