Development of a 3-D visible limiter imaging system for the HSX stellarator.

A visible camera diagnostic has been developed to study the Helically Symmetric eXperiment (HSX) limiter plasma interaction. A straight line view from the camera location to the limiter was not possible due to the complex 3D stellarator geometry of HSX, so it was necessary to insert a mirror/lens system into the plasma edge. A custom support structure for this optical system tailored to the HSX geometry was designed and installed.

Parental Influence on a Child's Autistic Traits.

Robbie is a 4-year-old boy whose parents are concerned about his speech, social skills, and repetitive behaviors. He has poor articulation; at time, he is difficult to understand. On the other hand, he has a fair vocabulary, and he has good intent to communicate.

Attached to a Diagnosis: The Quandary of Social Deficits and Reactive Attachment Disorder.

Alex is a 9-year-old boy brought to you, his primary care provider, for a "fifth opinion." You have cared for Alex since he was adopted from a Romanian orphanage at 3 years of age. He has been physically healthy with normal growth parameters and no evidence of fetal alcohol syndrome.

Parental influence on a child's autistic traits.

Robbie is a 4-year-old boy whose parents are concerned about his speech, social skills, and repetitive behaviors. He has poor articulation; at time, he is difficult to understand. On the other hand, he has a fair vocabulary, and he has good intent to communicate.

Attached to a diagnosis: the quandary of social deficits and reactive attachment disorder.

: Alex is a 9-year-old boy brought to you, his primary care provider, for a "fifth opinion." You have cared for Alex since he was adopted from a Romanian orphanage at 3 years of age. He has been physically healthy with normal growth parameters and no evidence of fetal alcohol syndrome.

The course of seizure disorders in patients with malignant gliomas.

Objective: To describe the morbidity associated with seizures and the efficacy of anticonvulsant therapy in adult patients with malignant gliomas (MGs).

Study Design: A retrospective review of charts was performed to determine the occurrence of seizures at diagnosis, the frequency and character of subsequent seizures, and the use and toxic side effects of anticonvulsants.

Patients: Sixty-five consecutive adult patients with supratentorial MGs who were examined in the neurooncology clinic at a university medical center were studied.

Synthesis of heat shock proteins following oxidative challenge: role of glutathione.

The relationship between glutathione metabolism, menadione sodium bisulphite oxidation of protein thiols, and the synthesis of hsc70 was investigated using CHO cells. A 30-min/37 degrees C exposure to menadione, a compound which redox cycles to produce superoxide anion radicals and hydrogen peroxide, resulted in rapid accumulation of hsc70 mRNA. PAGE and Western blot analysis indicated increased synthesis such that accumulation of hsc70 occurred.

Current radiosurgery practice: results of an ASTRO survey. Task Force on Stereotactic Radiosurgery, American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

Purpose: Although there is increasing interest in radiosurgery, little quantitative data regarding current patterns of radiosurgery practice are available. We developed a radiosurgery questionnaire to obtain information on radiosurgery practice.

Methods And Materials: We distributed the questionnaire to the entire membership of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in early 1993.

Synthesis of hsp-70 is enhanced in glutathione-depleted Hep G2 cells.

The question of whether depletion of glutathione (GSH) could affect the synthesis of stress proteins was investigated in Hep G2 cells. Cells were exposed to BSO/DEM at 37 degrees C to deplete glutathione. When 95% of the glutathione was depleted cells were washed, and BSO was added to cells previously exposed to BSO/DEM; then the cells were incubated at 37, 38.

Depletion of glutathione after gamma irradiation modifies survival.

The relationship between the intracellular glutathione (GSH) concentration and the aerobic radiation response was studied in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Various degrees of GSH depletion were produced by exposure to buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) and/or diethyl maleate (DEM). Diethyl maleate did not act as a classical radiosensitizer under the experimental conditions employed, nor did exposure to DEM/BSO nonspecifically affect protein thiols as measured by thiol blotting.

Questionnaires in behavioral pediatrics: guidelines for selection and use.

