Numerical simulations of the pulsating flow of cerebrospinal fluid flow in the cervical spinal canal of a Chiari patient

The flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a patient-specific model of the subarachnoid space in a Chiari I patient was investigated using numerical simulations. The pulsating CSF flow was modeled using a time-varying velocity pulse based on peak velocity measurements (diastole and systole) derived from a selection of patients with Chiari I malformation. The present study introduces the general definition of the Reynolds number to provide a measure of CSF flow instability to give an estimate of the possibility of turbulence occurring in CSF flow. This was motivated by the fact that the combination of pulsating flow and the geometric complexity of the spinal canal may result in local Reynolds numbers that are significantly higher than the commonly used global measure such that flow instabilities may develop into turbulent flow in these regions. The local Reynolds number was used in combination with derived statistics to characterize the flow. The results revealed the existence of both local unstable regions and local regions with velocity fluctuations similar in magnitude to what is observed in fully turbulent flows. The results also indicated that the fluctuations were not self-sustained turbulence, but rather flow instabilities that may develop into turbulence. The case considered was therefore believed to represent a CSF flow close to transition.     

Root dynamics in a semi-natural grassland in relation to atmospheric carbon dioxide enrichment,soil water and shoot biomass

Plant responses to increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations have been studied intensively. However, the effects of elevated CO₂ on root dynamics, which is important for global carbon budgets as well as for nutrient cycling in ecosystems, has received much less attention. We used minirhizotrons inside open-top chambers to study the effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration on root dynamics in a nutrient-poor semi-natural grassland in central Sweden. We conducted our investigation over three consecutive growing seasons during which three treatments were applied at the site: Elevated (≈ 700 μmol mol^-1) and ambient (≈ 360 μmol mol^-1) chamber levels of CO₂ and a control, without a chamber. During 1997, a summer with two dry periods, the elevated treatment compared with ambient had 25% greater mean root counts, 65% greater above-ground biomass and 15% greater soil moisture. The chambers seemed responsible for changes in root dynamics, whereas the elevated CO₂ treatment in general increased the absolute sum of root counts compared with the ambient chamber. In 1998, a wet growing season, there were no significant differences in shoot biomass or root dynamics and both chamber treatments had lower soil moisture than the control. We found that as seasonal dryness increased, the ratio of elevated – ambient shoot biomass production increased while the root to shoot ratio decreased. We conclude that this grasslands response to elevated CO₂ is dependent on seasonal weather conditions and that CO₂ enrichment will most significantly increase production in such a grassland when under water stress. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Winter Host Plant Specialization in a Host-Alternating Aphid

The host alternating aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), feeds in summer on several different species of grasses but is monophagous on its winter host, Prunus padus L. The monophagy on P. padus could be a result of the restricted host range of the several different generations colonizing, or feeding, on this host during autumn–winter–spring. This study shows that the winter host plant specificity of R. padi is controlled mainly by the preference of the females remigrating (gynoparae) to the winter host, P. padus, in autumn. The other generations living on the winter host, i.e., sexual females, males, and spring generations, all accept a broader range of winter hosts. One alternative host plant, Prunus spinosa L., could be utilized by all generations associated with the winter host, except for the females remigrating at autumn.     

Viral DNA sequences and gene products in hamster cells transformed by adenovirus type 2.

Complementary strand-specific adenovirus DNA of full length or from endonuclease BamHI fragments was used as a probe to estimate the fractional representation and abundance of viral sequences in five hamster cell lines (Ad2HE1-5) transformed with UV-inactivated adenovirus type 2. The fraction of the viral genome present in the five transformed cell lines varied from 44% in the Ad2HE5 cell line to 84% in the Ad2HE3 cell line. The number of viral DNA copies per diploid cell equivalent ranged from 1.8 in the Ad2HE1 line to 7.1 in the Ad2HE4 line. In vivo labeling with [35S]methionine followed by immunoprecipitation with an antiserum against adenovirus type 2 early proteins revealed virus-specific polypeptides with molecular weights of 42,000 to 58,000 in extracts from all five hamster cell lines. Several other early viral polypeptides were detected in some of the adenovirus type 2-transformed hamster cell lines.     

The protein-A plaque assay: a new system for the detection of cells secreting a given idiotype

With a modification of the protein-A plaque assay, cells secreting a given idiotype could be detected. Different anti-idiotypic antisera raised against the M-component of macroglobulinemia Waldenstr?m patients were used. The antibodies did not cross-react with cell clones of other patients or normal controls. Spontaneous plaques, without prior cultivation, were mainly shown to be of IgM class, the majority being idiotype specific, in blood and bone marrow lymphocytes from these patients. This is in contrast to the predominance of Ig or IgA found in normal blood donors. A low but recognizable stimulation of the malignant clone may be observed when cells were stimulated by certain polyclonal B cell activators.     

Occurrence of trichothecenes, zearalenone and ochratoxin A in cereals and mixed feed from central Lithuania

A total of 92 samples — 23 winter wheat, 12 summer barley, 5 oats and 52 mixed feed — were collected from a state factory in Kaunas, Lithuania and were analysed for the presence of trichothecenes, zearalenone (ZEN) and ochratoxin A (OA) using gas chromatography with electron capture detection and immunoaffinity column/high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence and UV detections. Deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), T-2 toxin and HT-2 toxin were detected at concentrations above 10 μg/kg in 68%, 48%, 38% and 8% of cereal samples, respectively, and in 98%, 88%, 12% and 8% of samples of mixed feed for swine and poultry. More than 10 μg/kg of zearalenone and ochratoxin A were found in 58% and 92% of the mixed feed samples, respectively. The highest concentrations of all analysed trichothecenes in Lithuanian mixed feed and cereal grains, with an exception of T-2 toxin in one oat lot and one sample of mixed feed and OA in two mixed feed samples, were lower than those reported as Lithuanian advisory or tolerance limits.     

1.5-Mb YAC Contig in Xq28 Formatted with Sequence-Tagged Sites and Including a Region Unstable in the Clones

A contig of 20 yeast artificial clones (YACs) has been assembled across 1.5 Mb of Xq28 and formatted with nine previously reported probes and nine STSs developed from the sequence of probes and end fragments of YACs. YAC end fragments were obtained by subcloning, Alu-vector PCR, or primer-ligation PCR methods. Eighteen of the YACs were recovered from a library specific for Xq24-q28; two that fill a gap were obtained from a second library made from total human DNA. One region, containing probes pX78c and 2A1.1, was unstable in YACs, but it was possible to generate a self-consistent map of DNA over the entire contig. Overlaps were confirmed by Southern blot analyses of YAC DNAs, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis confirmed the extent of the contig and identified at least four CpG islands in the region.     

Synthesis of 5-S-L-cysteinyl-glycine-L-dopa, a natural substrate for serum and melanocyte dipeptidase

A method for synthesis of the phaeomelanin pigment intermediate compound 5-S-L-cysteinyl-glycine-L-dopa is presented. This thioether has been suggested as a precursor to 5-S-L-cysteinyl-L-dopa, the key intermediate compound in phaeomelanin pigment formation. 5-S-Glutathione-L-dopa is first synthesized by the tyrosinase-catalyzed reaction between L-dopa and glutathione. The 5-S-glutathione-L-dopa is then converted to 5-S-L-cysteinyl-glycine-L-dopa using the enzyme gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. The compound thus obtained was suitable as a substrate for melanoma cell and serum dipeptidase which converts the compound into 5-S-L-cysteinyl-L-dopa and glycine. The optimum pH for the dipeptidase from melanoma cells was 7.5 and the Km was 1.2 mM.