A qualitative study of action plans for asthma.

Objectives: To investigate the perspectives of patients with asthma on the use of an action plan and the implementation of this plan during an asthma attack that culminated in a visit to an emergency department.

Design: Qualitative study.

Setting: Tertiary teaching hospital, suburban hospital, and rural hospital.

Dietary exposures to mineral hydrocarbons from food-use applications in the United States.

Food-use applications of mineral hydrocarbons (MHC) derived from petroleum sources result in dietary exposure to these compounds by consumers. Food applications of MHC, including white mineral oils, paraffin waxes, microcrystalline waxes and petrolatum, include both direct-additive uses in which the MHC is intentionally applied to the food and indirect-additive uses in which the MHC become components of the food due to migration from food-contact surfaces. A key consideration in evaluating the safety of these uses of MHC is the level of exposure that results.

Ultrasonographic features of canine abdominal malignant histiocytosis.

Ultrasonographic features of canine abdominal malignant histiocytosis (MH) of 16 dogs are reported. The most common finding was the presence of hypoechoic nodules in the spleen, some of which caused distortion of the splenic margin. The liver was the second-most commonly affected organ.

Chemical deglycosylation can induce methylation, succinimide formation, and isomerization.

Interpretation of deglycosylation studies relies heavily on the absence of modifications to the polypeptide chain. We have found that by using a common chemical deglycosylation technique, one can effect at least three changes in a peptide's structure: methylation, isomerization, and ring formation. It was determined that the conditions of chemical deglycosylation introduce a +14 Da shift in the masses of our model peptides, RKDVY, RKEVY, and horseradish peroxidase.

Effects of diadenosine polyphosphates on tear secretion in New Zealand white rabbits.

Extracellular diadenosine polyphosphates play important signaling functions in a number of physiological responses. Here we show that diadenosine polyphosphates are normal constituents of tear fluid and are potent stimulators of tear secretion through their interaction with P2Y receptors. Diadenosine tetraphosphate (Ap(4)A) and Ap(5)A were found in rabbit tears under basal conditions at concentrations of 2.

Multiple behavioral effects of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptides in mice: CART 42-89 and CART 49-89 differ in potency and activity.

Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) encodes a neuropeptide precursor protein that is highly abundant in cells of the hypothalamus. To date, the major research focus into the function of CART peptides has been feeding behavior. However, CART mRNA is found in other areas of the brain as well as some peripheral tissues, suggesting possible broader functions of this peptide.

Clinical decision-making for caries management in primary teeth.

The aim of this review of clinical decision-making for caries management in primary teeth is to integrate current knowledge in the field of cariology into clinically usable concepts and procedures to aid in the diagnosis and therapy of dental caries in primary teeth. The evidence for this paper is derived from other manuscripts of this conference, computer and hand searches of scientific articles; and policy statements of councils or commissions of various health organizations. Current evidence regarding the carious process and caries risk assessment allows the practitioner to transcend traditional surgical management of dental caries in primary teeth.

Identification of incompletely processed potential carboxypeptidase E substrates from CpEfat/CpEfat mice.

In an attempt to identify peptides that may be involved in the obese phenotype observed in CpEfat/CpEfat mice (deficient in Carboxypeptidase E, CpE) samples from fourteen neuroendocrine tissues in wild-type and CpEfat/CpEfat mice were obtained. Peptides were purified from these tissues and potential CpE substrate peptides were enriched using an anhydrotrypsin column that captures peptides with basic C-termini. Bound peptides were subjected to tryptic digestion and followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis.

Fortification contributed greatly to vitamin and mineral intakes in the United States, 1989-1991.

The objective of this work was to quantify the contribution of fortification (defined here as adding nutrients beyond traditional enrichment standards) to dietary nutrient intakes in the United States. A list of fortified foods was developed that was relevant at the time of the analyses, and prefortification (naturally occurring) nutrients in the fortified foods were determined from industry-supplied data. Using dietary data from the 1989-1991 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII), intakes of nine nutrients were determined both as reported in the CSFII (i.

A new prodrug of paclitaxel: synthesis of Protaxel.

2' and 7 Polyol carbonates of paclitaxel were synthesized and screened as potential paclitaxel prodrugs. Paclitaxel is released from 7-(2",3"-dihydroxypropylcarbonato) paclitaxel (Protaxel) at rates inversely proportional to pH, by an intramolecular cyclization. Compared to paclitaxel, maximum tolerated i.

