Increased Levels of Markers of Microbial Exposure in Homes with Indoor Storage of Organic Household Waste

As part of environmental management policies in Europe, separate collection of organic household waste and nonorganic household waste has become increasingly common. As waste is often stored indoors, this policy might increase microbial exposure in the home environment. In this study we evaluated the association between indoor storage of organic waste and levels of microbial agents in house dust. The levels of bacterial endotoxins, mold β(1→3)-glucans, and fungal extracullar polysaccharides (EPS) of Aspergillus and Penicillium species were determined in house dust extracts as markers of microbial exposure. House dust samples were collected in 99 homes in The Netherlands selected on the basis of whether separated organic waste was present in the house. In homes in which separated organic waste was stored indoors for 1 week or more the levels of endotoxin, EPS, and glucan were 3.2-, 7.6-, and 4.6-fold higher, respectively (all P < 0.05), on both living room and kitchen floors than the levels in homes in which only nonorganic residual waste was stored indoors. Increased levels of endotoxin and EPS were observed, 2.6- and 2.1-fold (P < 0.1), respectively, when separated organic waste was stored indoors for 1 week or less, whereas storage of nonseparated waste indoors had no effect on microbial agent levels (P > 0.2). The presence of textile floor covering was another major determinant of microbial levels (P < 0.05). Our results indicate that increased microbial contaminant levels in homes are associated with indoor storage of separated organic waste. These increased levels might increase the risk of bioaerosol-related respiratory symptoms in susceptible people.     

Comparison of reproductive success in two orchids: the nectarless Dactylorhiza majalis s.s. and the nectar-producing Gymnadenia conopsea s.l.

Differences in reproductive biology between two orchid species were examined: Eight Danish populations of the nectarless Dactylorhiza majalis ssp. majalis and six Swedish populations of the nectar-producing Gymnadenia conopsea ssp. densiflora . Population size varied from 24 to 1700 flowering individuals in D. majalis and from 100 to 1200 in G. conopsea. Dactylorhiza majalis had only half as many flowers per spike as G. conopsea . Fruit-set of D. majalis ranged from 16 to 39%, much lower than the fruit-set of G. conopsea (78–91%). Thus in the species with a few flowers and no nectar a lower fruit-set was observed than in the species with many flowers and presence of nectar. The low fruit-set of D. majalis was pollen-limited and fruit-set was positively correlated with pollinia removal and the latter was negatively correlated with population size. In both species, fruit-set and population size were uncorrelated.     

REM dreaming in the transition from late childhood to adolescence: A longitudinal study.

In this longitudinal developmental study, 12 boys and 12 girls provided REM dreams at 3 age levels: 9-11, 11-13, and 13-15 years. A total of 551 dreams were coded by 2 independent raters using C. Hall and R. Van de Castle's (1966) content categories. In addition, ratings of dream realism, the dreamer's self-involvement, and the frequency of speech acts were carried out. There was little change in the basic content categories of REM dreams. However, the frequency of unrealistic dream elements declined, whereas the ability to inventively put together separate contents of the memory system to produce meaningful scenes increased. Self-representation changed from passive experience to interactive involvement, along with an increasing number of speech acts by the dreamer. The similarity of the findings with Hall and Van de Castle categories to findings with home dreams from the same 24 participants is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Estimation of the biofilm formation ability of Pseudomonas putida in discrete samples from continuous culture

Summary Test systems were set up in order to evaluate the ability of biomass from a continuous culture to form biofilms. A film-forming strain of Pseudomonas putida was used as the test organism. The adsorption of resting cells onto glass surfaces was measured in specially designed chambers containing 1 ml of cell suspension. Both the quantity and the physiological activity of the adsorbed cells, in terms of optical density after detachment and pH change of a substrate exposed to the adsorbed cells, were measured. The analysis of biomass from continuous cultures of Pseudomonas putida verified the suitability of the methods. Furthermore, other properties of importance to biofilm formation such as hydrophobicity and flocculation capacity of the cells were investigated.It was shown for samples deriving from different dilution rates that the cell adsorption rate drastically increased at dilution rates higher than the _max of the culture. Simultaneously, higher values of hydrophobicity and flocculation capacity were observed.It was also shown that the age and thickness of the biofilm subsequently produced in the continuous culture influenced the metabolic activity per unit of biomass attached to the surface. The methods described in this investigation may facilitate the study of parameters important to biofilm formation as well as the metabolic activity of the attached biomass.     

