Detection of the CD56+/CD45- immunophenotype by flow cytometry in neuroendocrine malignancies.

AIMS: Antibodies against CD56 are primarily used in flow cytometric studies to detect natural killer cells. However, they may be useful in the identification of neuroendocrine malignancies, especially if the cells do not express CD45, indicating a non-leucocyte origin. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted on all solid tissue flow cytometric studies performed between January 1997 and September 2001, to identify all cases with a CD56+/CD45- immunophenotype. RESULTS: Twelve neuroendocrine malignancies (five metastatic small cell carcinomas, three Merkel cell carcinomas, two metastatic undifferentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas, one metastatic pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinoma, and one neuroblastoma) were identified. CONCLUSIONS: CD56+/CD45- neuroendocrine malignancies are only rarely detected in the flow cytometric analysis of solid tissue samples. However, the recognition of this immunophenotype is important to avoid their misclassification as natural killer cell malignancies. Furthermore, flow cytometry assists in the rapid identification of such cases, so that appropriate immunohistochemical studies can be performed to facilitate their correct diagnosis.

Sexual communication in the age of AIDS: the construction of risk and trust among young adults.

Sexually transmitted diseases are extremely prevalent among youth, and it is only by understanding the processes involved in negotiating sexual relationships that effective prevention and intervention programs can be designed. This study explores sexual communication among young adults, how gender and sexual orientation influence negotiation for safer sex, the strategies employed for risk reduction, and the barrier to safer sex. It assumes sexual behavior as a communicative form, both reflective and reflexive, subject to interpretation, and created interactively within and between sexual partners. Data from in-depth interviews with 30 undergraduates at the University of California, Berkeley were triangulated with questionnaires (n = 159), secondary sources and informal interviews with university officials. Participants were representative of arts and science students, ethnically diverse and of varying sexual orientations. Interviews focused on the normative influences of family, school and friends regarding sexuality; and how relationships and sex were negotiated. They investigated how strategies for risk reduction, attitudes about HIV and testing, and contraceptive practices were managed differently by gender and sexual orientation and what the barriers to safer sex were in various situations. Interviews focused on the normative influences of family, school and friends regarding sexuality; how relationships were negotiated, and how trust and risk were constructed within relationships; how strategies for risk reduction, attitudes about HIV and testing, and contraceptive practices were managed differently be gender and sexual orientation; and what the barriers were to safer sex. Friends, the social culture at university, and the interaction of the two with the developmental tasks characteristic of the period between adolescence and adulthood were more important influences than parents or high school sex education classes in how sexual relationships were managed. How and whether friends talked about sex and practiced safe sex were strong normative influences in predicting safer sex among individuals. Negotiating for safer sex contains elements of impression management, requires assertiveness and takes constant effort, even among those who have made the most progress in incorporating it. Practicing safer sex involves a complicated process of sexual negotiation, requiring a degree of open communication about sexual desire and intent that is not widely available in this culture, and still less among young people. Risk and thus how sex is negotiated is assessed differently by gender, and varies further according to the degree of intimacy in the relationship or the sex act being contemplated. How sex is negotiated depends on the construction of risk and trust which differ by the type of relationship or sexual encounter being contemplated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Identification and case management in an HMO of patients at risk of preterm labor.

We carried out a study of pregnant patients in a health maintenance organization to identify and provide case management of women at risk of preterm labor and to determine important risk factors for preterm labor in a managed care population. Data were collected on 794 women who completed an initial prenatal care visit at HealthAmerica of Pittsburgh between July 15, 1994, and March 31, 1995, and delivered at a local Pittsburgh hospital. The patients were assessed during an initial call to schedule their first prenatal visit and also at the 8- to 15-week and 24- to 28-week prenatal visits. Patients scoring 10 or higher on the risk assessment form were referred to a nurse case manager who provided education and support. Results of a logistic regression analysis suggest that the risk assessment tool was effective in identifying women at risk for preterm labor. "Physical/stressful work", as assessed by the patient, history of a prior preterm birth, and multiple gestation were all statistically significant predictors of preterm birth. Further research is needed to confirm the finding that physical or stressful work is a significant predictor of preterm births and to determine which aspects of the work may increase the patient's risk. This study was based on 8 months of data; however, additional program implementation is needed to evaluate fully the potential long-term benefits of the program.

