Bacteria-specific T-cell clones are selective in their reactivity towards different enterobacteria or H. pylori and increased in inflammatory bowel d…

1996

In the present study the authors investigated the T-cell response to different enterobacteria or Helicobacter pylori and tested the hypothesis that the frequency of bacteria-specific T cells is increased in the intestine of patients with active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), i.e. Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). The analysis of a large panel of T-cell clones (Tc) (n = 888) from peripheral blood, non-inflamed and inflamed intestine from IBD patients and control individuals shows that both peripheral blood and intestinal T-cell clones were selectively stimulated by either Salmonella typhimurium, Yersinia enterocolitica 03, Escherichia coli or Helicobacter pylori sonicates,…

Cyclopentadienyl derivatives of octahedral carbonylcarbide hexaruthenium clusters: synthesis, NMR, IR and X-ray characterization

1996

Abstract The reaction of hexanuclear carbonylcarbide cluster Ru6C(CO)17 (1) with pentamethylcyclopentadiene by reflux in heptane leads to a new chelate cluster Ru6C(μ-η1-η5-CH2C5Me4)(CO)14 (2). The compound 2 contains a CH2 group α-bonded to one of the Ru atoms in the Ru6 cluster and a C5Me4-ligand η5-coordinated by the adjacent Ru atom of the Ru6 cluster. Reflux of 1 in hexane with two molecular equivalents of nickelocene, Ni(C5H5)2  NiCp2, used as a source of cyclopentadiene yields the Ru6C(CO)12Cp2 (3) cluster. The compounds 2 and 3 have been characterized by NMR and IR spectroscopy and their crystal structures determined by X-ray diffraction studies.

Biological characterization of laryngeal squamous-cell carcinoma

1996

The traditional prognostic factors, including stage of disease and tumour grade, have shown a limited prognostic significance and an inability to predict clinical response to specific treatment in patients with laryngeal squamous-cell carcinoma. More recent data suggest that cell kinetics indices, DNA-ploidy, lysosomal cysteine proteinase expression and genetic changes of both tumour suppressor genes and proto-oncogenes may be considered as reliable and reproducible indicators of biological aggressiveness in these patients. Moreover, the frequency of different genetic alterations suggests that several pathways are involved in the genesis of these neoplasias and, in particular, it is very pr…

In vitro studies on the activation of the hepatitis C virus NS3 proteinase by the NS4A cofactor.

1996

AbstractProteolytic processing of the nonstructural proteins of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is mediated by two viral proteinases: the NS2-3 proteinase cleaving at the NS2/3 junction and the NS3 serine-type proteinase responsible for processing at the NS3/4A, NS4A/B, NS4B/5A, and NS5A/B sites. Activity of the NS3 proteinase is modulated by NS4A. In the absence of this cofactor processing at the NS3-dependent sites does not occur or, in the case of the NS5A/B junction, is poor but increased when NS4A is present. Although recent studies demonstrated that proteinase activation requires direct interaction between NS3 and NS4A, the mechanism by which NS4A exerts the activation function is not kno…

Decoupling or nondecoupling: Is that theRbquestion?

1996

The top quark is well known for the nondecoupling effects it implies in ρ and Rb. The recent experimental Rb data exhibits a disagreement with the SM prediction at more than the 3σ level. It is tempting to explore whether this might be due to nondecoupling New Physics effects, opposite to those of the top. We investigate this issue in the context of models with an extra family of right or left handed, singlet or doublet quarks. It is shown that, contrary to what

Influence of sludge age on enhanced phosphorus removal in biological systems

1996

The phosphorus removal process was studied in a bench-scale plant for a period of 300 days. The process was observed to depend greatly on two parameters: the amount of volatile fatty acid (VFA) taken up in the anaerobic stage and sludge age. For a given sludge age, phosphorus release versus VFA uptake in the anaerobic stage could be fitted to a straight line, while phosphorus uptake in the non-anaerobic stages fitted a logarithmic curve. Thus, phosphorus removal occurred within a limited VFA uptake range. The range width and the phosphorus removal capacity varied with sludge age.

