Novel, highly potent, selective 5-HT2A/D2 receptor antagonists as potential atypical antipsychotics.

The discovery of N-substituted-pyridoindolines and their binding affinities at the 5-HT(2A), 5-HT(2C) and D(2) receptors, and in vivo efficacy as 5-HT(2A) antagonists is described. The structure-activity relationship of a series of core tetracyclic derivatives with varying butyrophenone sidechains is also discussed. This study has led to the identification of potent, orally bioavailable 5-HT(2A)/D(2) receptor dual antagonists as potential atypical antipsychotics.

Survey results of an interdisciplinary animal physical rehabilitation course for physical therapy and veterinary students.

Elon College and North Carolina State University co-organized an animal rehabilitation elective course given to 12 MPT and 12 DVM students and conducted a post-course survey of the participants. Changes in perceptions of the field of animal rehabilitation, in perceived practice patterns, in the DVM students' perception of the field of PT, and in knowledge of animal rehabilitation were present for 84-100% of students who answered the survey.

Could laboratory-based notification improve the control of foodborne illness in New Zealand?

Aims: To estimate the completeness and timeliness of notifications of seven potentially foodborne diseases in Auckland.

Methods: The diseases audited were shigellosis, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, yersiniosis, listeriosis, hepatitis A and verocytotoxigenic (VTEC) E. coli infections.

Progressive neurologic disability in methylmalonic acidemia despite transplantation of the liver.

Unlabelled: Methylmalonic acidemia unresponsive to cobalamin is often fatal in infancy. Patients have been considered candidates for hepatic transplantation and experience has been that the procedure eliminates the life-threatening episodes of ketoacidosis that characterize this disease.

Conclusion: experience with a 24-year-old patient treated with hepatic transplantation indicates that this procedure does not prevent progressive renal failure and neurologic dysfunction.

Injury surveillance in the ED: design, implementation, and analysis.

Comprehensive, population-based surveillance for nonfatal injuries requires uniform methods for data collection from multiple hospitals. To show issues related to design and implementation of multihospital, emergency department (ED), injury surveillance, a city-wide system in the United States is discussed. From October 1, 1995 to September 30, 1996 all injury-related ED visits among District of Columbia residents <3 years of age were ascertained at the 10 hospitals where city children routinely sought care.

Clustered charge-to-alanine mutagenesis of the vaccinia virus A20 gene: temperature-sensitive mutants have a DNA-minus phenotype and are defective in the production of processive DNA polymerase activity.

Although the vaccinia virus DNA polymerase is inherently distributive, a highly processive form of the enzyme exists within the cytoplasm of infected cells (W. F. McDonald, N.

The A20R protein is a stoichiometric component of the processive form of vaccinia virus DNA polymerase.

In vitro analysis of the catalytic DNA polymerase encoded by vaccinia virus has demonstrated that it is innately distributive, catalyzing the addition of <10 nucleotides per primer-template binding event in the presence of 8 mM MgCl(2) or 40 mM NaCl (W. F. McDonald and P.

Laparoscopic ablation of symptomatic parenchymal and peripelvic renal cysts.

Objectives: To assess the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic ablation of symptomatic renal cysts as minimally invasive therapeutic techniques have largely supplanted open surgical intervention for the treatment of symptomatic renal cysts.

Methods: The records of 32 consecutive adult patients who underwent laparoscopic ablation of renal cysts (11 peripelvic, 21 parenchymal) were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were symptomatic at presentation; 26 had a single cyst, 5 had two cysts, and 1 had four cysts.

In vitro antifungal activities of voriconazole and reference agents as determined by NCCLS methods: review of the literature.

Voriconazole (VfendTM) is a new triazole that currently is undergoing phase III clinical trials. This review summarizes the published data obtained by NCCLS methods on the in vitro antifungal activity of voriconazole in comparison to itraconazole, amphotericin B, fluconazole, ketoconazole and flucytosine. Voriconazole had fungistatic activity against most yeasts and yeastlike species (minimum inhibitory concentrations [MICs] < 2 microg/ml) that was similar or superior to those of fluconazole, amphotericin B, and itraconazole.

Intraocular pressure, anterior chamber depth and axial length following intravenous mannitol.

The intraocular pressure (IOP), anterior chamber depth (ACD), and axial length (AL) were measured in 38 eyes of 19 subjects before and after intravenous mannitol injection (12.5 g). Intraocular pressures dropped over the initial 30 min then rose back to baseline by 2 hr.

Laparoscopic management of urachal cysts in adulthood.

Purpose: Managing persistent and symptomatic urachal anomalies requires wide surgical excision. Such intervention is recommended to prevent symptom recurrence and complications, most notably malignant degeneration. However, traditional open excision is associated with significant morbidity and prolonged convalescence.

Parental attitudes regarding interviews about injuries to their children.

Background: Questions about the circumstances of injuries, especially to infants and young children, might be perceived by parents as threatening or intrusive. Some institutional research review committees express concerns that interviews about childhood injuries may be offensive to parents. The perceived value and potential risk of questions about a young child's injury could affect the quality of responses.

Surveillance transbronchial lung biopsies: implication for survival after lung transplantation.

Objectives: We wished to determine whether early rejection after lung transplantation as assessed by surveillance transbronchial biopsy predicts for survival.

Methods: Between 1990 and 1997, 96 consecutive patients had lung transplantation: 89 had a minimum 1-month follow-up. For 71 consecutive patients we have 1-year follow-up and for 69 patients we have the results of the first 3 biopsies.

