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Twenty male Wistar rats were trained under an alternating-lever cyclic-ratio (ALCR) schedule of food reinforcement. When responding showed no trends, each subject was subcutaneously implanted with an Alzet osmotic mini-pump, connected to a chronic indwelling cannula extending into the lateral ventricle of the brain. The mini-pumps were primed to infuse 0.25 microl lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1.0 microg/0.25 ml) or 0.25 microl artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) per hour and were implanted for 28 days. LPS infusion produced behavioural deficits which chronic ibuprofen treatment (40 mg/kg every 12 h) alleviated. Infusion of LPS induced R 1282-positive amyloid deposits, and activation of microglia and astrocytes. Ibuprofen treatment reduced the numbers of activated microglia, and withdrawal of ibuprofen resulted in an increase in activated microglia; however, ibuprofen treatment had no effect on numbers of activated astrocytes in the LPS-infused subjects.

It has been suggested that inflammatory processes may play a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatments may provide protection against the onset of AD. In the current study male Wistar rats were trained in two-lever operant chambers under an alternating lever cyclic-ratio ratio (ALCR) schedule. When responding showed no trends, subjects were divided into groups. One group was bilaterally injected into the CA3 area of the hippocampus with 5 microl of aggregated beta-amyloid (Abeta) suspension, and one group was bilaterally injected into the CA3 area of the hippocampus with 5 microl of sterile saline. Subgroups were treated twice daily with 0.1 ml (40 mg/kg) ibuprofen administered orally. The results indicated that chronic administration of ibuprofen protected against detrimental behavioural effects following aggregated Abeta injections. Withdrawal of ibuprofen treatment from aggregated Abeta-injected subjects produced a decline in behavioural performance to the level of the non-treated aggregated Abeta-injected group. Ibuprofen treatment reduced the numbers of reactive astrocytes following aggregated Abeta injection, and withdrawal of ibuprofen resulted in an increase of reactive astrocytes. These results suggest that induced inflammatory processes may play a role in AD, and that ibuprofen treatment may protect against some of the symptoms seen in AD.

In situ vitrification (ISV) is a thermal process that converts contaminated soil into a highly leach-resistant material resembling natural obsidian. The ISV process was developed by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL)(a) for the US Department of Energy (DOE) to treat soils contaminated with transuranics. Since 1980, ISV has grown from a concept to an innovative technology through bench-, engineering-, intermediate-, and full-scale tests. Efforts by PNL have developed ISV into a technology considered available for limited deployment to remediate contaminated soil. The technology has been transferred to a licensee for commercial application. In September 1991, PNL conducted an operational acceptance test (OAT) of the modified engineering-scale unit. The OAT provided an opportunity to conduct proof-of-principle testing of new concepts for ISV technology. This additional testing was permitted since it was determined that testing of these new concepts would have no impact on the OAT objective. In discussing the proof-of-principle portion of the engineering-scale test, this report presents conclusions from this work and also describes the conceptual bases of the tested concepts, the engineering-scale test equipment and setup, and test results.

Histochemistry and electron microscopy were used to study the adrenergic innervation of subcutaneous adipose tissue in fetal pigs. Adrenergic innervation was present around arteries, arterioles, and adipocyte-associated capillaries. Nerve fibers were infrequently observed around veins, venules, and adipocytes. Ultrastructural features of nerves included mitochondria, clear synaptic vesicles, and a small number of vesicles with a core of electron-dense material. Innervation of adipose tissue was similar in 70-, 90-, and 110-day-old fetuses. Examination of fetuses decapitated at 45 days of gestation and removed at 110 days showed that adrenergic innervation was absent in adipose tissue of decapitated fetuses. Adrenergic innervation was also absent in adipose tissue from fetuses hypophysectomized at 72–73 days of gestation and examined at 110 days. These data indicate that fetal porcine adipose tissue may be under neural control by day 70 of gestation. Furthermore, an intact pituitary is necessary for the development of adrenergic innervation in fetal adipose tissue.

The effect of fetal decapitation on skeletal muscle growth and development in utero was studied in the pig. Pig fetuses were decapitated at 45 days of gestation and the peroneus longus muscle was analyzed at 110 days of gestation. Muscle wet weight, length, minimum fiber diameter, DNA, RNA, protein content, and incidence of muscle fiber nuclei and satellite cell nuclei were determined in the decapitated fetus and in sham-decapitated control fetuses. Decapitation did not significantly influence (p > 0.05) any of the traits measured. Muscle and satellite cell ultrastructure was not altered by decapitation. Therefore, an intact brain and hypothalamic-hypophyseal axis are not critical to growth and development of fetal pig skeletal muscle as measured in this study.

The main task of the study was to select an ''alternate'' station electric service supply system for multiple plants in the HNEC situation. A nuclear energy center at Hanford in the year 2000 is envisaged as five groups of generating units with three to five units in each group, served by three main 500 kV switching stations. The bulk power system for the Northwest Power Pool is at 500 kV; in addition, a 230 kV system that traverses the area will be interconnected with the 500 kV system at Vantage and Grand Coulee to the north and at McNary to the south of the Hanford Reservation. The power source for the station service circuits can be either the 500 or 230 kV systems or a 24 kV generator bus to the step-up transformer to the 500 kV system. The latter alternative, with a switch to isolate the generator, has both functional and economic merit, and was adopted in the study for the ''normal'' power source in all cases examined. It is equally attractive for dispersed plants or centralized plants.

Calculi that accumulated in 18 weeks on the teeth of cats were measured quantitatively by determining the ash weight and calcium content of specimens. Calculi accumulating in a control period were compared with that developing in the same cats in an experimental period, and the difference analyzed for statistical significance ( P = 0·05 or less). Erythromycin, penicillin, dihydrostreptomycin, and a combination of penicillin and dihydrostreptomycin produced significant or near significant reductions of calculi of 66, 43, 35, and 20 per cent, respectively. Tetracycline and chloramphenicol caused statistically insignificant decreases of 43 and 31 per cent, respectively. Saline caused an insignificant reduction of 8 per cent. Antibiotics (and saline) were administered daily intramuscularly and each tested on five cats. Ten cats with the parotid, submaxillary, and sublingual glands removed formed the same amount of calculi after the glands were removed as before. Ten sham-operated cats (controls) showed-an 11 per cent increase after the operation, but the increase was of doubtful significance. Teeth brushed either daily or twice-weekly on one side of the mouth had 95 per cent less calculi than unbrushed teeth on the opposite side. Teeth brushed once-weekly had 76 per cent less calculi than unbrushed teeth. Reductions from toothbrushing were all statistically significant.