Diffuse choroidal melanocytoma in a child. A lesion extending the spectrum of melanocytic hamartomas.

A 10-year-old white boy presented with a diffuse pigmented lesion of the choroid of his right eye that had led to a partial secondary retinal detachment. Because of the fear of a diffuse choroidal melanoma (a lesion never before reported in an individual within the first two decades of life), the eye was enucleated. An incisional P-32 study, compared with an uninvolved region, was positive at 154% uptake.

Fetal adenoma of the pigmented ciliary epithelium associated with persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous.

A 1.5-year-old girl presented with a peripheral iris mass. When the girl was 3 years old, the lesion was excised after it had manifested significant growth.

Purification and properties of an intranuclear virus-specific antigen from tissue infected with Borna disease virus.

A virus-specific antigen was extracted from brains of rats and from MDCK cells infected with Borna disease (BD) virus and purified to homogeneity by immunoaffinity chromatography and HPLC. The antigen consists of two components which are almost equal in size (38 000 mol. wt.

Correlation between structure and pathogenicity of potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV).

Sequence analysis by primer-extension at the level of their cDNA showed that the RNA genomes of various field isolates of potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV) of different virulence differ from each other only in a few nucleotides in two distinct regions of the rod-shaped molecule. Despite insertions and deletions the chain length of 359 nucleotides is strictly conserved in all the isolates studied. Thermodynamic calculations revealed that due to the observed sequence differences the region located at the left hand part of the rod-like secondary structure of the PSTV molecule, denoted 'virulence modulating (VM) region', becomes increasingly unstable with the increasing virulence of the corresponding isolate.

Oligomeric forms of potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV) and of its complementary RNA are present in nuclei isolated from viroid-infected potato cells.

Different oligomeric forms of PSTV are detected in nuclei isolated from PSTV-infected potato cells by means of molecular hybridization, using as probes synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides with sequence specificity for (+)PSTV and for (-)PSTV. In addition to several species of longer-than-unit-length (-)PSTV molecules, two oligomeric forms of (+)PSTV are detected, which correspond in size to RNA strands of approximately two and three times viroid unit-length. They must be considered as the precursors of the circular and linear (+)PSTV monomers accumulating in the cell nucleus.

Photoluminescent thermometry based on europium-activated calcium sulphide.

A photoluminescent thermometer, based on the transient emission response of a europium-activated calcium sulphide phosphor, is described in detail. This optical thermometry system has special advantages for temperature measurements in microwave and RF fields and potential application in electromagnetically induced clinical hyperthermia. A laboratory system has been constructed which utilises a fibreoptic probe with external diameter 0.

Specifically primed synthesis in vitro of full-length DNA complementary to potato-spindle-tuber viroid.

Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV) RNA is transcribed in vitro by reverse transcriptase into complementary DNA in the presence of synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides as primers. In the case of priming with the pentadecadeoxyribonucleotide d(T-T-C-T-T-T-T-T-T-C-T-T-T-T-C) complementary to PSTV RNA from nucleotides 49 to 63, specificity of transcription initiation allows rapid sequencing of part of the viroid genome using chain-terminating dideoxyribonucleoside triphosphates. The DNA transcripts obtained represent distinct molecular species with the largest product being a full-length copy of the viroid RNA template.

[The epidemiology of asthma in Lorraine. A method of Study (author's transl)].

The authors undertook an epidemiological study to held useful criteria to identify asthma sufferers. A simple questionnaire was used asking three questions: - Do you wheeze on breathing? - Do you have attacks of breathlessness during the night? - Do you have asthma? 7,904 people were questioned at the Centre for Preventive Medicine at Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy over a year and 1,062 gave a positive response to at least one question. The replies were sub-divided into 5 groups according to the pattern of response and were then given a further clinical assessment as follows: - A sensitivity test for house dust allergy; - A bronchial sensitivity test to Acetylcholine; - The level of blood eosinophilia; - Presence or absence of a family history of asthma.

Prenatal diagnosis of Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and some characteristics of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase in human tissues and cultivated cells.

Activities of phosphoribosyltransferase for hypoxanthine and adenine were investigated in erythrocytes and human tissues of fetuses and adults as well as in cultivated fibroblasts and amniotic fluid cells. Kinetic characteristics of these enzymes were also studied in patients with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and with partial deficiency for hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRTase), and their obligate heterozygotes. The affinity of HGPRTase for both substrates in partial deficiency decreased to 13 to 20% of normal and by a less degree in its heterozygotes (50 to 65% of normal).

Characterization of a phosphoglycerate kinase deficiency variants not associated with hemolytic anemia.

The properties of a variant phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) found in a large German clan were examined. The normal and variant enzymes, isolated by affinity chromatography, have the same molecular weight, specific activity, substrate affinity, and nearly identical pH-optima. Using immunoinactivation and immunodiffusion, the same specific activity for both forms was again determined.

Non-stepwise methods in the preparation of building blocks for polynucleotide synthesis.

Oligonucleotide fragments of the general sequence ABn, BnC and ABnC as building units for polynucleotide synthesis can be obtained by three types of reactions, namely the sequence-specific co-condensation of nucleic acid constituents, the sequence-specific degradation of copolymers and the limited addition of nucleotides to primers. Examples for these reactions are described and the scope and application of the approach discussed.

Characteristics of galactokinase and galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase in cultivated fibroblasts and amniotic fluid cells.

The kinetic characteristics of galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase and galactokinase in cultivated fibroblasts and amniotic fluid cells were investigated. The Km values of galactokinase for galactose at 2.0 mM ATP are 0.

Refined mapping of the gene for glutathione reductase on human chromosome 8.

Activity of the enzyme glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.

[Prenatal diagnosis in pregnancies at advanced maternal age (author's transl)].

Among 113 prenatal diagnoses in pregnancies at advanced maternal age (mothers older than 37 years) 7 aberrant fetal karyotypes were found (6.2%). Detailed reports of one case of trisomy 21, 18 and 13 each, as well as of XXY-, XYY- and XXX gonosomal constitution respectively are presented in the following.

Interaction of oligoribocytidylates with T7 DNA in neutral and acid media.

Oligoribocytidylates of chain length 4 to 12 were found to interact with native T7 DNA at neutral and slightly acid pH. The results suggest that binding occurred at deoxycytosine clusters which may be displaced by the oligomers at neutral pH, while a local triple-stranded structure would be formed at acid pH. Transcription of DNA-(Cp)n complexes by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase showed a decrease in level without affecting the specificity of the transcription, suggesting that oligocytidylate binding did not occur on the promoters.