Synthesis and P2Y receptor activity of a series of uridine dinucleoside 5'-polyphosphates.

A series of dinucleoside 5-polyphosphates UpnU (n = 2-7) was synthesized. Their relative potencies as agonists at the G-protein-coupled receptors P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, and P2Y6 were determined by intracellular calcium measurements using fluorescent imaging techniques. The correlation of phosphate chain length to activities at these receptors is discussed.

Dental caries patterns and oral health behaviors in Arizona infants and toddlers.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to use tooth eruption sequence, and a tooth- and surface-specific caries analysis method to determine: (1) the temporal relationship between tooth eruption and caries onset; (2) the validity of pre-existing concepts of caries progression; and (3) the relationship of certain putative health behaviors with caries prevalence.

Methods: A total of 2,428 Arizona children aged 6-36-months, who were recruited from WIC programs (a federal program for low-income children at nutritional risk), health fairs and private day care centers, received visual dental caries examinations. Additionally, an oral health behavior survey was administered to the parents of the 1,529 children recruited from the WIC programs.

Optic flow representation in the optic lobes of Diptera: modeling innervation matrices onto collators and their evolutionary implications.

A network model of optic flow processing, based on physiological and anatomical features of motion-processing neurons, is used to investigate the role of small-field motion detectors emulating T5 cells in producing optic flow selective properties in wide-field collator neurons. The imposition of different connectivities can mimic variations observed in comparative studies of lobula plate architecture across the Diptera. The results identify two features that are crucial for optic flow selectivity: the broadness of the spatial patterns of synaptic connections from motion detectors to collators, and the relative contributions of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic outputs.

Optic flow representation in the optic lobes of Diptera: modeling the role of T5 directional tuning properties.

An evolutionarily conserved system of small retinotopic neurons in dipteran insects, called bushy T-cells, provides information about directional motion to large collator neurons in the lobula plate. Physiological and anatomical features of these cells provide the basis for a model that is used to investigate requirements for generating optic flow selectivity in collators while allowing for evolutionary variations. This account focuses on the role of physiological tuning properties of T5 neurons.

Allergen immunotherapy: current and new therapeutic strategies.

Allergic individuals respond to an environmental allergen encounter by producing T-cell cytokines, predominantly IL-4 and IL-5, which in turn drive the production of allergen-specific IgE antibodies and recruitment of an eosinophil-rich inflammatory infiltrate. Allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) involves the repeated injection of the allergen to specifically downregulate this predominantly Th2-type immune response. SIT is a clinically proven effective treatment for allergic diseases, including rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma.

Mass spectrometric identification of mtb81, a novel serological marker for tuberculosis.

We have used serological proteome analysis in conjunction with tandem mass spectrometry to identify and sequence a novel protein, Mtb81, which may be useful for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB), especially for patients coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Recombinant Mtb81 was tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect antibodies in 25 of 27 TB patients (92%) seropositive for HIV as well as in 38 of 67 individuals (57%) who were TB positive alone. No reactivity was observed in 11 of 11 individuals (100%) who were HIV seropositive alone.

Identification and characterization of proSAAS, a granin-like neuroendocrine peptide precursor that inhibits prohormone processing.

Five novel peptides were identified in the brains of mice lacking active carboxypeptidase E, a neuropeptide-processing enzyme. These peptides are produced from a single precursor, termed proSAAS, which is present in human, mouse, and rat. ProSAAS mRNA is expressed primarily in brain and other neuroendocrine tissues (pituitary, adrenal, pancreas); within brain, the mRNA is broadly distributed among neurons.

Intraoral distraction osteogenesis in the baboon mandible using a tooth and bone-anchored appliance.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of using an intraoral, bone and tooth-anchored appliance to distract baboon mandibles using the principles of distraction osteogenesis (DO).

Materials And Methods: Seven juvenile baboons were used in this study. Mandibular corticotomies were made in the ramus of the mandible unilaterally (n = 5) or bilaterally (n = 2), and a "pin-in-tube" (PIT) distraction appliance was applied.

Evidence of a specific pancreatic polypeptide receptor in rat arterial smooth muscle.

Pancreatic polypeptide (PP) is a member of the PP fold family of regulatory peptides. Studies have shown that neuropeptide Y, peptide YY, and PP increased gastrointestinal motility. The GI effects of neuropeptide Y and peptide YY were accompanied by an increase in mean arterial blood pressure; however, PP decreased mean arterial blood pressure.