Anpassungen der H?moglobine von Streifengans (Anser indicus), Andengans (Chloephaga melanoptera) und Sperbergeier (Gyps rueppellii) an hypoxische Bedingungen

Zusammenfassung Das Phänomen ungewöhnlicher Hypoxietoleranz bei Vögeln wird auf der Basis von Struktur-Funktionsbeziehungen der Hämoglobine dargestellt. Die Hämoglobine der Streifengans (Anser indicus), der Andengans (Chloephaga melanoptera) und des Sperbergeiers (Gyps rueppellii) wurden untersucht. Dabei zeigt sich, daß die Hypoxietoleranz auf jeweils eine definierte Aminosäuresubstitution zurückzuführen ist, welche die Wechselwirkung zwischen den Untereinheiten des Hämoglobins schwächt. Dadurch ergeben sich für die einzelnen Hämoglobine unterschiedliche Affinitäten zum Sauerstoff. Für die Streifengans (Austausch 119 Pro Ala) und den Sperbergeier (Austausch 34 Thr/Ile; multiple Hämoglobine) entsteht eine zweibzw. dreifache Kaskade von Hämoglobinen unterschiedlicher Sauerstoffaffinität, für die Andengans (Austausch 55 Leu Ser) eine erhöhte intrinsische Affinität des Gesamtblutes. Diese beiden molekularen Muster entsprechen der Unterscheidung zwischen transitorischer und permanenter Hypoxietoleranz. Auffällig ist, daß die Sauerstoffaffinität der Hämoglobine der Andengans und der Streifengans über die gleiche Wechselwirkung zwischen den Untereinheiten reguliert werden; die Mutationen liegen jedoch auf verschiedenen Globinketten.

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Adaptation of the hemoglobins of Barheaded Goose (Anser indicus), Andean Goose (Chloephaga melanoptera) and Rüppell's Griffon (Gyps rueppellii) to life under hypoxic conditions

Summary The phenomenon of unusual hypoxic tolerance of birds is elucidated on the basis of structural and functional relationships of hemoglobins. Hemoglobins of Barheaded Goose (Anser indicus) flying over the Himalayan mountains at 8848 m, of Andean Goose (Chloephaga melanoptera) living at 6000 m in the Andes and of Rüppell's Griffon (Gyps rueppellii) reaching altitudes of 11 300 m were investigated. Hypoxic tolerance turned out to be the result of clearcut amino-acid substitutions weakening the interaction of the subunits of the hemoglobin. This entails different affinities of the single hemoglobins. For the Barheaded Goose (mutation 119 Pro Ala) and the Rüppell's Griffon (mutation 34 Thr/Ile; multiple hemoglobins) there is a two-stage resp. a three-stage cascade of hemoglobins of graded oxygen affinities, for Andean Goose (mutation 55 Leu Ser) the affinity of whole blood is raised. These two molecular patterns correspond to the distinction between transitory and permanent hypoxic stress. It is worth mentioning that the oxygen affinities of the hemoglobins of Barheaded Goose and Andean Goose are regulated via the same interface of the molecule; the substitutions, however, are found on different globin chains.

     

Extraglomerular Lesions in Kidneys of Mink with Encephalitozoonosis

Extraglomerular renal lesions were studied by light and electron microscopy in 13 farmed mink which showed cataractous eyes associated with spontaneous encephalitozoonosis. The extraglomerular renal lesions consisted of multiple renal cysts, multifocal-to-coalescing interstitial nephritis and vasculitis. Tubular cysts of varying size were present in the corticomedullary junction and medulla. The inflammatory infiltrates were composed mostly of lymphocytes and plasma cells and usually accompanied an interstitial fibrosis. Vasculitis, perivasculitis and sclerotic arteries were frequently seen.     

