Ultrasonographically derived caudal vena cava parameters acquired in a standing position and lateral recumbency in healthy, lightly sedated cats: a pilot study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of ultrasonographically measuring the caudal vena cava (CVC) at the subxiphoid view of healthy, lightly sedated cats in a standing position and lateral recumbency.

Methods: This was a prospective, observational, experimental single-centre study. Twenty healthy research-purposed cats were enrolled.

Palliative Nursing Summit: Nurses Leading Change and Transforming Care: Our Journey to the Summit.

The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, in conjunction with the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation, organized a Palliative Nursing Summit in Washington, DC, on May 12, 2017. The goal of the summit was to convene leaders from various nursing specialty organizations to develop a collaborative nursing agenda for primary palliative nursing. The work of the summit focused on 3 aspects of palliative nursing: communication/advance care planning, coordination/transitions of care, and pain and symptom management.

When the Patient Seeks Cure: Challenging Chemotherapy and Radiation Side Effects Requiring Creative Solutions.

When undergoing concomitant chemotherapy and radiation therapy for anal cancer, patients often experience significant side effects, including grade 1 or 2 radiation dermatitis, pain, exudate, and diarrhea. This case study presents a grade 3 reaction complicated by complex medical conditions. In addition to an evidence-based skin care treatment and side effect management plan that support patients during this intense period, this article offers creative strategies to provide a cost-effective healing option.

The potential for chemical mixtures from the environment to enable the cancer hallmark of sustained proliferative signalling.

The aim of this work is to review current knowledge relating the established cancer hallmark, sustained cell proliferation to the existence of chemicals present as low dose mixtures in the environment. Normal cell proliferation is under tight control, i.e.

Assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment: the challenge ahead.

Lifestyle factors are responsible for a considerable portion of cancer incidence worldwide, but credible estimates from the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) suggest that the fraction of cancers attributable to toxic environmental exposures is between 7% and 19%. To explore the hypothesis that low-dose exposures to mixtures of chemicals in the environment may be combining to contribute to environmental carcinogenesis, we reviewed 11 hallmark phenotypes of cancer, multiple priority target sites for disruption in each area and prototypical chemical disruptors for all targets, this included dose-response characterizations, evidence of low-dose effects and cross-hallmark effects for all targets and chemicals. In total, 85 examples of chemicals were reviewed for actions on key pathways/mechanisms related to carcinogenesis.

Exploring the sleep experience of hospitalized adult patients.

Interruptions in sleep for hospitalized patients have been correlated with decreases in immune function, changes in mental status, and increased stress levels. The purpose of this study was to explore patients' perceptions of their sleep experiences during hospitalization. Structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of patients who had spent three consecutive nights in the hospital.

Ljungan virus present in intrauterine fetal death diagnosed by both immunohistochemistry and PCR.

Objectives: Following up on prior evidence from animal and human studies of Ljungan virus (LV) in intrauterine fetal death (IUFD), we examine additional cases of IUFD using two standard assays of viral detection: immunohistochemistry (IHC) and real time RT-PCR.

Materials And Methods: Frozen and formalin-fixed specimens from IUFD cases were tested for the presence of LV using real time RT-PCR and IHC, respectively. Formalin-fixed organs from terminated pregnancies diagnosed as trisomy 21 were used as controls in the IHC assay.

Improving psychological and psychiatric aspects of palliative care: the national consensus project and the national quality forum preferred practices for palliative and hospice care.

As patients with terminal disease enter into the final stage of their illness, psychiatric symptoms and psychological responses to the disease contribute to overall suffering of both patient and family. Until recently, no nationally accepted guidelines or practices had been established to support assessment and management of this type of suffering. In 2007, the National Quality Forum published A National Framework and Preferred Practices for Palliative and Hospice Care Quality that included a list of preferred practices for assessing and treating symptoms of psychiatric illness, anticipatory grief and psychologic distress prior to death, and bereavement after the death, of the patient.

Hypodermoclysis to treat dehydration: a review of the evidence.

Dehydration is a serious acute condition in older adults associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Hypodermoclysis (HDC; the infusion of fluids into the subcutaneous tissue) can provide an alternative to intravenous (i.v.

Ecological outcomes of adolescents in a psychoeducational residential treatment facility.

Cross-sectional follow-up data on 111 adolescents in a re-education residential facility were obtained in three domains--school, legal, and level of care--at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months postdischarge. Reports by community-based professionals on individual functioning were assessed on several criteria, the most stringent of which indicated successful outcomes for nearly 60% of the adolescents. Characteristics of the more successful students are noted, applications of the psychoeducational residential approach for program structure are considered, and implications for positive ecological outcomes are discussed.

Enzymatic mutation detection in the P53 gene.

Background: The enzymatic mutation detection (EMD) assay uses the bacteriophage resolvase T4 endonuclease VII, which cleaves preformed heteroduplex molecules at mismatch sites, forming two shorter fragments that can be resolved by gel electrophoresis. The method can be used to detect single and multiple base changes, as well as insertions and deletions.

Methods: The sensitivity, specificity, and positional accuracy of mutation detection by EMD with the PASSPORT(TM) Mutation Scanning Kit were assessed in a blind fashion for three analytical platforms (radioactive detection and automated laser sequencers ALFexpress and ABI PRISM 377).

A 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA lyase gene in the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum.

