Meaning and its measurement in psychosocial oncology.

Although 'meaning' is a construct that has been referred to for many years within psychological research, particularly in work to examine the ways in which individuals respond to crises or illness, it is only relatively recently that this has started to appear within the psychosocial oncology literature. Where the term has been used, there has been much variation in the way in which this has been operationalised and measured (a problem that has been evident within other areas of psychosocial oncology). This article will review some of the self-report measures that have been developed to assess levels of meaning, outlining their background and status regarding psychometric performance.

Austin Bowel Cancer Consortium: changing culture in bowel cancer care.

The Austin Bowel Cancer Consortium aimed to identify drivers of clinical decision-making so as to inform a continuous practice improvement approach to the use of evidence. Strategies for engaging clinicians included a direct clinician-clinician approach, gaining the support of opinion leaders and using the clinicians' desire for patient outcome data. Interviews with clinicians identified barriers to using evidence in practice.

Determination of lamivudine in plasma, amniotic fluid, and rat tissues by liquid chromatography.

An HPLC method for the quantification of lamivudine (3TC) in rat plasma, amniotic fluid, placental and fetal tissues has been developed, validated and applied to the study of the placental transport of this drug in the pregnant rat. Placental and fetal tissues were processed using liquid-liquid extraction enhanced by salting out the sample using a saturated solution of ammonium sulfate. Plasma and amniotic fluid samples were processed by protein precipitation using 2 M perchloric acid.

Durable responses after ibritumomab tiuxetan radioimmunotherapy for CD20+ B-cell lymphoma: long-term follow-up of a phase 1/2 study.

We previously demonstrated that yttrium-90 (Y-90) ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) radioimmunotherapy (RIT) was safe and effective for relapsed or refractory CD20(+), B-cell, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). We now provide long-term follow-up data in responding patients based on International Workshop Response Criteria. Complete (CR), CR unconfirmed (CRu), and partial response (PR) rates were 29%, 22%, and 22%, respectively (overall response rate 73%, 51% in CR/CRu).

Determination of Abacavir in maternal plasma, amniotic fluid, fetal and placental tissues by a polarity switching liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method.

A rapid and efficient high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) method for the determination of concentrations of the carbocyclic nucleoside antiviral Abacavir in maternal rat plasma, amniotic fluid, placental and fetal tissue samples has been developed and validated. All tissue samples were homogenized in water prior to analysis and all samples were prepared by acetonitrile precipitation followed by dilution with HPLC-grade water. Separation of the analyte and internal standard from the matrices was achieved on a C(8) analytical column (2.

Pain behaviors observed during six common procedures: results from Thunder Project II.

Objective: Patients frequently display behaviors during procedures that may be pain related. Clinicians often rely on the patient's demonstration of behaviors as a cue to presence of pain. The purpose of this study was to identify specific pain-related behaviors and factors that predict the degree of behavioral responses during the following procedures: turning, central venous catheter insertion, wound drain removal, wound care, tracheal suctioning, and femoral sheath removal.

Quantitative determination of the polypeptide motilin in rat plasma by externally calibrated liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

We present a method for the quantitation of motilin from rat plasma by protein precipitation and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Using external calibration, the method was linear over the concentration range 10-1000 ng/mL with an initial sample volume of 150 microL. The LC system included a C(18) column with a 300 A pore size.

Rituximab: expanding role in therapy for lymphomas and autoimmune diseases.

Rituximab (Rituxan) is a human-mouse chimeric monoclonal antibody that targets the B-cell CD20 antigen and causes rapid and specific B-cell depletion. Rituximab was approved in the United States in 1997 to treat low-grade or follicular, relapsed or refractory, CD20-positive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Since then, further clinical experience with rituximab has been incorporated into the prescribing information, which now stipulates an extended eight-week schedule, treatment of patients with refractory or relapsed bulky disease measuring >10 cm, and retreatment of patients who responded to rituximab previously.

Sequencing and characterization of pBM400 from Bacillus megaterium QM B1551.

Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 plasmid pBM400, one of seven indigenous plasmids, has been labeled with a selectable marker, isolated, completely sequenced, and partially characterized. A sequence of 53,903 bp was generated, revealing a total of 50 predicted open reading frames (ORFs); 33 were carried on one strand and 17 were carried on the other. These ORFs comprised 57% of the pBM400 sequence.

Rituxan immunotherapy and zevalin radioimmunotherapy in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Immunotherapy with the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab has been shown in clinical trials to be effective in the treatment of both indolent and aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). Recent studies have demonstrated improved clinical benefit with extended dose and maintenance therapies in patients with indolent lymphomas and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Rituximab's label was recently expanded to include treatment of bulky disease, retreatment of patients previously treated with rituximab, and an eight-week extended treatment schedule.

Effect of interleukin-10 null mutation on maternal immune response and reproductive outcome in mice.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory and immune-deviating cytokine expressed in the endometrium and placenta. IL-10 null mutant (IL-10-/-) mice have been employed to examine the role of IL-10 in regulating immune events in early pregnancy and its significance in implantation and pregnancy success. The inflammatory response elicited in endometrial tissue by insemination was amplified in IL-10-/- mice, with a 66% increase in leukocytes in the endometrial stroma on Day 3 of pregnancy.

Plasma binding of trichloroacetic acid in mice, rats, and humans under cancer bioassay and environmental exposure conditions.

