Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to G Christ.
The death of a parent seriously threatens children's social and emotional development. When the death can be anticipated, early intervention may facilitate children's adjustment. A prevention program designed to enable parents to foster their children's necessary grief work and resolution of the loss is described.
Healthy parents' perceptions of their competence to meet children's needs during the terminal illness of the other parent were measured on five major domains of parent-child relationships and parental functioning central to children's healthy development. Significant declines from pre-illness competence were perceived, of which the greatest were in emotional sensitivity and responsiveness, and ability to set limits and impose discipline. Implications for the development of preventive intervention strategies are discussed.
Ten ionization chambers (PTW), partly of different type, which all have been calibrated in terms of absorbed dose to water, were used to compare the absorbed dose indicated in a reference geometry at 8 MV X-rays. The standard deviation of the mean value of the absorbed dose determined for all chambers was 0.5%. Since 4 chambers have been calibrated in terms of absorbed dose to water and in exposure, the absorbed dose to water was determined from indicated value according to both calibration procedures. The dose values obtained via the energy dose calibration turned out to be about 2.5% less compared to the result when applying the exposure calibration factor.
As a follow-up from a previous study, four subjects taking a 6-week French language immersion program maintained a dream diary starting 2 weeks before until 2 weeks after the course. They also slept in the laboratory during four series of nights: one before the course, two during the course and one after the course. Confirming previous observations, it was observed that those subjects who made significant progress in French learning, experienced French incorporations into dreams earlier and had more verbal communication in their dreams during the language training than those who made little progress. Combining these results with those of the earlier study revealed significant positive correlations between language learning efficiency and both increases in REM sleep percentages, and verbal communication in dreams, as well as a negative correlation with latency to the first French incorporation in dreams. These results support the notion that REM sleep and dreaming are related to waking cognitive processes.
In this study we report on the effect of urokinase fragments on the proliferation of cells of the human epidermal cell line, CCL 20.2, which expresses high-affinity receptors for urokinase and the growth of which is stimulated by intact active 54-kDa urokinase. The 33-kDa fragment containing only the active-site domain, does not bind to the receptors and does not stimulate cell proliferation, while the 17-kDa fragment, containing only the kringle and the growth-factor domains binds to the receptor but does not stimulate growth of the human epidermal cell line. Growth promotion of this tumor cell line by urokinase is therefore restricted to the complete intact and active urokinase molecule.
Ten anglophone students taking a 6-week French immersion course were recorded in the sleep laboratory during 4 consecutive nights before the course, during the course and after the course. There was a positive and significant (P less than 0.05) correlation between language learning efficiency and increases in the percentage of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep from pre-course to course periods. This observation suggests that learning performance may be an important factor in the relationship between information processing and REM sleep.
A longitudinal study of patterns of sexual behavior among asymptomatic, homosexual males in New York City was conducted. Participants were interviewed at two time points, 6 months apart. Based on their reports of sexual behavior during a recent 'typical' month, respondents were classified at each time point as engaging in safer (or low-risk) sexual practices versus high-risk sexual behaviors. Discriminant analysis was employed to distinguish the 53 males classified as risky at both time 1 and time 2 from the 47 males classified as safer in both periods. Statistically significant discrimination was achieved with 10 psychosocial predictor variables, four of which were significant while controlling for all other variables in the model. Of these predictors, drug use within sexual contexts was particularly noteworthy, since it provided the greatest relative contribution to the discriminant function and appears to be an important candidate for educational intervention. Other significant variables included perceived adequacy of emotional support, number of years engaged in regular sexual intercourse with other males, and perceived difficulty in modifying sexual behavior. Self-esteem and alcohol consumption approached significance.
Binding of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) to its receptor has been shown not only to focus proteolytic activity to the cell surface but also to exert a mitogenic effect on the human epidermal tumor cell line CCL 20.2. This report shows that u-PA is an autocrine mitogen in the human melanoma cell line GUBSB and that inhibition of receptor-bound u-PA by specific anti-u-PA antibodies causes a significant suppression of cell proliferation in this system. The GUBSB cell line secretes 70-80% of the u-PA in its active form and expresses high-affinity u-PA receptors with a Kd of 5.2 x 10(-10) M and 2.8 x 10(4) binding sites per cell. Approximately 70% of the u-PA receptors on these cells are occupied by endogenously secreted u-PA. Addition of the monoclonal anti-u-PA antibody MPW5UK (10 nM), directed against the active site of u-PA, twice daily to the cell cultures resulted in a significant decrease of [3H]thymidine incorporation by the tumor cells, whereas a 10 times higher concentration of the monoclonal antibody MPW4UK, which does not inhibit plasminogen activator activity of u-PA, was necessary to achieve the same effect. In addition, diisopropyl fluorophosphate-inactivated u-PA, in a concentration 50-fold higher than the concentration necessary to saturate the u-PA receptor (250 pM), decreased [3H]thymidine incorporation similarly to the specific antibody, proving that active u-PA is required for the mitogenic effect. Inhibition of endogenous u-PA production by cycloheximide reduced [3H]thymidine incorporation significantly; after addition of exogenous u-PA, [3H]thymidine incorporation increased again in the cycloheximide-treated cells. Therefore, inhibition of receptor-bound u-PA might represent a tool not only to inactivate cell-bound proteolytic activity, necessary for invasion, but also to exert a specific antiproliferative effect on certain tumor cells.
