Social networks of residents in supportive housing

One goal of supportive housing is to enlarge and improve the functioning of the social support networks of residents. The networks of a convenience sample of 42 residents were assessed using scales developed by Barrera. The size of the networks (11.5) was no larger than that reported for similar clients living in other types of community settings but the composition differed. Staff and co-residents appear to partially replace rather than add to family and friends. This is of concern because friends are uniquely important determinants of satisfaction. An association between perceived need for support and network size was also found. These findings suggest some positive influences but also raise questions about unintended negative consequences of living in artificially constructed social environments.When this project was undertaken, Dr. Goering, Janet Durbin, Bill Lancee and Taras Babiak were all members of the Social and Community Psychiatry Section, Clarke Institute. Robert Foster was Executive Director of Regeneration House, Inc., where Susan Boyles is Assistant Executive Director.     

Central processing of sex pheromone,host odour,and oviposition deterrent information by interneurons in the antennal lobe of female Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Physiological and anatomical characteristics of antennal lobe interneurons in female Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) were investigated using intracellular recording and staining techniques. Responses of local interneurons and projection neurons to female sex pheromone components, host plant odours, and behaviourally active oviposition deterrents were recorded. We found local interneurons and projection neurons that responded specifically to only one or two of the tested odours, but we also found less specific cells, and neurons that responded to most of the tested odourants. These findings show that there are not only specific olfactory pathways in female moths up to the protocerebral level, but also that integration can begin in the antennal lobe. No correlation was found between the degree of specificity of either local interneurons or projection neurons and their respective morphological characteristics. Specialized and unspecialized local interneurons arborized throughout the antennal lobe. Specialized and unspecialized projection neurons had uniglomerular arborizations in the antennal lobe and sent their axons to the calyces of the mushroom body, and to the lateral horn of the protocerebrum. One specific projection neuron had multiglomerular arborizations and projected only to the lateral horn of the protocerebrum. Projection neurons arborizing in the glomeruli closest to the entrance of the antennal nerve always responded to pheromone components. No other correlations were found between the arborization pattern of projection neurons in the antennal lobe or in the protocerebrum and their response characteristics. The sensitivity of local interneurons and projection neurons was in the same range as that of receptor neurons in olfactory sensilla on the antennae, suggesting a much lower convergence in the central nervous system in females than in the pheromone-processing pathway in males. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

An ELISA-based method for measurement of food-specific IgE antibody in mouse serum: an alternative to the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis assay

Passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) assay has been a gold standard method to measure allergen-specific IgE antibody (ASIgE Ab) levels in allergy mouse models. Many factors including stringent guidelines for laboratory animal use make PCA a difficult choice. Therefore, alternative methods are needed that can be readily applied for measurement of specific IgE antibody levels in mouse serum. Herein we describe a novel ELISA-based method that is more sensitive in comparison to PCA, IgE isotype-specific (because it has little cross-reactivity with IgG1 or IgG2a isotype) and highly reproducible (<10% inter- or intra-assay variation). Furthermore, we demonstrate the utility of this assay to measure specific IgE Ab against a variety of food extracts including chicken egg, peanut, almond, filbert/hazelnut and sweet potato. These findings are of particular interest to those who are seeking (i) to measure food-extract-specific IgE antibody in animal models and (ii) an alternative to the animal-based PCA method to measure mouse IgE antibodies.     

Fine structure of microgametogenesis of Eimeria ferrisi Levine and Ivens 1965 in Mus musculus

Summary The microgamogony of Eimeria ferrisi from experimentally infected mice was investigated with the electron microscope. Microgamonts were recognizable by the presence of peripherally arranged nuclei and the presence of single or paired centrioles between each nucleus and the limiting membrane of the parasite. Often an intranuclear centrocone directed toward the centriole was present. Differentiation of the microgamete began when elevations of the limiting membrane, which indicated the commencement of flagellar development, appeared above the centrioles. This event was accompanied by the segregation of nuclear content into a dense osmiophilic portion and an electron-pale portion. Then followed a gradual protrusion of the dense portion of the nucleus and developing flagella into the parasitophorous vacuole. A dense ring developed at the base of the differentiating microgamete, resulting in the formation of a stalk which was occupied by the residual portion of the nucleus. Fully developed microgametes became detached and occupied the parasitophorous vacuole along with the residual cytoplasm. Microgametes had an anterior perforatorium, a dense elongate nucleus, with an anteriorly positioned mitochondrion in a small groove of the nucleus. Usually two flagella were present but one microgamete appeared to have three. Polysaccharide first appeared when differentiation was in progress and increased until large numbers of granules were present in the microgamont cytoplasm.Abbreviations AM Amylopectin - B Basal Body of Flagellum - CC Centrocone - CE Centriole - DR Dense Ring - ER Endoplasmic Reticulum - F Flagellum - HC Host Cell - HN Host Cell Nucleus - MI Mitochondrion - MN Microneme - MP Micropore - MT Microtubule - N Nucleus - P Perforatorium - PL Osmiophilic Plate - PV Parasitophorous Vacuole - RN Residual Nucleus Supported in part by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft¹, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation² and a Faculty Development Grant to Andrews University by the Merck Foundation, Rahway, New Jersey, USA     

