Managing the care of patients infected with bloodborne diseases.

Background: The emergence of the bloodborne pathogens HIV, the cause of AIDS; hepatitis B virus, or HBV; and hepatitis C virus, or HCV, has been a milestone in the history of the dental profession. In the early 1980s, new cases of AIDS increased dramatically, and fear of acquiring this disease compelled clinicians to modify the delivery of medical and dental care to allay fears of transmission on the part of both patients and health care workers. Arguably, the AIDS pandemic has been the most significant factor in the evolution and delivery of modern medical and dental care in the last century.

Outcome expectations for exercise scale: utility and psychometrics.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop a measure of outcome expectations for exercise specifically for the older adult (The Outcome Expectations for Exercise [OEE] Scale), and to test the reliability and validity of this measure in a sample of older individuals. This scale was developed based on Bandura's theory of self-efficacy and the work of prior researchers in the development of measures of outcome expectations.

Methods: The OEE scale, which was completed during a face-to-face interview, was tested in a sample of 175 residents in a continuing care retirement community.

Repairing iatrogenic root perforations.

Background: Post preparation is an integral part of restoring endodontically treated teeth in indicated cases. Iatrogenic perforation of the root can result from preparing post space and can severely compromise the prognosis of the tooth.

Case Description: Two years after a patient's maxillary lateral incisor was restored with a post-retained composite resin, he went to a dental school emergency clinic with a chief complaint of soft-tissue swelling adjacent to the tooth.

Three-photon excitation of N-acetyl-L-tyrosinamide.

We observed emission from the tyrosine derivative N-acetyl-L-tyrosinamide (NATyrA) when excited with the fundamental output of a femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser from 780 to 855 nm. The dependence on incident laser power indicates a three-photon process. The emission spectra and intensity decay in glycerol-water (30:70) at 5 degrees C were found to be identical for one- and three-photon excitation.

Treatment of multiple sclerosis with interferon beta 1b.

Interferon beta 1b is now an established therapeutic option for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. More recently, it has also been shown to slow down disease progression in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. Interferon beta 1b's clinical effect is reflected in MRI studies demonstrating a dramatic effect in reducing disease activity.

NMR studies of the structure and dynamics of peptide E, an endogenous opioid peptide that binds with high affinity to multiple opioid receptor subtypes.

Structural and dynamic properties of opioid peptide E have been examined in an sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelle. Structural and dynamic studies both indicate that this peptide exhibits greater segmental mobility than typical structured proteins. An nmr structural analysis of adrenal peptide E in SDS micelles indicated the presence of two well-defined beta-turns, one at the N-terminus encompassing residues 3 to 6, and the second in the region between residues 15 and 18.

Effect of soaking in Hank's balanced salt solution or milk on PDL cell viability of dry stored human teeth.

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of soaking in either Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS) or milk on periodontal ligament (PDL) cell viability in avulsed teeth. Dry storage times of 30, 60, and 90 min were evaluated. PDL cell viability was determined after removal of the cells from the root surfaces of extracted teeth using a modification of the procedure described by Nakashima (Arch Oral Biol 1991;36:655-63).

Effect of change in velocity on the development of medical complications in patients with multisystem trauma sustained in vehicular crashes.

Medical complications such as sepsis or multiple organ system failure increase the morbidity and mortality associated with injuries sustained in car crashes. This study addresses the question of the association, if any, between one crash characteristic, i.e.

Some aspects of the pathogenesis of HIV-1-associated Kaposi's sarcoma.

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a very rare tumor except after human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection when it becomes common. Most investigators assume that the role of HIV-1 is passive, i.e.

Nervous habits and stereotyped behaviors in preschool children.

Objective: To examine the frequency, age trends, and situational correlates of nervous habits (e.g., nail-biting, thumb-sucking) and motor stereotyped behaviors (e.

Fluorescence anisotropy controlled by light quenching.

We demonstrated that fluorescence anisotropy can be effectively decreased or increased in the presence of light quenching, depending on relative polarizations of excitation and quenching pulses. For parallel light quenching, anisotropy decreases to 0.103 and z-axis symmetry is preserved.

Suppression of vascular artifacts in functional magnetic resonance images using MR angiograms.

This paper describes a method for processing functional magnetic resonance images that suppresses signal changes originating from macroscopic veins visible in acquired magnetic resonance angiograms. Finger tapping experiments were performed on a 1.5-T scanner and the response was evaluated with voxel-by-voxel cross-correlation of the time course with a sinusoid at the paradigm frequency.

Development and internal validation of an in vitro-in vivo correlation for a hydrophilic metoprolol tartrate extended release tablet formulation.

Purpose: To develop and validate internally an in vitro-in vivo correlation (IVIVC) for a hydrophilic matrix extended release metoprolol tablet.

Methods: In vitro dissolution of the metoprolol tablets was examined using the following methods: Apparatus II, pH 1.2 & 6.

Gene therapy with p53 and a fragment of thrombospondin I inhibits human breast cancer in vivo.

