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Biomedical subjects

L Xu

Publications and source records attributed to L Xu.

At least 793 records · Page 44Linked to original sources

[Atmosphere pollution by sulfur dioxide during processing of zirantong].

This paper reports the colorimetric determination of total SO2 in Zirantong by the method of rosaniline hydrochlorid. Samper of processed Zirantong from the pharmacy have been analyzed and the quality specifications established. Optimum conditions for processing have been chosen and a procedure has been proposed for the recovery of the poisonous matter SO2 which is then transformed into a beneficial material.

Air Pollution↗

Determination of salivary anticandidal activities in healthy adults and patients with AIDS: a pilot study.

This investigation compared the salivary anticandidal activities of 12 healthy adults with 12 hospitalized patients with AIDS. Stimulated parotid, submandibular-sublingual, and whole salivas were collected during a period of 10 min, immediately acidified, boiled, and then centrifuged to isolate salivary supernatants. Supernatants were then tested for antifungal activity against Candida albicans in blastospore viability inhibition and germ tube formation assays. A unit of blastospore or germ tube antifungal activity was established as that activity yielding 90% or greater inhibition during a defined time period in each salivary assay. Each of the patients with AIDS were found to be defective in one or more of their salivary antifungal activities, and in comparison with healthy adults the differences in antifungal units per milliliter of saliva and total antifungal units were statistically significant for each saliva and each antifungal assay. Defective salivary antifungal activity may contribute to the oral candidiasis seen in patients with AIDS.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Enhancement of insect antifreeze protein activity by antibodies.

Antifreeze proteins, produced by many cold water marine teleost fish and terrestrial arthropods (insects, spiders, etc.), inhibit ice crystal growth by a non-colligative mechanism, probably by adsorbing onto the surface of potential seed ice crystals and thereby blocking growth at preferred growth sites. In this study it is demonstrated that the activity of two insect antifreeze proteins is greatly increased by the addition of specific rabbit polyclonal antibodies to the antifreezes. A model is presented which suggests that the enhancement occurs because the antifreeze-antibody complex, being much larger than the antifreeze protein alone (a minimal 7-8-fold increase in size), blocks a larger area of the ice crystal surface and extends further above the surface, thus requiring the temperature to be further lowered before crystal growth proceeds. This idea is further supported by the finding that addition of goat anti-rabbit IgG to the antifreeze protein + anti-antifreeze protein antibody complexes further enhanced activity.

Animals↗

[The quantification of toxaphene residues in fish oils].

When quantified by HPGC-ECD and HPGC-NCI-SIM commercially available standards of the insecticide Toxaphene show different detector responses, primarily depending on the percentage of chlorine in the mixtures. To obtain accurate results, residues of Toxaphene in environmental samples should be quantified by using a standard with a similar or nearly similar detector response. If this is not possible, any standard may be used but the results of the samples must be corrected afterwards. By comparing different integration methods, it can be seen that the best results are obtained by integrating as many single-peak areas as possible. Quantification by integration of the bulge formed by raising the baseline, which can be observed in many gas chromatograms of Toxaphene standards, should be avoided because this hump is caused by degradation of chlorobornanes under higher temperatures. The extent of this bulge depends both on temperature and the percentage of chlorine, the latter being generally lower in the samples as a result of transformation processes under environmental conditions. Therefore integration of the bulge or the whole area leads to lower results.

Animals↗

Sequence of the gene encoding the major neutralization antigen (VP7) of serotype 10 rotavirus.

The sequence of the gene encoding the major neutralization antigen (VP7) of the type member (bovine virus strain B223) of the proposed serotype 10 of rotavirus has been determined. This was done using a rapid new strategy involving direct sequencing by primer extension of cDNA generated from the relevant virus gene (gene 8) using a combined reverse transcription/polymerase chain reaction. The sequence obtained is 1062 bp in length and contains a single long open reading frame capable of encoding a protein of 326 amino acids. Comparison of the sequence to that of the corresponding gene of the other major virus serotype found in cattle, serotype 6, showed that it was approximately 25% divergent at the nucleotide level and 18% divergent at the amino acid level.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Epitope mapping and characterization of the infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus glycoprotein, using fusion proteins synthesized in Escherichia coli.

