The CafA protein required for the 5'-maturation of 16 S rRNA is a 5'-end-dependent ribonuclease that has context-dependent broad sequence specificity.

The CafA protein, which was initially described as having a role in either Escherichia coli cell division or chromosomal segregation, has recently been shown to be required for the maturation of the 5'-end of 16 S rRNA. The sequence of CafA is similar to that of the N-terminal ribonucleolytic half of RNase E, an essential E. coli enzyme that has a central role in the processing of rRNA and the decay of mRNA and RNAI, the antisense regulator of ColE1-type plasmids.

Rheumatoid synovial fluid contains bioactive leukemia inhibitory factor with cartilage degrading activity--another target for chondroprotective intervention.

Objective: To determine if the procatabolic activity of inflammatory synovial fluids (SF) from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) could be attenuated by the cytokine antagonists murine leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) binding protein (mLBP) and interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra).

Methods: Pig articular cartilage explants were cultured in the presence of either 20% v/v rheumatoid (RA) or osteoarthritic (OA) SF and varying concentrations of either mLBP and/or IL-1ra. The catabolic activity of the SF and the relative effects of mLBP and/or IL-1ra were assessed by determining the percentage release of sulfated glycosaminoglycans from cartilage explants.

Soluble glycoprotein 130 (gp130) attenuates OSM- and LIF-induced cartilage proteoglycan catabolism.

Oncostatin M (OSM) and leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) exhibit pleiotropic biological activities and share many structural and genetic features. The two cytokines bind with high affinity to the same receptor (LIF/OSM receptor), which consists of the LIF receptor alpha chain (LIFRalpha) and the signal transduction unit gp130. A soluble form of the beta chain of the receptor complex called soluble gp130 (sgp130) has been cloned.

Detection of epileptiform discharges in the EEG by a hybrid system comprising mimetic, self-organized artificial neural network, and fuzzy logic stages.

Objective: A multi-stage system for automated detection of epileptiform activity in the EEG has been developed and tested on pre-recorded data from 43 patients.

Methods: The system is centred on the use of an artificial neural network, known as the self-organising feature map (SOFM), as a novel pattern classifier. The role of the SOFM is to assign a probability value to incoming candidate epileptiform discharges (on a single channel basis).

Oncostatin M induces leukocyte infiltration and cartilage proteoglycan degradation in vivo in goat joints.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of intraarticular injections of recombinant human oncostatin M (rHuOSM) in the goat joint.

Methods: One milliliter of endotoxin-free normal saline (vehicle) containing either 40 ng, 200 ng, or 1,000 ng of rHuOSM was injected into the right radiocarpal joints (RCJs) of 12 male angora goats, while the left RCJs were injected with an equivalent volume of vehicle alone. In subsequent studies, the right and left RCJs of 8 male angora goats were injected with 200 ng of rHuOSM, and 1 hour later, the right RCJs were injected with either 5 microg of recombinant murine leukemia inhibitory factor binding protein (rMuLBP) or 1 mg of recombinant human interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (rHuIL-1Ra) in 1 ml of vehicle, while the left RCJs received 1 ml of vehicle alone.

Neonatal progeroid (Wiedemann-Rautenstrauch) syndrome: report of five new cases and review.

The neonatal progeroid syndrome (NPS), or Wiedemann-Rautenstrauch, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder comprised of generalized lipoatrophy except for fat pads in the suprabuttock areas, hypotrichosis of the scalp hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes, relative macrocephaly, triangular face, natal teeth, and micrognathia. We report on 5 new patients who demonstrate phenotypic variability and who represent the single largest series of NPS reported to date. Two of the patients are from an African-American kindred, an ethnic occurrence not reported previously.

Chronic survival of calves implanted with the DeBakey ventricular assist device.

The DeBakey ventricular assist device (VAD) is a miniaturized, electromagnetically driven axial flow pump capable of generating in excess of 10 L/min output. The VAD was evaluated in 19 calves during experiments designed to test iterative modifications in the system and to determine the safety of the DeBakey VAD for intermediate to long-term implant. Five of the animals died or were euthanized during the perioperative period (i.

Pharmacokinetics of fentanyl after intravenous and transdermal administration in goats.

Objective: To evaluate disposition of fentanyl in goats after IV and transdermal administration.

Animals: 8 healthy 2-year-old goats weighing 31.8 to 53.

Youth action strategies in violence prevention.

Purpose: To describe a school-based youth-driven violence prevention project. The objectives were to provide opportunities for students to plan health-related activities, develop their awareness of the importance of violence prevention, and identify ways to cope with and influence their environment with respect to this issue.

Methods: This project was initiated in three Canadian high schools with noon-hour discussions and a television talk show as the selected activities.

Enhancement of deep epileptiform activity in the EEG via 3-D adaptive spatial filtering.

The detection of epileptiform discharges (ED's) in the electroencephalogram (EEG) is an important component in the diagnosis of epilepsy. However, when the epileptogenic source is located deep in the brain, the ED's at the scalp are often masked by more superficial, higher-amplitude EEG activity. A noninvasive technique which uses an adaptive "beamformer" spatial filter has been investigated for the enhancement of signals from deep sources in the brain suspected of containing ED's.