There is a death of information for pediatricians to use in choosing questionnaires that would be useful in medical practice. In this article, general guidelines are presented for primary child health clinicians to use in selecting questionnaires. Concepts such as reliability, validity, readability, response format, scoring and completion time, and norms are reviewed, and the implications of these concepts for practitioners are discussed.

Obtaining parental perceptions of the quality of services for children with special health needs.

Analyzed responses from 295 parents across two service delivery sites to identify specific factors of satisfaction. Although General Satisfaction accounted for most variance, Clarity of Communication, Preappointment Wait and Information, and Clinic Efficiency were also identified as factors. Results are discussed in the context of a collaborative relationship between parents and providers.

Failure of chronic glutathione elevation to reduce cytotoxicity produced by exposure to cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II), ionizing radiation, or hyperthermia.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells cultured in vitro were continuously exposed to increasing concentrations of diethylmaleate (DEM). Chronic exposure of these cells (designated CHO/DEM) to 80 microM diethylmaleate resulted in an increase in cystine transport, a decrease in glutathione inhibition of the enzyme gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, elevation of intracellular glutathione levels to 4.3 times control, and elevation of glutathione-S-transferase activity by 6.

Primary malignant extragonadal germ cell tumors. An analysis of the effect of the effect of radiotherapy.

A retrospective analysis was performed on all patients diagnosed with biopsy-proven extragonadal germ cell tumors at the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA), The Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, SC), the Bethesda Naval Hospital (Bethesda, MD), and The Medical College of Virginia (Richmond, VA) for the time period of January 1965 to December 1984. A total of 54 patients were treated with the initial sites of presentation observed: mediastinum, 26; central nervous system, 14; retroperitoneum, eight; and sacrococcygeal region, six. Megavoltage irradiation was used in 44 patients with a dose range of 2400 to 5580 cGy (mean, 4213 cGy).

Total lymphoid irradiation in heart transplantation: adjunctive treatment for recurrent rejection.

In the face of recurrent heart transplant graft rejection refractory to all conventional immunotherapy, retransplantation is customary treatment. The case of a heart transplant recipient unsuitable for retransplantation whose recurrent rejection was successfully treated with postoperative total lymphoid irradiation is described.

Facilitating play in hospitalized handicapped children: the design of a therapeutic play environment.

The development of a play environment is described, including a play structure that was designed to facilitate symbolic play in hospitalized, handicapped children. The effect of the structure on play was tested on handicapped children aged 2 to 13 years who were verbal and able to use at least one hand. Twenty-five pretest and 25 posttest observations were conducted and data were coded into play and nonplay categories.

Primary central nervous system germ cell tumors. Effect of histologic confirmation on radiotherapy.

Primary malignant intracranial germ cell tumors are rare lesions responsible for only 0.5% of all central nervous system (CNS) malignancy. With stereotactic localization these lesions can be safely biopsied, and histologic confirmation will affect the ultimate prognosis.

Postoperative radiation as adjuvant treatment for carcinoma of the oral cavity, larynx, and pharynx: preliminary report of a prospective randomized trial.

A prospective randomized trial was performed in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the oral cavity, larynx, and pharynx to examine the effect of adjuvant postoperative radiation therapy on locoregional recurrence and survival following "curative" resection. Fifty-one patients with stage III or IV SCC treated from 1981 through 1984 were randomized to receive either surgery alone (n = 27) or surgery with postoperative radiation (n = 24). Five patients were excluded from the study after randomization because of ineligibility or protocol violations.

1986 Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology Survey.

Two simultaneous surveys were conducted by the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO). A survey of all residents in Radiation Oncology was conducted to obtain information on trends in residency training. A simultaneous survey of Chief Residents was obtained to determine more specific information on current training programs.

Primary malignant mediastinal germ-cell tumors and the contribution of radiotherapy: a southeastern multi-institutional study.

A retrospective review was performed by a multi-institutional study group to determine the contribution of radiotherapy to the management of primary malignant mediastinal germ-cell tumors. Twenty-seven patients diagnosed with a primary mediastinal germ-cell tumor between January 1965 and July 1985 form the basis of this study. Twenty-five of the 27 patients were male.