Cloning and characterization of two cDNAs coding for human von Willebrand factor.

A cDNA library was prepared in lambda gt11 bacteriophage from poly(A)+ RNA isolated from primary cultures of endothelial cells from human umbilical vein. Approximately 2.5 million independent recombinants were screened and 2 of those were found to synthesize a fusion protein with beta-galactosidase that reacted with rabbit antibody against human von Willebrand factor.

Alternative vascular access in patients lacking veins for standard arteriovenous fistulae.

We have evaluated the Hickman catheter and Hemasite access port as means to re-establish vascular access in patients lacking veins for conventional arteriovenous fistulae. The Hemasite is more convenient, but is also costlier, requires more surgical skill to implant, and is more frequently associated with major infections. One-half of the Hemasites have failed because of infection.

Experience with a needleless vascular access device (Hemasite) for hemodialysis.

Experience with 35 needleless implants (Hemasite) in 27 patients over the past 27 months has shown that this device can provide immediately available painless access in patients lacking adequate veins for a direct internal fistula for hemodialysis. The cumulative patency rate of 46% at two years is comparable to that of polytetrafluoroethylene grafts. The major complication was infection which contributed to graft loss in one third of patients.

Regulated high-level expression of the Herpes simplex type I thymidine kinase gene in Escherichia coli.

A plasmid-borne Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) thymidine kinase (TK) gene (tk) was expressed in Escherichia coli by inserting a 203-bp lacL8/UV5 promoter-operator segment, in frame, 53 bp 5' to the native tk translational start codon. The hybrid gene created by this fusion encodes a polypeptide which has 25 additional amino acids on the amino terminus of the HSV-1 TK protein and phenotypically complements a tdk- mutation of E. coli.

Secondary agoraphobia: two case reports.

Two patients with agoraphobic symptoms and major depressive disorder exhibited dexamethasone nonsuppression. Antidepressant pharmacotherapy was associated with remission of depressive symptoms and DST normalization. This improvement predated remission of agoraphobic symptoms by 1-2 months.

Characterization of a complementary deoxyribonucleic acid coding for human and bovine plasminogen.

A cDNA library was constructed in pBR322 from bovine liver mRNA that was enriched for plasminogen mRNA by polysome immunoprecipitation. A 32P-labeled single-stranded cDNA was then prepared from the enriched bovine mRNA and employed as a probe to screen the cDNA library. The screening was carried out by testing for clones that protect the hybridized 32P-labeled cDNA from S1 nuclease digestion.

Peripheral nerve compression by brachial artery-basilic vein vascular access in long-term hemodialysis.

This report presents the first description of direct peripheral nerve compression as a complication of brachial artery-basilic vein vascular access in patients with uremia who are receiving long-term hemodialysis. Three patients are presented. An expanding basilic vein hematoma compressed the radial nerve in one patient.

Equatorial undercurrent disappears during 1982-1983 el nino.

The equatorial undercurrent at 159 degrees W decayed during August 1982, partially reversed during September, and rapidly reappeared in January 1983. The virtual disappearance is consistent with the basin-wide adjustment of sea surface slope to the strong westerly winds in the western and central Pacific that caused the 1982-1983 El Niño event.

Patient profile and effect of dietary therapy on post-transplant hyperlipidemia.

The effect of dietary therapy on the serum lipid profile was examined in 32 post-transplant patients. Patients were transplanted more than 4 months before the study and had stable renal function and no other condition affecting lipid metabolism. Serum lipid profiles were determined on two serum samples obtained after a 12-hour fast.

A perfectly symmetric lac operator binds the lac repressor very tightly.

A completely symmetric DNA segment has been constructed that binds the lactose repressor of Escherichia coli 10-fold more tightly than does the natural lactose operator sequence. This tight-binding operator is an inverted repeat of a 15-base-pair segment from the left half of the natural operator sequence, the inversion being about the point indicated by the arrow shown below: (sequence in text) where the upper sequence is the natural operator and the lower sequence is the symmetric operator. The increased affinity of repressor for this symmetric sequence supports the idea that the tetrameric repressor is designed for a two-module binding to DNA, presumably via two (or two pairs) of its identical subunits.

