MX [3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2[5H]-furanone], a drinking-water carcinogen, does not induce mutations in the liver of cII transgenic medaka (Oryzias latipes).

Mutagenicity assays with Salmonella have shown that 3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2[5H]-furanone (MX), a drinking-water disinfection by-product, is a potent mutagen, accounting for about one-third of the mutagenic potency/potential of chlorinated drinking water. The ability of MX to induce mutations was investigated in the liver of medaka (Oryzias latipes), a small fish model, utilizing the cII transgenic medaka strain that allows detection of in vivo mutations. Methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAMAc), a carcinogen in medaka, served as a positive control.

What are the most important symptom targets when treating advanced cancer? A survey of providers in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).

We derived a set of brief, clinically relevant symptom indices for assessing symptomatic response to chemotherapy for advanced bladder, brain, breast, colorectal, head and neck, hepatobiliary/pancreas, lung, ovarian, and prostate cancers. Questions were extracted from a multidimensional cancer quality of life (QOL) measurement system, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT). Surveys of disease-related symptoms were presented to expert physicians and nurses at 17 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) member institutions.

Over-expression of Bcl-2 provides protection in septic mice by a trans effect.

Transgenic mice that over-express B cell leukemia/lymphomas (Bcl)-2 in myeloid cells under control of the human MRP8 promoter (hMRP8-Bcl-2) or in T lymphocytes under the E micro promoter (E micro -Bcl-2) were compared with C57BL/6 control mice following cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). There was a significant difference in outcome between the hMRP8-Bcl-2 and control mice with 100% survival in the hMRP8-Bcl-2 mice vs 25% survival in the control mice. In separate experiments there was a significant difference between E micro -Bcl-2 and control mice with 87.

Shiga toxin induces decreased expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1 concomitant with the onset of endothelial apoptosis.

Shiga toxin (Stx) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several human and animal disease states. A key host target of Stx is the endothelial cell. Stx induces endothelial cell apoptosis through a mechanism that remains unknown.

Selective effects of interleukin (IL)-15 on antifungal activity and IL-8 release by polymorphonuclear leukocytes in response to hyphae of Aspergillus species.

The effects of interleukin (IL)-15 on human polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) activity against Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus were investigated. Pretreatment with IL-15 for 2 h increased PMNL oxidative burst, as measured by superoxide anion (O(2)(-)) release in response to A. fumigatus (P<.

Phosphoinositide 3 kinase mediates Toll-like receptor 4-induced activation of NF-kappa B in endothelial cells.

Many of the proinflammatory effects of gram-negative bacteria are elicited by the interaction of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expressed on host cells. TLR4 signaling leads to activation of NF-kappa B and transcription of many genes involved in the inflammatory response. In this study, we examined the signaling pathways involved in NF-kappa B activation by TLR4 signaling in human microvascular endothelial cells.

Ongoing care of patients after primary treatment for their cancer.

Nearly nine million people living in the United States have had a diagnosis of cancer. As the population ages, this number will increase. Most of these people will need follow-up care to deal with problems related to their cancer.

Adoptive transfer of myelin basic protein-tolerized splenocytes to naive animals reduces infarct size: a role for lymphocytes in ischemic brain injury?

Background And Purpose: Breakdown of the blood-brain barrier during stroke allows central nervous system antigens to leak into the systemic circulation and allows circulating leukocytes access to the brain. Encounter of central nervous system antigens by the peripheral immune system can be capitalized on to modulate the postischemic inflammatory response and potentially improve outcome from stroke.

Methods: Male Lewis rats were tolerized to myelin basic protein (MBP) or ovalbumin (OVA) and subjected to 3 hours of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) or used as splenocyte donors for immunologically naive animals undergoing MCAO.

Hemorrhagic complications of intracranial pressure monitors in children.

Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring plays a valuable role in the management of head injuries and other causes of raised ICP in the pediatric population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of hemorrhage after ICP monitor insertion, and to classify these complications in a clinically relevant manner. Hospital charts of 431 children (ages 0-16 years) admitted to a level I trauma center over a 2-year period were reviewed and 112 patients (134 insertions) who underwent intraparenchymal ICP monitoring were identified.

Disseminated Nocardia transvalensis infection with osteomyelitis and multiple brain abscesses.

