Density operator formalism for the description of coherence evolution of a homonuclear two-spin system in rotating solids

Based on a simple disentangling technique of the propagator, a density operator formalism is developed to describe the behavior of a homonuclear two-spin system in rotating solids. It is shown that the coherence evolutions can be characterized in terms of quaternions or a rotation matrix in a three-dimensional space; the coherence transfers between two different spins can thus be analysed well.

The endogenous vascular elastase that governs development and progression of monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats is a novel enzyme related to the serine proteinase adipsin

We showed previously a cause and effect relationship between increased activity of an endogenous vascular elastase (EVE) and experimentally induced pulmonary hypertension in rats. We now report the isolation and characterization of EVE. Degenerate oligonucleotides synthesized to homologous sequences in serine elastases were used in a PCR with rat pulmonary artery (PA) cDNA. The PCR product hybridized to a 1.2-kb mRNA and the intensity of hybridization was threefold increased in RNA from rat hypertensive PA at a timepoint when EVE activity was increased. The PCR product was used to screen a cDNA library and sequences obtained encoded rat adipsin. We then used immunoaffinity to purify EVE. An antibody to the elastin-binding protein was used to remove this competitor of elastase from the PA extract and the elastolytic activity increased 100-fold. The enzyme was purified using an antibody that recognizes NH2-terminal sequences of serine proteinases and the eluate was further purified using an antibody raised against recombinant adipsin. A single band at 20 kD immunoreactive with the adipsin antibody was resolved as an active enzyme on an elastin substrate gel. Immunogold labeling with an antibody to an adipsin peptide sequence localized EVE to PA smooth muscle cells. This is the first isolation of EVE; it appears to be a novel enzyme related to the serine proteinase adipsin originally found in adipose tissue.

Measurement of 13C chemical shift tensor principal values with a magic-angle turning experiment

The magic-angle turning (MAT) experiment introduced by Gan is developed into a powerful and routine method for measuring the principal values of 13C chemical shift tensors in powdered solids. A large-volume MAT probe with stable rotation frequencies down to 22 Hz is described. A triple-echo MAT pulse sequence is introduced to improve the quality of the two-dimensional baseplane. It is shown that measurements of the principal values of chemical shift tensors in complex compounds can be enhanced by using either short contact times or dipolar dephasing pulse sequences to isolate the powder patterns from protonated or non-protonated carbons, respectively. A model compound, 1,2,3-trimethoxybenzene, is used to demonstrate these techniques, and the 13C principal values in 2,3-dimethylnaphthalene and Pocahontas coal are reported as typical examples.

Bioequivalence of 20-mg Once-Daily Tamoxifen Relative to 10-mg Twice-Daily Tamoxifen Regimens for Breast Cancer

Table 2 in the report entitled "Bioequivalence of 20-mg Once-Daily Tamoxifen Relative to 10-mg Twice-Daily Tamoxifen Regimens for Breast Cancer" by Buzdar et al contained an error in two column headings. It is reprinted here correctly in its entirety.

Please see the PDF for Table.

The first solid-state 171Yb nuclear magnetic resonance spectra

The first powder and magic-angle spinning (MAS) experiments on 171Yb are reported. The divalent ytterbium compound RbYbI3 was studied by solid-state 171Yb nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and a powder spectrum of axial symmetry was obtained. The principal components of the chemical shielding tensor were determined as sigma 11 = sigma 22 = -62 ppm and sigma 33 = 124 ppm. An inversion-recovery experiment showed an anisotropic relaxation behavior with the parallel component relaxing faster than the perpendicular component (T1 perpendicular = 426 ms, T1 parallel = 298 ma). The natural line width of 800 Hz, which corresponds to an effective T2 of 0.4 ms, was obtained from the MAS spectrum.

Extremely high levels of CA19-9 and CA125 antigen in benign mucinous ovarian cystadenoma

A Japanese woman had a mucinous cystadenoma of the left ovary associated with very high serum levels of CA19-9 (3170 u/ml) and CA125 (1705 u/ml). Such high levels of both antigens have not been reported previously in patients with benign ovarian mucinous cystadenoma. Immunostaining demonstrated CA19-9 and CA125 in the tumor, and different patterns of expression were noted depending on the differentiation of the epithelium. The postoperative tumor marker profile suggested that no residual tumor was left after the operation.

