Defects in DNA double-strand break repair resensitize antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli to multiple bactericidal antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistance is becoming increasingly prevalent amongst bacterial pathogens and there is an urgent need to develop new types of antibiotics with novel modes of action. One promising strategy is to develop resistance-breaker compounds, which inhibit resistance mechanisms and thus resensitize bacteria to existing antibiotics. In the current study, we identify bacterial DNA double-strand break repair as a promising target for the development of resistance-breaking co-therapies.

Bull breeding soundness, semen evaluation and cattle productivity.

The bull breeding soundness evaluation (BBSE) has evolved as a cost-effective veterinary procedure which provides benefits such as risk-reduction and improvements in strategic bull usage, herd fertility and economics. Semen evaluation is an important component of the BBSE when performed appropriately; a consideration that is increasingly addressed by third party andrology laboratories. The combination of competent physical/reproductive exams (including scrotal circumference measurements) and semen evaluations can contribute greatly to the fertility and economics of individual herds as well as adding to understanding of those factors which affect cattle fertility.

Semen effects on insemination outcomes in sows.

Sows (n=1205) were artificially inseminated with semen from single sires (n=166). Semen was previously analysed for sperm concentration, motility, velocity, morphology (using DIC microscopy) and membrane integrity, sperm clump score, temperature on arrival and pH. Percent normal sperm influenced both numbers of pigs born alive (P<0.

Treating generalized anxiety disorder using complementary and alternative medicine.

Context: The high comorbidity rate of generalized anxiety disorders (GADs) with other diagnoses-such as panic disorder, depression, alcohol abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder, insomnia, and obsessive compulsive disorder- make it one of the most common diagnoses found in primary care, with women predominantly affected. It is estimated that 5.4%-7.

Mammalian sexual dimorphism.

Sexual dimorphisms (SDs) have evolved in mammals to assure greater reproductive success for individuals, usually males. Secondary sexual characteristics (SSC) developed to further this objective, tending to be more pronounced in species which are polygynous, diurnal and open-habitat dwellers. Sexual selection has underpinned many of these changes, which are not necessarily advantageous for individual survival.

Use of complementary and alternative therapies among active duty soldiers, military retirees, and family members at a military hospital.

Objective: To survey soldiers, retirees, and spouses about their use and interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies.

Methods: We used an anonymous, self-administered survey.

Results: Of 291 completed surveys, 81% used one or more CAM therapy.

Splenogonadal fusion-limb defect "syndrome" and associated malformations.

Two types of splenogonadal fusion (SGF) have been proposed. In the continuous type the spleen is connected to the gonad, and often it is associated with limb defects and other anomalies such as micrognathia, microglossia, anal atresia, and hypoplastic lungs. Associated abnormalities are lower in the discontinuous type of SGF, where there is fusion between the gonad and accessory splenic tissue, without connection with the normal spleen.

High service users: does the clinical psychologist have a role?

Objective: To assess the impact of psychological intervention on high users of the GP service.

Design: A sample of high-attenders was offered the opportunity to attend an interview with a clinical psychologist. A three-year (one year before and two years after psychological intervention) survey of patient records was carried out to determine the pattern of patient attendances.

Pathology quiz: small cell osteosarcoma.

A 15-year-old black male presented with shortness of breath, leg weakness, and pain in his back and rib cage. Four years previously he had noticed a lump in his upper back and complained of pain when playing basketball, especially on contact to that area. Recently, the pain had become more constant and increased in intensity.

Elastofibroma of the foot: uncommon presentation: a case report and review of the literature.

We report the clinical, microscopic and ultrastructural features of an elastofibroma arising in the foot. The lesion typically occurs in the elderly, and in 85% of cases arises from the connective tissue of the posterior chest wall. The histopathologic features of this lesion are distinctive, and are characterized by a haphazard array of eosinophilic collagen and elastic fibers, associated with fibroblasts and aggregates of mature fat cells.

Health visitor-run adult sleep clinics.

Two sleep clinics run by health visitors were set up in Dundee to provide a brief, time-limited programme of advice and treatment for adults with insomnia and referred by their GPs. This article describes the clinics and reports the clinical features and outcome of the first 100 patients referred.

Repression of p27kip1 synthesis by platelet-derived growth factor in BALB/c 3T3 cells.

We have investigated the regulation of p27kip1, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, in BALB/c 3T3 cells during growth factor-stimulated transition from quiescence (G0) to a proliferative (G1) state. The level of p27kip1 protein falls dramatically after mitogenic stimulation and is accompanied by a decrease in cyclin E associated p27kip1, as well as a transient increase in cyclin D1-associated p27kip1 that later declines concomitantly with the loss of total p27kip1. Analysis of metabolically labelled cells revealed that cyclin D2, cyclin D3, and cdk4 were also partnered with p27kip1 in quiescent BALB/c 3T3 cells and that this association decreased after platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) treatment.

Clinical psychology training in Europe.

