Pregnant journeys in group analytic psychotherapy.

This paper explores the dynamic complexities that are triggered when a group member becomes pregnant. Through clinical illustrations taken from a weekly analytical group, the developmental processes and resonances found in such groups are discussed, alongside the technical challenges they pose on the leader. The scant literature on this topic and how it impacts on the therapeutic space is reviewed from individual and group analytic literature.

Cytokine dependent and independent iNKT cell activation.

Invariant NKT (iNKT) cells have been extensively studied throughout the last decade due to their ability to polarize and amplify the downstream immune response. Only recently however, have the various mechanisms underlying NKT cell activation begun to unfold. iNKT cells have the ability to respond as innate immune cells with minimal TCR involvement as well as through direct TCR recognition of glycolipid antigens.

Protein-based multiplex assays: mock presubmissions to the US Food and Drug Administration.

As a part of ongoing efforts of the NCI-FDA Interagency Oncology Task Force subcommittee on molecular diagnostics, members of the Clinical Proteomic Technology Assessment for Cancer program of the National Cancer Institute have submitted 2 protein-based multiplex assay descriptions to the Office of In Vitro Diagnostic Device Evaluation and Safety, US Food and Drug Administration. The objective was to evaluate the analytical measurement criteria and studies needed to validate protein-based multiplex assays. Each submission described a different protein-based platform: a multiplex immunoaffinity mass spectrometry platform for protein quantification, and an immunological array platform quantifying glycoprotein isoforms.

Cutting edge: the chemokine receptor CXCR3 retains invariant NK T cells in the thymus.

The current model used to define T cell export from the thymus suggests that emigrating lymphocytes seed the peripheral organs as functionally mature cells. This model holds true for the majority of T cells exported from the thymus with the exception of invariant NK T (iNKT) cells. iNKT cells undergo lineage expansion after positive selection and acquire NK receptor expression once fully mature; yet, the majority of mature iNKT cells are retained in the thymus by an as of yet unidentified mechanism.

Convergent extension by intercalation without mediolaterally fixed cell motion.

We construct and implement a stochastic model of convergent extension, using a minimal set of assumptions on cell behavior. In addition to the basic assumptions of volume conservation, random cell motion, and cell-cell and cell-ECM adhesion, and a non-standard assumption that cytoskeletal polymerization generates an internal pressure tending to keep cells convex, we find that we need only two conditions for convergent extension. (1) Each cell type has a particular aspect ratio towards which it regulates its geometry.

Prognostic significance of spouse we talk in couples coping with heart failure.

Recent research suggests that marital quality predicts the survival of patients with heart failure (HF), and it is hypothesized that a communal orientation to coping marked by first-person plural pronoun use (we talk) may be a factor in this. During a home interview, 57 HF patients (46 men and 16 women) and their spouses discussed how they coped with the patients' health problems. Analysis of pronoun counts from both partners revealed that we talk by the spouse, but not the patient, independently predicted positive change in the patient's HF symptoms and general health over the next 6 months and did so better than direct self-report measures of marital quality and the communal coping construct.

Detection of human cytomegalovirus in dental plaque from individual periodontal sites by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Objective: The aim was to evaluate three primer-probe sets and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in dental plaque from individual periodontal sites.

Study Design: Fifty subgingival plaque specimens from 13 healthy subjects (on average at least 2 healthy and 2 periodontal disease sites per subject) and 50 saliva specimens from 24 subjects, including 16 controls, were assessed using 3 primer-probe sets (polymerase [POL], glycoprotein B [gB], and US14) and real-time PCR. Kappa statistics were performed to measure agreement between the primer-probe sets.

The potency of erythropoietin-mimic antibodies correlates inversely with affinity.

Preclinical animal studies have shown that Ab12.6, an agonistic human Ab targeting the erythropoietin receptor (EPOR), exhibits several potential dosing and safety features that make it an attractive clinical candidate for the treatment of anemia. Ab12.

Phase I trial of oral vorinostat (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, SAHA) in patients with advanced multiple myeloma.

A Phase I trial (NCT00109109) of oral vorinostat 200, 250 or 300 mg twice daily for 5 days/week/4-week cycle or 200, 300, or 400 mg twice daily for 14 days/3-week cycle until progressive disease or intolerable toxicity was conducted. Patients with measurable, relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma were eligible. The objectives were to determine maximum tolerated doses (MTDs) and assess activity and safety.

A potent erythropoietin-mimicking human antibody interacts through a novel binding site.

Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHu-EPO) is used to treat anemia by activating the erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) in erythroid progenitor cells, leading to proliferation and differentiation into mature red blood cells. To allow less frequent dosing, a hyperglycosylated version of EPO has been developed with a longer half-life. In principle, an agonistic antibody targeting EPOR would offer an even longer half-life, support robust monthly dosing, and, unlike EPO products, reduce the risk of pure red cell aplasia.

Cutaneous endothelin-A receptors elevate post-incisional pain.

The contribution of endothelin-1 (ET-1), acting via endothelin-A receptors (ET(A)), on post-incisional pain was examined in a rat model of incision through the hairy skin of the lumbar dorsum. Post-incisional mechanical hyperesthesia was evaluated by cutaneous trunci muscle reflexes (CTMR) of subcutaneous muscles responding to stimulation with von Frey filaments near the wound (primary responses) and at a distance, especially on the contralateral dorsum (secondary responses, involving spinal circuits). The role of ET(A) was determined by pre-incisional, subcutaneous injection of the selective receptor antagonist BQ-123 at the incision site, 15 min or 24h before surgery.

Has the 80-hour work week had an impact on voluntary attrition in general surgery residency programs?

