Defending the Sex/Gender Binary: The Role of Gender Identification and Need for Closure

In the Western world, gender/sex is traditionally viewed as binary, with people falling into one of two categories: male or female. This view of gender/sex has started to change, triggering some resistance. This research investigates psychological mechanisms underlying that resistance. Study 1 ( N = 489, UK) explored the role of individual gender identification in defense of, and attempts to reinforce, the gender/sex binary. Study 2 ( N = 415, Sweden) further considered the role of individual differences in need for closure. Both gender identification and need for closure were associated with binary views of gender/sex, prejudice against nonbinary people, and opposition to the use of gender-neutral pronouns. Policies that aim to abolish gender/sex categories, but not policies that advocate for a third gender/sex category, were seen as particularly unfair among people high in gender identification. These findings are an important step in understanding the psychology of resistance to change around binary systems of gender/sex.

High-resolution and high-throughput protocols for measuring drug/human serum albumin interactions using BIACORE

Characterizing how chemical compounds bind to human serum albumin (HSA) is essential in evaluating drug candidates. Using warfarin as a test system, we validate the application of BIACORE SPR biosensors to reliably determine binding constants for drug/HSA interactions. The binding responses for warfarin over HSA surfaces were extremely reproducible even though warfarin is small compared to the size of the immobilized protein. At high concentrations, warfarin bound at more than one site on HSA, which is consistent with its known binding properties. The affinity we determined for the high-affinity site (K(25 degrees C)(d) = 3.7 +/- 1.2 microM), as well as the dissociation rate constant (k(25 degrees C)(d) = 1.2 s(-1)), are also consistent with binding constants determined previously. These results validate the biosensor technology and illustrate how BIACORE can be used to study drug/HSA interactions in a high-resolution mode. Using a set of 10 test compounds, we present a protocol for determining equilibrium dissociation constants for HSA in a high-throughput mode. Our method involves working at low compound concentrations and fitting the equilibrium data for all compounds simultaneously. We show that the % bound values determined by SPR correlate with the values determined by solution-based methods. The ability to examine directly the binding of small molecules (130-800 Da), coupled with minimal sample requirements and automated instrumentation, makes BIACORE technology applicable for evaluating drug/HSA interactions.

Extending the range of rate constants available from BIACORE: interpreting mass transport-influenced binding data

Surface-based binding assays are often influenced by the transport of analyte to the sensor surface. Using simulated data sets, we test a simple two-compartment model to see if its description of transport and binding is sufficient to accurately analyze BIACORE data. First we present a computer model that can generate realistic BIACORE data. This model calculates the laminar flow of analyte within the flow cell, its diffusion both perpendicular and parallel to the sensor surface, and the reversible chemical reaction between analyte and immobilized reactant. We use this computer model to generate binding data under a variety of conditions. An analysis of these data sets with the two-compartment model demonstrates that good estimates of the intrinsic reaction rate constants are recovered even when mass transport influences the binding reaction. We also discuss the conditions under which the two-compartment model can be used to determine the diffusion coefficient of the analyte. Our results illustrate that this model can significantly extend the range of association rate constants that can be accurately determined from BIACORE.

Interpreting kinetic rate constants from optical biosensor data recorded on a decaying surface

A capturing assay was used to monitor a Fab-antigen interaction using a BIACORE optical biosensor. The antigen, a truncated single-site mutant (F43V) version of the CD4 receptor, was captured onto the sensor surface using an immobilized nonneutralizing monoclonal antibody. While this assay design created an oriented antigen surface, the antigen slowly dissociated during subsequent binding of the Fab, thus complicating the binding responses. In this paper, we illustrate how binding events occurring on a decaying surface can be accurately described by globally fitting the response data to a model that accounts for the background surface decay. Support for the method was obtained by showing the equilibrium dissociation constant calculated from the kinetic rate constants (Kd = 2.20 +/- 0.01 nM) was similar to the value measured in solution using titration calorimetry (Kd = 2.6 +/- 0.5 nM). The ability to interpret rate constants from decaying surfaces significantly extends the types of experimental systems that can be quantitatively studied on optical biosensors.

