Embryonic deregulation of muscle stress signaling pathways leads to altered postnatal stem cell behavior and a failure in postnatal muscle growth.

PW1 is a mediator of p53 and TNFalpha signaling pathways previously identified in a screen to isolate muscle stem cell regulators. We generated transgenic mice carrying a C-terminal deleted form of PW1 (DeltaPW1) which blocks p53-mediated cell death and TNFalpha-mediated NFkappaB activation fused to the myogenin promoter. Embryonic/fetal muscle development appears normal during transgene expression, however, postnatal transgenic pups display severe phenotypes including runtism, reduced muscle mass and fiber diameters resembling atrophy.

Disparities in indigenous health: a cross-country comparison between New Zealand and the United States.

Objectives: We compared the health statuses of the indigenous populations of New Zealand and the United States with those of the numerically dominant populations of these countries.

Methods: Health indicators compared included health outcome measures, preventive care measures, modifiable risk factor prevalence, and treatment measures.

Results: In the case of nearly every health status indicator assessed, disparities (both absolute and relative) were more pronounced for Maoris than for American Indians/Alaska Natives.

Relationship between HIV viral load and Langerhans cells of the cervical epithelium.

Aim: To determine the relationship between the density of cervical mucosa Langerhans cells, cervical histology, and HIV viral load.

Methods: Eighty-four HIV-infected and 17 women at high risk for HIV had cervical biopsies assessed for squamous intraepithelial lesions and Langerhans cell density. Langerhans cells were identified using the S-100 immunohistochemical stain and were counted manually.

Diethylstilbestrol exposure in utero: a paradigm for mechanisms leading to adult disease.

The synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) was administered to pregnant women between the 1940s and the mid-1970s and is believed to be responsible for numerous uterine/cervical/vaginal malformations and cancers that appeared after birth and in young adult life. This medical tragedy has served as one of the prototypical examples of a phenomenon known as "endocrine disruption," in which either environmental agents or other compounds disrupt normal hormonal signaling in the body. Whereas DES signals through estrogen receptors, the subsequent molecular targets were largely unknown.

Sexually transmitted diseases causing genital lesions in adolescents.

Evaluating the adolescent with a genital lesion requires a thorough knowledge of the common and less-common STDs that cause genital findings. A thoughtful history and complete physical examination are always in order, as is testing for a particular suspected STD and for coexisting STDs, especially HIV.

Artemisia Gentileschi and her world.

This article deals with one of the most notable artists of 17th century Italy: Artemisia Gentileschi. Gentileschi holds a unique place in art history, both as a woman artist and as the first female member of the Academy of Design in Florence. Brought up to be an artist by her father--the painter Orazio Gentileschi--she was allowed to work in his studio, use models, receive instruction and collaborate with well-known artists.

Wnt5a is required for proper epithelial-mesenchymal interactions in the uterus.

Epithelial-mesenchymal interactions play a crucial role in the correct patterning of the mammalian female reproductive tract (FRT). Three members of the Wnt family of growth factors are expressed at high levels in the developing FRT in the mouse embryo. The expression of Wnt genes is maintained in the adult FRT, although levels fluctuate during estrous.

Hair transplanting: an important but often forgotten treatment for female pattern hair loss.

The techniques used in the early days of hair transplanting were not suitable for the treatment of a majority of women with pattern hair loss. For at least the last 10 years, changes in those techniques have resulted in a reversal of that situation. Today, many women with female pattern hair loss are suitable candidates for transplanting, however, this is not widely appreciated.

Glomerular infiltration by CXCR3+ ICOS+ activated T cells in chronic allograft nephropathy with transplant glomerulopathy.

The pathogeneses of chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN), a leading cause of allograft failure, and one of its complications, transplant glomerulopathy (TGP), are unknown. Immunohistologic analysis of human renal transplant biopsies showed expression of inducible costimulator (ICOS), the chemokine receptor CXCR3, and its ligands, Mig and IP-10, by intraglomerular and periglomerular leukocytes in biopsies with CAN and TGP but not CAN alone. ICOS and CXCR3 are both characteristics of activated, effector T cells, suggesting different pathogenetic mechanisms underlying TGP vs.

A community-centered approach to diabetes in East Harlem.

