[The relation of vasoactive intestinal peptide and acute hypoxia]

In order to observe the effect of acute hypoxia on release of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), the plasma VIP content was determined in anesthetized dogs by a specific radioimmunoassay technique during acute hypoxia. Blood gases and hemodynamics were monitored simultaneously. After inhalation of 10% oxygen. the plasma VIP levels elevated along with decrease in PaO2 and increase in pulmonary artery pressure. The plasma concentration of VIP in the portal vein increased significantly from 106 +/- 21 pg/ml before hypoxia to 173 +/- 36 pg/ml 15 minutes after the onset of hypoxia (P less than 0.01). The difference of arterio-venous VIP content increased from -3 +/- 6 pg/ml before hypoxia to +9 +/- 7 pg/ml after inhalation of 10% oxygen for 30 minutes. The results suggested that VIP was released from the gastrointestinal tract as well as from the lung in case of hypoxia and pulmonary hypertension. It is considered that the release of VIP may be an adaptive and compensatory response, promoting vasodilation and perfusion in vital organs.

Rotation invariant pattern recognition with a programmable joint transform correlator

A circular harmonic expansion filter is real value implemented in a joint transform correlatora rchitecturet o perform rotation invariant pattern recognition.

The effects of pH on hyaluronate as observed by light scattering

Hyaluronate was investigated over a wide pH range, and at near zero and intermediate ionic strength, using dynamic and total intensity light scattering. Commercially obtained rooster comb hyaluronate was purified, and solutions were prepared in pure water by low-power bath ultrasonication and subsequent filtering. These solutions were of low polydispersity and appeared to contain single molecules of hyaluronate. Despite the absence of added electrolyte, these solutions yielded well-behaved Zimm plots. Increasing ionic strength and changing pH decreased radii of gyration and increased diffusion constants. Except for what appeared to be slow hydrolysis at either extreme of pH, molecular weights remained constant under all pH and ionic strength conditions. Under all solvent conditions investigated, diffusion coefficients increased with decreasing hyaluronate concentration. Unsonicated, lightly centrifuged solutions without added electrolyte were polydisperse, and their light scattering intensity was dominated by what appeared to be stable hyaluronate aggregates. The results are interpreted in terms of the polyelectrolyte properties of hyaluronate and its tendency to form stable entanglements, especially at low ionic strength. Previous light scattering studies in the literature on hyaluronate have shown widely varying results. The present article briefly reviews this literature and attempts to explain the variation among the previous results, emphasizing the Kuhn statistical segment length as an indicator of whether results are influenced by polydispersity or contaminants causing hyaluronate aggregation.

In vivo interference by Newcastle disease virus in chickens, the natural host of the virus

Homologous and heterologous viral interference is a common occurrence that has been well studied in vitro. In the present study, homologous viral interference between the LaSota and NYP strains of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was studied in vivo in chickens, the natural host for NDV. The LaSota strain is avirulent and widely used as a vaccine in poultry industry, while the NYP strain is highly virulent and causes acute disease and death in chickens within four to six days after infection. Chickens generally became resistant to NYP strain challenge 12 hours after intranasal or intratracheal inoculation with LaSota strain virus. The resistance was manifested by reduction in chicken morbidity and mortality, decrease in virus replication in the chicken respiratory tract (p less than 0.05), and inhibition of NYP strain induced gross and microscopic lesions. Interferon was first detected in the chicken respiratory tract and blood at 3 to 6 hours; it peaked at 12 to 24 hours and was maintained for 48 hours after viral inoculation, indicating that interferon induction might be one possible mechanism of the interference between the two strains. This study suggests a role for viral interference in vaccination against virulent viruses.

[Identification of flavonoids from Oxytropis glabra DC]

The structures and identification of five flavonoids from Oxytropis glabra are described. The five flavonoids are kaempferol, quercetin, kaempferol-3-beta-D-glucoside, kaempferol-7-alpha-L-rhamnoside and kaempferol-3-diglucoside. All of them were isolated from this plant for the first time.

Flow cytometric analysis DNA content in esophageal carcinoma. Correlation with histologic and clinical features

Cell nuclear DNA content was determined by flow cytometric analysis in 36 patients with esophageal carcinoma. Aneuploid DNA content was observed in 25 cases (69.4%). The relationships among DNA content, histopathologic features, and clinical characteristics were investigated. The patients with aneuploid DNA content had a high frequency of local lymph node metastasis, invasion to surrounding tissues, poor histologic differentiation, and advanced tumor stages as compared with those patients with diploid DNA content. In contrast to this, there was no correlation in patients' sex, age, and the sites of the disease.