Clinical psychology training in the United Kingdom (UK) and in the remainder of Europe differs in several respects; in particular, the latter allows for greater variability and clinical specialization with much more training taking place postqualification than in the UK; differences in content and in the balance between the supply of, and demand for, clinical psychologists also exist. These differences reflect employment arrangements and, to a lesser extent, the structure of higher education and legal regulation. Various current and predicted changes in health-care systems and in the legal and educational context will probably lead to training in the UK and elsewhere in Europe becoming more similar in the years after 1992.

Reported social alcohol consumption during pregnancy and infants' development at 18 months.

Objective: To determine the relation between mothers' self reported drinking habits before, during, and after pregnancy and infants' mental and motor development at 18 months of age.

Design: Follow up study of all singleton live births born to primigravidas living in Dundee and booked into antenatal clinics from 1 May 1985 to 30 April 1986.

Setting: District of Dundee.

Prediction of survival by the Clifton Assessment Procedures for the Elderly (CAPE).

A sample of 261 elderly patients, most with a diagnosis of dementia, consecutively admitted to a geriatric psychiatry assessment ward, was assessed using the cognitive assessment scale (CAS) and behaviour rating scale (BRS) of CAPE. Scores of patients alive at four follow-up intervals were compared with those of non-survivors. On CAS, survivors scored significantly better at 18- and 48-month follow-up; and better, but not significantly so, at nine- and 36-month follow-up.

Effects of dexamethasone on body fluid and electrolyte composition of rats.

Low-dose infusions of dexamethasone (2 micrograms/day for 2 and 4 weeks) increased systolic blood pressure and decreased body weight gain in male rats. Total body sodium, calcium and magnesium were increased by dexamethasone treatment; potassium was unaffected. These changes have been evaluated bearing in mind that glucocorticoids have profound catabolic effects.

Prediction of survival in dementia by cognitive tests: a six-year follow-up.

One hundred and sixteen elderly female in-patients with confirmed diagnoses of senile or arteriosclerotic dementia were tested on the Paired-Associate Learning Test (PALT) and Cognitive Assessment Scale (CAS) of CAPE and were followed up annually for six years. Comparison of those patients who had died by each follow-up date with those who had survived showed that in general the latter had had better PALT and CAS scores.

A note on the female norms of the HDHQ.

Two samples--of 200 women tested in their homes and of 85 women attending a general practice--completed the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire (HDHQ). The scores of the two samples on General Hostility and on the five subscales--AH, CO, PH, G and SC--were similar to one another but were significantly higher, indicating greater hostility, than those of the normative samples reported in the HDHQ Manual. These and previous findings cast doubt on the value of the Manual norms.

Prediction of survival by three psychological measures.

One hundred and seven elderly female in-patients with confirmed or suspected diagnoses of dementia were assessed by the Paired-Associate Learning Test (PALT), and the Cognitive Assessment Scale (CAS) and Behaviour Rating Scale (BRS) of CAPE. Eighteen months later, 62 patients were still alive. These had significantly better scores on the 'easy' set of PALT and on BRS than the non-survivors; the differences on the 'mediate' and 'hard' sets, and on CAS, while in the predicted direction, were not significant.

Use of the CAPE Pm test with disabled patients.

The problem of estimating a patient's CAS total score on CAPE when the Pm (maze) test cannot be administered because of sensory or physical--rather than cognitive--disability is considered. Analysis of the scores of 250 elderly subjects who attempted all three CAS tests suggests that 'proration' of total CAS scores from I/O and MA scores, while preferable to alternative methods, results in error in a significant proportion of cases and should be used only with caution.

The performance of depressed and manic patients on some repertory grid measures: a longitudinal study.

Sixteen of the depressed patients and nine of the manic patients, who were studied by Ashworth et al. (1982), were retested after clinical recovery. As on the previous occasion, each patient completed a repertory grid whose 10 elements were role titles and which employed 12 elicited constructs and one provided construct.

The short-term stability of the survey version of CAPE.

One hundred elderly women were assessed on two occasions, one week apart, on the survey version of CAPE. Although test-retest correlations were high, the dependency grades of 35 per cent of the sample changed on retesting by one grade, and 2 per cent by two grades, suggesting that the test may be too unstable for clinical purposes.

The concurrent validity of the survey version of the Clifton Assessment Procedures for the Elderly (CAPE).

The concurrent validity of the survey version of the Clifton Assessment Procedures for the Elderly (CAPE) was assessed by comparing the performance of four groups of elderly women selected to represent different levels of impairment and dependency. It was found to discriminate significantly among patients with severe (n = 100), moderate (n = 40), mild (n = 50) and no (n = 20) dementia; it also significantly distinguished between patients with severe and moderate dementia and patients with physical disability (n = 100) and with signs of 'institutionalization' (n = 25). Patients in the severe, moderate, mild and no dementia groups had all been judged clinically to have been placed appropriately as, respectively, geriatric psychiatry in-patients, geriatric psychiatry day-patients or local authority home residents, or as being able to live independently in the community.