The cultural mosaic: a metatheory for understanding the complexity of culture.

Workforce population trends have increased the numbers and kinds of culturally diverse people who work together. Researchers in organizational behavior have often examined culture through values; however, cultural values can be based on collections of people other than traditional nation states. A cultural mosaic is presented as a framework to identify demographic, geographic, and associative features underlying culture.

Hydrolytic degradation behavior of biodegradable polyetheresteramide-based polyurethane copolymers.

In this article, a new kind of biodegradable polyetheresteramide-based polyurethane (PEEA-U) copolymers were prepared by the melt polycondensation method from epsilon-caprolactone, 6-aminocaproic acid, poly(ethylene glycol), and toluene diisocyanate. The water absorption of PEEA-U was affected strongly by the reaction time and the content of chain extender; and the hydrolytic degradation behavior of the copolymers was mainly determined by the reaction time, chain extender content, and the pH value of the degradation medium. Also, DSC, (1)H-NMR, and inherent viscosity were used to characterize the degradation behavior of the copolymers.

A 1-year trial of telbivudine, lamivudine, and the combination in patients with hepatitis B e antigen-positive chronic hepatitis B.

Background & Aims: A previous 4-week trial of telbivudine in patients with chronic hepatitis B indicated marked antiviral effects with good tolerability, leading to the present 1-year phase 2b trial.

Methods: This randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of telbivudine 400 or 600 mg/day and telbivudine 400 or 600 mg/day plus lamivudine 100 mg/day (Comb400 and Comb600) compared with lamivudine 100 mg/day in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive adults with compensated chronic hepatitis B.

Results: A total of 104 patients were randomized 1:1:1:1:1 among the 5 groups.

A dose-finding study of once-daily oral telbivudine in HBeAg-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Current therapy for chronic hepatitis B is suboptimal as a result of limited durable response rates, cumulative viral resistance, and/or poor tolerability. Telbivudine has potent antiviral activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in vitro and in the woodchuck model and has a promising preclinical safety profile. In this first clinical study of telbivudine, safety, antiviral activity, and pharmacokinetics were assessed in 43 adults with hepatitis B e antigen-positive chronic hepatitis B.

Development of a human light chain variable domain (V(L)) intracellular antibody specific for the amino terminus of huntingtin via yeast surface display.

Intracellular antibodies (intrabodies) provide an attractive means for manipulating intracellular protein function, both for research and potentially for therapy. A challenge in the isolation of effective intrabodies is the ability to find molecules that exhibit sufficient binding affinity and stability when expressed in the reducing environment of the cytoplasm. Here, we have used yeast surface display of proteins to isolate novel scFv clones against huntingtin from a non-immune human antibody library.

Fine epitope mapping of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibodies through random mutagenesis and yeast surface display.

Fine epitope mapping of therapeutically relevant monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was accomplished through random mutagenesis and yeast surface display. Using this method, we have identified key residues energetically important for the binding of EGFR to the mAbs 806, 225, and 13A9. A yeast-displayed library of single point mutants of an EGFR ectodomain fragment (residues 273-621) was constructed by random mutagenesis and was screened for reduced binding to EGFR mAbs.

Comparison of treatment with fluvastatin extended-release 80-mg tablets and immediate-release 40-mg capsules in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia.

Background: According to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III guidelines, hypercholesterolemic patients with greater risk for cardiovascular heart disease require more aggressive lowering of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. Numerous studies have demonstrated that despite these guidelines, patients often do not reach their target levels, and that physicians frequently do not titrate the drug beyond the starting dose. For these patients, it may be more suitable to initiate treatment with a higher starting dose of statin.

Guided wave modes in porous cylinders: experimental results.

In this paper guided wave modes in porous media are investigated. A water-saturated porous cylinder is mounted in the test section of a shock tube. Between the porous sample and the wall of the shock tube a water-filled annulus exists.

Development of a rapid, simple dipstick dye immunoassay for schistosomiasis diagnosis.

