Bryostatin 1 induces ubiquitin COOH-terminal hydrolase in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells

It has been previously reported that Bryostatin 1 (Bryo1) induces differentiation of the human acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell line, Reh, to a monocytoid B-cell stage. In this study we demonstrate that a novel protein, ubiquitin COOH-terminal hydrolase (UCH-L1), is associated with this differentiation. Reh cells were treated with 200 nmol/l of Bryo1 for 72 h and analyzed for changes in morphology, surface immunophenotype, acid phosphatase and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase. Protein patterns of the parent and differentiated cells, by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D PAGE), were studied. Bryo1-treated cells expressed morphologic, phenotypic and enzymatic features of the monocytoid B-cell stage. The UCH-L1 enzyme (MW-pl 34-5.3) was detected by 2 D PAGE in the differentiated, but not in parent cells. The presence of UCH-L1 in the Bryo1-treated cells was further confirmed by immunoblotting of 2 D PAGE using UCH-L1 polyclonal antibody. Ubiquitin expression was studied in parent and Bryo1-treated cells and was compared with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-treated cells. Both agents, TPA and Bryo1, increased the level of ubiquitin expression as detected by flow cytometry. Sodium borohydride, an inhibitor of UCH-L1, inhibited the Bryo1-induced differentiating effect on Reh cells. To date, the mechanism by which Bryo1, exerts its B-cell differentiating effect is not fully understood. This study shows that UCH-L1 expression may play a major role in Bryo1-induced differentiation in pre-B-ALL.     

Mothers' supervision of their children's peer play: Relations with beliefs, perceptions, and knowledge.

Mothers (N?=?76) of 3- to 5-year-old children completed questionnaires assessing beliefs in the importance and modifiability (vs. innateness) of children's peer relationship skills, perceptions of their children's social competence with peers, and strategies they would use in response to children's peer interaction problems. A subsample of mothers (n?=?34) was observed supervising the play of their own children and a peer. Maternal perceptions of children's competence were negatively associated with the extent of mothers' involvement in children's play, whereas the quality of supervision was predicted by knowledge of socialization strategies and the interaction of beliefs and knowledge. Beliefs appeared to moderate the effects of maternal knowledge on mothers' behavior in that knowledge was associated with the quality of supervision only when mothers believed social skills were important and modifiable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperamental resistance to control increases the association between sleep problems and externalizing behavior development.

This study examined the moderating effects of temperamental resistance to control on the link between development of sleep problems and development of externalizing behaviors over a 5-year period. Resistance to control was assessed with mothers' retrospective reports of temperament in infancy, provided when children were 5 years of age. Sleep problems were assessed with mother reports on an annual basis from age 5 to age 9. Externalizing behaviors were assessed with teacher reports on an annual basis from age 5 to age 9. A cross-domain latent growth curve model indicated that sleep problem trajectories were positively associated with externalizing behavior trajectories only for children high in resistance to control. In addition, resistance to control was positively associated with initial (age 5) sleep problems and initial (age 5) externalizing behaviors. The authors speculate that the development of sleep problems promotes the development of behavior problems for resistant children, whose self-regulatory abilities are especially tenuous. Implications for prevention and treatment of conduct problems are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Calmodulin is essential for estrogen receptor interaction with its motif and activation of responsive promoter

Calmodulin (CaM) has been reported to have affinity for the estrogen receptor (ER). Observations reported here reveal a direct physical interaction between purified CaM and ER. This direct ER-CaM interaction may be an initial event preceding the assembly of ER plus auxiliary proteins into the active ER complex with its DNA motif, the estrogen response element. We demonstrate that CaM is an integral component of this complex by using a system reconstituted from purified ER and nuclear extract from ER-negative breast cancer cells and also with ER-depleted nuclear extract of an ER-positive breast cancer cell line. Although CaM is essential for formation of this complex, it is not sufficient, suggesting roles also of auxiliary proteins. CaM also is functionally required for activation of an ER-responsive promoter, in the 17beta-estradiol-ER pathway of hormone action and regulation of 17beta-estradiol-responsive gene expression that is associated with proliferation of mammary epithelial cells.     

