Age-related changes in mature CD4+ T cells: cell cycle analysis.

T cell proliferative responses decrease with age, but the mechanisms responsible are unknown. We examined the impact of age on memory and naive CD4(+) T cell entry and progression through the cell cycle using acridine orange to identify cell cycle stage. For both subsets, fewer stimulated cells from old donors were able to enter and progress through the first cell cycle, with an increased number of cells arrested in G(0) and fewer cells in post G(0) phases.

Persistent lowering of arterial pressure after continuous and intermittent therapy.

Objective: The present study investigates the impact of antihypertensive treatment on persistent reduction of arterial pressure after cessation of drug treatment.

Design And Methods: Specifically, adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were treated for 6 weeks with inhibitors of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), or combination therapy (hydralazine, nifedipine, hydrochlorothiazide) and following a 14-week 'drug holiday', were re-treated for 4 weeks. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was continuously monitored via radiotelemetry.

Transfer of metformin into human milk.

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to characterize the milk-to-plasma ratio and infant dose for metformin in breastfeeding women, and to measure plasma concentrations and assess any effects in their infants. We hypothesized that metformin used by mothers is safe for their breastfed infants.

Methods: Seven women taking metformin (median dose 1500 mg orally daily) and their infants were studied.

Bioenergetic remodeling of heart during treatment of spontaneously hypertensive rats with enalapril.

We used spontaneously hypertensive rats to study remodeling of cardiac bioenergetics associated with changes in blood pressure. Blood pressure was manipulated with aggressive antihypertensive treatment combining low dietary salt and the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril. Successive cycles of 2 wk on, 2 wk off treatment led to rapid, reversible changes in left ventricular (LV) mass (30% change in <10 days).

Recovery of erectile function after brief aggressive antihypertensive therapy.

Purpose: We have previously demonstrated that antihypertensive therapy could structurally modulate blood vessels in the penis, although the impact on erectile function was not established. Given the importance of inadequate penile arterial inflow as a cause of erectile dysfunction we determined in spontaneously hypertensive rats the impact of brief aggressive antihypertensive therapy on structurally based penile vascular resistance, erectile function and mean arterial pressure during and after treatment.

Materials And Methods: Young (15-week-old) and aged (40-week-old) spontaneously hypertensive rats were treated for 2 weeks (enalapril 30 mg.

Quantification of the production of dihydrokaempferol by flavanone 3-hydroxytransferase using capillary electrophoresis.

A sensitive method using capillary electrophoresis for the separation, detection, and quantification of dihydrokaempferol (1) is reported. Well-resolved, sharp symmetrical peaks were obtained in grapefruit leaf extracts for 1, naringenin (2), and the internal standard, naringin (3). Long columns were required to resolve 1 from 2 in crude enzyme reactions and this resulted in run times of 60 min.

Construction, characterization, and animal testing of WRSd1, a Shigella dysenteriae 1 vaccine.

WRSd1 is a Shigella dysenteriae 1 vaccine containing deletions of the virG(icsA) gene required for intercellular spreading and a 20-kb chromosomal region encompassing the Shiga toxin genes (stxAB). WRSd1 was constructed from S. dysenteriae 1 strain 1617 that was originally isolated during the 1968 to 1969 epidemic of Shiga dysentery in Guatemala.

Phase I evaluation of delta virG Shigella sonnei live, attenuated, oral vaccine strain WRSS1 in healthy adults.

We conducted a phase I trial with healthy adults to evaluate WRSS1, a live, oral Delta virG Shigella sonnei vaccine candidate. In a double-blind, randomized, dose-escalating fashion, inpatient volunteers received a single dose of either placebo (n = 7) or vaccine (n = 27) at 3 x 10(3) CFU (group 1), 3 x 10(4) CFU (group 2), 3 x 10(5) CFU (group 3), or 3 x 10(6) CFU (group 4). The vaccine was generally well tolerated, although a low-grade fever or mild diarrhea occurred in six (22%) of the vaccine recipients.

Separate sources of spatial information for distance and location in rapid aiming movements.

The purpose of this research was to examine the role of distance and location information in the production of rapid aiming movements. Participants performed an aiming task consisting of horizontal left-handed elbow flexion movements that translated to movements of a cursor on an oscilloscope screen. The location of the home position and the target on the oscilloscope screen were fixed but the initial angle of the elbow was varied randomly.

Optical resonant ultrasound spectroscopy for fluid properties measurement.

The properties of fluids are studied using unusually small containment spherical resonators. Proper identification of resonant fluid signatures allows determination of pressure and density of the internal gas with great accuracy using an appropriate equation of state (EOS). Low noise and high sensitivity detection of vibration are critical parameters to characterizing the contained gas when its pressure approaches 1 atm or less.

Antihypertensive drugs induce structural remodeling of the penile vasculature.

