Assessment was made of the fibrinolytic activity in menstrual and peripheral blood of 30 normally menstruating and 30 menorrhagic patients and of 30 women wearing Lippes Loops and 15 wearing CU-T (200)s. Assessment was performed by measuring the area of lysis on heated and unheated fibrin plates. Also, histochemical identification of fibrin fibrils in the menstrual endometrium was performed by Mallory's phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin method. Results in the normally menstruating group were compared to those of the menorrhagic women, and together these were compared with results in the groups of women wearing intrauterine devices. The fibrinolytic activity in menstrual blood was significantly increased in menorrhagic patients compared to that in normally menstruating patients, but no significant difference was detected in the plasma of either group. The histochemical study of the normally menstruating endometrium revealed dense intravascular and extravascular deposits of fibrin. Less dense intravascular fibrin deposits, but no extravascular ones, were present in the menorrhagic patients. The increase in the fibrinolytic activity of menstrual blood and the decrease in the density of fibrin deposits in the menstrual endometrium of the menorrhagic women were thus associated and were probably involved in the excessive menstrual loss. The fibrinolytic activity of menstrual blood in women wearing Lippes Loops was higher than that in women with Cu-T (200)s and was associated with decreased density of fibrin fibrils in the menstruating endometrium. This may explain the increased blood loss associated with the use of the Lippes Loop.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Enteric bacterial catalysts for fuel ethanol production.

The technology is available to produce fuel ethanol from renewable lignocellulosic biomass. The current challenge is to assemble the various process options into a commercial venture and begin the task of incremental improvement. Current process designs for lignocellulose are far more complex than grain to ethanol processes. This complexity results in part from the complexity of the substrate and the biological limitations of the catalyst. Our work at the University of Florida has focused primarily on the genetic engineering of Enteric bacteria using genes encoding Zymomonas mobilis pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase. These two genes have been assembled into a portable ethanol production cassette, the PET operon, and integrated into the chromosome of Escherichia coli B for use with hemicellulose-derived syrups. The resulting strain, KO11, produces ethanol efficiently from all hexose and pentose sugars present in the polymers of hemicellulose. By using the same approach, we integrated the PET operon into the chromosome of Klebsiella oxytoca to produce strain P2 for use in the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process for cellulose. Strain P2 has the native ability to ferment cellobiose and cellotriose, eliminating the need for one class of cellulase enzymes. Recently, the ability to produce and secrete high levels of endoglucanase has also been added to strain P2, further reducing the requirement for fungal cellulase. The general approach for the genetic engineering of new biocatalysts using the PET operon has been most successful with Enteric bacteria but was also extended to Gram positive bacteria, which have other useful traits for lignocellulose conversion. Many opportunities remain for further improvements in these biocatalysts as we proceed toward the development of single organisms that can be used for the efficient fermentation of both hemicellulosic and cellulosic substrates.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Preoperative chemotherapy for congenital hemangiopericytoma and a review of the literature.

PURPOSE: Malignant hemangiopericytoma is an uncommon tumor in the pediatric age group. A case of congenital hemangiopericytoma is presented with a review of the literature. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 2-month-old boy presented at birth with an enlarging posterior neck mass. Subsequent histopathologic studies showed findings consistent with hemangiopericytoma. Imaging studies demonstrated an extensive, infiltrative, vascular lesion not readily amenable to surgical resection. A pulmonary metastatic lesion was present. RESULTS: Combined treatment using vincristine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide given preoperatively resulted in a significant decrease in size of the primary tumor, allowing for resection without complication and resolution of the metastatic lesion. CONCLUSION: Preoperative chemotherapy may have a significant role in the management of infants with malignant hemangiopericytoma.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