Paxillin binding is not the sole determinant of focal adhesion localization or dominant-negative activity of focal adhesion kinase/focal adhesion kinase-related nonkinase.

The carboxy-terminal 150 residues of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) comprise the focal adhesion-targeting sequence, which is responsible for its subcellular localization. The mechanism of focal adhesion targeting has not been fully elucidated. We describe a mutational analysis of the focal adhesion-targeting sequence of FAK to further examine the mechanism of focal adhesion targeting and explore additional functions encoded by the carboxy-terminus of FAK.

Esophageal Doppler monitor determinations of cardiac output and preload during cardiac operations.

Background: Perioperative management of cardiac surgical patients frequently mandates measurements of cardiac output and left ventricular filling. This study compared cardiac output and left ventricular filling measured by pulmonary artery (PA) catheter and esophageal Doppler monitor (EDM).

Methods: Thirty-four patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting were prepared by implanting a PA catheter, an EDM, and a transit-time ultrasonic flow probe around the ascending aorta.

Environmental radon daughters reveal pathognomonic changes in the brain proteins and lipids in patients with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and cigarette smokers.

This paper presents an investigation of the retention of environmental radon daughters, 210Po (alpha particle emitting radio-nuclide) and 210Bi (beta particle emitting radio-nuclide), in lipid and protein fractions of the cortical grey and subcortical white matter from the frontal and temporal brain lobes of patients who had suffered from Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease, of cigarette smokers, and of control subjects. 210Po and 210Bi radioactivity increased tenfold in the cortical grey and subcortical white protein fraction in patients with Alzheimer's disease and smokers, and tenfold in the cortical grey and subcortical white lipid fraction in patients with Parkinson's disease. Free radicals generated by radon daughters may add to the severity of the radio-chemical injury to the brain astrocytes.

Members of the Arabidopsis HRT/RPP8 family of resistance genes confer resistance to both viral and oomycete pathogens.

Turnip crinkle virus (TCV) inoculation onto TCV-resistant Arabidopsis leads to a hypersensitive response (HR) controlled by the dominant gene HRT. HRT is a member of the class of resistance (R) genes that contain a leucine zipper, a nucleotide binding site, and leucine-rich repeats. The chromosomal position of HRT and its homology to resistance gene RPP8 and two RPP8 homologs indicate that unequal crossing over and gene conversion may have contributed to HRT evolution.

Symptoms in adults with lung cancer. A systematic research review.

Health care providers play a key role in providing adequate symptom management and promoting quality of life during chronic illness. Several studies have noted that adults with lung cancer experience more symptom distress than patients with other types of cancer. Therefore, symptom management in this group of patients is particularly important.

The noncatalytic domain of protein-tyrosine phosphatase-PEST targets paxillin for dephosphorylation in vivo.

The noncatalytic domain of protein-tyrosine phosphatase (PTP)-PEST contains a binding site for the focal adhesion-associated protein paxillin. This binding site has been narrowed to a 52-residue sequence that is composed of two nonoverlapping, weak paxillin binding sites. The PTP-PEST binding site on paxillin has been mapped to the two carboxyl-terminal LIM (lin11, isl-1, and mec-3) domains.

Vacuolar H(+)-ATPase is expressed in response to gibberellin during tomato seed germination.

Completion of germination (radicle emergence) by gibberellin (GA)-deficient (gib-1) mutant tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) seeds is dependent upon exogenous GA, because weakening of the endosperm tissue enclosing the radicle tip requires GA. To investigate genes that may be involved in endosperm weakening or embryo growth, differential cDNA display was used to identify mRNAs differentially expressed in gib-1 seeds imbibed in the presence or absence of GA(4+7).

The role of focal adhesion kinase binding in the regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation of paxillin.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and paxillin are focal adhesion-associated, phosphotyrosine-containing proteins that physically interact. A previous study has demonstrated that paxillin contains two binding sites for FAK. We have further characterized these two binding sites and have demonstrated that the binding affinity of the carboxyl-terminal domain of FAK is the same for each of the two binding sites.

Effect of long-term infection with nef-defective attenuated HIV type 1 on CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes: increased CD45RO+CD4+ T lymphocytes and limited activation of CD8+ T lymphocytes.

Members of the Sydney Blood Bank Cohort (SBBC) have been infected with an attenuated strain of HIV-1 with a natural nef/LTR mutation and have maintained relatively stable CD4+ T lymphocyte counts for 14-18 years. Flow cytometric analysis was used to examine the phenotype of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes in these subjects, including the immunologically important naive (CD45RA+CD62L+), primed (CD45RO+), and activated (CD38+HLA-DR+ and CD28-) subsets. The median values were compared between the SBBC and control groups, comprising age-, sex-, and transfusion-matched HIV-1-uninfected subjects; transfusion-acquired HIV-1-positive LTNPs; and sexually acquired HIV-1-positive LTNPs.

Analysis and evaluation of the Trajectory Theory of Chronic Illness Management.

The development and testing of theories for use in nursing research and practice is essential for advancement of the profession. The Trajectory Theory of Chronic Illness Management is a middle-range nursing theory that has been proposed by Corbin and Strauss (1991a). Analysis and evaluation of this theory was performed using Fawcett and Downs's (1992) guidelines.

Testing a theory for health-related quality of life in cancer patients: a structural equation approach.

The purpose of this study was to test a Roy Adaptation Model-based theory of health-related quality of life in patients with newly diagnosed cancer. Using a structural equation model, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was regarded as a latent variable measured by 4 empirical indicators representing the 4 biopsychosocial response modes of the Roy Adaptation Model (RAM). The response modes are physiologic, self-concept, interdependence, and role function.