An ethogram of body patterning behavior in the biomedically and commercially valuable squid Loligo pealei off Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Squids have a wide repertoire of body patterns; these patterns contain visual signals assembled from a highly diverse inventory of chromatic, postural, and locomotor components. The chromatic components reflect the activity of dermal chromatophore organs that, like the postural and locomotor muscles, are controlled directly from the central nervous system. Because a thorough knowledge of body patterns is fundamental to an understanding of squid behavior, we have compiled and described an ethogram (a catalog of body patterns and associated behaviors) for Loligo pealei.

Molecular detection of tumour DNA in serum and peritoneal fluid from ovarian cancer patients.

We have analysed DNA extracted from the serum and peritoneal fluid of 20 ovarian cancer patients for the presence of tumour-specific genetic alterations. The 20 patients included six with stage Ia disease. Using six polymorphic microsatellite loci we were able to detect novel alleles or loss of heterozygosity in 17/20 serum samples and 12/19 peritoneal fluid samples.

Engagement of the cellular receptor for glycoprotein B of human cytomegalovirus activates the interferon-responsive pathway.

Cells respond to contact with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) virions by initiating intracellular signaling and gene expression characteristic of the interferon (IFN)-responsive pathway. Herein, we demonstrate that a principal mechanism of HCMV-induced signal transduction is via an interaction of the primary viral ligand, glycoprotein B (gB), with its cellular receptor. Cells incubated with a purified, soluble form of gB resulted in the transcriptional upregulation of IFN-responsive genes OAS and ISG54 (encoding 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase and an IFN-stimulated gene product of 54 kDa) to a comparable level as virions or IFN.

Kinetics and mechanism of exchange of apolipoprotein C-III molecules from very low density lipoprotein particles.

Transfer of apolipoprotein (apo) molecules between lipoprotein particles is an important factor in modulating the metabolism of the particles. Although the phenomenon is well established, the kinetics and molecular mechanism of passive apo exchange/transfer have not been defined in detail. In this study, the kinetic parameters governing the movement of radiolabeled apoC molecules from human very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) to high density lipoprotein (HDL3) particles were measured using a manganese phosphate precipitation assay to rapidly separate the two types of lipoprotein particles.

Validity of self-report of drug use among STD patients, ER patients, and arrestees.

This paper examines the validity of self-report of drug use in several important high-risk samples by comparing survey answers with urinalysis results. The analyses include data obtained from face-to-face interviews with 1536 patients in sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics, 1564 patients in hospital emergency rooms (ERs), and 2034 recent arrestees in jails. Using urinalysis as the criterion measure, considerable underreporting was observed, particularly among STD and ER subjects using cocaine and opiates.

Sequences of powder cocaine and crack use among arrestees in Los Angeles County.

The epidemic of cocaine abuse has led to numerous studies on the substance. While extent of use, characteristics of users, patterns of use, and consequences of dependence are well documented for both powder cocaine and crack, few studies have dealt with the sequence or progression of use between the two forms of cocaine. This paper draws on arrestee data collected from county jails in Los Angeles, California.

Early postoperative complications following neurosurgical procedures.

Purpose: To assess the incidence and characteristics of early postoperative complications in patients following neurosurgical procedures.

Methods: All patients undergoing neurosurgery during a four month period were followed postoperatively for up to four hours in the post anesthetic care unit or intensive care unit. Patient information and all complications were documented by the investigators on a standardized form.

Perception of timing of kinesthetic stimuli.

A psychophysical method was used to estimate the timing of perception of kinesthetic stimuli with different velocities in normal volunteers. A 1 ms auditory click occurred randomly before or after an imposed flexion movement at either 20, 40 or 60 deg/s of the metacarpophalangeal joint. Subjects reported whether the click was perceived before or after the movement onset (experiment 1) or perception of movement velocity (experiment 2).

New visualization techniques for in utero surgery: amnioscopy with a three-dimensional head-mounted display and a computer-controlled endoscope.

Endoscopic fetal surgery may reduce preterm labor associated with open hysterotomy but is partially limited by current visualization technology. We investigated a three-dimensional (3D) imaging system coupled to a head-mounted display (3D-HMD) and also employed a computer-controlled zoom endoscope for noninsufflated amnioscopy. Pregnant sheep were prepared in aseptic fashion for general anesthesia.

Gaining strength: supplements revised.

Responding to concerns for weight loss and nutritional status of its patients, a Transitional Care Unit (TCU) began an intensive Medication Pass Supplement Program. It involves nurses administering a dietitian-reviewed and approved nutritional supplement for specified residents with every medication pass. As a result, 94% of discharged patients lost less than 5% of their admission weight.

Initial studies of holmium:YAG laser creation of spinal defects in fetal rabbits: model for urologic effects of myelomeningocele.

Myelomeningocele (MMC) is characterized by paraplegia and incontinence, often necessitating surgery. Current models of MMC in sheep and primates create a spinal defect long after anomalous neural tube closure ordinarily occurs. An ideal model of MMC would allow creation of the defect at the earliest age in a low-cost species with a short gestation.

Endoscopic subcutaneous neurovascular lower-extremity myofascial flap harvesting for genitourinary reconstruction.

Neurovascular myofascial flaps have been widely utilized when healthy tissues outside the anatomic confines of the pelvis are necessary for complex genitourinary reconstructions. Myofascial flaps have great potential in providing support and tone to the bladder neck in a model of total urinary incontinence. Two muscles were evaluated for minimally invasive harvesting utilizing an adult rabbit and human cadaveric model: the gracilis, because of its neurovascular supply and length, and the sartorius, because of its location.