Neuroprotection and Neuroregeneration Strategies Using the rNAION Model: Theory, Histology, Problems, Results and Analytical Approaches.

Nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is the most common cause of sudden optic nerve (ON)-related vision loss in humans. Study of this disease has been limited by the lack of available tissue and difficulties in evaluating both treatments and the window of effectiveness after symptom onset. The rodent nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy model (rNAION) closely resembles clinical NAION in its pathophysiological changes and physiological responses.

Topical Trabodenoson Is Neuroprotective in a Rodent Model of Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (rNAION).

Purpose: Nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is the leading cause of sudden optic nerve-related vision loss currently without effective treatment. We evaluated the neuroprotective potential of ocular (topical) delivery of trabodenoson, a selective A receptor mimetic, in a rodent model of NAION (rNAION).

Methods: Daily topical delivery of 3% trabodenoson or vehicle administered in both eyes 3 days prior to rNAION induction and for 21 days post induction.

Nucleolin Binds to the Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen and Inhibits Nucleotide Excision Repair.

Nucleolin is over-expressed in malignant tumors and is used as a marker for cell proliferation and to reliably predict tumor growth rate. However, it is not known whether nucleolin expression is directly involved in or is a consequence of carcinogenesis. Using GST-pull down assays, we have determined that the recombinant nucleolin interacts with the Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA).

Prevalence and predictors of smoking behavior among Samoans in three geographical regions.

Objectives: Provide comprehensive data on smoking behavior among Samoans.

Design: Cross-sectional, using systematic random sampling procedures, and in-person interviews.

Setting: US Territory of American Samoa, Hawaii, and Los Angeles, California.

Evolution of innate and adaptive immunity: can we draw a line?

Several recent findings in the field of comparative immunology have reinforced the importance of examining the molecular and functional features of immune systems in a variety of organisms. Particularly exciting are the discoveries of a new gene rearrangement mechanism in lampreys and a somatic diversification of mollusk immune genes. These immune features being found in animals previously believed only to have innate immunity, as well as the flood of information on immune genes, molecules and mechanisms in many different creatures, have prompted us to revisit the artificial dichotomy between adaptive and innate immune systems.

Induction of PGE2 by estradiol mediates developmental masculinization of sex behavior.

Adult male sexual behavior in mammals requires the neuronal organizing effects of gonadal steroids during a sensitive perinatal period. During development, estradiol differentiates the rat preoptic area (POA), an essential brain region in the male copulatory circuit. Here we report that increases in prostaglandin-E(2) (PGE(2)), resulting from changes in cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) regulation induced by perinatal exposure to estradiol, are necessary and sufficient to organize the crucial neural substrate that mediates male sexual behavior.

Donor fluorescence decay analysis for energy transfer in double-helical DNA with various acceptor concentrations.

We studied fluorescence resonance energy transfer between donors and acceptors bound to double-helical DNA. The donor Hoechst 33258 binds to the minor groove of DNA and the acceptor propidium iodide (PI) is an intercalator. The time-resolved donor decays were measured in the frequency domain.

Which patients with hepatitis C virus should be treated?

Since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference in 1997, our understanding of the natural history of hepatitis C (HCV) infection and our ability to treat patients has improved. Thus, a large number of clinical studies, confounding terminology, and a growing dilemma in targeting particular populations for treatment who have HCV infection, will continue to be at the forefront of clinical research and treatment. In this report, we examine which HCV-infected populations of patients should be treated.

Antibody to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp160 in mucosal specimens of asymptomatic HIV-1-infected volunteers parenterally immunized with an experimental recombinant HIV-1 IIIB gp160 vaccine. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-sponsored AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Group.

Twenty-two human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected, asymptomatic volunteers with CD4 cell counts of >600 cells/mm3 who were enrolled in a phase I immunotherapy trial comparing two schedules of immunization of an HIV-1 IIIB-based recombinant gp160 (rgp160) experimental vaccine were evaluated for rgp160-specific antibodies in parotid saliva, genital secretions, and serum. When the study was unblinded, it was determined that five volunteers had received rgp160 on a month 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 immunization schedule, seven volunteers had received rgp160 on a month 0, 1, 2, and 5 schedule, five had received alum/deoxycholate placebo, and seven had received a licensed hepatitis B virus vaccine. Five volunteers consented to the donation of parotid saliva but not genital secretions.

Relation between the sarcolemmal Ca2+ current and Ca2+ sparks and local control theories for cardiac excitation-contraction coupling.

Ca2+ sparks, the elementary events underlying excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling, occur when sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release channels open. They are activated locally by Ca2+ influx through sarcolemmal (SL) Ca2+ channels. By measuring the probability of spark occurrence under conditions in which their probability of occurrence is low, we address two important questions raised by our recent work: (1) When a Ca2+ spark is triggered, how many SL Ca2+ channels (at a minimum) contribute to its activation? (2) What is the relation between the subcellular local [Ca2+], produced by the opening of SL Ca2+ channels and the consequent SR Ca2+ release? By comparing the voltage dependence of Ca2+ sparks in rat ventricular myocytes with the Ca2+ current, we show that the opening of a single SL Ca2+ channel can trigger a Ca2+ spark.

Light quenching of fluorescence: a new method to control the excited state lifetime and orientation of fluorophores.

Experimental studies have recently demonstrated that fluorescence emission can be quenched by laser light pulses from modern high-repetition rate lasers, a phenomenon we call "light quenching." In this overview article, we describe the possible effects of light quenching on the steady-state and time-resolved intensity and anisotropy of fluorophores. One can imagine two classes of experiments.

Emerging biomedical and advanced applications of time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy.

Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy is presently regarded as a research tool in biochemistry, biophysics, and chemical physics. Advances in laser technology, the development of long-wavelength probes, and the use of lifetime-based methods, are resulting in the rapid migration of timeresolved fluorescence to the clinical chemistry lab, the patient's bedside, and even to the doctor's office and home health care. Additionally, time-resolved imaging is now a reality in fluorescence microscopy and will provide chemical imaging of a variety of intracellular analytes and/or cellular phenomena.

Quenching of fluorescence by light: A new method to control the excited-state lifetimes and orientations of fluorophores.

We report steady-state and time-resolved studies of quenching of fluorescence by light i.e. "light quenching.

Phenotypic variability of del(2) (q22-q23): report of a case with a review of the literature.

An interstitial deletion of 2q22-q23 was found in a 2.5 year old boy with multiple congenital abnormalities (including Hirschsprung's disease) and severe mental retardation. Comparison with seven additional cases of 2q deletions from the literature does not allow the delineation of a clinically recognizable syndrome.