Alteration of GABAA receptor alpha 1-subunit mRNA in mouse brain following continuous ethanol inhalation

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate what nursing home medical directors actually do, what they and other nursing home personnel believe would be desirable to do, and what problems and deficiencies are perceived. DESIGN: Mail survey with follow-up telephone interview when necessary. SETTING: Forty-five nursing facilities in upstate New York. PARTICIPANTS: The medical directors, administrators, and directors of nursing of the 45 facilities. MEASUREMENTS: Inventory of what medical directors reported as to their actual activities and time spent, and of what they, the administrators, and the directors of nursing felt should be their responsibilities and activities under ideal circumstances. RESULTS: For part-time medical directors, self-reported time spent on medical directorship activities averaged 12 hours per month; of all directors, 45% spent 8 hours or less per month. Proportion of time spent on various specific activities varied widely. There was general agreement that substantially more time should be spent, in particular, on evaluating and addressing problems of adequacy and quality of care, communicating with attending physicians about problems, and assisting with inservice training programs. CONCLUSIONS: To fill the role adequately, more time should be spent by many part-time medical directors, which will require greater financial commitment by facilities and reimbursement systems. Efforts need to made to better coordinate the expectations of medical directors and facility staff.     

Analysis of secretion and expression of platelet-derived growth factor in cultured endothelial cells from stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat

1. We characterized the endothelial cell-derived growth factors of SHRSP and Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY), respectively and found that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-B chain related growth factor constituted a major portion of the mitogenic activity of the conditioned media of endothelial cells from both animals. There were no remarkable qualitative differences between the endothelial cell-derived growth factors of SHRSP and WKY. 2. Northern analysis revealed that the expression of PDGF-B chain was 2-4-fold enhanced in cultured aortic endothelial cells of SHRSP. This enhanced expression of PDGF-B chain, which may be induced under chronic hypertensive conditions, is suggested to contribute to the increase in endothelial cell-derived growth factors reported in this animal.     

Is it possible to differentiate between choledochal cyst and congenital biliary atresia (type I cyst) by antenatal ultrasonography?

Both choledochal cyst and congenital biliary atresia (type I cyst) may share the same ultrasonographic pattern. We report 2 cases which were shown to have cystic structures on the upper abdomen by antenatal ultrasonography. The size of the choledochal cyst found at 24 weeks' gestation increased steadily as gestational age advanced. But the size of the cyst in congenital biliary atresia found at 29 weeks' gestation remained unchanged throughout the remaining pregnancy. Cyst enlargement, therefore, may suggest the possibility of a choledochal cyst.     

Hydroliquefaction of low-sulfur coals using iron carbonyl complexes—Sulfur as catalysts

Hydroliquefaction of low-sulfur Australian coals (Wandoan and Yallourn) was studied using iron carbonyl complexes as catalyst. The addition of Fe(CO)₅ (2.8 wt% Fe of coal) increased coal conversion from 48.6 to 85.2% for Wandoan coal, and from 36.7 to 69.7% for Yallourn coal in 1-methylnaphthalene at 425°C under an initial hydrogen pressure of 50 kg cm^?2. When molecular sulfur was added to iron carbonyls (Fe(CO)₅, Fe₂(CO)₉ and Fe₃(CO)₁₂), higher coal converions ( > 92%) and higher oil yields (>46%) were obtained, along with an increase in the amount of hydrogen transferred to coal from the gas phase (0.2 to 2.8%, d.a.f. coal basis). In the liquefaction studies using a hydrogen donor solvent, tetralin, Fe(CO)₅S catalyst increased the amount of hydrogen absorbed from the gaseous phase and decreased the amount of naphthalene dehydrogenated from tetralin. The direct hydrogen transfer reaction from molecular hydrogen to coal fragment radicals seems to be a major reaction pathway. Organic sulfur compounds, dimethyldisulfide and benzothiophene, and inorganic FeS₂ and NiS were found to be good sulfur sources to Fe(CO)₅. From X-ray diffraction analyses of liquefaction residues, it is concluded that Fe(CO)₅ was converted into pyrrhotite (Fe_1?xS) when sulfur was present, but into Fe₃O₄ in the absence of sulfur.     

Characteristics of estrogen decomposition by ozonation.