Induction of Epstein-Barr virus in B-lymphoblastoid cells by human immunodeficiency virus type 1

Individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the etiologic agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), often show symptoms associated with reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). In this study, we show that exposure of EBV-positive B lymphocytes to HIV-1 in vitro induced the EBV replicative cycle in these cells, as evidenced by an increased proportion of cells expressing EBV early antigens (EA) and capsid antigens (VCA). Reactivation of EBV by HIV-1 appeared to be virus-dose-dependent and required virus penetration and expression in B cells. Although HIV-1 RNA was detected by in situ hybridization in the majority of HIV-1-infected B lymphocytes, induction of EA and VCA was transient and limited to less than 20% of the cell population. The tumor-promoting phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and HIV-1 acted synergistically and had similar kinetics in inducing the expression of EBV. Direct reactivation of EBV by HIV-1 may contribute to the role of EBV as a factor in the genesis of AIDS-related conditions.

Studies of safe maximal daily dietary selenium intake in a seleniferous area in China. I. Selenium intake and tissue selenium levels of the inhabitants

Studies of marginal safe Se-intake have been carried out in a seleniferous section of China since 1985. Three areas with low, medium and high Se levels were selected for this study. The respective average daily Se-intake (mean +/- SE) was 70.5 +/- 4.8 micrograms, 194.7 +/- 22.9 micrograms and 1438.2 +/- 76.3 micrograms for males, and 62.0 +/- 3.6 micrograms, 198.1 +/- 23.8 micrograms and 1238.5 +/- 64.6 micrograms for females (average body weight: male 55 Kg, female 53 Kg). When the increasing rate of Se-intake was compared with the corresponding tissue-Se levels it was found that the whole blood Se-level reflected more closely the physiological range of Se-intake, while at higher Se-intakes it became less sensitive than the levels in hair, finger-nail and toe-nail, which were comparable to the sensitivity of urine. It is suggested that hair, finger- and toe-nail may all act as excretory organs when excess amounts of Se are ingested. Hair- and blood-Cd are somewhat higher in residents of the high Se area, but whether they have influenced human Se-metabolism at the high level of Se-intake is not yet known. Significant correlations on log-log plots were obtained between levels of daily Se-intake and whole blood r = 0.878), breast milk (r = 0.899) and 24-h-urine (r = 0.859). Highly significant correlations on log-log plots between levels of tissue were also obtained: urine Se--plasma Se (r = 0.968), whole blood Se--hair Se (r = 0.952), fingernail Se--toenail Se (r = 0.919), hair Se--fingernail Se (r = 0.914), hair Se--toenail Se (r = 0.891), whole blood Se--toenail Se (r = 0.849) and whole blood Se--fingernail Se (r = 0.836). The highly significant correlations found between the Se-intake and the tissue-Se level, and also between the Se levels of various tissues, could possibly conveniently be used to convert the known tissue-Se level to the corresponding Se-intake. Taken together with the wide range of Se-intakes and corresponding tissue-Se levels this would provide the necessary conditions for studying the marginal and maximal safe Se-intakes in humans.

The relationship between nutritional antioxidants and serum lipid peroxides in cancer patients

A new parameter, the ratio of lipid peroxide and vitamins E and C [LPO/(VE + VC)], has been proposed and used to reflect the balance between lipid peroxidation and antioxidation capability of cancer patients and of healthy human controls. The effects of vitamins E, C, and selenium on the serum LPO level in mice bearing Ascites Hepatomas (H22) have also been examined. The results showed that the average of LPO/(VE + VC) ratios in cancer patients (135 cases) was significantly higher than that of the normal controls (222 cases). The authors suggest that this ratio might be used as one of the parameters for early diagnosis and prognosis of diseases (including cancers) caused by free radicals and lipid peroxides. The results also showed that antioxidants - Se(Na2SeO3, 1mg/kg) or vitamin E (5mg/kg) could markedly decrease the level of serum LPO in the tumor-bearing animals. A smaller dose of VE (1mg/kg) and doses of Vc up to 300mg/kg showed no effect on the serum LPO levels when given separately. However, synergistic effects were observed when any 2 out of 3 or three nutrients were given together. Those with three nutrients significantly lowered the serum LPO level. These antioxidants also inhibited the proliferation of tumour cells.

