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To evaluate the usefulness of early treatment with D-Penicillamine (DPA) in rheumatoid arthritis.The patients were recruited from a Swedish early RA cohort comprising 180 patients. All patients experiencing active and/or erosive disease 2 years from onset were asked to participate in a 2-year placebo-controlled DPA trial. Previous treatment with slow-acting anti-rheumatic drugs (SAARDs) or oral corticosteroids was not allowed. The main outcome variable was radiographic progression in the hands and feet evaluated according to Larsen. Clinical assessment including the Ritchie index, active joint count, and the HAQ-disability index was performed every 6th month. Patients were included in the analyses of efficacy until the endpoint of therapy.111/180 patients were eligible for treatment, and 74 agreed to participate in the trial. 21/33 patients on DPA and 22/41 on placebo completed the study. More patients taking placebo stopped due to lack of response (p0.01). 27% of the patients on DPA were withdrawn due to side effects. Radiographic deterioration increased but most clinical variables improved in both trial arms. A large inter-individual variation was observed. The only significant difference in trend over 2 years between DPA and placebo was found for joint tenderness. However, the median trends for most clinical variables showed a more positive effect for DPA. The 37 patients who refused to participate in the trial in general fared somewhat worse than patients taking DPA and somewhat better than patients taking placebo. The remission rate was about the same in all 3 groups (12-13.5%).About two-thirds of all early definite RA patients were eligible for treatment using current criteria. Psychological readiness for early therapy was fairly modest with a high refusal rate. The difference in efficacy between DPA and placebo was small, but was in favour of DPA for most clinical variables. However, only joint tenderness showed a significantly better trend. No significant slowing of radiographic progression by DPA was found.

The catalytic mechanism of glucoamylase (GA) is investigated by comparing kinetic results obtained using alpha-D-glucosyl fluoride (GF) and maltooligosaccharides as substrates for wild-type and four active site mutant GAs, Tyr116--Ala, Trp120--Phe, Asp176--Asn, and Glu400--Gln. These replacements decreased the activity (kcat/KM) toward maltose by 6-320-fold. Toward GF, however, Tyr116--Ala and Trp120--Phe GAs, showed wild-type and twice wild-type level activity, while Asp176--Asn and Glu400--Gln GAs had 22- and 665-fold lower activity, respectively. Glu400, the catalytic base, is suggested to strengthen ground-state binding in subsite 1, and Asp176 does so at subsites 1 and 2. Tyr116 and Trp120 belong to an aromatic cluster that is slightly removed from the catalytic site and not critical for GF hydrolysis, but which is probably involved in maltooligosaccharide transition-state stabilization. Since the mutation of groups near the catalytic site decreased activity for both GF and maltose, but substitution of Tyr116 and Trp120 decreased activity only for maltose, interaction with the substrate aglycon part may be implicated in the rate-limiting step. Rate-limiting aglycon product release was suggested previously for GA-catalyzed hydrolysis [Kitahata, S., Brewer, C. F., Genghof, D. S., Sawai, T.,Hehre, E. H. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 6017-6026]. For Glu400--Gln and wild-type GA complexed with GF, the pH-activity (kcat) profile shows a pKa of 2.8. When these two enzymes were complexed with maltose, however, only wild-type GA had a titrating base group, assigned to Glu400 [Frandsen, T. P., Dupont, C., Lehmbeck, J., Stoffer, B., Sierks, M. R., Honzatko, R. B.,Svensson, B. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 13808-13816]. Thus, GF binding to Glu400--Gln GA presumably elicits the deprotonation of a carboxyl group that facilitates catalysis.