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection afflicts millions of people in the United States and worldwide. We examine the epidemiology of HCV infection, the molecular biology of the virus, the pathophysiology of infection, the clinical diagnosis and manifestations of infection, and the treatment of HCV infection.

Kinetic analysis of a protein antigen-antibody interaction limited by mass transport on an optical biosensor

Using BIAcore technology, we determined the rate constants for a protein antigen-antibody interaction that was mass transport limited on the optical biosensor. The antigen consisted of a soluble form of the human T-cell receptor CD4 (two amino terminal domains, D1D2) and the antibody was an anti-CD4 monoclonal from monkey engineered with the constant domains from human IgG1. High quality response data were obtained for this interaction by orienting the attachment of the antibody on the sensor surface and correcting for instrument artifacts with control experiments. Using numerical integration and global fitting, we demonstrate that a mass transport limited reaction was the only model of those tested that described well D1D2 binding to three different surface densities of the antibody. Statistical profiling techniques showed that the error space and correlation for the parameters in the non-linear model were essentially linear, but only when the model was simultaneously fitted to data from multiple surface densities. The "on" and "off" rate constants (1.2 x 10(-6) M-1 s-1 and 2.9 x 10(-4) s-1) determined from the kinetic analysis predict an equilibrium dissociation constant (KD = 0.24 +/- 0.01 nM) that agrees with the value measured in solution by titration calorimetry (KD = 0.2 +/- 0.1 nM). The results indicate that, although the D1D2-antibody reaction is partially controlled by mass transport on the optical biosensor, by optimizing the experimental design and analyzing data from multiple surface densities it is possible to determine accurate estimates of the intrinsic equilibrium and kinetic rate constants.

Kinetic analysis of ligand binding to interleukin-2 receptor complexes created on an optical biosensor surface

The interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) is composed of at least three cell surface subunits, IL-2R alpha, IL-2R beta, and IL-2R gamma c. On activated T-cells, the alpha- and beta-subunits exist as a preformed heterodimer that simultaneously captures the IL-2 ligand as the initial event in formation of the signaling complex. We used BIAcore to compare the binding of IL-2 to biosensor surfaces containing either the alpha-subunit, the beta-subunit, or both subunits together. The receptor ectodomains were immobilized in an oriented fashion on the dextran matrix through unique solvent-exposed thiols. Equilibrium analysis of the binding data established IL-2 dissociation constants for the individual alpha- and beta-subunits of 37 and 480 nM, respectively. Surfaces with both subunits immobilized, however, contained a receptor site of much higher affinity, suggesting the ligand was bound in a ternary complex with the alpha- and beta-subunits, similar to that reported for the pseudo-high-affinity receptor on cells. Because the binding responses had the additional complexity of being mass transport limited, obtaining accurate estimates for the kinetic rate constants required global fitting of the data sets from multiple surface densities of the receptors. A detailed kinetic analysis indicated that the higher-affinity binding sites detected on surfaces containing both alpha- and beta-subunits resulted from capture of IL-2 by a preformed complex of these subunits. Therefore, the biosensor analysis closely mimicked the recognition properties reported for these subunits on the cell surface, providing a convenient and powerful tool to assess the structure-function relationships of this and other multiple subunit receptor systems.

Interpreting complex binding kinetics from optical biosensors: a comparison of analysis by linearization, the integrated rate equation, and numerical integration

The binding kinetics recorded for many interactions using BIAcore and IAsys optical biosensors do not fit a simple bimolecular interaction model (A + B<-->AB). Three methods of analysis have been used to derive estimates for kinetic constants from such data:linearization, curve fitting using the integrated rate equation, and curve fitting using numerical integration. To test how well these methods could interpret complex binding kinetics, we generated and analyzed simulated data for two systems, one involving a two-state conformational change (A + B<-->AB<-->(AB)*) and a second involving surface heterogeneity (A + B<-->AB and A + B*<-->AB*). The linearization method assumed a simple bimolecular interaction and was inadequate at interpreting these systems as both produced complex kinetics in the association and dissociation phases. The sum of two integrated rate equations correctly modeled surface heterogeneity; but, when applied nonglobally, it fit the data from the conformational change system equally well and thus provided misleading results. Numerical integration allowed a choice of model for analysis and was therefore the only method capable of returning accurate estimates of rate constants for both complex systems. Global analysis, in combination with numerical integration, provided a stringent test of the assumed model. However, this stringency suggests that its application to experimental systems will require high-quality biosensor data.