Purpose: There is a strong association between hypertension and erectile dysfunction. Studies of the treatment of hypertension have shown that some pharmacological agents are capable of inducing regression of the vascular structure during treatment. We determined whether penile vascular structure is as susceptible as other vascular beds to regression during antihypertensive drug treatment.

The effects of restricted energy and fluid intake on simulated amateur boxing performance.

This study examined the effects of serial reductions in energy and fluid intake on two simulated boxing performances separated by 2 days recovery. Eight amateur boxers (age: 23.6 +/- 3.

Safety and immunogenicity of a proteosome-Shigella flexneri 2a lipopolysaccharide vaccine administered intranasally to healthy adults.

We studied the safety and immunogenicity of a Shigella flexneri 2a vaccine comprising native S. flexneri 2a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) complexed to meningococcal outer membrane proteins-proteosomes-in normal, healthy adults. A two-dose series of immunizations was given by intranasal spray, and doses of 0.

Transfer of interferon alfa into human breast milk.

Originally assumed to be antiviral substances, the efficacy of interferons in a number of pathologies, including malignancies, multiple sclerosis, and other immune syndromes, is increasingly recognized. This study provides data on the transfer of interferon alfa (2B) into human milk of a patient receiving massive intravenous doses for the treatment of malignant melanoma. Following an intravenous dose of 30 million IU, the amount of interferon transferred into human milk was only slightly elevated (1551 IU/mL) when compared to control milk (1249 IU/mL).

Simultaneous measurement of back and front foot ground reaction forces during the same delivery stride of the fast-medium bowler.

Six male cricket bowlers (mean +/- s(mean): age 23.5 +/- 1.3 years; height 1.

The effects in humans of rapid loss of body mass on a boxing-related task.

The physiological effects of strategies for a rapid loss of body mass immediately before weighing-in for competition in weight-governed sports are unclear. This study examined the effects of a 3%-4% loss in body mass on a boxing-related task. Seven novice amateur boxers completed three 3 min rounds of simulated boxing on a prototype boxing ergometer in an euhydrated state (E-trial) and after exercise-induced thermal dehydration (D-trial).

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: perspectives from neuroimaging.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood behavioral disorder most often characterized by inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Current etiologic theories suggest that ADHD stems from abnormalities in dopaminergic and possibly noradrenergic brainstem nuclei that act to regulate a cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical network, believed to be critical for executive functions and the regulation of behavioral responses such as arousal, attention, and inhibition. Noninvasive structural and functional neuroimaging techniques provide a new avenue for exploring the validity of these theories.

Development of a boxing dynamometer and its punch force discrimination efficacy.

The development of sport-specific dynamometers is an important step towards ecological validity in analysing athlete performance. Design limitations in previous punch-measuring devices have resulted in values which may not or cannot fully reflect the force and multidirectional components in a punch. In developing this boxing dynamometer, a triaxial force measurement system and a boxing manikin interface were combined.

Maf transcriptionally activates the mouse p53 promoter and causes a p53-dependent cell death.

An increase in the level of the tumor suppressor protein p53 can induce cell cycle arrest or cell death. Although mechanisms for regulating the life span of p53 have been described, there is growing evidence that transcriptional regulation of the p53 gene contributes significantly to controlling p53 protein levels and therefore the fate of a cell. However, the signal transduction pathways that lead to transcriptional activation of the p53 gene are poorly understood.

The adenovirus oncoprotein E1a stimulates binding of transcription factor ETF to transcriptionally activate the p53 gene.

Expression of the tumor suppressor protein p53 plays an important role in regulating the cellular response to DNA damage. During adenovirus infection, levels of p53 protein also increase. It has been shown that this increase is due not only to increased stability of the p53 protein but to the transcriptional activation of the p53 gene during infection.

Novel self-sampling culture method to monitor excretion of live, oral Shigella flexneri 2a vaccine SC602 during a community-based phase 1 trial.

A culture technique for assessing the excretion of live enteric vaccines was developed and verified during an outpatient safety trial of the Shigella flexneri 2a SC602 vaccine. Preliminary studies showed that SC602 could be recovered on Hektoen enteric (HE) agar plates that had been inoculated with seeded stools in one quadrant, held for up to 48 hours, streaked for isolation, and incubated for 24 +/- 6 hours. Recovery results on HE plates held at 4 degrees C and 25 degrees C were comparable; however, 4 degrees C better inhibited overgrowth before streaking.

The penis is not protected--in hypertension there are vascular changes in the penis which are similar to those in other vascular beds.

In hypertension, small arteries in a variety of vascular beds undergo structural changes that increase resistance. To assess whether there are differential structural changes in the penis that accompany hypertension, we began with determining structurally-based vascular resistance properties in penile and hindlimb vascular beds of adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. In anesthetized SHR, the penile and hindlimb vasculature were isolated and perfused, maximum dilation was induced, and a flow-pressure assessment and alpha 1-adrenoceptor agonist concentration-response curves were generated.