The development of quality assurance programmes for psychiatric care has increased the interest in quality of care and accountability from the patient's perspective. The aims of this study were threefold. First, to map descriptive characteristics of ideal outpatient psychiatric care through open-ended patient interviews, using a sample of 94 psychiatric outpatients, second, to have another sample of 84 outpatients rank the importance of 57 treatment characteristics extracted from the qualitative analysis of the interviews, and third to make comparisons with a previously performed investigation on quality of care of psychiatric inpatients. Results of the content analysis showed that characteristics of ideal outpatient treatment could be classified in eight content categories: accessibility of care, treatment content, staff-patient relationship, continuity of care, staff's professionalism, patient information/co-influence, treatment environment and cost of care. Results from the patients' rating of the importance of treatment characteristics showed that patients put the highest emphasis on staff's empathetic qualities in being interested, understanding, listening and respecting patients. Comparisons with the previously studied inpatient sample, showed great similarities in what was considered important to reach a satisfactory care situation. It is concluded that in order to secure content validity of investigations of the quality of psychiatric care from the patient's perspective, effort should be put into including the areas of staff-patient relationship and patient information and co-influence.

A series of 156 consecutive fully edentulous patients were rehabilitated by means of fixed prostheses on either 4 or 6 screw-shaped titanium implants. This retrospective study calculated survival rates for both prostheses and individual implants. Only patients with a 10-year follow-up were considered. The implant lengths were 10 (90%) or 7 mm. They were all inserted after pretapping. In the mandible 13 and 59 prostheses were installed on respectively 4 and 6 implants. In the upper jaw the respective numbers were 14 and 70. Both groups (4 versus 6 implants) were age- and gender-matched. A reduced jaw bone volume was the major reason for limiting the number of implants to 4. Although a tendency existed for an increased failure rate in patients with only 4 implants, the survival rate for both individual implants and prostheses was the same in both groups at the end of the 10-year observation period. The present tendency of some clinicians to install as many implants as possible in full edentulism should be seriously questioned.

The aim of this study was to establish morning and evening reference ranges for cortisol in saliva. Another objective was to compare the concentrations of the mainly free cortisol in saliva to those of total cortisol in serum as determined with a commercial radioimmunoassay. The concentrations were determined in matched samples of saliva and serum collected at 8 am and 10 pm from 197 healthy volunteers. The saliva samples were stable for at least 7 days at room temperature and for 9 months at -20 degrees C. Reference ranges, the central 95%, were estimated to 3.5-27.0 nmol/l at 8 am and6.0 nmol/l at 10 pm. The intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) was below 5% and total CV below 10%. The relation between the cortisol concentrations in serum and saliva was non-linear with r = 0.86 for serum concentrations450 nmol/l and r = 0.44 for serum concentrationsor = 450 nmol/l. In conclusion, the satisfactory precision of the analysis and the simple non-invasive sampling procedure suggest that saliva may be used for cortisol measurements in situations where blood sampling is difficult to perform.

Epidemiological studies have provided evidence that attenuated fibrinolytic activity and increased antigen levels of plasminogen activator are risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). In a comparative study, tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) antigen and activity concentrations were examined in plasma from familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) patients without manifest CHD (n = 14) and in age- and sex-matched normolipaemic controls (NLC) at rest and after the same bicycle exercise. The FH patients had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure than their controls. The plasma level of t-PA antigen was higher in FH patients than in NLC under basal conditions (7.3 +/- 3.1 ng/ml vs 4.8 +/- 2.2 ng/ml, P = 0.022), whereas no difference was found in t-PA activity. Bicycle exercise induced a marked increase in t-PA antigen (P < 0.001 for both groups) which did not differ between groups. A more prominent rise in t-PA activity was observed among the FH patients during the exercise (1.71 +/- 0.99 vs 0.85 +/- 0.89 IU/ml, P = 0.24). Neither the basal level of thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT) nor the significant increase (P < 0.001 for both groups) induced by exercise differed between groups. A high t-PA antigen level may precede clinical manifestations of cardiovascular disease in patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia.

