The relationship between HP1 and S2 bacteriophages of Haemophilus influenzae.

Comparison of the nucleotide sequences of the left arms of two Haemophilus influenzae phages, S2 and HP1 is presented. They exhibit a characteristic mosaic pattern of homologous and non-homologous regions. The homology extends over the attP site and int, orf 5 to 9, rep and the 3' part of cI genes. Two major non-homologous regions were detected. One is found between the int and cI genes; the other spans the region of promoters and the cox gene. Variations in the region of the promotors which is involved in the choice between a lysogenic and a lytic pathway and some divergences in the cI coding sequences are probably responsible for the observed immunity differences between the two phages. Distinctions in the distribution of consensus sequences for an integration host factor (IHF) and integrase-binding sites and promoters are described. These data offer an explanation of the relationship between three types of S2/HP1 phages. It allows in turn a final settlement of the nomenclature variation in the literature. The results presented, which are similar to those obtained for other phage groups, suggest that the mosaic structure of phage genomes is a normal outcome of phage divergence.

Content analysis of coverage of alcohol control policy issues in black-oriented and mainstream newspapers in the U.S.

We conducted a content analysis of alcohol control policy issues in Black-oriented and mainstream newspapers in the United States from 1993 to 1995, using computerized content analysis methods. The specific purpose of our study was to compare differences in coverage of alcohol control policy issues in Black-oriented and mainstream newspapers. Fifteen Black-oriented and 12 mainstream newspapers were selected and analyzed. The number of policy paragraphs per year and the number of paragraphs in different policy thematic categories per year were examined. Regional differences in coverage of alcohol policy themes were examined for selected policies in mainstream newspapers. We found more similarities than differences in coverage of alcohol policy issues in Black-oriented and mainstream newspapers. Limiting the marketing/advertising and promotion of alcohol products was the most widely covered alcohol control policy issue over the three-year period in both Black-oriented media and mainstream newspapers. There were some important differences in coverage of alcohol policy issues. While economic alcohol policy issues were covered extensively in mainstream newspapers, these issues received far less attention in Black-oriented newspapers. Findings suggest that certain alcohol control policies may have less salience in African-American communities than in other communities.

The making of a supermodel.

This model serves as a mechanism for improved care delivery and ensures consistent patient care experience at each affiliate.

The predictive value of dysgraphia and constructional apraxia for delirium in psychiatric inpatients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the predictive value of dysgraphia and constructional apraxia for delirium among psychiatric inpatients. METHOD: Data were collected from 2 sources. First, a series of nondelirious psychiatric inpatients that had participated in a previous study was selected to determine the specificity of various indices of dysgraphia and constructional apraxia. Second, a series of 56 psychiatric inpatients with delirium as identified using electronic administrative data and clinical records was selected to evaluate sensitivity. RESULTS: Of the various indices of dysgraphia examined, only a global rating of writing quality and evidence of jagged or angled letter loops were informative clinical signs. The predictive value of constructional apraxia resembled the predictive value of the 2 dysgraphia indices. CONCLUSIONS: Dysgraphia and constructional apraxia are useful clinical signs of delirium in the psychiatric inpatient population. Evaluation of these functions can substantially impact diagnostic decisions where diagnostic uncertainty exists. An evaluation of writing and constructional praxis can be easily incorporated into bedside mental status examinations.

Planning alternative delivery systems. An organizational assessment.

The tendency to react to circumstance rather than to initiate on its own agenda has been a prevalent response of the nursing profession, in particular, and the health care industry, in general. With retrospective reimbursement, hospitals were reimbursed for what they spent, one of the factors that fostered a reactive mode of analysis and management. With the advent of the prospective reimbursement system--a system that implies the need for forecasting--the mandate for nurse executives to take a proactive stance in managing their product line is clear. The resulting economically constrained environment has challenged nurse executives to devise strategies for efficient patient care delivery without sacrificing commitment to quality. These strategies must be planned to respond to the current changing environment and adapted to meet future changes.

[Twenty-four hour changes in the value of the liver clearance of antipyrine in calves during the neonatal period]. / Dobowe zmiany wielkosci watrobowego klirensu antypiryny u cielat w okresie neonatalnym.

Twenty-four-hour changes in the value of the liver clearance coefficient of antipyrine in 10 calves of ncb. race, aged 28-30 days were examined. The findings made it possible to separate 2 subgroups among the examined animals: 6 calves eliminated antipyrine from plasma more quickly during the day than at night and 4 calves - more quickly at night than in the day. To verify the observed differences 3 days after the first examination another antipyrine test was performed on 6 calves (3 from the "night" group and 3 from the "day" group). It has been found that animals which had the tendency to quicker elimination (metabolism) of the antipyrine during the day confirmed it in the second examination. The same regularity has been observed for the calves which quicker eliminate antipyrine from plasma at night.

