Photorefractive optical fuzzy-logic processor based on grating degeneracy

A novel optical fuzzy-logic processor using light-induced gratings in photorefractive crystals is proposed and demonstrated. By exploiting grating degeneracy, one can easily implement parallel fuzzy-logic functions in disjunctive normal form.

Role of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase during the cellular response to genotoxic stress. Inhibition of c-Jun N-terminal kinase activity and AP-1-dependent gene activation

Irradiation of mammalian cells with short wavelength ultraviolet light (UVC) evokes a cascade of phosphorylation events leading to altered gene expression. Both the classic mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases and the distantly related c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) contribute to the response via phosphorylation of transcription factors including AP-1. These kinases are themselves regulated via reversible phosphorylation, and several recently identified specific MAP kinase phosphatases (MKP) have been implicated in down-regulating MAP kinase-dependent gene expression in response to mitogens. Here, we provide evidence that MKP-1 plays a role in regulating transcriptional activation in response to UVC as well as another genotoxic agent, methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). We further demonstrate that JNK is a likely target for MKP-1. JNK is shown to be activated by UVC and MMS treatment, while MAP kinase activation occurs only with UVC. Like JNK activation, MKP-1 mRNA is induced by both treatments, and elevated MKP-1 expression coincides with a decline in JNK activity. Constitutive expression of MKP-1 in vivo inhibits JNK activity and reduces UVC- and MMS-induced activation of AP-1-dependent reporter genes.

In vitro fibrillogenesis of collagen II from pig vitreous humour

Collagen from pig vitreous humour was fractionated into a soluble and an insoluble fraction by centrifugation. Most of the collagen II in the soluble fraction was present as pN-collagen II (procollagen II without the C-terminal propeptide), besides smaller quantities of procollagen II, collagen II and two as yet unidentified alpha-chains of collagen II. Other collagen types may be present only in trace amounts. Collagen II of the insoluble fraction, which is mostly deposited in fibrillar aggregates, consists of both pN-collagen II and collagen II. To determine the possible role of collagen II precursors in the formation of the extracellular matrix of the vitreous humour these collagen molecules were purified and in vitro fibrillogenesis was used to demonstrate that pN-collagen II could form fibrils in mixtures with collagen II. These fibrils have a reduced mass per unit length depending on the content of pN-collagen in the mixture. Cross-sections of the newly formed fibrillar aggregates revealed a flattened shape. The incomplete processing of the precursors of collagen II may be part of regulatory mechanisms possibly controlling the formation of a translucent scaffold as is required in the vitreous humour.

[Studies on red blood cell-mediated immunity of patients with recurrent stromal herpes simplex keratitis]

Assays of red blood cell (RBC) C3b receptor rosette and RBC immune complex (IC) rosette of 67 cases with recurrent stromal herpes simplex keratitis (HSK) were carried out. The results show that the rosette rate of RBC C3b receptor is markedly lowered and that of RBC IC receptor is significantly increased in cases with stromal HSK. In comparisons with the corresponding rates in the control group, there are significant differences (P < 0.01). The roles of RBC-mediated immunity in the immunopathogenesis of HSK were preliminarily discussed.

Nonlinear image recovery with half-quadratic regularization

One popular method for the recovery of an ideal intensity image from corrupted or indirect measurements is regularization: minimize an objective function that enforces a roughness penalty in addition to coherence with the data. Linear estimates are relatively easy to compute but generally introduce systematic errors; for example, they are incapable of recovering discontinuities and other important image attributes. In contrast, nonlinear estimates are more accurate but are often far less accessible. This is particularly true when the objective function is nonconvex, and the distribution of each data component depends on many image components through a linear operator with broad support. Our approach is based on an auxiliary array and an extended objective function in which the original variables appear quadratically and the auxiliary variables are decoupled. Minimizing over the auxiliary array alone yields the original function so that the original image estimate can be obtained by joint minimization. This can be done efficiently by Monte Carlo methods, for example by FFT-based annealing using a Markov chain that alternates between (global) transitions from one array to the other. Experiments are reported in optical astronomy, with space telescope data, and computed tomography.

Rab proteins form in vivo complexes with two isoforms of the GDP-dissociation inhibitor protein (GDI)

GTPases of the Rab family play a key role in the regulation of vesicular transport in eukaryotic cells. Several accessory proteins that regulate their GDP/GTP cycle as well as their subcellular localization have been identified within the past few years. The best known is Rab3A GDP dissociation inhibitor protein (GDI), originally identified as an inhibitor of GDP dissociation from Rab3A, a Rab protein specifically expressed in neuronal and neuroendocrine cells. Recent studies have pointed out a role of Rab3A GDI as a chaperone of several Rab proteins during their cycling between cytosol and membranes and Rab3A GDI has been considered so far as a general regulator of Rab function. However, cDNAs encoding potential isoforms of this protein, called GDI beta and GDI-2, have been recently isolated. In this study, we have characterized cytosolic Rab protein complexes in various cell types and tissues using Mono Q chromatography. We show that in rat brain and in insulin-secreting RINm5F cells, the majority of Rab proteins are complexed with Rab3A GDI. In contrast, in Chinese hamster ovary cells, they are mainly complexed to a protein that we have identified as GDI beta. In rat liver cytosol, Rab proteins form complexes with both isoforms. We also show that the proportion of Rab proteins complexed with either isoform depends on the relative abundance of Rab3A GDI and GDI beta in the cytosol. These findings suggest that GDI isoforms are either redundant or could be involved in the fine control of Rab function.

[Interruption of perinatal transmission of HBV by Chinese recombinant hepatitis B vaccine]

Sixty-two infants who were born from HBsAg and HBeAg both positive mothers were vaccinated with 20 micrograms/dose recombinant hepatitis B vaccine, which was made in Beijing Institute of Biologic Products (Vaccinia virus recombinant hepatitis B vaccine) and Changchun Institute of Biologic Products (Chinese hamster ovary cells recombinant hepatitis B vaccine), at 0, 1, 6 months. All the babies were followed up for 9 or 12 months. The results showed that the protective rates of Beijing vaccine and Changchun vaccine were 79.2% and 80.2%, respectively, the positive rates of anti-HBs were 78.8% and 79.3%, respectively. Local or systematic reactions were not found in all the babies 3 days after injection. These results suggested that the Chinese recombinant hepatitis B vaccine was safe and effective. It was better than the plasma vaccine with the same dose.

Intracellular calcium dependent activation of p72syk in platelets

We previously demonstrated that thrombin-induced activation of p72syk was independent of intracellular Ca2+ elevation in platelets. However, our previous studies also demonstrated that activation of platelets by ionophore A23187 results in a dramatic increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of several cellular proteins. In the present study, we investigated the effect of Ca2+ elevation on the activity of p72syk. When washed porcine platelets were stimulated with ionophore A23187 and the activity of p72syk was assessed by means of an immunoprecipitation kinase assay, A23187 caused a time- and dose-dependent increase in the specific activity of p72syk. In addition, pretreatment of platelets with both aspirin and ADP scavengers or chelation of extracellular Ca2+ by EGTA had no effect on the A23187-induced activation of p72syk. These results indicate that A23187-induced activation of p72syk is independent of the formation of endoperoxide/thromboxane A2, released ADP and extracellular Ca2+, suggesting the existence of a novel pathway for activation of p72syk. Furthermore, evidence is presented which indicates a synergistic effect of A23187 and thrombin on the activation of p72syk, and an inhibitory effect of pretreatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, a protein kinase C activator, on the activation of p72syk induced by either A23187 or thrombin.

[Influence of refined amorphophallus konjac on osteoporosis in the aged female rats: a preliminary bone histomorphometric analysis]

The hypolipidaemic and antisteatotic effects of refined amorphophallus konjac (RAK) have been reported. In order to further evaluate the effect of RAK on osteoporosis in the aged female SD rats, forty one month aged female SD rats were divided into three groups: a normal diet group (S), another normal diet group (A) and a test group (B) in which the animals were fed on a diet similar to that of the normal diet group with the addition of RAK at a dosage of 1%. At the end of the sixth month of the diet treatment, all the animals in S group were killed. Animals of the other two groups were sacrificed at the end of experiments for 18 months. Blood and right femora samples were collected for serum Ca, P, and for bone mineral contents (BMC), respectively. Inorganic matter (ash content), and calcium and phosphorus contents of the left femur were measured. Meanwhile, undecalcified sections of left tibia were processed for bone histomorphometry. The results showed that trabecular bone volume (Vv), trabecular perimeters (TRP), bone mineral contents (BMC) as well as the Ca, P contents of bone were lower in A and B than in S, but no significance was found between A and B in all of the above indices. These data exhibited: (1) Similar to the postmenopausal osteoporosis in aged women, the bone mass of the aged female rats was markedly lost in A and B. (2) A diet treatment with 1% RAK would not aggravate osteoporosis.

