1998 annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposure Surveillance System.
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Adolescent↗
Biomedical subjects
S Lee
Publications and source records attributed to S Lee.
Superiority of the combination of blood and agitated saline for routine contrast enhancement.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the modification of the saline echo contrast method by mixing blood with agitated saline before intravenous injection. In 20 patients, contrast echocardiography was performed with a conventional technique from the apical 4-chamber view. We used 2 techniques: (1) the combination of blood (1 mL) withdrawn from the patients and air-agitated saline agitated, (2) air-agitated. In all patients, the blood combination technique was judged to make a greater contrast, with the agreement of all 3 reviewers. Peak echo intensity of the right ventricular cavity by the blood combination technique was significantly higher than that by agitated saline alone. In conclusion, the use of the combination of blood and agitated saline is superior to agitated saline alone for the opacification of the right atrium and ventricle in routine echocardiography.
Aged↗
AML1, the target of chromosomal rearrangements in human leukemia, regulates the expression of human complement receptor type 1 (CR1) gene.
The human CR1 gene is expressed specifically in hematopoietic cells. It is suggested that some cell-type specific factors which involve in gene-specific activation or repression exist in cells according to the result that the gene expression varies differently depend on differentiation stage. Here, we demonstrate that the integrity of a polyomavirus enhancer core sequence, 5'-TGTGGT-3', is critical to the human CR1 promoter activity. AML1 is a site-specific DNA-binding protein that recognizes the enhancer core motif TGTGGT. We show that the AML1 binds specifically to this site and activates the human CR1 promoter. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the Ets binding site (GGAA) located 2 bp upstream of the AML1 site is also involved in the regulation of the human CR1 promoter activity. Point mutations of either the AML1 or the Ets binding site that abolish the binding of the respective factors result in significant decreases of the human CR1 promoter activity. These results suggest that AML1 and Ets proteins direct the expression of the human CR1 promoter.
Base Sequence↗
Fat, fatigue and the feminine: the changing cultural experience of women in Hong Kong.
This paper seeks to demonstrate that rapid economic development in Hong Kong has transformed not only social structures but also Chinese women's subjectivity and bodily experience, thereby producing new forms of identity, aesthetics and aspirations, in addition to novel patterns of distress. Evidence is assembled to show that women's being-thin-yet-feeling-fat and being-active-yet-feeling-tired reflect not so much psychopathology as transformation in embodied moral experience. Because such normative experiences are grounded in the conflicting demands of production and reproduction that recent social transformations have brought to bear on women's lives, "fat" and "fatigue" can be said to embody what it is to become a woman in contemporary Hong Kong.
Adipose Tissue↗
Introduction to the transformation of social experience in Chinese society: anthropological, psychiatric and social medicine perspectives.
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Anthropology↗
Diagnosis postponed: shenjing shuairuo and the transformation of psychiatry in post-mao China.
Building on Arthur Kleinman's seminal work in Hunan, this paper examines the social context in which shenjing shuairuo (neurasthenia), a ubiquitous psychiatric disease in China prior to 1980, is contested, marginalized, and reconstituted as the popular Western disease of depression among academic psychiatrists in urban China. It is argued that this dramatic change of diagnostic labelling is not only based on empirical evidence. Rather, it is also a product of interests and strategies that are themselves embedded in a confluence of historical, social, political, and economic forces. Specifically, China's open door policy, the hegemony of DSM discourse, the depoliticization of experience, and the transnational commercialization of suffering have all played a role in creating the new-found disease of depression. As a new social construct in China, depression may serve different social functions for different institutional groups, such as drug companies' marketing of new antidepressant therapy, and academic psychiatrists' effort to render the study of suicide more admissible to the state. Because of the government's budgetary limitations and drastic changes in health care financing, however, global diagnostic technology and markets for drugs merely reinforce people's markedly unequal access to health care, which is but one facet of the pervasive social inequity that is China nowadays.
China↗
Isolation and characterization of an anther-specific gene, RA8, from rice (Oryza sativa L.).
