Spectrum of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (overlap between rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder and other parasomnias)

Parasomnia Overlap Disorder (POD) was described and named in 1997 with a series of 33 cases of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) combined with a disorder of arousal from non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (sleepwalking, sleep terrors) that emerged idiopathically or symptomatically with neurological and other disorders. POD is a subtype of RBD in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders Diagnostic and Coding Manual, second edition (ICSD-2). An updated classification of POD also includes subclinical RBD-NREM parasomnia, RBD-sleep-related eating disorder, RBD-sexsomnia, RBD-rhythmic movement disorder, and status dissociatus (SD), which is another subtype of RBD in the ICSD-2. Similar to POD, a core feature of SD is sleep motor-behavioral dyscontrol, with release of dream-related behaviors suggestive of RBD, but with nearly continuous ambiguous polygraphic sleep precluding the identification of NREM/REM sleep states. SD exemplifies extreme state dissociation. SD is always a symptomatic disorder, and is causally associated with a broad range of neurologic disorders, often with thalamic, limbic, striatal, and pontine involvement. The parasomnia behaviors associated with POD and SD — typical RBD behaviors — can often be controlled with bedtime clonazepam therapy, including the abnormal dreaming.

     

Immunoselection of stably transformed MDCK cells expressing the vesicular stomatitis virus G-protein at the basolateral surface

We have used immunoisolation on a magnetic solid support for the positive selection of stable MDCK transformants which express VSV-G protein via genomic integration of a cloned cDNA. This method is a simple, inexpensive alternative to selection with a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. The G-protein is synthesized in the absence of other viral proteins and is transported to the plasma membrane. The G-positive cells were enriched by immunoselection during normal passage of the transformed population. Using sterile conditions, antibodies to G were incubated with a suspension of transformed cells at 4 degrees C, unbound antibodies were then removed, and the cells were incubated with the immunoabsorbent (3 micron magnetic beads; J. Ugelstad et al. (1983) Nature (London) 303, 95) containing bound IgG molecules against the Fc portion of rabbit IgG. The magnetic properties of the beads were used to retrieve and further wash the immunoselected population. The cells are then removed from the beads by the same trypsinization conditions used for routine passaging and returned to culture. Using this selection scheme we have been able to increase the number of G-expressing cells five- to sevenfold per round; with repeated rounds enrichment from 2 to 74% was obtained. When grown on filters the immunoselected cells were shown to have the same morphology and electrical resistance (150-200 ohm.cm2) as untransformed MDCK II cells. Indirect immunofluorescence staining and [125I]protein A binding assays carried out on these cells demonstrated that G protein was localized exclusively to the basolateral surface as is observed with viral infection.     

The induction of allophanate lyase during the vegetative cell cycle in light-synchronized cultures of Chlamydomonas reinhardi

Allophanate lyase can be induced by urea or acetamied 20–40-fold within 4 h in NH₄⁺-deprived cultures of Chlamydomonas reinhardi. In light-synchronized cultures, allophanate lyase induction appeared to be limited to the light phase of the cell cycle, provided that culture samples were induced under ongoing illumination conditions (i.e. light induction of light phase cells and dark induction of dark phase cells). However, when culture samples were induced under constant light conditions this cell cycle pattern was abolished. Light was found to be required for allophanate lyase induction and this was shown to be due, in part, to light requirement for inducer uptake. The relationship between allophanate lyase induction and gametogenesis is discussed.     

Effect of nickel on methane production and butyric acid utilization in a downflow fixed-film reactor

Summary Butyric acid conversion by a mixed methanogenic population in a pilot scale anaerobic downflow fixed-film reactor (DFFR), treating a cheese factory effluent was increased by the addition of nickel (30 mg/l NiCl₂. 6H₂O). The butyric acid concentration dropped abruptly (2300 to 150 mg/l) when the reactor was fed with Ni (II). Furthermore, when running two lab. scale DFFRs butyric acid utilization and methane production were slightly higher within the reactor supplemented with nickel than in the control reactor (without nickel).