Effects of forest management on soil carbon: results of some long-term resampling studies.

The effects of harvest intensity (sawlog, SAW; whole tree, WTH; and complete tree, CTH) on biomass and soil C were studied in four forested sites in the southeastern US (mixed deciduous forests at Oak Ridge, TN and Coweeta, NC; Pinus taeda at Clemson, SC: and P. eliottii at Bradford, FL). In general, harvesting had no lasting effects on soil C. However, intensive temporal sampling at the NC and SC sites revealed short-term changes in soil C during the first few years after harvesting, and large, long-term increases in soil C were noted at the TN site in all treatments. Thus, changes in soil C were found even though lasting effects of harvest treatment were not. There were substantial differences in growth and biomass C responses to harvest treatments among sites. At the TN site, there were no differences in biomass at 15 years after harvest. At the SC site, greater biomass was found in the SAW than in the WTH treatment 16 years after harvest, and this effect is attributed to be due to both the N left on site in foliar residues and to the enhancement of soil physical and chemical properties by residues. At the FL site, greater biomass was found in the CTH than in the WTH treatment 15 years after harvest, and this effect is attributed to be due to differences in understory competition. Biomass data were not reported for NC. The effects of harvest treatment on ecosystem C are expected to magnify over time at the SC and FL sites as live biomass increases, whereas the current differences in ecosystem C at the TN site (which are due to the presence of undecomposed residues) are expected to lessen with time.

AIDS in the african press.

Newspapers have the potential to take a leading role in AIDS education in Africa. With their relatively small circulations, they mainly reach educated urban citizens, a population particularly hard hit by the epidemic. This study reports findings of a content analysis of AIDS coverage of government owned newspapers in Senegal, Togo, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya. Although most papers have printed educational articles, they have undertaken only a very minor role in any national effort. Coverage has tended to reflect government reaction, usually moving through stages of denial, scapegoating and blame before responding constructively to the epidemic. African countries surveyed are still largely engaged in epidemiological response to the epidemic; widespread education has not yet occurred. Newspapers have not yet fulfilled their potential as educational media.

Human pathogenic viruses at sewage sludge disposal sites in the Middle Atlantic region.

Human enteric viruses were detected in samples of water, crabs, and bottom sediments obtained from two sewage sludge disposal sites in the Atlantic Ocean. Viruses were isolated from sediments 17 months after the cessation of sludge dumping. These findings indicate that, under natural conditions, viruses can survive for a long period of time in the marine environment and that they may present potential public health problems to humans using these resources for food and recreation. The isolation of viruses in the absence of fecal indicator bacteria reinforces previous observations on the inadequacy of these bacteria for predicting the virological quality of water and shellfish.

Morphological, total nucleic acid and total protein analyses of rat embryos cultured in supplemented and unsupplemented human serum.

Culture of explanted 9 1/2 day rat conceptuses for 48 hours (i.e. until 11 1/2 days) in 100% human serum supplemented only with glucose does not result in growth and development comparable to those conceptuses cultured for the same period in 100% rat serum. Significant differences were observed in the yolk sac diameter, crown-rump length, morphological score and total embryonic nucleic acid content. No difference was observed in the total embryonic protein content. A large proportion of the embryos cultured in glucose-supplemented human serum (100%) exhibited abnormalities of the neural tube. Supplementation of the human serum with glucose and 10% rat serum resulted in embryos showing higher indices of embryonic growth and differentiation (in all criteria of assessment) than those cultured in pure rat serum; no abnormalities were observed. The significance of better growth and differentiation of the conceptuses in human serum supplemented with glucose and 10% rat serum is discussed.