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This study investigated patterns of probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their predictors among 2,431 Asian American and 31,455 non-Hispanic White World Trade Center (WTC) Registry participants 2-3 years and 5-6 years after the WTC attack. Participants were divided into four PTSD pattern groups: resilient, remitted, delayed onset, and chronic. Asians had a lower proportion in the resilient group (76.5% vs. 79.8%), a higher proportion in the chronic (8.6% vs. 7.4%) and remitted (5.9% vs. 3.4%) groups, and a similar proportion in the delayed onset group (about 9%) compared to Whites. In multinomial logistic regression analyses, disaster exposure, immigrant status, lower income, pre-attack depression/anxiety, and lower respiratory symptoms were associated with increased odds of chronic and delayed onset PTSD (vs. resilience) among both races. Education and employment were protective against chronic and delayed onset PTSD among Whites only. These results can inform targeted outreach efforts to enhance prevention and treatment for Asians affected by future events.

Objective Bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) are expressed in the extraoral tissues, where they possess various physiological functions. This study is to characterize TAS2Rs expression in normal and allergic nasal mucosa and analyse nasal symptom after challenge with bitter tastes to evaluate their pathophysiological function in normal and allergic nasal mucosa. Methods The expression levels of TAS2Rs (TAS2R4, 5, 7, 10, 14, 39, and 43) in nasal mucosa were investigated by real-time PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. The expression levels of TAS2Rs and Ca(2+) imaging in cultured epithelial cells were measured after stimulation with type 2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) or bitter tastes. Nasal symptoms in control subjects and allergic rhinitis patients using visual analogue score and acoustic rhinometry were evaluated before and after stimulation with bitter tastes. Vascular diameter of rat nasal septum was measured before and after treatment with bitter tastes. Results TAS2Rs tested here were expressed in nasal mucosa where they were commonly distributed in superficial epithelium, submucosal glands, and endothelium. Their expression levels are increased in allergic nasal mucosa and up-regulated in cultured epithelial cells simulated with type 2 cytokines. After treatment with bitter tastes, intracellular Ca(2+) signalling was increased in cultured epithelial cells, and vascular constriction was found in rat nasal septum. Increased nasal patency was observed in human nasal mucosa without pain or sneezing. Conclusion and clinical relevance TAS2Rs are constitutively expressed in human nasal mucosa and their expression levels are increased in allergic nasal mucosa, where they could potentially contribute to shrinkage of normal and allergic nasal mucosa.

DNA vaccines have emerged as an attractive approach to generate antigen-specific T-cell immune response. Nevertheless, the potency of DNA vaccines still needs to be improved for cancer immunotherapy. In this study, we explored whether functional linkage of a Th1-polarizing chemokine, IP-10, to a model tumor antigen, human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) E7, enhanced DNA vaccine potency. IP-10 linkage changed the location of E7 from the nucleus to the endoplasmic reticulum and led to the secretion of functionally chemoattractive chimeric IP-10/E7 protein. In addition, this linkage drastically enhanced the endogenous processing of E7 antigen through MHC class I. More importantly, we found that C57BL/6 mice intradermally vaccinated with IP-10/E7 DNA exhibited a dramatic increase in the number of E7-specific CD4(+) Th1 T-cells and CD8(+) T-cells and, consequently, were strongly resistant over the long term to E7-expressing tumors compared to mice vaccinated with wild-type E7 DNA. Thus, because of the increase in tumor antigen-specific T-cell immune responses obtained through both enhanced antigen presentation and chemoattraction, vaccination with DNA encoding IP-10 linked to a tumor antigen holds great promise for treating tumors.

Lanthanide-modified lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) ceramics were prepared through a hydroxide co-precipitation method, and the effects of the lanthanide ions on the structural and dielectric properties of the PLZT ceramics were investigated. The substitution site of the lanthanide ions was found to change from the A site to the B site with decreased lanthanide ionic radius by comparing theoretically calculated and experimentally measured unit-cell volumes and densities. The variation of structural and dielectric properties in the lanthanide-modified PLZT series was highly correlated to the change of substitution site, leading to the compositional change of the unit cell. Raman spectra showed that the B-site local structures were affected by the substitution type.

