The vascularization of the hypothalamic-hypophyseal region of the eastern brook trout,Salvelinus fontinalis

The hypophysis of the brook trout is irrigated by blood vessels which originate from the internal carotid arteries. These are: (1) branches of the ventral hypothalamic arteries that give rise to an extensive capillary plexus in the neurohypophysis from which vessels extend into all regions of the adenohypophysis; (2) branches of the caudal hypothalamic artery that irrigate the saccus vasculosus and continue anteriorly to supply the ventral areas of the meta-adenohypophysis; (3) a caudal hypophyseal artery which vascularizes a portion of the meta-adenohypophysis however, this vessel is not always present; (4) a pair of small arteries which supply the peripheral regions of the gland directly from the carotids. Most of the neurosecretory fibers of the preoptic-hypophyseal tract terminate close to capillaries in the neurohypophysis. A few axons extend into meso-adenohypophyseal tissue. It is suggested that the secretory activities of the pro-, meso- and metaadenohypophyses are governed by hypothalamic factors that are chiefly transmitted to the gland cells via the vascular system (indirect control). However, the activity of the meso-adenohypophysis may also be regulated by factors which are transmitted directly to the cells from the endings of neurosecretory fibers which have traversed the neurohypophysis (direct control). The distribution and abundance of neurosecretion in the ventral hypophysis suggest the possibility of storage of hypothalamic products within this region.     

The potentiating effect of rheumatoid arthritis serum in the immediate phase of nephrotoxic nephritis

Nephrotoxic nephritis induced in rats was employed as an experimental model to investigate the possible effects of rheumatoid factor on in vivo antigen–antibody reactions. Rats injected simultaneously with rheumatoid arthritis serum and rabbit nephrotoxic globulin showed a three-fold increase in immediate proteinuria compared with rats injected with nephrotoxic globulin alone. This potentiating effect of rheumatoid arthritis serum was evident even when the serum was injected 48 hr after the nephrotoxic globulin and was also apparent to a lesser extent in rats decomplemented by a prior injection of aggregated human IgG. Normal human serum had no effect on the proteinuria produced by a standard dose of nephrotoxic globulin while rheumatoid arthritis serum injected with normal rabbit globulin did not increase urinary protein excretion above baseline levels. In rats injected with rheumatoid arthritis serum and nephrotoxic globulin, human IgM (presumably rheumatoid factor) was detected by immunofluorescence on the glomerular basement membrane along with the nephrotoxic globulin and rat complement and persisted at this site for as long as 42 days after the initial injections. Rheumatoid factor activity was also recovered by elution from glomeruli isolated from rat kidneys 24 hr after the injection of rheumatoid arthritis serum and nephrotoxic globulin.     

Priming of the oxidative burst in human neutrophils by physiological agonists or cytochalasin B results from the recruitment of previously non-responsive cells.

Using a sensitive flow cytometric assay, which measures the intracellular oxidation of 2'7' dichlorofluorescein (DCFH) by H2O2, we have assessed, at a single-cell level, the effects of a variety of physiological priming agonists and cytochalasin B (CB) on purified populations of neutrophils stimulated at different points along the signal response transduction pathway. Pretreatment of purified neutrophils with the physiological priming agonists monocyte interleukin-8 (IL-8), granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), platelet-activating factor (PAF), IL-1 beta, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-6, and non-stimulatory doses of formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP), resulted in an increased percentage of cells generating an oxidative burst in response to subsequent receptor stimulation with FMLP. CB had a similar but much more pronounced effect on cellular recruitment to a receptor-mediated responsive state. Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) using the phorbol ester phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) resulted in a heterogeneous response, with all cells generating H2O2, but with two populations differing in their magnitude of response. Physiological priming agonists had no effect on the heterogeneity of the PMA response. However, pretreatment with CB dramatically altered the PMA response, producing a homogeneous population highly responsive to stimulation with PKC. In contrast, direct stimulation of G proteins with fluoride (A1F-4) was primed both by physiological priming agonists and by CB. These results demonstrate that priming of neutrophils by physiological agonists involves changes at the level of signal transduction which enable a previously non-responsive cell to respond to a secondary stimulus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Hereditary influence on the normal personality using the MMPI. I. Age-corrected parent-offspring resemblances

The MMPI was administered to 28 adolescent offspring from marriages in which both parents had taken the test during the ninth grade. Therefore, parent-offspring comparisons could be made on these measures of personality obtained at approximately the same age, one generation apart. Thus age bias is eliminated. Correlations and regressions for the ten clinical scales and K validity scale were determined. Heritability estimates were computed including corrections for parental assortative mating. The heritability estimates for the psychotic scales (6-Pa, 7-Pt, 8-Sc, and 9-Ma) tended to be higher than those for the remaining test scales.This study was supported by NIH grant MH-10679.     

Upregulation of TGF-beta, FOXP3, and CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells correlates with more rapid parasite growth in human malaria infection

Understanding the regulation of immune responses is central for control of autoimmune and infectious disease. In murine models of autoimmunity and chronic inflammatory disease, potent regulatory T lymphocytes have recently been characterized. Despite an explosion of interest in these cells, their relevance to human disease has been uncertain. In a longitudinal study of malaria sporozoite infection via the natural route, we provide evidence that regulatory T cells have modifying effects on blood-stage infection in vivo in humans. Cells with the characteristics of regulatory T cells are rapidly induced following blood-stage infection and are associated with a burst of TGF-beta production, decreased proinflammatory cytokine production, and decreased antigen-specific immune responses. Both the production of TGF-beta and the presence of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T cells are associated with higher rates of parasite growth in vivo. P. falciparum-mediated induction of regulatory T cells may represent a parasite-specific virulence factor.     

The use of a disposable waistcoat with electrodes and transducers for patient monitoring

The use of a disposable paper laminate waistcoat is described to provide a multi-way connection to electrodes and transducers during monitoring from a patient. The waistcoat removes the strain of the multi-way cable of the monitor unit from the individual electrodes. It also conceals the electrodes and protects them from vomit.