Molecular cloning of MER-2, a human chromosome-11-encoded red blood cell antigen,using linkage of cotransfected markers

We report the molecular cloning of a human gene MER-2located on chromosome 11 that encodes a cell surface antigen which is polymorphic on red blood cells. An essential element of the cloning strategy was cotransfection-induced linkage of pSV2-neo, which encodes resistance to the antibiotic G418, to the human MER-2gene. An important feature of the pSV2-neo construct is that the same gene (the transposon, Tn5) that encodes G418 resistance in eukaryotic cells confers neomycin resistance in bacteria. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were cotransfected with pSV2-neo and genomic DNA from a CHO ×human cell hybrid containing a single human chromosome (chromosome 11). Transfectants expressing both the human MER-2gene and G418 resistance were isolated by selection in the antibiotic G418, followed by indirect immunofluorescence using the monoclonal antibody 1D12, which recognizes the MER-2 antigen, manual enrichment, and single-cell cloning. Genomic DNA from a primary transfectant positive for MER-2expression and G418 resistance was used to construct a cosmid library and cosmid clones able to grow in neomycin were isolated. Of 150,000 cosmid clones screened, 90 were resistant to neomycin and of these, 11 contained human repetitive sequences. Five neomycin-resistant cosmid clones containing human repetitive DNA were able to transfect CHO cells for G418 resistance and MER-2expression.     

Utility of a multiplex PCR assay for detecting herpesvirus DNA in clinical samples

A multiplex PCR was designed to amplify herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, cytomegalovirus, and varicella-zoster virus DNA present in a diverse range of clinical material. The susceptibility of these viruses to in vivo inhibition by at least one antiviral drug was an important consideration in their inclusion in the multiplex detection system. An aliquot of equine herpesvirus was introduced into each specimen prior to extraction and served as an indicator of potential inhibitors of the PCR and a detector of suboptimal PCR conditions. Compared to virus isolation and immunofluorescence-based antigen detection, the multiplex assay yielded higher detection rates for all viruses represented in the assay. The turnaround time for performance of the assay was markedly reduced compared to those for the other techniques used to identify these viruses. More than 21,000 tests have been performed using the assay. Overall, the multiplex PCR enabled the detection of substantially increased numbers of herpesviruses, in some cases in specimens or anatomical sites where previously they were rarely if ever identified using traditional detection methods.     

High rate of transfer of Staphylococcus aureus from parental skin to infant gut flora

Many Swedish infants carry Staphylococcus aureus in their intestinal microflora. The source of this colonization was investigated in 50 families. Infantile S. aureus strains were isolated from rectal swabs and stool samples at 3 days and at 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks of age. The strains were identified by using the random amplified polymorphic DNA method and compared to strains from swab cultures of the mothers' hands, nipples, and nares and from the fathers' hands and nares. Maternal stool samples were also obtained at a later stage to compare infant and adult intestinal S. aureus colonization. Although 60% of 1-month-old children had S. aureus in the stools, this was true of only 24% of the mothers. The median population numbers in colonized individuals also differed: 10(6.8) CFU/g of feces among infants at 2 weeks of age versus 10(3.2) CFU/g of feces in the mothers. Of S. aureus strains in the stools of 3-day-old infants, 90% were identical to a parental skin strain. A total of 96% of infants whose parents were S. aureus skin carriers had S. aureus in their feces and 91% had the same strain as at least one of the parents. In comparison, only 37% of infants to S. aureus-negative parents had S. aureus in the stool samples. Thus, infantile intestinal S. aureus colonization was strongly associated with parental skin S. aureus carriage (P = 0.0001). These results suggest that S. aureus on parental skin establish readily in the infantile gut, perhaps due to poor competition from other gut bacteria.     

HLA-A2-restricted CD8+-cytotoxic-T-cell responses to novel epitopes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis superoxide dismutase, alanine dehydrogenase, and glutamine synthetase

Major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are implicated in protective Th1 immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. We report the identification of three novel HLA-A*0201-restricted CTL epitopes within mycobacterial superoxide dismutase (SodA), L-alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH), and L-glutamine synthetase (GlnS) proteins.     

Specific binding proteins for human chorionic gonadotrophin in a patient with trophoblastic disease

Human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) is present in high concentration in patients with trophoblastic disease. The hCG concentration parallels tumor activity. The first known case of an endogenous binder for hCG in the serum of a patient with trophoblastic disease is reported. The patient's hCG concentration was not detectable when analyzed by a radioimmunoassay using a double antibody method; however, it was positive by a radioimmunoassay using polyethylene glycol precipitation. A high serum blank was also observed in this patient. This led the authors to suspect the presence of an endogenous binder for hCG. Scatchard analysis of the patient's serum revealed a high affinity binder with Ka = 1 x 10(10) M(-1), concentration of binding site = 2 x 10(-11) M. This investigation strongly suggested a specific binder(s) for hCG in the serum of this patient.