Radical radiotherapy for T4 carcinoma of the skin of the head and neck: A multivariate analysis

Sixty-seven patients with 68 stage T4 carcinomas of the skin of the head and neck were treated with radical radiotherapy at the University of Florida between October 1964 and November 1989. Thirty-three lesions were previously untreated and 35 were recurrent. Twenty-nine lesions were squamous cell carcinomas, 37 were basal cell carcinomas, and 2 were basosquamous carcinomas. Minimum follow-up was 2 years. The 5-year local control, local control including surgical salvage, and cause-specific survival probabilities were 53%, 74%, and 75%, respectively. Local control rates with radiotherapy alone were poorer in patients with recurrent lesions (41% vs. 67%, p = .07) or bone involvement (40% vs. 62%, p = .08). Results were analyzed by multivariate methods using local control, local control with surgical salvage, and cause-specific survival as endpoints. The parameters analyzed were histology; size of primary lesion; previous treatment (previously untreated vs. recurrent); involvement of bone, nerve, or cartilage; and skeletal muscle invasion. Three important prognostic factors were identified, each predictive of poorer ultimate local control and cause-specific survival rates: (a) bone involvement (p < .01); (b) recurrent lesions (p < .01); and (c) nerve involvement (p < .02). Radiotherapy alone can control advanced carcinomas of the skin of the head and neck, although lesions that have recurred after prior treatment and those with involvement of bone or nerve are associated with a lower likelihood of cure.     

Fibronectin levels in male ejaculate and evidence for its role in unexplained infertility

Vasovasostomy has become a popular and highly successful method of restoring fertility to those who have undergone a vasectomy. However, there is a high correlation between vasostomy and antisperm antibody production leading to spontaneous sperm agglutination and immobilization. There is still considerable disagreement on whether antibodies are the primary causative agent. Our study provides evidence that fibronectin, a ubiquitous glycoprotein whose major function is cell-to-cell adhesion, could be a "subfertility" factor and contribute to male "unexplained infertility." Semen from control, random, and vasovasostomy populations was studied using a sophisticated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results show that fibronectin is significantly present in all groups. The mean concentrations (micrograms/mL) were 753.9 for control, 566.4 for random, followed by significantly higher 1267.3 for the vasovasostomy group (p less than 0.05). The spermatozoa were assayed for bound fibronectin by flow cytometry. The mean percentage of cells bound after background subtract was 29.7 for control and 48.2 for the vasovasostomy group; the difference was significant (p less than 0.05). We conclude that fibronectin is present in semen and bound to sperm cells in great concentrations for individuals having undergone surgical insult and may contribute to male infertility particularly by sperm agglutination.     

Quantitative autoradiography of nicotinic [H]acetylcholine binding sites in rat brain

Quantitative autoradiography was used to localize nicotinic [³H]acetylcholine (ACh) binding sites in rat brain. High concentrations of nicotinic [³H]ACh binding sites were observed in the anterior and medial nuclei of the thalamus, the medial habenula and the superficial layer of the superior colliculus. Moderate levels of binding sites were observed in a variety of brain regions such as the frontoparietal cortex and the hippocampus. Low levels of nicotinic ACh sites occurred throughout the hypothalamus and the primary olfactory cortex.     

In vitro adherence of radioactively labeled Escherichia coli in normal and cystitis-prone females.

Numerous investigators report data obtained using an in vitro quantitative assay for measuring bacterial adherence to epithelial cells. We found this assay to contain significant sources of error in the large variation in number of bacteria bound per cell and in the dependence on the investigator's visual counting of bacteria bound per cell. In the modified assay described here, we eliminated the need for visual counting of bacteria by incorporating the use of radioactively labeled Escherichia coli. This allowed quantitation of bacterial adherence to as many as 50,000 vaginal cells, whereas the visual counting system limits the determination to perhaps 50 cells. We feel that the use of radioactively labeled bacteria in place of the visual counting system increases the validity and sensitivity of this assay. Using the modified method, we found no statistically significant differences among values for adherence of E. coli type 04 to the vaginal cells of control and cystitis-prone women at either pH 6.4 or 4.0.     