In order to develop a rapid, simple immunodiagnostic assay for schistosomiasis, soluble egg antigen (SEA) of Schistosoma japonicum was conjugated with a blue colloidal dye (D-1) produced in China and used to detect antibodies in the sera of schistosomiasis patients. The antigen-antibody complex was captured by anti-human IgG absorbed onto a nitrocellulose membrane dipstick by means of immunochromatography. The results showed that the sensitivity of the dipstick dye immunoassay (DDIA) was 96.

Antioxidant properties of methanolic extracts from several ear mushrooms.

Five kinds of ear mushrooms are commercially available in Taiwan, including black, red, jin, snow, and silver ears. Methanolic extracts were prepared from these ear mushrooms, and their antioxidant properties were studied. For all methanolic extracts from ear mushrooms, the antioxidant activities in the 1,3-diethyl-2-thiobarbituric acid method were moderate (38.

Intraperitoneal cisplatin-based chemotherapy vs. intravenous cisplatin-based chemotherapy for stage III optimally cytoreduced epithelial ovarian cancer.

Objective: To compare the survival between intraperitoneal cisplatin-based chemotherapy (IPCT) and intravenous cisplatin-based chemotherapy (IVCT) in stage III epithelial ovarian cancer with minimal residual disease (<1 cm) after primary debulking surgery.

Method: One hundred and thirty-two patients with stage III epithelial ovarian cancer after optimal primary debulking surgery with minimal residual disease between April 1990 and March 1995 were entered into a randomized clinical trial in which IPCT or IVCT was administered at 3-week intervals. Patients in the IPCT arm received cisplatin-based (100 mg/m(2)) intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Hyperamylasemia associated with endometroid carcinoma of the ovary.

Hyperamylasemia and alternations of serum isoamylases have been recorded in lung tumors, tubal disorders such as acute salpingitis and ruptured ectopic pregnancies and a variety of ovarian tumors, and they have been suggested as potential tumor markers. Hyperamylasemia was noted in a patient with a stage IIIC endometroid adenocarcinoma of the ovary. Serum levels of amylase decreased rapidly after removal of the ovarian tumor.

The leptospiral major outer membrane protein LipL32 is a lipoprotein expressed during mammalian infection.

We report the cloning of the gene encoding the 32-kDa lipoprotein, designated LipL32, the most prominent protein in the leptospiral protein profile. We obtained the N-terminal amino acid sequence of a staphylococcal V8 proteolytic-digest fragment to design an oligonucleotide probe. A Lambda-Zap II library containing EcoRI fragments of Leptospira kirschneri DNA was screened, and a 5.

Leptospiral outer membrane proteins OmpL1 and LipL41 exhibit synergistic immunoprotection.

New vaccine strategies are needed for prevention of leptospirosis, a widespread human and veterinary disease caused by invasive spirochetes belonging to the genus Leptospira. We have examined the immunoprotective capacity of the leptospiral porin OmpL1 and the leptospiral outer membrane lipoprotein LipL41 in the Golden Syrian hamster model of leptospirosis. Specialized expression plasmids were developed to facilitate expression of leptospiral proteins in Escherichia coli as the membrane-associated proteins OmpL1-M and LipL41-M.

Axial myopia in congenital ptosis: an animal model.

Congenital ptosis in humans has been associated with anisometropia, myopia, astigmatism, and amblyopia. Scientific evidence has shown that visual deprivation causes axial myopia in animals. This study using chicks was undertaken to investigate an animal model of congenital ptosis and the effects of lid position on ocular development.

Aerobic regulation of isocitrate dehydrogenase gene (icd) expression in Escherichia coli by the arcA and fnr gene products.

Isocitrate dehydrogenase, the icd gene product, has been studied extensively regarding the regulation of enzymatic activity and its relationship to the metabolic flux between the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the glyoxylate bypass. In this study, the transcriptional regulation of icd gene expression was monitored by using an icd-lacZ gene fusion and shown to vary over a 15-fold range in response to changes in oxygen and carbon availability. Anaerobic cell growth resulted in fivefold-lower icd-lacZ expression than during aerobic growth.

