Determination of picotamide in human plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of picotamide in human plasma and urine is described. After addition of an internal standard (bamifylline), the plasma and urine samples were subjected to liquid—liquid extraction and clean-up procedures. The final extracts were evaporated to dryness and the resulting residues were reconstituted in 100 μl of methanol—water (50:50, v/v) and chromatographed on a LiChrosorb RP-SELECT B reversed-phase column coupled to an ultraviolet detector monitored at 230 nm. Chromatographic analysis takes about 10 min per sample. The assay was linear over a wide range and has a limit of detection of 0.005 and 0.1 μg/ml in plasma and urine, respectively. It was selective for picotamide, accurate and robust and thus suitable for routine assays after therapeutic doses of picotamide.     

The autonomic innervation of rat jugular vein

Summary The autonomic innervation of rat jugular vein was studied using glyoxylic acid fluorescence and acetylcholinesterase histochemical methods. The rat jugular vein is provided with both adrenergic and cholinergic nerve fibers organized in plexuses located at the adventitial-medial border. The existence of these nerve plexuses does not seem to support biochemical findings that suggest a lack of innervation in the rat jugular vein and which propose this blood vessel as a model for the analysis of drug-smooth muscle cell interaction without the interference of neuronal uptake mechanisms.     

Susceptibility of larvae of Trichoplusia ni and Anticarsia gemmatalis to intrahemocoelic injections of conidia and blastospores of Nomuraea rileyi

The LD₅₀ for larvae of Trichoplusia ni injected with blastospores of Nomuraea rileyi was 4.30 ± 1.16 hyphal bodies/larva; the LD₅₀ for injected conidia was ca. 25,000 conidia/larva. The dose-mortality regression line for blastospores was Y = 4.6504 + 0.5487 X. Larval mortalities of Anticarsia gemmatalis and T. ni at 100 blastospores/larva were 0.4 ± 0.5% and 96.7 ± 1.9%, respectively. At a dosage of 25,000 conidia/larva, larval mortalities for A. gemmatalis and T. ni were 0.4 ± 0.5% and 43.1 ± 8.7%, respectively. Thus, larvae of A. gemmatalis were > 100 times and >200 times more resistant to injected conidia and blastospores, respectively, than were larvae of T. ni. Resistance of A. gemmatalis to N. rileyi may not be solely at the integumental barrier, as is often believed, but may also be a function of an internal physiological response.     

Biosynthesis of 1α,2α,3β-trihydroxy-p-menthane by Fusicoccum amygdali

Measurement of isotope ratios in 1α,2α,3β-trihydroxy-p-menthane, which has been biosynthesized in Fusicoccum amygdali from ³H- and ¹⁴C-labelled mevalonate and in its degradation product diosphenol indicates that: (a) four tritium atoms arising from [5-³H₂, 2-¹⁴C]MVA are retained, one more than suggested from the hydroxylation pattern, (b) menth-2-ene-1-ol is generated from an α-terpinyl cation through a 1,3-hydride shift and (c) trans-cleavage of an α-epoxide by hydrolysis gives 1α,2α,3β-trihydroxy-p-menthane.     

Cynanchoside,a highly oxygenated iridoid glucoside from Macfadyena cynanchoides

The elucidation of the structure and stereochemistry of cynanchoside, a new highly oxygenated iridoid glucoside isolated from Macfadyena cynanchoides (Bignoniaceae), has been accomplished using mainly ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectral data and further confirmed by simple chemical transformations.     

Coronary artery bypass with glycerol-preserved saphenous vein allografts

Over a 2-year period, 19 patients whose autologous saphenous veins were either unsuitable or unavailable underwent myocardial revascularization with saphenous vein allografts (SVAs) at our institution. All SVAs had been preserved in 98% glycerol at room temperature for at least 3 weeks (average, 7 weeks); before use, they were rinsed with saline and antibiotic solution. One operative death (5.2%) and three late deaths (16.6%) occurred. Fourteen of the long-term survivors have been observed for 24 to 48 months (average 32.2 months) postoperatively. Nine are asymptomatic, whereas four complain of angina, and one reports exertional dyspnea with-out chest pain. Only three patients have been restudied (7, 10, and 18 months after surgery, respectively); in each of these patients, angiography has shown occlusion of all SVAs. However, histologic examination of glycerol-preserved SVAs has not revealed pathologic changes that would suggest potential graft failure. Despite fairly satisfactory clinical results, preliminary hemodynamic data indicate that glycerol-preserved SVAs are unsuitable for myocardial revascularization in the absence of autologous saphenous veins.     