RNAs transcribed from a 3.6-kilobase SmaI fragment of the short unique region of the herpes simplex virus type 1 genome.

A 3.6-kilobase (kb) SmaI subclone of the BamHI J fragment of herpes simplex virus type 1 (KOS) DNA was utilized to characterize the mRNAs transcribed from the genome segment (0.91 to 0.

Schizophrenia and dialysis.

Open-trial reports of substantial clinical improvement in most schizophrenic patients on hemodialysis for their psychiatric condition prompted the present study to determine the efficacy of hemodialysis under double-blind, controlled conditions. Fifteen schizophrenic outpatients were randomly assigned to either a real-sham or sham-real dialysis treatment sequence. Presented in detailed, graphic form, results of repeated measurement and other analyses of symptom and behavioral data collected initially, at crossover, and at the end of treatment revealed no differential effects between real and sham dialysis.

Transcription from the BamHI J fragment of herpes simplex virus type 1 (KOS).

RNA transfer experiments (Northern analyses) were used to localize polyadenylated mRNA species made after herpes simplex virus type 1 infection to EcoRI and BamHI fragments and subfragments from the short unique region of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (KOS) genome. Three predominant early mRNAs of 2.5, 1.

NMR study of the interaction between the lac repressor and the lac operator.

Binding of the lac repressor headpiece, the N-terminal region of the lac repressor, to the lac operator of Escherichia coli was studied by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Two DNA fragments, of 51 base pairs and 62 base pairs, containing the lac operator region, were investigated. The signals of their hydrogen-bonded imino protons were well resolved in the 500-MHz NMR spectra.

Statistical characterization of nucleic acid sequence functional domains.

It has long been recognized that various genome classes were distinguishable on the basis of base composition and nearest neighbor frequencies. In addition Grantham et al. (8) have recently presented evidence that these distinctions are preserved at the level of codon usage.

Regulatory pattern identification in nucleic acid sequences.

In addition to the sequence homologies and statistical patterns identified among numerous genetic sequences, there are subtler classes of patterns for which most current computer search methods offer very limited utility. This class includes various presumptive eukaryotic regulatory sites. A critique of the often employed consensus and local homology methods suggests the need for new tools.

The therapeutic efficacy of hemodialysis in schizophrenia.

Prompted by previous reports of substantial clinical improvement in most schizophrenic patients given hemodialysis for their psychiatric condition, we studied the efficacy of hemodialysis in 15 schizophrenic outpatients, under double-blind, controlled conditions. The patients were randomly assigned to either a real-sham or sham-real sequence of dialysis treatment. Results of repeated measurement and other analyses of data on symptoms and behavior that were collected before study treatment, at crossover, and at the end of treatment revealed no difference between the effects of real and sham dialysis.

Bretylium kinetics in renal insufficiency.

Bretylium kinetics were examined in patients with varying degrees of renal impairment after a single intravenous dose of bretylium tosylate. Maximum plasma concentrations achieved at the end of the infusion, when normalized to the dose, correlated strongly with creatinine clearance. Drug disposition from plasma was biexponential, with a short distributive phase, but drug elimination was reduced, especially in patients with creatinine clearance below 30 ml/min X 1.

Herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 induce shutoff of host protein synthesis by different mechanisms in Friend erythroleukemia cells.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 disrupt host protein synthesis after viral infection. We have treated both viral types with agents which prevent transcription of the viral genome and used these treated viruses to infect induced Friend erythroleukemia cells. By measuring the changes in globin synthesis after infection, we have determined whether expression of the viral genome precedes the shutoff of host protein synthesis or whether the inhibitor molecule enters the cells as part of the virion.