Effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol on the disposition of d-amphetamine in the rat

Δ⁹-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), 10 or 50 mg/kg, administered intragastrically one hour before intraperitoneal injection of ¹⁴C-d-amphetamine, 4 mg/kg, did not modify the disappearance from the blood or the tissue distribution of amphetamine in fasted rats. Furthermore, THC did not influence the urinary excretion of unchanged amphetamine or its major metabolite, p-hydroxyamphetamine, in these animals. However, when the interval between drug treatments was increased to two hours, THC, 10 mg/kg, minimally reduced the rate of disappearance of ¹⁴C-amphetamine from the blood of fasted rats. This effect was much more pronounced in rats which had food available throughout the experiment. THC also inhibited the urinary excretion of total radioactivity as well as ¹⁴C-amphetamine metabolites in fed but not in fasted animals during the first 4 hours following ¹⁴C-amphetamine injection. In addition, fasted rats excreted significantly more total radioactivity and unchanged ¹⁴C-amphetamine than fed rats during the 0 – 4 hour urine collection interval. The pH of urine collected during this and all other periods was significantly more acid for faster than fed rats. It is concluded that THC can inhibit amphetamine metabolism in rats depending upon the time interval between the administration of the two drugs and the dietary state of the animals.     

A comparison of menotropin, highly-purified menotropin and follitropin alfa in cycles of intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Background  

Over the last several decades, as a result of an evolution in manufacturing processes, a marked development has been made in the field of gonadotropins for ovarian stimulation. Initially, therapeutic gonadotropins were produced from a simple process of urine extraction and purification; now they are produced via a complex system involving recombinant technology, which yields gonadotropins with high levels of purity, quality, and consistency.     

Carbon, nitrogen and Greenhouse gases budgets over a four years crop rotation in northern France

Croplands mainly act as net sources of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), as well as nitrogen oxide (NO), a precursor of troposheric ozone. We determined the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) balance of a four-year crop rotation, including maize, wheat, barley and mustard, to provide a base for exploring mitigation options of net emissions. The crop rotation had a positive net ecosystem production (NEP) of 4.4?±?0.7 Mg C ha^-1 y^-1 but represented a net source of carbon with a net biome production (NBP) of -1.3?±?1.1 Mg C?ha^-1 y^-1. The nitrogen balance of the rotation was correlated with the carbon balance and resulted in net loss (?24?±?28 kg N ha^-1 y^-1). The main nitrogen losses were nitrate leaching (?11.7?±1.0 kg N ha^-1 y^-1) and ammonia volatilization (?9 kg N ha^-1 y^-1). Dry and wet depositions were 6.7?±?3.0 and 5.9?±0.1 kg N ha^-1 y^-1, respectively. Fluxes of nitrous (N₂O) and nitric (NO) oxides did not contribute significantly to the N budget (N₂O: -1.8?±?0.04; NO: -0.7?±?0.04 kg N ha^-1 y^-1) but N₂O fluxes equaled 16% of the total greenhouse gas balance. The link between the carbon and nitrogen balances are discussed. Longer term experiments would be necessary to capture the trends in the carbon and nitrogen budgets within the variability of agricultural ecosystems.     

The Extracellular Protein Factor Epf from Streptococcus pyogenes Is a Cell Surface Adhesin That Binds to Cells through an N-terminal Domain Containing a Carbohydrate-binding Module

Streptococcus pyogenes is an exclusively human pathogen. Streptococcal attachment to and entry into epithelial cells is a prerequisite for a successful infection of the human host and requires adhesins. Here, we demonstrate that the multidomain protein Epf from S. pyogenes serotype M49 is a streptococcal adhesin. An epf-deficient mutant showed significantly decreased adhesion to and internalization into human keratinocytes. Cell adhesion is mediated by the N-terminal domain of Epf (EpfN) and increased by the human plasma protein plasminogen. The crystal structure of EpfN, solved at 1.6 Å resolution, shows that it consists of two subdomains: a carbohydrate-binding module and a fibronectin type III domain. Both fold types commonly participate in ligand receptor and protein-protein interactions. EpfN is followed by 18 repeats of a domain classified as DUF1542 (domain of unknown function 1542) and a C-terminal cell wall sorting signal. The DUF1542 repeats are not involved in adhesion, but biophysical studies show they are predominantly α-helical and form a fiber-like stalk of tandem DUF1542 domains. Epf thus conforms with the widespread family of adhesins known as MSCRAMMs (microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules), in which a cell wall-attached stalk enables long range interactions via its adhesive N-terminal domain.     