A case of Nocardia transvalensis osteomyelitis and cerebral abscesses is described. To the authors' knowledge, the patient described here represents the first reported case of primary N. transvalensis leg abscess with contiguous osteomyelitis of the femur and secondary brain abscesses.

Phase II study of MGI-114 administered intravenously for 5 days every 28 days to patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

We examined the use of MGI-114 (6-hydroxymethyacylfulvene) for the treatment of patients with advanced colorectal carcinoma. Twenty-six patients were enrolled, with a median age of 60 years (range 41-75); 64% were male and all patients had a performance status of 0 or 1. We administered a dose of 11 mg/m2/d x 5 days every 4 weeks.

Femoral osteomyelitis due to Aspergillus nidulans in a patient with chronic granulomatous disease.

13 cases of osteomyelitis caused by Aspergillus nidulans have been previously reported in patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). All of them have been associated with simultaneous pulmonary infection and have had an extremely poor outcome. We report an unusual case of femoral osteomyelitis due to A.

Adenosine-induced modulation of excitatory amino acid transport across isolated brain arterioles.

Object: Excitatory amino acid (EAA) uptake by neurons and glia acts synergistically with stereoselective transport across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to maintain EAA homeostasis in the brain. The endogenous neuroprotectant adenosine counteracts many aspects of excitotoxicity by increasing cerebral blood flow and by producing pre- and postsynaptic actions on neurons. In the present study, the authors explored the effect of adenosine on EAA transport across the BBB.

A broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor attenuates allergic airway inflammation in murine asthma model.

Asthma is characterized by acute and chronic airway inflammation, and the severity of the airway hyperreactivity correlates with the degree of inflammation. Many of the features of lung inflammation observed in human asthma are reproduced in OVA-sensitized/challenged mice. T lymphocytes, particularly Th2 cells, are critically involved in the genesis of the allergic response to inhaled Ag.

The NCCN clinical practice guidelines in oncology: a primer for users.

Guidelines are becoming increasingly important as potential tools in improving clinical decision making. Because oncology practice encompasses a large number of tumors and their variants and because each tumor is characterized by heterogeneous presentations and clinical evolutions, an oncology guidelines program must be large in scope. Oncology practice is slowly moving toward evidence-based status, but guideline developers still must rely on less than perfect information to achieve this scope.

C1-inhibitor reduces the ischaemia-reperfusion injury of skeletal muscles in mice after aortic cross-clamping.

Background: Both C1-inhibitor (C1-INH) and antibodies against the CD18 adhesion molecule have been shown to reduce ischaemia-reperfusion injuries. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of increased ischaemia times and to determine whether inhibiting C1 or blocking the CD18 function was protective in skeletal muscle ischaemia-reperfusion injury after aortic cross-clamping.

Materials And Methods: BALB/c mice were subjected to aortic cross-clamping below the renal artery for 60, 75 or 105 min, followed by 3 h of reperfusion.

How to reach sexual minority youth in the health care setting: the teens offer guidance.

Purpose: To explore factors sexual minority youth believe make them feel safe in a health care setting.

Methods: Participants in three urban programs serving lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered and questioning (LGBTQ) youth engaged in a four-stage process to generate, prioritize, and explain their own ideas. In Stage III, 94 youth, aged 14 to 23 years, completed a survey comprised of the 34 highest rated items generated in earlier stages.

Broad-spectrum caspase inhibition paradoxically augments cell death in TNF-alpha -stimulated neutrophils.

It is increasingly clear that there are caspase-dependent and -independent mechanisms for the execution of cell death and that the utilization of these mechanisms is stimulus- and cell type-dependent. Intriguingly, broad-spectrum caspase inhibition enhances death receptor agonist-induced cell death in a few transformed cell lines. Endogenously produced oxidants are causally linked to necroticlike cell death in these instances.

Assessment of low-flow CSF drainage as a treatment for AD: results of a randomized pilot study.

Objective: This prospective, randomized, controlled study was designed to investigate the safety, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of long-term CSF drainage via a low-flow ventriculoperitoneal shunt in subjects suffering from AD.

Methods: Twenty-nine subjects selected for probable AD (National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Association criteria) were screened to exclude normal pressure hydrocephalus or other etiologies of dementia and randomized to treatment (shunt) or no treatment groups. The study endpoint was the comparison of group performance on psychometric testing at quarterly intervals for 1 year.