Exact test of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium by Markov chain Monte Carlo.

The assumption of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) among alleles is of fundamental importance in genetic studies. There are numerous testing methods for it using genotype counts data. The exact test is used when the sample size is not large enough for asymptotic approximations. There are several numerical methods to carry out this test, such as complete enumeration, Monte Carlo and Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations. Complete enumeration is impractical in many applications, especially when the table counts are large. The Monte Carlo method is simple to use but still difficult when the table counts become large. The Markov chain Monte Carlo method, by sampling a sub-table each time, is suitable for this latter situation. Based on switches among a few (no more than four) cells, the existing Markov chain samplers are highly dependent and inefficient for large tables. Here we consider a new Markov chain sampling, in which a sub-table of user-specified size is updated at each iteration. The resulting chain is less dependent, and the sampling is flexible and efficient. The conventional test for HWE is based on a few test statistics, such as the likelihood and the chi-squared statistic. To expand the family of test statistics, we consider a class of divergence measures for the departure of HWE. Examples are given as illustrations.     

海藻酸钙/聚组氨酸微胶囊的毒性试验研究

为了考察海藻酸钙/聚组氨酸微胶囊的毒性特征,我们利用MTT比色法和小鼠尾静脉注射法,分别考察了该微胶囊的细胞毒性和急性全身毒性。结果表明：微胶囊浓度≤1.0mg/mL时,材料对L929细胞生长无明显抑制作用;微胶囊浸提液即使在高浸提比（10.0mg/mL）下,浸提产物也无细胞毒性作用。急性全身毒性试验结果显示：微胶囊浸提液不引起急性全身毒性反应,表明微胶囊浸提液无有毒的沥滤物和降解产物产生。说明海藻酸钙/聚组氨酸微胶囊无明显毒性。     

Selection of cytotoxic T lymphocytes against autologous human melanoma from lymph nodes with metastatic melanoma using repeatedin vitro sensitization

Our goal was to determine the cytotoxic activity of effector cells in lymph nodes with metastatic melanoma. Lymphocytes contained within tumor cells from metastatic lymph nodes of two patients were allowed to proliferate in recombinant IL-2 (rIL-2, 100-1,000 units/ml) after 14–21 days of culture. Each set of lymphocytes showed cytotoxicity against autologous melanoma (AM, mean 72%) at effector to target ratio of 201 and K562 cells (mean 60%) using 4-h chromium-51 release assay. Using unlabeled AM and K562, each AM could partially block the activity against K562, but K562 could not block the activity against AM. These activated lymphocytes underwentin vitro sensitization (IVS) with irradiated AM cells and rIL-2 at 2-week intervals. After repeated IVS over about 50 days, each patient's lymphocytes showed cytotoxicity against AM (mean 54%) but not K562 (mean 5%,P < 0.001). These results indicate that different cytotoxic effector cells were present in the early and late phase of lymphocyte tumor culture. Repeated IVS resulted in the selection of specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Cold target inhibition assay demonstrated that melanoma cells contained common and individual AM-associated antigen in addition to K562-associated antigens.This work was supported by Biomedical Research Support Grant of the University of Arizona (no. 2S07 RR05675-20), the Elsa U. Pardee Foundation Grant, partly by the Arizona Chronic Disease Research Commission and partly by CA23074 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, U.S.A.Recipient of the American Cancer Society Clinical Oncology Career Award, 1987–90.     

细菌对噬菌体感染的抵抗

噬菌体对其宿主菌具有特异性感染力,反之,宿主菌对噬菌体的感染具有抵抗现象.根据噬菌体侵入宿主的不同阶段,可以将宿主菌对噬菌体的天然抵抗机制分为4个主要的类别吸附抑制,流产感染,限制-修饰系统和穿入阻滞.此外,还有源于噬菌体的抗性作用以及通过人工插入突变获得的广谱噬菌体抗性菌株等.     

Development and characterisation of neutralising monoclonal antibody to the SARS-coronavirus

There is a global need to elucidate protective antigens expressed by the SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Monoclonal antibody reagents that recognise specific antigens on SARS-CoV are needed urgently. In this report, the development and immunochemical characterisation of a panel of murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the SARS-CoV is presented, based upon their specificity, binding requirements, and biological activity. Initial screening by ELISA, using highly purified virus as the coating antigen, resulted in the selection of 103 mAbs to the SARS virus. Subsequent screening steps reduced this panel to seventeen IgG mAbs. A single mAb, F26G15, is specific for the nucleoprotein as seen in Western immunoblot while five other mAbs react with the Spike protein. Two of these Spike-specific mAbs demonstrate the ability to neutralise SARS-CoV in vitro while another four Western immunoblot-negative mAbs also neutralise the virus. The utility of these mAbs for diagnostic development is demonstrated. Antibody from convalescent SARS patients, but not normal human serum, is also shown to specifically compete off binding of mAbs to whole SARS-CoV. These studies highlight the importance of using standardised assays and reagents. These mAbs will be useful for the development of diagnostic tests, studies of SARS-CoV pathogenesis and vaccine development.     