Trifluoroacylated, trimethylsilylated and methylated mesocarb (3-(1-methyl-2-phenylethyl)-5-[[(phenylamino) carbonyl]amino]-1,2,3-oxadiazolium) were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). In trifluoroacylation, N-trifluoroacylated sydnophen (SP-NTFA), where the exocyclic nitrogen atom of the sydnonimine ring attacks N-methylbis(trifluoroacetamide), was identified by GC/MS. However, in trimethylsilylation, C-trimethylsilylated sydnophen (SP-CTMS), where the C-4 atom of the sydnonimine ring attacks N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide, was detected. SP-NTFA and SP-CTMS are intermediates of mesocarb in pyrolysis, and retain an intact sydnonimine ring. In methylation, a ketene form of mesocarb reacts as a nucleophile with methyl iodide to produce methylated N-nitroso-N-cyanomethylamphetamine. Thus, depending on the reaction substituents, the intermediate of mesocarb in pyrolysis was identified to be either an intact sydnonimine ring skeleton or an open-ring compound using GC/MS. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The side chain of phenolalkylamines containing a bifunctional group was derivatized as the cyclic boronate, and then the residual phenolic group was trimethylsilylated. The resulting derivatives were single reaction products in each case, with good gas chromatographic properties and informative mass spectra to afford prominent molecular ions by gas chromatography with electron impact mass spectrometry (GC/EI-MS). The cyclic boronated-trimethylsilylated derivatives yielded the isotope pattern for boron ((10)B:(11)B =-1:4.2) and characteristic ions [M](+), [M - H](+), [M - CH(3)](+), [M - RBO](+), [M - TMSO](+), and [M - TMSO - C(6)H(5)](+) ions in the mass spectra. In order to distinguish between m- and p-phenolalkylamines, the mass spectra of the cyclic phenylboronated-trimethylsilylated (PBA-TMS) derivatives were compared with those of the trimethylsilylated (TMS) derivatives. The TMS derivatives of octopamine (p-) and norfenefrine (m-) showed identical mass spectra, while the PBA-TMS derivatives had mass spectra sufficiently different from one other to distinguish between the isomers. The most prominent ion of the PBA-TMS derivative is the [M - H](+) ion (m/z 310) for octopamine and the [M](+) ion (m/z 311) for norfenefrine. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Formation cyclic boronates for beta-blockers, by use of triethylamine (TEA) and pyridine as catalysts, gives more effective product yield. Eleven beta-blockers, formed by cyclic boronation with n-butylboronic acid and TEA, produced higher yields than by on-column thermal reaction and seven beta-blockers were shown to give the highest yields in the phenyl cyclic boronation with pyridine or TEA by on-column thermal and general reaction. The phenyl cyclic boronate of nadolol produced one peak in the chromatogram and the n-butyl cyclic boronate showed two peaks. On-column derivatization and n-butylboronic acid and pyridine was effective in saving analysis time and for convenience, even though some n-butyl cyclic boronates by cyclic boronation with TEA gave a better yield. In n-butyl cyclic boronation with pyridine by on-column thermal reaction the detection limits were 0.1 to 4 ng/microL in urine with a signal-to-noise ratio of 10:1.

Polycrystalline HT-LiCoO2 powders with homogeneous size distribution have been synthesized at 280 °C by the molten salt synthesis method using 0.59 LiNO3–0.41 LiOH as a flux. These powders exhibit a good electrochemical behavior without further heat treatment at higher temperatures.

Layered perovskite compound RbLa2Ti2NbO10 has been successfully characterized by the Rietveld analysis of powder X-ray diffraction pattern and lattice energy calculation. The RbLa2Ti2NbO10 represents a unique example of layered perovskite in which equal numbers of Ti4+ and Nb5+ cations were statistically distributed in the outer octahedra, and only Ti4+ cations occupied the middle octahedra.

N-Acylsaccharins and N-(saccharinylmethyl)aliphatic carboxylates were synthesized from N-hydroxymeth-ylsaccarin and aliphatic carboxylic acid chlorides (or anhydrides).

N-Acylsaccharins and N-(saccharinylmethyl)aliphatic carboxylates were synthesized from N-hydroxymeth-ylsaccarin and aliphatic carboxylic acid chlorides (or anhydrides).