Adult body size and survivorship in a field population of Aedes triseriatus

Aedes triseriatus pupae, host-seeking, and ovipositing females were collected at a southern Wisconsin site endemic for La Crosse encephalitis virus. The host-seeking and ovipositing females were age-graded by the Detinova and Polovodova techniques, respectively. Wing lengths were determined for all mosquitoes. Wing lengths of the mosquitoes collected as pupae were predicted from pupal weight by a simple regression equation. There was significant seasonal variation in body size of adult females, but no strong evidence that increased size was advantageous to survival. It is concluded therefore that the potential length of infective life is not affected by the size of the adult female.     

Mast cell activation involves plasma membrane potential- and thapsigargin-sensitive intracellular calcium pools

Summary— The regulation and role of the intracellular Ca²⁺ pools were studied in rat peritoneal mast cells. Cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca²⁺]i) was monitored in fura-2 loaded mast cells. In the presence of Ca²⁺ and K+, compound 48/80 induced a biphasic increase in [Ca²⁺]i composed of a fast transient phase and an apparent sustained phase. The sustained phase was partially inhibited by the addition of Mn²⁺. DTPA, a cell-impermeant chelator of Mn²⁺, reversed this inhibition, suggesting that a quenching of fura-2 fluorescence occurs in the extracellular medium. In the absence of extracellular Ca²⁺, the transient phase, but not the sustained one, could be preserved, provided that mast cells were depolarized. The transient phase was completely abolished by thapsigargin, a microsomal Ca²⁺-ATPase inhibitor. Maximum histamine release induced by either compound 48/80 or antigen was obtained in the absence of added Ca²⁺ only when mast cells were depolarized. These histamine releases were inhibited by low doses (< 30 nM) of thapsigargin. Thapsigargin at higher doses induced histamine release which was unaffected by changing the plasma membrane potential, but was completely dependent on extracellular Ca²⁺, showing that a Ca²⁺ influx is required for thapsigargin-induced exocytosis. Together, these results suggest that the mobilization of Ca²⁺ from thapsigargin sensitive-intracellular pools induced by compound 48/80 or antigen is sufficient to trigger histamine release. The modulation of these pools by the plasma membrane potential suggest their localization is close to the plasma membrane.     

Evidence for a colocalization of oxytocin mRNA and galanin in magnocellular hypothalamic neurons: a study combining in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.

The possible colocalization of oxytocin (OT) and galanin (GAL) was studied by combining, on the same cryostat sections, in situ hybridization (ISH) for OT mRNA with a tritiated oligonucleotide probe and immunohistochemistry (ICC) of GAL. Many cells were either labelled by ISH (OT mRNA containing cells), or by ICC (GAL containing cells). Moreover, some magnocellular neurons in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei were labelled for both OT mRNA and GAL. These results demonstrate that some magnocellular neurons of the rat hypothalamus contain both GAL and OT. This approach is suitable for studying the intracellular distribution of OT gene expression and mature GAL under different physiological or experimental conditions.     

Everyday memory following traumatic brain injury

Residual memory deficits may represent a problem to the everyday functioning of a large number of people, including those who have sustained traumatic brain injury (TBI). The present exploratory study sought to investigate the interrelationships between subjective memory reports, performance on traditional memory tests, and performance on tests of prospective memory. These interrelationships were contrasted between a group of 24 adults who had sustained TBI and a group of 24 matched control subjects. Prospective memory was hypothesized to be indicative of everyday memory functioning. The results provided preliminary evidence that prospective memory tests are sensitive to TBIrelated neurological impairment and, in comparison to traditional tests, may be better indicators of functional memory capacity. This pattern was particularly true for control subjects, possibly because TBI subjects had difficulties in evaluating their memory functioning.     

Anticocaine catalytic antibodies

Cocaine mediates its reinforcing and toxic actions through a "loss of function" effect at multiple receptors. The difficulties inherent in blocking a pleiotropic blocker pose a great obstacle for the classical receptor-antagonist approach and have contributed to the failure (to date) to devise specific treatments for cocaine overdose and addiction. As an alternative, we have embarked on an investigation of catalytic antibodies, a programmable class of artificial enzyme, as "peripheral blockers" -- agents designed to bind and degrade cocaine in the circulation before it partitions into the central nervous system to exert reinforcing or toxic effects. We synthesized transition-state analogs of cocaine's hydrolysis at its benzoyl ester, immunized mice, prepared hybridomas and developed the first anticocaine catalytic antibodies with the capacity to degrade cocaine to nonreinforcing, nontoxic products. We subsequently identified several families of anticocaine catalytic antibodies and found that the most potent antibody possessed sufficient activity to block cocaine-induced reinforcement, organ dysfunction and sudden death in rodent models of addiction, toxicity and overdose, respectively. With the potential to promote cessation of use, prolong abstinence and provide a treatment for acute overdose, the artificial enzyme approach comprehensively responds to the problem of cocaine.     

Comparison of novel synthetic peptide-based DETECT-RUBELLA enzyme immunoassays with Enzygnost and IMx for detection of rubella-specific immunoglobulin G.

Enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) using synthetic peptides SP-E1 and SP-E1E2 (DETECT-RUBELLA [Bio-Chem]) were compared with two viral lysate-based EIAs (Enzygnost [Behring] and IMx [Abbott]) for the detection of rubella virus-specific immunoglobulin G antibodies. Sensitivities of 94.7, 100, 98.6, and 100% and specificities of 100, 97.4, 100, and 73.7% were found for the SP-E1, SP-E1E2, Enzygnost, and IMx EIAs, respectively.