Immunologic characterization of Plasmodium vivax antigens using Plasmodium cynomolgi liver stage-primed immune sera

We have shown in a previous study that immunization of a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) with inactivated liver stages of the simian malaria parasite Plasmodium cynomolgi (B strain) produced high antibody titers against sporozoites, liver stages, and blood stages of P. cynomolgi. In the present study, we demonstrate that these anti-P. cynomolgi immune sera recognized P. vivax (Salvador I) antigens. In an indirect immunofluorescence assay, both postimmunization and postchallenge sera reacted with antigens of sporozoite, liver-, and blood-stage parasites. In Western blot analysis, postimmunization sera recognized four bands of 97, 93, 70, and 65 kD in sporozoite antigens; postchallenge sera further recognized three doublet (set of two) bands of 86-90, 73-78, and 44-52 kD. When blood-stage extracts were used as antigens, five bands of 118, 105, 76, 68, and 47 kD reacted with postimmunization sera; two doublet bands of 81-87 and 49-52 kD further reacted with postchallenge sera. None of these sera reacted with asexual blood-stage extracts of P. falciparum and P. malariae, or with a recombinant circumsporozoite protein of P. vivax.

Immunoreactivity, stability, pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of a monoclonal antibody to human leukemic B cells after three different methods of radioiodination

Dal B02, a murine monoclonal antibody against human chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was radioiodinated using chloramine T (Chl.T), Bolton-Hunter (B-H) or N-succinimidyl-p-iodobenzoate (PIB). The preparations had comparable radiochemical purity (> 97%) and immunoreactive fraction (65-80%) but the Chl.T-based product was most susceptible to deiodination and loss of immunoreactivity. After i.v. injection into CLL-xenografted nude mice, the preparations had identical patterns of clearance from the blood but the PIB-based product led to more radioactivity in liver and spleen and less in the thyroid compared to the other preparations. The Chl.T-based product showed loss of immunoreactivity in circulation and less tumor-localized radioactivity 168 h after administration. The differences between the B-H-based and PIB-based products were less impressive than between PIB-based and Chl.T-based products.

Technetium-99m-methylene diphosphonate uptake in the fetal skeleton at 30 weeks gestation

Retention of 99mTc-MDP in the fetal skeleton and placenta at 30 and 32 wk gestation was observed during bone scan examination of the maternal skeleton for staging of malignant tumors. The implications and significance of these observations are discussed.

Chlamydia trachomatis from individuals in a sexually transmitted disease core group exhibit frequent sequence variation in the major outer membrane protein (omp1) gene

60 cervical Chlamydia trachomatis infections identified by antigen detection from 51 prostitute women in Nairobi, Kenya were evaluated for sequence polymorphism in the major outer membrane protein (omp1) gene. DNA from clinical specimens was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and cycle sequenced through variable domains (VD) 1, 2, and 4.37 (63%) samples had variant VD sequences, 19 (32%) samples had prototype VD sequences, and 4 (6%) samples had prototype VD sequences, and 4 (6%) samples contained omp1 sequences from two or more C. trachomatis strains. Among the 37 variant strains, 18 had two or fewer nucleotide substitutions in one or two VDs and represented point mutational drift variants. 19 strains had a larger number of nucleotide changes and displayed mosaic omp1 sequences that may have been generated by omp1 VD recombination. We conclude that the prevalence of C. trachomatis omp1 DNA polymorphism is substantial among prostitute women in Nairobi, Kenya and that this is the likely result of immune selection pressure.

The effect of nutritional additives on anti-infective factors in human milk

It has become a common practice to supplement human milk with a variety of additives to improve the nutritive content of the feeding for the premature infant. Twenty-two freshly frozen human milk samples were measured for lysozyme activity, total IgA, and specific IgA to Escherichia coli serotypes 01, 04, and 06. One mL aliquots were mixed with the following: 1 mL of Similac, Similac Special Care, Enfamil, Enfamil Premature Formula, and sterile water; 33 mL of Poly-Vi-Sol, 33 mg of Moducal, and 38 mg of breast-milk fortifier, and then reanalyzed. Significant decreases (41% to 74%) in lysozyme activity were seen with the addition of all formulas; breast-milk fortifier reduced activity by 19%, while no differences were seen with Moducal, sterile water, or Poly-Vi-Sol. No differences were seen in total IgA content, but some decreases were seen in specific IgA to E. coli serotypes 04 and 06. E. coli growth was determined after 3 1/2 hours of incubation at 37 degrees C after mixing. All cow-milk formulas enhanced E. coli growth; soy formulas and other additives preserved inhibition of bacterial growth. Nutritional additives can impair anti-infective properties of human milk, and such interplay should be considered in the decision on the feeding regimen of premature infants.

