Configuration development study of the X-24C hypersonic research airplane

Bottom line results were made of a three-phase study to determine the feasibility of designing, building, and operating, and maintaining an air-launched high performance aircraft capable of cruising at speeds up to Mach 8 for short durations. The results show that Lockalloy heat-sink structure affords the capability for a 'work-horse' vehicle which can serve as an excellent platform for this research. It was further concluded that the performance of a blended wing body configuration surpassed that of a lifting body design for typical X-24C missions. The cost of a two vehicle program, less engines, B-52 modification and contractor support after delivery, can be kept within $70M (in Jan. 1976 dollars)

Immune induction of human monocyte plasminogen activator. Characteristics of an assay for cell-mediated immunity

We characterized immunologic induction of monocyte plasminogen activator (PA) to determine whether assay for PA induction reliably detected cell-mediated immunity (CMI). Mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) were incubated in teflon-lined culture tubes for 1-4 days in the presence or absence of phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A) or Candida antigen. PA activity of the monocytes in those suspensions was then measured using a micro fibrin plate assay.Monocytes in stimulated MNL had more PA activity than monocytes in unstimulated MNL. Maximal differences between stimulated and unstimulated cells were seen after 2 days of culture. Dose-response studies demonstrated that PA induction occurred at submitogenic concentrations of stimuli. Peak induction was seen using suboptimally mitogenic concentrations of PHA, Con A and Candida antigen. PA induction in response to Candida stimulation corresponded with skin test results. More than 90% of healthy adults tested had positive assays to all stimuli. LPS, in picogram concentrations, induced PA activity in the absence of lymphocytes, but such induction was prevented by polymyxin B.Supernates from activated MNL also induced PA in purified monocytes. This indirect assay of PA induction was less sensitive than direct assay of the MNL. A standard indirect assay for leukocyte inhibitory factor (LIF) was also less sensitive than the direct PA induction assay.The direct PA induction assay is sensitive and convenient and requires small volumes of blood. It may prove valuable in in vitro analysis of cell-mediated immunity in health and disease.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25668/1/0000220.pd

Antibodies against heart muscle and nuclear constituents in cardiomyopathy,

The prevalence of HAB and ANA was determined in eight patients with idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis (IHSS) and 35 patients with cardiomyopathy (CM). HAB was found in 88 per cent of patients with IHSS and in 17 per cent of those with CM. Antinuclear antibody was found in 63 per cent of patients with IHSS and 43 per cent of those with CM. Aging alone was not responsible for the high prevalence of ANA in the former group, but may be partly so in the latter. There was an increased tendency for women in both groups to have ANA. An increased serum concentration of IgM was also observed in women in the IHSS and CM groups. Serum concentrations of IgG and IgA, precipitating antibodies to nuclear constituents, rheumatoid factors, and a positive serologic test for syphilis were not increased in patients with idiopathic cardiomyopathy. Positivity to HAB and ANA did not remain constant and was not present frequently in sera in follow-up studies of these patients. No instance of a negative test becoming positive was recorded for either HAB or ANA. The high prevalence of ANA in patients with IHSS and CM and an increased prevalence of HAB in patients with IHSS may suggest that an autoimmune disturbance is operative in these forms of cardiomyopathy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34168/1/0000456.pd

AUTOERYTHROCYTE SENSITISATION IN A YOUNG BOY

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33939/1/0000206.pd

Immunity in dilated cardiomyopathy

Although several immunologic parameters have been found to be abnormal, their precise relationship to the cause of the disease remains unclear. It is believed that a virus initiating a bout of myocarditis may play a role in the perpetuation of the chronic phase, probably via immunologic mediation. A selection acquired defect or damage to a subpopulation of suppressor T lymphocytes is possible, providing the basis for the development of an autoimmune disorder. Studies in mice have shown a clear link between active viral myocarditis and the subsequent development of cardiomyopathy. However, the trigger mechanism that initiates the cardiomyopathy is still elusive. Specific antigens, possibly altered virus or damaged cardiac tissue, may be playing the role of the “hidden or cloistered” antigen in eliciting the immunologic reactions through a cytotoxic T-cell mechanism. Identification and isolation of the specific “antigen” in question could resolve the dilemmas about the immunopathogenesis of cardiomyopathy in humans.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41584/1/380_2005_Article_BF02072394.pd

Pathogenic implications of age of onset in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

An analysis of age of onset in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis was performed in the last 300 children seen in our clinic. There was a peak age of onset in girls at 1 to 3 years. Distribution of age of onset in boys was bimodal with the first peak at 2 years of age and the second at 9 years. There was no accentuation of frequency in either sex in the 10- to 14-year age group. The distribution of age of onset was bimodal in both monarticular and polyarticular onset of disease, but no particular modal age of onset was seen with systemic onset of disease. It is possible that these data reflect that JRA is not a homogeneous disease, or that there are age-sex related differences in host susceptibility or pathogenoc agents.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/37725/1/1780180309_ftp.pd

Resolved Mid-IR Emission in the Narrow Line Region of NGC 4151

We present subarcsecond resolution mid infrared images of NGC 4151 at 10.8 micron and 18.2 micron. These images were taken with the University of Florida mid-IR camera/spectrometer OSCIR at the Gemini North 8-m telescope. We resolve emission at both 10.8 micron and 18.2 micron extending ~ 3.5" across at a P.A. of ~ 60 degrees. This coincides with the the narrow line region of NGC 4151 as observed in [OIII] by the Hubble Space Telescope. The most likely explanation for this extended mid-IR emission is dust in the narrow line region heated by a central engine. We find no extended emission associated with the proposed torus and place an upper limit on its mid-IR size of less than or equal to ~ 35 pc.Comment: accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 19 pages including 5 figure