-hydroxy- and -ketoester functionalized thrombin inhibitors

-Hydroxy- and -ketoester functionalized D-Phe-Pro-Lys tripeptides were found to be potent thrombin active site inhibitors. The ketoester derivatives were characterized by slow binding kinetics. The most potent of the series was 9 (BMS 181, 412) with an overall inhibition constant K_i^* of 0.0017 μM.     

Enhancement of cytotoxic T lymphocyte growth from spleens of P815-tumor-bearing host mice with mafosfamide

Summary Mafosfamide (Mafo) is an analog of cyclophosphamide that does not require hepatic activation and therefore has in vitro activity. The present study was conducted to determine the effects of in vitro treatment with Mafo on the generation and growth of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) from tumor-bearing host mice (TBH). In contrast to early (day-11) TBH splenocytes, splenocytes from late (days 18–20) P815 TBH mice suppress the in vitro generation of CTL. Treatment of late TBH splenocytes in vitro with 5–15 µM Mafo resulted in a reduced ability of these cells to suppress in vitro CTL generation. Treatment of late TBH splenocytes with 10 µM Mafo also inhibited their ability to suppress adoptive immunotherapy of intradermal tumors with immune splenocytes. These doses of Mafo were selectively toxic to the suppressive effects of late TBH splenocytes, since treatment of early TBH splenocytes with 1–10 µM Mafo did not significantly inhibit CTL generation. Spleen cells from early (days 10–12) TBH mice, carried in long-term in vitro sensitization cultures in the presence of tumor cells and 20 U/ml human recombinant interleukin-2, did not increase in cell number over time. However, when pretreated with 3 µM Mafo, this population of tumor-sensitized lymphocytes demonstrated 450-fold growth over 6 weeks as compared to the static cell numbers for the untreated controls. High levels of tumor-specific cytolytic activity were maintained in these expanded cells. These results suggest that Mafo pretreatment markedly and selectively inhibits suppressor cells that limit long-term expansion of splenic CTL in culture and inhibit adoptive immunotherapy of solid tumors.This work was supported by grants CA 42443, CA 48075 and T32-CA 09210 from the National Cancer Institute, Department of Health and Human Services, in part by PHS AI-25044, an American Cancer Society Clinical Oncology Career Development Award (H. D. B.) and by a Medical Scholar's Award from the A. D. Williams Foundation (T. H. I.)     

Reciprocal translocation between the proximal regions of the long arms of chromosomes 13 and 15 resulting in unbalanced offspring: characterization by fluorescence in situ hybridization and DNA analysis

Summary We describe two female siblings with similar clinical features consisting of hydrocephalus, scaphocephaly, hypotonia, mongoloid eye slant, blepharophimosis, micrognathia, supernumerary mouth frenula and mental retardation. Routine cytogenetic studies in the elder patient did not reveal any abnormality, and initially it was assumed that the syndrome had an autosomal recessive inheritance. However, a slightly larger chromosome 13 was seen in routine G-banded metaphases of the mother and the youngest of the two siblings. A shorter chromosome 15 was detected in the mother only. High resolution banding showed that the abnormal chromosome 13 contained an extra G-positive band at 13q12. The short chromosome 15 in the mother appeared to have a deletion of band q12. Fluorescence in situ hybridization using DNA markers specific to chromosomes 13 and 15 unequivocally showed that the mother was a carrier of a balanced reciprocal translocation t(13;15)(q12;q13), whereas the youngest sibling's karyotype was 46,XX,-13,+der(15)t(13;15)(q12;q13)mat, resulting in partial monosomy 13pterq12 and partial trisomy 15pterq13. The proband is thus trisomie for the critical region responsible for Prader-Willi syndrome and Angelman syndrome; this was confirmed by DNA analysis demonstrating one paternal and two maternal alleles from multiallelic marker loci mapping to 15q11-q13. This report illustrates the sensitivity and specificity offered by fluorescence in situ hybridization and its usefulness in the diagnosis and delineation of subtle chromosomal rearrangements.