Towards an unified chemical model of secondary bonding.

The concept of secondary bond covers a wide range of non-covalent interactions involving an acceptor (or electrophilic) molecule and an electron donor (or nucleophilic) one. It involves triel, tetrel, pnictogen, chalcogen, halogen, and aerogen bonds as well as hydrogen bonds. Such interactions yield complexes in which the internuclear distance of the electrophilic and nucleophilic centers is intermediate between the sums of the covalent and van der Waals radii of these atoms.

Measurement in saliva from neurotypical adults of biomarkers pertinent to autism spectrum disorders.

Aim: Measure biomarkers pertinent to autism in saliva from humans.

Materials & Methods: At 7:30 PM (reading instructions) and 8:30 PM (hearing instructions), neurotypical adults (6 M, 6 F) each spat into tubes containing protease inhibitors. Cells were counted, samples aliquoted, frozen and thawed.

Hydrogen bonding and delocalization in the ELF analysis approach.

Delocalization of the electron density in the proton donor fragment has been studied for 21 complexes, A-HB (A = F, Cl; B = Ne, Ar, CO, N, FH, ClH, HO, PH, NH, Cl, F, covering the whole range of hydrogen bond strength. The proton donor and proton acceptor fragments are defined by a minimum variance principle achieved by the ELF partition. It is shown that the variance of the proton donor population as well as the charge transfer between the fragments calculated from the ELF partition is always smaller than that evaluated within the QTAIM framework.

Theoretical aspects of autism: biomarkers--a review.

Autism is dramatically increasing in incidence and is now considered an epidemic. There are no objective means to diagnose the disorder. Diagnosis is made subjectively, based on the perceived behavior of the subject.

Theoretical aspects of autism: causes--a review.

Autism, a member of the pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs), has been increasing dramatically since its description by Leo Kanner in 1943. First estimated to occur in 4 to 5 per 10,000 children, the incidence of autism is now 1 per 110 in the United States, and 1 per 64 in the United Kingdom, with similar incidences throughout the world. Searching information from 1943 to the present in PubMed and Ovid Medline databases, this review summarizes results that correlate the timing of changes in incidence with environmental changes.

Mechanisms and biomarkers of cardiovascular injury induced by phosphodiesterase inhibitor III SK&F 95654 in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

The cardiovascular injury of the type III selective PDE inhibitor SK&F 95654 was investigated in SHR. Twenty-four hours after a single sc injection of 100 or 200 mg/kg of the drug, rats exhibited cardiomyocyte necrosis and apoptosis, interstitial inflammation, hemorrhage and edema, as well as mesenteric arterial hemorrhage and necrosis, periarteritis, EC and VSMC apoptosis, EC activation, and MC activation and degranulation. Elevated serum levels of cTnT and decreased cTnT immunoperoxidase staining on cardiomyocytes were detected in the drug-treated rats.

Structural and polarized vibrational studies of pentacaesium trihydrogentetraselenate monohydrate.

Polarized IR and Raman spectra of single crystal were measured at room and at low temperature. The polarized IR spectra were measured by transmission and specular reflection method. The IR-microscope was used for vibrational measurement of small monocrystals.

Drug-induced hypersensitivity: role in drug development.

Drug-induced hypersensitivity is an adverse reaction, characterised by damaging immune-mediated responses, initiated by medicine given at therapeutic doses for prevention, diagnosis or treatment. Immune-mediated drug hypersensitivity accounts for 6-10% of the adverse drug reactions, which rank between the fourth and sixth leading causes of death in the US. With <10% of all adverse drug reactions reported, the magnitude of the problem is significant, with estimates of costs >$US30 billion annually in the US (1995 value).

Polarised IR and Raman spectra of the gamma-glycine single crystal.

Complete (full) set of the polarised IR and Raman spectra for the gamma-glycine single crystal at room temperature are presented. The polarised IR spectra were measured by the specular reflection method and the spectra of the imaginary parts of the refractive indices were computed by Kramers-Kronig transformation. The polarised properties of the bands are discussed with respect to the normal coordinate analysis (literature data) and diffraction crystal data (oriented gas model approximation).

Chronic liver and renal diseases differently affect structure of human serum albumin.

Human serum albumin (HSA) binding with endogenous metabolites and drugs is substantially decreased in chronic renal and liver diseases. To test the hypothesis that the decreased binding ability is caused by conformational changes of the protein, we analyzed infrared and Raman spectra of HSA isolated from healthy donors and patients with chronic uremia and liver cirrhosis. Uremia did not affect the secondary structure of HSA but modified the environment of its Asp/Glu residues.

Equal allergenic potency of beta-lactam antibiotics produced by chemical or enzymatic manufacturing--mouse IgE test.

Background: Cephalexin and amoxicillin are semisynthetic beta-lactam antibiotics with a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms. Both antibiotics are produced by a new 'green' process in which enzyme technology is used to combine the intermediate structure and the side chain in an aqueous medium to yield cephalexin or amoxicillin, thus avoiding the use of several chemical reagents and volatile organic solvents. As a result of the enzyme technology a new residual protein impurity has been identified.

Immunomodulatory screening test of corn oil administered orally to female mice: effect of timing of dosing within 24 hours.

The effect of varying the dose-delivery time within a 24 h period (12:12 light-dark cycle) on the immunomodulatory properties of corn oil administered by gavage to 120 B6C3F1 female mice was investigated. Mice, housed in six separate boxes equipped with timers to regulate light onset and offset (staggered by 4 h increments), were treated for 5 consecutive days by intragastric (i.g.

The influence of vehicle gavage on seasonality of immune system parameters in the B6C3F1 mouse.

