Volatile anesthetic effects on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca content and sarcolemmal Ca flux in isolated rat cardiac cell suspensions.

Background: Cardiac cellular Ca metabolism is central to the control of the inotropic state of the heart and is altered in various ways by the volatile anesthetics halothane, enflurane and isoflurane. Specifically, differences among the agents regarding their effect on the uptake and release of Ca from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) have been found, but the nature of such differences is not yet certain. At the sarcolemma, the effects of the anesthetics on the peak Ca current generally are believed to be similar among the three agents, but their impact on other aspects of sarcolemmal Ca transport is less understood.

Identification of occult micrometastases in pericolic lymph nodes of Duke's B colorectal cancer patients using monoclonal antibodies against cytokeratin and CC49. Correlation with long-term survival.

Background: Patients with transmurally invasive, lymph node negative colorectal carcinoma (Dukes' B) have a 5-year survival rate ranging from 53.9% to 84.9%.

Antimicrobial susceptibilities of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains representing five distinct resistance phenotypes.

The susceptibilities of 109 strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to penicillin G, tetracycline, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefotetan, cefoxitin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and fleroxacin were determined. The activities of cefmetazole, cefuroxime, cefixime, and ofloxacin were also determined against 62 of these strains. Strains represented penicillin-susceptible (Pen(s)) N.

Flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood lymphocyte immunophenotypes in persons infected with Treponema pallidum.

To characterize the human immune response to syphilis, we determined the effect of infection with Treponema pallidum on the percentage of the various lymphocyte subpopulations in the peripheral blood of infected and uninfected persons. Monoclonal antibodies labeled with either fluorescein isothiocyanate or phycoerythrin were used to perform dual color analysis on a FACScan with the following markers: CD3 for total T cells, CD4 for T helper cells, CD8 for T suppressor cells, CD19 for B cells, and CD16 plus CD56 for natural killer cells. Lymphocyte immunophenotype results were analyzed by the stage of untreated syphilis and by gender.

The involucrin genes of the mouse and the rat: study of their shared repeats.

The involucrin genes of the mouse (Mus musculus) and the rat (Rattus norvegicus) have been cloned and sequenced. The coding region of each gene contains, at site P, a segment of repeats homologous to that of other nonanthropoid mammals. In contrast to the repeats of species belonging to different mammalian orders, many individual repeats of the mouse and the rat can be matched.

Keratinocyte transglutaminase membrane anchorage: analysis of site-directed mutants.

Keratinocyte transglutaminase is anchored on the cytosolic side of the plasma membrane by fatty acid thioesterification near the amino terminus, a process which is seen to occur within 30 min of synthesis. The importance of a cluster of five cysteines (residues 47, 48, 50, 51, and 53) where acylation was presumed to occur is now demonstrated by site-directed mutagenesis. Transglutaminase mutants in which the cluster is deleted or the cysteines are all converted to alanine or serine are cytosolic.

Ferroelectric liquid-crystal-based binary optical memory employing feedback.

A two-dimensional bit-oriented refreshing optical memory that is loosely based on the design of an electronic flip-flop is presented. The test system consisted of two amorphous-silicon liquid-crystal optically addressed spatial light modulators placed into an inverting configuration to provide a stable refreshable memory element. A description of the optically addressed spatial light modulator device and its operation is presented.

The influence of air cavities on interface doses for photon beams.

Purpose: As the quantification of dose in homogeneous media is now better understood, it is necessary to further quantify effects from heterogeneous media. The most extreme case is related to air cavities. Although dose corrections at large distances beyond a cavity are accountable by attenuation differences, perturbations at air-tissue interfaces are complex to measure or calculate.

In vitro susceptibilities of isolates of Haemophilus ducreyi from Thailand and the United States to currently recommended and newer agents for treatment of chancroid.

We determined the in vitro susceptibilities of 54 isolates of Haemophilus ducreyi from Thailand (29 isolates) and San Francisco (25 isolates) to penicillin G, tetracycline, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ceftriaxone, cefixime, erythromycin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Isolates were susceptible to < or = 0.25 microgram of ceftriaxone per ml, < or less 0.