[An attempt at assessment of biotransformation activity in calves' liver on the basis of the rate of antipyrine elimination from saliva]. / Próba oceny biotransformacyjnej aktywnosci watroby u cielat na podstawie tempa eliminowania antypiryny ze sliny.

In the test carried out on 10 calves-bulls of c.b. breed, aged 20-23 days, the usefulness of the rate of antipyrine elimination from saliva to the assessment of pharmacokinetics of this substance, and consequently to the assessment of the rate of liver biotransformation in these animals, was defined. It was stated that volume of antipyrine (phenazone) distribution, half-life period and the clearance of liver defined on the basis of determination of the changes of phenazone concentration in plasma and saliva are not significantly different. It was proved that in the neonatal period in calves the antipyrine fraction connected with plasma protein does not exceed 3 percent of general phenazone concentration in the plasma. On the grounds of the results of the antipyrine test carried out a second time on 5 calves, the frequent recurrence of the parameters of antipyrine kinetics in the tested animals was proved. The results of the experimental show that on the basis of determination of the phenazone concentration in saliva it is possible to define the biotransforming liver activity of the microsomal monoxygenase connected with cytochrome P-450 in calves and total water content in the organism.

Selective regulation of expression of surface adhesion molecules Mac-1, L-selectin, and VLA-4 on human eosinophils and neutrophils.

We studied the differential expression of cellular adhesion molecules on the surface of purified human eosinophils and neutrophils caused by ex vivo activation with platelet-activating factor (PAF), formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine (FMLP), or recombinant human interleukin-5 (IL-5). PAF (10(-7) M) caused a 42.8 +/- 5.7% (mean +/- SEM) increase in Mac-1 expression in eosinophils (P < 0.01) and a 34.6 +/- 9.2% increase in Mac-1 expression in neutrophils (P < 0.05). PAF also caused a decrease in L-selectin expression in eosinophils (-37.0 +/- 8.1%, P < 0.001) and neutrophils (-14.1 +/- 3.2%, P < 0.05). FMLP (10(-6) M) caused a similar increase in Mac-1 expression in both eosinophils (P < 0.001 versus controls) and neutrophils (P < 0.01) and a comparable decrease in L-selectin expression in both eosinophils and neutrophils (P < 0.01). In contrast to the effects of PAF and FMLP, IL-5 affected selectively the surface expression of adhesion molecules in eosinophils but not neutrophils. Expression of Mac-1 increased by 44.3 +/- 7.5% in eosinophils (P < 0.001 versus controls) and by 0.7 +/- 1.2% in neutrophils (P = NS versus controls) after exposure to 10(-9) M IL-5. IL-5 also caused a 49.5 +/- 4.2% decrease in eosinophil L-selectin expression (P < 0.001) but had no effect on L-selectin expression in neutrophils. Eosinophil VLA-4 expression was not altered by any stimulus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Activation of tracheal smooth muscle responsiveness by fMLP-treated HL-60 cells and neutrophils.

We assessed the effects of cultured human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (neutrophils) isolated from peripheral human blood on tracheal smooth muscle responsiveness in 40 male Hartley guinea pigs. Undifferentiated HL-60 cells (16-25 passages) were activated in vitro by incubation with 1 microM f-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP), and force of contraction was measured isometrically using an in situ preparation of tracheal smooth muscle. Increasing concentrations of acetylcholine (ACh; 10(-10) to 10(-6) mol/cm2 tracheal surface) were applied topically to the epithelial surface pretreated with 4 x 10(6) fMLP-activated HL-60 cells, 4 x 10(6) fMLP-activated neutrophils, 4 x 10(6) sham-activated HL-60 cells, fMLP+vehicle, or vehicle control. Topical application of fMLP-activated HL-60 cells caused a maximum active tension (AT) of 1.13 +/- 0.2 g/cm after 5 min; fMLP-activated neutrophils, sham-activated HL-60 cells, or fMLP+vehicle had no effect. The fMLP-activated HL-60 cells also caused substantial augmentation of tracheal contraction to ACh (P < 0.05 vs. sham-activated cells for all concentrations > 10(-9) mol/cm2). Although fMLP treatment caused 247 +/- 28% increase from baseline level in O2-. production, neither direct contraction nor augmentation of muscarinic stimulation was demonstrated after topical application of 4 x 10(6) neutrophils. In 12 other preparations, fMLP-activated HL-60 cells were pretreated with either 10 microM indomethacin (Indo) or 100 microM A63162, a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor. Pretreatment with Indo caused complete blockade of direct tracheal contraction and 88 +/- 13% blockade of muscarinic augmentation; there was no effect after A63162.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of activated eosinophils cultured from human umbilical cord blood on guinea pig trachealis.

