An inventory of long-lived radionuclides residual from underground nuclear testing at the Nevada test site, 1951-1992.

An inventory of long-lived radionuclides produced by 828 underground nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada test site (NTS) from 1951 to 1992 includes residual tritium, fission products, actinides, and activation products. Recently, the US Department of Energy approved the declassification of the NTS radionuclide inventory by principal geographic test centers. This permits unclassified publication of radionuclide totals for the Yucca Flat, Pahute Mesa-Area 19, Pahute Mesa-Area 20, Frenchman Flat, and Rainier Mesa/Shoshone Mountain testing locations. Activities are reported as of September 23, 1992, the date of the last underground nuclear test conducted at the NTS, and September 23, 2492, after 500 years of radioactive decay. The availability of these data affords an opportunity for the analysis of the radiologic source term within the boundaries of local hydrogeologic units and provides insight to where radionuclides are sited relative to potential exposure pathways.

PGRL is a major CD81-associated protein on lymphocytes and distinguishes a new family of cell surface proteins.

CD81 exerts a range of interesting effects on T cells including early thymocyte differentiation, LFA-1 activation, and provision of costimulation. To better understand the mechanisms by which CD81 influences T cell function we evaluated CD81 molecular complexes on T cells. The most prominent CD81-associated cell surface protein on thymocytes as well as a number of T cell and B cell lines has an apparent molecular mass of 75 kDa. The 75-kDa protein was purified and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry followed by postsource-decay profiling. p75 is a novel type I transmembrane protein of the Ig superfamily which is most similar to FPRP. We cloned and sequenced both human and mouse PG regulatory-like protein (PGRL) and characterized mouse PGRL expression in both lymphocytes and nonlymphoid tissues. The discovery of PGRL allows for the clustering of a small family of related proteins including PGRL, FPRP, V7/CD101, and IGSF3. Expression constructs containing various domains of PGRL with an epitope tag were coexpressed with CD81 and used to determine that the interaction of CD81 with PGRL requires the membrane distal Ig3-Ig4 domains of PGRL. Although it remains to be determined whether PGRL possesses PG regulatory functions, transwell chamber experiments show that PGs and CD81 coordinately regulate T cell motility.

Eosinophil ablation and tumor development.

Tissue eosinophilia in squamous cell carcinoma has long been recognized; however, the role of eosinophils in tumor development remains unclear. Studies have reported both favorable and unfavorable prognoses for patients with tumors exhibiting tumor-associated tissue eosinophilia (TATE). This study seeks to elucidate the potential role of the eosinophil in squamous cell carcinoma development and provide an experimental model for future studies. The carcinogen-induced hamster oral cancer model was found to fulfill these objectives. Eosinophils progressively infiltrate into this carcinogen-induced oral cancer model. We now demonstrate that TATE is completely abolished by the use of an anti-interleukin-5 monoclonal antibody (mAb) preparation, TRFK-5. Clinical observations revealed that TRFK-5-treated hamsters exhibited smaller tumor burden and delayed onset of tumor development. The results suggest that anti-interleukin-5 antibody treatment may delay and/or inhibit tumor development, and that eosinophils may have a tumor-promoting role.

Design, synthesis, and in vitro evaluation of cyclic nitrones as free radical traps for the treatment of stroke.

Analogs of the cyclic nitrone free radical trap 1 (3,3-dimethyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline N-oxide, a cyclic analog of phenyl-tert-butylnitrone (PBN)) were prepared in which (1) the fused phenyl ring was replaced with a naphthalene ring, an electron rich heterocycle, or a dimethylphenol, (2) the nitrone-containing ring comprised five, six, or seven atoms, and (3) the gem-dimethyl group was replaced with spirocyclic groups. The most active antioxidant, which bears a dimethylphenol fused to a 7-membered ring nitrone (compound 6h), inhibited lipid peroxidation in vitro with an IC50 of 22 microM, a 75-fold improvement over that of 1. The previously observed correlation between lipophilicity and activity vs lipid peroxidation in vitro has been further substantiated and refined by this study. Moreover, certain classes of compounds (namely, dimethylphenols 6g,h and furan 6j) have now been found which are considerably more active in vitro than expected on the basis of their log k'(w) values.