Trichloroacetic acid (TCA), a mouse liver carcinogen, is a drinking water contaminant and a metabolite of solvents such as trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene. Because acidic drugs are often bound more strongly to human than to rodent plasma proteins, a study was undertaken to determine whether this was the case for TCA and to clarify the mechanistic bases for species differences. Equilibrium dialysis was used to measure in vitro binding of a range of TCA concentrations to plasma of humans, rats, and mice.

Altered placental development in interleukin-10 null mutant mice.

Placental morphogenesis and nutrient transfer function are regulated by growth factors at the foeto-maternal interface. Interleukin (IL)-10, expressed in the decidua and placenta, is implicated in regulating extravillous cytotrophoblast invasion through inhibiting matrix metalloproteinase expression and influencing the quality of the maternal immune response. Our laboratory has previously found that IL-10 deficiency in both the mother and foetus increases foetal weight at day 18 without altering placental weight suggesting that the placenta has a greater functional capacity when IL-10 is absent.

Additional radiation absorbed dose estimates for Zevalin radioimmunotherapy.

Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan) radioimmunotherapy is a novel treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The Zevalin regimen includes 5 mCi (111)In-labeled Zevalin on Day 1, followed by serial anterior and posterior planar gamma images for imaging or dosimetry. On Day 8, patients receive 0.

Radiation dosimetry results from a Phase II trial of ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) radioimmunotherapy for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and mild thrombocytopenia.

This was a 30-patient Phase II trial of reduced-dose (90)Y ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) RIT for patients with low-grade, follicular, or transformed B-cell NHL and mild thrombocytopenia. Patients were given an imaging dose of (111)In-labeled ibritumomab tiuxetan for dosimetry measurements. One week later, patients were administered a therapeutic dose of 0.

Mimicking the events of menstruation in the murine uterus.

Menstruation and endometrial regeneration occur during every normal reproductive cycle in women and some Old World primates. Many of the cellular and molecular events of menstruation have been identified by correlative or in vitro studies, but the lack of a convenient model for menstruation in a laboratory animal has restricted functional studies. In this study, a mouse model for menstruation first described by Finn in the 1980s has been modified for use in a commonly used inbred strain of mouse.

Triply periodic bicontinuous structures through interference lithography: a level-set approach.

Interference lithography holds the promise of fabricating large-area, defect-free photonic structures on the sub-micrometer scale both rapidly and cheaply. There is a need for a procedure to establish a connection between the structures that are formed and the parameters of the interfering beams. There is also a need to produce self-supporting three-dimensional bicontinuous structures.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 portal protein UL6 interacts with the putative terminase subunits UL15 and UL28.

The herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) UL6, UL15, and UL28 proteins are essential for cleavage of replicated concatemeric viral DNA into unit length genomes and their packaging into a preformed icosahedral capsid known as the procapsid. The capsid-associated UL6 DNA-packaging protein is located at a single vertex and is thought to form the portal through which the genome enters the procapsid. The UL15 protein interacts with the UL28 protein, and both are strong candidates for subunits of the viral terminase, a key component of the molecular motor that drives the DNA into the capsid.

Safety of yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan radioimmunotherapy for relapsed low-grade, follicular, or transformed non-hodgkin's lymphoma.

Purpose: Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) with yttrium-90 ((90)Y)-labeled anti-CD20 antibody ((90)Y ibritumomab tiuxetan; Zevalin, IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation, San Diego, CA) has a high rate of tumor response in patients with relapsed or refractory, low-grade, follicular, or transformed B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). This study presents the safety data from 349 patients in five studies of outpatient treatment with (90)Y ibritumomab tiuxetan.

Patients And Methods: Patients received rituximab 250 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8, and either 0.

Radiation dosimetry results and safety correlations from 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan radioimmunotherapy for relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: combined data from 4 clinical trials.

Unlabelled: Ibritumomab tiuxetan is an anti-CD20 murine IgG1 kappa monoclonal antibody (ibritumomab) conjugated to the linker-chelator tiuxetan, which securely chelates (111)In for imaging or dosimetry and (90)Y for radioimmunotherapy (RIT). Dosimetry and pharmacokinetic data from 4 clinical trials of (90)Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan RIT for relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were combined and assessed for correlations with toxicity data.

Methods: Data from 179 patients were available for analysis.

Pharmacokinetics of intravenous acyclovir, zidovudine, and acyclovir-zidovudine in pregnant rats.

The pharmacokinetics and placental transfer of acyclovir and zidovudine monotherapies and acyclovir-zidovudine combination therapy were compared in the pregnant rat. Timed-pregnancy Sprague-Dawley rats were used for the study. Doses of 60 mg of each drug/kg of body weight in monotherapy and in combination therapy were given by intravenous bolus, and samples of maternal plasma, amniotic fluid, fetal tissue, and placental tissue were collected over a period of 8 h postdose.

Optimization of clinical teaching unit call schedules at the Ottawa hospital through tabu search heuristics.

The task of scheduling medical staff for evening rounds in the Clinical Teaching Unit of the Ottawa Hospital is a long complicated task due to its complexity. Three main classifications of staff, combined with various rotations, skill sets, clinical teams and vacation periods have combined to create a difficult scheduling problem. As there were no commercial packages available to solve this particular task, a study was made of heuristic scheduling and optimization techniques and a program based on a variation of the tabu search heuristic was written and tested.

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry determination of acyclovir in pregnant rat plasma and tissues.

Reversed-phase chromatography is the most common means of separation for small drug molecules. However, polar drugs may suffer from poor retention and peak shape in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) provides a viable alternative to RP-HPLC and is an excellent way to separate polar compounds.