The simultaneous determination of cerebrospinal fluid and plasma adenosine deaminase activity as a diagnostic aid in tuberculous meningitis

The simultaneous determination of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity was evaluated as a diagnostic aid in tuberculous meningitis (TBM). CSF and plasma ADA activity were determined in four groups of patients: (i) a 'no meningitis' group of 174 children investigated for possible meningitis, but found to be uninfected; (ii) an aseptic meningitis group of 40 children; (iii) a bacterial meningitis group of 31 children; and (iv) a TBM group of 27 patients (24 children and 3 adults). CSF ADA alone was determined in a further 23 children with aseptic meningitis, 19 with bacterial meningitis and 13 children and 7 adults with TBM. Both the CSF/plasma ADA ratio and the absolute CSF ADA activity were raised in TBM (mean values 0,24 and 12,61 U/I respectively) and bacterial meningitis (mean values 0,59 and 15,43 U/I respectively), but not in the aseptic meningitis group (mean values 0,06 and 2,00 U/I) or the 'no meningitis' group (mean values 0,04 and 1,51 U/I). Both values will distinguish TBM from aseptic meningitis, but do not appear to hold any marked advantages over conventional CSF criteria in the diagnosis of TBM.     

Role of membrane N-linked oligosaccharides in host cell interaction with invasive forms of Trypanosoma cruzi

The removal of N-linked oligosaccharides by peptide-N4-[N-acetyl-beta-glucoseaminyl]asparagine amidase (previously known as aspartoglycosylamine amidohydrolase and abbreviated N-glycanase) from the surface of blood or insect-transmissible forms of Trypanosoma cruzi markedly increased the capacity of these organisms to associate with (i.e., bind and penetrate) either mouse peritoneal macrophages or rat heart myoblasts. This effect was evidenced by a significant elevation in both the percentage of infected host cells and the average number of parasites per 100 cells. Conversely, N-glycanase treatment of either host cell markedly reduced both parameters to levels significantly below those obtained with cells mock treated with medium alone. The N-glycanase effect on the parasites was inhibited by heat inactivation of the enzyme or by the presence of fetuin, an N-glycanase substrate. The enhanced capacity of N-glycanase-treated T. cruzi to engage the host cells started to subside 2 h after the treatment, indicating the reversibility of the effect. The decreased reactivity of N-glycanase-treated macrophages or myoblasts with T. cruzi suggests that N-linked oligosaccharides on these host cells are involved in the initial phase of the cell infection process. Instead, because T. cruzi interacted more effectively with host cells after treatment with N-glycanase, parasite surface N-linked oligosaccharides would seem to interfere with the association.     

Synthesis of estradiol haptens

Synthesis of Estradiol Haptens Two estradiol haptens, 4-(3β,17β-dihydroxyestran-7α-yl)butanoic acid ( 9 ) and 7α-(4-aminobutyl)-3β,17β-estradiols ( 13 ), were prepared from 19-nortestosterone by partial synthesis. The binding activity for the cytosol estrogen receptor was determined by competition against [³H]-estradiol; at a concentration of 2×10^?7mol/l, compound 9 displaces 50% of [³H]-estradiol. Attached to AH-Sepharose 4B compound 9 allows the cytosol estrogen receptor from calf uterus to be concentrated 1800-fold by affinity chromatography.     

Changing attentional demands in left hemispatial neglect.

Seven variations of a letter cancellation test were used to examine how varying attentional demands affect hemispatial neglect in patients with right hemisphere lesions. While the 14 targets always remained in the same location, the number of distractors (zero, nine, 28, or 82) as well as their complexity (one letter or nine different letters) were varied. The percentage of targets canceled in the left hemispace was linearly related to the number of distractors. There were no differences between the complexity conditions. In a second study, the same 14 targets were presented but the distractors (zero, 14, or 41) were all placed on the right. Increasing the number of distractors on the right increased neglect on both sides of the space. Taken together, these results suggest that, while the limited attentional resources of the left hemisphere are biased toward the right hemispace, the absence of contralateral attentional demands allows these resources to be directed ipsilaterally.     

A negative correlation between the induction of long-term potentiation and activation of immediate early genes.

In the present study we examined the relationship between the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the dentate gyrus of anesthetized rats and activation of immediate early genes (IEGs; c-fos and zif/268) using several different high-frequency stimulation paradigms. Stimulation parameters that effectively induced LTP were not associated with IEG activation. Conversely, stimulation parameters that failed to induce LTP consistently resulted in IEG activation. These results suggest that there is a negative correlation between IEG activation and LTP, and that activation of IEGs is neither necessary nor sufficient for the induction of LTP.     

Use of sonography to evaluate carotid atherosclerosis in the elderly. The Cardiovascular Health Study. CHS Collaborative Research Group

Carotid sonography is being performed on more than 5,000 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a prospective, multicenter study of cardiovascular disease in men and women aged 65 years and older. The sonographic methods used to examine and measure the extracranial carotid arteries are described. Initial validation studies were performed on 61 subjects with a mean age of 68.6 years. Analysis of within- and between-sonographer differences and between-reader differences were performed for selected variables. In general, the mean absolute differences for within- and between-sonographer comparisons were small, with even less variability between readers. Variability was less for the common carotid artery than for the internal carotid artery. These data suggest that carotid sonography is a reliable and reproducible method for use in the study of carotid atherosclerosis in population studies.