Tissue-factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is a potent inhibitor of extrinsic coagulation, which is mainly associated with lipoproteins in circulating blood. Gel filtration of human plasma confirmed the presence of three peaks in which approximately 10%, 70%, and 20% of total TFPI activity was retained. Precipitation of very-low-density lipoproteins and low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) in plasma by polyethylene glycol almost completely abolished peaks and I and II. LDL isolated by ultracentrifugation revealed two peaks of TFPI after gel filtration that coeluted with peaks I and II, respectively, from gel filtration of total plasma. TFPI activity in peaks I and II was also precipitated by anti-apolipoprotein B antibodies. Fourteen patients with familial hypercholesterolemia had higher plasma TFPI activity than did age- and sex-matched normolipemic control subjects (1.45 +/- 0.27 U/mL versus 0.80 +/- 0.09 U/mL, P < .001). Plasma TFPI was correlated with LDL cholesterol (r = .73, P < .001) and apolipoprotein B (r = .69, P < .001). No association was found with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol or apolipoprotein A-I. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial among the familial hypercholesterolemia patients, lovastatin alone or in combination with fish oil concentrate lowered plasma TFPI in parallel with LDL cholesterol. Gel filtration of plasma from these patients demonstrated a specific drop in apolipoprotein B-TFPI complexes, whereas TFPI not associated with lipoproteins was unchanged. This study demonstrated that plasma TFPI was associated with and regulated by LDL in plasma from healthy subjects and patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.

This study aimed at evaluating the effects of a dynamic physical training programme on circulating levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH), and beta-endorphin (beta-EP) after high-intensity training for 6 weeks (60 min twice a week) and after low-intensity training (home-training) for another 6 months in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in healthy subjects. Additionally, differences in neuropeptide levels between the two groups were studied. A total of 30 patients with RA were randomly allocated to the study, 15 in the training group (TG) and 15 in the control group (CG). In addition, 20 healthy subjects (10 in TG; 10 in CG) participated. In addition to the biochemical analyses, the following variables were assessed for the RA group: pain and disability (Stanford health assessment questionnaire), joint tenderness (Ritchie articular index), disease activity, muscle function, aerobic capacity, sociodemographic data and attitudes. The results obtained at the start revealed significant differences (p0.05) between RA patients and healthy subjects concerning CRH levels, RA patients showing the lower levels (RA-group Md = 24 pmol/L, healthy group Md = 29 pmol/L). No significant differences concerning beta-LPH and beta-EP were found here. After the high-intensity training period, a significant increase of the CRH levels were found for the RA-TG (pretest Md = 24 pmol/L, after 6 weeks Md = 27 pmol/L, p0.05). No such results were found for the healthy-TG or the control groups. Concerning beta-EP, significant differences between the RA-TG and healthy-TG were found after the training. RA patients generally showing higher levels as compared with the healthy (RA-group Md = 42 pmol/L, healthy group Md = 36 pmol/L, p0.05). The same pattern was found for the beta-LPH levels. In conclusion, the effects of physical training on circulating neuropeptides remain still incompletely examined, and there is no definite answer to the question whether increased beta-EP levels are good or bad.

As prognosis in rheumatoid arthritis has been shown to be much poorer than formerly believed, new treatment strategies have been proposed. However, trials of these strategies require improved evaluation of their effect on the disease course and its consequences for the patient. International guidelines and a Swedish model for such evaluation are presented in the article.

Twenty patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and elevated serum lipids were randomized into 2 groups of 10 to receive encapsulated preparations of either a concentrated ethylester form of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or corn oil in doses of 6 g per day, given double blindly for approximately two months prior to coronary bypass surgery. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced monocyte thromboplastin synthesis was studied during the preoperative period and one week following surgery. The ability of n-3 fatty acids to modify tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) and tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) was also evaluated along with fibrinogen and thrombin-antithrombin III (TAT) complexes. No significant changes were noted preoperatively. Monocyte reactivity, PAI-1, fibrinogen and TAT increased significantly after surgery. These changes were not modified by preoperative loading with n-3 fatty acids.