A 1.2 kb long DNA segment from Rhodospirillum rubrum has been sequenced (EMBL/GenBank accession number: U41280). This DNA segment includes the first sequenced gene for a putative 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) lyase, termed hmgL, from a photosynthetic organism.

Restricted usage of T cell receptor V alpha/J alpha gene segments with different nucleotide but identical amino acid sequences in HLA-DR3+ sarcoidosis patients.

Background: Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease characterized by the accumulation of activated T cells in the lungs. We previously showed that sarcoidosis patients expressing the HLA haplotype DR3(17),DQ2 had increased numbers of lung CD4+ T cells using the T cell receptor (TCR) variable region (V) alpha 2.3 gene segment product.

Solid-phase cloning to create sublibraries suitable for DNA sequencing.

A solid-phase method is described to create subclones, suitable for DNA sequencing, from lambda or cosmid libraries. The purified target DNA is sonicated and two linkers, with one oligonucleotide biotinylated in the 5'-end, are ligated to the ends of the fragments produced by sonication. After size separation, the fragments are immobilised onto a solid support and the non-biotinylated strand of each immobilised fragment is eluted.

Prediction and site-specific mutagenesis of residues in transmembrane alpha-helices of proton-pumping nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenases from Escherichia coli and bovine heart mitochondria.

Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase from bovine heart consists of a single polypeptide of 109 kD. The complete gene for this transhydrogenase was constructed, and the protein primary structure was determined from the cDNA. As compared to the previously published sequences of partially overlapping clones, three residues differed: Ala591 (previously Phe), Val777 (previously Glu), and Ala782 (previously Arg).

Site-directed mutagenesis of tyrosine residues at nicotinamide nucleotide binding sites of Escherichia coli transhydrogenase.

Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (E.C.1.

Automated magnetic preparation of DNA templates for solid phase sequencing.

An integrated protocol for solid-phase DNA sequencing using a robotic work station is described involving magnetic separation of DNA and analysis of the sequencing product by electrophoresis with automated detection of the fluorescently labeled fragments. The method, which is based on magnetic beads in combination with streptavidin-biotin technology, can be used for sequencing both genomic and plasmid DNA. The DNA template is obtained by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

T cell receptor diversity and activation markers in the V delta 1 subset of rheumatoid synovial fluid and peripheral blood T lymphocytes.

In the present study we have characterized the gamma/delta T cell receptor (TcR) population in synovial fluid (SF) and peripheral blood (PB) of patients with chronic inflammatory arthritis. By double staining we have shown that (a) synovial V delta 1+ cells have a high expression of activation markers CD45R0 ("memory cells") and HLA-DR as compared to PB, indicating a preactivated population of V delta 1-carrying T cells in vivo and (b) interleukin 2-induced expansion of synovial cells yields a high proportion of gamma/delta in most samples expressing predominantly the V delta 1 TcR. Junctional sequence analysis of the TcR delta chain from interleukin 2-expanded PB cell lines demonstrated a polyclonal V delta 1 population in three out of three samples.

Semi-automated solid-phase DNA sequencing.

Increasing the efficiency of DNA sequencing necessitates the development of systems which reduce the need for manual operations by integrating template preparation, sequencing reactions, product separation and detection. A semi-automated system, whereby PCR-amplified biotinylated genomic or plasmid DNA is immobilized on streptavidin-coated magnetic beads, has been developed.

Genetic analysis of the polymorphism of the human apolipoprotein E using automated solid-phase sequencing.

A direct sequencing approach has been used to analyze the polymorphism in the human apolipoprotein E gene. A method is described, in which the DNA is amplified by the polymerase chain reaction, immobilized, and sequenced by a semi-automatic procedure adaptable to clinical diagnosis. The three alleles of the apolipoprotein E gene, which differ from each other by two nucleotide substitutions and which influence serum cholesterol levels, were analyzed.

Bidirectional solid-phase sequencing of in vitro-amplified plasmid DNA.

A solid-phase approach is described for manual and automated sequencing of plasmid DNA obtained directly from bacterial colonies through the polymerase chain reaction. The DNA fragment is selectively immobilized to magnetic beads and after strand-specific elution, the eluted strand, as well as the remaining immobilized strand, is used for bidirectional dideoxy sequencing. The solid-phase approach ensures that the amplification and the sequencing reactions can be performed under optimal conditions.

Colorimetric quantification of in vitro-amplified template DNA to be used for solid phase sequencing.

A protocol for colorimetric determination of DNA amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subsequently immobilized to a solid support is described. The protocol consists of three steps: (i) binding of PCR amplified lac operator-containing DNA to magnetic beads; (ii) binding of a Lac repressor-beta-galactosidase fusion protein to the lac operator and (iii) colorimetric detection of the immobilized beta-galactosidase. In practice, steps (i) and (ii) are performed concurrently.

Direct cloning of the human genomic apolipoprotein E gene using magnetic separation of single-stranded DNA.

Solid-phase methods can be used for direct cloning of in vitro-amplified genomic DNA with high efficiency, without the need for restriction enzymes or ligase. Single-stranded DNA fragments are generated by magnetic separation and are simply mixed with single-stranded vector to form gap-duplex molecules that can be readily transformed. This strategy, in combination with direct solid-phase DNA sequencing, was used to analyze individual alleles in the human apolipoprotein E locus.