A characterization of the antigenic determinants (epitopes) of the glycoprotein (G) of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus was made by expressing different regions of the G gene in Escherichia coli. A cDNA copy of the G gene was divided into four fragments by TaqI digestion, and the fragments were subcloned into pATH vectors, placing the expression of each G gene fragment under control of the trpE promoter. The resulting plasmids, pXL2, pXL3, and pXL7, encoded trpE-G fusion proteins subsequently detected with anti-infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus sera by Western immunoblots. A comparison of reactivities of the fusion proteins encoded by these plasmids was made by Western immunoblot and radioimmunoassay with a number of anti-G specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). The nonneutralizing MAb 136J reacted with the trpE-G fusion protein encoded by pXL3 and fusion proteins encoded by plasmids p52G and p618G, which were described in previous studies (R. D. Gilmore, Jr., H. M. Engelking, D. S. Manning, and J. C. Leong. Bio/Technology 6:295-300, 1988). Another nonneutralizing MAb, 2F, bound to the pXL3 fusion protein, and the neutralizing MAb RB/B5 recognized the pXL7 fusion protein. All fusion proteins were tested as vaccines in rainbow trout fry. Although significant protection was induced by all fusion proteins, the pXL3 fusion protein was most effective as a vaccine.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Complex transcriptional regulation of myc family gene expression in the developing mouse brain and liver.

myc family genes (c-, N-, and L-myc) have been shown to be differentially expressed with respect to tissue type and developmental stage. To define and compare the regulatory mechanisms governing their differential developmental expression, we examined the transcriptional regulation of each myc family member during murine postnatal brain and liver development. Nuclear run-on transcription assays demonstrated that both the rate of transcriptional initiation and the degree of transcriptional blocking contribute in a complex manner to the regulation of all three genes. During postnatal brain development, the relative contribution of each transcriptional control mechanism to the regulation of myc family gene expression was found to be different for each gene. For instance, while modulation of transcriptional attenuation did not appear to contribute to the down-regulation of L-myc expression, attenuation was found to be the dominant mechanism by which steady-state N-myc mRNA levels were down-regulated. Different transcriptional strategies were found to be employed in newborn versus adult developing liver for repression of N- and L-myc expression. Undetectable steady-state N- and L-myc mRNA levels in newborn liver were associated with a very low rate of transcriptional initiation, whereas the lack of N- and L-myc expression at the adult stage was accompanied by a high rate of initiation and a striking degree of transcriptional attenuation. Transcriptional attenuation in the N-myc gene was found to map to a region encoding a potential stem-loop structure followed by a thymine tract within the first exon and was not dependent on the use of a specific transcriptional start site.

Animals↗

The effects of magnetic stabilization on the structure and performance of liquid fluidized beds.

Liquid fluidized beds containing porous magnetic ion-exchange particles with densities ca. 1.03-1.16 g mL-1 were examined. The effect of magnetic stabilization was studied, both in terms of bed physical characteristics and sorptive behavior. Maximum applied magnetic field strength was approximately 200 oersted. Breakthrough and pulse analyses were carried out with protein and acetone solutions, respectively, with liquid flow rates ranging from approximately 1 to 3 cm min-1. Acetone pulses in columns containing 7 mL of particles had plate numbers ranging from 2.5 to 18 for magnetically stabilized beds and from 7.8 to 20 for non-stabilized fluidized beds. Under any particular set of conditions, magnetic stabilization always resulted in poorer efficiency, both in pulse analyses and in protein breakthrough experiments.

Adsorption↗

Treatment of small cell lung cancer.

During a 28-year period, 110 patients with small cell lung cancer were treated at our hospital. Fifty-nine patients received surgery, and 58 patients (including 7 cases after exploratory thoracotomy) received chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. The 5-year survival rate of the surgically treated group was 17%, while none in the non-surgical group survived for more than 5 years.

Adult↗

[Boron neutron capture therapy of human gastric cancer by boron-containing immunoliposomes under thermal neutron irradiation].

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is based on the nuclear reaction yielding high LET Li-7 and alpha particles when boron-10 is irradiated with thermal neutrons. (Et4N)2(10)B10H10 was entrapped in 40 nm liposomes coating the monoclonal antibody, MGb 2, against human gastric cancer. There were 1.4 x 10(4) 10B atoms encapsulated and 20 molecules of MGb 2 incorporated per liposomes ELISA indicated that the immunoreactivity of antibodies on liposomes retained 80%. Preferred binding to human gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901 was observed as many as 15.1 x 10(9) 10B atoms/tumor cell, 38-fold more than that to normal human embryonic lung cell line SL 7. The fluorescent immunoliposome-stained tumor cells showed membrane-fluorescence while SL 7 cells showed no obvious fluorescence. Irradiated with thermal neutrons (0.025 eV, 3.12 x 10(11)n/cm2, gamma-ray 0.84 Gy), 10B-containing immunoliposomes pretreated SGC-7901 cells survived 27%, significantly lower than non-irradiated cells or non-pretreated cells with irradiation (P less than 0.001). The results demonstrated that boron-containing immunoliposomes could bind selectively and deliver sufficient amount of boron-10 to the target tumor cells.

