Unexpected nuclear localization of a chimeric beta-galactosidase lacZ reporter gene product in mammalian cells.

A lacZ cassette was designed to include a synthetic amino terminus optimized for translation in eukaryotic cells, as well as multiple restriction sites for the insertion of heterologous regulatory elements both 5' and 3' of the reporter. The cassette was placed under the control of the metallothionein promoter in combination with the SV40 enhancer and this plasmid was introduced into mammalian cells. High levels of beta-galactosidase were observed in several cell types, demonstrating efficient expression of the reporter.

Comparison of endoscopic variceal injection sclerotherapy and ligation for the treatment of esophageal variceal hemorrhage: a prospective randomized trial.

To determine the efficacy of endoscopic variceal sclerotherapy (EVS) and ligation (EVL) in the management of esophageal variceal bleeding, 134 cirrhotic patients were randomized to receive either treatment. The clinical and endoscopic characteristics were similar in both groups. Active bleeding was controlled with ligation (20 of 20) as efficiently as with sclerotherapy (14 of 16).

Transcatheter arterial embolization for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein thrombosis.

In order to evaluate the possible benefits of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with peripheral portal vein thrombosis, 96 consecutive HCC cases with peripheral portal vein thrombosis were analysed. Of them, 35 cases received TAE and 61 cases did not. Most (77.

The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) as a screening tool for dementia for a predominantly illiterate Chinese population.

The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) provides ratings of an individual's changes in everyday cognitive functions during the previous 10 years. Original studies conducted in Australia showed that its score was not influenced by the subjects' educational backgrounds and that it performed at least as well as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) as a screening instrument for dementia. The subjects of the present study were Chinese and included 399 community residents and 61 dementia patients.

Do the reticulocyte maturation fractions and bone marrow reticulocyte count further help the classification of anemias?

Background: Reticulocyte count plays a major role in anemic evaluation. The conventional method done by the manual supravital staining cannot subclassify the group of less than 2% of corrected reticulocyte count. The newly-developed flow cytometer provides different maturation fractions by measuring its fluorescent intensity.

Determination of bioavailability and systemically available fractions of drugs undergoing reversible metabolism: application to 4-amino-5-chloro-2-[2-(methylsulfinyl)ethoxy]-N-[2- (diethylamino)ethyl]benzamide and its sulfide and sulfone metabolites in rats.

Methods are discussed which permit the calculation of the bioavailability (F) and fraction of an oral dose entering the central circulation (f) of a drug and its interconversion metabolite. The interrelationships between the F and f and between the F and systemically available fractions afforded by reversible metabolism are also derived and described. The application of these principles is illustrated by the pharmacokinetic analysis of 4-amino-5-chloro-2-[2-(methylsulfinyl)ethoxy]-N-[2- (diethylamino)ethyl]benzamide (ML-1035, 1) and its sulfide (2) and sulfone (3) metabolites in rats.

Plasma arginase concentration measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in normal adult population.

Human liver arginase has many biological effects on lymphocytes, macrophages, liver cells, and tumor cells, in addition to its major role in the liver urea cycle. We have developed a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method to quantitate arginase concentrations in plasma that can be applied to various body fluids. The sensitivity was 2.

Pharmacokinetics and metabolic interconversion of intravenous 4-amino-5-chloro-2-[(methylsulfinyl)ethoxy]-N-[2-(diethylamino)ethyl] benzamide and its sulfide and sulfone metabolites in rats.

The pharmacokinetics of a new 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT3) receptor antagonist, 4-amino-5-chloro-2-[(methylsulfinyl)ethoxy]-N-[2-(diethylamino)ethyl] benzamide (ML-1035, 1), and its sulfone and sulfide metabolites were examined in 12 rats. Each of these compounds (25.4 mumol/kg) was administered to rats intravenously.

HLA antigen and antibody association in platelet-alloimmunized patients.

The frequencies of HLA antigens were compared between 55 patients with and 38 patients without lymphocytotoxic antibodies formation after long-term platelet transfusions. Only HLA-B60 and B75 were found to manifest significant difference between these two groups. Patients with HLA homozygosity had a higher incidence of alloimmunization.

Heterosexual transmission as the most common route of acute hepatitis B virus infection among adults in Taiwan--the importance of extending vaccination to susceptible adults.

Sixty adult patients with acute viral hepatitis B (AVHB) and 93 controls were interviewed to assess potential risk factors of hepatitis B. Heterosexual contact was the only significant factor, and it was associated with 83% of cases. A history of having new sex partners or multiple sex partners within 6 months before the onset of AVHB or first sexual contact before 20 years of age were significantly associated with HBV infection (P < .

Simultaneous determination of free tissue-type and free urokinase-type plasminogen activators in biological fluids by a solid-phase immunoassay.

Tissue-type and urokinase-type plasminogen activators (t-PA and u-PA) coexist in numerous biological fluids, where their fibrinolytic activities are determined by the concentration of the free, uncomplexed species. A simple, sensitive method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of free t-PA and u-PA concentrations in biological fluids using a solid-phase immunoassay. Microtiter plates were coated with polyclonal goat antibodies and incubated with PA standards or unknown samples.

Disposition kinetics of ML-1035 sulfoxide enantiomers and the prochiral sulfide in rats.