The pseudotetrasaccharide acarbose has high affinity for the active site (Ki,app = 1 microM) and low affinity for a secondary site (Kd = 2.3 mM) in barley alpha-amylase 1, distinguished by inhibition kinetics and spectral perturbation. Mutants of putative catalytic residues, D180N, E205Q, and D291N, are inactive and display low affinity for acarbose-Sepharose. H93N and H290N mutants, at invariant residues, have kcat/Km for p-nitrophenylmaltoheptaoside of 0.3 and 1.2% of wild-type. A corresponding 370- and 85-fold increased Ki,app for acarbose and a lack of shifts in pH activity profiles indicate that these histidines participate in transition state stabilization but not directly in catalysis. This finding agrees with H bonding to OH groups of the valienamine ring of acarbose in the three-dimensional structure. Loss of inhibition above pH 6 supports that acarbose is most potent in protonated form. The low affinity site contains Trp278 and Trp279, known to bind cyclomaltoheptaose. While the W279A mutant has 10-fold decreased affinity for starch granules, production of Trp278 mutants failed. The invariant Trp278 is perhaps critical for stability or folding in cereal alpha-amylases.

Dopamine has an age-dependent natriuretic and diuretic effect. We have investigated the ontogeny of the dopamine response on adenylate cyclase activity and Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity in two different cell populations in the infant (10-d-old) and the adult (40-d-old) rat kidney. Basal- and forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in tubular suspensions of renal cortex was 5.4-fold (p < 0.05) higher in the 10-d-old rats than in the 40-d-old rats but unchanged between the ages in a suspension of medullary tubules. The dopamine-1-specific agonist fenoldopam did not stimulate adenylate cyclase activity in the cortical cells from 10-d-old rats but did stimulate activity 51 +/- 16% (p < 0.05) in the 40-d-old rats. In the medullary suspension, fenoldopam stimulated adenylate cyclase activity by 43.5 +/- 5% (p < 0.001) in the 10-d-old rats and by 32.0 +/- 7% (p < 0.01) in the 40-d-old rats. In the isolated proximal convoluted tubule, dopamine inhibited Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity in both the 10-d-old (34 +/- 3%, p < 0.001) and 40-d-old rats (44 +/- 7%, p < 0.001). In contrast, in the medullary thick ascending limb of Henle, inhibition of Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity by fenoldopam was more pronounced in the 10-d-old (56 +/- 6%, p < 0.001) than in the 40-d-old rat (33 +/- 6%, p < 0.001). In summary, the renal tubular effects of dopamine on adenylate cyclase and Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity change during postnatal development in a cell-specific manner.

Conflicting results have been reported about the absorption of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) either as an ethyl ester (EE) or in a triglyceride (TG) formula. We decided to conduct a randomized double-blind study to compare the effects of EE and TG on plasma fatty acids, platelet function and haemostasis. Thirty-one healthy normolipaemic men were allocated to receive fish oil concentrate either as EE or TG with equal amounts of EPA (2.2 g and 2.2 g, respectively) and DHA (1.2 g and 1.4 g, respectively) or placebo daily for 7 weeks. Total cholesterol and the triglyceride level were not influenced differently by the two compounds. Repeated measurement ANOVA revealed a difference between TG and EE regarding incorporation of arachidonic acid (P = 0.034) and EPA (P = 0.007) into plasma cholesteryl esters. A discrimination not observed within plasma phospholipids. Both formulas had equal inhibitory effects on collagen-induced platelet aggregation and thromboxane B2 (TxB2) production in whole blood. Fibrinogen decreased 16% in EE (P = 0.034) and 12% in the placebo group (P = 0.11), but variance analysis of delta change during intervention did not indicate differences between groups. It is concluded that TG and EE fish oils are well incorporated into plasma lipids and have similarly beneficial influence one platelet function in men.

Summary This study is an intermediate evaluation of early surgical-orthodontic treatment in 7 patients with unior bilateral hypoplastic mandibular growth due to juvenile chronic arthritis. Resection of the condylar heads and reconstruction with costochondral grafts was undertaken between 10 and 14 years of age and followed by orthodontic treatment. At the latest follow-up, 2–4.5 years postoperatively, all patients showed mandibular growth. Some even showed a tendency towards progenia. The scheduling of the surgery in relation to completion of growth seemed to be of importance in relation to the magnitude of mandibular growth. At the latest check-up, only one patient had attained skeletal maturation and a more long-term follow-up is needed before this method can be finally evaluated.

