The soluble proteins of rat seminal vesicle fluid: Some physicochemical and immunological properties

The native secretion of rat seminal vesicles was found to contain about 290 mg of protein/ml. The ionic strength of the secretion was low (33 millimho. cm^-2). Some protein (about 13 per cent) precipitated shortly after collection. The soluble proteins were resolved by electrophoresis into four very basic and two minor acidic fractions. Three of the proteins were eluted from a Sephadex G-200 column at a position indicating a molecular weight much in excess of 150,000 daltons; the others were eluted at a position intermediate between IgG and bovine serum albumin (BSA) markers. Ten bands were resolved in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis following dissociation of the soluble proteins into subunits. Eight of these had molecular weights ranging between 18,500 and 100,000 Daltons.

Antisera raised in rabbits against seminal vesicle fluid (SVF) formed, in immunoelectrophoresis (IE) six precipitin bands with SVF. They did not react at all with rat serum proteins, nor did antiserum to rat serum proteins react with SVF. A small amount of rat serum proteins was, however, detected by radioimmunoassay in the insoluble fraction.

     

Virtual 3-D 18F-FDG PET/CT panendoscopy for assessment of the upper airways of head and neck cancer patients: a feasibility study

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a virtual 3-D ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT panendoscopy is feasible and can be used for noninvasive imaging of the upper airways and pharyngeal/laryngeal tumours.

Methods

From ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT data sets of 40 patients (29 men, 11 women; age 61?±?9?years) with pharyngeal or laryngeal malignancies virtual 3-D ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT panendoscopies were reconstructed and the image processing time was measured. The feasibility of assessing the oral cavity, nasopharynx, tongue base, soft palate, pharyngeal tonsils, epiglottis, aryepiglottic folds, piriform sinus, postcricoid space, glottis, subglottis, trachea, bronchi and oesophagus and of detecting primary tumours was tested. Results of fibre-optic bronchoscopy and histology served as the reference standard.

Results

The nasopharynx, tongue base, soft palate, pharyngeal tonsils, epiglottis, subglottis and the tracheobronchial tree were accessible in all 40, and the aryepiglottic folds, posterior hypopharyngeal wall, postcricoid space, piriform sinus, glottis, oral cavity and oesophagus in 37, 37, 37, 37, 33, 16 and 0 patients, respectively. In all 12 patients with restricted fibre-optic evaluation due to being primarily intubated, the subglottis was accessible via virtual panendoscopy. The primary tumour was depicted in 36 of 40 patients (90?%). The mean processing time for virtual ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT panendoscopies was 145?±?98?s.

Conclusion

Virtual ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT panendoscopy of the upper airways is technically feasible and can detect pharyngeal and laryngeal malignancies. This new tool can aid in the complete evaluation of the subglottic space in intubated patients and may be used for planning optical panendoscopies, biopsies and surgery in the future.     

Dental and oral trauma and mouthguard use during sport activities in Israel

Abstract – The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the occurrence of oral and dental injuries in young Israeli population engaged in diverse sport activities. The participants' awareness of the use of protective devices, such as mouthguards, during sport activities was also evaluated. A population of 943 young adults, 95% males and 5% females (ages 18–19), was surveyed. A questionnaire was distributed relating to the type of sport activity practised, past oral and dental injuries over their lifetime, specifying the time and type of sports in which the injury occurred and the use and awareness of the protective devices. Of the total population examined, 850 (90%) were active in at least one type of sport, either as professionals or as amateurs. The analysis included the population that regularly participated in at least one sporting activity. The most commonly practised sports were soccer (54% of all active participants) and basketball (50%). The total number of dental and oral injuries experienced during all sport activities was 229, affecting 27% of the participants of whom 73 (9%) suffered dental injuries. Most dental injuries occurred during the basketball and soccer training sessions and matches reaching 42 and 41% of the total number of injuries, respectively, and affected 7.2 and 6.6% of the basketball and soccer players. Traumatic dental injuries in other sports occurred in less than 7% of the participants in these activities. Only 27% of the participants were aware of the protective devices, such as a mouthguards, and only 3% actually used these devices. These results point to the high risk of potential dental and oral injury during sport activities, the little knowledge about the benefits of using mouthguards and their limited utilization. The importance of public health education to increase the awareness of protective measures and devices and their actual use in Israel is the main focus. It should be a combined duty of dentists and sports physicians and of the coaches to encourage the use of protective devices during training and games.     