Adsorption of Na+ onto gamma-alumina studied by solid-state 23Na and 27Al nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The adsorption of Na+ on gamma-alumina surfaces at four coverages of Na2CO3[5, 10, 15 and 20% w/w)] was characterized by solid-state 23Na and 27Al nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The experimental results suggest that two distinct adsorbed species are present on the alumina surface: surface species and surface salts. At the lower coverages of Na2CO3 (5 and 10%), the surface species is predominant, in which the Na+ cations are associated with the oxygen atoms of gamma-alumina. Increasing the loading level to 15% results in the appearance of a second adsorbed species that is attributed to the surface salt, Na2CO3, deposited on the solid surface. Further adsorption of Na2CO3 leads to an increase in the amount of surface salt while the amount of surface species remains unchanged. 1H-27Al Cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CP-MAS) experiments give the evidence that some Na+ cations in the form of surface species are coordinated with the Brönsted acid sites of gamma-alumina. This may be the main driving force that improves appreciably the catalytic efficiency of an Na2CO3-Al2O3 catalyst.

Improvements to the magic angle hopping experiment

Several improvements to the magic angle hopping experiment first introduced by Bax et al. [J. Magn. Reson., 52 (1983) 147] are presented. A dc servo motor driven sample hopping mechanism which requires less than 60 ms to accomplish a 120 degrees sample rotation is described. Modifications to the data acquisition process, including starting the acquisition period immediately after the second hop and acquiring a hypercomplex data set, are also presented. Principal values of the 13C chemical shielding tensor are measured for 1,2,3-trimethoxybenzene and 2,6-dimethoxynaphthalene.

One-dimensional double-quantum magic-angle-spinning NMR of deuterated solids

An approach to double-quantum magic-angle spinning (2Q-MAS) of spin I = 1 with a time-share irradiation, resulting in a one-dimensional (1D) MQ spectrum, is demonstrated in this paper. The experiment was carried out with perdeuterated dimethoxybenzene and showed that the 2Q transitions were insensitive to the spinning axis deviation from the magic angle. The 1D-2Q-MAS scheme may also be applied to nitrogen-containing solids.

Corrections to the cross-polarization dynamics in solids. The effect of nonsecular terms of heteronuclear dipolar interaction on cross-relaxation

The dynamic theory of cross-polarization in solids is modified by considering the contribution of the nonsecular terms of the heteronuclear dipolar interaction Hamiltonian in the laboratory frame to cross-relaxation. This contribution is evaluated numerically and confirmed experimentally. It is shown that these nonsecular terms may play a considerable role in cross-relaxation in many systems, especially in those with fast internal molecular motion. The complication in the cross-polarization process is further revealed.

Increased pulmonary artery elastolytic activity in adult rats with monocrotaline-induced progressive hypertensive pulmonary vascular disease compared with infant rats with nonprogressive disease

In a rat model of pulmonary hypertension induced by monocrotaline, medial hypertrophy of the pulmonary arteries is associated with enhanced production (synthesis) of insoluble elastin relative to accumulation and an increased number of elastin fragments, features suggestive of an elastolytic process. In the present study, we measured and characterized pulmonary artery (PA) elastolytic activity at time points before as well as coincident with the progression of medial hypertrophy in monocrotaline-injected adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. We also determined whether medial hypertrophy is preceded by ultrastructural changes in elastin. Since medial hypertrophy develops but fails to progress in rats injected with monocrotaline at 8 days of age, we assessed whether, compared with adult rats, there were also structural and biochemical differences in elastin and elastolytic activity. A twofold increase in elastolytic activity per milligram tissue was observed 2 days after monocrotaline injection in adult rats (p less than 0.01), and there was an increased number of breaks in the internal elastic lamina (IEL) at 4 days (p less than 0.05) (i.e., before the development of medial hypertrophy). Associated with the progression of medial hypertrophy between 16 and 28 days after monocrotaline injection, there was a further threefold increase in elastolytic activity per milligram tissue by 28 days (p less than 0.01). Susceptibility of the elastolytic activity to specific inhibitors suggested that one or more serine elastases is involved. In infant rats in which medial and right ventricular hypertrophy fail to progress in severity between 16 and 28 days after monocrotaline injection, we did not measure an increase in elastolytic activity, nor was there evidence of an increase in the number of breaks in the IEL at 4 days, suggesting a lack of increased elastolytic activity at an earlier time point. The total content of PA elastin in infant rats, although increased compared with control rats (p less than 0.01), was not associated with heightened production and appeared ultrastructurally as thicker laminae (p less than 0.05) rather than as fragments previously reported in adult rats.

