Book reviews

Housing in Scotland. Hector Currie & Alan Murie (Eds). Chartered Institute of Housing. Policy and Practice Series, £15.00 paperback. ISBN 0 901607 91 6.

The Home: Words, Interpretations, Meanings and Environments. D. Benjamin (Ed.). Avebury, Aldershot 1995, £37.00 hardback. ISBN 1 856628 8889.

Rethinking Local Democracy. Desmond King & Gerry Stoker (Eds). Macmillan, London, 1996, 233 pp, £13.95, paperback. ISBN 8039 8864 8.

An Introduction to Social Housing. Paul Reeves. Arnold, London, 1996, 273 pp, £13.99, paperback. ISBN 0 340 661976.

Representing the City: Ethnicity, Capital and Culture in the Twenty‐First Century Metropolis. Anthony D. King (Ed.). Macmillan Press, London, 1996, £13.99, paperback. ISBN 0 333601920.

Homeless. Gerald Daly. Routledge, London, 1996, 293 pp., £14.95. ISBN 0415 12029 2.

The Environmental Impact of Land and Property Management. Yvonne Rydin (Ed.). Wiley, Chichester, 1996, 196 pp., £45.00 hardback. ISBN 0 471966126.

Conservation and the City. Peter Larkham. Routledge, London, 1996, 329 pp., £17.99 paperback. ISBN 0 415 079478.     

Polymorphism of bacteriophage T7

For viruses made of nucleic acid and protein, the structure of the protein outer shell has, in the past, been found to be uniquely determined by the viral genome. However, here, non-denaturing agarose gel electrophoresis of bacteriophage T7 reveals two states of the mature T7 capsid; the conditions of growth are found to alter the population by T7 of these two electrophoretically defined states. Both states have been previously observed for a genetically altered T7 and they are observed here for wild-type T7. The average electrical surface charge density of a bacteriophage particle (delta) determines its state; the delta of particles in both states is negative. For a given condition of growth, the population of these two states is influenced by the extent to which the major T7 outer shell protein, p10A, is accompanied by its minor readthrough variant, p10B. Comparison of the two electrophoretic states reveals the following. (1) No difference in radius is present in the outer shell (+/-2%). (2) As the pH of electrophoresis is either increased or decreased from neutrality, the state becomes more highly populated for which delta is greater in magnitude (state 1). By changing the pH, some T7 particles are made to change state. (3) Particles in state 1 adsorb less quickly to host cells than do the particles in the alternative state (state 2). This latter observation suggests the hypothesis that state 1 evolved to reduce the probability of re-initiating an infection when conditions are not favorable for growth. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that, as conditions of growth become apparently more unfavorable, progeny increasingly populate state 1.     

Lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system changes in acute L-arginine pancreatitis in rats

The World Wide Web-based form is a promising method for the construction of an on-line data collection system for clinical and epidemiological research. It is, however, laborious to prepare a common gateway interface (CGI) program for each project, which the World Wide Web server needs to handle the submitted data. In medicine, it is even more laborious because the CGI program must check deficits, type, ranges, and logical errors (bad combination of data) of entered data for quality assurance as well as data length and meta-characters of the entered data to enhance the security of the server. We have extended the specification of the hypertext markup language (HTML) form to accommodate information necessary for such data checking and we have developed software named AUTOFORM for this purpose. The software automatically analyzes the extended HTML form and generates the corresponding ordinary HTML form, 'Makefile', and C source of CGI programs. The resultant CGI program checks the entered data through the HTML form, records them in a computer, and returns them to the end-user. AUTOFORM drastically reduces the burden of development of the World Wide Web-based data entry system and allows the CGI programs to be more securely and reliably prepared than had they been written from scratch.     

A prospective study of endogenous serum hormone concentrations and breast cancer risk in post-menopausal women on the island of Guernsey

The associations between serum concentrations of oestradiol, testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women were investigated in a prospective study on the island of Guernsey. Sixty-one women who developed breast cancer an average of 7.8 years after blood collection were matched for age, year of blood collection and number of years post-menopausal with 179 control subjects. Women using exogenous hormones at the time of blood collection were excluded from the study. Women who subsequently developed breast cancer had a 29% higher geometric mean oestradiol concentration than control women (P = 0.004). The odds ratio for breast cancer in the top third compared with the lowest third of the oestradiol concentration distribution was 5.03 (95% confidence interval 2.02-12.49, P for trend < 0.001). Adjusting for testosterone and SHBG concentrations did not substantially alter the odds ratio for oestradiol. Although testosterone and SHBG concentrations were associated with breast cancer risk, the concentrations of these hormones were correlated with those of oestradiol; the associations were not statistically significant after adjusting for oestradiol concentration. These data provide evidence that serum oestradiol concentrations in post-menopausal women may have a substantial effect on breast cancer risk.     

