Palliation of pain associated with metastatic bone cancer using samarium-153 lexidronam: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of samarium-153 (153Sm) lexidronam (EDTMP) in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Patients And Methods: Patients with painful bone metastases secondary to a variety of primary malignancies were randomized to receive 153Sm-EDTMP 0.5 or 1.

Characterization of the tomato Cf-4 gene for resistance to Cladosporium fulvum identifies sequences that determine recognitional specificity in Cf-4 and Cf-9.

In many interactions between plants and their pathogens, resistance to infection is specified by plant resistance (R) genes and corresponding pathogen avirulence (Avr) genes. In tomato, the Cf-4 and Cf-9 resistance genes map to the same location but confer resistance to Cladosporium fulvum through recognition of different avirulence determinants (AVR4 and AVR9) by a molecular mechanism that has yet to be determined. Here, we describe the cloning and characterization of Cf-4, which also encodes a membrane-anchored extracellular glycoprotein.

Novel disease resistance specificities result from sequence exchange between tandemly repeated genes at the Cf-4/9 locus of tomato.

Tomato Cf genes confer resistance to C. fulvum, reside in complex loci carrying multiple genes, and encode predicted membrane-bound proteins with extracytoplasmic leucine-rich repeats. At least two Cf-9 homologs confer novel C.

Parental training for incarcerated fathers: effects on attitudes, self-esteem, and children's self-perceptions.

The effects of parent education programs on the parenting attitudes and abilities of 30 U.S. male inmates and on the self-perceptions of their children (aged 8-17 years) were examined.

Iodixanol as a density gradient medium for the isolation of motile spermatozoa.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish concentrations of Iodixanol which could be used in a similar manner to the widely used Mini-Percoll technique for the separation of motile spermatozoa.

Methods: Various density gradient combinations of Iodixanol were compared for the isolation of motile spermatozoa from cryopreserved donor semen. The toxicity of Iodixanol was tested by its effect on the growth of two-cell mouse embryos and fresh sperm survival.

Development of a specific fluoroimmunoassay for ovine albumin.

A fluoroimmunoassay has been developed to measure serum levels of albumin in sheep. It employs ovine albumin labelled with fluorescein as the tracer and a rabbit antiserum raised against ovine albumin. Separation of the antibody bound and free fractions is achieved using a second antiserum directed against the Fc of rabbit immunoglobulin G and, to simplify the assay, the two antisera are premixed prior to use.

Identification of sn-2 acetyl glycerophosphocholines in human keratinocytes.

Evidence is accumulating suggesting that platelet-activating factor plays a role in inflammatory dermatoses. Mass spectrometric methods were used to examine the molecular species of sn-2 acetyl glycerophosphocholines (GPC) synthesized by primary cultures of human neonatal foreskin-derived keratinocytes. Ionophore-stimulated keratinocytes synthesize both 1-alkyl and 1-acyl sn-2 acetyl-GPC, and the relative amounts were as follows: hexadecyl > palmitoyl > octadecyl > stearoyl at the sn-1 position.

Indium-111-leukocyte imaging: a case of peritonitis mimicking inflammatory bowel disease.

Leukocytes labeled with 99mTc-HMPAO and 111In have been used extensively in imaging inflammatory disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which has the appearance of tubular bowel activity. Peritonitis is inflammation of the serosal surfaces lining the peritoneal cavity which envelopes the bowel, giving a pattern of diffuse abdominal uptake on imaging. We present a case of an elderly man with surgically and pathologically confirmed peritonitis whose preoperative leukocyte scan mimicked the findings of IBD.

Synthesis, characterization, and immunochemical detection of O6-(carboxymethyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine: a DNA adduct formed by nitrosated glycine derivatives.

O6-(Carboxymethyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine (O6-CMdG) is formed in DNA by nitrosated glycine derivatives and appears to be nonrepairable by O6-alkylguanine transferases. O6-CMdG has been synthesized by an unambiguous route involving the introduction of a methyl glycolate moiety at C6 of a 3',5'-bis-O-(methoxyacetyl)dGuo derivative by displacement of a quinuclidinium ion. Methanolysis of the methoxyacetyl groups and calcium hydroxide-mediated hydrolysis of the methyl ester afforded the calcium salt of O6-CMdG in good yield.

Pain assessment in self-injurious patients with borderline personality disorder using signal detection theory.

Signal detection theory measures of thermal responsivity were examined to determine whether differences in reported pain experienced during self-injurious behavior in female patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are explained by neurosensory factors and/or attitudinal factors (response bias). Female patients with BPD who do not experience pain during self-injury (BPD-NP group) were found to discriminate more poorly between noxious thermal stimuli of similar intensity, low P(A), than female patients with BPD who experience pain during self-injury (BPD-P group), female patients with BPD who do not have a history of self-injury (BPD-C group), and age-matched normal women. The BPD-NP group also had a higher response criterion, B (more stoical) than the BPD-C group.

High-dose therapy with iodine-131-labeled monoclonal antibody CC49 in patients with gastrointestinal cancers: a phase I trial.

Purpose: A phase I trial that evaluated for extrahematopoietic toxicity was conducted with iodine-131 (131I) labeled monoclonal antibody (MAb) CC49. Correlative studies included pharmacokinetic and biodistribution analyses, estimates of absorbed radiation dose, and measurement of human antimonoclonal antibodies (HAMA).