Interleukin 2 mediates p72syk activation in peripheral blood lymphocytes

The ability of interleukin 2 (IL-2) to stimulate p72syk activity in intact porcine peripheral blood lymphocytes was examined. We demonstrated that IL-2 activated p72syk in a time- and dose-dependent manner, for which its peak time and maximum responsive dose were 5 min and 100 U/ml, respectively. This activation was observed only in cytosolic fractions and not in membrane ones. However, IL-2 failed to induced calcium mobilization. Moreover, IL-2-inducible p72synk activation was not affected when extra- intracellular calcium was depleted. These data suggest that the IL-2 signaling pathway through p72syk in peripheral blood lymphocytes is different, at least in part, from other agonists, such as concanavalin A in polymorphonuclear neutrophils which can trigger both the activation of p72syk and intracellular calcium mobilization.

A unique antigenic determinant on collagen II closely associated with age related abnormal modification

During aging, a variety of proteins undergo a non-enzymatic modification, such as oxidation, attachment of lipid peroxide, and glycation. In particular, the long-lived extracellular matrix proteins in connective tissue may be common targets for this kind of modification which, in turn, is involved in the pathogenesis of age related diseases. In the present study, we demonstrate that the age related modification on collagen II generates (a) new epitope(s). Furthermore, we established an immunochemical assay which is specifically suited to monitor the extent of abnormal modification of collagen II.

Purification and characterization of a protein-tyrosine kinase p72syk from porcine spleen

We have succeeded in purifying p72syk, a non-receptor-type protein-tyrosine kinase carrying high susceptibility to proteolysis [Taniguchi, T., Kobayashi, T., Kondo, J., Takahashi, K., Nakamura, H., Suzuki, J., Nagai, K., Yamada, T., Nakamura, S. and Yamamura, H. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 15790-15796] from porcine spleen. The purification procedure involves a sequential column chromatography, following extraction with 0.5 M NaCl from spleen homogenate, on phosphocellulose, Sephacryl S-200, heparin-Sepharose CL-6B, Mono Q and Mono S. SDS/PAGE of the final purified sample revealed a 72-kDa protein band with about 95% purity and immunodepletion analysis showed immunological cross-reactivity with anti-p72syk antibody which does not recognize ZAP-70. It was purified approximately 3000-fold with an overall yield of 0.54% according to [Val5]angiotensin II phosphorylation activity and the specific activity of the final sample (30 nmol phosphate.min-1.mg protein-1) was relatively lower than that of the 40-kDa kinase, a catalytic fragment of p72syk which lacks two src homology regions 2 domains. The p72syk had an autophosphorylation activity that was performed by intramolecular catalysis accompanied by a phosphate exchange reaction, and could efficiently phosphorylate tubulin, myelin basic protein and H2B histone. Employing [Val5]angiotensin II as a substrate, the apparent Km value for the peptide was 0.91 mM and that for ATP was 0.48 microM. Mn2+, Mg2+ and Co2+ were effective divalent cations and optimum pH was around 8.0-8.5 for the expression of the activity. These results suggest that the purified p72syk may exist as a less active form compared with the 40-kDa kinase and that the part of p72syk containing two src homology region 2 domains may participate in the regulation of its activity though the enzymic character is quite similar to that of the 40-kDa kinase.

Mechanism transformation with wavelength of self-pumped phase conjugation in BaTiO(3):Ce

We report what is to our knowledge the first observation of mechanism transformation with wavelength of self-pumped phase conjugation (SPPC) in BaTiO(3):Ce crystals in the near infrared. It was found that the SPPC mechanism changed from a backscattering and four-wave-mixing mechanism to a cat mechanism when the pump wavelength was varied from 706 to 770 nm. In addition, SPPC was obtained when the pump beam entered the crystal by the +c face, and a variation with wavelength of optical beam paths in the crystal was also observed.

[Histopathologic and bone histomorphometric studies of pigs' phalanges in an endemic fluorosis area]

This paper presents the histopathologic changes and bone histomorphometry of ten pigs' phalanges in an endemic fluorosis area. Ten pigs from nonendemic area served as control. Results showed that the fluoride contents of blood, urine and bone were markedly increased and the calcium contents of blood were markedly decreased in endemic pigs than those in nonendemic ones. Histopathologic and bone morphometric studies of the phalangeal bones of pigs from endemic area indicate that osteoporosis is the predominant change.

[The biological properties of two CD71 McAbs]

Two monoclonal antibodies (McAbs), HI160 and HI166, recognize different epitopes of the CD71 antigen. Their biological properties have been studied, and the results demonstrated that both had down-regulation effects. HI160 McAb not only inhibited the activation and proliferation of T and B lymphocytes but also the growth of CFU-GM. HI166 McAb only inhibited the activation and proliferation of T lymphocytes. The differences in the biological properties of the two CD71 McAbs might be due to the different epitopes recognized by them. The application value of these McAbs is discussed.