Alpha Particles↗

[Screening and identification of monoclonal antibodies against human neutrophil and detection of inhibiting opsonic phagocytic activity].

Using Ficoll-Hypaque gradient centrifugation, we have successfully obtained the neutrophils from normal human donors, which can be used as particle antigens for immunizing BALB/c mice. Hybridomas were produced through the fusion of SP2/0 myeloma cells and splenocytes from immunized BALB/c mice. The ratio of fusion was 1:5. The cells were fused with 30% polyethylene glycol (MW 4000). The rate of fusion was 90%. The antibody producing colonies against the membrane of neutrophils in HAT medium were selected by indirect immunofluorescence assay. Antibody positive rate was 60% (102/170). Limiting dilution was used for colonization of the antibody-producing hybridoma cells. After colonization for three times, one hybridoma cell line was obtained, which could inhibit complement-mediated phagocytosis. Culture supernatant was used against class- and subclass- specific rabbit antisera (rabbit anti-mouse IgM, IgG, IgG1, IgGd22, IgG2b, IgG3) in an agar immunodiffusion system, it was shown to be IgG22.

Animals↗

[Preliminary studies of notoginsenoside R1-induced differentiation of HL-60 cell lines in vitro].

Our experiments have proved that human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60) could be induced to differentiate in vitro by notoginsenoside R1 into mature neutrophils. The morphological results showed that 68% of HL-60 cells were differentiated in 80 microgram/ml inducer for 5 days, in which metamyelocytes were 32%, banded neutrophils 30% and segmented neutrophils 6% 3H-TdR and 3H-UR incorporate assay showed that notoginsenoside R1 effected synthesis of DNA and RNA while it induced differentiation of HL-60 cell. At 48 h, percent of incorporate inhibition was 26.32% with 3H-TdR and 18.57% with 3H-UR; at 72 h, 17.46% and 21.76%, respectively.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗

[Otoacoustic emission cochleogram evoked by bone conducted stimulation].

As bone conducted stimulation, tone bursts of different frequencies were applied through the forehead in 7 normal-hearing subjects. Binaural evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAE) were then recorded simultaneously, which saved one half of the time required for conventional monaural recording. Analysed with autoregressive modeling, the main echo of EOAE was a narrow-band sound with a stimulus dependent central frequency. It was suggested that the generation site of EOAE was near to that cochlear portion stimulated by the corresponding frequency. The latency of EOAE, although independent of the stimulus intensity, tended to be shorter at higher stimulus frequencies. This was possibly due to the differences in the distances from the generation sites of the otoacoustic emissions to the tympanic membrane. Recordable otoacoustic emissions were evoked by tone bursts of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 kHz in all the 14 normal ears except one at 4.0 kHz, and 10 and 7 ears by tone bursts of 0.5 and 6.0 kHz, respectively. Emission cochleogram was obtained when the means of EOAE detection thresholds were plotted in an audiogram format. The lowest threshold was found at 1.0 kHz. This might be related to the middle ear resonance frequency of 1100 +/- 230 Hz. The technique of simultaneous recording of binaural EOAE and plotting of emission cochleogram described in this paper is clinically useful as a means of objective evaluation of hearing.

Adult↗

[Computerized image analysis of the neuroretinal rim area in early glaucoma].

The neuroretinal rim area reflects the amount of optic nerve fibers, while it is also related to the size of the optic disc. Minima of normal rim area at the 95% confidence level in relation to disc area in 172 normal eyes were established, and 81 eyes of early open angle glaucoma and 81 eyes of suspected glaucoma were assessed with these criteria in comparison with assessments according to the rim area alone without consideration of the size of the optic disc. The results in the glaucoma group indicated that the positive rate by the present method was 72.8% in contrast to 45.7% by the rim area alone, the difference being very significant (P less than 0.01). However, the new method was less sensitive to glaucoma patients with large optic discs.

Adult↗

[Quality of tuberous root of Liriope spicata (Thunb.) Lour. var. prolifera Y.T.Ma and Ophiopogon japonicus (L.F.) Ker-Gawl.--comparison of immune function].

This paper deals with comparative study on the immune function of the tuberous root of Liriope spicata var. prolifera and Ophiopogon japonicus. The results showed that the aqueous extract of both species mentioned above could increase obviously the spleen weight (immunity organ) of mice, enhance the clearance rate of iv charcoal particles in mice and antagonize remarkably the leukopenia caused by cyclophosphamide.

Animals↗