The effect of the lectin from Sambucus nigra inflorescences on spontaneous and alkylating agent-induced mutagenesis in mammalian somatic cells

Data on separation of purified galactose-specific lectin as well as its two polypeptide chains from inflorescences of European elder Sambucus nigra are represented. Their molecule quaternary structure after the pattern a2 b2 is suggested. It was shown that purified protein in concentration 2.0 mg/ml had mutagenic activity and might enhance mutagenic effect of alkylating substance MNNG. Thus, preparations of lectin from inflorescences of European elder influenced on spontaneous and induced by the alkylating agent mutagenicity in mammalian somatic cells in vitro.     

Induction of neutralizing antibody in mice by immunization with recombinant 56 kDa protein of Orientia tsutsugamushi

Anti-oriential antibody inhibits Orientia tsutsugamushi attachment to, and penetration of, host cells. However, O. tsutsugamushi antigens that induce the production of a neutralizing antibody have not been identified. The authors immunized mice and rabbits with the recombinant 56 kDa protein of O. tsutsugamushi fused to the maltose binding protein of Escherichia coli (MBP-Bor56) and analysed their effect on O. tsutsugamushi attachment to or penetration of L929 cells. O. tsutsugamushi attachment and penetration were measured by using an indirect immunofluorescent antibody assay (IFA). O. tsutsugamushi growth in L929 cells was determined by [3H]thymidine uptake assay. By IFA, we observed a 96% reduction of attachment or penetration of O. tsutsugamushi treated with rabbit anti-MBP-Bor56 sera. [3H]thymidine uptake showed that mouse anti-MBP-Bor56 sera caused a 91% reduction in O. tsutsugamushi growth, when compared to mouse anti-MBP sera. These results suggest that the 56 kDa protein of O. tsutsugamushi plays an important role in O. tsutsugamushi attachment to or penetration of cells.     

Genetic polymorphism in the human UGT1A6 (planar phenol) UDP-glucuronosyltransferase: pharmacological implications

Two missense mutations were uncovered in the UGT1A6 (HLUG P1) cDNA which codes for a human phenol-metabolizing UDP-glucuronosyltransferase. The mutant and a wild-type UGT1A6 cDNAs were isolated from a custom synthesized human liver lambda Zap cDNA library. Both an A to G transition at nucleotide 541 (T181 A) and an A to C transversion at nucleotide 552 (R184S) occurred in exon 1 of the UGT1A6 (UGT1F) gene at the UGT1 locus. The two mutations on a single allele created a heterozygous genotype. Newly created BsmI and BsoFI sites at the T181 A and R184S locations, respectively, were confirmed by endonuclease treatment of PCR-generated DNA using the donor-liver genomic DNA as template. Screens with endonuclease treatment showed that 33/98 DNA samples were heterozygous with both mutations on one allele. One other individual also carried the R184S mutation on the second allele. Wild-type UGT1A6 generated a broad plateau of activity from pH 5.0 to pH 8.0 with certain experimental phenols, while activity was 1.3-2.5-fold higher at pH 6.4 than at pH 7.2 for others. UGT1A6*2 (181 A+ and 184S+) metabolized 4-nitrophenol, 4-tert-butylphenol, 3-ethylphenol/4-ethylphenol, 4-hydroxycoumarin, butylated hydroxy anisole and butylated hydroxy toluene, with the pH 6.4 preference, at only 27-75% of the rate of the wild-type isozyme whereas 1-naphthol, 3-iodophenol, 7-hydroxycoumarin, and 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin were metabolized at essentially the normal level. Furthermore, UGT1A6*2 metabolized 3-O-methyl-dopa and methyl salicylate at 41-74% of that of the wild-type, and a series of beta-blockers at 28-69% of the normal level. This evidence suggests that the UGT1A6 enzyme activity is affected by different amino acids depending upon the substrate selection.     

The CD40-CD154 system in anti-infective host defense

Research in the past few years has documented significant advances in our understanding of the CD40-CD40 ligand (CD154) system in diverse immune functions. This system influences many T cell mediated inflammatory immune responses and effector functions, unmasking a previously unexpected role for CD40-CD154 in cell mediated immunity. Manipulation of CD154 in animal models of infection by the use of CD154-deficient mice or anti-CD154 antibodies has shown the importance of this system in the initiation of the inflammatory response, in the activation of antigen-presenting cells and in resistance to infections.     

Expression of vimentin and cytokeratin in eutopic and ectopic endometrium of women with adenomyosis and ovarian endometrioma

Tuberculosis is a continuous threat for health in all parts of the world. In industrialized centers an emerging increase of tuberculosis is observed due to low health standards, poor health education and control, increasing migration and the HIV epidemic. This should alert the pediatrician, since most tuberculosis infections in childhood start with contacts of infected adults with children. There is still a good response to most drugs against tuberculosis, but in some parts of the world the resistance to conventional treatment is an emerging problem. In general incidence, morbidity and mortality of tbc in children of the western world is low and has good prognosis. However, the diagnostic principles and the education of pediatricians for recognizing tbc is still of utmost importance.