Preparing for congress.

The forums are preparing for this month's RCN Congress 2002. Look out for their educational event on the nurse's role in assessment, in collaboration with the RCN Gerontological Nursing Programme.

Genotyping shorthorn cattle for generalised glycogenosis.

Objective: To develop a procedure for routine genotyping of Shorthorn cattle for the generalised glycogenosis allele in exon 18 of the acidic alpha-glucosidase gene.

Procedure: Allele-specific amplification and double mismatch amplification procedures for the discrimination of the exon 18 alleles were evaluated using leucocytes and hair roots as sources of target DNA.

Results: Allele-specific amplification was effective for genotyping Shorthorn cattle at the 2454 site when purified DNA was used as target for the polymerase chain reaction.

Prunolides A, B, and C: Novel Tetraphenolic Bis-Spiroketals from the Australian Ascidian Synoicum prunum.

Three novel tetraphenolic bis-spiroketals, prunolides A-C (1, 3, and 4) have been isolated from the Australian ascidian Synoicum prunum. The structures were determined from NMR spectroscopic data and from an X-ray analysis of prunolide A. The prunolides contain a unique 1,6,8-trioxadispiro[4.

Trust guilty of discriminating against senior nurse.

Jane Addo, a clinical nurse manager has been awarded nearly £80,000 for racial discrimination.

A nonsense mutation in the alpha1 subunit of the inhibitory glycine receptor associated with bovine myoclonus.

Inherited congenital myoclonus of Poll Hereford calves is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by hyperesthesia and myoclonic jerks of the skeletal musculature that occur both spontaneously and in response to sensory stimuli. Binding studies have previously shown that myoclonus is associated with specific loss of [(3)H]strychnine-binding sites from spinal cord and brain stem in affected calves. In order to identify the mutation responsible for myoclonus, we examined the candidate genes, glycine receptor alpha1 (Glra1) and beta (Glrb) subunits, in affected and normal cattle.

Anti-Gag cytolytic T lymphocytes specific for an alternative translational reading frame-derived epitope and resistance versus susceptibility to retrovirus-induced murine AIDS in F(1) mice.

Murine AIDS (MAIDS) develops in susceptible mouse strains after infection with the LP-BM5 murine leukemia virus complex that contains causative defective, and ecotropic helper, retroviruses. We previously demonstrated that the MAIDS-resistant H-2(d) strains BALB/cByJ and C57BL/KsJ generate MHC class I (K(d)) restricted virus-specific CD8(+) cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that lyse cells expressing either defective or ecotropic gag proteins. In contrast, the congenic BALB.

Anthoptilides A-E, new Briarane diterpenes from the Australian sea pen Anthoptilum cf. kukenthali.

The Australian sea pen Anthoptilum cf. kukenthali has afforded five new briarane-type diterpenes, anthoptilides A-E. Their structures were determined on the basis of their spectroscopic data.

The bovine alpha-glucosidase gene: coding region, genomic structure, and mutations that cause bovine generalized glycogenosis.

We report here cDNA and genomic sequence of the bovine acidic alpha-glucosidase gene, from the initiation codon to the most 3' polyadenylation signal. The 2814-bp coding sequence predicts a 937-amino acid protein, which is highly conserved compared with the human alpha-glucosidase gene (86% and 83% identity respectively). The intron/exon boundaries are also conserved between the two species.

Definition of the mutation responsible for maple syrup urine disease in Poll Shorthorns and genotyping Poll Shorthorns and Poll Herefords for maple syrup urine disease alleles.

The organisation of the E1alpha subunit of bovine branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase gene was established. c DNA was cloned from Poll Shorthorn x Poll Hereford calves affected with Maple Syrup Urine Disease to identify the mutation responsible for the disease in Poll Shorthorns. Clones containing the c DNA sequences inherited from the Poll Shorthorn sire of the affected calves were identified.

Hepatocyte gene therapy in a large animal: a neonatal bovine model of citrullinemia.

The development of gene-replacement therapy for inborn errors of metabolism has been hindered by the limited number of suitable large-animal models of these diseases and by inadequate methods of assessing the efficacy of treatment. Such methods should provide sensitive detection of expression in vivo and should be unaffected by concurrent pharmacologic and dietary regimens. We present the results of studies in a neonatal bovine model of citrullinemia, an inborn error of urea-cycle metabolism characterized by deficiency of argininosuccinate synthetase and consequent life-threatening hyperammonemia.

Evaluation of gene therapy for citrullinaemia using murine and bovine models.

Citrullinaemia is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by the deficiency of argininosuccinate synthase. The deficiency of this enzyme results in an interruption in the urea cycle and the inability to dispose of excess ammonia derived from the metabolism of protein. The only treatment for this disorder has been dietary restriction of protein and supplementation with medications allowing for alternative excretion of excess nitrogen.

The effectiveness of topical diclofenac for lateral epicondylitis.

Introduction: Gastrointestinal upset and local pain commonly limit the use of oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and corticosteroid injection as treatments for lateral epicondylitis. Transdermal administration of an anti-inflammatory drug could avoid these adverse effects.

Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of topical diclofenac as a treatment of lateral epicondylitis.