Dipeptidyl peptidase IV activity in the blood of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP4) enzyme activity, associated with cell surface and soluble CD26, was measured in alligator plasma and whole blood. DPP4 activity was higher in whole blood than in the plasma, presumably due to the inclusion of both membrane-bound CD26 on the surface of T-cells and sCD26 in the plasma. The plasma DPP4 activity was measured within 5 min after the addition of the substrate, and maximal accumulation of product was reached at 120 min.

Characterization of phospholipase A(2) activity in serum of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

PLA(2) is a diverse class of enzymes with a broad spectrum of physiological functions. Secretory PLA(2) isoforms have been reported to exhibit important innate immune function in higher vertebrates. This study was conducted to characterize PLA(2) activity in the serum of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical studies of [Co(m)(pyrene)(n)]- (m = 1,2 and n = 1,2) complexes.

Anion photoelectron spectroscopic experiments and density functional theory based calculations have been used to investigate the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of neutral and anionic [Co(m)(pyrene)(n)] (m,n=1-2) complexes. The calculated electron affinities and vertical transition energies of Co(m)(pyrene)(n) are in good agreement with the measured values. Our results provide clear evidence for dimerization of Co atoms and formation of sandwich structures in these complexes.

Determination of cadmium, lead, and nickel by simultaneous multielement flame atomic absorption spectrometry in burned and unburned Venezuelan crude oil.

This work describes the use of simultaneous multielement flame atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of cadmium, lead, and nickel in burned and unburned Venezuelan crude oil (5 ml volumes) in controlled laboratory experiments. The simultaneous detection limits were 0.010 mug ml(-1) (Cd), 0.

Biomass-modified carbon paste electrodes for monitoring dissolved metal ions.

Electrodes were prepared by incorporating dried, nonliving biomass of a common lichen, Ramalina stenospora, and Sphagnum (peat) moss in carbon paste. The electrodes were tested on solutions containing Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions by immersing the electrode in the solution for selected periods of time to accumulate ions. Following this the electrode was connected to a potentiostat and the applied voltage scanned from -1.

Production of superoxide ions by leukocytes of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

This study was conducted to characterize the production of superoxide ions by leukocytes in whole blood of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). We used WST-1, a tetrazolium salt which can be reduced to a water-soluble formazan compound with high molar absorptivity at 438 nm, to probe the production of superoxide by alligator leukocytes. Incubation of alligator whole blood with WST-1 resulted in a time- and concentration-dependent increase in absorbance of the plasma at 438 nm.

Transformative leadership: an ethical stewardship model for healthcare.

The need for effective leadership is a compelling priority for those who would choose to govern in public, private, and nonprofit organizations, and applies as much to the healthcare profession as it does to other sectors of the economy (Moody, Horton-Deutsch, & Pesut, 2007). Transformative Leadership, an approach to leadership and governance that incorporates the best characteristics of six other highly respected leadership models, is an integrative theory of ethical stewardship that can help healthcare professionals to more effectively achieve organizational efficiencies, build stakeholder commitment and trust, and create valuable synergies to transform and enrich today's healthcare systems (cf. Caldwell, LeJeune, & Dixon, 2007).

Effects of bacterial lipopolysaccharide on thermoregulation in green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis).

Fever is a non-specific host defense mechanism that comprises part of the innate immune response. Innate immune function is thought to be an important adaptive immunological response to infection because it occurs across a broad diversity of phyla. Some reptiles can mount a febrile response, despite the fact that their internal body temperatures (T(b)s) are, to some extent, controlled by the environmental temperatures in which they live.

Febrile response to infection in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Temperature probes were inserted into the stomachs of juvenile American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) maintained outdoors at ambient fluctuating temperatures. Internal body temperatures (T(b)) were measured every 15 min for two days, and then the alligators were injected with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), pyrogen-free saline, or left untreated. Alligators injected intraperitoneally with LPS exhibited maximum T(b)s 2.

Iron withholding as an innate immune mechanism in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Pathogenic microbes require Fe and Zn for growth and proliferation. Upon infection, microbes produce proteins, called sidephores, designed to strip serum divalent metals away from host proteins. Higher vertebrates respond to infection by increasing the expression of proteins that sequester serum iron away from bacteria.

Effects of bacterial lipopolysachharide on peripheral leukocytes in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Alligators were injected intraperitoneally with four different doses (10, 1.0, 0.1, and 0.

Characterization of serum complement activity of saltwater (Crocodylus porosus) and freshwater (Crocodylus johnstoni) crocodiles.

We employed a spectroscopic assay, based on the hemolysis of sheep red blood cells (SRBCs), to assess the innate immune function of saltwater and freshwater crocodiles in vitro. Incubation of serum from freshwater and saltwater crocodiles with SRBCs resulted in concentration-dependent increases in SRBC hemolysis. The hemolytic activity occurred rapidly, with detectable activity within 2 min and maximum activity at 20 min.

Comparisons of innate immune activity of all known living crocodylian species.

Serum samples from all twenty-three known living members of the Crocodylia were tested for antibacterial activity against eight bacterial species. These data were used to generate an immune profile for each crocodylian species. Statistical analyses revealed that the three living lineages of crocodylians, Alligatoroidea, Crocodyloidea, and Gavialoidea, were distinguishable by their immunological activities.

Broad spectrum antimicrobial activity of leukocyte extracts from the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Leukocytes were isolated from whole blood of wild alligators by differential sedimentation. The leukocytes were disrupted in 5% AcOH and the crude extracts processed by ultrafiltration. The extracts were subjected to solvent exchange (0.

