Epstein-Barr viral load as a marker of lymphoma in AIDS patients

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is implicated in the pathogenesis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) lymphoma, and viral DNA is present within the malignant cells in about half of affected patients. We examined the extent to which EBV viral load is elevated in the plasma of AIDS lymphoma patients compared to AIDS patients with opportunistic infections. Sixty-one AIDS patients were studied including 35 with lymphoma (24 non-Hodgkin, six Hodgkin, and five brain lymphoma) and 26 with various opportunistic infections. In situ hybridization revealed EBV encoded RNA (EBER) expression in the malignant cells of 17/28 AIDS lymphomas (61%). In 232 serial plasma samples from 35 lymphoma patients and in 128 samples from AIDS controls, EBV viral load was assayed by quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) using a TaqMan probe targeting the BamH1W sequence. EBV was detected in plasma from all 17 EBER-positive AIDS lymphoma patients, with viral loads ranging from 34 to 1,500,000 copies per ml (median 3,210). Viral load usually fell rapidly upon initiation of lymphoma therapy and remained undetectable except in two patients with persistent tumor. In 11 AIDS patients, whose lymphoma lacked EBER expression, and in 26 control patients without lymphoma, levels of EBV in plasma were usually low or undetectable (range 0-1,995 and 0-2,409, median 0 and 0, respectively). There was no association between EBV viral load and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load or CD4 count. In conclusion, EBV viral load shows promise as a tool to assist in diagnosis and management of EBV-related lymphoma patients.     

Cognitive and behavioural correlates of non‐adherence to HIV anti‐retroviral therapy: Theoretical and practical insight for clinical psychology and health psychology

This cross‐sectional study identified variables associated with protease inhibitor (PI) non‐adherence in 179 patients taking anti‐retroviral therapy. Univariate analyses identified 11 variables associated with PI non‐adherence. Multiple logistic regression modelling identified three predictors of PI non‐adherence: low adherence self‐efficacy and seriousness of non‐adherence and HIV (p < .001), perceived absence of HIV associated illness (p < .01), and use of more than one type of recreational drug (p = .001). The model correctly classified 83.9% of the sample, offers psychologists insight into psychological barriers to treatment adherence to guide interventions for improving adherence, and supports a modified version of the reformulated health belief model.     

Aging does not alter cytosolic calcium levels of cortical synaptosomes in Fischer 344 rats

Several lines of experimental evidence support an association between altered Ca²⁺ regulation and aging. It has been supposed that free cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentrations ([Ca²⁺]_i) may decrease or increase in aged animals. In this study, both resting and KCl-stimulated [Ca²⁺]_i were measured in purified cortical synaptosomes from young (3 mo.), middle-aged (12 mo.), and old (24 mo.) Fischer 344 rats. Two additional groups of rats were included, one middle-aged and one old which were trained on a treadmill for 6 months prior to experimentation. The [Ca²⁺]_i was determined using the fluorescent Ca²⁺ chelator fura-2. Net KCl-dependent changes (ΔK) in [Ca²⁺]_i were determined by the difference between stimulatory (100 μM Ca²⁺/60 mM KCl) and resting (100 μM Ca²⁺/5 mM KCl buffer) conditions among the 3 age groups. Significant increases in [Ca²⁺]_i were observed in each age group upon depolarization with 60 mM KCl. However, there were no significant age-dependent differences in either resting [Ca²⁺]_i or KCl-stimulated [Ca²⁺]_i.     

Assessment of anterior shoulder instability by CT arthrography

Computed tomography (CT) immediately after double-contrast shoulder arthrography was taken in twenty-two young male patients with anterior shoulder instability including recurrent dislocation and subluxation. This recently developed technique called CT arthrography can provide significant information about patients with glenohumeral instability which is difficult to obtain by conventional arthrography. Information about glenoid labrum pathology is useful for proper management of the shoulder with instability. Lesions identified in this study include anterior labral defects (attenuation, tear, displacement), anterior capsular distension and/or detachment, Hill-Sachs lesion, anterior glenoid rim compression fracture, and fracture of scapula. This article describes the method used in CT arthrography of the glenohumeral joint, reviews the normal cross-sectional anatomy, and emphasizes the importance of the application of CT arthrography in the shoulder disorder with instability. CT arthrography of the glenohumeral joint is easy to perform, is accurate, and has lower radiation dose than arthrotomography.     

Compensation for idiotype suppression. I. Acquirement of ability to compensate for TEPC-15 idiotype suppression in mice during the early neonatal period

Neonatal injection of BALB/c mice with antibodies specific for the idiotype of TEPC-15 myeloma protein (T15id), which is serologically identical to the major idiotype of anti-phosphorylcholine (PC) antibody, renders the recipients completely unresponsive to PC. C57BL/6, (BALB/c X C57BL/6)F1 and C.B20 mice, similarly treated with anti-T15id antibody, also displayed tolerance to PC although they were relatively more resistant (8-13%) than BALB/c mice (less than 2% control response). When anti-T15id antibody was injected into 15-day-old neonates, the resistance to the tolerance in C57BL/6 and C.B20 mice was much more apparent (up to 80% of the control response) in contrast to that in BALB/c mice, which was not significant. Adoptive transfer of spleen cells from idiotypically suppressed BALB/c mice into 20-day-old, normal C. B20 mice resulted in suppression of T15id but not in tolerance to PC, due to increased production of non-T15id-bearing anti-PC antibody. These results suggest that the ability of clonal compensation for T15id suppression is acquired during early life (2-10 days), under the influence of gene(s) associated or linked with the Igh.     

