The ability of interferons (IFN) to exert a systemic effect following their oral administration was evaluated. One systemic effect of parenteral interferon administration has been shown to be a suppression of the number of peripheral white blood cells both in man and in mouse models. Using the mouse model of peripheral white blood cell suppression, the relative systemic effects of orally and subcutaneously administered interferons were determined. Murine IFN-beta, murine IFN-gamma and cross-reactive recombinant human IFN-alpha A/D were examined. The oral administrations of each of the three interferons were found to cause a dose-dependent suppression of the peripheral white blood cell counts. Significant levels of suppression were seen with as little as 5 units/day of murine IFN-beta and with 500 units/day of recombinant human IFN-alpha A/D and murine IFN-gamma. The dose-response curves obtained with orally administered interferons were much more shallow than those obtained with subcutaneously administered interferons. The results demonstrate that oral administration of interferons can provide a significant systemic effect. Further, the results support the possibility that the oral administration of interferons may have therapeutic potential.

The development of a politically active fundamentalism has been widely documented but has not received sufficient attention from critical theorists. The movement has had influence on political elites and political discourse although its grass roots support is problematic. “Revitalization” and “dedifferentiation” theories apply to movements with broad support which activist fundamentalism may not possess. Both theories are based on assumptions about the progressive nature of social evolution. An alternative analysis based on Jürgen Habermas's concepts of “legitimation crisis” and “colonization of the lifeworld” suggests that social movements such as activist fundamentalism arise in response to efforts to deal with contradictions within social systems and to struggles among the state, economy, family, and religion to control those efforts. New movements, on both the left and right, can be expected to emerge as these conflicts continue.

The relative effects of treatment with an anticonvulsant, phenytoin, on the production of interferons were determined for both the murine and human systems. Phenytoin treatment was found to have differential effects on the in vitro production of Type I and Type II interferons. Phenytoin had either no effect (HuIFN-alpha) or an enhancing effect (MuIFN-alpha/beta) on the in vitro production of Type I interferons. In contrast, phenytoin pretreatment had an inhibitory effect on the in vitro production of Type II interferons (IFN-gamma) for both the murine and human systems. Phenytoin appeared to exert its inhibitory effect directly on the IFN-gamma-producing cell and was active even when added as late as 6 h after IFN-gamma induction. This inhibition was not related to a toxic effect of the phenytoin and occurred at phenytoin concentrations which were pharmacologically relevant (10-20 micrograms/ml). The effects of phenytoin on the in vivo production of MuIFN-gamma were also examined. In parallel to the in vitro observations, phenytoin treatment of mice significantly reduced the in vivo induction of MuIFN-gamma. The results raise the possibility that phenytoin therapy in humans may significantly affect the production of HuIFN-gamma.

A television news message is conveyed in words, voice, facial expression, visual symbols and camera techniques. The qualitative analysis of a news videotape begins with choosing analytical units that meet one's theoretical goals but which do not do violence to the nature of the content at hand. After a transcription of the verbal content is done, patterns in the script and in journalist-news source interactions can be identified. The analyst then listens for “tunes” in news speech which may, for instance, convey humor or skepticism. Television news relies on a visual symbolic code consisting of objects that suggest the topic at hand, of conventions for camera angle and distance, and of journalists' facial expressions. A complete qualitative analysis of the news message produces an exhaustive data matrix showing the juxtaposition of all message elements. This becomes the foundation for a rigorous, wholistic “account of accounts.”