Rapid loss of oestrogen and progesterone receptors in human leiomyoma and myometrial explant cultures.

Oestrogen and progesterone are promoters of uterine leiomyoma growth: oestrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) are over-expressed in these tumours. Paradoxically, there is a heterogeneity in responsiveness of leiomyoma growth to oestrogen and progesterone in culture. In this study, leiomyoma and adjacent myometrium were obtained at hysterectomy.

Toilet training for the child with chronic illness.

Toilet training is as necessary a developmental step for the child with chronic illness as it is for the healthy child. Helping families and children to achieve this task, despite the demands of the illness, may require modification of usual techniques. Assessment of readiness and impediments to toilet training along with suggested intervention approaches are addressed.

Self-in-relation theory and the role of the clinical nurse specialist. Part II: Application to advanced nursing roles in a professional practice model.

CONCEPTS AND ASSUMPTIONS of self-in-relation theory of women's development, as proposed by feminist scholars at the Stone Center in Wellesley, Massachusetts, are applied in this article. This theory was used as a framework to guide staff development and mentorship roles of advanced practice nurses. How the theory served to direct these roles and assisted in development of a professional practice model is discussed.

Inhibition of dexamethasone binding to human glucocorticoid receptor by New World primate cell extracts.

To determine if New World primates express an inhibitor that influences glucocorticoid receptor (GR) binding characteristics, we examined [3H]dexamethasone binding in cytosol prepared from B95-8 lymphoid cells, derived from the cotton top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), in combination with cytosol prepared from human or rat tissues. B95-8 cytosol inhibited specific binding of [3H]dexamethasone (P < 0.01) when mixed with cytosol prepared from either a human lymphoid cell line (HL) or rat thymus.

Estrogen receptor gene expression in human uterine leiomyomata.

Estrogen and progestin are believed to be important physiological regulators of uterine leiomyoma growth. We recently showed that progesterone receptor messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein levels are increased in human uterine leiomyomas compared with those in myometrial biopsy tissue obtained from the same patient. To further characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying abnormal growth of uterine leiomyomas, we analyzed biopsy samples of tumor and adjacent normal myometrium for estrogen receptor (ER) gene expression.

Arthritis in Lewis rats induced by the non-immunogenic adjuvant CP20961: an immunohistochemical analysis of the developing disease.

Objectives: The role of lymphocytes and macrophages in developing adjuvant arthritis induced by an injection of CP20961 in inbred Lewis rats was studied over a 32 day period using a novel biotin-avidin immunoperoxidase histochemical technique.

Methods: Fresh frozen sections of hind paws and spleens, as well as lymph nodes draining the site of the injected adjuvant were immunostained using a panel of monoclonal antibodies specific for subsets of lymphocytes and macrophages and for MHC Class II antigen.

Results: An increase in the numbers of activated T-lymphocytes was detected early in the draining lymph nodes before hind paw swelling had begun.

High-risk preterm infants at 3 years of age: parental response to the presence of developmental problems.

In this article we describe developmental status at 3 years and family utilization of early intervention services of 24 children who were born prematurely and weighed less than 1,500 g or who required mechanical ventilation at birth. Findings indicated (a) a low rate of major disabling conditions; (b) a high rate of developmental, mild cognitive, and behavioral concerns; and (c) a lack of family follow-through on referrals for early intervention services for potentially responsive children, even though the concerns put the children at risk for school difficulties.

Progesterone receptor messenger ribonucleic acid and protein are overexpressed in human uterine leiomyomas.

Objective: Our purpose was to identify molecular mechanisms underlying abnormal growth of uterine leiomyomas.

Study Design: Biopsy samples of tumor and adjacent "normal" myometrium from nine patients were analyzed for progesterone receptor gene expression and for proliferation-associated antigen Ki-67.

Results: Northern analysis indicated that progesterone receptor messenger ribonucleic acid levels were increased twofold to 15-fold in leiomyoma compared with adjacent myometrial biopsy tissue from all patients (n = 9), whereas beta-actin messenger ribonucleic acid was at similar levels in these samples.

Indications for the use of pacing pulmonary artery catheters in cardiac surgery.

Several varieties of pulmonary artery catheters (PACs) with pacing capabilities are now available. Although specific recommendations for prophylactic perioperative placement of pacemakers have been offered previously, the authors believe that those recommendations warrant further examination, taking into consideration the availability of new pacing modalities. Toward this end, the use of pacing PACs in cardiac surgical patients was prospectively examined.

A novel technique for immunohistoperoxidase staining of unfixed whole joints of small animals.

A method has been developed to cut unfixed and undecalcified sections of rat paws from animals with adjuvant arthritis and to stain them by a biotin-avidin immunoperoxidase technique. Good tissue integrity and morphology throughout the immunohistochemical procedure were retained if the sections were first mounted on transparent sellotape. The method is illustrated with two monoclonal antibodies (mAb) and is generally applicable with any mAb or polyclonal antibody and with joints from other small animals.

