The murine chaperonin 10 gene family contains an intronless, putative gene for early pregnancy factor, Cpn10-rs1.

Early pregnancy factor (EPF) is a secreted protein with growth regulatory and immunomodulatory properties. Human platelet-derived EPF shares amino acid sequence identity with chaperonin 10 (Cpn10), a mitochondrial matrix protein which functions as a molecular chaperone. The striking differences in cellular localization and function of the two proteins suggest differential regulation of production reflecting either alternative transcription of the same gene or transcription from different genes.

Carboplatin/ifosfamide window therapy for osteosarcoma: results of the St Jude Children's Research Hospital OS-91 trial.

Purpose: To determine the activity of carboplatin/ifosfamide in patients with previously untreated osteosarcoma and to estimate patient outcomes after a multiagent chemotherapy protocol that eliminated cisplatin.

Patients And Methods: Sixty-nine patients with newly diagnosed, previously untreated osteosarcoma received three cycles of carboplatin (560 mg/m(2) x 1) and ifosfamide (2.65 g/m(2)/d x 3).

Orthodontic tooth movement after extraction of previously autotransplanted maxillary canines and ridge augmentation.

A case report is detailed in which autotransplanted maxillary canines were removed and the spaces closed. Substantial surrounding bone loss was associated with the upper right canine, and a bone graft was needed to reestablish normal dentoalveolar ridge morphology. Bone was taken from the maxillary tuberosity and placed in the canine extraction site, fixed with a bone screw, and covered with GoreTex.

Similar-other support for men undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.

This field experiment examined effects of a support intervention on the physical and mental health of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients. Control participants (N = 90) received usual hospital care; experimental participants (N = 100) also received visits from a "similar other" while in the hospital. Similar others were Veterans Administration veterans who had CABG surgery previously and were trained in simple supportive techniques.

Treatment refusal/attrition among adults randomly assigned to programs at a drug treatment campus: The New Jersey Substance Abuse Treatment Campus, Seacaucus, NJ.

The New Jersey Substance Abuse Treatment Campus was funded to assess the feasibility of establishing a new model for delivering substance abuse treatment services and to serve as a research laboratory for conducting comparative evaluations of those services. The 350-bed campus was designed to improve treatment effectiveness by providing special services needed by underserved populations, and reduce treatment costs by serving large numbers of clients, centralizing services, and sharing facilities. First-time clients who met preliminary eligibility requirements during phone screening were randomly assigned to therapeutic community and chemical dependency programs.

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in two pediatric patients: MR imaging findings.

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare tumor in childhood. We present two cases of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in which contrast-enhanced, fat-saturated magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was used advantageously to detect peritoneal tumor involvement.

Mapping and characterization of the eukaryotic early pregnancy factor/chaperonin 10 gene family.

Early pregnancy factor and mitochondrial chaperonin 10 have very different functions within mammals but the mature peptides have identical amino acid sequences. In order to understand the mechanisms by which identical proteins can have different functions and sites of activity, we have examined genomic DNA which could encode the protein. In most species studied, there is a large gene family of at least ten members with homology to the DNA sequence for this protein.

Rising levels of cardiovascular mortality in Mississippi, 1979-1995.

Background: Cardiovascular disease rates are improving in the United States, but not for certain subgroups, especially some African Americans. The objective of the study is to assess current levels and trends in cardiovascular disease mortality in Mississippi.

Methods: Mortality statistics from the U.

Imaging findings in pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma.

Background: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a tumor that is rare among children, causes clinically evident hormonal disturbances. Imaging methods are used to stage disease and to plan surgical resection.

Objective: To describe the findings of the various imaging methods used to evaluate ACC.

Introduction to the special issue: treatment process in DATOS.

Several important findings from the drug abuse treatment outcome studies (DATOS) are presented in this issue of drug and alcohol dependence. These studies focus on the drug abuse treatment process in areas of engagement in treatment and participation in program activities, the effect of the patient's age and treatment history in predicting treatment retention and outcomes, and the impact of prior treatment experience on the level of treatment engagement and subsequent outcomes. A cost-benefit model for drug abuse treatment is developed.

Interobserver variability in the detection of cervical-thoracic Hodgkin's disease by computed tomography.