Effects of filler type and mixing method on the physical properties of a reinforced semirigid liquid crystal polymer

1996

Semirigid liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) show some advantages with respect to rigid LCP: in particular lower processing temperatures, better compatibility with flexible thermoplastics, but also some disadvantages. Thermal resistance of rigid LCPs is much better and the maximum working temperature is, in general, very high. The thermomechanical properties can be improved by adding inorganic fillers. In this work processing, mechanical and thermomechanical properties of a filled semirigid liquid crystal copolyester are reported. Several inorganic fillers have been used in order to put in evidence the influence of shape and dimensions of the particles on the properties of the filled materi…

Tomographic left ventricular volume determination in the presence of aneurysm by three-dimensional echocardiographic imaging. I: Asymmetric model hea…

1996

To improve the accuracy of measurements of left ventricular volume in the presence of an aneurysm, we used three-dimensional echocardiographic imaging to analyze the shape of left ventricles in 23 asymmetric model hearts with eccentric aneurysms of different sizes, shapes, and localizations. A standard 3.75 MHz ultrasound probe with a rotation motor device was used to obtain a three-dimensional data set. By rotating the probe stepwise 1 degree, 180 radial ultrasound pictures were digitized. On the basis of the three-dimensional data set, the following parameters were determined and compared with the dimensions of the model hearts obtained by direct measurement: total left ventricular volume…

Phosphorylation of GAP-43 (growth-associated protein of 43 kDa) by conventional, novel and atypical isotypes of the protein kinase C gene family: dif…

1996

GAP-43 (growth-associated protein of 43 kDa; also known as neuromodulin, P-57, B-50 and F-1) is a neuronal calmodulin binding protein and a major protein kinase C (PKC) substrate in mammalian brain. Here we describe the phosphorylation by and the site specificity of different PKC isotypes. The conventional PKC beta 1 and the novel PKCs delta and epsilon effectively phosphorylated recombinant GAP-43 in vitro; atypical PKC zeta did not. The K(m) values (between 0.6 and 2.3 microM) were very low, demonstrating a high-affinity interaction between kinase and substrate. All PKC isotypes were shown to phosphorylate serine-41 in GAP-43. When using a 19-amino-acid oligopeptide based on the GAP-43 ph…

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1996

The uses of atomic force microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, electron spectroscopic imaging, electron energy loss spectroscopy and low voltage, high resolution scanning electron microscopy in polymer research are reviewed

Synthesis and structural and ionic conductivity studies of Na2ZrSi4O11

1996

The compound Na 2 ZrSi 4 O 1 1 has been prepared both by solid state synthesis and by the sol-gel technique via alkoxides. The structure of Na 2 ZrSi 4 O 11 was investigated by the Rietveld method using X-ray diffractometer data. The powder diffraction data show evidence for a triclinic distortion of the basic monoclinic structure. The ionic conductivity has been determined in the temperature interval 130-560°C using a.c. impedance measurements. The Na + ion mobility is limited, with E a =1.04 eV and σ(300°C)= 2-9 10 7 S/cm. Samples with Ta partially substituted for Zr, according to the formula Na 2-x (Zr 1-x Ta x )Si 4 O 11 with x ≤0.2, showed the same evidence for a triclinic distortion. …

Riding tandems with nature

1996

Detection of anti-myeloperoxidase antibodies in the serum of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

1996

Anti-myeloperoxidase (anti-MPO) antibodies were detected in 34 of 88 (38%) patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus but in only 3 of 55 (5.7%) healthy subjects and in 4 of 20 patients with autoimmune disease. Specificity of anti-MPO antibodies was assessed by MPO inhibition studies. No relationship was found between the occurrence of anti-MPO and anti-thyroperoxidase antibodies. Levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) were found to be higher in anti-MPO antibody-positive (n = 28, 508 +/- 126 ng/ml) than in anti-MPO antibody-negative (n = 58, 438 +/- 140 ng/ml: P < 0.05) patients. A state of chronic neutrophil activation has been described in diabetes mellitus. As anti-MPO…

On linear extension operators from growths of compactifications of products

1996

Abstract We obtain some results on product spaces. Among them we prove that for noncompact spaces X 1 and X 2 , the norm of every linear extension operator from C ( β ( X 1 × X 2 ) β ( X 1 × X 2 )) into C ( β ( X 1 × X 2 )) is greater or equal than 2, and also that β ( X 1 × X 2 ) β ( X 1 × X 2 ) is not a neighborhood retract of β ( X 1 × X 2 ).

On the equation of state for thermal polymer solutions and melts with attractive interaction

1996

We perform Monte Carlo simulations of a lattice model for polymer melts, i. e., the bond fluctuation model in three dimensions. By using an energy parameter that prefers relatively long bonds, the model exhibits a glass transition at low temperatures, in close qualitative similarity to experiment. We modify this model by adding an attractive interaction of variable strength. We demonstrate that a small interaction strength has only a very small effect on the static properties of the melt. For a fixed strength of the potential, the chemical potential is measured by a modified particle-insertion method over a large range of temperatures and densities. The osmotic pressure is obtained by therm…

Nestling growth and mortality of Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca in relation to weather and breeding effort

1996

The growth pattern and mortality of young Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca were studied to focus on the mechanisms and constraints behind the widely studied optimization of clutch size. The clutch sizes were modified, and the growth and survival of chicks from different clutch sizes were monitored along with the prevailing weather during the nestling period to detect the effect of weather on reproductive success. The weather conditions during the feeding period of the nestlings varied within a season as well as between breeding seasons. The prevailing weather markedly affected both the growth rate and the survival of chicks, yet, the effects of weather on growth were not greater in enlar…

Collisional broadening and shifting parameters of the RamanQbranch ofH2perturbed byN2determined from speed-dependent line profiles at high temperatur…

1996

The broadening and shifting of the {ital Q} branch of H{sub 2} diluted in N{sub 2} are studied at temperatures between 300 and 1200 K. (i) In order to account for the observed anomalies (asymmetric profiles and nonlinearity of the linewidth versus perturber concentration), the results are interpreted using a speed-dependent model in its general form. This model introduces the speed dependence of the shift and the broadening. In contrast with the previous H{sub 2}{endash}rare-gas studies, the high-temperature measurements prove the necessity to include speed-dependent broadening that was ignored in the previous studies. (ii) Concomitantly, we report as well pure H{sub 2} results including Ra…

Persistent expression of hepatitis C virus genome in primary tumor and adrenal metastasis of a hepatocellular carcinoma developed in a non-cirrhotic …

1996

To the Editor: There is increasing evidence that chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients seronegative for hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg). In western countries, HCCs occur in anti-HCV positive patients mostly in association with cirrhosis, which can be considered as a precancerous condition (1). However, there are rare cases of HCC that were found in anti-HCV positive patients without pre-existing liver cirrhosis (2). We report here the detection of HCV RNA in a primary HCC derived from an HCV-infected patient with a non-cirrhotic liver and its persistent expression in an adrenal metastasis that developed…

Management of retained bile duct stones: a prospective open trial comparing extracorporeal and intracorporeal lithotripsy.

1996

Abstract Background: Endoscopic management of common bile duct stones has become the approach of choice, especially in patients with high surgical risk. Problems are encountered if there are large stones or a duct stenosis. For these difficult stones, shock wave technology serves as an alternative to surgical intervention. Methods: A total of 125 patients with common bile duct stones in whom conventional endoscopic treatment had failed were selected and treated either by extracorporeal piezoelectric lithotripsy (ESWL, n=79) or intracorporeal electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL, n=46). The average age of our patients was 70 years. Results: In the ESWL group visualization of the stones by ultra…

Anorectal function and morphology in patients with sporadic proctalgia fugax

1996

PURPOSE: The pathophysiology of sporadic proctalgia fugax remains unknown. This study investigates whether patients with this syndrome exhibit alterations in anal function and morphology. METHODS: Eighteen patients with sporadic proctalgia fugax and 18 sex-matched and age-matched healthy controls were studied. Manometric studies investigated anal resting and squeeze pressures, the rectoanal inhibitory reflex, rectal compliance, and smooth muscle response to edrophonium chloride administration. External and internal sphincter thickness was measured endosonographically. RESULTS: Patients had slightly higher (P=0.0291) anal resting pressures (65.5±11.4 mmHg) than controls (56±9.9 mmHg). Howeve…

Neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis--late-infantile or Jansky-Bielschowsky type--revisited.

1996

Among the now eight genetic types of neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses (NCL), CLN1 to CLN8, CLN2 is considered classic late-infantile NCL. It was originally described by Janský in a family of eight children with four of them affected [Janský J (1908) Sborn Lek 13:165-196] and, subsequently, by Bielschowsky in a family of three children each of whom was affected, and, hence, termed Janský-Bielschowsky type of NCL. Earlier, archival studies of Bielschowsky's original post-mortem tissue blocks had documented accumulation of autofluorescent lipopigments with a curvilinear ultrastructure. In a subsequent study, described here, immunohistochemical absence of the CLN2-related lysosomal enzyme tripept…

ZrO2SiO2 mixed oxides: surface aspects, photophysical properties and photoreactivity for 4-nitrophenol oxidation in aqueous phase

1996

Abstract Mixed oxides of ZrO2 and SiO2 were synthesized by a sol-gel technique by using zirconyl chloride and commercial silica gel as starting materials. The paper reports some surface features of the powders and the photoreactivity results obtained in the oxidation of 4-nitrophenol in aqueous suspensions of powdered photocatalyst. The optical characterization of the suspension was also performed by measuring the photon flows reflected and absorbed by the reacting system. The photoactivity exhibited by the ZrO2SiO2 samples is very scarce especially if compared with that shown by a TiO2 sample tested at equal experimental conditions. The low photoreactivity can be justified on the basis of…

Increased in vitro cvsteinvl leukotriene release from blood leukocytes in patients with asthma, nasal polyps, and aspirin intolerance

1996

In vitro cysteinyl leukotriene (cLT) release from blood leukocytes was measured in eight normal individuals (NI), nine patients with nasal polyps (NP) without aspirin intolerance, and eight patients with NP, asthma, and aspirin intolerance (AI). Blood leukocytes were prestimulated with interleukin-3 (IL-3) and incubated with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) (10 and 100 micrograms/ml) together with C5a (10(-8) mol/l) for 18 h. cLT release (LTC4, LTD4 and LTE4) from blood leukocytes was measured with a competitive enzyme-linked immunoassay. Background cLT release was 259 +/- 66 pg/ml (mean +/- SEM) in the NI group, 185 +/- 33 pg/ml in the NP group, and 578 +/- 136 pg/ml in the AI group (P = 0.1). A…

Microalbuminuria, renal dysfunction and cardiovascular complication in essential hypertension

1996

To evaluate the prevalence of microalbuminuria (albumin excretion rate, AER) in a wide hypertensive population, and to evaluate any relationship with cardiovascular damage and renal dysfunction.A transversal study.In 383 hospitalized Caucasian essential hypertensives (198 men, 185 women) of mean age 44 +/- 0.5 years and mean clinic blood pressure 170.3 +/- 0.95/ 103.4 +/- 0.47 mmHg, metabolic parameters, serum creatinine level (Cs), creatinine clearance rate (Ccs), 24 AER and plasma renin activity (PRA) were measured. Furthermore, each patient underwent 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and echocardiography to measure left ventricular mass, which was indexed both by body surf…

