Hypercalcemia associated with blastomycosis in dogs

Hypercalcemia that could not be explained by previously recognized causes was detected in 4 dogs with systemic blastomycosis. A variety of malignancies and certain endocrine, metabolic, and renal disorders may cause hypercalcemia, but to our knowledge, no infectious diseases have been associated with hypercalcemia in dogs. Increased production of calcitriol by mononuclear cells was thought to be the mechanism of hypercalcemia in granulomatous disease.     

Antidotal effect of vitamin K1 against warfarin-induced anticoagulation in horses

Warfarin-induced anticoagulation and reversal of the induced anticoagulation by vitamin K1 were evaluated in 4 mature horses. Each horse was given warfarin IV until the prothrombin (PT) time was prolonged by approximately 1.5 times the predosing base-line value. In experiment 1, we evaluated the time required for PT to return to the predosing value (PT reversal time) after warfarin administration was discontinued. Between each experiment, a 1-week rest period was allowed. In experiment 2, two doses of vitamin K1 (100 mg/dose) were administered IM 6 hours apart, and the PT was monitored hourly for 24 hours. In experiments 3 and 4, the horses were dosed with warfarin as in experiment 1, and the PT reversal time was evaluated after administration of 300- and 500-mg doses of vitamin K1 IM, respectively. In experiment 5, one horse was eliminated from the study, 1 horse was given 300 mg of vitamin K1 IV, and 2 horses were given 300 mg of vitamin K1 subcutaneously (SC); the reversal times were evaluated in the 3 horses given vitamin K1. Therapeutic response time was designated as the time required for the mean PT time of treated horses to reach the midpoint between the longest mean PT time achieved during anticoagulation and the mean base-line PT time. The therapeutic response time, without supportive therapy, after discontinuation of warfarin administration was 30 hours, and there was a PT reversal time of approximately 5 days from the last dose of warfarin. The 100-mg dose of vitamin K1 shortened the therapeutic response time to 12 hours and the PT reversal time to 24 hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

All-optical nonlinearities in organics

Recognition that organic solids possess some of the largest all-optical nonlinearities of all known materials has resulted in an interdisciplinary effort directed at both the basic understanding and exploitation of these effects. Parallel efforts on ionrganic semiconductors have already reached a mature stage whereby the origin of the effects, together with the prospects for device applications, are well known and appreciated. In this article, a unified picture of nonlinear optical phenomena in both classes of materials is presented. The specific implications for organic-based optical devices are discussed.     

管道涂敷施工前表面处理研究

通常情况下,管道涂敷商在涂敷新涂层之前,都要将管道表面处理到Sa 2.5级或者近白级,但是在施工现场却很难达到这一标准.讨论了旧涂层去除的常规方法、表面处理以及可预见的结果,并讨论了当前在表面处理方面的研究成果以及在涂层涂敷过程中二次生锈的各种影响.     

Activation of the HIV-1 LTR by T cell mitogens and the trans-activator protein of HTLV-I

To investigate the mechanism by which immune activation augments replication of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in infected T cells, four different classes of T cell mitogens were evaluated for their effects on the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR). Phytohemagglutinin (PHA), a mitogenic lectin; phorbol 12-myristic 13-acetate, a tumor promoter; ionomycin, a calcium ionophore; and tat-1, the trans-activator protein from the human T cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type I (HTLV-I) each stimulated the HIV-1 LTR. Studies of deleted forms of the LTR supported a central role in these responses for the HIV-1 enhancer, which alone was sufficient for mitogen inducibility, but also suggested that other 5' positive and negative regulatory elements contribute to the overall magnitude of the response. Synergistic activation of the HIV-1 LTR (up to several thousandfold) was observed with combinations of these mitogens and the HIV-1--derived tat-III protein. Cyclosporin A, an immunosuppressive agent, inhibited PHA-mediated activation of the HIV-1 LTR but was without effect in the presence of other mitogens. Thus, HIV-1 gene expression and replication appear to be regulated, via the HIV-1 LTR, by the same mitogenic signals that induce T cell activation.     

Fossil Evidence for a Late Cretaceous Origin of "Hoofed" Mammals

Seventeen of eighteen orders of living placental mammals are not known before 65 million years ago. The monophyly of each order is well established, but interrelations have been less certain. A superordinal grouping of up to seven extant orders plus a variety of extinct orders, all included within Ungulata ("hoofed" mammals), can be linked to Late Cretaceous mammals from the 85-million-year-old Bissekty Formation, Uzbekistan (and, less certainly, North America and Europe), thus pushing the origin of this major clade back by 20 million years. Ungulatomorphs are not closely related to primates, rodents, or rabbits.     

Use of anti-coronavirus antibody testing of cerebrospinal fluid for diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis involving the central nervous system in cats

OBJECTIVE: To assess the use of measuring anti-coronavirus IgG in CSF for the diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) involving the CNS in cats. DESIGN: Prospective study. SAMPLE POPULATION: CSF and serum samples from 67 cats. PROCEDURES: CSF and serum samples were allocated into 4 groups: cats with FIP involving the CNS (n = 10), cats with FIP not involving the CNS (13), cats with CNS disorders caused by diseases other than FIP (29), and cats with diseases other than FIP and not involving the CNS (15). Cerebrospinal fluid was evaluated for concentrations of erythrocytes, leukocytes, and total protein. Anti-coronavirus IgG was measured in CSF and serum by indirect immunofluorescence assay. RESULTS: CSF IgG (range of titers, 1:32 to 1:4,096) was detected in 12 cats, including 6 cats with neurologic manifestation of FIP, 4 cats with FIP not involving the CNS, and 2 cats with brain tumors. Cerebrospinal fluid IgG was detected only in cats with correspondingly high serum IgG titers (range, 1:4,096 to 1:16,384) and was positively correlated with serum IgG titers (r = 0.652; P < 0.01), but not with any other CSF parameter. Blood contamination of CSF resulted in < or = 333 erythrocytes/microL in cats with CSF IgG. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The correlation between serum and CSF IgG and the fact that CSF IgG was detected only in strongly seropositive cats suggested that CSF anti-coronavirus IgG was derived from blood. Measurement of anti-coronavirus IgG in CSF was of equivocal clinical use.     

Immunologic inhibition of ultraviolet radiation-induced tumor suppressor cell activity

Long-term exposure of C3H mice to ultraviolet radiation resulted in the formation of suppressor T cells that recognize ultraviolet radiation-induced regressor skin cancers as a class before the appearance of overt tumors. Administration of monoclonal antibodies to the product of the I-Jk subregion of the major histocompatibility complex or low doses of cyclophosphamide in vivo inhibited the development or activity of these cells. This activity of the monoclonal antibody was eliminated by adsorption on B10.BR (I-Jk) but not B10.D2 (I-Jd) splenocytes. These findings provide evidence that elements expressing the I-J determinant are important in regulating the host response prior to the overt development of ultraviolet radiation-induced skin cancers and suggest novel therapeutic approaches to malignancies or other diseases involving suppressor T cells in their pathogenesis.