A global revision of the Seahorses Hippocampus Rafinesque 1810 (Actinopterygii: Syngnathiformes): Taxonomy and biogeography with recommendations for further research.

Nomenclatural clarity is vital for the collection, dissemination, and retrieval of natural history information, which itself is necessary for effective conservation and management of species. Seahorses (genus Hippocampus) are small marine fishes that in many cases are heavily exploited and suffering severe population declines worldwide, leading to conservation concern and action. Here we provide a brief history of seahorse taxonomy, and attempt to clarify seahorse nomenclature by reducing redundancy and exposing areas of disagreement in need of further study.

Dispersal, habitat differences, and comparative phylogeography of Southeast Asian seahorses (Syngnathidae: Hippocampus).

Four distinct phylogeographical patterns across Southeast Asia were observed for four species of seahorse (genus Hippocampus) with differing ecologies. For all species, genetic differentiation (based on cytochrome b sequence comparisons) was significantly associated with sample site (Phi(ST) = 0.190-0.

A holistic model for moving toward excellence in chaotic times.

Background: Staff development experts in a tertiary-care hospital were searching for a holistic approach to facilitating improved outcomes.

Method: Staff development experts, clinical nurse specialists, and clinical managers developed a model that provides a framework for educators to integrate their energies with those of other leaders in order to create a holistic approach to the goal of achieving excellence.

Results: The model that is proposed links strategies for change with outcome evaluation.

Inhibition of murine Lewis lung carcinoma metastases by combined chemotherapy and intranasal THF-gamma 2 immunotherapy.

Previous research in our laboratories has shown that the immunoregulatory octapeptide, THF-gamma 2, potentiates the efficacy of anticancer chemotherapy in experimental animal models of local plasmacytoma and repairs drug-induced defects in immunocompetence. The highly metastatic, murine D122 lung carcinoma model has been shown to be useful for evaluating the efficacy of experimental antimetastatic therapeutic modalities. The goal of the present study was to determine whether intranasal thymic humoral factor-gamma 2 (THF-gamma 2) immunotherapy, after a single dose of chemotherapy, could inhibit the development of lung metastases, restore immunocompetence, and increase survival in syngeneic C57BL/6 mice bearing highly metastatic Lewis lung carcinoma (D122) solid footpad tumors.

Thymic humoral factor-gamma 2 (THF-gamma 2) immunotherapy reduces the metastatic load and restores immunocompetence in 3LL tumor-bearing mice receiving anticancer chemotherapy.

In mice bearing immunogenic tumors, adding thymic humoral factor-gamma 2 (THF-gamma 2)1 immunotherapy as an adjunct to anticancer chemotherapeutic regimens not only potentiates the antitumor activity of each drug but also repairs tumor/chemotherapy-induced damage to T-cell populations and functions. The Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL) is a weakly immunogenic, highly metastatic tumor in C57BL/6 mice. To investigate whether the immunoregulatory octapeptide is also effective against a tumor that does not elicit an antitumor immune response, we assessed the effect of combination THF-gamma 2 immunotherapy and chemotherapy in 3LL-bearing mice.

Potentiation of myeloid colony-formation in bone marrow of intact and neonatally thymectomized mice by the thymic hormone THF-gamma 2.

The effect of the thymic hormone THF-gamma 2 on committed stem cells of bone marrow (BM) origin was determined using the myeloid progenitor cell clonal assay. Preincubation of normal BM cells with THF-gamma 2 for 1 hour or 18 hours caused a 2- to 6-fold increase in the number of myeloid colonies in the presence of suboptimal concentrations of colony-stimulating factor (CSF). The optimal dose of THF-gamma 2 causing this enhancement was in the range of 25 to 100 ng/mL.

A synthetic thymic hormone, THF-gamma 2, repairs immunodeficiency of mice cured of plasmacytoma by melphalan.

BALB/c mice cured of large MOPC-315 plasmacytomas by melphalan remain deficient in their spleen T-cell functions. This was manifested by impairment of the allogeneic and the antibody responses in vitro to SRBC and in decreased numbers of T-cells including their subsets CD4 and CD8. IL-2 production and specific cytotoxicity against MOPC-315 tumor cells were, on the other hand, maintained.

Ketoprofen versus indomethacin in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a multicenter double blind comparative study.

Oral ketoprofen (200-300 mg/day) and indomethacin (100-150 mg/day) were compared in a 12-week double blind study involving 140 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The treatments were generally equally effective in most assessments, producing highly significant (p less than 0.01) improvements from baseline values within one week.

Immunologic alterations in MRL/lpr mice after chronic dimethyl sulfoxide administration.

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in 1 and 2% concentration was added to the drinking water of 30-100 day MRL/lpr mice. In comparison to control mice, the DMSO treated mice had a 78% increase in their response to exogenous IL-2 and a 64% increase in production of IL-2. Con A stimulated cells had a net help effect in the untreated mice, which was suppressed from 82-26% after DMSO treatment.

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with levamisole. A controlled trial.

Levamisole, an anthelminthic agent with immunostimulatory properties, was used in a double-blind, controlled therapeutic trial in rheumatoid arthritis. Patients received either levamisole 100 mg 4 days a week, or placebo, for a period of 4 months. Significant improvement in the treated group, as compared with the control group, was found in the number of tender and swollen joints, grip strength, range of joint motion, sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein.

Association of renal papillary necrosis and ankylosing spondylitis.

Three patients with ankylosing spondylitis developed renal papillary necrosis. All had received prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors including phenylbutazone, indomethacin, or ibuprofen. One patient had sickle trait.