Cyclic nitrone free radical traps: isolation, identification, and synthesis of 3,3-dimethyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-4-ol N-oxide, a metabolite with reduced side effects.

A C-4 hydroxylated metabolite (2, 3,3-dimethyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-4-ol N-oxide) of the previously described cyclic nitrone free radical trap 1 (3,3-dimethyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline N-oxide, a cyclic analog of phenyl-tert-butylnitrone (PBN)) was isolated, identified, and synthesized. The metabolite (2), though a less potent antioxidant than 1 in an in vitro lipid peroxidation assay, showed greatly reduced acute toxicity and sedative properties. Several analogs of 2 were prepared in attempts to improve on its weak antioxidant activity while retaining the desirable side effect profile. Effective structural changes included replacement of the gem-dimethyl moiety with spirocycloalkane groups and/or oxidation of the alcohols to the corresponding ketones. All of the analogs were more lipophilic (log k'(w)) and more active in the standard lipid peroxidation assay than 2. In addition, some of the compounds were able to protect cerebellar granule cells against oxidative damage (an in vitro model of oxidative brain injury) with IC50 values well below the value of the lead compound 1. The ketones, as predicted, were much more potent than 2 (and 1) in both of the above assays (up to ca. 200-fold). However, only compounds with a hydroxyl or an acetate group at C-4 displayed significantly reduced acute toxicity and sedative properties relative to those of 1. Importantly, the diminishment of toxicity and sedation were not the result of a lack of brain penetration as both 2 and the corresponding ketone (3,3-dimethyl-3,4-dihydro-3H-isoquinolin-4-one N-oxide) achieved equal or greater brain levels than those of 1 when administered to rats i.p.

A model for clinical teaching as a scholarly endeavor.

The traditional ways that academia has approached documentation of scholarship are relatively narrow and best fit those disciplines whose practice is research and writing. In professional practice disciplines such as nursing, writing and research are critical, but they are not the only scholarly activities in which faculty are involved. A model resulting from work from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching offers a broader view of scholarship in which clinical teaching has academic legitimacy. The components of scholarship included in the model are discovery, practice, integration, and teaching.

Effect of membrane potential on H1-receptor-mediated 45Ca influx in coronary artery.

These studies were undertaken to determine whether agonist-induced 45Ca influx in the coronary artery is modified under conditions in which Na+ pump activity (and consequently membrane potential) is altered. 45Ca influx and contraction were measured in the rabbit coronary artery with the H1-receptor agonist 2-(2-aminoethyl)pyridine (AEP, 10(-4) M) after prolonged Na+ pump block (leading to profound depolarization) and after enhanced Na+ pump activity (leading to hyperpolarization). AEP contracted vessels, enhanced 45Ca influx into the smooth muscle, and increased 45Ca efflux. The AEP-induced contraction was reduced but not abolished with either nifedipine (10(-6) M) or Ca(2+)-free solution. In tissues subjected to prolonged Na+ pump block AEP caused contraction but 45Ca influx was not increased over the unstimulated tissue. Ca(2+)-free solution and nifedipine reduced but did not abolish these contractions. In tissues with enhanced Na+ pump activity AEP caused contraction but 45Ca influx was not increased. Ca(2+)-free solution reduced these contractions but nifedipine did not. We conclude that the measurable 45Ca influx changes in a manner that is compatible with the characteristics of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels that have a low open probability during hyperpolarization and are inactivated by a period of long slow depolarization.

Effect of ACh on electrical and mechanical activity in guinea pig coronary arteries.