This case report demonstrates that the position of malaligned osseointegrated implants can be corrected by a segmental osteotomy procedure with no loss of implants or bone support. The patient was a healthy teenage girl who sustained facial trauma with loss of teeth and alveolar bone. The defect was initially bone grafted. Brånemark implants were simultaneously placed in the graft. Their initial unfavorable positions and inclinations were later corrected by a segmental osteotomy.

The accuracy of the Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) approximation and its linearized version is investigated by comparison to results obtained from Monte Carlo simulations. The dependence of the calcium binding constant of the protein calbindin as a function of salt concentration and mutation is used as a test case. The protein is modeled as a collection of charged and neutral spheres immersed in the electrolyte solution. The PB equation is solved using a finite difference technique on a grid in a spherical polar coordinate system, which is the preferred choice for a globular protein like calbindin. Both MC and PB give quantitative agreement with experimental results. The linearized PB equation is almost as accurate, but it becomes less reliable in systems with divalent ions. However, the linearized PB equation fails to describe the concentration profiles for cations and anions outside the protein even in a 1:1 salt solution.

The minimum incidence of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and giant cell arteritis (GCA) was studied during one year in a stable Caucasian population in southern Sweden. The data obtained show an incidence rate higher than that previously found in Sweden and almost as high as the rate recently found in Denmark. In addition, the finding of a low incidence of ocular complications during 3 years of follow-up suggests the positive influence of training primary health care physicians to identify and treat these patients early. Furthermore, the previously described transition from pure PMR into GCA was not seen which might imply a further effect of early treatment.

Svensson Tony B. The essentials of keeping a training log. In: Les Cahiers de l'INSEP, n°24, 1999. 2e Congrès international de triathlon de l’INSEP – 2nd INSEP international triathlon Congress pp. 148-149.

Monte Carlo simulation is used to calculate the free energy of binding of calcium ions to the native and several mutant forms of bovine calbindin D(9K) in salt solution. The simulations are performed in the canonical ensemble wherein free energies are calculated with a modified Widom method. The protein is modelled as a set of fixed hard spheres of fractional or unit charge with the surrounding solution as a dielectric continuum containing counterions and added salt particles. The interior of the protein is assumed to have the same dielectric permittivity as the solvent, which turns out to be an excellent approximation. Indeed, this simple model is able to predict accurately experimentally measured shifts in the calcium binding constants of up to five orders of magnitude, due to mutations and added salt.

The effects of estradiol and progesterone added to the growth medium of human umbilical vein endothelial cells for 72 h on the formation and release of prostacyclin were investigated. The influence on collagen-induced platelet aggregation and on the platelet formation of thromboxane A2 following aggregation, of the growth medium collected before and after thrombin stimulation of the endothelial cells, was studied simultaneously. Under basal conditions, endothelial cells grown with progesterone released significantly less prostacyclin into the growth medium than did controls (p < 0.05). Following thrombin stimulation, endothelial cells grown with estradiol (p < 0.05) or a combination of estradiol and progesterone (p < 0.01) contained significantly less prostacyclin than controls. No significant effects on the platelet aggregation or platelet thromboxane formation could be found. This study indicates a lowering effect of both female sex hormones on the endothelial cell prostacyclin formation and release. This may be of significance for the increased risk of vascular disease in pregnant women and oral contraceptive users, but can hardly explain the consequences of the hormonal loss occurring at the menopause.