Background: This article attempts to assess the effect of the duty-hour limitations implemented in 2003 on voluntary withdrawal of general surgery residents.

Study Design: A questionnaire asked the program directors how many categorical general surgery residents left voluntarily in 2003 to 2004, their training levels, why they left, and where they went. Results were compared with an identical study of 2000 to 2001 and analyzed statistically using chi-square analysis.

Electric field-induced magnetization switching in epitaxial columnar nanostructures.

We present direct evidence for room-temperature magnetization reversal induced by an electric field in epitaxial ferroelectric BiFeO3-ferrimagnetic CoFe2O4 columnar nanostructures. Piezoelectric force microscopy and magnetic force microscopy were used to locally image the coupled piezoelectric-magnetic switching. Quantitative analyses give a perpendicular magnetoelectric susceptibility of approximately 1.

Hospital and outpatient health services utilization among HIV-infected adults in care 2000-2002.

Background: Rapid changes in HIV epidemiology and antiretroviral therapy may have resulted in recent changes in patterns of healthcare utilization.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine sociodemographic and clinical correlates of inpatient and outpatient HIV-related health service utilization in a multistate sample of patients with HIV.

Design: Demographic, clinical, and resource utilization data were collected from medical records for 2000, 2001, and 2002.

High rates of primary Mycobacterium avium complex and Pneumocystis jiroveci prophylaxis in the United States.

Background: National data from the mid-1990s demonstrated that many eligible patients with HIV infection do not receive prophylaxis for opportunistic infections (OIs) and that racial and gender disparities existed in OI prophylaxis receipt.

Objective: We examined whether demographic disparities in use of OI prophylaxis persist in 2001 and if outpatient care is associated with OI prophylaxis utilization.

Research Design: Demographic, clinical, and pharmacy utilization data were collected from 10 U.

Patterns of diagnoses in hospital admissions in a multistate cohort of HIV-positive adults in 2001.

Background: Admissions for AIDS-related illnesses decreased soon after the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), but it is unclear if the trends have continued in the current HAART era. An understanding of healthcare utilization patterns is important for optimization of care and resource allocation. We examined the diagnoses for hospitalizations of patients with HIV in 2001.

Old and sleeping rough: elderly homeless persons on the streets of Boston.

Older individuals living on the streets of our urban cities are a unique sub-group of the homeless population. No studies have been published about these elderly "rough sleepers" who face daunting obstacles to health care while facing a litany of health risks on the streets that are magnified by the physical and mental limitations of advancing years. To improve our understanding of this itinerant group, the Street Team of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program prospectively followed 30 individuals aged 60 or older living on Boston's streets for the four-year period from 2000 through 2003.

Reduction of postincisional allodynia by subcutaneous bupivacaine: findings with a new model in the hairy skin of the rat.

Background: An incision of hairy skin of the rat's back provides a new model for postincisional pain to determine the importance of cutaneous anesthesia.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized with sevoflurane and given a 0.6-ml subcutaneous injection of bupivacaine (0.

Spontaneous colonic mesenteric hemorrhage: report of an unusual case of abdominal apoplexy.

We describe a case of idiopathic abdominal apoplexy secondary to a spontaneous mesocolic bleed. Preoperative computed tomography of the abdomen suggested a ruptured colonic mass at the splenic flexure. The diagnosis was made when exploratory laparotomy revealed hemoperitoneum and an extensive hematoma in the transverse mesocolon, with no apparent source.

Racial and gender disparities in receipt of highly active antiretroviral therapy persist in a multistate sample of HIV patients in 2001.

Background: National data from the mid-1990s demonstrated that many eligible patients did not receive highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and that racial and gender disparities existed in HAART receipt. We examined whether demographic disparities in the use of HAART persist in 2001 and if outpatient care is associated with HAART utilization.

Methods: Demographic, clinical, and pharmacy utilization data were collected from 10 US HIV primary care sites in the HIV Research Network (HIVRN).

Amino-substituted heterocycles as isosteres of trans-cinnamides: design and synthesis of heterocyclic biaryl sulfides as potent antagonists of LFA-1/ICAM-1 binding.

2-Amino-4-phenyl pyridine and, to a lesser extent, 4-amino-6-phenyl pyrimidine, were established as isosteres of trans-cinnamide moiety. Applying this isosterism to previously reported p-arylthio cinnamides resulted in the identification of 4-amino-6-(p-arylthio)phenyl-pyrimidines and 2-amino-4-(p-arylthio)phenyl-pyridines as potent antagonists of LFA-1/ICAM-1 binding.

P300 event-related potential amplitude and impulsivity in cocaine-dependent subjects.

Previous studies report reduced amplitude of the P300 event-related potential in cocaine-dependent individuals. Cocaine dependence is also associated with increased impulsivity, possibly due to deficits in cognitive function that are associated with reduced P300 amplitude. In the current study, the relationship between cocaine dependence, impulsivity, and P300 amplitude were examined.

Comparison of the dissolution of metaxalone tablets (Skelaxin) using USP Apparatus 2 and 3.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of pH on the dissolution behavior of metaxalone in the marketed product Skelaxin tablets. The dissolution was evaluated using United States Pharmacopeia (USP) dissolution Apparatus 2 and 3 at pHs ranging from 1.5 to 7.

General surgery residency program websites: usefulness and usability for resident applicants.

Objective: To assess the content of general surgery residency program websites, the websites' potential as tools in resident recruitment, and their "usability."

Design: The homepages of general surgery residency programs were evaluated for accessibility, ease-of-use, adherence to established principles of website design, and content. Investigators completed a questionnaire on aspects of their online search, including number of mouse-clicks used, number of errors encountered, and number of returns to the residency homepage.