Orientation of the peptidoglycan chains in the sacculus of Escherichia coli

The organization of chains of oligopeptidoglycan in the saccular wall is of critical importance in the study of the mechanism and physiology of prokaryotic wall growth. The electron microphotographs of De Pedro et al, present new findings and can be used to negate or at least raise questions about the previously accepted conclusion that the glycan chains are oriented transversely to the axis of rod-shaped Escherichia coli. This suggests caution in assuming that the glycan chains in the murein structure are parallel to each other and are perpendicular to the axis of the cell.These results should reopen the question of not only the orientation of the peptidoglycan chains, but the possibility of variability in orientation. Three classes of hypotheses about wall growth are reconsidered and problems with them are presented. The new results from De Pedro's laboratory and the experimental glycan chain length distribution argue against proposed systematic models. These include models that postulate belts or hoops stretched around the circumference of the cell and mechanisms that insert new chains of the length of presumptive “docking” strands in the stress-bearing wall. They are consistent, however, with the surface stress theory that proposes that random enzyme action together with physical forces are involved in the elongation of the rod-shaped Gram-negative wall.     

Intra-articular morphine versus bupivacaine for postoperative analgesia following knee arthroscopy

In a prospective, double blind, randomized study, 30 ASA I patients were allocated to three groups depending on the drug injected intra-articularly, in an attempt to establish the best postoperative analgesic protocol following knee arthroscopy. Group 1 received 3 mg of preservative-free morphine in 25 ml saline; group 2, 5 mg of preservative-free morphine in 25 ml saline; and group 3, 25 ml 0.25% bupivacaine. The degree of postoperative pain was evaluated by visual analogue scale and the need for additional analgesics at 1, 2, 3, 8 and 24 h. We conclude that bupivacaine 0.25% provides analgesia of early onset and of short duration. While 3 mg-preservative free morphine provides moderate postoperative analgesia with peak effect during the eighth postoperative hour, 5 mg preservative-free morphine provides effective and long lasting (more than 24 h) pain relief. No side effects were noted.     

An interactive, microcomputer-based karyotype analysis system for phylogenetic cytotaxonomy

A versatile and practical semi-automatic computerized system of karyotype analysis has been developed for phylogenetic cytotaxonomy for under $4,000. The modular software system is designed for use solely with a small 8-bit microcomputer and requires virtually no custom made hardware. The system interacts with the operator and greatly augments the speed and accuracy of cytotaxonomic investigations.     

新城疫病毒pIRHN核酸疫苗构建和表达及对肿瘤细胞的影响

目的：研究NDV HN基因抗肿瘤作用及其可能机制。方法：以 pIRES1neo为表达载体构建了 NDV HN基因的pIRHN核酸疫苗，在体外转染HeLa细胞，用间接免疫荧光和Western blot检测pIRHN在真核细胞中表达状况，用荧光显微镜、DNA琼脂糖电泳及TUNEL染色等方法，检测HN基因导致细胞死亡的类型；用3，5-二羟基甲苯法测定HeLa细胞唾液酸含量的变化。结果：pIRHN 转染HeLa细胞后，能够在真核细胞中表达，能促进肿瘤细胞死亡，其死亡方式主要以诱导细胞凋亡为主，pIRHN使 HeLa细胞唾液酸含量减少。结论：用 NDV HN基因所构建的核酸疫苗能够在真核细胞中高效表达，表达的 HN蛋白主要位于胞膜，胞浆中亦有 HN蛋白表达；pIRHN具有抗肿瘤作用，可能通过其表达产物与肿瘤细胞唾液酸受体的相互作用，发挥其抗肿瘤作用。本实验为迸一步阐明NDV抗肿瘤作用机制提供了理论依据。     

钴60放射法制备免疫功能抑制大鼠模型

目的通过系统的钴60放射计划,对大鼠免疫功能抑制的合适剂量进行评估,为干细胞移植研究提供合适的的动物模型。方法SD大鼠随机分为12.5Gy、10Gy、7.5Gy、5Gy4个剂量组,10只/组。计算放射后2个月的死亡率。检测白细胞数量,评价各剂量组动物的白细胞参考值范围。结合死亡率和白细胞参考值范围,确定合适的放射剂量。通过对外周血中性粒细胞(PMN)吞噬实验和外周血白细胞移行抑制实验(MIT),对细胞免疫功能进行检测。结果行12.5Gy照射的大鼠,3d内全部死亡;10Gy放射后的大鼠在1个月内全部死亡;7.5Gy照射的大鼠2个月内死亡1只;5Gy照射的大鼠没有死亡情况发生。设定95%作为可信区间,计算白细胞数量参考值范围(109个/L),未放疗组:16.978+1.96×6.46;5Gy放疗组:4.93+1.96×0.72;7.5Gy放疗组:2.313+1.96×0.782;10Gy放疗组:1.03+1.96×0.507。t检验表明,随着放疗剂量的增加,各实验组的白细胞数量显著减少。对于细胞免疫功能的检测,外周血中性粒细胞(PMN)吞噬实验结果表明,机体全身免疫功能降低;外周血白细胞移行抑制实验(MIT)表明,机体T细胞免疫功能降低。结论7.5Gy可以一定程度上抑制大鼠的免疫功能,为合适的放疗剂量。     

IgG inhibits the increase of platelet-associated C3 stimulated by anti-platelet antibodies