Inhibition of inositol phospholipid synthesis and norepinephrine-stimulated hydrolysis in rat brain slices by excitatory amino acids

Inhibition by excitatory amino acid agonists of norepinephrine (NE)-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis was studied in rat brain slices. Inhibition was not observed in cortical slices prelabeled with [3H]inositol but was observed when slices were incubated simultaneously with [3H]inositol, glutamate, and NE. Therefore, we hypothesized that glutamate inhibits the synthesis of inositol phospholipids available to the alpha 1-adrenergic receptor, thereby reducing NE-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis. To test this hypothesis, the distribution of [3H]inositol in cortical slices was measured after 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 min of incubation, with some slices being exposed to 200 microM NE, 1 mM glutamate, 1 mM N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), 1 mM kainate, 1 mM quisqualate, or to NE in the presence of each of the excitatory amino acid agonists. Glutamate had little effect on the slice content of free [3H]inositol, but it severely reduced the synthesis of [3H]inositol phospholipids, in the presence or absence of NE. Glutamate also abolished NE-induced production of [3H]inositol monophosphate, [3H]inositol bisphosphate and [3H]inositol trisphosphate. Quisqualate mimicked the effects of glutamate, whereas NMDA and kainate caused less inhibition of the synthesis of [3H]inositol phospholipids and did not inhibit the response to NE. Glutamate produced similar inhibitory effects in slices from hippocampus and striatum. To test if the inhibitory effect of glutamate was the result of irreversible cell damage, cortical slices were incubated with 1 mM glutamate for 60 min prior to exposure to [3H]inositol and NE. Preincubation with glutamate did not reduce the synthesis of [3H]inositol phospholipids or inhibit NE-stimulated [3H]inositol monophosphate production. These results indicate that glutamate impairs the synthesis of inositol phospholipids. Each of the excitatory amino acid agonists, quisqualate, NMDA and kainate, inhibited [3H]inositol phospholipid synthesis, but only quisqualate affected [3H]inositol phospholipids available to the alpha 1-adrenergic receptor.

On techniques for detecting circumscribed masses in mammograms

A method for detecting one type of breast tumor, circumscribed masses, in mammograms is presented. It relies on a combination of criteria used by experts, including the shape, brightness contrast, and uniform density of tumor areas. The method uses modified median filtering to enhance mammogram images and template matching to detect the tumors. In the template matching step, suspicious areas are identified by thresholding the cross-correlation values, and a percentile method is used to determine a threshold for each film. In addition, two tests are used to remove false alarms from the resulting candidates. The results obtained by applying these techniques to a set of test images are described. They are judged encouraging.

Synthesis and physicochemical and immunological characterization of pneumococcus type 12F polysaccharide-diphtheria toxoid conjugates

A scheme for the synthesis and purification of conjugates, composed of the type 12F capsular polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae (Pn12F) and diphtheria toxoid, is described. The scheme is a modification of that described previously for the Vi capsular polysaccharide of Salmonella typhi, a linear homopolymer of N-acetylgalactoseaminouronic acid (S. C. Szu, A. L. Stone, J. D. Robbins, R. Schneerson, and J. B. Robbins, J. Exp. Med. 166:1510-1524, 1986). Pn12F is a branched-chain copolymer composed of a hexasaccharide repeating unit containing an aminouronic acid, N-acetylmannoseaminouronic acid (K. Leontein, B. Lindberg, and J. Lonngren, Can. J. Chem. 59:2081-2085, 1981). Sulfhydryl groups were introduced into Pn12F by forming an amide bond between cystamine and carboxyl groups of N-acetylmannoseaminouronic acid in the presence of a carbodiimide. The disulfide moiety of cystamine was reduced to form the cysteamine derivative of Pn12F which was, in turn, covalently bound to diphtheria toxoid by using the heterobifunctional linker N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridylthio)propionate. Unbound, high-molecular-weight Pn12F was removed from the conjugate by hydrophobic interaction chromatography through octyl Sepharose by using n-octyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside as the eluent. In young outbred mice, Pn12F did not elicit detectable serum antibodies. Pn12F-diphtheria toxoid, in contrast, elicited antibodies after two injections and had T-cell-dependent properties as evidenced by a response to priming and by its ability to elicit booster responses. This scheme seems applicable to the synthesis of conjugates with other capsular polysaccharides containing aminouronic acids. Clinical evaluation of Pn12F-diphtheria toxoid conjugates in healthy and in immunocompromised hosts is planned.

A pseudoinverse filter for limited-angle diffraction tomography involving objects with planar structure

A reconstruction technique for limited-angle diffraction tomography is described in which a special pseudoinverse filter is applied to the back-propagation. Using this approach, it is possible to reconstruct a ten-layered object with only 19 projections having angles ranging from -10 degrees to +10 degrees . It is concluded that the algorithm proposed here offers an efficient and computationally easy method for reconstructing an object with planar structure. Even when the number of layers is large and the range of incident angle is limited, the method will give good images.