Isolation of an Fcgamma-binding protein from the cell membrane of a macrophage-like cell line (P388D1) after detergent solubilization

Lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination, NP-40 lysis, and subsequent affinity chromatography on IgG-Sepharose were used in an attempt to define some of the molecular properties of the Fc receptor of P388D1, a macrophage-like mouse tumor line. Radioiodinated material retained on columns of Sepharose coupled either to monomeric mouse IgG2a or monomeric human IgG1 appeared on SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to contain principally three labeled components, a major band of about 57,000 m.w. and two minor bands of 28,000 and 24,000 m.w. The mobilities of these components changed little on reduction, which suggested that they represented single polypeptide chains, An identical pattern was obtained with Sepharose-linked Fc fragments of human IgG1, but neither Fab fragments of IgG1 nor IgM appeared to bind these components. Since the specificity of binding to the immobilized proteins is the same as that observed in vivo, it is postulated that these proteins represent either all or some portion of the P388D1 Fc receptor.     

Effect of nafoxidine (U-11,100A) on the induction of uterine peroxidase.

The relationship between the quantity of nuclear estrogen receptor complex formed and the amount of peroxidase induced by estradiol in immature rat uteri was determined. A good correlation was obtained between the quantity of 3H-estradiol specifically bound to the nuclear pellet and the amount of enzyme present 12 h after treatment with physiological doses of estrogen. Nafoxidine (U-11,100A) administered together with estrogen reduced signficantly the increase in peroxidase activity brought about by estradiol. Pretreatment with nafoxidine was less effective. The possible mechanism of action of this antiestrogen is discussed.     

Current progress in use of adipose derived stem cells in peripheral nerve regeneration

Unlike central nervous system neurons; those in the peripheral nervous system have the potential for full regeneration after injury. Following injury, recovery is controlled by schwann cells which replicate and modulate the subsequent immune response. The level of nerve recovery is strongly linked to the severity of the initial injury despite the significant advancements in imaging and surgical techniques. Multiple experimental model shave been used with varying successes to augment the natural regenerative processes which occur following nerve injury. Stem cell therapy in peripheral nerve injury may be an important future intervention to improve the best attainable clinical results. In particular adipose derived stem cells(ADSCs) are multipotent mesenchymal stem cells similar to bone marrow derived stem cells, which are thought to have neurotrophic properties and the ability to differentiate into multiple lineages. They are ubiquitous within adipose tissue; they can form many structures resembling the mature adult peripheral nervous system. Following early in vitro work; multiple small and large animal in vivo models have been used in conjunction with conduits, autografts and allografts to successfully bridge the peripheral nerve gap. Some of the ADSC related neuroprotective and regenerative properties have been elucidated however much work remains before a model can be used successfully in human peripheral nerve injury(PNI). This review aims to provide a detailed overview of progress made in the use of ADSC in PNI, with discussion on the role of a tissue engineered approach for PNI repair.     

A speculative approach to parallelization in particle swarm optimization

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) has previously been parallelized primarily by distributing the computation corresponding to particles across multiple processors. In these approaches, the only benefit of additional processors is an increased swarm size. However, in many cases this is not efficient when scaled to very large swarm sizes (on very large clusters). Current methods cannot answer well the question: “How can 1000 processors be fully utilized when 50 or 100 particles is the most efficient swarm size?” In this paper we attempt to answer that question with a speculative approach to the parallelization of PSO that we refer to as SEPSO.     

Production of an anti‐Candida peptide via fed batch and ion exchange chromatography

Interest in peptides as diagnostic and therapeutic materials require their manufacture via either a recombinant or synthetic route. This study examined the former, where a recombinant fusion consisting of an antifungal peptide was expressed and isolated from Escherichia coli. Fed batch fermentation with E. coli harboring an arabinose‐inducible plasmid produced the 12 residue anti‐Candida peptide fused to the N‐terminal of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP_UV). The purification of the fusion protein, using ion‐exchange chromatography, was monitored by using the intrinsic fluorescence of GFP_UV. The recombinant antifungal peptide was successfully released by cyanogen bromide‐induced cleavage of the fusion protein. The recombinant peptide showed the expected antifungal activity. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:865–871, 2016     

Characterization of intestinal inflammation and identification of related gene expression changes in mdr1a−/− mice

Multidrug resistance targeted mutation (mdr1a (-/-) ) mice spontaneously develop intestinal inflammation. The aim of this study was to further characterize the intestinal inflammation in mdr1a (-/-) mice. Intestinal samples were collected to measure inflammation and gene expression changes over time. The first signs of inflammation occurred around 16 weeks of age and most mdr1a (-/-) mice developed inflammation between 16 and 27 weeks of age. The total histological injury score was the highest in the colon. The inflammatory lesions were transmural and discontinuous, revealing similarities to human inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Genes involved in inflammatory response pathways were up-regulated whereas genes involved in biotransformation and transport were down-regulated in colonic epithelial cell scrapings of inflamed mdra1 (-/-) mice at 25 weeks of age compared to non-inflamed FVB mice. These results show overlap to human IBD and strengthen the use of this in vivo model to study human IBD. The anti-inflammatory regenerating islet-derived genes were expressed at a lower level during inflammation initiation in non-inflamed colonic epithelial cell scrapings of mdr1a (-/-) mice at 12 weeks of age. This result suggests that an insufficiently suppressed immune response could be crucial to the initiation and development of intestinal inflammation in mdr1a (-/-) mice.     

The Uses of "Inaccurate" Data: A Methodological Critique and Applications of Alaska Native Data

The ramifications of a current debate about informant accuracy are shown to extend well beyond informant accuracy per se, since they invite scrutiny of fundamental epistemological assumptions. Accuracy is analyzed as a complex concept that must be evaluated along several dimensions, suggesting that multiple standards of "accuracy" require multiple methods of data collection and interpretation known generally as triangulation. Alaska Native data collected by several disparate means are briefly analyzed in order to illustrate how triangulation works.     

Predicting concentration of total phosphorus and chlorophyll a in a lake with short hydraulic residence time

The relationship between total phosphorus and chlorophyll a concentration was determined for Skinner Lake, Indiana over an annual cycle in 1978–79. Total nitrogen:total phosphorus ratios in the epilimnion ranged from 19 to 220 suggesting a phosphorus-dependent algal yield in the epilimnion. Approximately 90% of annual TP loading reached the lake via streamflow, and 93% of this entered during snowmelt and spring-overturn periods. At that time incoming water flushed the lake 2.4 times. Atmospheric loading accounted for 1.4% of annual TP load. Internal hypolimnetic TP loading occurred during summer stratification. Mean [chl a] for the ice-free period was 15.15 mg m^–3, within the range expected for eutrophic lakes.The 1978–79 data were used in conjuction with the Vollenweider & Kerekes (1980) model to produce a model specific for the Skinner Lake system. The model predicted mean epilimnetic total phosphorus and chlorophyll a concentrations from mean total phosphorus concentration in inlet streams and from lake water residence time during the period of spring overturn and summer stratification. The Skinner-specific model was tested in 1982 and it closely predicted observed mean epilimnetic [TP] and [chl a] during the ice-free period. This study shows that variability in lake models which average data over an annual period can be reduced by considering lake-specific seasonal variation in hydrology and external TP loading.