Glucocorticoid receptor gene polymorphisms and disease activity during pregnancy and the postpartum period in rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction

The mechanism underlying the spontaneous improvement of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during pregnancy and the subsequent postpartum flare is incompletely understood, and the disease course varies widely between pregnant RA patients. In pregnancy, total and free levels of cortisol increase gradually, followed by a postpartum decrease to prepregnancy values. The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) polymorphisms BclI and N363S are associated with relatively increased glucocorticoid (GC) sensitivity, whereas the 9β and ER22/23EK polymorphisms of the GR gene are associated with a relatively decreased GC sensitivity. We examined the relation between the presence of these GR polymorphisms and level of disease activity and disease course of RA during pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods

We studied 147 participants of the PARA study (Pregnancy-Induced Amelioration of Rheumatoid Arthritis study), a prospective study investigating the natural improvement during pregnancy and the postpartum flare in women with RA. Patients were visited, preferably before pregnancy, at each trimester and at three postpartum time points. On all occasions, disease activity was scored by using DAS28. All patients were genotyped for the GR polymorphisms BclI, N363S, 9β, and ER22/23EK and divided in groups harboring either polymorphisms conferring increased GC sensitivity (BclI and N363S; GC-S patients) or polymorphisms conferring decreased GC sensitivity (9β or 9β + ER22/23EK; GC-I patients). Data were analyzed by using a mixed linear model, comparing GC-S patients with GC-I patients with respect to improvement during pregnancy and the postpartum flare. The cumulative disease activity was calculated by using time-integrated values (area under the curve, AUC) of DAS28 in GC-I patients versus GC-S patients. Separate analyses were performed according to the state of GC use.

Results

GC-S patients treated with GC had a significantly lower AUC of DAS28 in the postpartum period than did GC-I patients. This difference was not observed in patients who were not treated with GCs. During pregnancy, GC-S and GC-I patients had comparable levels of disease activity and course of disease.

Conclusions

Differences in relative GC sensitivity, as determined by GR polymorphisms, are associated with the level of disease activity in the postpartum period in GC-treated patients, but they do not seem to influence the course of the disease per se.     

Quantitative genomics of locomotor behavior in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>

Background  

Locomotion is an integral component of most animal behaviors, and many human health problems are associated with locomotor deficits. Locomotor behavior is a complex trait, with population variation attributable to many interacting loci with small effects that are sensitive to environmental conditions. However, the genetic basis of this complex behavior is largely uncharacterized.     

Mitochondrial fluorescence patterns in rhodamine 6G-stained myocardial cells in vitro

Cellular fluorescence in vitro has been studied employing a low light-level video system interfaced with a real-time image array-processing computer system. Changes in cytoplasmic (mitochondrial) fluorescence in myocytes employing the probe rhodamine 6G have been studied over real time with the aid of several computer-based programs. An oscillating pattern of fluorescence is observed that appears to reflect localized variations in mitochondrial activity. The low light level video computer system used in this study compares favorably with laser-stimulated microspot fluorescence photon-counting techniques for the detection of subcellular fluorescence.     

Apparently non-expressed alleles of factor B (BF) code for hypomorphic proteins

In three families with an apparent non-expressed factor B (BF) allele (BF ^* Q0), advanced methods of isoelectric focusing for the determination of BF F subtypes revealed different hypomorphic BF products (BF QL) with functional hemolytic activity expressed by the assumed BF ^* Q0 allele. A Taq I and a Msp I restriction fragment length polymorphism as well as the Ba fragment of the expression products showed banding patters for the BF ^* QL alleles corresponding to BF S types, whereas an altered Bb fragment was seen in two BF QL products. In one family an intragenic recombination site within the Bb part of the BF gene was assumed. Investigations of factor B and its conversion fragments, as demonstrated by the used methods, allow to complement molecular genetic investigations of BF ^* Q0 alleles in heterozygous genotypes on a protein level. We conclude that apparently non-expressed alleles of factor B code for hypomorphic but functionally active proteins. Correspondence to : I. Siemens.     

Chromosome Polymorphism of the Obligate Biotrophic Parasite Plasmodiophora brassicae

Electrophoretic karyotypes of different isolates of Plasmodiophora brassicae, the causative agent of clubroot of cabbage, using contour‐clamped homogeneous electric field gel electrophoresis (CHEF) revealed chromosome polymorphism in this obligate parasite. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes have been localized on three chromosomes (I, IV and V) of P. brassicae of the 16 chromosomal bands, which can be distinguished for the single‐spore isolate ‘e₃’. In comparison with this isolate three other single‐spore isolates showed chromosome polymorphism by size of chromosomal bands and by hybridization pattern with rRNA gene fragments and other Plasmodiophora‐specific DNA fragments.