Superoxide production from macrophages of leprosy patients after stimulation withMycobacterium leprae

The macrophages from peripheral blood of normal healthy individuals respond to live or killedMycobacterium leprae by producing superoxide. On the other hand, the macrophages from bacteriologically positive (B +LL) or long term treated bacteriologically negative (B -LL) and tuberculoid leprosy patients are unable to produce superoxide when stimulated with liveMycobacterium leprae. While killedMycobacterium leprae induce superoxide with the cells from tuberculoid andB(-)LL patients, cells fromB(+)LL patients fail to respond. The deficiency inB(-)LL patients to produce superoxide appears to be specific withMycobacterium leprae and the defect can be counteracted by the addition of colchicine. These observations indicate a preexisting membrane disposition which does not favour superoxide production. A similar situation is seen in the cells from tuberculoid leprosy patients. Thus it appears that both cured and active lepromatous leprosy patients have defective macrophages, unable to respond to liveMycobacterium leprae to produce superoxide anion, in contrast to the situation with the cells from normal healthy individuals.     

Conserved mRNA from the conidia of Neurospora crassa

Summary Species of RNA showing the characteristics of mRNA have been isolated from ungerminated conidia and from mycelia of Neurospora crassa grown for 8, 16 and 24 hours. Molecular hybridization between such RNA species and DNA together with hybridization competition between mRNA from ungerminated conidia and from growth periods of 8, 16 and 24 hours, showed that conidia contain conserved mRNA. Such mRNA may participate in protein synthesis taking place up to 30 minutes of incubation of the conidia.     

Statistical Dynamics of Flowing Red Blood Cells by Morphological Image Processing

Blood is a dense suspension of soft non-Brownian cells of unique importance. Physiological blood flow involves complex interactions of blood cells with each other and with the environment due to the combined effects of varying cell concentration, cell morphology, cell rheology, and confinement. We analyze these interactions using computational morphological image analysis and machine learning algorithms to quantify the non-equilibrium fluctuations of cellular velocities in a minimal, quasi-two-dimensional microfluidic setting that enables high-resolution spatio-temporal measurements of blood cell flow. In particular, we measure the effective hydrodynamic diffusivity of blood cells and analyze its relationship to macroscopic properties such as bulk flow velocity and density. We also use the effective suspension temperature to distinguish the flow of normal red blood cells and pathological sickled red blood cells and suggest that this temperature may help to characterize the propensity for stasis in Virchow''s Triad of blood clotting and thrombosis.