The diagnostic significance of IgG cow's milk protein antibodies re-evaluated

1996

The effect of different feeding regimens, notably the use of hydrolysed cow's milk formulas, on the development of allergic reactions and the development of cow's milk protein-IgG antibodies is still disputed. We prospectively compared the development of allergic manifestations and cow's milk protein-IgG antibodies in a total of 702 infants who were divided into six groups: Cow's milk protein antibodies were determined by an indirect immuno-fluorescent test. Antibody titres rose slowly in groups 1, 3 and 6. Children in group 5 showed two high peaks. There were no significant differences in the frequency and type of allergic manifestations between the groups. Introduction of cow's milk formu…

Calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and iron content of infant formulas and estimated daily intakes

1996

The calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and iron content of a total of 22 different infant formulas marketed in Spain were measured by atomic spectrometry, and the mineral intake of infants fed exclusively with these formulas was estimated. The contents (mg/100kJ) are in the following ranges: Ca, 14-24; Mg, 1.1-2.8; Na, 5.6-9.8; K, 19-35; Fe, 0.02-0.50. These values coincide with those recommended by the Codex and European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (ESPGAN), and do not exceed the limits established by the European Union (EU). The mean values and ranges of estimated intakes for each formula type and period of infancy (0-1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-4 and 4-5 months) expressed…

The function of the soluble interleukin 6 (IL-6) receptor in vivo: sensitization of human soluble IL-6 receptor transgenic mice towards IL-6 and prol…

1996

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is considered an important mediator of acute inflammatory responses. Moreover, IL-6 functions as a differentiation and growth factor of hematopoietic precursor cells, B cells, T cells, keratinocytes, neuronal cells, osteoclasts, and endothelial cells. IL-6 exhibits its action via a receptor complex consisting of a specific IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) and a signal transducing subunit (gp130). Soluble forms of both receptor components are generated by shedding and are found in patients with various diseases such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and others. The function of the soluble (s)IL-6R in vivo is unknown. Since human (h)IL-6 acts on human and…

Determination of Nonuniform Residual Stresses Using the Ring-Core Method

1996

This paper considers residual stress analysis using the ring-core method. In particular, the so-called integral equation method is applied to evaluate nonuniform residual stress fields. The proposed method overcomes typical drawbacks of the incremental strain method which lead to incorrect results for strongly varying stress fields. The experimental results obtained with a specimen subjected to a bending load confirm the theoretical predictions.

Micelles, monolayers and biomembranes. By M. N. Jones, D. Chapman, Wiley-Liss, New York 1995, XII, 252 pp., hardcover $69.00, ISBN 0-471-56139-8

1996

Sample streaks and smears in immobilized pH gradient gels

1996

In immobilized pH gradient (IPG) gel formulations as wide as pH 4-9, encompassing neutrality and containing the pK 7.0 acrylamido buffer as one of the buffering ions, smears are directly proportional to the total amount of the pK 7.0 species. At a total level of 10 mM pK 7.0 in these gel formulations, severe smears occur not only for mildly hydrophobic proteins (e.g., recombinant alcalase and termamylase) but also for the relatively hydrophilic pI marker proteins. Streaks and smears are essentially abolished in recipes devoid of the pK 7.0 compound or in formulations containing a maximum of 3 mM of this component. Although partitioning in water/n-octanol has shown the pK 7.0 acrylamido buff…

Synthetic approaches towards new polymer systems by the combination of living carbocationic and anionic polymerizations

1996

This study summarizes recent efforts to obtain by combination of living carbocationic and anionic polymerizations block copolymers which are potential precursors for building new well-defined polymeric architectures with microphase separated morphology. Living carbocationic polymerization (LCCP) yields telechelic polyisobutylene (PIB) chains with a variety of useful endgroups, such as tert-chlorine, isopropenyl, primary hydroxyl, tolyl etc. When tolyl-ended PIB was used as precursor for macroinitiator of living anionic polymerization of 2-(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy)ethyl methacrylate (tBuMe2SiOEMA), mixtures of homopolymers and block copolymers were formed due to incomplete lithiation of t…

Transport properties of Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ Bicrystal Grain Boundary Josephson Junctions and SQUIDs

1996

Josephson junctions and SQUIDs on 36.8° SrTiO 3 bicrystal substrates were prepared from epitaxial Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 10+δ thin films with critical temperatures around 95K. The current-voltage characteristics are well described by the resistively and capacitively shunted junction model. I c R n products of 50μV at 77K and 0.7mV at 4.2K have been reached. The I c (B) dependence is symmetric to B = 0 with an I c suppression of 90% in the first minimum. Nevertheless it turns out, that the junctions are inhomogeneous on a μm scale. SQUID modulations observed at 78K indicate a flux-voltage transfer function of 2.7μV/Φ 0 at this temperature.

A presentation and a representation of the Held group

1996

In this note we give a brief description of a new presentation of the Held group, which is deduced only from the original work of D. Held in 1969, who shows that a finite simple group, having the same centralizer of a 2-central involution as in the Mathieu group M24, is M24, L5(2) or a group of order 4.030.387.200. The first complete uniqueness proof for the latter case was given by L. Soicher in 1991. The generators and relations occurring here are easy to verify by a simple Todd–Coxeter algorithm. It is an easy task to get a new uniqueness and existence proof of the Held group from this result. Also basic facts like the Schur Multiplier or the automorphism group of the Held group follow f…

Does Formal Musical Structure Affect Perception of Musical Expressiveness?

1996

The aim of the study was to assess the effect of systematic modifications in global musical structures on perceived expressiveness. Recorded performances of piano pieces of Bach, Mozart and Schonberg were segmented into short chunks of six seconds in average. These chunks were linked either in a forward order (Original version) or in a backward order (Inverted version). In the inverted version, the formal global structure of the pieces was destroyed, but the superficial features and the local structures inside the chunks were unaltered. Forty non-musician subjects were required to rate the musical expressiveness of these pieces on 29 semantic scales. Half listened to the three original ver…

Simulated annealing with restrained molecular dynamics using CONGEN: Energy refinement of the NMR solution structures of epidermal and type-αtransfor…

1996

The new functionality of the program CONGEN (Bruccoleri RE, Karplus M, 1987, Biopolymers 26:137-168; Bassolino-Klimas D et al., 1996, Protein Sci 5:593-603) has been applied for energy refinement of two previously determined solution NMR structures, murine epidermal growth factor (mEGF) and human type-alpha transforming growth factor (hTGF alpha). A summary of considerations used in converting experimental NMR data into distance constraints for CONGEN is presented. A general protocol for simulated annealing with restrained molecular dynamics is applied to generate NMR solution structures using CONGEN together with real experimental NMR data. A total of 730 NMR-derived constraints for mEGF a…

Vanadium-based Ziegler-Natta catalyst supported on MgCl2(THF)2 for ethylene polymerization

1996

A supported magnesium‐vanadium‐aluminium catalyst was prepared by depositing –with the use of a milling technique–VOCl3 on the MgCl2(THF)2 support and subsequent activation with diethylaluminium chloride. Catalytic activity of the obtained system for ethylene polymerization was evaluated as a function of Mg/V and Al/V ratios as well as catalyst ageing time and polymerization temperature. High concentrations of THF in the catalytic system and considerable excess of an organoaluminium co‐catalyst were found to have no deactivating action on vanadium active sites. The catalyst obtained is stable and its activity for ethylene polymerization is high. It yields polyethylene with higher molecular …

Protein sorting in Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells permeabilized with the pore-forming protein streptolysin O

1996

Plasmodium falciparum is an intracellular parasite of human red blood cells (RBCs). Like many other intracellular parasites, P. falciparum resides and develops within a parasitophorous vacuole which is bound by a membrane that separates the host cell cytoplasm from the parasite surface. Some parasite proteins are secreted into the vacuolar space and others are secreted, by an as yet poorly defined pathway, into the RBC cytosol. The transport of proteins from the parasite has been followed mainly using morphological methods. In search of an experimental system that would allow (i) dissection of the individual steps involved in transport from the parasite surface into the RBC cytosol, and (ii…

A Cell-specific Glycosylated Silk Protein from Chironomus thummi Salivary Glands

1996

Chironomid salivary glands contain 40 cells dedicated to the synthesis of a relatively small ensemble of silk proteins. Glands in some species contain a special lobe composed of 4 cells distinguishable from the others. We have cloned a special lobe-specific cDNA from Chironomus thummi salivary glands. Northern blots of salivary gland RNA demonstrated that the cDNA hybridizes to a 2.5-kilobase transcript present only in the special lobe. In situ hybridization mapped the gene encoding this cDNA to region A2b on polytene chromosome IV, the locus of the special lobe-specific Balbiani ring a. The deduced amino acid sequence encodes a protein with a calculated molecular mass of 77 kDa and numerou…

Fertilization after intracytoplasmic sperm injection with cryopreserved testicular spermatozoa.

1996

Objective To assess the possibility of cryopreserving testicular tissue extracted sperm for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Design A report of two cases. Our study was approved by the Ethical Committee at the Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad. Setting In vitro fertilization program at the Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad. Patients Two azoospermic patients with severe spermatogenic failure but with focal spermatogenesis on testicular biopsies. In both cases, a first ICSI attempt with fresh testicular biopsy extracted sperm was unsuccessful. Interventions Cryopreservation of testicular spermatozoa in 100-µL "pills." Intracytoplasmic sperm injection with thawed testicular sperm…

TAURINE SUPPLEMENTATION PREVENTS HYPERAMINOACIDEMIA IN GROWING TERM INFANTS FED HIGH PROTEIN COW'S MILK FORMULA. † 1891

1996

Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and plasma and urine amino acid concentrations were compared between three cohorts of healthy term infants who were breast-fed (BF) or randomly assigned to one of two formulas either taurine non-supplemented (FF) or taurine supplemented (FF+T). The formulas had a protein concentration of 2 g/dl (2.9 g/100 kcal) and a whey/casein ratio of 20/80. The infants were studied from 2 to 12 weeks of age. Weight gain and growth in length was normal and similar in all three feeding groups during the study interval. At 12 weeks BUN was significantly higher in the FF group than in the BF and FF+T groups of infants, 16.5 mg/dl vs 7.0 and 7.3 mg/dl respectively. Total plasma amin…

La F- inicial latina en los orígenes de la lengua española (I)

1996

The first part of this study (I) deals with Latin's initial /f/ sound weakening to (h) and its subsequent loss in the language's initial stages. We assess the various explanations which have been proposed for this aspiration: a Latin dialectal feature, an internal evolution of the phonological system, a product ofthe Iberian-Basque substratum, and its relationship with Old Basque aspiration. Additionally, we analyse the first documentary evidence in the various Hispanic dialects from the IX to the XII century, bearing in mind that this phenomenon originally appeared in an area with close geographical links to Basque. With regard to spelling correspondences as evidence of an ongoing phonetic…

Appendiceal continence mechanisms in continent urinary diversion.

1996

The creation of a safe, reliable, and easy-to-perform continence mechanism remains one of the most important problems during continent urinary diversion. The advent of the use of the appendix as an efferent segment brought through the umbilicus has greatly facilitated surgical procedures with very favorable results. Our experience with the insitu appendix as an efferent segment during continent cutaneous urinary diversion using the Mainz-pouch I technique over the past 6 years revealed a markedly decreased complication rate of 3.2% as compared with 7.2% in patients who received an ileocecal intussusception nipple. The routine use of the appendix as a continence mechanism during continent ur…

Renal Oncocytomas (Typical and Atypical Variants): A Pathologic, Immunohistochemical, Morphometric, and Flow Cytometric Differential Study of 14 Case…

1996

Eight conventional and six atypical oncocytomas in a series of 147 renal neoplasms were studied. Histopathologic findings revealed exclusively oncocytic cells, but cellular polymorphism was higher in the atypical tumors. Atypical oncocytomas presented focal necrosis, transcapsular invasion, or both. Electron microscopy showed similar findings in all cases. Immunohistochemistry of atypical oncocytomas had higher expression against proliferating cell nuclear antigen and more discontinuous immunostaining against laminin than typical ones. Flow cytometry revealed one or two aneuploid peaks in five typical and two atypical cases, although the latter had a higher proliferative fraction than typi…

Multiple Estrogen Function in Human Prostate Cancer Cells

1996

Pseudonyms for Cancer Registries

1996

AbstractIn order to conform to the rigid German legislation on data privacy and security we developed a new concept of data flow and data storage for population-based cancer registries. A special trusted office generates a pseudonym for each case by a cryptographic procedure. This office also handles the notification of cases and communicates with the reporting physicians. It passes pseudonymous records to the registration office for permanent storage. The registration office links the records according to the pseudonyms. Starting from a requirements analysis we show how to construct the pseudonyms; we then show that they meet the requirements. We discuss how the pseudonyms have to be prote…

false

1996

Developing an artificial oxygen carrier for use in humans, we polymerize native haemoglobin and myoglobin, using bifunctional, amino group specific cross-linkers, to soluble, so-called hyperpolymers. These polymers, like other polymerized globular proteins, are members of a new class of macromolecues which consist of macromolecular base units. They all have, due to the mechanisms of the chemical reaction, broad distributions of molecular weights. Fractions of hyperpolymers of human haemoglobin were obtained by employing preparative gel-permeation (size-exclusion) chromatography. The calibration curve of analytical gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) for haemoglobin hyperpolymers was determi…

Kinetics of Molecule Transfer between Lipid Vesicles and β-Cyclodextrins

1996

Abstract We propose a calorimetric method based on the van't Hoff model of depression of the freezing temperature to investigate slow kinetics involving lipid vesicles (liposomes) and drug–β-cyclodextrin (Cyd) complexes. Some nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were examined and standard phospholipid liposomes were used in our experiments. Three different kinetic processes were investigated: (a)9Transfer of drugs from water-soluble Cyd-complexes to void liposomes. (b)9Uptake of drugs from the surface of liposomes by free Cyd dissolved in the aqueous phase. (c)9Exchange of drugs from loaded to void vesicles, and the effect of free Cyd in enhancing such a transfer. Most experiments w…

Transient topographical amnesia and cingulate cortex damage: A case report

1996

Transient topographical amnesia (TTA) is the temporary inability to find one's way in familiar or unfamiliar surroundings due to the inability to use well known environmental landmarks for route finding. The syndrome has not been described as having any obvious aetiology and has been thought to be caused by a vascular deficit in right hemispheric structures which are crucial for topographic recognition, i.e. parietal association and parahippocampal cortex. The patient described in the present study complained of several critical episodes of TTA and tonic rigidity of the left limbs. Neuropsychological assessment was normal except for a deficit in spatial memory tasks. Magnetic resonance (MR)…

Inorganic arsenic species in groundwater: A case study from Purbasthali (Burdwan), India

1996

A regional groundwater quality survey from 20 tube wells in the Purbasthali area of the Burdwan district of West Bengal province (India) identified arsenic pollution in this area. Arsenic was detected in 19 cases at a concentration level 0.5 to 135.9 micrograms/L. Speciation studies indicate that As(III) is present in only one sample and organo-arsenic compounds have not been detected. Iron, antimony and pH of such water samples were also studied to see if there is any correlation of the presence of arsenic and these parameters. A high concentration of iron (0.3 to 10.7 mg/L) has been detected. Antimony is present in all these water samples (0.03 to 0.9 microgram/L). The pH value of the gro…

Rare decay η→ππγγ in chiral perturbation theory

1996

We investigate the rare radiative {eta} decay modes {eta}{r_arrow}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup {minus}}{gamma}{gamma} and {eta}{r_arrow}{pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma}{gamma} within the framework of chiral perturbation theory at {ital O}({ital p}{sup 4}). We present photon spectra and partial decay rates for both processes as well as a Dalitz contour plot for the charged decay. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}

Investigation of ultrathin iron and iron/nickel layers prepared from Langmuir-Blodgett films

1996

Oxidic and metallic iron and iron/nickel multilayers, formed after thermal and chemical treatment of Langmuir-Blodgett films, were investigated. Reduced iron-stearate multilayers were compared with evaporated films concerning their phase composition and their lateral homogeneity. The sequence of metallic and oxidic iron in the films after reduction was determined. Oxidic iron/nickel mixed layers can be prepared from Langmuir-Blodgett films, in which a magnetically non-ordered Fe3+ phase exhibiting a distribution of the quadrupole splitting is observed. After reduction of such layers, two metallic iron phases appear dependent on the nickel concentration. The hyperfine field distribution of t…

Co-activation and tension-regulating phenomena during isokinetic knee extension in sedentary and highly skilled humans.

1996

The aim of this study was to examine isokinetic torque produced by highly skilled (HS) and sedentary (S) human subjects, during knee extension, during maximal voluntary and superimposed electrical activation. To verify the level of activation of agonist (vastus lateralis, VL, and vastus medialis, VM) and antagonist muscles (semi-tendineous, ST), during maximal voluntary activation, their myo-electrical activities were detected and quantified as root mean square (rms) amplitude. Ten HS and ten S subjects performed voluntary and superimposed isometric actions and isokinetic knee extensions at 14 angular velocities (from -120 to 300 degrees*s(-1)). The rms amplitude of each muscle was normaliz…

Novel acrylamido monomers with higher hydrophilicity and improved hydrolytic stability: II. Properties of N-acryloylaminopropanol

1996

The physico-chemical properties and the electrophoretic behavior of the novel set of monomers reported by (Simo-Alfonso et al., Electrophoresis 1996, 17, 723-731) have been evaluated. Of utmost importance was the combination of high hydrophilicity and extreme hydrolytic stability, most desired properties for, any electrophoretic matrix, especially for protein fractionation. One of these monomers (N-acryloylaminopropanol, AAP) was found indeed to be extremely hydrophilic (with a partition coefficient P of only 0.10, vs. P = 0.13 for N-acryloylaminoethoxyethanol and P = 0.20 for acrylamide) and to possess excellent stability to alkaline hydrolysis. Its hydrolysis constant (0.008 L mol-1 min-1…

Interleukin 4 suppresses primary interferon gamma response by T cells immunized in vivo and cultured in vitro with interleukin 2.

1996

This paper describes a novel primary in vivo/in vitro culture system which allows analysis of the effect of IL-4 added to culture 1 day after immunization on the production of IFN-gamma. Mice are immunized epicutaneously with picryl chloride (TNP) and draining lymph node cells were harvested 1 day later. These cells (1 day lymph node cells), when cultured in vitro for 3 days in the presence of IL-2, either continuously or as a pulse, give an IFN-gamma response on reexposure to antigen 3 days later. This production of IFN-gamma is both antigen-specific and genetically (MHC)-restricted and is due to both CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. However, if 1 day lymph node cells are cultured with both IL-2 and…

Self-diffusion coefficients in plastic crystals by multiple-pulse NMR in large static field gradients.

1996

Measurements of self-diffusion coefficients in solids with the gradient spin echo technique have until now been limited due to short spin-spin relaxation times. Here we make use of multiple-pulse sequences, which average out the nuclear dipole interaction, to expand the measurable range for macroscopic self-diffusion coefficients by 2 orders of magnitude. By combining multiple-pulse NMR, in our case using the MREV-8 sequence, with a high static gradient we measured the self-diffusion coefficient in a molecular crystal of camphene down to a value of $D\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}{\mathrm{m}}^{2}{\mathrm{s}}^{\en…

Sedimentary model and high-frequency cyclicity in a Mediterranean, shallow-shelf, temperate-carbonate environment (uppermost Miocene, Agua Amarga Bas…

1996

Uppermost Tortonian to lower Messinian temperate carbonates crop out in the Agua Amarga Basin (SE Spain). They consist of four units. The lower three units can be tentatively assigned to the lowstand systems tract of a fourth-order sequence, constituting in turn the lowstand (‘megatrough unit’), transgressive (‘breccia unit’) and highstand (‘bedded unit’) stages of a higher-order cycle. All these materials were deposited in a small pull-apart basin related to the sinistral Carboneras strike-slip fault system. The best represented is the bedded unit (up to 25 m thick), which consists of bioclastic, bryozoan/bivalve-dominated calcarenites/calcirudites with abundant fragments of echinoids, bar…

Effect of bulkiness and lewis acidity of aluminium compounds on the anionic polymerization of methyl methacrylate in toluene

1996

The bulkiness and the Lewis acidity of added aluminium compounds strongly affect the polymerization of methyl methacrylate in toluene at −78°C. The polymerization strongly deviates from ‘ideal’ first-order kinetics, i.e. the first-order time-conversion plots are kinked at low monomer conversions. Additionally, for the more bulky and more Lewis-acid aluminium alkyls, the time-conversion plots show a further downward curvature. This curvature is not the result of a termination reaction because the polymers are free of side products like β-ketoesters or vinyl ketone units. The molecular weight distributions and tacticities of the resulting polymers are also affected. Dependent on the aluminium…

Interfacial properties of glassy polymer melts: A Monte Carlo study

1996

The properties of the interface between a polymer melt and a solid wall are studied over a wide range of temperatures by dynamic Monte Carlo simulations. It is shown that in the supercooled state near the glass transition of the melt an “interphase” forms, the structure of which is influenced by the wall. The thickness of this interphase is determined from the monomer density profile near the surface and is strongly temperature dependent. At low glass-like temperatures it is larger than the bulk radius of gyration of the chains.

Qualit�tssicherung in der not�rztlichen Fortbildung

1996

Medizinische Leistungen unterliegen der Qualitatssicherung, die kontinuierliche Fortbildung ist ein wesentliches Instrument, dessen Qualitatselemente ebenfalls kontrolliert werden mussen: Struktur (Inhalte, Organisationsformen), Prozes (Ablauf) und Ergebnis (Akzeptanz, Vermehrung des Wissens). Es mus zwischen Fortbildungsbedarf (z.B. zertifizierter Nachweis) und -bedurfnis (Aufgabe des Arztes) differenziert werden, die Vielfalt der Fortbildungsformen spiegelt unterschiedliche Lernanforderungen wider. Anhand der neuen Richtlinien zum Fachkundenachweis „Rettungsdienst“ konnen qualitatssichernde Masnahmen dargestellt werden. Strukturqualitat: Die bisherigen Empfehlungen von 1983 wurden in den …

Patterning of Suitable Structures for the Investigation of the Josephson Effect in YBa2Cu3O7/PrBa2Cu3O7 Superlattices

1996

The aim of our work is to investigate the Josephson effect in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ /PrBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ superlattices. In the case of current flow along c axis direction the superlattice forms an array of artificial Josephson junctions where the YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ layers are the superconducting electrodes which are separated but Josephson coupled by the PrBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ sheets. In this paper we report on the preparation, characterisation and patterning of the superlattices into suitable structures via standard photolithograpy and lift-off technique.