Avian Retroviruses That Cause Carcinoma and Leukemia: Identification of Nucleotide Sequences Associated with Pathogenicity

Avian myelocytomatosis virus (MC29V) is a retrovirus that transforms both fibroblasts and macrophages in culture and induces myelocytomatosis, carcinomas, and sarcomas in birds. Previous work identified a sequence of about 1,500 nucleotides (here denoted onc_MCV) that apparently derived from a normal cellular sequence and that may encode the oncogenic capacity of MC29V. In an effort to further implicate onc_MCV in tumorigenesis, we used molecular hybridization to examine the distribution of nucleotide sequences related to onc_MCV among the genomes of various avian retroviruses. In addition, we characterized further the genetic composition of the remainder of the MC29V genome. Our work exploited the availability of radioactive DNAs (cDNA's) complementary to onc_MCV (cDNA_MCV) or to specific portions of the genome of avian sarcoma virus (ASV). We showed that genomic RNAs of avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV) and avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) could not hybridize appreciably with cDNA_MCV. By contrast, cDNA_MCV hybridized extensively (about 75%) and with essentially complete fidelity to the genome of Mill Hill 2 virus (MH2V), whose pathogenicity is very similar to that of MC29V, but different from that of AEV or AMV. Hybridization with the ASV cDNA's demonstrated that the MC29V genome includes about half of the ASV envelope protein gene and that the remainder of the MC29V genome is closely related to nucleotide sequences that are shared among the genomes of many avian leukosis and sarcoma viruses. We conclude that onc_MCV probably specifies the unique set of pathogenicities displayed by MC29V and MH2V, whereas the oncogenic potentials of AEV and AMV are presumably encoded by a distinct nucleotide sequence unrelated to onc_MCV. The genomes of ASV, MC29V, and other avian oncoviruses thus share a set of common sequences, but apparently owe their various oncogenic potentials to unrelated transforming genes.     

Antigenic subunit of the polypeptide antigenic complex of the Melvin strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

An antigenic subunit of molecular weight 66,000 daltons has been isolated from the antigenic complex of the Melvin strain of $\text{Neisseria gonorrhoeae}$. Incubation of the complex in 8M urea at room temperature for four hours resulted in the dissociation of the subunit from the complex. It was separated from the complex by chromatography of the incubation mixture on a Sepharose 6B column in 50 mM ammonium bicarbonate pH 8.5 without 8M urea and further purified by affinity chromatography. This communication reports on a newly isolated antigenic protein devoid of LPS present in the bacteria.     

Disturbance of lymphocyte circulation byPseudomonas aeruginosa infection in oxazolone-sensitized mice

Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection depresses contact sensitivity to oxazolone in mice. To test whether an altered lymphocyte circulation plays a role in this depression⁵¹Cr-labeled lymphocytes fromP. aeruginosa-infected and oxazolone-sensitized donors were injected intravenously into infected and sensitized recipients, and the radioactivity uptake of several organs was determine. The controls consisted of normal mice receiving labeled lymphocytes from normal donors. While the radioactivity recovered from the liver, spleen, and mesenteric lymph nodes was similar in the test and the control group, significantly more radioactivity was recovered from the draining lymph nodes of infected and sensitized recipients. The concentration of labeled lymphocytes from sensitized donors in the draining lymph nodes of sensitized recipients was 18% greater than that of the controls but 31% lower than that of infected and sensitized animals receiving cells from infected and sensitized donors.P. aeruginosa infection enhances lymphocyte entrapment within the draining lymph nodes of oxazolone-sensitized mice.