Aggressive or expectant management for patients with severe preeclampsia between 28-34 weeks' gestation: a randomized controlled trial.

Fifty-eight women with severe preeclampsia between 28-34 weeks' gestation qualified for a randomized controlled trial to establish whether elective delivery 48 hours after administration of betamethasone (aggressive-management group) or delivery later as indicated by maternal or fetal condition (expectant-management group) was more beneficial to maternal and fetal outcome. Twenty women who qualified were not randomized because they developed maternal or fetal indications necessitating delivery within 48 hours; these newborns developed most of the complications. Expectant management was not associated with an increase in maternal complications, but it significantly prolonged the gestational age (mean 7.

Strongyloides stercoralis: antigenic analysis of infective larvae and adult worms.

The protein composition of Strongyloides stercoralis infective larvae and adult worms solubilized sequentially in water, sodium deoxycholate and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and their excretory/secretory products were analysed by one- and two-dimensional SDS-polyacrylamide electrophoresis. These extracts were demonstrated to be complex mixtures containing many proteins, some of which were common and others which were stage-specific. Western blot analysis of these antigens with infected human sera showed most sero-reactivity against larval antigens, whilst normal human sera were unreactive.

Consent, compulsion and confidentiality in relation to testing for HIV infection: the views of WA doctors.

A survey was undertaken of all of the consultant staff members of Perth's major teaching hospitals together with all the fellows of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in Western Australia in order to define their views on the issues of informed consent, compulsion in relation to surgery, and confidentiality in a particular circumstance, when testing for infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Of the 701 individuals surveyed, 548 (78.2%) responded.

Dissociation of the protective immune response in the mouse to Strongyloides ratti.

The generation of protective immunity by various stages in the life-cycle of Strongyloides ratti and the phases against which resistance is directed has been examined in murine strongyloidiasis. Mice were exposed to natural, complete infections, were treated with thiabendazole (which largely resembles the natural infection), were treated with cambendazole (which restricts infection to the larval stage), or infected directly by oral transfer of adult worms. Mice that were infected with infective larvae alone did not become resistant to infective larvae or the complete infection but were resistant to adult worms implanted directly into the gut.

Bacteroides gingivalis vesicles bind to and aggregate Actinomyces viscosus.

Isolated Bacteroides gingivalis 2561 vesicles aggregated suspensions of Actinomyces viscosus and Actinomyces naeslundii of all taxonomy clusters. Vesicles bound near A. viscosus cell walls and among its surface fibrils.

Effect of macrophages on the translocation of protein kinase C in concanavalin A-stimulated lymphocytes.

The concanavalin A (Con A)-induced proliferation of lymph node lymphocytes is dependent on the presence of macrophages. When lymphocytes are depleted of macrophages, Con A is no longer mitogenic. Either 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), interleukin 1 (IL1), or macrophages in combination with Con A can restore proliferation.

Surface labelling of Strongyloides ratti: stage-specificity and cross-reactivity with S. stercoralis.

Various methods of radioiodination were compared for their efficacy in labelling the surface of Strongyloides ratti infective larvae and adult worms. The Iodogen method was chosen as the optimal technique for this parasite. The surface location of 125-iodine was confirmed with light microscope autoradiography of transverse sections of labelled worms.

Western blot analysis of reactivity to larval and adult Strongyloides ratti antigens in mice.

Mice were infected once, twice or many times with Strongyloides ratti infective larvae, and the parasite was allowed to complete its development. Other mice were infected many times with either infective larvae only, by aborting the infection with cambendazole, or with adult worms transferred by intra-oesophageal intubation. Sera from these animals were analysed by immunoblotting against SDS-PAGE separations of larval and adult worm water-soluble, deoxycholate-soluble, sodium dodecyl sulphate-soluble and excretory/secretory antigens.

Frequent fetal heart-rate monitoring for early detection of abruptio placentae in severe proteinuric hypertension.

Abruptio placentae occurred in 16 of 132 patients with severe pre-eclampsia who were admitted to an obstetric high-risk ward before 34 weeks' gestation. These 16 patients were compared with those who did not develop abruptio placentae. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels, proteinuria and birth weights did not differ significantly between the two groups.

Coaggregation among periodontal pathogens, emphasizing Bacteroides gingivalis--Actinomyces viscosus cohesion on a saliva-coated mineral surface.

Teeth offer nonshedding surfaces on which a wide range of bacterial species accumulate as thick, cohesive plaques. Intergeneric coaggregation mediated by specific recognition between surface "cohesins" is thought to contribute to both the cohesiveness of plaque and the sequence in which bacteria colonize the tooth surface. There is some evidence that Gram-positive species, like the efficient tooth colonizer Actinomyces viscosus, enhance subsequent tooth colonization by the more virulent periodontal pathogen Bacteroides gingivalis.

