Destructive effects of murine arthritogenic antibodies to type II collagen on cartilage explants in vitro.

Certain monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to type II collagen (CII) induce arthritis in vivo after passive transfer and have adverse effects on chondrocyte cultures and inhibit self assembly of collagen fibrils in vitro. We have examined whether such mAbs have detrimental effects on pre-existing cartilage. Bovine cartilage explants were cultured over 21 days in the presence of two arthritogenic mAbs to CII (CIIC1 or M2139), a non-arthritogenic mAb to CII (CIIF4) or a control mAb (GAD6).

A portable Raman acoustic levitation spectroscopic system for the identification and environmental monitoring of algal cells.

We report the coupling of a portable Raman spectrometer to an acoustic levitation device to enable environmental monitoring and the potential taxonomic identification of microalgae. Spectra of living cells were recorded at 785 nm using a fiber-optic probe coupled to a portable Raman spectrometer. The spectra exhibit an excellent signal-to-noise ratio and clearly show bands from chlorophyll a and beta-carotene.

Mapping of nutrient-induced biochemical changes in living algal cells using synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy.

High quality Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were acquired from living Micrasterias hardyi cells maintained in an IR transparent flow-through cell using a FTIR microscope coupled to a synchrotron light source. Spectral maps of living, nutrient-replete cells showed band intensities consistent with the known location of the nucleus and the chloroplasts. These were very similar to maps acquired from fixed, air-dried cells.

Raman microspectroscopy and imaging provides insights into heme aggregation and denaturation within human erythrocytes.

The oxygenation process of a human erythrocyte is monitored using a Raman microimaging technique. Raman images of the 1638 cm(-1) band are recorded in the oxygenated and deoxygenated state using only 120 s of laser exposure and approximately 1 mW of defocused laser power. The images show hemoglobin oxygenating and deoxygenating within the cell.

The effects of direct instruction on the single-word reading skills of children who require augmentative and alternative communication.

Current literature suggests a lack of empirically validated strategies for teaching reading skills to children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The current study implemented a single-subject, multiple-probe-across-subjects design to investigate the effects of direct instruction in single-word reading on the performance of students who use AAC. The instructional program targeted the reading skills of 5 participants who had severe speech impairments and ranged in age from 9 to 14 years old.

The relationship between maternal and child mental health in Mexican immigrant families.

Depression is a leading cause of disability in the United States, with Mexican immigrant women reporting depression rates higher than the national average. The purposes of this study were to describe mental health symptoms in a sample (n = 182) of Mexican immigrant mothers and their relationships to child mental health, family functioning, and acculturation. Over one third of the mothers reported depression and anxiety symptoms above standardized cutoffs while 31% of the children scored in the depressed range.

Evaluation of KNAVE-II: a tool for intelligent query and exploration of patient data.

We present the results of a preliminary evaluation of KNAVE-II, a distributed knowledge-based computational framework for visualization, interpretation, and exploration of longitudinal clinical data and of multiple levels of concepts derivable from these data. KNAVE-II uses a distributed architecture to access at run-time clinical time-oriented data, a domain-specific knowledge base containing properties of the clinical data, and a knowledge-based problem-solving method for computing on-the-fly interpretations of these data. The purpose of the evaluation was to compare efficiency and user satisfaction when answering clinical queries of variable complexity about clinical time-oriented data using KNAVE-II, versus using methods available in standard clinical settings: paper chart or electronic spreadsheet (ESS).

Resonance Raman spectroscopy reveals new insight into the electronic structure of beta-hematin and malaria pigment.

Resonance Raman spectra of beta-hematin and hemin are reported for a range of excitation wavelengths including 406, 488, 514, 568, 633, 780, 830, and 1064 nm. Dramatic enhancement of A(1g) modes (1570, 1371, 795, 677, and 344 cm(-1)), ring breathing modes (850-650 cm(-1)), and out-of-plane modes including iron-ligand modes (400-200 cm(-1)) were observed when irradiating with 780- and 830-nm laser excitation wavelengths for beta-hematin and to a lesser extent hemin. Absorbance spectra recorded during the transformation of hemin to beta-hematin showed a red-shift of the Soret and Q (0-1) bands, which has been interpreted as excitonic coupling resulting from porphyrin aggregation.

Field dissipation of acetochlor in two New Zealand soils at two application rates.

The persistence of pesticides in soils has both economic and environmental significance and is often used as a key parameter in pesticide risk assessment. Persistence of acetochlor [2'-ethyl-6'-methyl-N-(ethoxymethyl)-2-chloroacetylanilide] in two New Zealand field soils was measured over two years and the data were used to identify models that adequately describe acetochlor persistence in the field. Acetochlor was sprayed onto six fallow plots (3 x 9 m each) at each site at the recommended rate (2.

Nurse home visits to maternal-child clients: a review of intervention research.

Home visiting has been considered a promising strategy for addressing the multiple needs of families at risk. Research reviews are a valuable resource for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners who develop and support new home-visiting interventions. This review examines 13 research studies published between the years of 1980 and 2000 that test the effectiveness of home-visiting interventions using professional nurses as home visitors.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectral mapping of the cervical transformation zone, and dysplastic squamous epithelium.

Objectives: This paper is aimed at establishing infrared spectral patterns for the different tissue types found in, and for different stages of disease of squamous cervical epithelium. Methods for the unsupervised distinction of these tissue types are discussed.