We studied the biochemical indexes and corresponding induction of airway smooth muscle contraction and hyperresponsiveness in guinea pig trachealis in situ caused by cultured eosinophils derived from mononuclear cell fractions of human umbilical cord blood. A method was developed that permitted isolation of large numbers of cells (approximately 2.6 x 10(6)/ml cord blood) having morphological and immunohistological characteristics of human peripheral blood eosinophils. After activation with 10(-6) M formyl-Met-Leu-Phe + 5 micrograms/ml cytochalasin B (fMLP + B), in situ application to the epithelial surface of 6 x 10(6) cord-derived eosinophils (CDE)/surface area (cm2) caused 1.46 +/- 0.24 g/cm maximal active tracheal tension in guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle (P < 0.005 vs. zero baseline). Muscarinic responsiveness also was augmented in situ in trachealis preparations treated with activated 3-wk CDE. Contraction caused by 3 x 10(-7) mol/kg iv methacholine (MCh) was 0.94 +/- 0.18 g/cm at baseline vs. 1.80 +/- 0.24 g/cm after activated CDE (P = 0.02). Control (sham-activated) 3-wk CDE caused neither significant contraction [0.41 +/- 0.16 g/cm active tension (AT); P < 0.05 vs. fMLP+B] nor augmented muscarinic responsiveness. Cells cultured for 5 wk contained fewer granules than 3-wk CDE and also caused less direct contraction of trachealis (0.73 +/- 0.14 g/cm AT) after activation (P < 0.01 vs. 3-wk CDE). Both contraction and muscarinic augmentation were blocked in 3-wk CDE after blockade of leukotriene C4 (LTC4) synthesis by pretreatment with the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor, A63162 (50 microM). Treatment with A63162 had no effect on the stimulated release of eosinophil peroxidase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Seasonal variations of antipyrine pharmacokinetics parameters in calves.

In the experiment the values of parameters of antipyrine kinetics were defined (Vd - volume of distribution, t0.5 - half-life, CA - metabolic clearance) in calves in January, April, July and October 1986 and in January and July 1987. Statistically significant increase of distribution volume and increase of hepatic antipyrine clearance were recorded, as well as significant shortening of half-life of this substance in the organism of tested animals in summer 1986 and 1987, compared with the remaining seasons of the year. Antipyrine pharmacokinetics in winter, spring, autumn 1986 and winter 1986/87 did not differ significantly.

Pharmacokinetics of antipyrine in calves during first 35 days of life.

The experiment was carried out on 10 bull-calves of black-white breed, aged 2-35 days. The following parameters of antipyrine pharmacokinetics were determined: Vd - volume of distribution, t0.5 - biological half-life, CA - metabolic clearance. It has been shown statistically that the volume of antipyrine distribution (expressed in 1/kg) was significantly decreasing with age of examined animals. The antipyrine half-life proved to be the longest on the 20th day of calves' life and the shortest on the 10th and 30th day. The maximum values of metabolic clearance of antipyrine were observed in calves aged 10 days and the minimum ones in animals aged 20 days. In the cases of t0.5 and CA a tendency to changes of values of these parameters of antipyrine pharmacokinetics in 10 days periods was observed.

Monthly variations in the pharmacokinetics of antipyrine in calves.

In the experiment (on the basis of values of antipyrine (phenazone) pharmacokinetics parameter), biotransformation activity of calves liver during a year was determined. The experiment was carried out on calves aged 28-30 days. Volume of distribution (Vd), half-life (t0.5) and metabolic clearance (CA) of antipyrine were from month to month determined. Not significant changes between values of Vd, t0.5 and CA in several months were observed. Results of experiment indicated that calves' liver is characterized by the relatively stabile biotransformational activity during the whole year.

[Effect of hypophysin and desoxycorticosterone acetate on kidney function in 3-month-old calves]. / Wplyw hipofizyny i octanu dezoksykortykosteronu na czynnosc nerek u trzymiesiecznych cielat.

The experiment has been carried out on 6 bulls of cb. breed at the age of 3 months. Clearance methods were used to examine the hypophysin (0.1 u V/kg) and desoxycorticosterone acetate (0.1 mg/kg) influence on the size of diuresis, glomerular filtration and excretion of the following: sodium, potassium, chlorides, calcium, magnesium and inorganic phosphorus with urine. Three months old calves had (in comparing to calves in neonatal period) higher glomerular filtration level and lower coefficient of endogenous creatinine purification, however the GFR did not still reach the GFR level of adult animals. Hypophysin and desoxycorticosterone acetate influenced both the process of glomerular filtration (decrease) and tubular transportation of water, Na, K and Cl. After the acetate had been applied, higher condensation of urine was noticed than after the application of hypophysin. Administering DOC to the calves caused decrease in sodium and chlorides excretion with urine as well as increase in kidney purification of potassium. Increased excretion of potassium ion and the decrease in urine pH after DOC injection may suggest that older calves compared with the ones at the age of 2-5 weeks have their kidney mechanism regulating potassium and acid-basic balance developed and efficient. Significant effect of hypophysin and desoxycorticosterone acetate on the process of calcium, magnesium and inorganic phosphorus excretion with the urine has not been stated.