Patients And Methods: After collection and cryopreservation of hematopoietic stem cells, 15 patients with gastrointestinal cancers were administered a tracer dose of 131I-MAb CC49.

Patient-specific dosimetry of indium-111- and yttrium-90-labeled monoclonal antibody CC49.

Unlabelled: The objective of this work was to develop patient-specific dosimetry for patients with metastatic gastrointestinal tract cancers who received 111In-CC49 IgG for imaging before therapy with 90Y-CC49 IgG.

Methods: Whole-body imaging of 12 patients, who received 111-185 MBq (3-5 mCi) of 111In-CC49, commenced in < 2 hr postinfusion and was continued daily for 4-5 days. SPECT data were acquired at 24 and 72 hr to determine the range of 111In-CC49 activity concentrations in tumors and normal organs.

Home care triage nurse.

As a TN who began in a position with little insight into the expectations and who has been able to develop the system into one that ideally meets the needs of our home care institution, I always feel challenged. Initially, my concern was that I would lose touch with what was new and would lose my clinical skills. To the contrary, I feel that I have honed my skills.

Antiidiotypic response against murine monoclonal antibodies reactive with tumor-associated antigen TAG-72.

The immune response of 42 gastrointestinal and ovarian cancer patients at 1 month after exposure to murine monoclonal antibodies (B72.3 and CC49) reactive with the tumor-associated antigen TAG-72 was studied. The incidence of human anti-mouse antibody response was 89% to B72.

Non-prescribed drug use during methadone treatment by clinic- and community-based patients.

We investigated the efficacy of methadone maintenance treatment in clinic-based (n = 10) and community-based (n = 10) patients by studying the relationships between dose, plasma concentrations of methadone and non-prescribed drug-use using logistic regression. We found that clinic-based patients had significantly reduced odds of having a urine sample test positive for illicit drugs when compared to community-based patients (OR = 0.20; 95% confidence interval 0.

Direct mass spectrometric analysis of ozonides: application to unsaturated glycerophosphocholine lipids.

The reaction of ozone with double bonds present in glycerophosphocholine lipids results in formation of ozonides that can be directly analyzed by mass spectrometry as either positive or negative molecular ion species generated by electrospray ionization. Polyunsaturated fatty acyl groups esterified to the phospholipid yielded a mixture of ozonide species with the maximum number of ozone molecules added equal to the total number of double bonds. Ozonide decomposition resulted in omega-aldehyde and omega-carboxylic acid products as revealed by ESI-MS.

Single-photon emission computed tomography gallium imaging versus computed tomography: predictive value in patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem-cell transplantation for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Purpose: To evaluate the predictive value of computed tomography (CT) scanning and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) gallium (Ga) scanning in the disease-free survival of patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem-cell transplantation for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

Patients And Methods: One hundred forty-three patients undergoing transplant for NHL underwent CT scanning of chest, abdomen, and pelvis, and a SPECT Ga scan before transplantation and at day + 100 after transplant. The failure-free survival (FFS) by scan result was analyzed.

Influence of column type and chromatographic conditions on the ion-exchange chromatography of immunoglobulins.

Immunoglobulins are often purified by affinity chromatography. However, this technique is costly, can result in poor resolution for subclasses (or is only group specific), and leads to possible leaching of contaminants into the purified products. Ion-exchange chromatography has shown great potential and has found an increased usage in the purification of immunoglobulins.

Platelet-activating factor biosynthesis induced by various stimuli in human HaCaT keratinocytes.

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a potent inflammatory mediator that is thought to play a role in cutaneous inflammation. These studies used mass spectrometry to examine the molecular species of PAF precursor glycerophosphocholine lipids (GPC) as well as the biosynthesis of PAF and other sn-2 acetyl-GPC in a human keratinocyte-derived cell line (HaCaT keratinocytes). Approximately 28% of HaCaT keratinocyte GPC consisted of 1-alkyl species, and the relative amounts of the sn-1 alkyl constituents of the PAF precursor 1-alkyl-2-acyl-GPC were as follows: hexadecyl > octadecenyl > octadecyl.

Pain and self-injury in borderline patients: sensory decision theory, coping strategies, and locus of control.

Fifteen women with borderline personality disorder who do not experience pain during self-injury were found to discriminate more poorly between imaginary painful and mildly painful situations, to reinterpret painful sensations (a pain-coping strategy related to dissociation), and to have higher scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale than 24 similar female patients who experience pain during self-injury and 22 age-matched normal women. "Analgesia' during self-injury in borderline patients may be related to a cognitive impairment in the ability to distinguish between painful and mildly painful situations, as well as to dissociative mechanisms.

The tomato Dwarf gene isolated by heterologous transposon tagging encodes the first member of a new cytochrome P450 family.

To transposon tag the tomato Dwarf (D) gene, a tomato line that carries a T-DNA containing a maize Activator (Ac) transposable element closely linked to D was pollinated with a stock homozygous for the d mutation. Hybrid seedlings were screened for dwarf progeny, and three independent dwarf lines were obtained. Two of these lines showed inheritance of a recessive phenotype similar to that conferred by the extreme dwarf (dx) allele.