Aerobic regulation of the sucABCD genes of Escherichia coli, which encode alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase and succinyl coenzyme A synthetase: roles of ArcA, Fnr, and the upstream sdhCDAB promoter.

The sucABCD genes of Escherichia coli encode subunits for two enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (sucAB) and succinyl coenzyme A synthetase (sucCD). To examine how these genes are expressed in response to changes in oxygen and carbon availability, a set of sucA-lacZ, sucC-lacZ, sdhCDAB-sucA-lacZ, and sdhC-lacZ fusions were constructed and analyzed in vivo. While the expression of a sucA-lacZ fusion was low under all cell growth conditions tested, the expression of the sucA gene from the upstream sdhC promoter was considerably higher and varied by up to 14-fold depending on the carbon substrate used.

The promoter of a H2O2-inducible, Arabidopsis glutathione S-transferase gene contains closely linked OBF- and OBP1-binding sites.

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a family of multifunctional enzymes that play critical roles in the detoxification of xenobiotics and the protection of tissues against oxidative damage. GSTs are important enzymes in plant responses to a number of environmental stresses including herbicides and pathogen attack. Ocs elements are a group of related, 20 bp promoter elements which have been exploited by some plant pathogens to express genes in plants.

Selective loss of blue cones and rods in human retinal detachment.

Objective: To determine if there are histopathologic changes in the outer retina that could explain the blue-yellow color confusion previously described following rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in humans.

Methods: Ten eyes with traumatic retinal detachments were studied. Eight of the eyes were removed from 2 1/2 to 11 days following trauma.

Models of binocular luminance interaction evaluated using visually evoked potential and psychophysical measures: a tribute to M. Russell Harter.

We determined subjects' responses to sine-wave modulated lights employing visually evoked potentials (VEPs) and psychophysical thresholds in a series of experiments. The stimuli had the same temporal frequency and mean luminance in each eye but the phase difference between the two eyes was varied so that phase was either the same (dioptic) or different (dichoptic) in the two eyes. The data were fit by a model which had two binocular pathways, one which summed monocular nonlinear elements and a second which had a nonlinearity following the combination of monocular linear elements.

Foreshortening of the inferior conjunctival fornix associated with chronic glaucoma medications.

The authors designed a device to measure the depth of the inferior conjunctival fornix at the slit lamp using topical anesthesia. The fornices of 179 glaucoma patients receiving topical medications for glaucoma and 420 control subjects who had no history of ocular disease were measured. These measurements were age-stratified by decade.

Comparison of preoperative 10-Hz visual evoked potentials to contrast sensitivity and visual acuity after cataract extraction.

Cataract patients whose surgical outcomes were in question were referred for testing by visual evoked potentials, elicited through closed eyelids by a luminance stimulus (flash) that appeared 10 times per second. Visual evoked potentials were rated as normal (predicted acuity of 20/50 or better) or abnormal (predicted acuity of 20/60 or worse). Postoperative Arden and Optronix contrast sensitivities and visual acuities were determined in 37 patients who had no intraoperative or early postoperative complications.

Distribution of carbonic anhydrase among human photoreceptors.

The distribution of carbonic anhydrase (CA) among human photoreceptors has been a topic of dispute. In our experiments, by modifying an established enzyme histochemical technique, reproducible staining was observed. Of the cones in the peripheral retina, 91% were positive for CA.

Characterization of sodium dodecyl sulfate-stable Bacteroides gingivalis proteases by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Profiles of the proteolytic activities found in Bacteroides gingivalis culture supernatants, outer membranes, vesicles, and cell extracts were analyzed in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels containing covalently bound bovine serum albumin. A total of eight distinct bands of proteolytic activity could be detected. Four of these were found in the culture supernatant (P1, P2, P3, and P4).

Preoperative prediction of postoperative visual acuity in patients with cataracts: a quantitative review.

Many tests of visual function have been proposed as means of preoperatively evaluating cataract patients' surgical outcomes. It is impractical to compare all of these tests simultaneously on the same group of patients. Quantitative reviews apply quantitative methods to comparisons across studies.