Premarital HIV-1 testing in New Jersey.

To answer questions related to the usefulness of premarital testing for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), two "blinded" or "nonlinked" HIV-1 serosurveys were done in New Jersey, a state with a high incidence of AIDS, on blood specimens submitted for a premarital serologic test for syphilis. The first survey involved premarital blood specimens submitted to the New Jersey Department of Health laboratory for the year starting September 1987. The second survey involved premarital specimens submitted to five private or hospital clinical laboratories in the spring of 1989, of which approximately 1,000 consecutive premarital specimens from each laboratory were sent to the Department of Health laboratory for HIV-1 testing.

Genetic variation of the glucocorticoid receptor from a steroid-resistant primate.

The neotropical cotton-top marmoset (Saguinus oedipus) is a New World primate known to have markedly increased total and free plasma cortisol concentrations when compared with Old World primates including man. The relative end-organ 'resistance' to glucocorticoids found in various New World primates has been attributed to a glucocorticoid receptor (GR) with diminished affinity for glucocorticoids. It has been demonstrated that the marmoset GR has approximately tenfold lower binding affinity for dexamethasone when compared with the human GR.

Interleukin-2 receptors on rat eosinophils in adjuvant arthritis.

Monoclonal antibodies specific for the interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) have been used to demonstrate by immunohistochemical methods the presence of IL-2R on eosinophils as well as on lymphocytes in lymphoid tissue taken from rats with adjuvant arthritis. Evidence is presented which suggests that the IL-2R on eosinophils may have been induced by the disease process.

Thrombocytopenia possibly caused by structurally related third-generation cephalosporins.

Thrombocytopenia is defined as a decrease in the platelet count to less than 100 x 10(9)/L and it is the most commonly reported drug-induced blood dyscrasia. Heparin is the most commonly reported cause of drug-induced thrombocytopenia with a reported incidence between one and ten percent. Thrombocytopenia induced by cephalosporins has been reported but is relatively rare.

Effect of heat on the nutritional quality and safety of soybean cultivars.

To evaluate whether soybean strains with reduced levels of trypsin inhibitors have enhanced nutritional and safety characteristics, we measured protease inhibitor content of a standard cultivar (Williams 82) and an isoline (L81-4590) lacking the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor, using enzyme inhibition assays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Less heat was needed to inactivate the remaining trypsin inhibitory activity of the isoline than that of the standard soybean cultivar. In fact, autoclaving (steam heating at 121 degrees C) of the isoline for 20 min resulted in a near zero level of trypsin inhibitor activity, while 20% remained in the Williams 82 sample.

Internalisation of the Bowman-Birk protease inhibitor by intestinal epithelial cells.

Protease inhibitors have been shown to be effective suppressors of carcinogenesis in vitro and in vivo. For example, the soybean-derived Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI) suppresses dimethylhydrazine-induced colon carcinogenesis in mice. Relatively little is known about the effects of protease inhibitors on intestinal epithelial cells.

The relationship between development of lung inflammation and changes in bone marrow populations in guinea-pigs following inhaled antigen challenge.

Sensitised guinea-pigs were exposed to aerosolised antigen. The resultant cellular infiltration into the lung was assessed in lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid 6, 24, 72 h and 7 days later. An early neutrophil infiltration peaking at 6 h was succeeded by eosinophil migration which persisted for 7 days, at which time some of the eosinophils appeared immature.

ELISA analysis of soybean trypsin inhibitors in processed foods.

Soybean proteins are widely used in human foods in a variety of forms, including infant formulas, flour, protein concentrates, protein isolates, soy sauces, textured soy fibers, and tofu. The presence of inhibitors of digestive enzymes in soy proteins impairs the nutritional quality and possibly the safety of soybeans and other legumes. Processing, based on the use of heat or fractionation of protein isolates, does not completely inactivate or remove these inhibitors, so that residual amounts of inhibitors are consumed by animals and humans.

Primary cortisol resistance presenting as isosexual precocity.

Primary cortisol resistance (PCR) is a rare cause of hypercortisolism and usually does not produce clinical manifestations. This report describes primary cortisol resistance in a boy with isosexual precocity. A 6 7/12-yr-old boy had Tanner stage 3 pubic hair, accelerated linear growth, and advanced bone age (10 yr), but normal (for age) tests.

Glucocorticoids inhibit estradiol-mediated uterine growth: possible role of the uterine estradiol receptor.

Stress-related activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) is associated with suppression of the reproductive axis. This effect has been explained by findings indicating that corticotropin-releasing hormone suppresses hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion via an opioid peptide-mediated mechanism, and that glucocorticoids suppress both GnRH and gonadotropin secretion and inhibit testosterone and estradiol production by the testis and ovary, respectively. To evaluate whether glucocorticoids suppress the effects of estradiol on its target tissues, we examined the ability of dexamethasone to inhibit estradiol-stimulated uterine and thymic growth in ovariectomized rats.