Merkel cell tumor of the head and neck. Five new cases with literature review.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) of the skin is an uncommon, but highly aggressive neoplasm with a marked propensity for local and distant metastasis. Despite the fact that more than half of the 600 cases of MCC reported in the literature involved primary sites in the head and neck, MCC has rarely been discussed in otolaryngology publications. We present five new cases of MCC of the head and neck and summarize 89 additional cases from the literature in which detailed treatment and survival data were given.

The influence of age on endocrine responses to ultraendurance stress.

Background: Aging produces significant changes in the human endocrine system. This study was designed to determine if elderly and younger individuals differ in various endocrine measures before and after ultraendurance stress.

Methods: Sixteen young and 19 older subjects competing in a world championship triathlon had blood samples acquired for 13 hormones before, immediately after the event, and 18 hours into recovery.

Clinical and serologic evaluation of neonates for congenital syphilis: a continuing diagnostic dilemma.

Neonates born to women with reactive serologic tests for syphilis were studied; the total of 116 included 18 who were symptomatic, 60 asymptomatic but possibly infected, and 38 asymptomatic and probably uninfected. The fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption (FTA-ABS) 19S IgM test and an IgM capture ELISA for Treponema pallidum, both treponema-specific assays, and the reverse enzyme-linked immunospot (RELISPOT), which detects immunoglobulin-secreting cells and is a nonspecific indicator of infection, were evaluated. Sensitivities among symptomatic neonates were 88% (IgM ELISA), 73% (FTA-ABS), and 78% (RELISPOT).

Dosimetry of 125I sources in a low-density material using scaling.

One may apply O'Connor's scaling theorem to dose measurements with brachytherapy sources in order to overcome the difficulties associated with the need for high spatial accuracy. This possibility has been evaluated by measuring the dose distribution around 125I sources in a low-density styrofoam phantom and comparing it with the dose distributions in water and solid water. Some generalization of the scaling theorem is proposed to allow for the minor differences in atomic composition between styrofoam and water, and the distances are scaled according to the ratio of the linear attenuation coefficients, instead of the physical densities, of the two media.

Psychopathology in human immunodeficiency virus infection: lifetime and current assessment.

The present study determined lifetime and current psychiatric functioning in a sample of homosexual or bisexual men at various stages of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in order to address several questions regarding the relationship between psychopathology and HIV infection. HIV+ asymptomatic or symptomatic and HIV- homosexual or bisexual men completed self-report measures of psychological and health functioning and participated in structured diagnostic interviews. Additional information regarding HIV-related life events and their potential relationship to onset of disorder and family history of psychiatric disorder were obtained.

Elevation of cell cycle control proteins during spontaneous immortalization of human keratinocytes.

A human line of spontaneously immortalized keratinocytes (SIK cells) has been derived from ostensibly normal epidermis and has proven useful in dissecting molecular changes associated with immortalization. The original cultures had a normal karyotype and a colony forming efficiency of approximately 3% through 10 passages. At passage 15, after which normal strains ordinarily senesce, these cells continued vigorous growth and gradually increased in colony forming efficiency, stabilizing at approximately 30% by passage 40.

Cardiovascular responses to exogenous platelet-activating factor (PAF) in anesthetized ponies, and the effects of a PAF antagonist, WEB 2086.

The effects of exogenous platelet-activating factor (PAF) were determined in anesthetized ponies. Administration of PAF induced a decrease in cardiac index that resulted in systemic hypotension. This was followed by tachycardia, hypertension, and a return of cardiac index to baseline.

Lack of significant changes in nutrition-related parameters with tumor necrosis factor treatment of cancer.

Cancer and its therapies frequently produce anorexia and cachexia. In this study, the acute (3 days) and chronic (4 wks) nutrition-related effects of cancer therapy with recombinant human tumor necrosis factor (rHuTNF) were investigated and described. Nutritional status, as measured by body weight and body composition (body fat and lean-to-fat ratio) with use of bioelectrical impedance, did not appear to deteriorate.

Aflatoxin toxicity in cultured human epidermal cells: stimulation by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) at 1 microgram/ml was markedly toxic to human epidermal cells grown in the Rheinwald-Green 3T3 feeder layer system. At 0.1 microgram/ml, the toxicity was barely evident, as assessed by colony expansion during a 2 week exposure, but it was dramatically stimulated by 5 nM 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), which was non-toxic alone.