Purpose: Computed tomography (CT) scans of the neck and chest are obtained at diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease to establish disease extent, plan radiotherapy, and serve as baseline studies for subsequent evaluation of response to therapy. However, differences in interpretation may occur even among experienced radiologists. This study was designed to test the extent of variation among expert radiologists' interpretations and to assess how their interpretations differed from that of the primary (institutional) radiologists.

Dynamic MR imaging (DEMRI) of microcirculation in bone sarcoma.

If chemotherapy is to be effective against bone sarcoma, the cytotoxic agents must reach all tumor cells in effective quantities. Although many clinical trials include studies of the pharmacokinetics of these agents in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, there have been no accurate or widely applicable methods of determining whether chemotherapeutic agents reach all regions of a solid tumor. This review discusses the use of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DEMRI) to assess the microcirculation and interstitium of bone sarcoma.

A national evaluation of treatment outcomes for cocaine dependence.

Background: This national study focused on posttreatment outcomes of community treatments of cocaine dependence. Relapse to weekly (or more frequent) cocaine use in the first year after discharge from 3 major treatment modalities was examined in relation to patient problem severity at admission to the treatment program and length of stay.

Methods: We studied 1605 cocaine-dependent patients from 11 cities located throughout the United States using a naturalistic, nonexperimental evaluation design.

Predicting posttreatment cocaine abstinence for first-time admissions and treatment repeaters.

Objectives: This study examined client and program characteristics that predict posttreatment cocaine abstinence among cocaine abusers with different treatment histories.

Methods: Cocaine abusers (n = 507) treated in 18 residential programs were interviewed at intake and 1-year follow-up as part of the nationwide Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS). Program directors provided the program-level data in a mail survey.

Comparative treatment effectiveness. Effects of program modality and client drug dependence history on drug use reduction.

This study examined treatment outcome as a function of program modality, clients' lifetime patterns of drug dependence, and their interaction, controlling for current level of drug use at treatment intake. Data were based on 2,966 clients who were interviewed at intake and at 1-year follow-up as part of the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS), which included programs of four major modalities. Subjects' lifetime patterns of drug dependence were classified into nine groups according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association; 1987) diagnostic criteria and time of onset of drug use career.

Hodgkin disease: use of Tl-201 to monitor mediastinal involvement after treatment.

Purpose: To compare thallium-201 scintigraphy with gallium-67 scintigraphy in the detection of residual or recurrent mediastinal Hodgkin disease after treatment.

Materials And Methods: The authors performed planar Ga-67 and Tl-201 scintigraphy in 39 patients aged 7-18 years (27 with mediastinal primary disease) after primary treatment. These scans and those in a control group of 14 patients with newly diagnosed known mediastinal Hodgkin disease were evaluated independently by two radiologists for abnormal mediastinal activity.

Bcl-xL is expressed in ovarian carcinoma and modulates chemotherapy-induced apoptosis.

Objective: To investigate the role of Bcl-xL in resistance to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis in ovarian carcinoma.

Methods: Two human ovarian carcinoma cell lines were used in this study: A2780 and SKOV3. A2780 cells were transfected with human Bcl-xL or control plasmid alone.

Upper airway obstruction and pulmonary abnormalities due to lymphoproliferative disease following bone marrow transplantation in children.

We report three patients who developed severe supraglottic airway obstruction due to Epstein-Barr virus lymphoproliferative disease following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. In addition to enlarged pharyngeal lymphoid tissue seen in all three patients, two had supraglottic airway narrowing and two developed pulmonary lymphoproliferative disease. They were treated with unmanipulated T cells or EBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Investigating the relationship between stress and worker behaviour.

Direct care staff working in six residential group homes for people with intellectual disability were asked to complete a questionnaire which asked for information on levels of stress (anxiety and depression), the types of demand experienced by the staff, the support they received and the constraints they faced at work. Staff were also observed at work using a schedule which detailed who they interacted with, the content and type of interaction, and what activities staff were involved in. Measurement of workers' anxiety and depression levels confirmed management assessments of staff stress levels in the homes: two residential group homes were classified as 'low stress' and four as 'high stress'.

HIV prophylaxis for health care workers.

The US Public Health Service (PHS) published new recommendations for preventing HIV seroconversion in health care workers suffering needle-stick injuries. In response, health care institutions across the United States are updating their internal protocols to meet the currently accepted standard of care in this area. We found the new guidelines lacking in critical definitions necessary to clarify practical applications in specific cases.