Evaluation of a new device for noninvasive measurement of nonshunted pulmonary capillary blood flow in patients with acute lung injury

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the performance of a new device for noninvasive measurement of nonshunted pulmonary capillary blood flow (PCBF) by partial CO2 rebreathing. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective clinical trial in an intensive care unit of a university hospital. PATIENTS AND PARTICIPANTS: Twenty mechanically ventilated patients with acute lung injury. INTERVENTIONS: Variations in PEEP of +/-3 cmH2O. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Initially PCBF was measured invasively as cardiac output minus venous admixture (Q(VA)/Q(t)) flow, and by partial CO2 rebreathing at baseline PEEP (PEEP(b)). The PEEP was then reduced by 3 cmH2O (to PEEP(b-3)) and measurements were repeated after 30 min. PEEP was then increased by 6 cmH2O (to PEEP(b+3)), and measurements were repeated after 10, 20, and 30 min. The overall correlation coefficient between noninvasive and invasive PCBF measurements at PEEP(b) was high ( r=0.97), with close agreement between methods being observed (0.1+/-0.6 l/min, bias and precision, respectively). Accordingly, both the correlation coefficient and agreement between methods for changes in PCBF from PEEP(b-3) to PEEP(b+3) levels were satisfactory ( r=0.71; 0.2+/-0.5 l/min, bias and precision). The new device was able to detect the correct PCBF trend in 17 of 20 patients investigated and in all patients who showed invasive PCBF changes equal to or greater than 0.3 l/min ( n=12). Noninvasive PCBF changes were stable as early as 10 min after variation in PEEP, as compared to 30 min values. CONCLUSIONS: The new device appears to be clinically useful for the monitoring of PCBF in patients suffering from acute lung injury. Our results suggest that titration of PEEP aimed at improving PCBF can be performed with the new device.     

Release of a potent polymorphonuclear leukocyte chemoattractant is regulated by white-opaque switching in Candida albicans

Previous studies employing transmembrane assays suggested that Candida albicans and related species, as well as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, release chemoattractants for human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). Because transmembrane assays do not definitively distinguish between chemokinesis and chemotaxis, single-cell chemotaxis assays were used to confirm these findings and test whether mating-type or white-opaque switching affects the release of attractant. Our results demonstrate that C. albicans, C. dubliniensis, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, and C. glabrata release bona fide chemoattractants for PMNs. S. cerevisiae, however, releases a chemokinetic factor but not a chemoattractant. Characterization of the C. albicans chemoattractant revealed that it is a peptide of approximately 1 kDa. Whereas the mating type of C. albicans did not affect the release of chemoattractant, switching did. White-phase cells released chemoattractant, but opaque-phase cells did not. Since the opaque phase of C. albicans represents the mating-competent phenotype, it may be that opaque-phase cells selectively suppress the release of chemoattractant to facilitate mating.     

Activity of guard cell anion channel SLAC1 is controlled by drought-stress signaling kinase-phosphatase pair

In response to drought stress the phytohormone ABA (abscisic acid) induces stomatal closure and, therein, activates guard cell anion channels in a calcium-dependent as well as-independent manner. Two key components of the ABA signaling pathway are the protein kinase OST1 (open stomata 1) and the protein phosphatase ABI1 (ABA insensitive 1). The recently identified guard cell anion channel SLAC1 appeared to be the key ion channel in this signaling pathway but remained electrically silent when expressed heterologously. Using split YFP assays, we identified OST1 as an interaction partner of SLAC1 and ABI1. Upon coexpression of SLAC1 with OST1 in Xenopus oocytes, SLAC1-related anion currents appeared similar to those observed in guard cells. Integration of ABI1 into the SLAC1/OST1 complex, however, prevented SLAC1 activation. Our studies demonstrate that SLAC1 represents the slow, deactivating, weak voltage-dependent anion channel of guard cells controlled by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation.