Effect of synthetic progestins on the uptake of labelled testosterone and estradiol-17beta by the accessory genital organs of male rats

The effect of pretreatment with norethindrone (NE) or 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC) on the uptake of tritiated testosterone and estradiol-17beta by the accessory sex organs of castrated and intact rats was investigated. A selective in vivo increase in the incorporation of tritiated testosterone and estradiol-17beta was observed at 48 hours after castration. The uptake of testosterone was greatest in the epididymis, while the maximum incorporation of estradiol-17beta was by the vas deferens. Pretreatment with NE or 17-OHPC decreased the incorporation of testosterone by all the accessory organs of castrated rats. NE decreased the incorporation of tritiated estradiol-17beta in the epididymis and seminal vesicles only, while 17-OHPC decreased the uptake in all accessory organs.     

The synthesis of prostaglandin analogs containing the (hydroxycyclooctylidene)methyl ring system

The synthesis of prostaglandin analogs incorporating the (2-hydroxycyclooctylidene)methyl moiety in place of the natural C13-C20 sidechain has been accomplished via copper-assisted conjugate addition of the (cyclooctylidene)methyllithium 5 to the cyclopentenone intermediates 7 and 10.     

Effect of 1,4-dibromobenzene and 1,2,4-tribromobenzene on xenobiotic metabolism

Sera were obtained from the venous effluents of cold-challenged arms of patients with idiopathic cold urticaria without plasma or serum cryoproteins; these sera exhibited increased neutrophil chemotactic activity without alterations of the complement system. A two- to fourfold augmentation of the base-line neutrophil chemotactic activity of serum from the immersed extremity began within 1 min, peaked at 2 min, and returned to base-line levels within 15 min, whereas there was no change in the serum chemotactic activity in the control arm. The augmented chemotactic activity in the serum specimens from the challenged arm of each patient appeared in a high molecular-weight region, as assessed by the difference in activity recovered after Sephadex G-200 gel filtration of the paired lesional and control specimens. Sequential purification of this high molecular-weight activity by anion- and cation-exchange chromatography revealed a single peak of activity at both steps. The partially purified material continued to exhibit a high molecular weight, being excluded on Sepharose 4B, and had a neutral isoelectric point. The partially purified material showed a preferential chemotactic activity for neutrophilic polymorphonuclear leukocytes, required a gradient for expression of this function, and exhibited a capacity to deactivate this cell type. This active principle, termed high molecular-weight neutrophil chemotactic factor, exhibited a time-course of release that could be superimposed upon that of histamine and the low molecular-weight eosinophil chemotactic factor and may represent another mast cell-derived mediator.     

Sj?gren's syndrome in progressive systemic sclerosis

Thirty-five consecutive patients with progressive systemic sclerosis were prospectively evaluated for evidence of Sj?gren's syndrome. Six of the 35 (17%) were judged to have the disorder. This is a higher prevalence than in most reports, but much lower than that recently reportedly by Alarcón-Segovia and associates (7). An additional 17 of the 35 patients (48%) had significant fibrosis in the absence of sufficient mononuclear cell infiltrates to confirm the diagnosis of Sj?gren's syndrome. This group had particularly aggressive scleroderma with serious visceral features, and five died after a short duration of illness. No significant abnormalities were found in biopsies from six patients with the mixed connective tissue disease syndrome, five with Raynaud's phenomenon alone, or in 29 autopsy control subjects who had no evidence of connective tissue disease. Fibrosis in the absence of mononuclear infiltration in minor salivary glands of patients with progressive systemic sclerosis indicates a poor prognosis.     

Hot surface ignition system

A hot-surface ignition (HSI) system that controls the operation of industrial gas-fired appliances with levels of safety, reliability, and versatility never before achieved is presented. A microcomputer-based control module provides multilevel component fault tolerance in critical areas such as the flame-sensing and valve-control circuits. The program in the control module negates unsafe operation in the event of a failure of the microcomputer by requiring diverse signals to exist at precise time relationships to execute particular functions. The control module is designed for reliable operation far beyond normal appliance life     

Fiber optic-based biosensor for ricin

We report on an evanescent wave fiber-optic biosensor for detecting a potently toxic protein, ricin, in the picograms per milliliter range. A sandwich immunoassay scheme was used to detect ricin. First, an anti-ricin IgG was immobilized onto the surface of an optical fiber in two different ways. In the first method, the antibody was directly coated to the silanized fiber using a crosslinker. Second, avidin-coated fibers were incubated with biotinylated anti-ricin IgG to immobilize the antibody using an avidin-biotin bridge. The assay using the avidin-biotin linked antibody demonstrated higher sensitivity and wider linear dynamic range than the assay using antibody directly conjugated to the surface. The linear dynamic range of detection for ricin in buffer using the avidin-biotin chemistry is 100 pg/ml-250 ng/ml. The limits of detection for ricin in buffer solution and river water are 100 pg/ml and 1 ng/ml, respectively. At higher concentrations of ricin (> 50 ng/ml), we observe a strong interaction of ricin with the avidin coated on the surface of the fibers. We have demonstrated that this interaction is primarily due to the lectin activity of ricin and is significantly reduced using fibers coated with neutravidin or by adding galactose to the ricin samples.