Local Cerebral Blood Flow in a Rat Cortical Vein Occlusion Model

1996

The symptoms following sinus and vein occlusion observed in patients and experimental animals display a considerable variability that so far remains largely unexplained. In a rat cortical vein occlusion model using a photochemical thrombotic technique, we examined changes in the cerebral venous flow pattern by fluorescence angiography and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and cerebral blood volume fraction (CBVF) by a modern laser Doppler “scanning” technique. Brain damage was assessed histologically. Fluorescence angiographic findings fell into two groups: group A, rats with an altered venous flow pattern after occlusion (n = 12), and group B, rats with interruption of blood flow and/or…

Nonverbal immediacy and cognitive learning: A cross‐cultural investigation

1996

The current research was based on data drawn from the cultures of Australia, Finland, and Puerto Rico as well as the dominant United States culture. The direction of the relationship between immediacy and perceived cognitive learning did not differ among the cultures studied (a very positive relationship exists within each culture). However, the magnitude of the relationships varied substantially. The results support the theory that in highly immediate cultures the expectations for immediate teacher behavior are very high and violations of those expectations by being less immediate may be very detrimental to cognitive learning. On the other hand, in less immediate cultures where expectation…

High-pressure Raman scattering of the stretching mode in nitrogen along the 300-K isotherm

1996

We present Raman scattering studies of the vibrational band of nitrogen at room temperature between 1 and 31 GPa allowing a detailed line-shape analysis. For the fluid and \ensuremath{\beta} phases the vibrational linewidths compare to dephasing rates ${\mathit{T}}_{2}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ determined by experiments in the time domain. The \ensuremath{\delta}-\ensuremath{\epsilon} transition is unmistakably marked by a drop of the vibrational linewidths around 17 GPa. A further transition into the \ensuremath{\eta} phase around 20 GPa proposed from previous Raman results can be ruled out. Additionally, clear evidence is found for a dynamical freezing of the ${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$ molecule…

Time pattern of gastric acidity in Barrett's esophagus.

1996

Increased gastroesophageal acid reflux is frequently found in patients with Barrett's esophagus, and it has been hypothesized that gastric acid hypersecretion could be an important factor aggravating the exposure of esophageal mucosa to acid and then contributing to the development of this disorder. The aim of the present study was to assess whether the circadian pattern of gastric acidity differs between refluxer patients with and without Barrett's esophagus and normal subjects. Continuous 24-hr gastric pH monitoring was performed in 119 healthy volunteers, 20 patients with Barrett's esophagus, 37 patients with moderate and 10 patients with severe reflux esophagitis without Barrett's esoph…

Case Control Study of Neuroblastoma in West-Germany after the Chernobyl Accident

1996

Background To explore possible causes of a 1988 incidence peak of infant neuroblastoma in west German regions which were contaminated with more than 6000 Bq/m2 Cs137 from the Chernobyl accident. The primary working hypothesis was that parents of the diseased children had been contaminated by an excessive intake of locally produced food, especially mushrooms or deer. Design Case control study with 1:2 (cases:controls) matching. Data were collected from the children's parents by questionnaires and telephone interviews. Setting Nation-wide study (former FRG) based on the German Childhood Cancer Registry. Subjects Cases born in 1988 and reported with a neuroblastoma to the registry until March …

Dielectric study of supercooled triphenylphosphite and butyronitrile: Comparison with a mesoscopic model

1996

Abstract Dielectric relaxation has been studied in the supercooled liquids triphenylphosphite (TPP) and butyrontrile (BN). BN is relatively strong according to Angell's classification and can be characterized by a fragility index m = 47. TPP, on the other hand, appears to be the most fragile non-polymeric liquid studied so far (m = 160). The dielectric response of the two glass-formers exhibits different degrees of non-exponentiality which is analyzed in terms of a mesoscopic model of dynamically correlated domains. The relation of this model to the strong versus fragile liquid classification scheme is discussed.

Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Magnetic Properties of an Octanuclear Nickel(II) Complex with ahexahedro-Ni8 Core

1996

Cathepsin D serum mass concentrations in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and/or liver cirrhosis

1996

Cathepsin D serum mass concentrations were determined by enzyme immunoassay in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 51) and/or liver cirrhosis (n = 92) or benign steatosis (n = 16) and correlated with some biochemical and clinical properties of these diseases. Increased cathepsin D serum mass concentrations (P &lt; 0.001) were observed in all these groups of patients as compared to normal subjects (n = 98). However, patients with steatosis had serum mass concentrations of this enzyme significantly lower (mean 2—3 fold) than those measured in cancer patients (P &lt; 0.05) or cirrhotic patients (P &lt; 0.001). Interestingly, significantly higher cathepsin D serum mass concentrations (m…

High-pressure Raman study of theN2stretching vibration in argon-nitrogen mixtures at room temperature

1996

We present room-temperature Raman investigations of the nitrogen molecule stretching vibration in ${\mathrm{Ar}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$(${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$${)}_{\mathit{x}}$ from x=1 to x=0.59 in the pressure range 1\ensuremath{\le}p\ensuremath{\le}31 GPa. Ar substitution leads to an inhomogeneous broadening of the vibrational signal. The \ensuremath{\beta}-\ensuremath{\delta} phase transition of pure ${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$ is shifted to higher pressures for x=0.75. The substituted Ar atoms preferentially occupy the 2a sites of the cubic elementary cell of the orientationally disordered \ensuremath{\delta} phase. This interpretation of the experimental data is supported by our mod…

Tumor associated antigens in human renal cell carcinoma: MHC restricted recognition by cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

1996

Based on previous studies in human melanoma leading to the molecular cloning of genes encoding peptide antigens recognized by MHC-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) we extended our efforts to renal cancer systems established in tissue culture. In two patients we obtained stable CD8+ CTL clones with high cytolytic activity for the corresponding autologous tumor cell line in vitro. Neither autologous EBV-transformed B lymphocytes or PHA-activated PBL nor natural killer targets K562 were lysed by these CTL clones. MZ1257-RCC CTL5-30 lysed autologous tumor cells as well as normal kidney cell cultures in an HLA-A2 restricted fashion. Further specificity analysis showed cross reactivity wit…

Main Concepts and Research Traditions Commentary

1996

The main questions in European ethnology today are: (1) Why do people behave in a certain manner? (2) How do they interpret and describe their world? (3) What are they looking for? These questions entail assessing tradition and culture. Tradition comprises more and more cultural patterns which are not visible, so we now have the broader but problematic mentality beside the concept of tradition. Passing phenomena may be expressions of a specific ideology and situation, seeming like tradition without being so in the conventional sense. Today's mixture of cultural patterns of short duration requires new methods of conceptual analysis. Subcultures come and go in quick succession. Information te…

Protein synthesis in developing ovaries of mealworm under in vivo and in vitro conditions: Effects of diflubenzuron

1996

Abstract The effect of diflubenzuron (DFB) on protein synthesis in the ovaries of Tenebrio molitor was evaluated during oocyte maturation using in vivo and in vitro assays. When incorporated into the diet (5 and 10 mg g −1 ), DFB was found to affect both the weight, the protein levels and the incorporation of tritiated leucine into proteins of ovaries. In addition, electrophoretic separation of ovarian proteins by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide slab gels (SDS-PAGE) showed that DFB applied in vivo did not have a significant effect on the number of protein bands. When added to the culture medium (5 and 10 μg ml −1 ), DFB resulted in a slight but significant decrease in the rate of inco…