Mating ability in laboratory-adapted and field-derivedDrosophila melanogaster: The stress of domestication

Mating ability differences between flies of different alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) genotypes have been assessed in the temperature range 15 to 29°C for laboratory-adapted and field-derivedDrosophila melanogaster. Significant differences amongAdh genotypes were detected principally for the laboratory-adapted strains due to departures from random mating associated with heterozygote superiority at the relatively extreme temperature of 29°C, although mating ability differences could not be attributed directly to theAdh locus. The difference between the laboratory and the field populations can be explained by the effects of genetic back-ground manifested in the form of fitness differences, being enhanced for the laboratory-adapted flies as a consequence of the stress of laboratory culture. In contrast with larval survival and development time, laboratory and field flies do not differe appreciably in their overall abilities to obtain mates, which indicates that mating ability is a direct fitness character not greatly affected by laboratory culture. It follows that direct fitness traits are the least amenable to change under domestication.     

UNILATERAL BRAIN DAMAGE AND BILATERAL SKIN CONDUCTANCE LEVELS IN HUMANS

Left and right, palmar and dorsal skin conductance levels (SCLs) were obtained from hospital controls, left hemisphere lesion Ss, right hemisphere lesion Ss, and diffuse or bilateral lesion Ss during several experimental conditions involving rest, passive auditory stimulation, motor reactions, and simple “perception”. The unilateral lesion groups generally displayed significantly higher palmar SCLs on the side contralateral to their lesion. Such “laterality” was not demonstrated in dorsal recordings or in the hospital controls or diffuse lesion group. These unilateral lesion groups had higher palmar SCLs during passive stimulation than during rest, motor, or perception phases. Results were discussed in terms of possible neural mechanisms underlying the phenomena.     

Oligopeptidases of brush border membranes of rat small intestinal mucosal cells

1. The properties of peptidases located in the brush borders of rat small intestinal mucosal cells have been investigated using a new method for the assay of peptidase activity. In this method amino acids produced by hydrolysis of peptides are oxidized by ophidian L-amino acid oxidase and the hydrogen peroxide produced during reoxidation of the reduced enzyme is estimated spectrophotometrically.2. 10-20% of the total cellular peptidase activity and 50% of the leucylnaphthylamidase (LNAase) activity were found to be tightly bound to the brush borders and to possess different substrate specificity from the supernatant peptidase activity.3. Evidence from kinetic and competition studies indicates the presence of more than one peptidase in the brush borders. The peptidases exhibit pH optima of 8.0-8.5, are inhibited by EDTA, but are not usually activated by divalent metal ions. The brush border peptidases hydrolyse di- and tripeptides, some oligopeptides, leucinamide and leucyl-beta-naphthylamine. On the basis of the Michaelis constants, these substrates differ in their affinities for the enzymes.4. It is proposed that the brush border peptidases serve an analogous function in the terminal stages of protein digestion to that of the disaccharidases in the case of carbohydrate digestion and absorption.     

交互信息在心脏状态和心率研究中的应用

交互信息是一种检测系统之间相依性的方法 ,它可以同时检测线性和非线性相关。本文介绍了交互信息的计算方法和性质 ,讨论了它在单个时间序列上的应用 ,并将它应用于心脏状态研究上。利用实验动物的数据 ,我们发现了心搏的运动既不是随机的也不是周期的 ;并且 ,不同心脏状态下的交互信息有很大的差别 ,浅麻 ,机控呼吸和开胸状态下交互信息都相对较小 ,心肌损伤后有明显增大 ,提示心搏的交互信息与心脏健康程度有很大关系     

Distinct patterns of tyrosine phosphorylation during the life cycle of Trypanosoma brucei.

Regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation is a critical element in controlling growth and differentiation in higher eukaryotes. We have determined that the protozoan Trypanosoma brucei, which diverged early in the eukaryotic lineage, possesses multiple proteins which react with a specific anti-phosphotyrosine antiserum. Anti-phosphotyrosine immunoprecipitates of [32P]orthophosphate-labeled cells were shown to contain phosphotyrosine by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Western analysis of cells from different stages of the life cycle demonstrates the appearance of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins at 40-42 kDa during the transition from slender to stumpy blood-forms. Growth of procyclic form cells in orthovanadate resulted in increased levels of specific tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins. The demonstration of phosphotyrosine-containing proteins in T. brucei and their differential regulation during the life cycle suggests that tyrosine kinases and phosphatases may play an important role in the biology of primitive protozoa.