Strategy and issue frames in election campaign coverage: a social cognitive account of framing effects

This study examines how news frames in campaign coverage affect individuals' interpretation of campaigns. Framing effects are conceptualized in terms of the process by which textual features in news stories set limits on knowledge use in the construction of a discourse model - a mental model constructed through the interaction between news frames and the interpreter's social knowledge. Examining message structures in campaign news stories led to identifying two major frames in campaign coverage: strategy and issue. Narrative data collected from two field experiments were analyzed. The findings suggest that both strategy-framed and issue-framed print news stories are effective in influencing campaign interpretation.     

Coronary bypass in vascular patients: a relatively high-risk procedure

A premise of cardiac risk stratification is that the added risk of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is offset by the improved safety of subsequent vascular reconstruction (VR). We questioned if elective CABG is patients with severe peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is a relatively high-risk procedure. A cohort study of 680 elective CABG patients from January 1993 to December 1994 was performed using three mutually exclusive outcomes of complication-free survival, morbidity, and mortality. Patient characteristic, operative, and outcome data were prospectively collected. Retrospective review determined that 58 patients had either a standard indication for or a history of VR. Overall CABG mortality was 2.5%, with statistically similar but relatively higher rates for PVD as compared to non-PVD patients. In contrast, major morbidity occurred at rates 3.6-fold higher in PVD patients (39.7%) than in disease-free patients (16.7%) after adjustment for the effects of patient and operative variables (odds ratio [OR] 3.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.93-6.99). CABG morbidity in the PVD patient was most likely in those patients with aortoiliac (OR 9.51, CI 3.20-28.27) and aortic aneurysmal (OR 5.24, CI 1.28-21.41) disease types. CABG in PVD patients is associated with significant major morbidity. Such morbidity may preclude or alter the timing of subsequent VR.     

Cure of malignant ascites and generation of protective immunity by monoclonal antibody-targeted activation of a glucuronide prodrug in rats

We examined the in vivo efficacy of targeting beta-glucuronidase (betaG) to activate a glucuronide prodrug (BHAMG) of p-hydroxyaniline mustard (pHAM) at hepatoma ascites in Sprague-Dawley rats. Injection i.p. of 500 microg RH1-betaG, a conjugate formed between recombinant betaG and monoclonal antibody RH1 with specificity for an antigen expressed on AS-30D rat hepatoma cells, into rats bearing AS-30D ascites resulted in the accumulation of 54 microg conjugate per 10(9) tumor cells after 2 hr. Ascites fluid and serum contained 0.53 and 0 microg/ml, respectively, RH1-betaG 2 hr after injection of the conjugate. Conjugate binding to AS-30D cells was heterogeneous and non-saturated, as determined by flow cytometry. BHAMG was less toxic than pHAM to SD rats based on measures of animal mortality, weight loss and hematological toxicity. Treatment of rats bearing established hepatoma ascites with 500 microg RH1-betaG followed 2 hr later with a single i.p. injection of 30 mg/kg BHAMG or 3 i.p. injections of 10 mg/kg BHAMG 2, 3 and 4 hr later resulted in the cure of 6/8 and 8/8 animals, respectively. Treatment with BHAMG or pHAM alone did not produce cures, whereas treatment with a control antibody-betaG conjugate and BHAMG produced significantly greater hematological toxicity compared to treatment with RH1-betaG and BHAMG. All cured rats were completely protected from rechallenge with 2 x 10(7) AS-30D cells, indicating that successful treatment of animals induced protective immunity.     

H∞-control with measurement-feedback for Pritchard-Salamon systems

In this paper we extend the finite-dimensional results for the H_∞-control problem with measurement-feedback to a large class of infinite-dimensional systems, allowing for a certain type of unboundedness in the input and output operators (the Pritchard-Salamon class). The main result of the paper relates the solvability to the suboptimal H_∞-control problem to the existence of stabilizing solutions to certain operator Riccati equations. Furthermore, a characterization of all suboptimal controllers is given.     

Insertional re-activation of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase misfolding mutant protein

The deletion of nine residues from the C-terminus of the bacterialchloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) results in depositionof the mutant protein in cytoplasmic inclusion bodies and lossof chloramphenicol resistance in Escherichia coli. This foldingdefect is relieved by C-terminal fusion of the polypeptide withas few as two residues. Based on these observations, efficientpositive selection for the cloning of DNA fragments has beendemonstrated. The cloning vector encodes a C-terminally truncatedCAT protein. Restriction sites in front of the stop codon allowthe insertion of target DNA, resulting in the production ofproperly folded CAT fusion proteins and regained chloramphenicolresistance. The positive selection of recombinants is accomplishedby growth of transformants on chloramphenicol-containing agarplates. The method appears particularly convenient for the cloningof DNA fragments amplified by the PCR because minimal informationto restore CAT folding can be included in the primers. The cloningof random sequences shows that the folding defect can be relievedby fusion to a wide variety of peptides, providing great flexibilityto the positive selection system. This vector may also contributeto the determination of the role of the C-terminus in CAT folding.     

Unexplained physical symptoms: outcome, utilization of medical care and associated factors

BACKGROUND: Measurement of intracardiac hemodynamic parameters has been limited to brief periods in the acute care setting. We developed and evaluated an implantable hemodynamic monitor that is capable of measuring chronic right ventricular oxygen saturation and pulmonary artery pressure. METHODS AND RESULTS: The device consists of an electronic controller placed subcutaneously and two transvenous leads placed in the right ventricle (reflectance oximeter) and pulmonary artery (variable capacitance pressure sensor). Implantation was performed in 10 patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction. Average implant pulmonary artery pressures were systolic, 52 +/- 16 mm Hg; diastolic, 29 +/- 11 mm Hg; and mean, 40 +/- 12 mm Hg. The mean right ventricular oxygen saturation at implant was 51%. Provocative maneuvers, including postural changes, sublingual nitroglycerin, and bicycle exercise, demonstrated expected changes in measured oxygen saturation and pulmonary artery pressures over time. At follow-up of 0.5 to 15.5 months, there were no significant differences between pulmonary artery pressures or oxygen saturation values transmitted from the device and simultaneous measurement with balloon flotation catheters. Four of the pulmonary artery leads dislodged and three demonstrated sensor drift, whereas two of the oxygen saturation sensors failed. Four patients died and four received transplants. Pathological study did not demonstrate injury to the right ventricular outflow tract or pulmonic valve. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic measurement of hemodynamic parameters in the outpatient setting with implantable sensor technology appears to be feasible. The devices are well tolerated without significant untoward effects, and the sensors generally function well over time, providing reliable information. Clinical usefulness remains to be established.     

Quality of Crude Fish Oil Extracted from Herring Byproducts of Varying States of Freshness

ABSTRACT: Herring byproducts were stored at 2 and 15 °C for up to 72 h. Over time, significant increases of total volatile bases (TVB), histamine, putrescine, cadaverine, and tyramine were detected. However, only tyramine and TVB levels were temperature-dependent. The level of total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was constant. Longer byproducts storage gave rise to an oil with higher levels of free fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and total PUFAs, while fluorescent compounds were lower. A higher storage temperature led to oil higher in α-tocopherol and EPA levels and lower in anisidine value. Surprisingly, the oil with the highest content of PUFAs was not produced from the freshest byproducts, and oil with low oxidation products can be extracted from stored byproducts.