Synthesis and Properties of Haptens for the Development of Radioimmunoassays for Thioridazine,Mesoridazine, and Sulforidazine

For the separate development of radioimmunoassay procedures for thioridazine and its two major active metabolites, mesoridazine and sulforidazine, three haptens, respectively, 2-methylthio-, 2-methylsulfinyl-, and 2-methylsulfonyl-substituted 10-[2-[l-(2-carboxyethyl)-2-piperidinyl]ethyl]-10H-phenothiazine, were synthesized and characterized. Thioridazine hapten was coupled to bovine serum albumin, whereas the haptens for mesoridazine and sulforidazine were coupled to porcine thyroglobulin. The number of hapten residues per mole of carrier protein was determined in each case by an ultraviolet spectrophotometric method. Polyclonal antibodies to each hapten–protein conjugate were obtained in rabbits, and titers of the antisera were checked by evaluating their binding characteristics to the appropriate tritiated analyte. A hapten for the ring sulfoxide metabolite of thioridazine was also synthesized.     

The B- to Z-DNA equilibrium in vivo is perturbed by biological processes.

Right-handed B and left-handed Z conformations coexist in equilibrium in portions of plasmids in Escherichia coli. The equilibria are influenced by the length of the sequences that undergo the structural transitions and are perturbed by biological processes. The composite results of three types of determinations indicate a supercoil density of -0.025 in vivo. The coexistence of alternative DNA conformations in living cells implies the potential of these structures or their transitions for important functions in genetic regulatory processes.     

Expression of multivalent pre-S1 antigen of hepatitis B virus in Escherichia coli (synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides, surface antigens, recombinant DNA, fusion protein, beta-galactosidase).

The nucleotide sequence encoding 30 amino acids (aa) of the pre-S1 envelope region of the human hepatitis B virus has been constructed from twenty chemically synthesized oligodeoxynucleotides by simultaneous ligation. The DNA fragment containing four repeated sequences encoding the pre-S1 region (aa 20-49) has been inserted into the lacZ gene of the plasmid pWR450.1, yielding the recombinant pWX4 plasmid. The Escherichia coli DH5 strain transformed with pWX4 produces a beta-galactosidase-[-pre-S1(20-49) x 4] fusion protein. The hybrid protein containing 127 aa of repeated pre-S1 region has been isolated from Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies and purified by anion exchange chromatography. The antigenic properties of this fusion protein were confirmed by immunoblotting with pre-S1-specific monoclonal antibodies.     

Alcohol and glutamate

Excitatory neurotransmitters, the most important of which is glutamate, increase the activity of signal. receiving neurons and play a major role in controlling brain function. Glutamate exerts its effects on cells in part through three types of receptors that, when activated, allow the flow of positively charged ions into the cell. Of these, the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor plays a particularly important role in controlling the brain's ability to adapt to environmental and genetic influences. Even low alcohol concentrations can inhibit the excitatory activity of the NMDA receptor. This inhibition of NMDA receptor function may be one of the mechanisms contributing to fetal alcohol syndrome and other more subtle developmental abnormalities. Moreover, alcohol-induced impairment of the NMDA receptor may contribute to alcohol-related learning disabilities, neuronal losses, and cognitive deficits as well as to some of the manifestations of alcohol withdrawal.     

Visual disorders,the prosopometamorphopsia and prosopagnosia type in the early days after the onset of brain hemorrhagic stroke – a case report

Presented case report illustrates symptoms of prosopometamorphopsia (PM) and prosopagnosia, observed in the early days after the onset of a hemorrhagic stroke resulting from a complication of endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms and the use of anticoagulation therapy. PM is a visual disorder in which faces are perceived as distorted. The female patient described in the present study reported that faces she looked at seemed younger or older than in reality or as if they were dirty, swollen, or with a grimace. She also experienced symptoms of prosopagnosia, which is difficulty of recognizing familiar faces of people (e.g., of her husband and daughter). In the interview 6 months after the first examination, the patient reported spontaneous withdrawal of the visual disturbances.     

Comparisons of Prisoners Who Make or Do Not Make Suicide Attempts and Further Who Make One or Multiple Attempts

Suicidal behavior among prisoners is a major problem. The objective of this study was to compare prisoners who have made an attempt at suicide vs non-attempters and further to compare single vs multiple suicide attempts. Among 1,537 prisoners, 200 (13%) had a lifetime history of attempting suicide and 92 (6%) had made multiple attempts. Those who had made multiple or single attempts were compared on socio-demographic, developmental, personality, forensic, and psychiatric variables. In a re-analysis we also compared non-attempters with attempters in this larger sample. The comparison showed that prisoners who had made multiple attempts had experienced significantly more childhood trauma, were more introverted, less resilient, had a history of self-mutilation, and had more suicidal ideation. Anger and hostility scores and criminal and violence histories significantly differentiated prisoners who had attempted from those who had never attempted but they did not differentiate multiple from single attempters. Having a history of multiple attempts may be indicative of more severe psychopathology in prisoners, as found in other populations. These findings may be helpful in predicting which prisoner is at increased risk of exhibiting suicidal behavior while incarcerated and after release.     

Precision Errors,Least Significant Change,and Monitoring Time Interval in Pediatric Measurements of Bone Mineral Density,Body Composition,and Mechanostat Parameters by GE Lunar Prodigy

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) method is widely used in pediatrics in the study of bone density and body composition. However, there is a limit to how precise DXA can estimate bone and body composition measures in children. The study was aimed to (1) evaluate precision errors for bone mineral density, bone mass and bone area, body composition, and mechanostat parameters, (2) assess the relationships between precision errors and anthropometric parameters, and (3) calculate a “least significant change” and “monitoring time interval” values for DXA measures in children of wide age range (5–18 yr) using GE Lunar Prodigy densitometer. It is observed that absolute precision error values were different for thin and standard technical modes of DXA measures and depended on age, body weight, and height. In contrast, relative precision error values expressed in percentages were similar for thin and standard modes (except total body bone mineral density [TBBMD]) and were not related to anthropometric variables (except TBBMD). Concluding, due to stability of percentage coefficient of variation values in wide range of age, the use of precision error expressed in percentages, instead of absolute error, appeared as convenient in pediatric population.