Detomidine-propofol anesthesia for abdominal surgery in horses.

Objective: To evaluate propofol for induction and maintenance of anesthesia, after detomidine premedication, in horses undergoing abdominal surgery for creation of an experimental intestinal adhesion model.

Study Design: Prospective study.

Animals: Twelve horses (424 +/- 81 kg) from 1 to 20 years of age (5 females, 7 males).

Analgesics and pain.

There has been a substantial increase in the use of analgesics for pain management in the last 10 years. Traditionally, veterinarians have not been trained in the identification of or monitoring of patients that are in pain, even though an evaluation of pain is inherent in assessing improvement in many medical and surgical diseases. Until recently, the physiology and pharmacology of opioids, NSAIDs, local anesthetics, and alpha 2 agonists were taught, but the therapeutic role of these drugs was generally believed to be related to restraint, anesthesia, or control of inflammation rather than to pain management.

Four weeks of safety.

We hope to involve businesses, and organizations all across America should participate in dedicating the month of June to the practice of safety. The ultimate goal is to bring about a serious reduction of unintentional deaths and injuries the entire year.

The proinflammatory and chondral activities of leukemia inhibitory factor in goat joints are partially a function of interleukin-1.

We wished to determine if the effects of injected recombinant human leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) are a function of endogenous goat interleukin-1 (IL-1) production and, conversely, if the effects of injected recombinant human IL-1 are a function of endogenous LIF production in goat radiocarpal joints (RCJ). In preliminary experiments, murine LIF binding protein (MuLBP) and recombinant HuIL-1RA were found to independently attenuate the cartilage proteoglycan resorbing activity of goat synovial membrane-conditioned medium (GSMCM), implying activity against goat LIF and goat IL-1, respectively. The present study shows that the proinflammatory and chondral actions of rHuLIF in goat RCJ are partially attenuated by rHuIL-1RA.

Peripheral nerve tumors of the orbit.

Neurofibromas and schwannomas are orbital neoplasms with similar clinical and radiologic features. Solitary or circumscribed neurofibromas and schwannomas demonstrate slow progressive growth with ocular displacement and are amenable to surgical resection. Plexiform and diffuse neurofibromas are diffusely infiltrative in the orbit and periocular region, they are difficult to resect, and they have a high rate of recurrence.

Maintenance of anaesthesia with sevoflurane and oxygen in mechanically-ventilated horses subjected to exploratory laparotomy treated with intra- and post operative anaesthetic adjuncts.

Eight healthy horses premedicated with xylazine and induced with ketamine were used to evaluate sevoflurane in oxygen for maintenance of anaesthesia during elective exploratory laparotomy. After orotracheal intubation, horses were hoisted, placed in dorsal recumbency on a padded surgery table, and received sevoflurane in oxygen for maintenance of anaesthesia. The horses were allowed to breathe spontaneously until instrumented; then, they were mechanically ventilated to maintain the PaCO2 between 35 and 45 mmHg.

Evaluation of analgesia provided by postoperative administration of butorphanol to cats undergoing onychectomy.

Objective: To evaluate adequacy of analgesia provided by postoperative administration of butorphanol to cats undergoing onychectomy.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Animals: 63 cats undergoing elective onychectomy.

Modulation of cartilage proteoglycan metabolism by LIF binding protein.

Leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and oncostatin M (OSM) exhibit pleiotropic biological activities, share many structural and genetic features and bind with high affinity to the same receptor (LIF/OSM receptor). A soluble form of the LIF-R alpha, called LIF binding protein (LBP) has been isolated from mouse serum. LIF and OSM stimulate proteoglycan (PG) release and inhibit PG synthesis in cultured pig articular cartilage explants.

Monoarthropathy. Could this be infection?

Background: Monoarthritis in an adult presents a diagnostic challenge. Monoarticular symptoms usually imply local joint pathology, but may be a referred phenomenon, a feature of a periarticular syndrome such as a stress fracture or the dominant manifestation in polyarticular disease.

Objective: When confronted with an acute or subacute monoarthritis, exclusion of sepsis is essential and wherever feasible joint aspiration and diagnostic analysis of synovial fluid should be undertaken.

Antagonism of the IL-6 cytokine subfamily--a potential strategy for more effective therapy in rheumatoid arthritis.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines, some of which have the capacity to modulate cartilage and bone metabolism, are important mediators of the frequently sustained and destructive inflammation that characterises rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) have been studied extensively in this regard. That these proteins are important is no longer in doubt following the demonstration that the IL-1 receptor antagonist and neutralising antibodies directed against TNF alpha are clinically effective.

Beyond preceptorship and supervision: a third clinical teaching model emerges for Australian nursing education.

In Australia, there are two established models for teaching in the clinical setting, supervision and preceptorship. Both models are used in the final year unit at the University of Canberra. In 1995, seven clinical supervisors and 34 preceptors responded to a questionnaire about their perceptions of their respective roles.