Probing the salmeterol binding site on the beta 2-adrenergic receptor using a novel photoaffinity ligand, [(125)I]iodoazidosalmeterol.

Salmeterol is a long-acting beta2-adrenergic receptor (beta 2AR) agonist used clinically to treat asthma. In addition to binding at the active agonist site, it has been proposed that salmeterol also binds with very high affinity at a second site, termed the "exosite", and that this exosite contributes to the long duration of action of salmeterol. To determine the position of the phenyl ring of the aralkyloxyalkyl side chain of salmeterol in the beta 2AR binding site, we designed and synthesized the agonist photoaffinity label [(125)I]iodoazidosalmeterol ([125I]IAS).

The effect of viral inoculum level and host age on disease incidence, disease severity, and mortality in a murine model of ocular HSV-1 infection.

It has been previously shown that the strain of virus, immune competence of the host, and innate resistance of the host have an effect on the severity of ocular disease induced by topical infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). This study has expanded on earlier work by examining the effect of virus inoculum and host age on mortality, incidence of ocular disease, and severity of ocular disease. BALB/c mice were infected with inocula ranging from 2 x 10(3) to 1 x 10(6) pfu of HSV-1 strain CJ394.

Graduate medical education reform. Service provision transition costs.

Objective: To analyze the potential strategies and costs of house staff substitution under a reformed system of graduate medical education.

Design: An economic model using two scenarios for substitution of house staff (residents and fellows): (1) a lower-cost model under which nonphysician providers assume many house staff responsibilities, but additional aspects of their workload are taken over by staff physicians, nurses, and ancillary personnel; and (2) a higher-cost traditional model that relies more heavily on staff physicians to replace house officers.

Setting: US teaching hospitals.

An immortalized human fibroblast cell line is permissive for human cytomegalovirus infection.

Human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) were immortalized via retrovirus-mediated gene transfer of the E6 and E7 genes of human papillomavirus type 16. An immortalized fibroblast (IF) cell line which was morphologically akin to the parental cell line was isolated. The IF cell line was evaluated for permissiveness to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection after the IF cell line surpassed the normal passage limitation of diploid fibroblasts.