An anther-specific cDNA clone of rice, RA8, was isolated from an anther cDNA library by differential screening. RNA blot analysis indicated that the RA8 transcript is present specifically in anthers and the transcript level increased as flowers matured, reaching the highest level in mature flowers. The RA8 clone contains an open reading frame of 264 amino acid residues with a hydrophobic N-terminal region. The deduced amino acid sequences did not show significant homology to any known sequences. Genomic DNA blot analysis showed that RA8 is a single-copy gene. A genomic clone corresponding to the RA8 cDNA was isolated and its promoter region was fused to the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. Transgenic rice plants exhibited anther-specific expression of the GUS reporter gene. Histochemical GUS analysis showed that the RA8 promoter was active in the tapetum, endothecium, and connective tissues of anthers. Experiments showed that expression of the gene starts when microspores are released from tetrads, and it reaches to the maximum level at the late vacuolated-pollen stage. The RA8 promoter may be useful for controlling gene expression in anthers of cereal plants and for generating male-sterile plants.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Cell loading with laser-generated stress waves: the role of the stress gradient.
PURPOSE: To determine the dependence of the permeabilzation of the plasma membrane on the characteristics of laser-generated stress waves. METHODS: Laser pulses can generate stress waves by ablation. Depending on the laser wavelength, fluence, and target material, stress waves of different characteristics (rise time, peak stress) can be generated. Human red blood cells were subjected to stress waves and the permeability changes were measured by uptake of extracellular dye molecules. RESULTS: A fast rise time (high stress gradient) of the stress wave was required for the permeabilization of the plasma membrane. While the membrane was permeable, the cells could rapidly uptake molecules from the surrounding medium by diffusion. CONCLUSIONS: Stress waves provide a potentially powerful tool for drug delivery.
Cell Membrane Permeability↗
Fundamental relationships between the composition of pluronic block copolymers and their hypersensitization effect in MDR cancer cells.
PURPOSE: Previous studies have demonstrated that Pluronic block copolymers hypersensitize multiple drug resistant (MDR) cancer cells, drastically increasing the cytotoxic effects of anthracyclines and other anticancer cytotoxics in these cells. This work evaluates the dose dependent effects of these polymers on (i) doxorubicin (Dox) cytotoxicity and (ii) cellular accumulation of P-glycoprotein probe, rhodamine 123 (R123) in MDR cancer cells. METHODS: Dox cytotoxicity and R123 accumulation studies are performed on monolayers of drug-sensitive (KB, MCF-7, Aux-B1) and MDR (KBv, MCF-7/ADR, CHrC5) cells. RESULTS: Both tests reveal strong effects of Pluronic copolymers observed at concentrations below the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and suggest that these effects are due to the copolymer single chains ("unimers"). Using block copolymers with various lengths of hydrophobic propylene oxide (PO) and hydrophilic ethylene oxide (EO) segments these studies suggest that the potency of Pluronic unimers in MDR cells increases with elevation of the hydrophobicity of their molecule. Optimization of Pluronic composition in R123 accumulation and Dox cytotoxicity studies reveals that Pluronic copolymers with intermediate lengths of PO chains and relatively short EO segments have the highest net efficacy in MDR cells. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between the structure of Pluronic block copolymers and their biological response modifying effects in MDR cells is useful for determining formulations with maximal efficacy with respect to MDR tumors.
ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗
Topical drug delivery in humans with a single photomechanical wave.
PURPOSE: Assess the feasibility of in vivo topical drug delivery in humans with a single photomechanical wave. METHODS: Photomechanical waves were generated with a 23 nsec Q-switched ruby laser. In vivo fluorescence spectroscopy was used as an elegant non-invasive assay of transport of 5-aminolevulinic acid into the skin following the application of a single photomechanical wave. RESULTS: The barrier function of the human stratum corneum in vivo may be modulated by a single (110 nsec) photomechanical compression wave without adversely affecting the viability and structure of the epidermis and dermis. Furthermore, the stratum corneum barrier always recovers within minutes following a photomechanical wave. The application of the photomechanical wave did not cause any pain. The dose delivered across the stratum corneum depends on the peak pressure and has a threshold at approximately 350 bar. A 30% increase in peak pressure, produced a 680% increase in the amount delivered. CONCLUSIONS: Photomechanical waves may have important implications for transcutaneous drug delivery.
Administration, Cutaneous↗
Fusion of monocytes and macrophages with HIV-1 correlates with biochemical properties of CXCR4 and CCR5.
Human macrophages can be infected more efficiently by M-tropic than by T-tropic HIV-1 strains, despite surface expression of both CXCR4 and CCR5 co-receptors. Western blot analyses of total cell extracts and surface proteins from multiple sets of monocytes and macrophages demonstrated substantial differences between CXCR4 molecules. CXCR4 was mainly a monomer in monocytes, but was mainly a species of higher molecular weight (90 kDa) on the surface of macrophages. CCR5 was monomeric in both cell types. A constitutive association between CD4 and the co-receptors was seen in monocytes and macrophages. However, CD4 co-precipitated with CCR5 and CXCR4 monomers, but not with the high-molecular-weight forms of CXCR4, indicating that the high-molecular-weight CXCR4 species in macrophages are not available for association with CD4, which may contribute to the inefficient entry of T-tropic strains into mature macrophages.
Animals↗
Distinct patterns of apoptosis in association with modulation of CD44 induced by thrombopoietin and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor during ex vivo expansion of human cord blood CD34+ cells.
The insufficient number of haemopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in cord blood (CB) is the major potential limitation to widespread use of CB for marrow replacement. Cytokine-mediated ex vivo expansion has been proposed as a means of increasing the number of CB HSCs for transplantation. However, the biology of CB HSCs during cytokine-mediated ex vivo expansion, such as apoptosis or expression of adhesion molecules, has not yet been elucidated. We have investigated the patterns of apoptosis and CD44 expression on human CB CD34+ cells during ex vivo expansion. CD34+ cells isolated from human CB were cultured in a stroma-free liquid culture system with thrombopoietin (TPO), flt3-ligand (FL), stem cell factor (SCF), and/or granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). During the culture, for up to 5 weeks, apoptosis was measured by staining with 7-amino-actinomycin D (7-AAD) along with concurrent immunophenotyping of CD34 and CD44 with three-colour flow cytometry. In the cultures with TPO, an apoptotic fraction with down-regulated CD44 appeared from the fourth day up to the second week. G-CSF also induced apoptosis but in a different manner; the apoptotic fraction without down-regulation of CD44 appeared unremittingly for up to 5 weeks. FL did not induce apoptosis or down-regulation of CD44. These findings show that apoptosis is indeed involved in the regulation of CB CD34+ cells in ex vivo expansion and the patterns of apoptosis are dependent on the type of cytokines used. The distinct patterns of apoptosis suggest different mechanisms of TPO and G-CSF in inducing apoptosis, which still remains to be elucidated.
Antigens, CD34↗
Nitric oxide metabolites in induced sputum: a marker of airway inflammation in asthmatic subjects.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The role of nitric oxide (NO) needs to be further clarified in allergic inflammation. This study was designed to investigate the relationships between NO metabolites and eosinophil count, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), interleukin (IL)-5 in induced sputum from asthmatics. METHODS: Hypertonic saline-induced sputum was obtained in 25 asthmatic subjects, among which 13 patients were examined before and after anti-asthmatic medications including steroid preparations. Ten normal subjects were enrolled as controls. Fresh expectorated sputum separated from saliva was treated with equal volume of dithiothreitol 0.1%, cytospinned for cell count, and the supernatant was collected for biochemical assay. NO metabolites were assayed by using modified Griess reaction. ECP was measured by fluoroimmunoassay, and detected IL-5 by a sandwich ELISA. RESULTS: Asthmatic subjects, compared with controls, had significantly higher concentration of NO metabolites (1035.4 +/- 125.3 vs 557.2 +/- 101.5 micromol/L, P < 0.01), higher percentage of eosinophils (25.6 +/- 4.6 vs 1.7 +/- 0.2%, P < 0.01), and higher levels of ECP (1117.8 +/- 213.9 vs 154.6 +/- 47.4 microg/L, P < 0.01) in the induced sputum. IL-5 was detected more frequently in asthmatic subjects than in control subjects (11/25 [44%] vs 1/10 [10%], P < 0.05). According to asthma severity, moderate to severe asthmatic subjects (n = 18) had higher level of NO metabolites (1143.8 +/- 156.3 vs 575.5 +/- 89.5 micromol/L, P < 0. 01), higher levels of ECP and IL-5 (P < 0.01, respectively) in the induced sputum than in those of mild asthmatic subjects (n = 7). NO metabolites, the percentage of eosinophils, the levels of ECP, and IL-5 were reduced following treatment with anti-asthmatic drugs (P < 0.01, respectively). There were significant positive correlations between NO metabolites and percentage of eosinophils or ECP (r = 0. 34, P < 0.05; r = 0.28, P < 0.05). Negative correlations were noted between FEV1, FEV1/FVC and proportion of eosinophils, ECP, or IL-5 levels. CONCLUSION: These findings confirmed that the level of NO metabolites was increased in the tracheobronchial secretion of asthmatic subjects and was paralleled with severity of asthma. Measurement of NO metabolites in induced sputum may be used for monitoring the degree of airway inflammation in asthmatics.
Adolescent↗
Clinical manifestations and outcomes in 17 cases of Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis.
