Developmental Outcome of Drug-Exposed Children Through 30 Months: A Comparison of Bayley and Bayley-II.

This study examined the effects of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) version on developmental outcomes among drug-exposed children, some of whom received an intervention. Developmental outcome was evaluated with the BSID at 12 and 18 months and with the BSID-II at 24 and 30 months. In the repeated measures analyses, children scored higher on the BSID Mental Developmental Index (MDI; p     

A critical evaluation of centromeric labeling to distinguish micronuclei induced by chromosomal loss and breakage in vitro

The in vitro micronucleus assay in conjunction with CREST-staining and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with centromere-specific DNA probes is being increasingly utilized for the detection of clastogenic and aneuploidy-inducing agents. Although potentially powerful techniques, both methods have unique characteristics that can influence sample processing and the interpretation of results. In this article, the use of the CREST and the FISH modifications of the in vitro micronucleus assay have been used to characterize the origin of the micronuclei induced by cyclophosphamide, 4,4'-methylene-bis(2-chloroaniline), 4-nitroquinoline N-oxide and ionizing radiation in metabolically competent MCL-5 cells or a derived cell line lacking metabolic activation. Using these results and our previous experiences with these techniques, a detailed comparison including the strengths and limitations of each technique as well as potential problems in performing each assay and in analyzing the data is discussed. In spite of their limitations, our results to date indicate that CREST-staining as well as FISH with centromere-specific DNA probes can be used to accurately distinguish micronuclei formed from chromosome loss from those originating from chromosome breakage and that these techniques can be valuable complements to the in vitro micronucleus assay.     

Experimental and theoretical examination of surface energy and adhesion of nitrifying and heterotrophic bacteria using self-assembled monolayers

Biofilm-based systems, including integrated fixed-film activated sludge and moving bed bioreactors, are becoming increasingly popular for wastewater treatment, often with the goal of improving nitrification through the enrichment of ammonia and nitrite oxidizing bacteria. We have previously demonstrated the utility of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) as tools for studying the initial attachment of bacteria to substrata systematically varying in physicochemical properties. In this work, we expanded these studies to bacteria of importance in wastewater treatment systems and we demonstrated attachment rates were better correlated with surface energy than with wettability (water contact angle). Toward the long-term goal of improving wastewater treatment performance through the strategic design of attachment substrata, the attachment rates of two autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (Nitrosomonas europaea and Nitrosospira multiformis) and a heterotroph (Escherichia coli) were evaluated using SAMs with a range of wettabilities, surface energies, and functional properties (methyl, hydroxyl, carboxyl, trimethylamine, and amine terminated). Cell attachment rates were somewhat correlated with the water contact angles of the SAMs with polar terminal groups (hydroxyl, carboxyl, trimethylamine, and amine). Including all SAM surfaces, a better correlation was found for all bacteria between attachment rates and surface free energy, as determined using the Lewis Acid-Base approach. The ammonia-oxidizers had higher adhesion rates on the SAMs with higher surface energies than did the heterotroph. This work demonstrated the successful application of SAMs to determine the attachment surface preferences of bacteria important to wastewater treatment, and it provides guidance for a new area of research aimed at improving treatment performance through rational attachment surface design.     

A phase I study of adenovirus-mediated wild-type p53 gene transfer in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Mutations of the tumor suppressor gene p53 are the most common genetic alterations observed in human cancer. Loss of wild-type p53 function impairs cell cycle arrest as well as repair mechanisms involved in response to DNA damage. Further, apoptotic pathways as induced by radio- or chemotherapy are also abrogated. Gene transfer of wild-type p53 was shown to reverse these deficiencies and to induce apoptosis in vitro and in preclinical in vivo tumor models. A phase I dose escalation study of a single intratumoral injection of a replication-defective adenoviral expression vector encoding wild-type p53 was carried out in patients with incurable non-small cell lung cancer. All patients enrolled had p53 protein overexpression as a marker of mutant p53 status in pretreatment tumor biopsies. Treatment was performed either by bronchoscopic intratumoral injection or by CT-guided percutaneous intratumoral injection of the vector solution. Fifteen patients were enrolled in two centers, and were treated at four different dose levels ranging from 10(7) to 10(10) PFU (7.5 x 10(9) to 7.5 x 10(12) particles). No clinically significant toxicity was observed. Successful transfer of wild-type p53 was achieved only with higher vector doses. Vector-specific wild-type p53 RNA sequences could be demonstrated in posttreatment biopsies of six patients. Transient local disease control by a single intratumoral injection of the vector solution was observed in four of those six successfully transduced patients. There was no evidence of clinical responses at untreated tumor sites. Wild-type p53 gene therapy by intratumoral injection of a replication-defective adenoviral expression vector is safe, feasible, and biologically effective in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.     

Optimization and Adaptation of Error Control Algorithms for Wireless ATM

A common problem of all wireless digital datatransmission systems is the bit error rates of the radiosubsystem, which can be several orders of magnitudehigher than for a wire- or fiber-based technology. Forward error correction (FEC), automaticrepeat request (ARQ), and interleaving are used as meansto improve throughput and bandwidth efficiency. Thispaper presents some considerations on the optimization and adaptation of these algorithms with focuson recent wireless ATM developments. The optimization,with respect to the target bit error rate and themapping of the wireless connection quality to the ATM quality of service (QoS) concept, is discussedin detail. In addition to the theoretical evaluation,which is verified by extensive simulations, we presentcomprehensive architecture and implementation considerations on the design of an adaptiveerror control system for a wireless ATMnetwork.     

Agricultural safety efforts by county health departments in Wisconsin

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to improve the agriculture safety prevention efforts of county health departments in Wisconsin by examining current programs, staffs' perceptions of the farm safety problem, and the need for new resources. METHODS: A survey instrument was completed by a professional staff member of the local health department in each of Wisconsin's 69 counties. RESULTS: Usable responses were obtained from 84% of the counties. Forty-five percent of the responding staff members conducted some agricultural safety and health programs, most often health screenings or group meetings conducted collaboratively with county agricultural Extension agents. There were no major differences in county demographics or other service provision variables between staff members who conducted programs and those who did not. Staff members perceived the largest barriers to better safety as lack of staff time and difficulty getting farmers to attend safety programs. Most failed to place more emphasis on training agricultural workers to permanently correct hazards than on training them to work safely around hazards. However, the staff members ranked safety inspection checklists as the most needed new material and ranked Extension agents and farmers as the most appropriate people to conduct inspections using such checklists. CONCLUSION: County public health professionals want more staff time and new materials to increase the effectiveness of their agricultural safety efforts. Encouraging agricultural workers and family members to identify and correct hazards would be a more effective use of staff time than training people to work safely around hazards.     

Abdominal lymphomas, convulsive seizure and coma: a case of successfully treated, advanced Whipple's disease with cerebral involvement

Whipple's disease is a rare, generalized inflammatory disorder due to the recently described bacterium Tropheryma whippelii. We report an unusual, successfully treated case of a 32-year-old woman, who presented with a 25 month history of large abdominal lymphomas, polyserositis and cachexia. The diagnosis of Whipple's disease was confirmed by duodenoscopy, lymph node and duodenal histology and polymerase chain reaction analysis of biopsy material and cerebrospinal fluid. A prolonged convulsive seizure with a subsequent 5 day period of coma were interpreted as signs of cerebral involvement. Under antibiotic treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (co-trimoxazole) the patient recovered completely, CT scans showed a complete regression of abdominal lymphomas. The therapy was continued over 18 months without the occurrence of a relapse.     

A semiconductor electron current detector for the direct recording of electron microscopic diffraction images

A semiconductor detector for the direct time-serial recording of electron microscopic diffraction images is presented. The recording method is described and the performance of the detector compared to that of a standard STEM scintillator/photomultiplier chain.