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Primary cultures of renal cell carcinomas and of the corresponding normal adjacent kidney tissue from 6 patients were analyzed for the effects of exogenously added urokinase-type plasminogen activator on cell proliferation as compared to the effects of tissue type plasminogen activator, plasmin and dihydrocortisone. Cell proliferation was studied over a period of up to 5 days by measuring 3H-thymidine incorporation as well as cell viability and cell count; conditioned media of the cultures were also analyzed for their plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor content. Addition of urokinase stimulated cell proliferation in a time and dose dependent fashion; after 3 days 3H-thymidine incorporation was significantly increased in malignant renal cells (188.3 +/- 28.7%), while it reached in normal renal cells approximately 130% of the 3H-thymidine incorporation of untreated cultures. Tissue-type plasminogen activator had no effect and plasmin decreased cell proliferation slightly while dihydrocortisone inhibited cell proliferation significantly (34.1 +/- 4.9%) in malignant cells. It is concluded that urokinase-type plasminogen activator itself exhibits a mitogenic effect also on primary cultures of renal cell carcinomas.
An increased production of plasminogen activators, able to convert plasminogen into plasmin, has been found in experiments in vivo on rat ovarian granulosa cells at the time of ovulation, indicating an involvement in follicular rupture. The granulosa cells of 49 follicles from 20 patients undergoing in-vitro fertilization were obtained by laparoscopy and tested for the content of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA), tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and inhibitor of plasminogen activator (PAI). In the respective follicular fluids the concentrations of oestradiol (E2), progesterone (P) and testosterone (T) were determined and the levels of these enzymes and of the follicular steroid content were related to the fertilizing behaviour of the respective oocytes. Follicles containing oocytes which could be fertilized, revealed significantly higher follicular fluid E2 and P levels and significantly lower T levels than follicles with unfertilized oocytes. The respective granulosa cells of fertilized oocytes exhibited higher levels of t-PA compared to their unfertilized counterparts, whereas no significant difference occurred in the levels of u-PA and PAI. These data suggest that successful fertilization of human oocytes is associated with a high content of t-PA in granulosa cells and high E2 and P levels in the follicular fluid.
Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) levels in the plasma of 35 patients suffering from disseminated prostatic carcinoma have been determined. According to the grade of dissemination, found by bone scintigraphy, the patients were divided into three groups. Patients with a higher degree of dissemination revealed significantly higher levels of plasma u-PA compared to patients with a lower degree of dissemination. Therefore plasma u-PA seems to be a possible marker for progression in patients suffering from disseminated prostatic carcinoma.
The feasibility of using a computer-automated telephone outreach system to routinely assess the needs of chemotherapy outpatients was evaluated. The automated intervention was designed as a cost-efficient strategy for assessing patients' needs on a periodic basis so that emerging needs could be identified in a timely way. Ninety-seven chemotherapy outpatients were surveyed at least once over the telephone by a computer in a high-quality, digitally stored voice asking 12 questions regarding the patients' "concrete" needs. Early results of this larger ongoing study, in which patients are scheduled to be called every 4 to 6 weeks for approximately four months, indicated that computer-automated surveys had broad-based acceptance among our outpatients and that patients were able to comply accurately with the survey's instructions. Furthermore, the speech recognition system was found to be reliable, and patients' response patterns to the automated surveys valid. Nonparticipation in this study (28.0%) was not substantially higher than in our previous research within this patient population and neither nonparticipation nor attrition appeared significantly attributable to the automation itself. This method offers the potential for cost-efficient, universal, and ongoing assessment of patient needs, facilitating timely intervention, and efficient use of professional staff.
The authors discuss the specific social and psychological tasks that confront individuals who are dying with AIDS. The young age of the patient, the nature of the disease process, and the social context in which the death occurs profoundly affect the patients' experience.
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Plasma concentrations of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (competitive radioimmunoassay), tissue-type plasminogen activator (sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), and plasminogen activator inhibitor (functional assay) were measured in 17 women with endometrial cancer and 52 women with cervical carcinoma. Significantly increased plasma urokinase-type plasminogen activator antigen levels were found (11.3 +/- 4.7 ng/mL) in cervical cancer patients when compared with an age-matched control group (7.4 +/- 0.6 ng/mL). Women with endometrial cancer (9.9 +/- 2.0 ng/mL) showed a similar pattern of plasma urokinase-type plasminogen activator antigen levels. Patients with advanced cervical cancer (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stages III and IV) revealed higher plasma urokinase-type plasminogen activator antigen levels than those with stages I and II disease. Compared with an age-matched control group, neither carcinoma group showed elevated plasma concentrations of tissue-type plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor.
The effects of exogenously added urokinase type plasminogen activator, tissue type plasminogen activator, plasmin and thrombin on the proliferation of primary cultures of cells derived from prostatic hyperplasia or prostatic carcinomas were investigated by measuring the incorporation of 3H-thymidine into the cultures. Addition of urokinase type plasminogen activator (1.35 x 10(-9) M) or thrombin (10(-7) M) to the culture medium caused a two-fold increase of 3H-thymidine incorporation, regardless of the origin of the prostatic cells. Tissue type plasminogen activator did not alter the rate of 3H-thymidine incorporation, whereas plasmin caused a 25% decrease of 3H-thymidine incorporation in all cultures.
Activation of Glu-plasminogen by single-chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator (sc-uPA), isolated from human urine, was studied in a purified system in the absence and presence of the cyanogen bromide fibrinogen fragment, FCB 2, and compared to plasminogen activation by two-chain high-Mr urokinase. Plasminogen activation by sc-uPA was significantly increased by the FCB-2 fibrinogen fragment, an effect brought about by decrease of apparent Km and increase of apparent kcat. During the course of plasminogen activation by scu-PA, two-chain urokinase was formed from 125I-sc-uPA to a significant degree only when a concentration of 30 nM plasmin was reached in the incubation mixture; this was only the case in the system stimulated by FCB-2 fibrinogen fragment and only after 30 min. Formation of two-chain urokinase was not, however, related to the increase in the rate of plasmin formation induced by the FCB-2 fibrinogen fragment.