Tumor necrosis factor-beta in human pregnancy and labor

Findings are reported from a replicated evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Organizational Job Satisfaction Scale. Data lend strong support for the scale which assesses four dimensions of organizational job satisfaction. Principal component factor analysis of data from two independent samples of urban staff registered nurses (RNs) (n = 496; n = 532) confirmed four dimensions of pay, interaction, administration, and status. Cronbach's alpha for subscales ranged from .76 to .88. Pearson correlation coefficients for the interrelationships among subscales and an estimate of theta verified internal consistency. The Organizational Job Satisfaction Scale scores correlated significantly with a criterion measure of job enjoyment. Hypothesis testing of theoretically predictable relationships supported construct validity. Scores on the organizational job satisfaction subscales correlated significantly with automony, stress, and commitment. Item revisions and recommendations for future use of the instrument are discussed.     

Symptomatic ascites after discontinuation of continuous peritoneal dialysis

Management of the vertical dimension of occlusion is one of the most difficult aspects of orthodontic therapy. Patients with long face syndrome are prone to develop more severe symptoms during orthodontic treatment. This article describes a cephalometric measurement (the MM angle), which is useful in the diagnosis of long face syndrome. It also gives treatment options designed to minimize the expression of long face syndrome characteristics.     

Multiresidue liquid chromatographic method for determining residues of mono- and dibasic penicillins in bovine muscle tissues

A liquid chromatographic method with UV detection at 325 nm was developed for simultaneous determination of amoxicillin, ampicillin, penicillin G, and cloxacillin residues in bovine muscle tissue as their mercaptide derivatives. The penicillins are extracted from bovine tissues with 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 8.5), cleaned up on a t-C18 Sep-Pak cartridge, and eluted with 2 mL acetonitrile. After the acetonitrile in the eluate is evaporated to dryness, the residue is dissolved in 200 microL (40 + 60, v/v) acetonitrile-phosphate buffer (pH 6.5) and derivatized with acetic anhydride and mercuric chloride in the presence of 1,2,4-triazole at 65 degrees C for 30 min. Gradient analysis on a Spherisorb 5 microns ODS(2) (octadecyl silane) analytical column using a binary mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 0.10 M phosphate buffer (pH 6.5) in the presence of 0.0157 M sodium thiosulfate at 1 mL/min permits determination of each intact penicillin in bovine muscle tissue at > or = 10 ppb with recoveries > or = 72%. This laboratory method provides detection sensitivities equivalent to those of rapid tests used for screening beta-lactam drug residues in bovine tissue samples for regulatory enforcement.     

Expanding allelic diversity of Helicobacter pylori vacA

The diversity of the gene encoding the vacuolating cytotoxin (vacA) of Helicobacter pylori was analyzed in 98 isolates obtained from different geographic locations. The studies focused on variation in the previously defined s and m regions of vacA, as determined by PCR and direct sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the existence of four distinct types of s-region alleles: aside from the previously described s1a, s1b, and s2 allelic types, a novel subtype, designated s1c, was found. Subtype s1c was observed exclusively in isolates from East Asia and appears to be the major s1 allele in that part of the world. Three different allelic forms (m1, m2a, and m2b) were detected in the m region. On the basis of sequence alignments, universal PCR primers that allow effective amplification of the s and m regions from H. pylori isolates from all over the world were defined. Amplimers were subsequently analyzed by reverse hybridization onto a line probe assay (LiPA) that allows the simultaneous and highly specific hybridization of the different vacA s- and m-region alleles and tests for the presence of the cytotoxin-associated gene (cagA). This PCR-LiPA method permits rapid analysis of the vacA and cagA status of H. pylori strains for clinical and epidemiological studies and will facilitate identification of any further variations.     

Regulation of the effector stages of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis via neuroantigen-specific tolerance induction. III. A role for anergy/deletion

Whereas the photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer has recently shown rapid clinical acceptance, photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT)--which predates the related cancer regimen--is not widely appreciated. Like PDT, PACT utilizes photosensitizers and visible or ultraviolet light in order to give a phototoxic response, normally via oxidative damage. Currently, the major use of PACT is in the disinfection of blood products, particularly for viral inactivation, although more clinically-based protocols are being developed, e.g. in the treatment of oral infection. The technique has been shown to be effective in vitro against bacteria (including drug-resistant strains), yeasts, viruses and parasites. A wide range of photosensitizers, both natural and synthetic, is available with differing physicochemical make-up and light-absorption properties. PACT is proposed as a potential, low-cost approach to the treatment of locally occurring infection.     