The contractile and intracellular responses to acetylcholine (ACh) were measured in isolated segments of the guinea pig circumflex coronary artery. ACh (10(-5) M) led to hyperpolarization of the membrane in the presence or absence of the H1-receptor agonist 2-(2-aminoethyl)pyridine (AEP). This hyperpolarization was associated with relaxation of vessels precontracted with AEP. Hyperpolarization and relaxation were abolished after complete removal of the endothelium. Less endothelial coverage was required to obtain a relaxation with ACh (10(-5) M) than with bradykinin (BK, 10(-7) M). BK did not initiate hyperpolarization. A23187 (10(-8) to (10(-5) M) did not relax vessels precontracted with AEP. Three muscarinic antagonists were compared and the following order of potency was obtained: atropine greater than pirenzapine greater than AFDX116. Although atropine (10(-7) M) reduced the ACh (10(-5) M)-induced hyperpolarization by 83%, this same concentration of pirenzapine had no effect on hyperpolarization. Oxyhemoglobin (10(-5) M) significantly reduced relaxation to nitroglycerine but not ACh. Methylene blue (10(-5) or 5 x 10(-5) M) inhibited relaxation to submaximal but not maximal concentrations of ACh. In vessels precontracted with elevated potassium, ACh (10(-5) M) caused contraction rather than relaxation. The onset and time to peak hyperpolarization with carbachol was more rapid with luminal as opposed to adventitial application of drug. It is concluded that relaxation and hyperpolarization with ACh in the coronary artery are mediated via the endothelium. The results are compatible with the hypothesis that relaxation is initiated by both endothelial-derived relating factor stimulation of guanylate cyclase activity and hyperpolarization of the smooth muscle.

Antioxidant enzymes of larvae of the cabbage looper moth, Trichoplusia ni: subcellular distribution and activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione reductase.

In the mid-fifth instar larvae of the cabbage looper moth, Trichoplusia ni, the subcellular distribution of total superoxide dismutase was as follows: 3.05 units (70.0%), 0.97 units (22.3%), and 0.33 units (7.6%) mg-1 protein in the mitochondrial, cytosolic and nuclear fractions, respectively. No superoxide dismutase activity was detected in the microsomal fraction. Catalase activity was unusually high and as follows: 283.4 units (47.3%), 150.1 units (25.1%), 142.3 units (23.8%), and 22.9 units (3.8%) mg-1 protein in the mitochondrial, cytosolic, microsomal (containing peroxisomes), and nuclear fractions. No glutathione peroxidase activity was found, but appreciable glutathione reductase activity was detected with broad subcellular distribution as follows: 3.86 units (36.1%), 3.68 units (34.0%), 2.46 units (23.0%), and 0.70 units (6.5%) mg-1 protein in the nuclear, mitochondrial, and cytosolic fractions, respectively. The unusually wide intracellular distribution of catalase in this phytophagous insect is apparently an evolutionary adaptation to the absence of glutathione peroxidase; hence, lack of a glutathione peroxidase-glutathione reductase role in alleviating stress from lipid peroxidation. Catalase working sequentially to superoxide dismutase, may nearly completely prevent the formation of the lipid peroxidizing .OH radical from all intracellular compartments by the destruction of H2O2 which together with O2- is a precursor of .OH.

Paternal attachment behavior as related to presence at delivery and preparenthood classes: a pilot study.

This pilot study explored father-infant attachment and its relationship to preparenthood classes, presence at delivery, and infant state. The sample consisted of 48 fathers and their infants who were observed in the mother's hospital room between 12 and 72 hours after delivery. The fathers were divided into three groups: those who took classes and were present at delivery, those who were present at delivery but did not take classes, and those who neither took classes nor were present at delivery. Fathers who were present at delivery demonstrated more social attachment behavior than fathers who were not present. Also, presence at delivery was significant in regard to total attachment scores. Sleeping infants elicited significantly less attachment behavior from fathers. Preparenthood classes were not significant in regard to fathers' attachment behavior. Results of this study support the theory of a sensitive period shortly after birth for the development of the parental-infant bond for fathers as well as mothers, and demonstrates, indirectly, that alert, awake infants may elicit certain attachment behaviors from fathers.