New developments in the pulmonary circulation in children

This article reviews new advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension. In diagnosis, Doppler echocardiography has been refined and its accuracy increased, and magnetic resonance imaging is being developed as a new tool. Prostacyclin and calcium channel blockers remain mainstays of short-term therapy, and single-lung transplantation has become a new therapeutic option. Newer pharmacotherapeutics are largely directed at reversing acute vasoconstriction and include approaches related to ATP and endothelial-derived relaxing factor. In pathophysiology, recent studies have shown the role of elastase in mediating the initiation and progression of pulmonary hypertension, the regulation of gene expression of collagen, elastin, endothelin, and growth factors including transforming growth factor-B and insulinlike growth factor-I, and mechanisms of signal transduction of smooth muscle cell proliferation. The migratory smooth muscle cell phenotype has been studied in terms of altered expression of endothelial and smooth muscle extracellular matrix components, including hyaluronan and fibronectin, respectively.

[Pharmacological study on an irreversible ligand of opioid receptors, A-alpha-CAM, and its reaction with the sulfhydryl group]

A-alpha-CAM is an irreversible partial agonist of opiate receptors. Its binding to opioid receptors from P2 membrane preparations of rat brain and its effect on isolated tissues (GPI, MVD, RVD and RbVD) could not be washed away, indicating the irreversible nature of its binding. A-alpha-CAM inhibited the electrically elicited contraction of GPI, a pure agonist, with an IC50 of 2.6 mumol/L, and this effect could not be antagonized by Nx. A-alpha-CAM acted as a partial agonist on MVD with an IC50 of 0.153 mumol/L. With RVD and RbVD, A-alpha-CAM acted as an antagonist with PA2 values of 7.4 and 7.7 respectively. Possibly, covalent binding of A-alpha-CAM with the sulfhydryl groups of opioid receptors is the biochemical mechanisms responsible for its irreversible action.

Long-term starvation-induced loss of antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and aPseudomonas sp. strain 133B containing the pSa plasmid were starved in well water for up to 523 days. There were two patterns of apparent antibiotic resistance loss observed. InPseudomonas sp. strain 133B, there was no apparent loss of antibiotic resistance even after starvation for 340 days. InE. coli, by day 49 there was a ten-fold difference between the number of cells that would grow on antibiotic- and nonantibiotic-containing plates. However, over 76% of the cells that apparently lost their antibiotic resistance were able to express antibiotic resistance after first being resuscitated on non-selective media. By day 523, only 12% of these cells were able to express their antibiotic resistance after being resuscitated. After starvation for 49 days, cells that could not grow on antibiotic medium even after resuscitation, showed a permanent loss of chloramphenicol (Cm) resistance but retained resistance to kanamycin (Km) and streptomycin (Sm). Restriction enzyme digests show that a 2.5 to 3.0 Kb region from map location 12.5 to 15.5 Kb was deleted. This coincides with the 2.5 Kb reduction in plasmid size observed in 3 isolates that had lost antibiotic resistance after starvation for 49 days.

Plasmid expression and maintenance during long-term starvation-survival of bacteria in well water

Strains of enteric bacteria and pseudomonads containing plasmid R388::Tnl721 (Tpr, Tcr) or pRO101 (Hgr, Tcr) were starved for over 250 days in sterile well water to evaluate effects of starvation-survival on plasmid expression and maintenance. Viable populations dropped to between approximately 0.1 and 1% of the initial populations. Escherichia coli(pRO101) and Pseudomonas cepacia(pRO101) lost both viability and plasmid expression at a lower rate than strains containing R388::Tnl721. Three patterns of host-plasmid interaction were detected: (i) no apparent loss of plasmid expression, (ii) loss of plasmid expression on initial recovery with subsequent expression upon resuscitation, and (iii) loss of capability to produce functional plasmid resistance.