Investigating the reaction of N-carbobenzoxy-O-carbobenzoxy- hydroxylamine with dimethyl sulfoxide: formation of S,S-dimethyl-N-[(phenylmethoxy)- carbonyl]sulfoximine.

[Reaction: see text]. N-carbobenzoxy-O-carbobenzoxyhydroxylamine (1a) underwent a thermally induced reaction in DMSO in which there is net N-alpha-eliminative oxidation with tandem oxidative incorporation of DMSO to yield S,S-dimethyl-N-[(phenylmethoxy)carbonyl]sulfoximine. Mechanisms for the formation of the sulfoximine are presented as well as the product characterizations, including the X-ray crystal structure.

Engelhardt and children: the failure of libertarian bioethics in pediatric interactions.

In Engelhardt's secular bioethics, moral obligations derive from contracts and agreements between rational persons, and no infants or children and few adolescents meet Engelhardt's requirements for being a rational person. This is a problem, as one cannot have any direct secular moral obligations toward nonpersons such as infants and adolescents. The Engelhardtian concepts of ownership, indenture, and social personhood, which are meant to allow the theory to accommodate children and adolescents adequately, fail to give an Engelhardtian any actual means of determining the right action to take in difficult cases, even on his or her own terms.

Deaminatively generated carbocations as initiators of styrene polymerization.

[reaction: see text] Addition polymerization is readily accomplished via free radicals and carbanions but conventional initiations via carbocations are limited principally by low initiator reactivity. Thermolyses of N-nitrosamides produce nitrogen-separated ion-pairs (NSIPs) containing exceedingly reactive carbocations. We report here the novel use of this facile mode of carbocation generation in the polymerization of styrene.

Role of divalent metal ions in serum complement activity of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Treatment of alligator serum with different concentrations of EDTA resulted in a concentration-dependent inhibition of serum-mediated sheep red blood cell (SRBC) hemolysis. This inhibition of serum-dependent hemolysis was observed for other chelators of divalent metal ions, such as phosphate and citrate. Treatment of alligator serum with 5 mM EDTA completely inhibited SRBC hemolysis, which could be totally restored by the addition of 5 mM Ca(2+) or Mg(2+), but not Cu(2+) or Ba(2+).

Identification of alternative pathway serum complement activity in the blood of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Incubation of different dilutions of alligator serum with sheep red blood cells (SRBCs) that had not been sensitized with antibodies resulted in concentration-dependent hemolytic activity. This hemolytic activity was not affected by the presence of ammonium hydroxide and methylamine, known inactivators of the classical complement cascade. However, the hemolytic activities were inhibited by EDTA and salicylaldoxime, indicating that the alternate pathway is primarily responsible for these activities.

N-nitrosoamide-mediated N --> O nitroso transfer to alcohols with subsequent denitroxylation.

Decomposition of certain N-benzyl-N-nitrosoamides is often accompanied by small amounts of benzaldehyde whose formation was postulated to arise from in situ formation and oxidation of benzyl alcohol. Incubation of excess benzyl alcohol with thermostable N-benzyl-N-nitrosoamides at ambient temperatures in inert solvents generates benzyl nitrite, N-benzyl amides, and benzaldehyde as the major products. Benzyl nitrite formation appears to be linked to N --> O nitroso transfer between the N-benzyl-N-nitrosoamides and benzyl alcohol, which is subject to the previously observed electronic and steric features of the acyl substituent although the former appears to play a much larger role than the latter.

Teaching health care ethics: why we should teach nursing and medical students together.

This article argues that teaching medical and nursing students health care ethics in an interdisciplinary setting is beneficial for them. Doing so produces an education that is theoretically more consistent with the goals of health care ethics, can help to reduce moral stress and burnout, and can improve patient care. Based on a literature review, theoretical arguments and individual observation, this article will show that the benefits of interdisciplinary education, specifically in ethics, outweigh the difficulties many schools may have in developing such courses.

Antiviral activity of serum from the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Serum from wild alligators was collected and tested for antibiotic activity against three enveloped viruses using cell-based assays. Alligator serum demonstrated antiviral activities against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1; IC50=0.9%), West Nile virus (WNV; IC50=4.

Amoebacidal effects of serum from the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

Treatment of axenic Naegleria gruberi cultures with alligator serum resulted in time-dependent amoebacidal activity, with measurable activity at 5 min and maximal activity occurring at 20 min. The amoebacidal activity was concentration dependent, with measurable activity at 25% serum, whereas treatment of amoebas with undiluted serum resulted in only 16% survival. The efficacy was dependent on the concentration of amoebas, with higher survival rates at high amoeba densities and lower survival rates at low amoeba densities.

Highly efficient Friedel-Crafts-type benzylation via benzyl cations generated in multiple spacer-molecule separated ion-pairs.

Deamination, as a facile route to highly reactive carbocations, is of interest to several areas of organic chemistry, industry, and medicine. The reactivity and utility of these carbocations derives from the presence of a lone nitrogenous entity (N(2) or N(2)O) interposed between the ion-pair. We report here the synthesis of a new deamination precursor whose nitrosation and subsequent decomposition constitutes a novel deamination method.

Node-link-mapping-enhanced group treatment for pathological gambling.

Two experiments evaluated a group treatment for pathological gambling that used node-link mapping techniques to enhance treatment effectiveness. In Experiment 1, 13 (8 female) pathological gamblers were randomly assigned to either a mapping group (n=4), a nonmapping group (n=4), or a wait-list control group (n=5). The treatments were conducted by Master's level counselors during 90-min sessions conducted twice per week for 8 weeks.