Objective: Residents of East Harlem, an impoverished, non-white community in New York city (NYC), have up to 5 times the mortality and complication rates of diabetes compared with NYC residents overall. To determine potentially remediable problems underlying this condition, a community-based collaboration of health providers, community advocates, and researchers, surveyed East Harlem residents with diabetes to assess their knowledge, behaviors, barriers to care, and actions taken in response to barriers.

Design: Telephone interviews.

HIV-associated pruritus: etiology and management.

With the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), life-threatening opportunistic infection has become less common in patients with HIV infection and longevity has increased dramatically. With increased longevity, the problems of living with a chronic disease have become more prominent in this patient population. Disorders such as fat redistribution and metabolic abnormalities can result from antiviral medications and from HIV disease itself.

Infiltrating micropapillary carcinoma of the breast. Cytologic findings.

Objective: To examine the cytologic features of infiltrating micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC).

Methods: Using the histopathology files of one of the authors (I.J.

Thalidomide: a remarkable comeback.

The thalidomide product is a racemic mixture of the L- and D-enantiomeric forms of a synthetic glutamic acid derivative that contains a phthalimide ring and a glutarimide ring. Initially marketed as a sedative, it was withdrawan from the world market after it was found to be associated with severe birth defects. Recently, the compound has generated renewed interest because of its immunomodulatory and anti-angiogenic properties.

A quantitative MR measure of the fornix in schizophrenia.

Some cognitive disturbances accompanying schizophrenia may be due to abnormalities in the thalamus and components of the limbic system. The fornix is an important white-matter relay pathway connecting these structures and is likely to be affected in schizophrenia as well.Magnetic resonance images of the fornix were analyzed in 15 schizophrenic patients and 15 matched comparison group subjects.

Dendritic cells, infected with vesicular stomatitis virus-pseudotyped HIV-1, present viral antigens to CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from HIV-1-infected individuals.

Nonreplicating vectors are being considered in HIV-1 vaccine design. However, nonreplicating viruses are typically weak immunogens, leading to efforts to target the vaccine to mature dendritic cells (DCs). We have studied a single-cycle form of HIV-1, prepared by pseudotyping envelope-defective HIV-1 plasmids with the envelope from vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) G protein (VSV-G), to which most humans lack preexisting immunity.

Adolescent hepatitis B vaccination: comparison among 2 high school-based health centers and an adolescent clinic.

Objective: To compare the completion rate of hepatitis B vaccination among adolescents who receive primary care at 2 comprehensive high school-based health centers (SBHCs) and a hospital-based adolescent health center (AHC) to assess predictors for successful immunization.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients seen for comprehensive history and physical examinations from September 1997 to March 1998 at 2 SBHCs and an AHC was conducted to determine the immunization status for hepatitis B. One SBHC (SBHC-A) had previously implemented an outreach strategy consisting of advertising through the school's loudspeaker, whereas the other SBHC (SBHC-B) and the AHC did not.

A targeted mutation in the IL-4Ralpha gene protects mice against autoimmune diabetes.

Autoimmune insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) occurs spontaneously in mice-bearing transgenes encoding the influenza hemagglutinin under the control of the rat insulin promoter and a T cell receptor specific for an hemagglutinin peptide associated with I-E(d). Such "double transgenic" mice expressing wild-type or targeted IL-4Ralpha genes were examined for the onset of IDDM. Eight of 11 mice homozygous for wild-type IL-4Ralpha were hyperglycemic by 8 weeks of age, whereas only 1 of 16 mice homozygous for the targeted allele were hyperglycemic at this time.

Anti-tumor immunity induced by interleukin-12 gene therapy in a metastatic model of breast cancer is mediated by natural killer cells.

An intrahepatic tumor model for metastatic breast cancer was generated in syngeneic mice by direct inoculation of JC cells, a murine mammary adenocarcinoma cell line. Intratumoral administration of a recombinant adenoviral vector expressing the murine Interleukin-12 (ADV-mIL-12) resulted in significant reduction in the tumor volume compared to control vector. Tumor regression was also evident on histopathologic analysis of the liver, where inflammatory changes as opposed to nuclear atypia predominated after IL-12 vector treatment.

Dynamics of encoding in neuron populations: some general mathematical features.

The use of a population dynamics approach promises efficient simulation of large assemblages of neurons. Depending on the issues addressed and the degree of realism incorporated in the simulated neurons, a wide range of different population dynamics formulations can be appropriate. Here we present a common mathematical structure that these various formulations share and that implies dynamical behaviors that they have in common.