Hb Grady and alpha thalassemia: a contribution to the problem of the number of Hb alpha structural loci in man

Hematological evaluation and data from chain synthesis analyses in six members of the family with two members having Hb Grady (i.e., and alpha chain variant with elongated chains due to an insertion of three amino acid residues [1]) indicate the presence of multiple nonallelic Hb alpha structural loci in the single Hb Grady heterozygote. The data support the earlier stated hypothesis that the Hb alpha Grady locus resulted from a crossing over between chromosomes of two tandemly repeated Hb alpha loci. The presence of an alpha thalassemia condition in one of the two Hb Grady heterozygotes increases the relative production of the alpha Grady chain by a factor of two.     

Analysis of FHIT transcripts in cervical and endometrial cancers

We show that mammalian cells can be stably transfected by a mechanical loading procedure in which cells are forced through a small opening in the presence of DNA. A suspension of cells and plasmid DNA in growth medium was passed up and down through a 30-gauge needle attached to a 1-ml syringe. Cells were immediately plated at appropriate densities for subsequent selection for stable expression of a marker gene. Two rodent cell lines, Chinese hamster ovary and mouse Ltk- cells, were successfully transfected with an efficiency of about one transfectant per 5 x 10(4) cells. The human HeLa cell line was transfected with a somewhat lower efficiency. Pluronic F-68, a detergent believed to aid in healing of membrane injuries, had no beneficial effect when present during the loading procedure. Successful transfection was accomplished using three different genes as selectable markers. Southern blotting analysis revealed that transfectants contained one or very few copies of the introduced DNA construct integrated into the genome. Several transfectants were demonstrated to remain stable for more than 20 generations of growth in the absence of selection. This procedure is fast, economical, and of general utility.     

Intraventricular chemotherapy in neonatal meningitis

All of 16 infants with neonatal meningitis treated during a 30-month period were found to have accompanying ventriculitis at the time of the initial ventricular puncture. Fifteen of these infants were caused by gramm-negative organisms. All infants received antibiotics systemically and intraventricularly via an implanted ventriculostomy reservoir or by direct ventricular injection. Antibiotic concentrations within the ventricular fluid were monitored during chemotherapy; the complications encountered during treatment are discussed. Fifteen infants survived the infection; of these, seven infants were normal at follow-up examinations. In our experience intraventricular chemotherapy as an adjunct to systemic administration of antibiotics has greatly reduced the mortality rate in neonatal meningitis.     

Acute scrotal swelling in Henoch-Sch?nlein syndrome

Freeman-Sheldon's syndrome is a rare genetic disease inherited as an autosomal dominant trait in some families but showing sporadic appearance in the majority of the reported cases. In the present paper we report a family having two affected children from normal consanguineous parents suggesting that Freeman-Sheldon's syndrome may be heterogeneous from the genetic point of view.     

A THIRD-ORDER NUMERICAL SCHEME WITH UPWIND WEIGHTING FOR SOLVING THE SOLUTE TRANSPORT EQUATION

Solute transport in the subsurface is generally described quantitatively with the convection–dispersion transport equation. Accurate numerical solutions of this equation are important to ensure physically realistic predictions of contaminant transport in a variety of applications. An accurate third-order in time numerical approximation of the solute transport equation was derived. The approach leads to corrections for both the dispersion coefficient and the convective velocity when used in numerical solutions of the transport equation. The developed algorithm is an extension of previous work to solute transport conditions involving transient variably saturated fluid flow and non-linear adsorption. The third-order algorithm is shown to yield very accurately solutions near sharp concentration fronts, thereby showing its ability to eliminate numerical dispersion. However, the scheme does suffer from numerical oscillations. The oscillations could be avoided by employing upwind weighting techniques in the numerical scheme. Solutions obtained with the proposed method were free of numerical oscillations and exhibited negligible numerical dispersion. Results for several examples, including those involving highly non-linear sorption and infiltration into initially dry soils, were found to be very accurate when compared to other solutions. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.