Methods: Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) maps of the squamous and glandular cervical epithelium, and of the cervical transformation zone, were obtained and analyzed by multivariate unsupervised hierarchical cluster methods.

Raman imaging of hemozoin within the food vacuole of Plasmodium falciparum trophozoites.

Micro-Raman spectra of hemozoin encapsulated within the food vacuole of a Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocyte are presented. The spectrum of hemozoin is identical to the spectrum of beta-hematin at all applied excitation wavelengths. The unexpected observation of dramatic band enhancement of A(1g) modes including nu(4) (1374 cm(-1)) observed when applying 780 nm excitation enabled Raman imaging of hemozoin in the food vacuole.

Interaction of anticancer drug cisplatin with guanine: density functional theory and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy study.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in a silver sol assisted by density functional theory (DFT) calculations is shown to be a promising tool in the characterization of platinum complexes and their interaction with nucleic acid bases. This is demonstrated using cisplatin and guanine as a model. The energies and geometric parameters of cisplatin, guanine, and their reaction products are calculated at Becke's nonlocal three parameter exchange and correlation functional and the Lee-Yang-Parr correlation functional level using the 6-31++G(d,p) basis set on the light elements and the effective core potential by Hay and Wadt on platinum.

Enhancing participation in employment through AAC technologies.

Despite significant challenges, there are a growing number of documented cases of employment success for individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). We review recent research on employment and AAC, and discuss the results within a framework that describes what is known about the worker, the workplace, technology, and society in achieving employment success for individuals who use AAC. Information on goals for future research and technology development is also provided.

The safety of drugs for OTC use: what evidence is required for an NSAID switch?

In recent years there has been a growing demand for safe and effective over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. The demonstration of the safety of OTC products in actual conditions of use is crucial for their wide distribution, since the circumstances of their use may be different from the prescription-only setting. A group of experts met in Geneva, Switzerland, with the aim of exploring the criteria required to show safety equivalence of OTC medications, with specific reference to low-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) used for analgesia.

Removal of blood components from cervical smears: implications for cancer diagnosis using FTIR spectroscopy.

Red and white cell lysis buffers were investigated to determine their ability to remove blood components from cervical smears prior to IR microspectroscopy. A white cell lysis buffer was effective in increasing the spectral reproducibility and sample homogeneity and in reducing the presence of inflammatory exudate, particularly leukocytes, from cervical smears. The reduction of leukocytes appeared to cause abnormal samples to be grouped with normal samples, resulting in poor discrimination.

A comparison of predicted and experimental vibrational spectra in some small fluorocarbons.

The vibrational assignments of difluoromethane, cis and trans 1,2-difluoroethylene, trifluoroethylene, 2-fluoropropene, 1,1-difluoroethylene, and tetrafluoroethylene have been reassessed in the light of recent theoretical work. Inconsistent experimental wave number values and assignments have been clarified, and some changes to the experimental assignments are proposed. The assignments compare favorably with recent scaled density functional theory calculations using the hybrid three-parameter B3-PW91 density functional.

Influence of benign cellular changes in diagnosis of cervical cancer using IR microspectroscopy.

IR spectroscopy and principal components analysis (PCA) of endocervical cells and smears diagnosed with benign cellular changes were investigated to determine the influence of these potential confounding variables in the diagnosis of cervical cancer. Spectral differences in all cell and diagnostic types investigated were found in the phosphodiester and carbohydrate regions. However, the spectral differences in other bands were not distinct enough to allow differentiation between groups.

Density functional theory and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy characterization of novel platinum drugs.

There is considerable interest in the development of novel platinum-based anticancer drugs that overcome the disadvantages associated with the widely used drug cisplatin, which are its inactivity against some types of tumors and its toxic side effects. In this study we show the suitability of normal Raman spectroscopy (NRS) and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), assisted by density functional theoretical (DFT) calculations, for the characterization of Pt complexes. The Pt complexes studied include the established drugs cisplatin and carboplatin, as well as five novel Pt complexes with anticancer activity.

Micro-Raman characterization of high- and low-spin heme moieties within single living erythrocytes.

Raman microspectroscopy was applied to monitor porphyrin perturbation associated with the tense-relaxed (T --> R) state transition of hemoglobin (Hb) within a single red blood cell. The spectra exhibited dramatic changes in the spin state region (1650-1500 cm(-1)) and the methine C-H deformation region (1250-1200 cm(-1)) between the 27- and 54-min interval following reoxygenation. Principal components analysis revealed a sigmoidal curve when the PC1 scores versus time were plotted.

Pharmacoepidemiological research at the Medicines Monitoring Unit, Scotland: data protection and confidentiality.

The Medicines Monitoring Unit (MEMO) is a University-based organization that uses record-linkage techniques to construct an observational database for the population of Tayside, Scotland (approximately 400,000 people). This contains healthcare data indexed by a unique identifier, including data on all prescriptions dispensed, which facilitates pharmacoepidemiological (and other) research. It has hitherto been possible to carry out drug safety studies in the entire population, with access to original medical records of patients where necessary, that have satisfied ethical concerns and confidentiality legislation.

Development and evaluation of a Mexican immigrant family support program.

A report to Congress in the fall of 1998 warned that immigrant children are in a state of emergency regarding access to health care. This article presents the three phases involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating a Mexican American Problem Solving (MAPS) program designed to promote the mental health of families. Methods were Phase 1 focus groups to identify concerns and desired approaches for intervention; Phase 2 instrument assessment and prevalence assessment of mental health; and Phase 3 intervention testing.