The apolipoprotein E allele epsilon 4 is overrepresented in patients with the Lewy body variant of Alzheimer's disease

We determined apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotypes in 122 autopsied demented patients. The frequency of the ApoE epsilon 4 allele was 39.6% in Alzheimer's disease (AD), 29.0% in the Lewy body variant of AD (LBV), and 6.25% in diffuse Lewy body disease. For AD and LBV patients, the epsilon 4 frequency was significantly higher than that reported in nondemented controls (10 to 15%). Therefore, LBV and AD share ApoE epsilon 4 as a genetic risk factor, providing further evidence that these conditions overlap.     

Determination of dislocation densities in HCP metals from X-ray diffraction line-broadening analysis

X-Ray diffraction (XRD) line-broadening analysis has been performed on highly textured Zr-2.5Nb specimens which had been deformed in tensile tests to produce well-controlled dislocation structures. An iterative deconvolution method has been applied to extract the broadening function for the material, using as standards, a Zr single crystal and a 0 pct deformed specimen. In both cases, for specific tensile tests, a significant contribution to the basal line braodening was observed, which was clearly not directly related to the dislocation structure generated by the deformation, i.e., so-called c-component dislocations having a component of their Burgers vectors perpendicular to the basal plane. Calculations showed that the extent of basal line broadening cannot be attributed to the secondary effect of strain from a-type dislocations, i.e., dislocations with Burgers vectors parallel with the basal plane. It is concluded that most of the line broadening observed was the result of intergranular strain distributions. These distributions are most prominent for grains oriented with their c-axes perpendicular to the tensile-deformation axis and resulted in basal-plane line broadening even when there were few, if any, c-component dislocations present. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Defect Properties and Mechanical Behavior of HCP Metals and Alloys” at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 11–15, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the auspices of the following ASM committees: Materials Science and Critical Technology Sector, Structural Materials Division, Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division, Chemistry & Physics of Materials Committee, Joint Nuclear Materials Committee, and Titanium Committee.     

Microstructures formed by spray freezing of food fats

The spray-freezing of two food fats, tripalmitin (PPP) and cocoa butter (CB) and mixtures thereof, has been modeled experimentally using a novel single droplet freezing apparatus configured so that temperature profiles or samples for microstructure analysis can be obtained. For 2 mm diameter droplets suspended in a cold air flow at temperatures around 2–15°C, initial cooling rates were on the order of 10 K s⁻¹ and the temperature profiles could be correlated directly to DSC data collected at 20 K min⁻¹, indicating that minimal supercooling of the materials occurred in the droplet form. Microstructure analysis confirmed that PPP crystallized preferentially in mixtures, and that the surface structure was very sensitive to storage conditions. The bulk structure was much less sensitive, and the internal microstructure of the PPP droplets revealed distinct nucleation sites, which were absent from the CB: These persisted in the mixtures up to 50 wt%. X-ray analysis indicated that the fats crystallized in their more stable forms, namely, β for PPP and Form V/V1 in CB.     

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.     

Cerebellar deficient folia (cdf): a new mutation on mouse chromosome 6

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the case of an 8-yr-old boy with an aneurysmal bone cyst of the right proximal humerus, including the features imaged on plain film radiography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including spin echo and fast field echo imaging. CLINICAL FEATURES: The patient suffered for 1 yr from intermittent but progressive pain in his right upper arm and shoulder area. There was no history of trauma or known systemic disease. There was decreased range of motion in abduction of the glenohumeral joint and pain on focal pressure along the deltoid muscle. A complete imaging evaluation consisting of plain film radiography, CT and MRI was performed, which revealed the classical imaging features of an aneurysmal bone cyst. An additional cystic lesion was detected by the MRI that was not appreciated on the plain films or CT. INTERVENTION AND OUTCOME: The patient was referred for biopsy to confirm the preliminary diagnosis of aneurysmal bone cyst. No treatment was instituted. CONCLUSION: Evaluation of aneurysmal bone cyst may be completed with CT scanning and more specifically with MRI MRI coronal T2, weighted images are advantageous for visualization of the main cystic lesion and any additional cysts. Fast field echo images show a better contrast between the cyst and bone marrow with extension of the cyst into the epiphysis as evident in this case. Follow-up studies revealed complete healing of the cyst with only residual densities in the humeral metaphyseal area.     

Antigenic variants of Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi AS and the effects of mosquito transmission

Previous results, using a passive transfer assay, have shown that recrudescences of Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi AS strain are antigenically different from the infecting parental population and also that the recrudescence appears to be a mix of antigenic types. This present study examines further these recrudescent populations using an indirect fluorescent antibody test on live, schizont-infected red blood cells. This analysis shows that ten clones derived from a recrudescence are all antigenically different from the parent population and that some are different from each other. The use of this method to examine the antigenic types of recrudescent clones after transmission through mosquitoes also demonstrates a resulting change in antigenicity. Such results showing a link between mosquito transmission and varying antigenicity may have important implications in terms of immunity and vaccine development.     

Beta-COP is essential for biosynthetic membrane transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex in vivo

Experimental glomerulonephritis was induced in rats to investigate the consequence of the antigen-antibody interaction on the surface of glomerular endothelial cells (GENs). A lectin, Lens culinaris hemoagglutinin (LCH), was first planted in the left kidney by isolated perfusion of a left kidney, and then the circulation was reestablished. Rabbit anti-LCH antibodies were injected from the tail vein 3 minutes after the recirculation of the left kidney, and acute glomerulonephritis ensued. Fifteen minutes after the injection, rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG), rat C3, and LCH were observed exclusively on the surface of GENs. Accumulation of platelets was prominent. Three hours later, the immune deposits were seen in the subendothelial space, and the polymorphonuclear cells were the dominant infiltrate in the glomeruli. Up to the seventh day, immune deposits were seen in the subendothelial space, and the widening of this area was increasingly observed. Fourteen days later, immune deposits containing rat IgG were observed in the subepithelial area, but they were only occasionally seen in the subendothelial space and in the mesangial area. No crescent formation was seen at day 14, but the mesangial area was expanded, with an increased number of cells. The number of nuclei in the cross-section of a glomerulus increased after the induction of glomerulonephritis, but the number of leukocyte common antigen-positive cells (infiltrating cells) decreased gradually from day 4 to day 14. The staining of Thy-1.1, a marker of mesangial cell, was markedly enlarged in the glomerulus at day 14. These data suggest that mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis can be induced by the antigen-antibody interaction on the surface of GENs.