Some applications of near-infrared reflectance analysis in the pharmaceutical industry.

A non-comprehensive overview of near-infrared (NIR) reflectance analysis in the pharmaceutical industry is presented. This survey will include background information defining NIR (i.e.

The cell biology of bone.

Bone remodelling and repair are accomplished by the co-ordinated activity of cells of the osteoclast and osteoblast lineages. Small changes in the balance between formation and resorption will, when magnified by repeated cycles, lead to significant reduction in bone mass and strength, ultimately resulting in fracture. This review focuses on the cellular features of bone remodelling and the known regulators of bone cell function.

IgA cold agglutinins recognize Pr and Sa antigens expressed on glycophorins.

Three cases of IgA kappa cold agglutinins (CAs) were studied. One had anti-Pr1 specificity, one had anti-Pra, and one had anti-Sa. The CAs recognize O-glycans of glycophorins.

Proliferative responses to estradiol, IL-1 alpha and TGF beta by cells expressing alkaline phosphatase in human osteoblast-like cell cultures.

The use of primary (nontransformed) bone cell cultures is hampered by their cellular heterogeneity. Primary cultures of osteoblast-like cells have been shown to proliferate in response to several osteotropic agents, but because mixed cell populations are present it is uncertain whether a true osteoblastic response was observed. By combining (1) localization of [3H]-thymidine incorporation into the nuclei of actively dividing cells by autoradiography with (2) subsequent induction of osteoblast differentiation by 1,25(OH)2D3 to optimize the number of cells expressing high alkaline phosphatase activity and (3) its localization by histochemical staining, it is possible to measure the proliferation of cells that are capable of expressing a more mature osteoblastic phenotype in heterogeneous human trabecular bone cell cultures.

Characterization of two cis-acting DNA elements involved in the androgen regulation of the probasin gene.

The location and sequence of androgen responsive elements (AREs) in the 5'-flanking DNA of the androgen-regulated rat probasin (PB) gene were determined. The DNA- and steroid-binding domains of the rat androgen receptor [glutathione-S-transferase (GST)-AR1] and the DNA-binding domain and hinge region alone (GST-AR2) were expressed in Escherichia coli as isopropyl-B-D-thioglactopyranoside-induced fusion proteins with GST and purified using glutathione affinity chromatography. Band shift assays indicated that the AR1 peptide was at least five times more effective than AR2 in binding to PB 5'-flanking DNA (-426 to +28), although both gave qualitatively similar patterns and were displaced by anti-AR antibodies.

Feasibility study of an electret dosimetry technique.

Characteristics of a radiation charged electret dosimeter are described. The dosimeter is based on a parallel-plate ionization chamber with the exception that the collecting electrode is covered by a thin polymer, Teflon or Mylar. During the charging of the dosimeter, ions produced in the sensitive volume by an external radiation source drift in the externally applied electric field and become trapped on the polymer surface forming an electret.

Direction of lateral eye movements as an index of cognitive mode and emotion: a reappraisal.

Three experiments were designed to determine the effects of cognitive and emotional questions on subjective ratings, lateral eye movement (LEM) incidence and LEM direction. Although the cognitive content of questions affected subjective ratings and the incidence of LEMs, emotional content had an effect only on subjective ratings. Neither cognitive nor emotional content influenced LEM direction.

Distributed neural network underlying musical sight-reading and keyboard performance.

Music, like other forms of expression, requires specific skills for its production, and the organization and representation of these skills in the human brain are not well understood. With the use of positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, the functional neuroanatomy of musical sight-reading and keyboard performance was studied in ten professional pianists. Reading musical notations and translating these notations into movement patterns on a keyboard resulted in activation of cortical areas distinct from, but adjacent to, those underlying similar verbal operations.

Therapeutic sleep deprivation in a depressed patient: prolongation of response with concurrent thyroxine.

A 53-year-old woman with major depression was studied throughout 7 trials of therapeutic sleep deprivation (SD). Under conditions where the patients was either medication-free or receiving antidepressant therapy, improvement with SD was followed by full relapse on returning to sleep. Four SD sessions conducted while the patient was receiving thyroxine each resulted in remission, sustained for several days.

What proportion of isotope injected does the child receive in dynamic renal scanning?

Because of significant difficulties encountered in the manipulation of data from 99Tcm-DTPA and 99Tcm-mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3) renogram studies, it was decided to try to improve the percentage dose of radioisotope injected and thus the number of counts obtained by using a minimum dose volume of 1 ml for all injections. This resulted in an improvement in the percentage dose injected. However, difficulties were still encountered in the younger children.

Evaluation of LY203647 on cardiovascular leukotriene D4 receptors and myocardial reperfusion injury.