Female patients with symptoms of urinary tract infection (n = 1136) were studied in primary health care with respect to (a) clinical symptoms as predictors of bacteriuria; (b) relation between aetiological agent and clinical picture, especially for P-fimbriated Escherichia coli; and (c) clinical findings in cases with 10(2)- less than 10(5) CFU/ml of E. coli. Prevalence of bacteriuria (greater than or equal to 10(5) CFU/ml) was 61%. Concurrence of urgency/frequency and dysuria, short duration of symptoms and hematuria increased the probability of bacteriuria and were also significantly more frequent among cases with low counts of E. coli (10(2) less than 10(5) CFU/ml in pure culture or mixed flora) than among cases with sterile urine, indicating an aetiological role of E. coli in many of those cases. Infections with P-fimbriated E. coli were as benign as the P-fimbriae-negative. The rate of P-fimbriation was 29% in specimens containing greater than or equal to 10(5) CFU/ml of E. coli, 30% among specimens with less than 10(5) CFU/ml in pure culture and 10% in specimens containing less than 10(5) CFU/ml of E. coli in mixed culture. Patients infected with Klebsiella, Enterobacter or Proteus did not show a higher rate of previous urinary tract disease or anomalies.

A transition structure between a coplanar line and a rectangular waveguide using a three-step Chebyshev transformer is proposed. The structure was designed, manufactured and tested in the X-band. Measurement results show good agreement with the simulation results. A bandwidth of 32% with a return loss better than -20 dB and an insertion loss better than -1 dB over the X-band were obtained.

The beneficial influence of Sn doping of Si materials on the radiation hardness has triggered interest in this material. It is therefore essential to have a good insight in the impact of Sn on the fundamental defect behavior. This report gives a systematic study of the effect of the Sn impurities on the generation and annealing kinetics of oxygen‐containing thermal donors formed during a 450°C anneal step. Special attention is given to the influence of a thermal preheat treatment at 800°C and the important role played by oxygen microfluctuations. The latter act as precursors for the thermal donor formation. The original Kaiser‐Frisch‐Reiss model, developed for explaining the experimental results in Sn‐free Czochralski Si and based on hetero‐ and homogeneous precipitation processes, points to the beneficial role of Sn doping on the thermal donor properties. © 2000 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.

We studied the initial uptake of L-T3 in erythrocytes isolated from normal subjects and patients with abnormal thyroid function. The uptake was saturable, with a mean maximum velocity (Vmax) of 3.60 pmol/min. 108 cells and a Km of 248 nmol/L in normal subjects. Women had a somewhat lower Km but a similar Vmax compared to those in men. The Vmax was increased in patients with hyperthyroidism and decreased in those with hypothyroidism. Successful treatment lowered the initially high Vmax in hyperthyroid patients and raised the low Vmax in hypothyroid patients. One subject with the rare syndrome of thyroid hormone resistance had a Vmax in the upper normal range. The mean Km values of the hyperthyroid and hypothyroid groups and of the subject with thyroid hormone resistance were similar to that of the normal subjects. The results indicate that the initial saturable uptake of T3 by the human erythrocyte is increased in hyperthyroidism and decreased in hypothyroidism.

The secondary‐electron yield from polycrystalline aluminum induced by protons, noble‐gas ions, and aluminum ions has been measured as a function of ion energy in the range of 10 to 350 keV and as a function of angle of ion incidence in the interval of 0 ° to 70 °. The experimental data are compared with a theory of electron emission from solids proposed in our previous works. The agreement is good providing additional support for the theory.

The total yield of secondary electrons emitted from a polycrystalline copper target during bombardment by protons, noble gas ions and copper ions has been studied in the energy range 10–400 keV. Comparison is made with a new theory for secondary electron emission in which the energy dependence of the yield is explained in terms of energyy transferred to the electrons in a surface layer of the target. Both the energy transferred from the ion to the target electrons and the energy transferred from the recoiling target atoms to the electrons are taken into account. Within the validity region of the theory the agreement between the theory and the experiment is good. The experimental equipment and procedure are described.