ML-1035, 4-amino-5-chloro-2-[2-(methylsulfinyl)ethoxy]-N-[2- (diethyl-amino)ethyl]benzamide, is a sulfoxide compound and a racemic gastroprokinetic agent with a chiral center at the sulfur atom. We have investigated the disposition kinetics of (R)-ML-1035 sulfoxide (R) and (S)-ML-1035 sulfoxide (S) after the single enantiomers and the racemic mixture were administered to rats in separate experiments. There was no noticeable chiral inversion after either enantiomer dose.

Validation of a column-switching high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for determination of ML-1035 and its five metabolites in plasma.

A fully automated column-switching HPLC procedure has been developed and validated for quantitation of ML-1035 and its five metabolites in plasma employing direct injection. Plasma samples were injected onto a CN extraction column (4 x 4.6 mm, 5 microns) for micellar cleanup with 0.

Pharmacokinetic evaluation of two human epidermal growth factors (hEGF51 and hEGF53) in rats.

The pharmacokinetic profiles of two iodinated human epidermal growth factors (125I-hEGF51 and 125I-hEGF53) in rats receiving a single intravenous dose have been investigated using three independent bioanalytical techniques. Based on a tetrachloroacetic acid precipitation methodology, hEGF51 and hEGF53 were found to have distribution half-lives of 0.80 +/- 0.

Column-switching liquid chromatographic determination of ML-1035 sulphoxide and its sulphone and sulphide metabolites in rat urine.

A fully automated column-switching LC assay has been developed for the simultaneous determination of a gastroprokinetic agent, ML-1035 sulphoxide, and its sulphone and sulphide metabolites in rat urine. ML-1035 Sulphoxide is a metoclopramide analogue. The method involved direct injection of a diluted urine sample into a CN extraction column for sample clean-up.

Determination of ML-1035 enantiomers in plasma by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography.

ML-1035, is a gastroprokinetic agent structurally related to metoclopramide. Because ML-1035 contains an asymmetric chiral sulphoxide moiety, a chiral HPLC method has been developed to separate and quantitate its R- and S-enantiomers in plasma. The ML-1035 enantiomers present in plasma are extracted with dichloroethane under alkaline conditions, the extract evaporated to dryness and reconstituted in the mobile phase.

Column-switching high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) determination of hydrochlorothiazide in rat, dog, and human plasma.

A fully automated HPLC assay for hydrochlorothiazide in plasma has been developed using a column-switching technique. The method involves direct injection of plasma to the extraction column for sample cleanup followed by switching onto the analytical column. Good precision, accuracy, and linearity were obtained over a range of 25 to 2000 ng/ml in rat, dog, and human plasma.

Evaluation of a cancer prevention and detection continuing education program for nurses.

To stay relevant and continue to meet the needs it was created to meet, a 15-year-old continuing education program in cancer prevention and detection for nurses has found change a constant. The process it has followed in evaluation--identifying goals, gathering and analyzing data, and reporting the results--can be compared with the nursing process in which feedback prompts changes and initiates the evaluation process all over again. The most recent part of the program's ongoing evaluation involved 70 nurses enrolled in a three-week continuing education program in which the nurses were pretested and posttested to measure cognitive gain in nine content areas covered in classroom and clinical instruction.

Investigations on plasma activity of low molecular weight heparin after intravenous and oral administrations.

This study investigated the absorption of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) after oral administration in man. Six healthy subjects received 5,000 anti-Xa units of LMWH (Kabi 2165) by both i.v.

Influence of nicotine and cotinine on the expression of plasminogen activator activity in bovine aortic endothelial cells.

The effects of nicotine and its major metabolite, cotinine, were evaluated on the secretion of plasminogen activator (PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells. Both compounds increased PA secretion, determined by 125I fibrin plate assay, in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Maximum effects after 24 hr incubation were observed for nicotine at 10(-8) M and for cotinine at 10(-7) M, which corresponded to about 2.

Interaction of thrombin and factor Xa with bovine vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and rat hepatoma cells.

The aims of the present investigation were to characterize the binding and inhibition of thrombin and factor Xa to bovine vascular endothelial cells (EC), bovine smooth muscle cells (SMC), and rat hepatoma cells (RHC), and to evaluate the effects of plasma constituents on their inhibition. The enzymatic activities of bovine thrombin and factor Xa were assayed using chromogenic substrates. After 10 min incubation with the cells, thrombin activity in the solution had decreased by about 20% and was subsequently recovered on the cell surfaces.

Role of polyamines in the stimulation of synthesis and secretion of plasminogen activator from bovine aortic endothelial cells.

The effects of the polyamines putrescine (PUT), spermidine (SPD), and spermidine (SPM) on the secretion of plasminogen activator (PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) were evaluated using cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells. All three polyamines enhanced PA secretion in a time- and dose-dependent manner, with a potency rank order of SPM greater than SPD greater than PUT. The PA stimulation required both RNA and protein synthesis, as evidenced by inhibition of polyamine-induced PA secretion by actinomycin D and cycloheximide.

Human growth hormone gene and the highly homologous growth hormone variant gene display different splicing patterns.

Stably transfected cell lines containing the normal human growth hormone (hGH-N) and human growth hormone-variant (hGH-V) genes have been established in order to study the expression of these two highly homologous genes. Each gene was inserted into a bovine papillomavirus shuttle vector under the transcriptional control of the mouse metallothionein gene promoter and the resultant recombinants were transfected into mouse C127 cells. The transfected cells containing the hGH-N gene secrete two hGH proteins, 91% migrating at 22 kD and 9% migrating at 20 kD, the same relative proportions synthesized in vivo by the human pituitary.