Interaction between erosion and high-temperature corrosion of metals: The erosion-affected oxidation regime

The combined erosion-oxidation of nickel, cobalt, and the oxides of these metals have been studied at 780°C in air to examine two regimes of interactionnamely, a regime of erosion-enhanced oxidation during which an oxide scale of constant thickness covers metal specimens, and a regime of oxidation-affected erosion that is characterized by a composite surface layer of metal, oxide, and erodent. In the case of cobalt, these two regimes have been documented and the transition from one regime to another described. For the range of conditions examined, only the oxidation-affected erosion regime was observed for nickel due to its lower oxidation rate compared to cobalt.     

Corrosion of metals and alloys in mixed gas environments at elevated temperatures

The attack of nickel, cobalt, iron, and alloys of these metals containing chromium and aluminum, by gases containing sulfur-oxygen, carbon-oxygen, and nitrogen-oxygen has been studied at temperatures of 600 and 900°C. The degradation of these metals and alloys was characterized by using standard analytical techniques with emphasis on optical metallography. Three types of accelerated degradation were identified for the attack of alloys by gases containing another oxidant in addition to oxygen. One type of degradation occurred because of the formation of reaction products composed of mixtures of phases involving both of the oxidants. Another type resulted from the reaction of second oxidant phases with oxygen. The third form of degradation involved the development of less protective phases due to thermodynamic instabilities. Thermodynamic stability diagrams are used to help account for the effects produced by different elements in the alloys.     

Decomposition of sec-butyl acetate on charcoal

The decomposition of sec-butyl acetate on de-ashed 20-to 30-mesh coconut-shell charcoal (1500 m²/g) was studied in a fixed bed reactor in the temperature range 300–375°C, and at partial pressures of 1 atm. and 0.29 atm. The ester decomposed principally to n-butene and acetic acid, and only small amounts of other products were found. The ratio of 1-butene to 2-butene was about 1:1, very close to that observed for thermal decomposition of the ester but far removed from the equilibrium butene ratio. The butene selectivity was independent of conversion. The rate of reaction followed the rate equation r = kA P_E/1 + AP_E This expression corresponds to surface reaction on one site being rate controlling. The activation energy of rate constant k was 32.7 kcal/mole, compared to 46.6 kcal/mole for the gas-phase reaction. The temperature dependence of adsorption constant A showed a heat adsorption of 12 kcal/mole. Gas chromatographic measurements confirmed this value and also showed that ester is the principal adsor-bate on the charcoal.     

Some interactions in the erosion-oxidation of alloys

The modes of interaction of erosion and high-temperature oxidation, occurring simultaneously on an alloy surface, have been studied using Ni-30Cr, MA754, Ni-20Al, and Co-22Cr-11Al-0.2Y alloys to examine the influence of chromia and alumina scale formation on the erosion of nickel and cobalt base alloys. The results have shown that, in the presence of a rapidly flowing oxidizing gas stream, the evaporation of volatile metal oxides becomes important at lower temperatures where normally it can be ignored. Otherwise, the erosion and oxidation of alloys parallels the behavior of pure metals but also introduces additional factors derived from lengthening of the period of transient oxidation and modification of concentration profiles in the alloy adjacent to the alloy/scale interface. Higher erosion intensities extend the transient oxidation behavior which adversely affects the formation of protective scales. As with pure metals, the presence of erosion and oxidation together always produced increased rates of degradation.     

Corneal-tissue absorption coefficients for 193- and 213-nm ultraviolet radiation

The small-signal absorption coefficients of 193- and 213-nm nanosecond laser pulses in bovine corneal tissue have been studied. The absolute reflectance of a planar quartz-cornea interface was measured at various angles of incidence for low-intensity laser irradiation (i.e., pulse fluences 3 orders of magnitude below the ablation threshold). The reflectance-versus-angle data were analyzed by the use of Fresnel theory to estimate the effective complex index of refraction of the tissue. This analysis indicated corneal absorption coefficients of 39,900 ± 9800 cm(-1) at 193 nm and 21,400 ± 4900 cm(-1) at 213 nm.