The tensiometric properties of expanded guinea pig skin.

Our purpose in this study was to evaluate the tensile properties of expanded skin. In five guinea pigs, 29-cc ovoid tissue expanders were placed and sequentially expanded every 4 days until maximum volume was achieved. Five control and five expanded skins were harvested.

Prevention of the TPA-mediated down-regulation of protein kinase C.

Protein kinase C activity in lymphocytes was down-regulated upon exposure of the cells to 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13 acetate. This down-regulation was prevented by preincubating the cells with sphingosine, a reported protein kinase C inhibitor. Two other protein kinase C inhibitors, palmitoylcarnitine and phloretin, were ineffective in preventing down-regulation by the phorbol ester.

Efficacy of albendazole against Strongyloides ratti and S. stercoralis in vitro, in mice, and in normal and immunosuppressed dogs.

In view of conflicting clinical reports, the effects of albendazole on Strongyloides were examined in vitro and in experimentally-infected animals. Albendazole inhibited the hatching and moulting of S. ratti eggs and larvae and prevented the development in vitro of S.

The effects of thiabendazole, mebendazole and cambendazole in normal and immunosuppressed dogs infected with a human strain of Strongyloides stercoralis.

The effects of three benzimidazole anthelmintics in dogs infected with a human strain of Strongyloides stercoralis were investigated. Cambendazole, but not thiabendazole or mebendazole, abrogated the subsequent development of a patent infection when administered at the same time as infection to immunocompetent dogs. None of the drugs eradicated infection when given after the onset of patency in immunosuppressed animals, although worm burdens were greatly reduced in dogs treated with cambendazole.

Radioisotope bone scanning for the detection of occult bony metastases in invasive cervical carcinoma.

Radioisotope bone scans to search for occult skeletal metastases at initial staging were obtained in 540 patients with invasive cervical carcinoma admitted to the Gynecological Oncology Unit of the Tygerberg Hospital over a 36-month period. Positive scans were reported in 55 (10.2%) patients but subsequent radiographic examination revealed that of these, 43 were false positive.

Electron microscopical studies of Strongyloides ratti infective larvae: loss of the surface coat during skin penetration.

Previous indications using radiolabelled larvae that Strongyloides ratti free-living infective larvae lose a surface coat during penetration of the skin were further investigated by transmission electron microscopy of the cuticle of S. ratti infective larvae in the free-living stage, after penetration of mouse skin, and after migration to the lungs. These studies demonstrated the presence of a faint electron-dense surface coat external to the epicuticle on free-living worms which was absent from larvae recovered from the skin and lungs.

Bacteroides gingivalis-Actinomyces viscosus cohesive interactions as measured by a quantitative binding assay.

There is limited evidence, mostly indirect, to suggest that the adherence of Bacteroides gingivalis to teeth may be enhanced by the presence of gram-positive dental plaque bacteria like Actinomyces viscosus. The purpose of this study was to carry out direct quantitative assessments of the cohesion of B gingivalis and A. viscosus by using an in vitro assay modeled on the natural sequence in which these two species colonize the teeth.

Changes in protein kinase C and cAMP-dependent kinase in lymphocytes after treatment with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate or concanavalin A: quantitation of activities with an in situ gel assay.

Primary lymphocytes can be stimulated to proliferate by mitogenic lectins such as concanavalin A (Con A). While the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) alone is not mitogenic for these cells, it can enhance the response to Con A. Previously, protein kinases and phosphorylation have been reported to be important in lymphocyte proliferation.

Antigenic analysis of Strongyloides ratti infective larvae and adult worms.

The protein composition of Strongyloides ratti infective larvae and adult worms extracted sequentially in water, sodium deoxycholate and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and their excretory/secretory products were analysed by both one- and two-dimensional SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. While many bands common to all preparations and both stages of the worm were seen, a number of bands unique to each stage and preparation were identified. Western blot analysis of these larval and adult preparations for reaction with IgG and IgM antibodies in hyperimmune mouse sera revealed a large number of antigens.

Strongyloidiasis is endemic in another Australian population group: Indochinese immigrants.

The prevalence of antibodies against Strongyloides in the serum of newly-arrived Indochinese immigrants was determined. Sera that had been stored in the State Health Laboratories, Perth, were stratified according to age and sex, then samples were selected at random. Two hundred and ninety sera that had been obtained from persons between the ages of one and 69 years were examined by an indirect fluorescent antibody test.