Analysis of the interaction between human interleukin-5 and the soluble domain of its receptor using a surface plasmon resonance biosensor

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor was used to study the interaction of human interleukin-5 (hIL5) with its receptor. IL5 is a major growth factor in the production and activation of eosinophils. The receptor for IL5 is composed of two subunits, alpha and beta. The alpha subunit provides the specificity for IL5 and consists of an extracellular soluble domain, a single transmembrane region and a cytoplasmic tail. We expressed the soluble domain of the human IL5 receptor alpha subunit (shIL5R alpha) and human IL5 (hIL5) in Drosophila. Both hIL5 and shIL5R alpha were immobilized separately through amine groups onto the carboxylated dextran layer of sensor chips of the BIAcore (Pharmacia) SPR biosensor after N-hydroxysuccinimide/carbodiimide activation of the chip surface. Interactions were measured for the complementary macromolecule, either shIL5R alpha or hIL5, in solution. Kinetics of binding of soluble analyte to immobilized ligand were measured and from this the association rate constant, dissociation rate constant and equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) were derived. With immobilized shIL5R alpha and soluble hIL5, the measured Kd was 2 nM. A similar value was obtained by titration calorimetry. The Kd for Drosophila expressed receptor and IL5 is higher than the values reported for proteins expressed in different systems, likely due to differences in the methods of interaction analysis used or differences in protein glycosylation. Receptor-IL5 binding was relatively pH independent between pH 6.5 and 9.5. Outside this range, the dissociation rate increased with comparatively little increase in association rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of pharmacists on health care outcomes in hospitalized patients

The cost-effectiveness of pharmacists and their effect on inpatient health care outcomes were evaluated. For one year, data were collected on all patients receiving care from general medicine and general surgery teams at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C. Two of five medicine teams and one of three surgery teams included a pharmacist. Teams that included a pharmacist were compared with teams that did not, in terms of patients' length of stay (LOS), mortality, and drug cost per admission. Data were compared for 3081 patients and collected for another 557 who were not included in the comparative study design. Health care teams that included a pharmacist had a shorter log LOS and lower log drug cost per admission but no difference in mortality. The average cost savings for teams that included a pharmacist was $377 per inpatient admission, and the benefit-to-cost ratio was 6.03:1. The inclusion of pharmacists on health care teams was cost-effective and provided a favorable benefit-to-cost ratio.

The primary structure of the subunits of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase/acetyl-CoA synthase from Clostridium thermoaceticum

CO dehydrogenase/acetyl-coenzyme A synthase (CODH) is the central enzyme in the pathway of acetyl-coenzyme A biosynthesis in Clostridium thermoaceticum. It catalyzes the interconversion of CO and CO2 and the synthesis of acetyl-coenzyme A from the methylated corrinoid/iron sulfur protein, CO, and coenzyme A. It is a nickel-iron-sulfur protein and contains two subunits in the form (alpha beta)3. Reported here is the cloning and sequencing of the genes for both subunits of CODH. The gene for the alpha subunit codes for a protein with 729 amino acids and a molecular weight of 81,730, and the beta gene for a protein with 674 amino acids and a molecular weight of 72,928. The alpha subunit follows the beta subunit by 23 bases and the genes for both subunits are preceded by a sequence which is similar to the Shine-Dalgarno sequence of Escherichia coli. No significant amino acid sequence homology has been found to any known sequence. Labeling CODH with 2,4-dinitrophenylsulfenyl chloride and isolating labeled peptide fragments demonstrated that a tryptophan, residue 418 of the alpha subunit, is protected by coenzyme A and thus may be considered a potential part of the coenzyme A site.

Procainamide-induced myasthenic crisis

We describe a case of procainamide-induced respiratory failure in a myasthenic patient with no prior history of respiratory weakness. Respiratory failure was induced secondary to procainamide alone since no N-acetyl-procainamide level was detectable. The patient's strength rapidly improved and he was successfully extubated 12 h after the offending dose.