Composition and function of peripheral blood stem and progenitor cell harvests from patients with severe active rheumatoid arthritis.

High-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell rescue has been proposed as an intensive therapy for severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In view of previous observations of abnormal haemopoiesis in RA patients, the composition and function of peripheral blood stem cell harvests (PBSCH) was investigated. Compared with PBSCH from healthy allogeneic donors mobilized with the same dose of G-CSF (filgrastim; 10 microg/kg/d, n = 14), RA PBSCH (n = 9) contained significantly fewer mononuclear cells (375 v 569 x 10(6)/kg, P = 0.

Cultural assessment of black American men treated for prostate cancer: clinical case studies.

Purpose/objectives: To describe aspects of culturally competent care. Two case studies of black American men who received treatment for prostate cancer are presented to illustrate the use of the explanatory model of illness as a guide for conducting a cultural assessment.

Data Sources: Published articles, abstracts, and books; case studies developed from interviews of black American men who received treatment for prostate cancer.

Insertional inactivation of the tomato polygalacturonase gene.

The site-selected insertion (SSI) procedure was used to generate insertional knockout mutations in the gene for tomato polygalacturonase (PG), a critical enzyme in fruit ripening. Previously, it had been shown that the Dissociation (Ds) elements in a select group of tomato plants frequently inserted into PG, at least in somatic tissues. DNA isolated from pollen produced by progeny of these plants was screened by SSI to identify plants likely to transmit the insertions in PG to progeny.

Quality of life in persons with non-small cell lung cancer: a concept analysis.

Quality of life, as a concept, has received increased attention in recent years. In fact, issues related to quality of life have been identified as among the top three priorities for research by the Oncology Nursing Society. Several nurse investigators have underscored the importance of quality of life research as an outcome measure to evaluate the effectiveness of nursing interventions.

Palliative care: past, present, and future perspectives.

Objectives: To provide a review of the development and impact of palliative care; to discuss quality of lie as a framework for guiding clinical practice and research in palliative care; and to identify future trends that are likely to affect palliative care services.

Data Sources: Research studies, review articles, and book chapters.

Conclusions: Palliative care is in the process of dynamic change.

Lung cancer in African Americans. A call for action.

Purpose: The authors present information about current trends in the incidence, risk factors, types, presentation, and treatment for lung cancer common to all Americans and highlight factors that are unique to African Americans. Barriers to effective care and strategies for implementing culturally competent programs for lung cancer are outlined.

Overview: Disparity in the incidence and mortality rates of cancer between African Americans and white Americans has been increasing at an alarming rate since 1950.

A mobile automated mammography system.

Automated processing of mammograms has been studied for several years. Until the last few years much of the efforts have produced marginal results due to the limitations of inexpensive hardware. Even with the advanced hardware no one has yet taken an entire mammogram and determined whether it is normal or abnormal.

A test of the fit between the Corbin and Strauss Trajectory Model and care provided to older patients after cancer surgery.

The Corbin and Strauss Trajectory Model proposed that nursing care should differ along a trajectory of eight phases to meet patients' and families' needs. Seventy-nine patients with breast, prostate, or gastrointestinal cancer were determined to be in either the stable or the unstable phase of their illness. Contrary to expectations, documented nursing interventions did not significantly differ between stable and unstable trajectory phases, although significant differences were found when comparisons were made across cancer sites.

Development and testing of the symptom experience scale.

The Symptom Experience Scale (SES) was designed to measure women's experience of symptoms associated with treatment for breast cancer. The SES, a modification of McCorkle's Symptom Distress Scale, was developed and tested in a sample of 252 women with breast cancer. Exploratory factor analysis yielded six factors, which used all 24 SES items and accounted for 83.

Site-selected insertional mutagenesis of tomato with maize Ac and Ds elements.

Site-selected insertion (SSI) is a PCR-based technique which uses primers located within the transposon and a target gene for detection of transposon insertions into cloned genes. We screened tomato plants bearing single or multiple copies of maize Ac or Ds transposable elements for somatic insertions at one close-range target and two long-range targets. Eight close-range Ds insertions near the right border of the T-DNA were recovered.

Effect of blood donation on the establishment of normal ranges of lymphocyte subsets.

Background: Absolute counts of CD4+ T-lymphocytes are used in the management of patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Low absolute counts of CD3+CD4+ cells have also been observed in healthy people--a phenomenon called idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia. It is common practice for normal ranges for lymphocyte subsets to be derived from samples taken from blood donors.

Cytokine expression by high-density human lymphocytes.

T lymphocytes spend much of the time as small non-cycling cells. To determine the pattern of cytokine expression in such resting cells, they were purified from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) on the basis of high buoyant density. The cells were stimulated and cytokine mRNA expression was assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Patient literacy and the readability of written cancer educational materials.

Purpose/objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the reading level of educational materials for patients with cancer corresponds to the reading abilities of a sample of patients. A secondary aim was to describe what type of educational materials patients with cancer report as most helpful.

Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional.

Alpha-2 adrenergic receptors in the bovine retina. Presence of only the alpha-2D subtype.

Purpose: To identify and characterize the alpha-2 adrenergic receptor subtypes present in the bovine neurosensory retina.

Methods: Radioligand saturation and inhibition binding assays were performed with the antagonist radioligands [3H]RX821002 and [3H]rauwolscine.

Results: [3H]RX821002 bound to a single class of receptors with the characteristics of an alpha-2 adrenergic receptor with an affinity (KD) of 0.