Antitumor effect of plant lectins

BACKGROUND: Staff development experts in a tertiary-care hospital were searching for a holistic approach to facilitating improved outcomes. METHOD: Staff development experts, clinical nurse specialists, and clinical managers developed a model that provides a framework for educators to integrate their energies with those of other leaders in order to create a holistic approach to the goal of achieving excellence. RESULTS: The model that is proposed links strategies for change with outcome evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: The model provides a conceptual lens that helps nurse leaders focus on organizational assessment, strategies to improve the work environment, and the evaluation of outcomes. The model is useful for guiding practice as well as research.     

Effect of chlorine-containing pesticides on the hemolytic stability and acetylcholinesterase activity of erythrocytes

The hemolytic action of the chlorine-containing pesticides, trichloroacetic acid (TCA), pentachlorophenolate (PCP), chlorophos and pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB) on red cells was studied, as were their effects on acetylcholinesterase activity and resistance of red cells to mechanical hemolysis by ultrasound. The modifying action of pesticides on red cell membranes was shown to lead to their mechanical resistance. TCA, PCP and chlorophos were found to sensitize red cells whereas PCNB to make them resistant to the mechanical action of ultrasound. The kinetic characteristics of the structural functional disorders of red cells might be used as quantitative criteria of the efficacy of the action of pesticides on the cells.     

The changing presentation of pyloric stenosis

A triplet pregnancy in a 23-year-old woman was terminated at 15 weeks of gestation because of her severe hypertension, lung edema, and secondary hyperthyroidism. The pregnancy consisted of a hydatidiform mole with a 46,XY karyotype and two fetuses each with 46,XX and a 46,XY karyotype. To determine the zygosity and genetic origin of the mole and fetuses, PCR- and computer-assisted genotyping were performed at 27 CA-repeat marker loci that were distributed evenly over the genome. As a result, genotypes of the three pregnancy products were distinct from each other, indicating that the triplets were trizygotic. The mole lacked any maternal alleles but inherited both of the paternal alleles and/or one paternal allele in duplicate. This, along with the XY sex chromosome constitution, indicated that the mole resulted from dispermic androgenesis. The mother developed a persistent trophoblastic tumor thereafter.     

Channel-forming leucotoxins from Staphylococcus aureus cause severe inflammatory reactions in a rabbit eye model

Seven families, multiply affected by bipolar mood disorder, have been collected from the Irish population and have been genotyped with microsatellite markers from the pericentromeric region of chromosome 18, a region that has been implicated as a site for a susceptibility gene for this relative common psychiatric disorder. The families significantly excluded linkage of bipolar disorder to this region under various models. Although the data provided no evidence of linkage heterogeneity among families, the number of families investigated may be too small to exclude completely the possibility of linkage in a small number of families.     

Intellectual performance in multi-infarct dementia and Alzheimer''s disease a replication study

A comparative study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a metal or flexible plastic 8 mm cannula for artificial abortion by vacuum aspiration for patients at six to 10 weeks' gestation. Complication rates, amounts of retained tissue (obtained with a curette check), frequencies of cannula obstructions and procedure times were used as criteria for determining the efficacy of the two types of cannulae. Two physicians participated in the study: one was responsible for the preliminary examination and performance of the abortion, and the other physician, who was kept unaware of the type of cannula used, was responsible for patient care after completions of the abortion to the time of the follow-up visit. Paracervical block anesthesia was used in all cases. Differences in complication rates (controlled for gestational age) between groups of subjects aborted with either the metal or flexible plastic cannula were not significantly different (p less than .05). For both patient groups shock was the most frequently reported immediate complication (2.7% in the metal cannula group, 4,7% in the flexible plastic cannula group), and leukorrhea was the most frequently reported complication at the time of follow-up (3.3% metal, 5.3% flexible plastic). Amounts of retained tissue and frequency of cannulae obstruction were similar for both groups. Procedure times were also similar for both groups (means of 5.7 minutes and 5.5 minutes, respectively, for procedures performed with the metal and flexible plastic cannulae).     

Differentiation of HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells is accompanied by a modification of magnesium homeostasis

The concentrations of ammonia in the plasma of the mudskipper Boleophthalmus boddaerti exposed to cyanide for 1-6 days were significantly greater than the respective values of the controls. This was due to an increase in the production of NH3 in the muscle and an increase in the retention of NH3 and/or NH4+ in the blood of the cyanide-exposed fish when compared to controls. Cyanide exposure significantly increased the specific activity of muscle AMP deaminase. Since adenylosuccinate synthetase and lyase were also present in the muscle, exposure to cyanide might increase the production of NH3 from the catabolism of purine nucleotides. B. boddaerti exposed to cyanide excreted significantly less ammonia than the control fish. Results indicate changes in the permeability of the epithelial surfaces of the cyanide-exposed fish to NH3 and/or NH4+. Since the tissues and organs needed time to activate the inducible cyanide detoxification mechanisms, the increase in the production of NH3 might be an important defensive mechanism for B. boddaerti during the early phase of cyanide exposure.     

Platelet coagulant activities and serum lipids in transient cerebral ischemia

To determine whether platelets play a part in the pathogenesis of transient cerebrovascular ischemia, we studied 22 patients with transient ischemia, 18 control patients and 38 normal subjects. Platelet aggregation and [14C]-serotonin release by ADP, epinephrine and collagen were normal in all patients, as were plasma coagulation assays, except for shortened partial thromboplastin times in the patients with transient ischemia. Platelet coagulant activities concerned with initiation and early stages of intrinsic coagulation were increased two to three times in 12 patients with transient ischemic attacks with normal serum lipids and normal in the 10 others with Type IV hyperlipoproteinemia. These results indicate an association between platelet coagulant hyperactivity and transient ischemic attacks in a group of patients with normal serum lipids.