Since the natural estrogens 17 beta-estradiol (E2) and estron (E1), and the synthetic estrogen 17 alpha-ethynyl estradiol (EE2) have strong endocrine disrupting effects and the tendency to persist in effluent from wastewater treatment plants, effective measures are needed to remove them from wastewater. In this research, to gain an understanding of the characteristics of estrogen decomposition by ozonation, experiments were conducted using effluent from an actual wastewater treatment plant. In this experiment, estrogen was added to effluent at a concentration of 200 ng/l and 20 ng/l before the ozonation experiments. The results showed 90% or more of estrogen concentration and estrogenic activity of E2, El and EE2 to be removed at an ozone dose of 1 mg/l. At an ozone dose of 3 mg/l, the estrogen concentration and estrogenic activity of E2, El and EE2 in the treated water fell below the detection limit. The removal rate was not influenced by the kind of estrogen. No generation of byproducts with estrogenic activity was observed. The authors conclude that estrogen in secondary treated wastewater can be almost entirely removed at the practical ozone dose rate applied for the purpose of disinfection, which is up to about 5 mg/l.     

Carcinosarcoma of the rectosigmoid colon: report of a case

We report an unusual case of carcinosarcoma of the colon. An 80-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with lower abdominal pain. Computed tomography showed a large pelvic mass, 18cm in maximal diameter, and barium enema and colonoscopy both showed a type-2 tumor in the sigmoid colon. We performed Hartmann's procedure with resection of the ileocolic segment. Immunohistochemical stains of the resected specimen revealed that most of the tumor consisted of spindle cell sarcoma with neural and muscle differentiation, while only the superficial area of an ulcerated lesion contained adenocarcinoma positive for carcinoembryonic antigen. The patient died of a fast-growing recurrent pelvic tumor 6 months postoperatively. Our experience of this case and our review of eight other cases in the English literature indicate that wide resection provides the best chance of cure, but careful postoperative follow-up is essential.     

A role for Rev in the association of HIV-1 gag mRNA with cytoskeletal beta-actin and viral protein expression

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) Rev acts by inducing the specific nucleocytoplasmic transport of a class of incompletely spliced RNAs that encodes the viral structural proteins. The transfection of HeLa cells with a rev-defective HIV-1 expression plasmid, however, resulted in the export of overexpressed, intron-containing species of viral RNAs, possibly through a default process of nuclear retention. Thus, this system enabled us to directly compare Rev+ and Rev+ cells as to the usage of RRE-containing mRNAs by the cellular translational machinery. Biochemical examination of the transfected cells revealed that although significant levels of gag and env mRNAs were detected in both the presence and absence of Rev, efficient production of viral proteins was strictly dependent on the presence of Rev. A fluorescence in situ hybridisation assay confirmed these findings and provided further evidence that even in the presence of Rev, not all of the viral mRNA was equally translated. At the early phase of RNA export in Rev+ cells, gag mRNA was observed throughout both the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm as uniform fine stippling. In addition, the mRNA formed clusters mainly in the perinuclear region, which were not observed in Rev+ cells. In the presence of Rev, expression of the gag protein was limited to these perinuclear sites where the mRNA accumulated. Subsequent staining of the cytoskeletal proteins demonstrated that in Rev+ cells gag mRNA is colocalized with beta-actin in the sites where the RNA formed clusters. In the absence of Rev, in contrast, the gag mRNA failed to associate with the cytoskeletal proteins. These results suggest that in addition to promoting the emergence of intron-containing RNA from the nucleus, Rev plays an important role in the compartmentation of translation by directing RRE-containing mRNAs to the beta-actin to form the perinuclear clusters at which the synthesis of viral structural proteins begins.     

A new non-random chromosomal translocation t(3;6)(q27;p21.3) associated with BCL6 rearrangement in two patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

We describe two cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma associated with t(3;6)(q27;p21.3) and BCL6 rearrangement. The first case was in a 78-year old woman, whose performance status (PS) was 1, the serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level was elevated, and the Ann Arbor stage was IIIA with no extra nodal lymphomatous site. The pathological diagnosis from a biopsy of the inguinal lymph node was 'malignant lymphoma (ML), follicular, small cleaved' according to the Working Formulation. Complete remission was achieved. Although she had relapse in 1992, remission was obtained again. The second case was in a 62-year old man, whose PS was 1, the serum LDH was normal, and Ann Arbor stage was IVA with the involvement of the small intestine. Histological diagnosis of the cervical lymph node was 'ML, diffuse, large cell'. Complete remission was obtained without relapse. The 3q27 translocations, found in 20-30% of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, are unique in having multiple chromosomal translocation partners. Chromosome band 6p21.3 is one of these partner sites that may be the site of a novel gene. The two cases presented here show that this translocation is a non-random chromosomal change involving 3q27 and BCL6. Since t(3;6) was the sole karyotypic abnormality in one case, this translocation may play a role in lymphomagenesis.