借助移相法采用多部CCD数码相机提高帧率的技术

对于科学研究工作来说，时间分辨率和空间分辨率都是十分重要的，在设计相应的图像处理系统时必须两者兼顾。对于生命科学及工业等领域而言，希望图像处理系统不仅有较高的时间分辨率，还要有较高的空间分辨率。本文提出一种利用多部CCD数码相机、采用移相法获取高分辨牢和高摄录帧率的技术，此技术可应用于普通CCD数码相机组成的复合摄录系统。     

组织工程血管基质的制备与改性

目的：完全脱除猪胸主动脉细胞，对脱细胞血管基质进行改性，增强基质的力学强度，制备组织工程血管支架材料。方法：取家猪的新鲜去除外膜胸主动脉20根，随机分成4组，分别采用胰蛋白酶、TritonX-100及十二烷基硫酸钠（SDS）作为脱细胞试剂对猪胸主动脉进行脱细胞处理，并对脱细胞后的血管基质进行改性，采用HE染色、弹力纤维染色、力学性能测试，以评价脱细胞效果以及材料的力学性能。结果：采用1％TritonX-100单独作用84h既能完全脱除细胞，同时又可完整保留血管基质的三维结构，对胶原纤维、弹力纤维的损伤小，是一种较理想的脱细胞方法。对脱细胞后的基质进行冷冻干燥及真空热交联处理，能有效提高材料的机械强度，冷冻干燥24h后真空120℃下热交联处理12h所获得的材料的机械强度最好，断裂强度可达到1．70MPa。结论：以脱细胞血管基质经冷冻干燥和真空热交联处理后，可以作为血管组织工程的支架材料。     

Effect of illumination of nitrate and phosphate removal by coimmobilized Chlorella pyrenoidosa and activated sludge

Chlorella pyrenoidosa and activated sludge were co-immobilized with simplifying modified PVA-sulfate method. Effects of light intensity and light:dark ratio on the growth of co-immobilized algae cells and removal of nitrate and phosphate were studied. The results indicate that the growth rate of co-immobilized algae cells reduces when light intensity is decreased from 4000 Lux to 1000 Lux, while optimal light:dark ratio for algal growth is 16:8. The influence of illumination on nitrate removal is so weak that the removal percentage can reach 90 approximately 100% within 12 approximately 24 h during the experimental periods in spite of changing illumination conditions. On the other hand, phosphate removal efficiency reduces when light intensity or light:dark ratio is decreased. The highest phosphate removal percentage is 99.6% under the circumstances of 4000 Lux and full-time illumination in our experiment, while the average phosphate removal is about 78%. The change of pH value in water samples is also observed. When water sample is treated by the co-immobilized system, pH value increases in light and decreases in dark. Microorganisms' physiological action is considered as the main mechanism that leads to the change of pH value.     

The ability of heat-killed Mycobacterium vaccae to stimulate a cytotoxic T-cell response to an unrelated protein is associated with a 65 kilodalton heat-shock protein

Exogenous antigens are generally presented by Class II major histocompatibility (MHC) molecules. When administered with an adjuvant, however, they are capable of inducing a CD8+ T-cell response where antigen recognition is associated with Class I MHC. Accordingly, immunization with soluble ovalbumin (OVA) alone does not activate CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTL) but when given in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), or in formulations of a number of novel adjuvants, an OVA-specific CD8+ CTL response can be detected. We show in this report that immunization with soluble OVA mixed with heat-killed Mycobacterium vaccae, but not with other common pathogenic and saprophytic mycobacteria, can activate OVA-specific CD8+ CTL. An OVA-specific CTL response is detected when mice are immunized by either the intraperitoneal or intranasal route and their spleen cells are re-stimulated in vitro. Adjuvant activity of heat-killed M. vaccae is present in M. vaccae culture filtrate, in soluble protein components of whole M. vaccae and in the 65 kDa heat-shock protein (hsp) of M. vaccae. Mycobacterium vaccae has previously been shown to have no adverse side-effects in humans. The current results suggest that M. vaccae may be useful as an adjuvant for vaccines and other immunotherapies where CD8+ CTL responses to exogenous proteins are crucial.