The secondary electron yield from a polycrystalline silver target has been measured as a function of ion energy in the range 10–160 keV using Se + and Te + ions, and in the range 20–320 keV using Se 2 + and Te 2 + ions. The yields for the corresponding atomic and molecular ions, with equal energy per atom, have been compared. At low energies per atom the ratio between the yields for the molecular and atomic ions was equal to two while at higher energies the ratio between the yields decreased with energy. An explanation of this dependence is obtained by investigating how the charge states of the atomic molecular constituents affect the energy deposited in electronic excitation.

A neon ion beam has been used to regrow epitaxially a ~1700-\AA{}-thick amorphous surface layer in silicon on sapphire at low temperatures. The damaged layer was produced by implanting 80-keV silicon ions to a dose of $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{15}$ ions/${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ at room temperature. The channeling technique with 315-keV protons was used to investigate the depth distribution of the damage, and disorder depth profiles were extracted from the backscattering spectra using calculations based on multiplescattering theory. The epitaxial regrowth was quantitatively determined from the extracted profiles. Many of the parameters which influence the regrowth rate, such as dose, dose rate, target temperature, energy, and random or channeled direction for the annealing beam, were varied. The results were compared with energy deposition calculations which indicated strongly that the annealing rate depends on the energy deposited in elastic collisions by the annealing ion beam. A defect annealing model based on vacancy diffusion is discussed.

Among a total of 41 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) 11 of 14 patients with active disease had reduced capacity (p less than 0.05) to opsonify Staphylococcus aureus in undiluted sera, as compared with nine of 27 patients with inactive disease (p less than 0.02). The opsonic reduction in the active patients increased with the number of active organ systems (p less than 0.002). No correlation was found between reduced opsonisation and corticosteroid treatment, or serum concentrations of complement components (C) of the classical pathway, or bacteria-associated activated C3. When the cryoglobulin fraction of immune complexes (IC) was removed, normal opsonic capacity was restored, and the opsonic reduction could be transferred with the cryoglobulins to pooled serum. Increased IC values, as measured by C1q binding assay, were found in conjunction with reduced opsonic capacity (p less than 0.04). Since opsonisation in SLE sera of a protein A deficient strain of S. aureus was normal, reduced S. aureus phagocytosis in SLE sera may be explained by IC binding to staphylococcal protein A.

Ion-beam induced epitaxial regrowth of radiation damaged layers in silicon on sapphire has been performed at low temperatures using 300 keV 20 Ne + ions. The damage was produced by implanting 300 keV 29 Si + ions to a dose of 1×10 15 ions/cm 2 at room temperature. The depth distributions of damage were measured by the channeling technique. The implantations preserved the crystal structure in a thin surface layer and the main epitaxial regrowth proceeded from this layer towards the silicon/sapphire interface. The amount of epitaxial regrowth was determined from the backscattering spectra using damage depth profile calculations. Comparison of the experimental results with energy deposition calculations indicated that the annealing of the damaged layers was related to the energy deposited in elastic collisions by the annealing ion beam.

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of albumin-bound fatty acids on the anti-platelet effects of endothelial cells. Primary cultures of human endothelial cells (ECM), grown in confluent monolayers, were incubated with plasma or growth medium enriched with albumin-bound fatty acids (FA) for 2-20 h. The effects of ECM on ADP-induced platelet aggregation (PA) and collagen-induced PA and prostaglandin synthesis in platelet-rich plasma were tested. ECM released an inhibitor of platelet reactions which resembled the activity of PGI2 (prostacyclin). The inhibitory activity was increased by preincubation of ECM with arachidonic acid (AA). A moderate decrease of the activity was obtained by incubation with long-chain saturated, monoenoic and dienoic unsaturated fatty acids. A pronounced decrease of the inhibitor was obtained by incubation with di-homo-gamma-linolenic acid (DHLA). Paired combinations of AA with the other fatty acids in the incubation medium partially restored the inhibitory activity obtained by the separate FA. The stimulation of the inhibitor by AA was dose dependent and high concentrations of AA reduced this activity. The present study indicates that the quantity and quality of the plasma free fatty acids can affect the endothelial cells' ability to act as a non-thrombogenic surface.