We recently reported that a p53 encoding plasmid (BAP-p53) complexed to liposomes administered intravenously markedly attenuates the growth of a malignant human breast tumor. We now have found that systemically delivered liposomes complexed to a plasmid expressing an established antiangiogenic peptide of thrombospondin I (BAP-TSPf) decreased the growth of MDA-MB-435 tumors compared to controls in nude mice. Compared to BAP-p53, the BAP-TSPf group had a similar antitumor efficacy.

A sensitive assay of metoprolol and its major metabolite alpha-hydroxy metoprolol in human plasma and determination of dextromethorphan and its metabolite dextrorphan in urine with high performance liquid chromatography and fluorometric detection.

A reverse-phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for the analysis of metoprolol in the large number of human plasma samples obtained in in vitro-in vivo correlations (IVIVC) and bioavailability studies of extended release formulations of metoprolol tartrate. The metabolite, alpha-hydroxy metoprolol (OH-met), could also be quantified. The analytes were extracted from the plasma using solid phase columns, separated on a C-4 analytical column followed by fluorimetric detection.

Radiation therapy in tumors of the central nervous system.

Objectives: To review the role of radiation therapy in the management of primary tumors of the central nervous system (CNS).

Data Sources: Book chapters, review articles, and research studies.

Conclusions: Radiation therapy plays an important role in the management of primary and metastatic tumors of the CNS.

Summers of no return: transforming care through a nursing field school.

Nursing education is developing a wide variety of ways to educate for cultural competence that expedites culture-congruent care and effective diversity management in practice. Using a praxis orientation, this article reports research done on an innovative nursing field school during the past four summers on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Learning context emphasizing formation of a collaborative, caring community is created for 6-week immersion learning experiences during which student groups work with the High Plains Oglala Lakota in tribal programs.

Effects of nicotine on tongue development in the CD-1 mouse.

Fetuses of pregnant CD-1 mice, exposed to 0.1% nicotine sulfate at a dose of 1.67 mg/kg body weight from the 6th through the 15th gestational days were compared with control fetuses to assess the effects of nicotine on tongue development.

Relationship of glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase to protein phosphatase 2C and cAMP-dependent protein kinase in liver of obese rhesus monkeys.

The regulation of glycogen synthase (GS) and glycogen phosphorylase (GP) activity by phosphorylation/ dephosphorylation has been proposed to be via changes in activities of several different protein (serine/threonine) phosphatases and kinases, including protein phosphatase (PP) 1/2A, PP2C, and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). In order to determine whether PP1/2A, PP2C, and/or PKA activities are related to GS and/or GP activities, these enzymes were measured in freeze-clamped liver biopsies obtained under basal fasting conditions from 16 obese monkeys. Four monkeys were normoglycemic and normoinsulinemic, five were hyperinsulinemic, and seven had type 2 diabetes (NIDDM).

Vasoactive intestinal peptide stimulation of human trabecular meshwork cell growth.

Purpose: To demonstrate that vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a 28-amino acid neuropeptide, is a growth factor of human trabecular meshwork (TM) cells in culture and in a corneoscleral explant organ culture treated with laser trabeculoplasty (LTP).

Methods: Proliferating human TM cells in cell cultures were incubated with VIP for 20 hours, followed by total cell number determination, using a Coulter counter. The percentage of proliferating TM cells was assessed, using an antibody against the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA).

Human herpesvirus 7 induces the down-regulation of CD4 antigen in lymphoid T cells without affecting p56lck levels.

In this study, we investigated the fate of the CD4 Ag during infection of CD4+ T cells with the T lymphotrophic human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7), using the SupT1 lymphoblastoid T cell line as a model system. The following points were established: 1) productive infection with HHV-7 was required to obtain persistent down-modulation of surface CD4 (CD4SURF); 2) at 6 to 9 days postinfection, when approximately 50 to 60% of SupT1 cells still showed a CD4SURF dim positivity, a drastic loss of total CD4 protein was found by either Western blot or immunoprecipitation experiments; 3) a block in CD4 protein production was demonstrated by a radioimmunoprecipitation assay; 4) analysis of the mRNA steady-state levels and transfection studies performed with a plasmid containing the CD4 promoter/enhancer regions in front of the luciferase gene indicated that HHV-7 infection has a suppressive effect on CD4 transcription; 5) both CD4SURF and intracellular CD4 (CD4INTRA) were reduced in HHV-7-infected cells with respect to uninfected controls, but the loss of CD4SURF was more dramatic than that of CD4INTRA; 6) immunogold labeling and electron microscopy demonstrated that CD4INTRA co-localized with HHV-7 Ags within the same subcellular compartments of infected cells; and 7) the total amount of the tyrosine kinase p56lck and tyrosine phosphorylated p56lck levels were unchanged in HHV-7-infected versus uninfected cells.

Evaluation of a sparse sampling strategy for determining vancomycin pharmacokinetics in preterm neonates: application of optimal sampling theory.

Objective: To use optimal sampling theory to determine the fewest vancomycin concentrations required and the appropriate sampling times to calculate vancomycin pharmacokinetic parameters in neonates.

Design: Unblinded evaluation in neonates with presumed sepsis.

Setting: Level 3 community-based neonatal intensive care unit.