In vitro studies have shown LY203647 to be a selective antagonist of contractile responses to leukotriene (LT) D4 and LTE4 in guinea pig ileum, trachea and lung parenchyma. In pithed rat, i.v.

Functional neuroanatomy of face and object processing. A positron emission tomography study.

Studies of brain-damaged patients have revealed the existence of a selective impairment of face processing, prosopagnosia, resulting from lesions at different loci in the occipital and temporal lobes. The results of such studies have led to the identification of several cortical areas underlying the processing of faces, but it remains unclear what functional aspects of face processing are served by these areas and whether they are uniquely devoted to the processing of faces. The present study addresses these questions in a positron emission tomography (PET) study of regional cerebral blood flow in normal adults, using the 15 oxygen water bolus technique.

Positron emission tomography study of letter and object processing: empirical findings and methodological considerations.

The study of functional-anatomical correlations of higher-order cognitive processing has benefited from recent advances in brain imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (CBF). Comparisons of CBF changes by paired image subtraction provide the opportunity to isolate cerebral areas participating in the realization of the processes that differentiate two tasks. However, the subtraction method is based on assumptions that are not entirely compatible with cerebral cognitive processing, and the derived pattern of activation specifically associated with the processes that differentiate two tasks is relative to the activation associated with the subtracted task and may therefore vary as a function of the processes actually performed in this subtracted task.

Characterization of LY233569 on 5-lipoxygenase and reperfusion injury of ischemic myocardium.

LY233569 produced concentration-dependent inhibition of isolated guinea pig 5-lipoxygenase (5-LPO) and 5-LPO activity of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes in vitro; IC50 values were 0.4 and 0.1 microM, respectively.

Antagonism of leukotriene B4 receptors does not limit canine myocardial infarct size.

Injection of leukotriene (LT)B4 (0.1-3 micrograms/kg i.v.

Facial asymmetries in the spontaneous response to positive and negative emotional arousal.

Facial asymmetries during emotional arousal were studied under conditions designed to produce spontaneous responses. Subjects who performed a difficult verbal task reported unpleasant emotions, tested high on state anxiety and showed greater changes in left than right-sided composite photographs compared to the relaxed state. Subjects who performed an easy version of the same task reported positive emotions, tested significantly lower on state anxiety and showed greater changes in right sided composites.

Inhibition of osteoclast-like cell formation by bisphosphonates in long-term cultures of human bone marrow.

Bisphosphonates inhibit bone resorption in vivo and in vitro by unknown mechanisms. The effect of bisphosphonates on the formation of osteoclasts from their mononuclear hematopoietic precursors was investigated using human long-term marrow cultures in which multinucleated cells form that express most of the known features of the osteoclast phenotype (e.g.

Osteoclast-like cells form in long-term human bone marrow but not in peripheral blood cultures.

Transplantation studies have suggested that peripheral blood mononuclear cells contain precursors for osteoclasts. Thus we tested the capacity of peripheral blood monocytes to form osteoclasts in long-term culture. We have reported previously that mononuclear cells from feline, baboon, and human marrow form osteoclast-like cells in long term cultures.

Laser-induced site-selection matrix-isolation fluorescence spectrometry of dibenzacridine isomers.

Laser-induced matrix-isolation site-selection fluorescence spectrometry is used to obtain narrowed-line spectra, linear dynamic ranges and limits of detection for four isomeric dibenzacridines in argon at 15 K. Site-selection fluorescence is used to determine dibenzacridines in two synthetic mixtures, a four-component mixture of the isomeric dibenzacridines and a thirteen-component polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixture. The capabilities of site-selection and Shpol'skii fluorescence spectrometry for the identification and determination of aza-arenes in complex mixtures are compared.

Actions of recombinant human gamma-interferon and tumor necrosis factor alpha on the proliferation and osteoblastic characteristics of human trabecular bone cells in vitro.

Using cultured human osteoblast-like cells, we studied the effects of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and recombinant human gamma-interferon (gamma-IFN) on osteoblast growth and function, and demonstrated that TNF stimulated bone cell proliferation and prostaglandin production while inhibiting 1,25-(OH)2D3-stimulated alkaline phosphatase activity and osteocalcin release. In contrast, gamma-IFN inhibited proliferation and stimulated alkaline phosphatase activity of the cells, while inhibiting 1,25-(OH)2D3-stimulated osteocalcin production and having variable effects on the release of prostaglandins, depending on the presence of other factors. Our results suggest that TNF and gamma-IFN can act directly on bone-forming cells to affect both their proliferation and their differentiated function, and that changes in the ability of cells to produce these factors in disease states may contribute to alterations in the integrity of connective tissue matrices.