Image reconstruction of anisotropic conductivity tensor distribution in MREIT: computer simulation study

We describe a novel method of reconstructing images of an anisotropic conductivity tensor distribution inside an electrically conducting subject in magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT). MREIT is a recent medical imaging technique combining electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to produce conductivity images with improved spatial resolution and accuracy. In MREIT, we inject electrical current into the subject through surface electrodes and measure the z-component Bz of the induced magnetic flux density using an MRI scanner. Here, we assume that z is the direction of the main magnetic field of the MRI scanner. Considering the fact that most biological tissues are known to have anisotropic conductivity values, the primary goal of MREIT should be the imaging of an anisotropic conductivity tensor distribution. However, up to now, all MREIT techniques have assumed an isotropic conductivity distribution in the image reconstruction problem to simplify the underlying mathematical theory. In this paper, we firstly formulate a new image reconstruction method of an anisotropic conductivity tensor distribution. We use the relationship between multiple injection currents and the corresponding induced Bz data. Simulation results show that the algorithm can successfully reconstruct images of anisotropic conductivity tensor distributions. While the results show the feasibility of the method, they also suggest a more careful design of data collection methods and data processing techniques compared with isotropic conductivity imaging.     

Protein synthesis is required for the enhancement of long-term potentiation and long-term memory by spaced training

Spaced training is generally more effective than massed training for learning and memory, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this trial spacing effect remain poorly characterized. One potential molecular basis for the trial spacing effect is the differential modulation, by distinct temporal patterns of neuronal activity, of protein synthesis-dependent processes that contribute to the expression of specific forms of synaptic plasticity in the mammalian brain. Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a type of synaptic modification that may be important for certain forms of memory storage in the mammalian brain. To explore the role of protein synthesis in the trial spacing effect, we assessed the protein synthesis dependence of hippocampal LTP induced by 100-Hz tetraburst stimulation delivered to mouse hippocampal slices in either a temporally massed (20-s interburst interval) or spaced (5-min interburst interval) fashion. To extend our studies to the behavioral level, we trained mice in fear conditioning using either a massed or spaced training protocol and examined the sensitivity of long-term memory to protein synthesis inhibition. Larger LTP was induced by spaced stimulation in hippocampal slices. This improvement of synaptic potentiation following temporally spaced synaptic stimulation in slices was attenuated by bath application of an inhibitor of protein synthesis. Further, the maintenance of LTP induced by spaced synaptic stimulation was more sensitive to disruption by anisomycin than the maintenance of LTP elicited following massed stimulation. Temporally spaced behavioral training improved long-term memory for contextual but not for cued fear conditioning, and this enhancement of memory for contextual fear was also protein synthesis dependent. Our data reveal that altering the temporal spacing of synaptic stimulation and behavioral training improved hippocampal LTP and enhanced contextual long-term memory. From a broad perspective, these results suggest that the recruitment of protein synthesis-dependent processes important for long-term memory and for long-lasting forms of LTP can be modulated by the temporal profiles of behavioral training and synaptic stimulation.     

Dental restorative composites containing 2,2-bis-[4-(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxy propoxy) phenyl] propane derivatives and spiro orthocarbonates

Various dental restorative composite resins containing 2,2-bis-[4-(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxy propoxy) phenyl] propane (Bis-GMA) derivatives and spiro orthocarbonates (SOCs) were explored for minimizing the volumetric shrinkage that generally occurs during polymerization. Previous reports suggested mixing Bis-GMA with its derivative TMBis-GMA (2,2-bis[3,5-dimethyl-4-(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxy propoxy) phenyl] propane) to obtain a dental composite with low volumetric shrinkage. It was hypothesized that spiro orthocarbonates would expand volumetrically during polymerization, because of their sophisticated ring-opening reactions; therefore several of them were added to the mixture of Bis-GMA and TMBis-GMA to bring about further reductions in volumetric shrinkage. It was indeed possible to reduce the extent of volumetric shrinkage of dental composites containing SOCs, and to do so without compromising these resins' mechanical properties.     

Age-dependent changes of gene expression in the Drosophila head

Previous gene expression profiling studies in Drosophila have provided clues for understanding the aging process at the gene expression level. For a detailed understanding, studies of specific regions of the body are necessary. We therefore employed microarray analysis to examine gene expression changes in the Drosophila head during aging. Six hundred and eighty-four of the 5405 genes present in the microarray showed significant age-dependent changes as determined by significance analysis of microarray (SAM) (q < 0.05). The biological significance of the changes was analyzed using the gene annotations provided by the Gene Ontology Consortium. Major changes involved genes affecting energy metabolism (proton transport, energy pathways, oxidative phosphorylation) and neuronal function, especially responses to light. Genes involved in protein catabolism and several other metabolic processes also showed age-dependent changes. Most of the changes were reductions in gene expression and occurred before day 13 of adult life. After day 13, the age-dependent gene expression changes were relatively smaller than earlier life. Interestingly, the two biological processes of major gene expression changes are related to the two known environmental changes that increase life span in Drosophila: caloric restriction and light reduction. Our findings suggest that light signaling and energy metabolism may be important biological processes affected by aging and be interesting targets for the further investigation related to the longevity in Drosophila.