Seasonal hyporesponsiveness and other immune system variations were observed in female B6C3F1 mice during routine screening tests for immunomodulation. In a retrospective assessment, 4 years of data from over 1200 naive, vehicle, and immunosuppressed (cyclophosphamide-treated) control mice were compiled and analyzed for uniformity and significant circannual pattern of immune response. Endpoints included body, spleen, and thymus weights and an immunotoxicity assessment which enumerates specific antibody plaque-forming cells (PFC) in the spleen following immunization with sheep red blood cells.

Successful treatment of herpetic infections by autohemotherapy.

Herpes zoster (shingles) affects a significant number of individuals over age 50. To date, no satisfactory treatment has been available. The clinician author (JHO) witnessed a dramatic response of a shingles patient to autohemotherapy: the pain was completely relieved and lesions gone within 5 days with no recurrence of either.

Immune function and host defense in rodents exposed to 60-Hz magnetic fields.

This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of subchronic exposure to pure, linearly polarized 60-Hz magnetic fields (MF) on the host immune response in mice. The experimental design was as follows: three groups were exposed continuously (18.5 hr/day) to MF at field strengths of 0.

Effects of sodium saccharin and linoleic acid on mRNA levels of Her2/neu and p53 in a human breast epithelial cell line.

The effects of two food-related chemicals (sodium saccharin and linoleic acid) on the levels of Her2/neu and p53 mRNA in a non-cancerous human breast epithelial cell line (HBL-100) were tested in comparison with the effects of the known tumor promoter phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (TPA). Treatments were made both with and without prior treatment with two well-known tumor initiators, N-nitroso-N-methylurea (NMU) or 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA). The effects in general were small, the greatest being increases of 46-67% in Her2/neu mRNA levels in response to treatments with TPA or sodium saccharin following NMU treatments.

Local versus systemic immunotoxicity of isobutyl nitrite following subchronic inhalation exposure of female B6C3F1 mice.

Female B6C3F1 mice were exposed to isobutyl nitrite (IBN) by inhalation at 0, 37.5, 75, or 150 ppm for 6 hr per day, 5 days per week for 15 weeks. The potential of this compound to induce immunotoxicity was assessed during the 3rd, 13th, 14th, and 15th week of exposure and after 2 weeks of recovery following the 15 weeks of exposure.

Immunotoxicologic effects of ethylene dibromide in the mouse and their modulation by the estrous cycle.

Estrous cycle modulation of immunologic sensitivity to ethylene dibromide (EDB) was studied in addition to toxicologic end points. Female B6C3F1 mice were injected intragastrically with 31.25, 62.

Optimization and validation of an ELISA to measure specific guinea pig IgG1 antibody as an alternative to the in vivo passive cutaneous anaphylaxis assay.

Assessment of the allergenic potency of enzymes involves the use of a guinea pig model in which specific IgG1 antibody titers are used as the endpoint. The in vivo passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) assay is used to measure specific IgG1 antibody. This report describes the development and validation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure guinea pig specific IgG1 antibody as an in vitro alternative to the PCA assay.

Ethylene dibromide: evidence of systemic and immunologic toxicity without impairment of in vivo host defenses.

Ethylene dibromide was administered intragastrically on 14 consecutive days to B6C3F1 female mice. Host resistance was not altered after challenge with B16F10 tumor cells, Listeria monocytogenes, influenza, or Herpes simplex viruses. In contrast, decreases were seen in relative thymus and spleen weights, red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and in alveolar macrophage, natural killer cell, T-cell, and mixed lymphocyte culture responses.

An immunotoxicity assessment of food flavouring ingredients.

A rapid screening protocol incorporating key elements of the US National Toxicology Program's immunotoxicity tier testing strategy was used to evaluate the effects of 35 commonly used food flavouring ingredients on humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. The test compounds were administered intragastrically on a daily basis for 5 days at three dose levels to female CD-1 or B6C3F1 mice, 6-8 wk old. A host resistance assay (Listeria monocytogenes bacterial challenge) was conducted to assess cell-mediated immunity.

Evidence for genetic basis of seasonal differences in antibody formation between two mouse strains.

In order to confirm the presence of an acrophase difference based upon genotype in the seasonal expression of an immune competence end point, splenic plaque-forming cell (PFC) response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), female B6C3F1 and CD1 mice were concurrently studied for PFC response during two studies performed in each season for 1 year. Mice were multiply housed, fed ad libitum, and standardized to light (06:00-18:00); dark (18:00-06:00). For each strain and study, subgroups were either naive (n = 10), received a vehicle (n = 10) or Cytoxan (n = 5).

Effects of staining of RNA with ethidium bromide before electrophoresis on performance of northern blots.

Staining of RNA with ethidium bromide (EtdBr) prior to running agarose gels has been reported to afford certain advantages over staining gels after electrophoresis. We have examined prior staining of RNA with a wide range of EtdBr concentrations, particularly with respect to its effects on Northern blot hybridizations using antisense RNA probes. Prior staining with EtdBr at concentrations of 100-1000 micrograms/ml caused significant alterations in RNA mobilities and significantly decreased hybridization with antisense RNA probes compared with unstained RNA.

Surgical influence on murine immunity and tumor growth: relationship of body temperature and hormones with splenocytes.

Adrenalectomy predisposed the C3HeB/FeJ Mouse to tumor from a low dose of tumor cells, derived from a C3H spontaneous mammary adenocarcinoma. Sham surgery had a similar effect. In contrast, ovariectomized females, intact females, and male mice did not allow the low dose of cells to develop into a tumor.