Prospective evaluation of quality of life after conventional abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery

The authors report a case of paraplegia caused by a lumbar intraspinal paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) granuloma. Clinical neurological diagnosis of a compressive spinal cord lesion was confirmed by spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Patient was submitted to surgery with total excision of the lesion. Histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of PCM. Patient is on sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim combined with fluconazole and is experiencing positive neurological recovery.     

A103: An anti-melan-a monoclonal antibody for the detection of malignant melanoma in paraffin-embedded tissues

Little is known about the molecular background to senescence in T-lymphocytes. In fibroblast systems replicative senescence has been shown to correlate with a number of changes in the expression of the proteins normally regulating progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle, and recently the Ink4 inhibitor p16 was implicated as a central regulator of replicative senescence in human fibroblasts. It has, however, been claimed that p16 is not expressed in T-lymphocytes. In the present study we have analysed G1 regulating proteins in ageing human T-lymphocytes. We show that PHA and IL-2 stimulated T-lymphocytes cease to proliferate after around 20 population doublings, these cells can not thereafter be restimulated to growth, and were also found to exhibit markers for senescence. We found that T-lymphocytes accumulate p16 and p15 protein during successive population doublings and display high levels of these proteins as they enter into replicative senescence. There was also an increased binding of p16 to the Cdk6 kinase in senescent cells, and a decreased Cdk6 as well as Cdk2 kinase activity. The levels of other G1 regulating proteins were also altered in the senescent cells, such as slightly elevated levels of p21/WAF1, and downregulation of Cdk2 and cyclinD3. The levels of p27/ Kip1 is down regulated in proliferating cells but rise to approximately 15% of the levels in un-stimulated quiescent cells. As a high proportion of T-cell childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemias have deletions of both p15 and p16, our data suggest that inactivation of these genes makes it possible for leukemic cells to avoid senescence.     

Ultrasound echogenicity in experimental venous thrombosis

This study characterizes the echogenicity of experimentally induced venous thrombosis. Venous duplex imaging (Diasonics Spectra) was performed of the rat (n 12) and primate (n 3) inferior vena cava (IVC). Thrombosis was induced by IVC ligation at the level of the renal veins (rat, baboon) or balloon occlusion (baboon) of the IVC at the renal vein and iliac vein bifurcation level. Sham-treated rats served as controls. B-mode images were stored for off-line computer analysis. Fixed depth gain control curves allowed for measuring gain-corrected echogenicity units over the IVC in both a longitudinal and transverse orientation. In rat studies, thrombus was removed at time of euthanasia and dissolved, allowing for fibrin monomer determination using a chromogenic assay. Echogenicity values generally increased over time in both rat and primate studies. Significant differences between ligated and sham-treated rats were noted at each time point measured (6 h, 2 days, and 6 days after IVC ligation) and fibrin monomer values correlated (p < 0.05) with echogenicity units. In primate studies, echogenicity values significantly were different from baseline values at all time points measured (6 h, 2 days, 6 days, and 13 days after thrombus induction). Duplex ultrasound can be used to quantitate thrombus echogenicity, which correlates to fibrin content. Such measurement may potentially allow for improved thrombus age determination and the noninvasive quantitation of thrombus progression/resolution.     

Murine immune responses to Neisseria meningitidis group C capsular polysaccharide and a thymus-dependent toxoid conjugate vaccine

The polysaccharide (PS) capsules of many pathogenic bacteria are poor immunogens in infants and young children as a result of the delayed response to PS antigens during ontogeny. The development of polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines for Haemophilus influenzae type b, which have proven to be efficacious in this age group, has led to active development by a number of investigators of conjugate vaccines for other diseases. We describe here the response of several mouse strains to the capsular PS of Neisseria meningitidis group C (MCPS) conjugated to tetanus toxoid (MCPS-TT) and the same response in BALB/c mice as a model of the immune consequences of conjugate vaccine immunization. The use of a conjugate vaccine results in a shift in the isotype elicited in response to the MCPS, from immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG3 to primarily IgG1. A response to MCPS-TT is seen even among mouse strains which respond poorly to MCPS itself, emphasizing the importance of a strain survey when choosing a mouse model for a vaccine. The marked increase in IgG1 antibody titer was accompanied by a large increase in bactericidal activity of sera from these animals. Animals primed with the conjugate vaccine demonstrated a booster response after secondary immunization with either the MCPS or the conjugate. The ability to produce a boosted IgG1 anti-MCPS response to the MCPS can be transferred to adoptive recipients by B cells alone from mice primed with MCPS-TT but not mice primed with MCPS alone. These data indicate that in BALB/c mice a single immunization with MCPS-TT is sufficient to induce a shift to IgG1 and generate a memory B-cell population that does not require T cells for boosting.