Neoplastic potentials and regulation of uptake of nutrients. I. A glutamine independent variant of polyoma BHK with A very high neoplastic potential.

A variant of polyoma BHK cells is described which is capable of growing in a glutamine-free medium. These glutamine-independent variant cells (GIV) have a size and morphologic appearance intermediate between the nontransformed (BHK) and polyoma transformed (Py6) cell line. In contrast to Py6, the GIV cells grow more slowly, produce less lactic acid and do not grow in suspension. However, their adherence to substrate and release of galactosyltransferase into the medium is comparable to that seen with the parent PyBHK. Most striking is the finding that GIV cells are more readily agglutinated by Concanavalin A and when inoculated into hamsters are much more tumorigenic than the parent Py6 cells.     

Charting the progression of disability in parkinson disease: study protocol for a prospective longitudinal cohort study

Background  

People with Parkinson disease (PD), even in the presence of symptomatic relief from medical, surgical, and rehabilitative interventions, face a persistent worsening of disability. This disability is characterized by diminished quality of life, reduced functional mobility, declining performance in activities of daily living and worsening neurological impairments. While evidence has emerged supporting the clinically meaningful benefits of short-term exercise programs on these underlying factors, assertions regarding the effects of sustained programs of exercise and physical activity on the trajectory of disablement in PD are made in the absence of direct evidence. Indeed, the natural decline in quality of life and functional mobility in people diagnosed with PD is poorly understood. Moreover, outcome measures commonly used in clinical exercise trials typically do not capture the full spectrum of disability as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO).