Pediatricians' beliefs and prescribing patterns of adolescent contraception: a provider survey.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates continue to be significant public health problems in the United States. While general pediatricians are in a unique position to improve these issues by addressing contraception with their adolescent patients, there are no data describing their current prescribing patterns. This study sought to elucidate the beliefs and prescribing patterns of general pediatricians and pediatrics residents and to distinguish whether these were affected by practice setting, level of training, or gender. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: General pediatricians and pediatrics residents affiliated with Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, IL, were asked to complete a survey regarding adolescent contraception. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Questions were related to obtaining information about contraception, contraceptive counseling, knowledge of contraceptive methods, prescribing patterns of contraceptives, and concerns about individual contraceptive methods. RESULTS: 120 physicians of an eligible 411 physicians participated in this study (29%). 79% of participants had prescribed at least 1 contraceptive method. The most commonly prescribed method was oral contraceptive pills at 72%. We noted few differences in prescribing patterns based on above criteria. Numerous misconceptions existed among participants, including a high rate of concern about infertility with IUD use (29% among physicians who prescribed at least 1 method of contraception). CONCLUSIONS: General pediatricians can improve their rates of prescribing contraception to adolescents, and could utilize more of the approved methods. One way to do so may be to implement educational interventions among general pediatricians.

Hybrid dispersion laser scanner.

Laser scanning technology is one of the most integral parts of today's scientific research, manufacturing, defense, and biomedicine. In many applications, high-speed scanning capability is essential for scanning a large area in a short time and multi-dimensional sensing of moving objects and dynamical processes with fine temporal resolution. Unfortunately, conventional laser scanners are often too slow, resulting in limited precision and utility. Here we present a new type of laser scanner that offers ∼1,000 times higher scan rates than conventional state-of-the-art scanners. This method employs spatial dispersion of temporally stretched broadband optical pulses onto the target, enabling inertia-free laser scans at unprecedented scan rates of nearly 100 MHz at 800 nm. To show our scanner's broad utility, we use it to demonstrate unique and previously difficult-to-achieve capabilities in imaging, surface vibrometry, and flow cytometry at a record 2D raster scan rate of more than 100 kHz with 27,000 resolvable points.

Inhibition of AKT survival pathway by a small molecule inhibitor in human endometrial cancer cells.

The PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) tumour suppressor is mutated in 40-50% of human endometrial cancers. PTEN exerts its effects in part via inhibition of the antiapoptotic protein AKT. We demonstrate that two endometrial cancer cell lines that harbour PTEN mutations, Ishikawa and RL95-2, have high levels of phosphorylated AKT and high AKT kinase activity. Two additional endometrial cancer cell lines that express wild-type PTEN, Hec1A and KLE, have little phosphorylated AKT and minimal demonstrable AKT kinase activity. We tested a potential inhibitor of the AKT pathway, API-59CJ-OMe, in these four cell lines. We found that API-59CJ-OMe inhibits AKT kinase activity and induces apoptosis in the Ishikawa and RL95-2 cell lines with high AKT activity, but has little effect on Hec1A and KLE cells without AKT activity. API-59CJ-OMe may therefore have therapeutic potential for those endometrial cancers that harbour PTEN mutations and AKT activation.

Inability of immunohistochemistry to predict clinical outcomes of endometrial cancer patients.

INTRODUCTION: Despite optimal surgery, some patients with early endometrial carcinoma develop recurrence and die of disease. A number of immunohistochemical (IHC)-identified cell products (markers) have been proposed as predictors of recurrence. This study characterizes a large series of endometrial carcinomas with previously described markers as well as markers that have not been investigated in endometrial carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Women who had undergone surgery for endometrial carcinoma were identified and specimens accessed. Tissue blocks were evaluated for ten IHC markers. Results were correlated with last known clinical status. RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 43 months; complete data were available on 117 patients. Two women died of other causes; of the remaining 115, eight died of disease and six were alive with recurrence at last follow-up (12%). Vascular endothelial growth factor staining independently predicted recurrence and death. However, in multivariate analyses, only FIGO stage predicted outcome. DISCUSSION: Our goal was to identify markers to predict which women with endometrial carcinoma were likely to have disease recurrence. We evaluated cell-cycle regulatory proteins, growth factors, hormone receptors, and angiogenic factors, but did not identify any marker that independently predicted outcome in multivariate analysis. This may reflect the few negative outcomes in our population.

Preventing HIV transmission: the perspective of inner-city Puerto Rican adolescents.

PURPOSE: To examine the development of HIV prevention strategies that address the concerns and needs of urban Puerto Rican adolescents. METHODS: The study included 542 Puerto-Rican adolescents, divided into age sets of 12 to 14 years and 15 to 19 years. Participants were recruited from community work programs, recreation centers, schools, drug rehabilitation programs, and directly from neighborhood streets in North Philadelphia. A hierarchical series of peer-facilitated group techniques and interviews allowed adolescents to generate, prioritize and explain strategies. The study question was developed in focus groups. Ideas were generated and prioritized in Nominal Technique Groups. The ideas with the highest priority were used to develop a survey that allowed participants to rank those they believed would be most effective. Participants then clarified the top-ranked ideas in open focus groups. RESULTS: In both age sets, the strategy perceived as the most effective in preventing HIV-risk behaviors was "Have people who are HIV-infected talk to teens." Similar ideas addressing this theme varied in perceived effectiveness. The second and third rated ideas among participants aged 12 to 14 years were "Teach teens how HIV infects them, " and "Show teens how people die from AIDS." The second and third rated ideas among participants aged 15 to 19 years were "Show teens what AIDS does to people " and "Have parents be more supportive of teens, so if they are having sex, they can encourage them to use condoms." Other top-ranked ideas included the development of community programs, increased efficacy and availability of condoms, and assessing partners for the risk of HIV infection. Three items revealed significant gender differences. Males were more likely to rate "Give out more free condoms" and "Educate teens in schools about AIDS." Females aged 15 to 19 years were more likely to rate "Teens should know their partner's background before having sex." CONCLUSIONS: To develop effective prevention strategies for youth, their views of the problems and interpretations of proposed solutions must be understood.

Involvement of abscisic acid-dependent and -independent pathways in the upregulation of antioxidant enzyme activity during NaCl stress in cotton callus tissue.

The role of abscisic acid (ABA) in the signal transduction pathway associated with NaCl-induced up-regulation of antioxidant enzyme activity was examined in a NaCl-tolerant cotton callus cell line treated with NaCl, ABA, paraquat, or H2O2 in the presence and absence or fluridone, an inhibitor of terpene, and therefore, ABA synthesis. Treatment with NaCl resulted in a rapid increase (within 30 minutes) in the ABA levels of the callus tissue, and the NaCl, ABA, and paraquat treatments induced rapid increases in the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and glutathione reductase. Pre-treatment with fluridone significantly suppressed the NaCl-induced increases, but only slightly delayed the increases in tissue subjected to exogenous ABA treatment. This implies that ABA is involved in the signal transduction pathway associated with the NaCl-induced up-regulation of these antioxidant enzymes. Pre-treatment with fluridone had no effect on the paraquat-induced increases, suggesting that these enzymes can also be up-regulated by a pathway other than the one mediated by ABA. Both the NaCl and paraquat treatments produced significant increases in the superoxide levels within the callus, but the increase resulting from the paraquat treatment was significantly higher than the increase resulting from the NaCl treatment. These data suggest that NaCl stress results in the production of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) which signals the induction of an ABA-dependent signaling pathway. The production of very high levels of ROI, such as those that occur with paraquat treatment or perhaps during periods of prolonged or extreme stress, may induce an ABA-independent signaling pathway.

The influence of alpha-amanitin on the NaCl-induced up-regulation of antioxidant enzyme activity in cotton callus tissue.

Liquid suspensions of cotton callus tissue from a NaCl-sensitive cell line and a NaCl-tolerant cell line were subjected to the following treatments: (a) 0 and 150 mM NaCl, respectively (controls); (b) 75 and 250 mM NaCl, respectively; (c) 100 ng ml(-1) alpha-amanitin; or (d) pretreatment for 2 h with 100 ng ml(-1) alpha-amanitin followed by the respective NaCl treatments. The callus tissue was harvested at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8h and analyzed for antioxidant enzyme activity. In the NaCl-tolerant callus, the 250 mM NaCl treatment resulted in transient 2- to 4-fold increases above the control levels in the activities of ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, glutathione reductase, and peroxidase within 1 h after treatment, while superoxide dismutase activity increased 4-fold within 4 h. This rapid increase suggests that the up-regulation of antioxidant capacity is an early response to NaCl stress and perhaps provides protection against oxidative damage until other acclimating mechanisms can be invoked. In the control callus, peroxidase activity remained unchanged, and significant increases in the other enzymes were not observed until 8 h after treatment with 75mM NaCl. Pre-treatment with alpha-amanitin prior to the NaCl treatment completely inhibited the NaCl-induced increase in the activities of all five enzymes in both cell lines. This data supports the conclusion that the NaCl-induced up-regulation of antioxidant enzyme activity in cotton callus tissue is transcriptionally regulated, proceeding via a de novo synthesis of poly(A)+RNA and is not due to the translation of existing transcripts or the mobilization of existing enzyme pools. In addition, the results suggest that it is not only the up-regulation of antioxidant activity that bestows a degree of tolerance to environmental stress, but also the speed with which this response occurs.

The relationship between yield and the antioxidant defense system in tomatoes grown under heat stress.

Four putative heat-tolerant tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) cultivars (Tamasabro, Heat Wave, LHT-24, and Solar Set) and one putative heat-sensitive tomato cultivar (Floradade) were grown in the field under non-stress (average daily temperature of 26 degrees C) and heat-stress (average daily temperature of 34 degrees C) conditions. At anthesis, approximately five weeks after being transplanted to the field, leaf samples were collected for antioxidant analyses. Yield was determined by harvesting ripe fruit seven weeks after the collection of leaf samples. Heat stress resulted in a 79.1% decrease in yield for the heat-sensitive Floradade, while the fruit yield in the heat-tolerant cultivars Heat Wave, LHT-24, Solar Set, and Tamasabro was reduced 51.5%, 22.1%, 43.8%, and 34.8% respectively. When grown under heat stress, antioxidant activities were also greater in the heat-tolerant cultivars. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity increased up to 9-fold in the heat-tolerant cultivars but decreased 83.1% in the heat-sensitive Floradade. Catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase activity increased significantly in all cultivars. Only Heat Wave showed a significant increase in glutathione reductase in response to heat stress but all heat-tolerant cultivars exhibited significantly lower oxidized ascorbate/reduced ascorbate ratios, greater reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione rations, and greater alpha-tocopherol concentrations compared to the heat-sensitive cultivar Floridade. These data indicate that the more heat-tolerant cultivars had an enhanced capacity for scavenging active oxygen species and a more active ascorbate-glutathione cycle and suggest a strong correlation between the ability to up-regulate the antioxidant defense system and the ability of tomatoes to produce greater yields when grown under heat stress.

Antioxidant Response to NaCl Stress in a Control and an NaCl-Tolerant Cotton Cell Line Grown in the Presence of Paraquat, Buthionine Sulfoximine, and Exogenous Glutathione.

A cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) control and NaCl-tolerant cell line (cv Coker 312) were grown on media with or without NaCl in the presence or absence of paraquat, buthionine sulfoximine, and oxidized glutathione. On medium with 150 mM NaCl the NaCl-tolerant cell line exhibited no reduction in growth, whereas a 96% reduction was observed in the control line. The NaCl-tolerant cell line that was grown on 150 mM NaCl exhibited significantly greater catalase (341%), peroxidase (319%), glutathione reductase (287%), ascorbate peroxidase (450%), [gamma]-glutamylcysteine synthetase (224%), and glutathione S-transferase (500%) activities than the intolerant control. The NaCl-tolerant cell line had a significantly lower dehydroascorbic acid/ascorbic acid ratio. Paraquat reduced growth by 20 and 53.7%, respectively, in the NaCl-tolerant and control cell line. The NaCl-tolerant cell line also showed a slight tolerance to buthionine sulfoximine. In the buthionine sulfoximine experiments reduced glutathione restored growth in both cell lines, whereas oxidized glutathione restored growth only in the NaCl-tolerant cell line. These data indicate that the NaCl-tolerant cell line exhibited a cross-tolerance to a variety of stress variables and had a more active ascorbate-glutathione cycle.

The effects of NaCl on antioxidant enzyme activities in callus tissue of salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive cotton cultivars (Gossypium hirsutum L.).

To determine NaCl effects on callus growth and antioxidant activity, callus of a salt-tolerant and a salt-sensitive cultivar of cotton was grown on media amended with 0, 75, and 150 mM NaCl. Callus of the salt-tolerant cultivar, Acala 1517-8 8, grown at 150 mM NaCl, showed significant increases in superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, peroxidase and glutathione reductase activities compared to callus tissue grown at 0 mM NaCl. In contrast, callus tissue of the salt-sensitive cultivar, Deltapine 50, grown at 0, 75, and 150 mM NaCl, showed no difference in the activities of these enzymes. At the 150 mM NaCl treatment, peroxidase was the only antioxidant enzyme from Deltapine 50 with an activity as high as that observed in Acala 1517-88. The NaCl-induced increase in the activity of these enzymes in Acala 1517-88 indicates that callus tissue from the more salt-tolerant cultivar has a higher capacity for scavenging and dismutating superoxide, an increased ability to decompose H2O2, and a more active ascorbate-glutathione cycle when grown on media amended with NaCl.