The clinical features and outcomes of 17 patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) or toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) were retrospectively reviewed. There were 11 males and six females with an average age of 61.5 years. Ten patients with SJS (seven males, three females) and seven patients with TEN (four males, three females) were identified. Antibiotics, mainly beta-lactams, were the most common cause of SJS/TEN in this series. The mean skin loss in TEN was 45.7% total body surface area in contrast to the lesser skin loss (< 10%) observed in three patients with SJS. Complications included septicaemia, pneumonia and multi-organ failure, mainly in the TEN group. Two patients died from TEN-related complications and one patient with SJS died from unrelated causes. Ocular involvement and skin pigmentary changes represented the most significant long-term sequelae.
Adult↗
Kell, Kx and the McLeod syndrome.
The antigens of the Kell blood group system are carried on a 93 kDa type II glycoprotein encoded by a single gene on chromosome 7 at 7q33. XK is a 50.9 kDa protein that traverses the membrane ten times and derives from a single gene on the X chromosome at Xp21. A single disulphide bond, Kell Cys 72-XK Cys 347, links Kell to XK. The Kell component of the Kell/XK complex is important in transfusion medicine since it is a highly polymorphic protein, carrying over 23 different antigens, that can cause severe reactions if mismatched blood is transfused and in pregnant mothers antibodies to Kell may elicit serious fetal and neonatal anaemia. The different Kell phenotypes are all caused by base mutations leading to single amino acid substitutions. By contrast the XK component carries a single blood group antigen, termed Kx. The physiological functions of Kell and XK have not been fully elucidated but Kell is a zinc endopeptidase with endothelin-3-converting enzyme activity and XK has the structural characteristics of a membrane transporter. Lack of Kx, the McLeod phenotype, is associated with red cell acanthocytosis, elevated levels of serum creatine phosphokinase and late onset forms of muscular and neurological defects.
Acanthocytes↗
Barbarin as a new tyrosinase inhibitor from Barbarea orthocerus.
A tyrosinase inhibitor was isolated from the whole plant of Barbarea orthocerus Led. (Brassicaceae) by activity-guided fractionation, and identified as (R)-5-phenyl-2-oxazolidinethione (barbarin) by structural analysis followed by comparison with reported spectral data. The compound exhibited significant inhibitory effects on mushroom and murine tyrosinases at more than 1.6 x 10(-5) M. Barbarin exhibited IC50 values of 4.2 x 10(-5) M on mushroom tyrosinase and of 4.8 x 10(-5) M on murine tyrosinase. Kojic acid as a positive control exhibited IC50 values of 3.4 x 10(-5) M and 6.0 x 10(-5) M on mushroom and murine tyrosinases, respectively. Therefore, barbarin exhibited a similar level of inhibitory potency with kojic acid used as a positive control. In a kinetic study with various concentrations of L-dopa as the substrate, barbarin was identified as an uncompetitive inhibitor and kojic acid as a mixed inhibitor of both mushroom and murine tyrosinases. Barbarin exhibited KEIS values of 3.3 x 10(-5) M and 3.6 x 10(-5) M on mushroom and murine tyrosinases, respectively. Kojic acid exhibited KEIS and KEI values of 2.4 x 10(-5) M and 2.2 x 10(-5) M on mushroom tyrosinase and those of 8.9 x 10(-5) M and 7.2 x 10(-5) M on murine tyrosinase, respectively.
Animals↗
Inhibition of prostaglandin E2 production by the isoflavones tectorigenin and tectoridin isolated from the rhizomes of Belamcanda chinensis.
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Animals↗
Effects of education in dementia assessment: evidence from standardizing the Korean-Dementia Rating Scale.
This study established norms and examined validity and reliability of the recently developed Korean version of the Dementia Rating Scale (K-DRS; Chey, 1998) for the elderly Korean population. The K-DRS was administered to 148 normal elderly Korean people and 20 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT). Norms were developed a priori for two age groups (55-64 and 65-84 years). Education (p < .0001) and age (p < .05) proved significant factors in the performance of the K-DRS, whereas gender did not. Accordingly, norms were further specified into two educational levels (6 years or fewer, and more than 6 years). Education was recognized as an important factor in evaluating dementia in a population with limited education. These implications are significant for dementia studies done in developing countries where educational opportunities have been limited for elderly people. Evidence supporting the validity and reliability of the scale was also found. K-DRS total scores correlated well with diagnostic status (r(pb) = .63) and mental status exam scores (r = .80). Test-retest reliability was .96, and interrater reliability was .99.
Age Factors↗