We investigated the increase of platelet-associated IgG and complement component 3 (C₃) caused by the in vitro action of anti-platelet MoAbs, and the effect of mouse and human IgG on these events. Anti-glycoprotein IIb/IIIa and anti-glycoprotein Ib MoAbs caused a slight increase of C₃, but not of platelet-associated IgG. In contrast, anti-CD9 and anti-Fcγ II receptor MoAbs caused an increase of both platelet-associated C₃ and IgG. In particular, three MoAbs which activated the complement system caused a marked increase of C₃. When platelet-rich plasma was treated with aspirin and prostaglandin E₁ before incubation with antibodies, the increase of platelet-associated IgG was inhibited in all cases. In contrast, the increase of platelet-associated C₃ was scarcely influenced. These results suggest that the binding to platelets of platelet-activating antibodies caused the increase expression of IgG molecules on the platelet surface and a possible increase of platelet-associated IgG. However, the increase of platelet-associated C₃ appeared to depend on specific characteristics of the antibodies tested, such as a complement-activating effect. In addition, intact mouse or human IgG inhibited the increase of platelet-associated C₃ caused by complement-activating antibodies, while F(ab')₂ mouse or human IgG had no such effect. This suggested that the Fc portion of IgG may block the increase of C₃ mediated by anti-platelet antibodies.     

Latent variable discovery in classification models

The naive Bayes model makes the often unrealistic assumption that the feature variables are mutually independent given the class variable. We interpret a violation of this assumption as an indication of the presence of latent variables, and we show how latent variables can be detected. Latent variable discovery is interesting, especially for medical applications, because it can lead to a better understanding of application domains. It can also improve classification accuracy and boost user confidence in classification models.     

Inflammatory pseudotumor of lymph node and spleen: An entity biologically distinct from inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor

Inflammatory pseudotumors (IPTs) of the lymph node and spleen are an uncommon, benign cause of lymphadenopathy and/or splenomegaly that often bear striking clinicopathologic similarities to the inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) found in soft tissues. These tumors have classically been grouped together under the umbrella category of "inflammatory pseudotumor." Recent evidence shows that IMTs are in fact neoplastic processes that often harbor balanced chromosomal translocations involving the ALK kinase gene. These translocations result in expression of ALK kinase in IMTs as assessed by immunohistochemical studies. However, the relationship between IMT and IPT of the lymph node and spleen is uncertain. To determine if ALK tyrosine kinase expression is also present in IPT, 13 cases of IPT (9 involving lymph nodes, 4 splenic lesions) were examined for the presence of ALK tyrosine kinase by immunohistochemical staining on paraffin-embedded tissue. In addition, in situ hybridization studies for Epstein-Barr virus--encoded RNAs (EBER) and immunoperoxidase studies for human herpesvirus-8 (HHV8)--specific proteins were performed. All cases had clinical, morphologic, and immunophenotypic findings typical of IPT and had varying proportions of fibroblastic and inflammatory components. Age ranged from 11 to 75 (median, 40) years; 8 subjects were male, and 5 were female. None of the cases (0 of 13) had positive staining for ALK kinase or HHV8, and in 1 a lymph node (1 of 13) was focally positive for EBV (EBER) by in situ hybridization. The absence of ALK kinase as detected by immunohistochemical studies in IPT of the lymph node and spleen suggests that this entity is biologically distinct from the histologically similar IMT.     

Alterations in Nonspecific Cross-reacting Antigen Localization during Cell Culture

Nonspecific cross reacting antigen (NCA), a constituent of the carcinoembryonic antigen family, was localized ultra-structurally in a human lung adenocarcinoma cell line, PC 9. NCA was distributed predominantly on the plasma membrane in the early phases of cell culture. Deletion of fetal bovine serum (FBS) from the culture medium suppressed cell division without significantly altering cell viability, and induced a dramatic but reversible change in NCA localization. Under these conditions, NCA was localized to membrane degradation products within cytoplasmic vesicles and vacuoles. Acid phosphatase activity was also present in some of these intracellular structures. Similar changes in NCA localization were seen in cells cultured with FBS at day 6 when the cells reached a plateau stage of growth. These findings strongly suggest that plasma membrane degradation is accelerated by the cessation of cell growth. Cytoplasmic reactivity for NCA in cancer cells may therefore reflect degradation of plasma membrane-associated NCA and may not necessarily be correlated with increased systhesis of this glycoprotein. Acta Pathol Jpn 39: 772 778, 1989.     

Noninvasive method for measuring the electrical properties of deep tissues using an open-ended coaxial probe

A new noninvasive method of measuring the structure and the electrical properties of bilayered biological tissues was evaluated as a potentially useful diagnostic means for detecting changes in subcutaneous tissues. First, the input impedance of an open-ended coaxial probe radiating into a bilayered model was calculated using a full-wave method, the results showed that the evanescen higher order modes do not have a significant influence on the reflection coefficient of muscle layer surface. Then, it was clearly proven that the phase shift and the modulus of the reflection coefficient of muscle layer surface depending on the frequency are useful to estimate the thickness of fat layer and the electrical properties of muscle respectively. The experimental results showed an excellent agreement with the theoretical relationship between the phase shift and the thickness. The sensitivity of estimation of the electrical properties of muscle was shown to be not enough for differentiating between normal and diseased deep tissue because of noises from the experimental systems.